Chromosomal control of pig populations in France: 2002-2006 survey

The chromosomal control of pig populations has been widely developed in France over the last ten years. By December 31st, 2006, 13 765 individuals had been karyotyped in our laboratory, 62% of these since 2002. Ninety percent were young purebred boars controlled before service in artificial insemination centres, and 3% were hypoprolific boars. So far, 102 constitutional structural chromosomal rearrangements (67 since 2002) have been described. Fifty-six were reciprocal translocations and 8 peri- or paracentric inversions. For the first time since the beginning of the programme and after more than 11 000 pigs had been karyotyped, one Robertsonian translocation was identified in 2005 and two others in 2006. The estimated prevalence of balanced structural chromosomal rearrangements in a sample of more than 7700 young boars controlled before service was 0.47%. Twenty-one of the 67 rearrangements described since 2002 were identified in hypoprolific boars. All were reciprocal translocations. Twelve mosaics (XX/XY in 11 individuals, XY/XXY in one individual) were also diagnosed. Two corresponded to hypoprolific boars, and three to intersexed animals. The results presented in this communication would justify an intensification of the chromosomal control of French and, on a broader scale, European and North-American pig populations

Rôle du pharmacien d'officine dans le suivi du traitement par antivitamines K

Une approche adéquate des patients chroniques augmente leur capacité à gérer leur maladie et leur traitement. En France, les traitements par antivitamines K (AVK), responsables de 17 000 hospitalisations et de plus de 5 000 décès par an, sont tout particulièrement concernés en raison des enjeux de santé publique. Mieux accompagner les patients traités par AVK devient impératif pour diminuer l incidence des accidents iatrogènes, assurer une meilleure observance et favoriser leur adhésion à leur traitement. Les entretiens pharmaceutiques, instaurés dans le cadre de la convention nationale pharmaceutique conclue le 4 avril 2012, ont ici toute leur raison d être. La première partie de cette thèse permet au pharmacien d officine de mettre à jour ses connaissances sur les AVK afin de garantir une dispensation de qualité. Dans sa seconde partie, il est dressé un état des lieux des stratégies mises en place, ou en vue de l être, par les différents professionnels de santé pour limiter la iatrogénie de cette classe médicamenteuse. Enfin, dans sa troisième partie, cette thèse apporte les éléments fonctionnels et psychosociaux indispensables pour envisager les entretiens pharmaceutiques et gérer, de façon optimale, le programme d accompagnement qui leur est associé, ainsi que les modalités pratiques nécessaires à la mise en œuvre du programme d accompagnement. Le pharmacien doit donc faire preuve de rigueur et de professionnalisme dans ce nouvel acte officinal, que sont les entretiens pharmaceutiques, et doit avoir toutes les données lui permettant d assurer son rôle et de répondre aux attentes du patient.An adequate approach to chronic patients increases their ability to manage their disease and treatment. In France, treatment with vitamin K antagonists (VKA), which are responsible for 17,000 hospitalizations and more than 5,000 deaths annually, are particularly concerned because of the public health stakes. Better support of VKA-treated patients becomes urgent to reduce the incidence of iatrogenic accidents, ensure better compliance and further medication adherence. Pharmaceutical interviews, established under the National Pharmaceutical Agreement of April 4, 2012, are all the more useful. The first part of this thesis allows pharmacists to update their knowledge of VKA in order to ensure quality distribution. The second part provides an inventory of strategies put in place, or to be, by health professionals in order to minimize the iatrogenic effects of this drug class. Finally, in the third part, this thesis provides essential functional and psychosocial elements to consider pharmaceutical interviews and optimally organize the related support program, as well as the practical arrangements required for implementing the support program. The pharmacist must be rigorous and professional in pharmaceuticals interviews, which are a new officinal procedure, and must have all information enabling them to perform his role and meet patient expectations.ANGERS-BU Médecine-Pharmacie (490072105) / SudocSudocFranceF

The rural-urban spillovers of EU structural policies in Cordoba, Spain

The European Union's Regional Policy and Common Agricultural Policy share a common objective of balanced regional development; in practice, they are implemented in very distinct ways as regional policies mainly focus their strategy on urban development while the CAP Pillar 2 is based on a program which is specifically targeted at rural areas. Understanding the origins of economic growth in rural and urban areas is at the core of the debate on territorial convergence and the future of both policies. This paper assesses the impacts of Regional and Rural Development Programmes on the Spanish economy of Cordoba using a bi-regional CGE model in order to shed light on their capacity to fulfill the objective of balanced regional development.JRC.J.4-Agriculture and Life Sciences in the Econom

Genome-wide analyses identify SCN5A as a susceptibility locus for premature atrial contraction frequency.

