Quinze ans après La Haine : l’important ce n’est toujours pas la chute, c’est l’atterrissage

International audiencePlus de quinze années après la sortie de La Haine, l’appel de ce numéro de Variations est l’occasion de revenir sur ce film devenu culte. Plus exactement, la distance qui nous en sépare permet d’avoir un certain recul avec le succès cinématographique du film et d’évoquer d’autres éléments qu’il est possible d’y apercevoir en filigrane. La Haine fut largement commenté et reconnu. Le film fut nominé en 1995, année de sa sortie, dans de nombreuses catégories aux Césars et en obtint trois dont celui du meilleur film. Il obtint également le prix de la mise en scène au festival de Cannes. D’un point de vue cinématographique il représentait donc un événement majeur et semblait annoncer l’irruption des cités HLM et la vie de leurs habitants sur les écrans de cinéma. En ce sens, les distinctions que le film reçut pouvaient être perçues comme prometteuses, comme ouvrant une brèche où se développerait un nouveau cinéma des quartiers populaires. La reconnaissance accordée au film était une occasion inattendue de donner une visibilité à ces quartiers et leurs cultures

204 Overdrive ventricular pacing in patients with permanent atrial arrhythmias and sleep apnea

BackgroundIn contrast to its efficacy in patients with heart failure (HF) and central (C) sleep apnea (SA), cardiac pacing is ineffective in obstructive SA. We examined whether overdrive ventricular pacing (OVP) has an effect on SA in pacemaker recipients with permanent atrial arrhythmias.MethodsAn apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≥ 15 was confirmed in 28 of 38 patients screened by finger oximetry during ventricular pacing at a backup rate of 40 bpm (BUV40). These 28 patients were randomly assigned in a crossover design to BUV40 versus OVP at 20 bpm above the mean heart rate measured during screening oximetry.ResultsAHI ≥ 30 and CSA were observed in 61% and 79% of patients, respectively. In 21 patients (19 with CSA) with a ≥ 5 OVP-induced decrease or no change in AHI, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was 40±16%, versus 55±18% (p=0.04) in 7 patients (3 with CSA, p=0.02) with a ≥ 5 OVP-induced increase in AHI. In 13 patients with histories of HF decompensation, AHI decreased from 32.8±12.9 during BUV40 to 24.9±16.5 during OVP, versus increased from 37.6±11.0 to 39.0±11.5 in 15 patients without histories of HF decompensation (p=0.02 vs. patients with histories of decompensated HF). In 9 patients with LVEF ≤ 35%, AHI decreased from 37.3±14.7 during BUV40 to 28.4±17.9 during OVP, versus from 34.5±10.7 to 34.4±14.3 in 19 patients with LVEF >35%, (p=0.04 vs. patients with LVEF ≤ 35%).ConclusionsIn patients with permanent atrial tachyarrhythmias, AHI decreased significantly during OVP in patients with a) histories of decompensated HF and CSA, or b) LVEF ≤ 35%, and increased or was unchanged by OVP in patients without these characteristics

Graph analysis and modularity of brain functional connectivity networks: searching for the optimal threshold

Neuroimaging data can be represented as networks of nodes and edges that capture the topological organization of the brain connectivity. Graph theory provides a general and powerful framework to study these networks and their structure at various scales. By way of example, community detection methods have been widely applied to investigate the modular structure of many natural networks, including brain functional connectivity networks. Sparsification procedures are often applied to remove the weakest edges, which are the most affected by experimental noise, and to reduce the density of the graph, thus making it theoretically and computationally more tractable. However, weak links may also contain significant structural information, and procedures to identify the optimal tradeoff are the subject of active research. Here, we explore the use of percolation analysis, a method grounded in statistical physics, to identify the optimal sparsification threshold for community detection in brain connectivity networks. By using synthetic networks endowed with a ground-truth modular structure and realistic topological features typical of human brain functional connectivity networks, we show that percolation analysis can be applied to identify the optimal sparsification threshold that maximizes information on the networks' community structure. We validate this approach using three different community detection methods widely applied to the analysis of brain connectivity networks: Newman's modularity, InfoMap and Asymptotical Surprise. Importantly, we test the effects of noise and data variability, which are critical factors to determine the optimal threshold. This data-driven method should prove particularly useful in the analysis of the community structure of brain networks in populations characterized by different connectivity strengths, such as patients and controls.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure

