La fermeture des paysages dans le Massif central : regards d’habitants sur une question d’experts

Suite au repli de l’agriculture sur les zones les plus productives, de nombreuses terres agricoles se sont boisées naturellement au cours des trois dernières décennies. Les paysages ruraux des zones de moyenne montagne ont changé à tel point que certains acteurs du monde rural parlent de « fermeture du paysage ». Après une évocation rapide de l’émergence de cette thématique sur la scène institutionnelle nationale et locale, nous verrons comment les habitants du causse de Sauveterre (Lozère) perçoivent au quotidien ces dynamiques paysagères. En effet, si les institutions agricoles et environnementales font de la question de la fermeture des paysages un enjeu en termes de biodiversité notamment, les habitants traduisent cette problématique en d’autres termes. Pour eux, l’embroussaillement des anciennes terres de parcours reflètent avant tout une recomposition profonde des liens sociaux. Ils sont aussi très attentifs aux défrichements qui ne signifient pas seulement une « réouverture des paysages », mais s’avèrent être aussi une occasion de redéfinir les droits des différents usagers de l’espace.spatial dynamics, land use, landscape, perception, social representation

Une concertation restreinte pour définir l’intérêt général des espaces forestiers : Regard sur un paradoxe

La concertation est une méthode fréquemment mise en oeuvre pour définir un bien commun localisé. L’objectif est d’obtenir une cohérence et une légitimité plus grande des décisions par rapport à l’action publique classique qui présume une conception préalable de l’intérêt général. Afin d’éviter de privatiser le bien commun local par des intérêts particuliers, les dispositifs d’intervention publique préconisent d’associer une grande diversité d’acteurs au processus délibératif. À partir d’un exemple sur la multifonctionnalité de la forêt dans le sud de la France, on se demandera si l’opérationnalisation de ces principes permet de garantir une définition plus démocratique de l’intérêt général. On a observé que les discussions à propos des fonctions que devait remplir cette forêt ont été menées surtout entre acteurs de la filière bois. Pour autant, la problématique issue du processus délibératif ne cantonne pas la forêt dans un rôle de production. Elle lui assigne une fragile fonction de protection et surtout une fonction sociale (services récréatifs). On assisterait donc à une publicisation de la forêt sur le secteur alors que l’espace de débat ne peut être qualifié de démocratique. Ce constat nous interroge sur le lien communément fait entre la diversité des acteurs associés et le dépassement des intérêts particuliers. Nous proposons des hypothèses explicatives à ce résultat qui peut paraître paradoxal.Participation is frequently implemented to define localized common goods. The aim is to obtain a larger and more coherent legitimacy of the decisions compared to the traditional public action which supposes a preliminary conception of the general interest. In order to avoid the privatization of common goods by private interests, public policies tools recommend to associate a great diversity of actors with the deliberative process. Drawing on experience from a research program on multifonctionality of the forest in the south of France, we will wonder whether the implementation of these principles guarantees a more democratic definition of the public interest. It was observed that the discussions in connection with forest multifunctionality were mainly managed by forest actors. For as much, the problems resulting from the deliberative process do not confine the forest in a role of production. It assigns a fragile function of protection and especially a social function to it (recreational activities). We attend a publicisation of the forest whereas the frame of the participation forums cannot be described as democratic. This paradox questions us on the link commonly established between the stakeholders’ diversity and the protection of their private interests. We propose assumptions to explain this result which can appear paradoxical

Impact of a treatment as prevention strategy on hepatitis C virus transmission and on morbidity in people who inject drugs

Background: Highly effective direct-acting antiviral (DAA) regimens (90% efficacy) are becoming available for hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment. This therapeutic revolution leads us to consider possibility of eradicating the virus. However, for this, an effective cascade of care is required. Methods: In the context of the incoming DAAs, we used a dynamic individual-based model including a model of the people who inject drugs (PWID) social network to simulate the impact of improved testing, linkage to care, and adherence to treatment, and of modified treatment recommendation on the transmission and on the morbidity of HCV in PWID in France. Results: Under the current incidence and cascade of care, with treatment initiated at fibrosis stage $\ge$F2, the HCV prevalence decreased from 42.8% to 24.9% [95% confidence interval 24.8%--24.9%] after 10 years. Changing treatment initiation criteria to treat from F0 was the only intervention leading to a substantial additional decrease in the prevalence, which fell to 11.6% [11.6%--11.7%] at 10 years. Combining this change with improved testing, linkage to care, and adherence to treatment decreased HCV prevalence to 7% [7%--7.1%] at 10 years and avoided 15.3% [14.0%-16.6%] and 29.0% [27.9%--30.1%] of cirrhosis complications over 10 and 40 years respectively. Conclusion: A high decrease in viral transmission occurs only when treatment is initiated before liver disease progresses to severe stages, suggesting that systematic treatment in PWID, where incidence remains high, would be beneficial. However, eradication will be difficult to achieve

