Recherches sur les figurines en terre cuite gallo-romaine en contexte archéologique.

The Romano-Gaulish terracotta figurine must not be regarded as a simple sta- tuette in the round. When associated to a Romano-Gaulish context, on civil, religious or funeral point of view, this work allows the figurine to be apprehended as an ar- chaeological object. It describes the figurines within their archaeological context through the medium of a "representative" inventory of sites associated with an ico- nographical catalogue. This study aims at defining functions and giving a place to this figurine within the Romano-Gaulish society itself. It drives us into the economi- cal and social, but also religious and funeral, history of a modest fringe of the Roma- no-Gaulish society. The protection given by these objects is sought by people in the local workshops but also in the homes through the a terracotta representation of Ve- nus, the goddess mother or even a character or an animal. It may seem that it stayed in the circle of the family from birth to death. Primarily considered as a toy, it pro- gressively becomes a daily presence and finally accompanies its owners to the grave. In a context of religion, its role evolves into the shape of a gift or even an ex-voto in places of worship and more particularly in sanctuaries.La figurine en terre cuite gallo-romaine doit être perçue autrement que comme une simple statuette en ronde-bosse. Ce travail en l'associant à un contexte gallo-ro- main, qu'il soit civil, cultuel ou funéraire permet d'observer la figurine en tant qu'ob- jet archéologique. Il a comme support un inventaire "représentatif" de sites associé à un catalogue iconographique afin de décrire les figurines dans leur contexte archéo- logique. Cette étude vise à définir des fonctions et à donner une place à cette figurine au sein de la société gallo-romaine. Elle nous plonge dans l'histoire économique et sociale mais également religieuse et funéraire d'une frange modeste de la société gal- lo-romaine. La protection accordée par ces objets est recherchée dans les ateliers artisanaux mais également dans l'habitat sous la forme d'une représentation en terre cuite de Vénus, de la déesse-mère ou bien encore d'un personnage ou d'un animal. Il semblerait qu'elle reste dans la famille de la naissance à la mort. D'abord un jouet, elle devient une présence au quotidien puis un accompagnement dans la tombe. Son rôle diffère Lorsqu'elle est mise au jour en contexte cultuel, elle devient une offrande ou parfois même un ex-voto dans les lieux de culte et plus particulièrement dans les sanctuaires

Does aging affect the immune status? A comparative analysis in 300 healthy volunteers from France, Austria and Spain

Background: As the European population is getting older, there is growing need in scientific data on how to achieve healthy and successful aging. A decline in immune function with age is unanimously supported by many epidemiological and clinical observations, with a decrease in T-cell mediated function encompassing a large part of this alteration. In the EU-funded VITAGE project, the effects of aging on biomarkers of immune status are being studied in three European countries. According to strict inclusion/exclusion criteria, a cohort of 300 healthy male non-smoking 20-75 years old volunteers were enrolled in France (n = 99), Spain (n = 100) and Austria (n = 101). In each country, the volunteers were classified as a function of age (one age group per decade). Biomarkers of immune status were determined including delayed-type hypersensitivity tests, measurement of lymphocyte surface markers, and serum determinations of interleukin-2, complement fractions and immunoglobulins. [br/] Results: There were moderate differences in the biomarkers of immune status of the VITAGE study volunteers among the three European centres. The percentage of Natural Killer (NK) cells was 156% and 142% higher in Spain as compared to France and Austria, respectively (p < 0.0001), and this increase was observed at any age group above 30 years. Comparison between age-groups showed that in Spain, but not in France or Austria, older individuals had significantly a lower B lymphocyte distribution and conversely, a higher NK cell distribution. Moreover, the CD4/CD8 ratio was positively correlated with age in Austrian subjects (p < 0.0001). [br/] Conclusion: Our results provide evidence of an increased NK cell distribution in the elderly, especially in the Spanish population. NK cell status may predict morbidity and mortality in the elderly, emphasizing the importance of innate as well as adaptive immunity in ensuring healthy longevity and cancer resistance, possibly in link with the Mediterranean diet

Too Hot to Handle: An Evaluation of the Effect of Thermal Visual Representation on User Grasping Interaction in Virtual Reality

Influence of interaction fidelity and rendering quality on perceived user experience have been largely explored in Virtual Reality (VR). However, differences in interaction choices triggered by these rendering cues have not yet been explored. We present a study analysing the effect of thermal visual cues and contextual information on 50 participants' approach to grasp and move a virtual mug. This study comprises 3 different temperature cues (baseline empty, hot and cold) and 4 contextual representations; all embedded in a VR scenario. We evaluate 2 different hand representations (abstract and human) to assess grasp metrics. Results show temperature cues influenced grasp location, with the mug handle being predominantly grasped with a smaller grasp aperture for the hot condition, while the body and top were preferred for baseline and cold conditions

Impact of Vitamin D Supplementation on Influenza Vaccine Response and Immune Functions in Deficient Elderly Persons: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial

