E-Learning for Teachers and Trainers : Innovative Practices, Skills and Competences

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The valuation of clean spread options: linking electricity, emissions and fuels

The purpose of the paper is to present a new pricing method for clean spread options, and to illustrate its main features on a set of numerical examples produced by a dedicated computer code. The novelty of the approach is embedded in the use of a structural model as opposed to reduced-form models which fail to capture properly the fundamental dependencies between the economic factors entering the production process

Benign fibrous histiocytoma of bone in a paediatric population: a report of 6 cases

Case records and radiological investigations of six children with benign fibrous histiocytoma were studied retrospectively. BFH occurred in the femur (n=2), tibia (n=2) and fibula (n=2). Clinically, patients reported pain from the lesion lasting several months (mean 6months). The pain was not associated with pathological fracture in any patient. On X-rays, the lesions appeared as lytic and sharply demarcated with a sclerotic rim and fine trabeculations. The reported cases were located in the metaphysis and the diaphysis of the long bones. The tumour was restricted to bone, without periosteal or soft tissue reaction. Treatment consisted of careful intralesional curettage of the lesion; the defect was thereafter filled with bone bank graft or injectable phosphocalcic cement. The length of follow-up ranged from 24months to 4.75years (mean 35.2months). One case presented with recurrence of the disease and required successful repeat intralesional curettage. Benign fibrous histiocytoma is probably underestimated among patients less than 20years of age. This diagnosis should be considered in any child or teenager who presents with a non-ossifying fibroma accompanied by unexplainable pain or a rapid growing. Surgery restricted to the osteolytic lesion seems sufficient to achieve bone healin

Sainte-Fauste – Les Grands Bois

Date de l'opération : 1984 (PT) Inventeur(s) : Coulon Gérard ; Mesmin A Près d’une parcelle cultivée ayant livré les fragments d’un autel à quatre faces (Gallia, 1978 : 276), une prospection effectuée en sous-bois a mis en évidence d’importants talus recouvrant des murs gallo-romains en petit appareil. Le plan de cet ensemble a été levé et pourrait correspondre à un sanctuaire dont seul serait décelable le péribole de forme carrée et de 72 m de côté (Coulon, 1987b)

Molecular and Functional Characterization of Neuroblastoma-Initiating Cells

Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common extracranial malignant tumor in young children and arises at any site of the sympathetic nervous system. The disease exhibits a remarkable phenotypic diversity ranging from spontaneous regression to fatal disease. Poor outcome results from a rapidly progressive, metastatic and drug-resistant disease. Recent studies have suggested that solid tumors may arise from a minor population of cancer stem cells (CSCs) with stem cell markers and typical properties such as self-renewal ability, asymmetric division and drug resistance. In this model, CSCs possess the exclusive ability to initiate and maintain the tumor, and to produce distant metastases. Tumor cell subpopulations with stem-like phenotypes have indeed been identified in several cancer including leukemia, breast, brain and colon cancers. CSC hypothesis still needs to be validated in the other cancers including NB.NB originates from neural crest-derived malignant sympatho-adrenal cells. We have identified rare cells that express markers in conformity with neural crest stem cells and their derived lineages within primary NB tissue and cell lines, leading us to postulate the existence of CSCs in NB tumors.In the absence of specific markers to isolate CSCs, we adapted to NB tumor cells the sphere functional assay, based on the ability of stem cells to grow as spheres in non-adherent conditions. By serial passages of spheres from bone marrow NB metastases, a subset of cells was gradually selected and its specific gene expression profile identified by micro-array time-course analysis. The differentially expressed genes in spheres are enriched in genes implicated in development including CD133, ABC-transporters, WNT and NOTCH genes, identified in others solid cancers as CSCs markers, and other new markers, all referred by us as the Neurosphere Expression Profile (NEP). We confirmed the presence of a cell subpopulation expressing a combination of the NEP markers within a few primary NB samples.The tumorigenic potential of NB spheres was assayed by in vivo tumor growth analyses using orthotopic (adrenal glands) implantations of tumor cells into immune-compromised mice. Tumors derived from the sphere cells were significantly more frequent and were detected earlier compared to whole tumor cells. However, NB cells expressing the neurosphere-associated genes and isolated from the bulk tumors did not recapitulate the CSC-like phenotype in the orthotopic model. In addition, the NB sphere cells lost their higher tumorigenic potential when implanted in a subcutaneous heterotopic in vivo model.These results highlighted the complex behavior of CSC functions and led us to consider the stem-like NB cells as a dynamic and heterogeneous cell population influenced by microenvironment signals.Our approach identified for the first time candidate genes that may be associated with NB self-renewal and tumorigenicity and therefore would establish specific functional targets for more effective therapies in aggressive NB