Premature atrial contractions (PACs) are frequently observed on electrocardiograms and are associated with increased risks of atrial fibrillation (AF), stroke, and mortality. In this study, we aimed to identify genetic susceptibility loci for PAC frequency. We performed a genome-wide association study meta-analysis with PAC frequency obtained from ambulatory cardiac monitoring in 4,831 individuals of European ancestry. We identified a genome-wide significant locus at the SCN5A gene. The lead variant, rs7373862, located in an intron of SCN5A, was associated with an increase of 0.12 [95% CI 0.08-0.16] standard deviations of the normalized PAC frequency per risk allele. Among genetic variants previously associated with AF, there was a significant enrichment in concordance of effect for PAC frequency (n = 73/106, p = 5.1 × 10-5). However, several AF risk loci, including PITX2, were not associated with PAC frequency. These findings suggest the existence of both shared and distinct genetic mechanisms for PAC frequency and AF

Focal plane wavefront sensing on SUBARU/SCExAO

Focal plane wavefront sensing is an elegant solution for wavefront sensing since near-focal images of any source taken by a detector show distortions in the presence of aberrations. Non-Common Path Aberrations and the Low Wind Effect both have the ability to limit the achievable contrast of the finest coronagraphs coupled with the best extreme adaptive optics systems. To correct for these aberrations, the Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics instrument hosts many focal plane wavefront sensors using detectors as close to the science detector as possible. We present seven of them and compare their implementation and efficiency on SCExAO. This work will be critical for wavefront sensing on next generation of extremely large telescopes that might present similar limitations

Evolution of a low convergence collisional orogen: a review of Pyrenean orogenesis

The Pyrenees is a collisional orogen built by inversion of an immature rift system during convergence of the Iberian and European plates from Late Cretaceous to late Cenozoic. The full mountain belt consists of the pro-foreland southern Pyrenees and the retro-foreland northern Pyrenees, where the inverted lower Cretaceous rift system is mainly preserved. Due to low overall convergence and absence of oceanic subduction, this orogen preserves one of the best geological records of early orogenesis, the transition from early convergence to main collision and the transition from collision to post-convergence. During these transitional periods major changes in orogen behavior reflect evolving lithospheric processes and tectonic drivers. Contributions by the OROGEN project have shed new light on these critical periods, on the evolution of the orogen as a whole, and in particular on the early convergence stage. By integrating results of OROGEN with those of other recent collaborative projects in the Pyrenean domain (e.g., PYRAMID, PYROPE, RGF-Pyrénées), this paper offers a synthesis of current knowledge and debate on the evolution of this immature orogen as recorded in the synorogenic basins and fold and thrust belts of both the upper European and lower Iberian plates. Expanding insight on the role of salt tectonics at local to regional scales is summarised and discussed. Uncertainties involved in data compilation across a whole orogen using different datasets are discussed, for example for deriving shortening values and distribution

CERTIFICATION REPORT: The certification of Amyloid β1-42 in CSF in ERM®-DA480/IFCC, ERM®-DA481/IFCC and ERM®-DA482/IFCC

This report describes the production of ERM®-DA480/IFCC, ERM®-DA481/IFCC and ERM®-DA482/IFCC, which are human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) materials certified for the mass concentration of amyloid β1-42 peptide (Aβ1-42). These materials were produced by the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (EC-JRC) in collaboration with the International Federation for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) following ISO Guide 34:2009 and are certified in accordance with ISO Guide 35:2006. The starting material used to prepare ERM-DA480/IFCC, ERM-DA481/IFCC and ERM-DA482/IFCC was human CSF collected from normal pressure hydrocephalus patients by continuous lumbar drainage. After collection, the CSF was aliquoted and frozen at -80 °C. For the preparation of each certified reference material (CRM) a selected number of CSF donations were thawed, pooled, mixed, filled in microvials and stored at (-70 ± 10) °C immediately thereafter. Between unit-homogeneity was quantified and stability during dispatch and storage were assessed in accordance with ISO Guide 35:2006 [ ]. The material was characterised by an interlaboratory comparison of laboratories of demonstrated competence and adhering to ISO/IEC 17025 [ ]. Technically invalid results were removed but no outlier was eliminated on statistical grounds only. Uncertainties of the certified values were calculated in accordance with the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM) [ ] and include uncertainties related to possible inhomogeneity, instability and characterisation. The materials are intended for the calibration of methods, quality control and/or the assessment of method performance. As with any reference material, they can be used for establishing control charts or validation studies. The CRMs are available in microvials containing at least 0.5 mL of frozen liquid. The minimum amount of sample to be used is 15 µL.JRC.F.6-Reference Material