2001-2011 : Tahrir is Queer

International audienceLe mouvement LGBT serbe porte un espoir arc-en-ciel. La première Marche des Fiertés de Beograd pris place dans le mouvement social qui entraîna la chute de Slobodan Milošević. Les difficultés rencontrées par les organisations LGBT pour organiser une Marche des Fiertés nous rappellent que l'espoir démocratique est fragile et précaire. Ici, la Gay Pride n'est pas l'immense fête urbaine que connaissent désormais les capitales d'Europe occidentale. La condamnation de cette Marche par une partie de l'extrême-gauche serbe montre également qu'il n'existe pas de recette structurelle du mouvement social. Elle laisse entrevoir en filigrane que les mouvements sociaux sont multicolores, transgressent les identités et ne laissent aucun dogme intact. Place Tahrir is Queer.Nous rencontrons Boban Stojanović, militant pacifiste lors de la guerre qui déchira la région, activiste LGBT, aujourd'hui membre du comité d'organisation de la Parada Ponosa. Il revient, depuis sa propre expérience, sur cette Marche des Fiertés de 2011 qui n'eut pas lieu

²¹⁰Pb- ²²⁶Ra chronology reveals rapid growth rate of Madrepora oculata and Lophelia pertusa on world's largest cold-water coral reef

Here we show the use of the 210Pb- 226Ra excess method to determine the growth rate of two corals from the world's largest known cold-water coral reef, Røst Reef, north of the Arctic circle off Norway. Colonies of each of the two species that build the reef, Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata, were collected alive at 350 m depth using a submersible. Pb and Ra isotopes were measured along the major growth axis of both specimens using low level alpha and gamma spectrometry and trace element compositions were studied. 210Pb and 226Ra differ in the way they are incorporated into coral skeletons. Hence, to assess growth rates, we considered the exponential decrease of initially incorporated 210Pb, as well as the increase in 210Pb from the decay of 226Ra and contamination with 210Pb associated with Mn-Fe coatings that we were unable to remove completely from the oldest parts of the skeletons. 226Ra activity was similar in both coral species, so, assuming constant uptake of 210Pb through time, we used the 210Pb- 226Ra chronology to calculate growth rates. The 45.5 cm long branch of M. oculata was 31 yr with an average linear growth rate of 14.4 ± 1.1 mm yr -1 (2.6 polyps per year). Despite cleaning, a correction for Mn-Fe oxide contamination was required for the oldest part of the colony; this correction corroborated our radiocarbon date of 40 yr and a mean growth rate of 2 polyps yr -1. This rate is similar to the one obtained in aquarium experiments under optimal growth conditions. For the 80 cm-long L. pertusa colony, metal-oxide contamination remained in both the middle and basal part of the coral skeleton despite cleaning, inhibiting similar age and growth rate estimates. The youngest part of the colony was free of metal oxides and this 15 cm section had an estimated a growth rate of 8 mm yr -1, with high uncertainty (∼1 polyp every two to three years). We are less certain of this 210Pb growth rate estimate which is within the lowermost ranges of previous growth rate estimates. We show that 210Pb- 226Ra dating can be successfully applied to determine the age and growth rate of framework-forming cold-water corals if Mn-Fe oxide deposits can be removed. Where metal oxides can be removed, large M. oculata and L. pertusa skeletons provide archives for studies of intermediate water masses with an up to annual time resolution and spanning over many decades. © 2012 Author(s)

Ce Qu'il Faut Dire, Détruire, Développer...: A propos de CQFD, mensuel de critique et d'expérimentation sociales

International audienceLe mensuel de « critique et d'expérimentation sociales » CQFD fêtait ses dix ans de publication en mai 2013. A l'occasion de cette livraison de Variations sur la prise de parole, certains des animateurs et contributeurs de ce journal atypique, qui se représente lui-même sous les traits d'un chien rouge à la laisse brisée et aux crocs en avant, nous livrent une réflexion sur leurs activités éditoriales. CQFD pour ce qu'il faut dire, détruire ou développer