Background: Immunosenescence contributes to reduced vaccine response in elderly persons, and is worsened by deficiencies in nutrients such as Vitamin (Vit-D). The immune system is a well-known target of Vit-D, which can both potentiate the innate immune response and inhibit the adaptive system, and so modulate vaccination response.Objective: This randomized placebo-controlled double-blind trial investigated whether Vit-D supplementation in deficient elderly persons could improve influenza seroprotection and immune response.Design: Deficient volunteers (Vit-D serum &lt;30 ng/mL) were assigned (V1) to receive either 100,000 IU/15 days of cholecalciferol (D, n = 19), or a placebo (P, n = 19), over a 3 month period. Influenza vaccination was performed at the end of this period (V2), and the vaccine response was evaluated 28 days later (V3). At each visit, serum cathelicidin, immune response to vaccination, plasma cytokines, lymphocyte phenotyping, and phagocyte ROS production were assessed.Results: Levels of serum 25-(OH)D increased after supplementation (D group, V1 vs. V2: 20.7 ± 5.7 vs. 44.3 ± 8.6 ng/mL, p &lt; 0.001). No difference was observed for serum cathelicidin levels, antibody titers, and ROS production in D vs. P groups at V3. Lower plasma levels of TNFα (p = 0.040) and IL-6 (p = 0.046), and higher ones for TFGβ (p = 0.0028) were observed at V3. The Th1/Th2 ratio was lower in the D group at V2 (D: 0.12 ± 0.05 vs. P: 0.18 ± 0.05, p = 0.039).Conclusions: Vit-D supplementation promotes a higher TGFβ plasma level in response to influenza vaccination without improving antibody production. This supplementation seems to direct the lymphocyte polarization toward a tolerogenic immune response. A deeper characterization of metabolic and molecular pathways of these observations will aid in the understanding of Vit-D's effects on cell-mediated immunity in aging. This clinical trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01893385

Cancer immunoprevention and public health

The power of cancer immune surveillance has been documented beyond doubt, and the successful exploitation of immune response to cancer has started a new era in the war against cancer. Cancer biologists have recognized immunoevasion as an emerging hallmark in addition to the six hallmarks of cancer. Besides the natural connection between the immune system and cancer development, most established environmental risk factors are now known to interfere with immune surveillance mechanisms. Genetic variations regulating immunity may also modulate cancer susceptibility, but evidence for this is currently limited. Molecular cross talk linking “immune” and “genomic” surveillance pathways has been characterized. It appears that immune mechanisms may contribute to the effects of common cancer risk factors. We provide an updated overview of evidence for cancer immune surveillance, cancer risk factors interfering with it, and interventions to enhance cancer immune surveillance as tools to complement ongoing vaccine development efforts for cancer immunoprevention. Although there is a lot of support for cancer immunoprevention with simple lifestyle modifications from observational studies, there is an urgent need for clinical trials to establish the effectiveness of this approach for public health benefits

Toward a New Philosophy of Preventive Nutrition: From a Reductionist to a Holistic Paradigm to Improve Nutritional Recommendations

The reductionist approach has been predominant to date in human nutrition research and has unraveled some of the fundamental mechanisms at the basis of food nutrients (e.g., those that involve deficiency diseases). In Western countries, along with progress in medicine and pharmacology, the reductionist approach helped to increase life expectancy. However, despite 40 y of research in nutrition, epidemics of obesity and diabetes are growing each year worldwide, both in developed and developing countries, leading to a decrease in healthy life years. Yet, interactions between nutrition-health relations cannot be modeled on the basis of a linear cause-effect relation between 1 food compound and 1 physiologic effect but rather from multicausal nonlinear relations. In other words, explaining the whole from the specific by a bottom-up reductionist approach has its limits. A top-down approach becomes necessary to investigate complex issues through a holistic view before addressing any specific question to explain the whole. However, it appears that both approaches are necessary and mutually reinforcing. In this review, Eastern and Western research perspectives are first presented, laying out bases for what could be the consequences of applying a reductionist versus holistic approach to research in nutrition vis-a-vis public health, environmental sustainability, breeding, biodiversity, food science and processing, and physiology for improving nutritional recommendations. Therefore, research that replaces reductionism with a more holistic approach will reveal global and efficient solutions to the problems encountered from the field to the plate. Preventive human nutrition can no longer be considered as "pharmacology" or foods as "drugs.

Patrick Awondo, Le sexe et ses doubles. (Homo)sexualités en postcolonie

À partir de la « question homosexuelle » au Cameroun (p. 17), et plus largement en Afrique, Patrick Awondo développe une analyse méticuleuse des enjeux sociologiques et politiques des mobilisations et contre-mobilisations qui entourent la visibilisation récente des personnes homosexuelles. L’auteur livre un travail qui s’appuie sur une enquête ethnographique menée auprès de nkoandengué et de mvoë camerounais, d’acteurs associatifs, ainsi que sur un examen minutieux de la production journalist..