Ex-ante Spatial Policy Impact Analysis of the Rural Development policy in European Rural Areas (RURAL ECMOD)

The present study aims at modelling the impact of different CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) scenarios on 6 case study regional economies. The starting point is the construction of a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) obtained through a combination of mechanical downscaling of higher level input-output data with superior data, followed by a balancing procedure. A number of key elements facilitate the simulation of the policy scenarios: disaggregation of agricultural sector by farm size and the rural-urban disaggregation of activities and households. Policy scenarios focus on the impacts of relatively major changes in agricultural and rural policy (change in the balance between CAP pillars 1 and 2 or redistribution of funding within CAP pillar 2 – rural development policy). Models used are recursive dynamic CGE models, solved one year at a time, over the period 2006 to 2020. Policy measures are modelled on the base of RDP spending mapped for each region into investments in specific SAM sectors Economy wide effects of all scenarios remain limited, but slightly more important and significant when looking at the specifically rural economy. On the base of a limited number of case study areas, it seems that diversification policy mixes for rural development are in all cases beneficial to rural economies, while policy mixes focusing on agriculture competitiveness and public goods is only economically beneficial at short term and in rural, peripheral and agriculture-centred areas.JRC.J.4-Agriculture and Life Sciences in the Econom

Estimating regional social accounting matrices to analyse rural development

This paper has two complementary objectives: on the one hand, it introduces the EURO method for the estimation of (regional) Social Accounting Matrices. This method is widely used by Eurostat for the estimation of missing national Supply, Use and Input-output tables but it has not been used before within the context of social accounting matrices or of regional statistics and/or regional impact analyses. On the other hand, this work discusses the possibility of producing non-survey based regional Social Accounting Matrices that may eventually allow the user to carry out impact analyses such as those of rural development policies, among others. The analysis is carried out for 12 selected European regions based on clusters

HLA-DPA1*02:01~B1*01:01 is a risk haplotype for primary sclerosing cholangitis mediating activation of NKp44+ NK cells

Objective Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is characterised by bile duct strictures and progressive liver disease, eventually requiring liver transplantation. Although the pathogenesis of PSC remains incompletely understood, strong associations with HLA-class II haplotypes have been described. As specific HLA-DP molecules can bind the activating NK-cell receptor NKp44, we investigated the role of HLA-DP/NKp44-interactions in PSC. Design Liver tissue, intrahepatic and peripheral blood lymphocytes of individuals with PSC and control individuals were characterised using flow cytometry, immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence analyses. HLA-DPA1 and HLA-DPB1 imputation and association analyses were performed in 3408 individuals with PSC and 34 213 controls. NK cell activation on NKp44/HLA-DP interactions was assessed in vitro using plate-bound HLA-DP molecules and HLA-DPB wildtype versus knock-out human cholangiocyte organoids. Results NKp44+NK cells were enriched in livers, and intrahepatic bile ducts of individuals with PSC showed higher expression of HLA-DP. HLA-DP haplotype analysis revealed a highly elevated PSC risk for HLA-DPA1*02:01~B1*01:01 (OR 1.99, p=6.7×10-50). Primary NKp44+NK cells exhibited significantly higher degranulation in response to plate-bound HLA-DPA1*02:01-DPB1*01:01 compared with control HLA-DP molecules, which were inhibited by anti-NKp44-blocking. Human cholangiocyte organoids expressing HLA-DPA1*02:01-DPB1*01:01 after IFN-γ-exposure demonstrated significantly increased binding to NKp44-Fc constructs compared with unstimulated controls. Importantly, HLA-DPA1*02:01-DPB1*01:01-expressing organoids increased degranulation of NKp44+NK cells compared with HLA-DPB1-KO organoids. Conclusion Our studies identify a novel PSC risk haplotype HLA-DP A1*02:01~DPB1*01:01 and provide clinical and functional data implicating NKp44+NK cells that recognise HLA-DPA1*02:01-DPB1*01:01 expressed on cholangiocytes in PSC pathogenesis