A stochastic movement simulator improves estimates of landscape connectivity

Acknowledgments This publication issued from the project TenLamas funded by the French Ministère de l'Energie, de l'Ecologie, du Développement Durable et de la Mer through the EU FP6 BiodivERsA Eranet; by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) through the open call INDHET and 6th extinction MOBIGEN to V. M. Stevens, M. Baguette, and A. Coulon, and young researcher GEMS (ANR-13-JSV7-0010-01) to V. M. Stevens and M. Baguette; and by a VLIR-VLADOC scholarship awarded to J. Aben. L. Lens, J. Aben, D. Strubbe, and E. Matthysen are grateful to the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) for financial support of fieldwork and genetic analysis (grant G.0308.13). V. M. Stevens and M. Baguette are members of the “Laboratoire d'Excellence” (LABEX) entitled TULIP (ANR-10-LABX-41). J. M. J. Travis and S. C. F. Palmer also acknowledge the support of NERC. A. Coulon and J. Aben contributed equally to the work.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Grassland Management and Animal Product Quality

The expectations of consumers ultimately determine the specification of product quality; and grassland systems produce a wide range of animal-based products. Therefore, to provide focus, this paper deals only with food products that are destined for markets that exhibit strong discretionary choice. Quality expectations of consumers have traditionally been based on product attributes such as taste, freshness, nutritional value and appearance, but customer expectations are expanding to encompass food safety, environmental care, animal welfare and biotechnologies. Grassland forages and their management influence the intrinsic sensory properties of food. A dairy products case study is presented, indicating that pasture species and their interaction with local environmental factors, and the methods of forage conservation, can influence the chemical composition of milk, its ability to be processed into butter or cheese, and the final sensory characteristics of the product. These effects may result directly from compounds originating in the forage (e.g. carotenoids, aromatic terpenes) or indirectly through forage-related changes in animal physiology and enzyme production. Knowledge of these influences and the strict control of the determining factors are key elements in the granting of Protected Denomination of Origin (DMO) status and the benefits that accrue from marketing strategies that depend on this status. Animal feeding regimes also influence the attributes of meat. Pasture-grazed animals have harder and yellower carcass fat than grain-fed animals. The daily energy intake of pasture-grazed animals is also generally lower; therefore there is less intra-muscular marbling. In addition, glycogen levels tend to be more marginal, which can negatively interact with psychological stress to produce a greater incidence of high ultimate pH carcasses. High pH levels (\u3e 5.8) result in reduced tenderness, dark muscle and reduced shelf-life of fresh and chilled meats. Early identification of product quality variation is key to placing meat into the correct supply chain, and maximising the total value of the carcass. The positive and negative aspects of fatty acid profiles, phenol and indole compounds, and antioxidants originating from forages are discussed in respect of meat flavour and animal health. Tight planning and management protocols for both plants and animals are crucial to achieving quality raw material from grassland systems. Unlike feedlot and barn-based enterprises, variation in forage quantity and quality can severely impact on animal performance, timeliness of supply and raw product constituents. Control of a forage-based system requires the setting of performance targets and on-going monitoring. Such measures can signal when the tactical use of specialist forages, or of high-quality supplements, will be of most value in maintaining target performance and animal health. Consistently supplying products with desired attributes, attending to animal welfare expectations and caring for environmental integrity will all be required if the credibility of ‘natural’ grassland products is to be sustained in the market-place. Controlled grazing of animals will be invaluable in meeting these multiple market demands