Soutenabilité de l'agriculture maraîchère dans les hautes vallées de Puebla (Mexique): enjeux au fil de l'eau. (Axe III, Symposium 10)

Las tierras altas tropicales han experimentado en las últimas décadas transformaciones importantes en sus sistemas de producción agrícolas, a través del desarrollo de la horticultura con riego campesino. La región de Puebla (México) ofrece un buen ejemplo de estas reconfiguraciones. No obstante, esas dinámicas hortícolas tienen varias limitaciones tanto en el ámbito socio-económico como ambiental, de las cuales habría que medir el alcance, poniendo en tela de juicio su sostenibilidad. El propósito de este artículo es, tomando los recursos hídricos y su acceso como objeto central y gracias a los primeros resultados de nuestras investigaciones en la zona (2009-2010), aportar unos elementos para el entendimiento de esta problemática.Dans le monde et particulièrement en Amérique latine, les hautes terres tropicales font l'objet de profondes transformations de leur système de production agricole, à travers l'apparition ou le développement d'une agriculture intensive de type maraîchère, elle-même liée à une extension de l'irrigation. La région de Puebla, au Mexique, offre un exemple caractéristique de ces mutations agricoles. L'accès aux ressources en eau, tant en quantité qu'en qualité, constitue une condition indispensable à l'existence comme à la poursuite de ces activités. Mesurer la disponibilité de l'eau permet donc de questionner la soutenabilité de ce type d'agriculture. Quels sont les facteurs socio-économiques ou environnementaux limitant l'accès à l'eau ? Ces limites peuvent elles aller jusqu'à remettre en cause cette agriculture maraîchère ? Les travaux de terrain effectués dans cette région en 2009 et 2010 nous permettent d'apporter quelques éléments de réponse

Control of mitochondrial superoxide production by reverse electron transport at complex I.

The generation of mitochondrial superoxide (O2̇̄) by reverse electron transport (RET) at complex I causes oxidative damage in pathologies such as ischemia reperfusion injury, but also provides the precursor to H2O2 production in physiological mitochondrial redox signaling. Here, we quantified the factors that determine mitochondrial O2̇̄ production by RET in isolated heart mitochondria. Measuring mitochondrial H2O2 production at a range of proton-motive force (Δp) values and for several coenzyme Q (CoQ) and NADH pool redox states obtained with the uncoupler p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone, we show that O2̇̄ production by RET responds to changes in O2 concentration, the magnitude of Δp, and the redox states of the CoQ and NADH pools. Moreover, we determined how expressing the alternative oxidase from the tunicate Ciona intestinalis to oxidize the CoQ pool affected RET-mediated O2̇̄ production at complex I, underscoring the importance of the CoQ pool for mitochondrial O2̇̄ production by RET. An analysis of O2̇̄ production at complex I as a function of the thermodynamic forces driving RET at complex I revealed that many molecules that affect mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production do so by altering the overall thermodynamic driving forces of RET, rather than by directly acting on complex I. These findings clarify the factors controlling RET-mediated mitochondrial O2̇̄ production in both pathological and physiological conditions. We conclude that O2̇̄ production by RET is highly responsive to small changes in Δp and the CoQ redox state, indicating that complex I RET represents a major mode of mitochondrial redox signaling

Screening and brief interventions for hazardous and harmful alcohol use in primary care: a cluster randomised controlled trial protocol

A large number of randomised controlled trials in health settings have consistently reported positive effects of brief intervention in terms of reductions in alcohol use. However,although alcohol misuse is common amongst offenders, there is limited evidence of alcohol brief interventions in the criminal justice field. This factorial pragmatic cluster randomised controlledtrial with Offender Managers (OMs) as the unit of randomisation will evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of different models of screening to identify hazardous and harmful drinkers in probation and different intensities of brief intervention to reduce excessive drinking in probation clients. Ninety-six OMs from 9 probation areas across 3 English regions (the NorthEast Region (n = 4) and London and the South East Regions (n = 5)) will be recruited. OMs will berandomly allocated to one of three intervention conditions: a client information leaflet control condition (n = 32 OMs); 5-minute simple structured advice (n = 32 OMs) and 20-minute brieflifestyle counselling delivered by an Alcohol Health Worker (n = 32 OMs). Randomisation will be stratified by probation area. To test the relative effectiveness of different screening methods all OMs will be randomised to either the Modified Single Item Screening Questionnaire (M-SASQ) orthe Fast Alcohol Screening Test (FAST). There will be a minimum of 480 clients recruited into the trial. There will be an intention to treat analysis of study outcomes at 6 and 12 months postintervention. Analysis will include client measures (screening result, weekly alcohol consumption,alcohol-related problems, re-offending, public service use and quality of life) and implementation measures from OMs (the extent of screening and brief intervention beyond the minimum recruitment threshold will provide data on acceptability and feasibility of different models of brief intervention). We will also examine the practitioner and organisational factors associated with successful implementation.The trial will evaluate the impact of screening and brief alcohol intervention in routine probation work and therefore its findings will be highly relevant to probation teams and thus the criminal justice system in the UK