Dynamic modelling of hepatitis C virus transmission among people who inject drugs: a methodological review

Equipment sharing among people who inject drugs (PWID) is a key risk factor in infection by hepatitis C virus (HCV). Both the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing HCV transmission in this population (such as opioid substitution therapy, needle exchange programs or improved treatment) are difficult to evaluate using field surveys. Ethical issues and complicated access to the PWID population make it difficult to gather epidemiological data. In this context, mathematical modelling of HCV transmission is a useful alternative for comparing the cost and effectiveness of various interventions. Several models have been developed in the past few years. They are often based on strong hypotheses concerning the population structure. This review presents compartmental and individual-based models in order to underline their strengths and limits in the context of HCV infection among PWID. The final section discusses the main results of the papers

Sensibiliser les forestiers au paysage : ébranler les certitudes, construire ensemble de nouveaux savoirs

Depuis une dizaine d’années, les enjeux paysagers liés à la forêt prennent une place grandissante en France. D’une part, la forêt participe à la transformation des paysages ruraux, par expansion des boisements au sein des espaces agricoles. D’autre part, les regards que la société pose sur les forêts évoluent vite et sont parfois contradictoires : selon un sondage réalisé en novembre 2000 (SOFRES, 2001), 56 % des Français préfèreraient une forêt entretenue et légèrement aménagée, 21 % une for..

ClustOfVar-based approach for unsupervised learning: Reading of synthetic variables with sociological data

This paper proposes an original data mining method for unsupervised learning, replacing traditional factor analysis with a system of variable clustering. Clustering of variables aims to group together variables that are strongly related to each other, i.e. containing the same information. We recently proposed the ClustOfVar method, specifically devoted to variable clustering, regardless of whether the variables are numeric or categorical in nature. It simultaneously provides homogeneous clusters of variables and their corresponding synthetic variables that can be read as a kind of gradient. In this algorithm, the homogeneity criterion of a cluster is defined by the squared Pearson correlation for the numeric variables and by the correlation ratio for the categorical variables. This method was tested on categorical data relating to French farmers and their perception of the environment. The use of synthetic variables provided us with an original approach of identifying the way farmers reconfigured the questions put to them

A record-linkage study of the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in persons with hepatitis C infection in Scotland

We investigated trends in first time hospital admissions and deaths attributable to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in a large population based cohort of 22 073 individuals diagnosed with hepatitis C viral (HCV) infection through laboratory testing in Scotland in 1991 2006. We identified new cases of HCC through record linkage to the national inpatient hospital discharge database and deaths registry. A total of 172 persons diagnosed with HCV were admitted to hospital or died with first time mention of HCC. Hepatocellular carcinoma incidence increased between 1996 and 2006 (average annual change of 6.1, 95% confidence interval (CI):0.9 11.6%, P¼0.021). The adjusted relative risk of HCC was greater for males (hazard ratio¼2.7, 95% CI: 1.7 4.2), for those aged 60 years or older (hazard ratio ¼2.7, 95% CI: 1.9 4.1) compared with 50 59 years, and for those with a previous alcohol related hospital admission (hazard ratio¼2.5, 95% CI: 1.7 3.7). The risk of individuals diagnosed with HCV developing HCC was greatlyincreased compared with the general Scottish population (standardised incidence ratio¼127, 95% CI: 102 156). Owing to the advancing age of the Scottish HCV diagnosed population, the annual number of HCC cases is projected to increase, with a consequent increasing burden on the public healthcare system

Efficacy and Long-Term Follow Up of Combination Therapy with Interferon Alpha and Ribavirin for Chronic Hepatitis C in Korea

Combination therapy with interferon alpha (IFN-α) and ribavirin for 24 or 48 weeks according to HCV genotype has improved the overall sustained virological response (SVR) rates to approximately 40%. The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term efficacy of combination therapy with IFN-α and ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C in Koreans. One hundred thirty-eight patients with chronic hepatitis C who received this combination therapy between 1995 and 2003 were analyzed retrospectively. All patients were treated with IFN-α 3-6 million units three times weekly in combination with 900-1200 mg/day of ribavirin for 24 weeks. The overall SVR rate was 41.3%. Patients were followed up for a median of 41 months (range, 12-105 months) after completion of therapy. In all of the SVR patients (57 patients), SVR was conserved during the follow-up period. None of the patients progressed to decompensated liver disease or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, 5 of the 81 non-SVR patients (6.2%) progressed to decompensated liver disease or HCC. In conclusion, combination therapy with IFN-α and ribavirin shows good long-term efficacy in patients with chronic hepatitis C in Korea, one of the highest endemic areas of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection