On the Voting Power of an Alliance and the Subsequent Power of its Members

Even, and in fact chiefly, if two or more players in a voting gamehave on a binary issue independent opinions, they may haveinterest to form a single voting alliance giving an average gainof influence for all of them. Here, assuming the usualindependence of votes, we first study the alliance voting powerand obtain new results in the so-called asymptotic limit for whichthe number of players is large enough and the alliance weightremains a small fraction of the total of the weights. Then, wepropose to replace the voting game inside the alliance by a randomgame which allows new possibilities. The validity of theasymptotic limit and the possibility of new alliances are examinedby considering the decision process in the Council of Ministers ofthe European Union.Voting Power; Alliance

Le cartulaire de l’abbaye Saint-Pierre de Préaux : présentation du manuscrit

L’abbaye bénédictine de Saint-Pierre de Préaux était située dans l’ancien diocèse de Lisieux, au sud-est de Pont-Audemer. Elle fut le monastère patrimonial des comtes de Meulan et a laissé un cartulaire copié au XIIIe siècle. La copie de cet important manuscrit, conservé aux Archives départementales de l’Eure, sous la cote H711, a été entreprise durant l’année 1227, puis poursuivie jusqu’au XIVe siècle. Ce cartulaire regroupe un ensemble de notices datant des XIe et XIIe siècles, transcrites d’après un cartulaire plus ancien, auxquelles ont été ajoutées des chartes plus récentes.The benedictine abbey of Saint-Pierre de Préaux which belonged to the former diocese of Lisieux, was located to the south-east of Pont-Audemer. This monastery, where the counts of Meulan were buried, has left an important cartulary, now kept in Archives départementales de l’Eure (H711). The copy of this important manuscript begun first in 1227 and was continued till the 14th c. It gathers several notices dating from the 11th and 12th c., extracted from an earlier cartulary, and other charters from the beginning of the 13th century

Do tests devised to detect recent HIV-1 infection provide reliable estimates of incidence in Africa?

International audienceThe objective of this study was to assess the performance of 4 biologic tests designed to detect recent HIV-1 infections in estimating incidence in West Africa (BED, Vironostika, Avidity, and IDE-V3). These tests were assessed on a panel of 135 samples from 79 HIV-1-positive regular blood donors from Abidjan, C?d'Ivoire, whose date of seroconversion was known (Agence Nationale de Recherches sur le SIDA et les H?tites Virales 1220 cohort). The 135 samples included 26 from recently infected patients (180 days), and 15 from patients with clinical AIDS. The performance of each assay in estimating HIV incidence was assessed through simulations. The modified commercial assays gave the best results for sensitivity (100% for both), and the IDE-V3 technique gave the best result for specificity (96.3%). In a context like Abidjan, with a 10% HIV-1 prevalence associated with a 1% annual incidence, the estimated test-specific annual incidence rates would be 1.2% (IDE-V3), 5.5% (Vironostika), 6.2% (BED), and 11.2% (Avidity). Most of the specimens falsely classified as incident cases were from patients infected for >180 days but <1 year. The authors conclude that none of the 4 methods could currently be used to estimate HIV-1 incidence routinely in C?d'Ivoire but that further adaptations might enhance their accuracy

Horizon 2019 : bibliothèques en prospective

Que seront les bibliothèques en 2019 ? Dans quel contexte évolueront-elles ? Quelles missions leur seront confiées ? Quelle légitimité sera la leur ? Voilà quelques-unes des questions évoquées dans le colloque « Horizon 2019 : bibliothèques en prospective », tenu à l'enssib en 2009. Voici, dans cet ouvrage, quelques-unes des réponses, hypothèses, conjectures, interrogations et suppositions apportées par les intervenants de ce colloque. Interrogations, analyses qui cherchent à éclairer l'horizon, à défaut de le rejoindre. Hypothèses, scénarios qui cherchent à déchiffrer l'avenir mais aussi à le construire

Horizon 2019 : bibliothèques en prospective

Que seront les bibliothèques en 2019 ? Dans quel contexte évolueront-elles ? Quelles missions leur seront confiées ? Quelle légitimité sera la leur ? Voilà quelques-unes des questions évoquées dans le colloque « Horizon 2019 : bibliothèques en prospective », tenu à l’Enssib en 2009. Voici, dans cet ouvrage, quelques-unes des réponses, hypothèses, conjectures, interrogations et suppositions apportées par les intervenants de ce colloque. Interrogations, analyses qui cherchent à éclairer l’horizon, à défaut de le rejoindre. Hypothèses, scénarios qui cherchent à déchiffrer l’avenir, mais aussi à le construire

Feasibility of Early Infant Diagnosis of HIV in Resource-Limited Settings: The ANRS 12140-PEDIACAM Study in Cameroon

BACKGROUND: Early infant diagnosis (EID) of HIV is a key-point for the implementation of early HAART, associated with lower mortality in HIV-infected infants. We evaluated the EID process of HIV according to national recommendations, in urban areas of Cameroon. METHODS/FINDINGS: The ANRS12140-PEDIACAM study is a multisite cohort in which infants born to HIV-infected mothers were included before the 8(th) day of life and followed. Collection of samples for HIV DNA/RNA-PCR was planned at 6 weeks together with routine vaccination. The HIV test result was expected to be available at 10 weeks. A positive or indeterminate test result was confirmed by a second test on a different sample. Systematic HAART was offered to HIV-infected infants identified. The EID process was considered complete if infants were tested and HIV results provided to mothers/family before 7 months of age. During 2007-2009, 1587 mother-infant pairs were included in three referral hospitals; most infants (n = 1423, 89.7%) were tested for HIV, at a median age of 1.5 months (IQR, 1.4-1.6). Among them, 51 (3.6%) were HIV-infected. Overall, 1331 (83.9%) completed the process by returning for the result before 7 months (median age: 2.5 months (IQR, 2.4-3.0)). Incomplete process, that is test not performed, or result of test not provided or provided late to the family, was independently associated with late HIV diagnosis during pregnancy (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.8, 95%CI: 1.1 to 2.9, p = 0.01), absence of PMTCT prophylaxis (aOR = 2.4, 95%CI: 1.4 to 4.3, p = 0.002), and emergency caesarean section (aOR = 2.5, 95%CI: 1.5 to 4.3, p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In urban areas of Cameroon, HIV-infected women diagnosed sufficiently early during pregnancy opt to benefit from EID whatever their socio-economic, marital or disclosure status. Reduction of non optimal diagnosis process should focus on women with late HIV diagnosis during pregnancy especially if they did not receive any PMTCT, or if complications occurred at delivery

Horizon 2019 : bibliothèques en prospective

Colloque organisé du 19 au 21 novembre 2009 à l\u27enssib avec pour but d\u27imaginer l\u27avenir proche des bibliothèques dans le monde occidental. Le colloque s\u27organise en trois temps : "Enjeux et défis", "Quelles missions pour les bibliothèques" et "Hypothèses et scénarios"