Endogenous attention modulates attentional and motor interference from distractors: Evidence from behavioral and electrophysiological results

Selective visual attention enhances the processing of relevant stimuli and filters out irrelevant stimuli and/or distractors. However, irrelevant information is sometimes processed, as demonstrated by the Simon effect (Simon and Rudell, 1967). We examined whether fully irrelevant distractors (task and target-irrelevant) produce interference (measured as the Simon effect), and whether endogenous orienting modulated this interference. Despite being fully irrelevant, distractors were attentionally coded (as reflected by the distractor-related N2pc component), and interfered with the processing of the target response (as reflected by the target-related lateralized readiness potential component). Distractors’ attentional capture depended on endogenous attention, and their interference with target responses was modulated by both endogenous attention and distractor location repetition. These results demonstrate both endogenous attentional and motor modulations over the Simon effect produced by fully irrelevant distractors.EM-A was supported by a predoctoral grant (AP2008-02806) from the FPU program from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, and by a postdoctoral grant from the INSERM-U1028. Research was funded by research projects PSI2008-03595PSIC, PSI2011-22416, and eraNET- NEURON BEYONDVIS, EUI2009-04082, to JL. FB was founded by a postdoctoral grant from the eraNET- NEURON BEYONDVIS project. ABC was supported with a Ramón y Cajal fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (RYC-2011-09320)

Institutional, ideological and political influences on local government contracting: evidence from Englad.

Theories of contracting out offer contrasting perspectives on the noneconomic determinants of local government contracting. Some suggest that ideological motives predominate, with contracting decisions reflecting the ideology of ruling parties. Others emphasize political motives, with governments responding to local preferences. In this article, we draw on ideas about isomorphic pressures within organizational fields to examine whether institutional influences might also affect contracting behaviour. Using a spatial auto-regressive probit model, we evaluate whethermimetic pressures as well as ideological and political motives shape the decision to contract out service provision in English local governments. In addition, we analyse whether those factors also determine whether contracting local governments decide to contract with a commercial firm or a not-for-profit provider. The statistical results suggest that the decision to contract out is spatially dependent, and hence reflective of institutional forces. By contrast, political motives and market size considerations shape with whom local governments contract

Gaze-grasp coordination in obstacle avoidance: differences between binocular and monocular viewing

Most adults can skillfully avoid potential obstacles when acting in everyday cluttered scenes. We examined how gaze and hand movements are normally coordinated for obstacle avoidance and whether these are altered when binocular depth information is unavailable. Visual fixations and hand movement kinematics were simultaneously recorded, while 13 right-handed subjects reached-to-precision grasp a cylindrical household object presented alone or with a potential obstacle (wine glass) located to its left (thumb's grasp side), right or just behind it (both closer to the finger's grasp side) using binocular or monocular vision. Gaze and hand movement strategies differed significantly by view and obstacle location. With binocular vision, initial fixations were near the target's centre of mass (COM) around the time of hand movement onset, but usually shifted to end just above the thumb's grasp site at initial object contact, this mainly being made by the thumb, consistent with selecting this digit for guiding the grasp. This strategy was associated with faster binocular hand movements and improved end-point grip precision across all trials than with monocular viewing, during which subjects usually continued to fixate the target closer to its COM despite a similar prevalence of thumb-first contacts. While subjects looked directly at the obstacle at each location on a minority of trials and their overall fixations on the target were somewhat biased towards the grasp side nearest to it, these gaze behaviours were particularly marked on monocular vision-obstacle behind trials which also commonly ended in finger-first contact. Subjects avoided colliding with the wine glass under both views when on the right (finger side) of the workspace by producing slower and straighter reaches, with this and the behind obstacle location also resulting in 'safer' (i.e. narrower) peak grip apertures and longer deceleration times than when the goal object was alone or the obstacle was on its thumb side. But monocular reach paths were more variable and deceleration times were selectively prolonged on finger-side and behind obstacle trials, with this latter condition further resulting in selectively increased grip closure times and corrections. Binocular vision thus provided added advantages for collision avoidance, known to require intact dorsal cortical stream processing mechanisms, particularly when the target of the grasp and potential obstacle to it were fairly closely separated in depth. Different accounts of the altered monocular gaze behaviour converged on the conclusion that additional perceptual and/or attentional resources are likely engaged compared to when continuous binocular depth information is available. Implications for people lacking binocular stereopsis are briefly considered

Transglutaminase 2 in human diseases

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