The History of Reynard the Fox: How Medieval Literature Reflects Culture

Teaching about the Middle Ages in French culture or literature courses is always an enlightening experience to me because of the richness of symbols, events, and starting points occurring during this time period. Very often, when thinking about the Middle Ages, Christianity, chivalry, and nobility come to mind, all values still of high importance in contemporary Western societies. However, medieval culture presents itself with an array of other behaviors and values, some of which may today be considered as offensive and even sometimes “alienating”: primitive, barbaric, or even animalistic forms of behavior

The Angers Summer Institute: Forty Years and Going Strong!

The following essay will explain how the Angers Summer Institute offered by the University of Northern Iowa started and what has contributed to its many successes for over three decades, such as the choice of courses, staffing and the importance of the host families. The teaching of foreign languages in the United States can be characterized as having had many high and low points. Languages that were in vogue thirty or forty years ago have had to struggle in the past few years. Fifty or so years ago no self-respecting foreign languages department would have considered not offering latin. German and French were judged as extremely important and candidates working on their doctorate degrees were required to pass an exam on their ability to read one of these languages depending on their field of study: German for math and the sciences, French for literature and areas related to the humanities and the arts. Spanish was accepted only in special areas for these graduate students. Times have changed. Latin has disappeared from most high schools and even from many colleges and universities. The study of Russian, which became important during the Cold War because of the tensions that existed between the U.S. and Russia, is struggling. German has disappeared from some programs, French is threatened, and Spanish is flourishing. Japanese and Chinese are two languages that are picking up momentum because of the increasing importance of these countries in today’s world

A Review by Anne Lair of French Women Don’t Get Fat, by Mirielle Guiliano

One of this year\u27s bestsellers in the nation remains French Women Don\u27t Get Fat. More than one million copies have been sold already, and this tremendous success may be attributed to the book\u27s topic, food, which is also one of the \u27hottest\u27 topics to be studied in terms of anthropology, culture, film, and literature within the last fifteen years. While the volume has received much attention by the mainstream media in the United States, I should like to add a different perspective to such voices: I shall place it in the context of French culture, analyze its popularity in the U.S., and try to explain why it would never achieve the same popularity in France

Encore: Intermediate French

ENCORE is an intermediate-level proficiency- and communicative-oriented program. Paired with an engaging mystery and suspense film of the same name, ENCORE is guided by principles of communicative language teaching and research in second language acquisition. Topics and activities are designed to engage students in higher-level thinking while at the same time providing focused work on aspects of language that instructors in a second-year college-level French course expect to find.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/language_books/1011/thumbnail.jp

The Vehicle, Fall 1994

Table of Contents Poetry Noah\u27s WifeJennifer Moropage 8-9 The Intensity of a BreathHeather Anne Winterspage 10-11 When I Was RainNicole Moonpage 11 Wreckage at Low Tide, After a Storm On Cape FearMatt Parkspage 12-14 two belowKeith Spearpage 16 HeatScott Langrenpage 17 Plastic Shard WordsMatthew J. Nelsonpage 18 Mr. Snowplow ManMartin Paul Brittpage 19 Carpe DiemMichael Lairpage 19 untitledWalt Howardpage 20 The GameKellie J. Olsenpage 21 AT PEACEJennifer Surmanpage 22 SawdustSue Songerpage 23 Photography Unbound RealitiesKris Quiriconipage 26 untitled Mark Porter page 27 untitled Mark Porter page 28 untitled Mark Porter page 29 Prose I am Here...RememberingJ. Dylan McNeillpage 32-34 RecognitionSue Songerpage 35-36 SACCADICSteve Beinpage 37-40 The BurnBryan Levekpage 41-45 Biographiespage 46-48https://thekeep.eiu.edu/vehicle/1063/thumbnail.jp

The Vehicle, Fall 1994

Table of Contents Poetry Noah\u27s WifeJennifer Moropage 8-9 The Intensity of a BreathHeather Anne Winterspage 10-11 When I Was RainNicole Moonpage 11 Wreckage at Low Tide, After a Storm On Cape FearMatt Parkspage 12-14 two belowKeith Spearpage 16 HeatScott Langrenpage 17 Plastic Shard WordsMatthew J. Nelsonpage 18 Mr. Snowplow ManMartin Paul Brittpage 19 Carpe DiemMichael Lairpage 19 untitledWalt Howardpage 20 The GameKellie J. Olsenpage 21 AT PEACEJennifer Surmanpage 22 SawdustSue Songerpage 23 Photography Unbound RealitiesKris Quiriconipage 26 untitled Mark Porter page 27 untitled Mark Porter page 28 untitled Mark Porter page 29 Prose I am Here...RememberingJ. Dylan McNeillpage 32-34 RecognitionSue Songerpage 35-36 SACCADICSteve Beinpage 37-40 The BurnBryan Levekpage 41-45 Biographiespage 46-48https://thekeep.eiu.edu/vehicle/1063/thumbnail.jp

Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in Luxembourg according to the Joint Interim Statement definition estimated from the ORISCAV-LUX study

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MS) has been determined in many countries worldwide but never in Luxembourg. This research aimed to 1) establish the gender- and age-specific prevalence of MS and its components in the general adult population of Luxembourg, according to the most recent Joint Interim Statement (JIS) definition, by using both the high and low cut-off points to define abdominal obesity, and 2) compare and assess the degree of agreement with the Revised National Cholesterol Education Programme-Adult Treatment Panel III (R-ATPIII) and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) definitions. METHODS: A representative stratified random sample of 1349 European subjects, aged 18-69 years, participated to ORISCAV-LUX survey. Logistic regression and odds ratios (OR) were used to study MS prevalence with respect to gender and age. The Framingham risk score (FRS) to predict the 10-year coronary heart disease (CHD) risk was calculated to compare the proportion of MS cases below or above 20%, according to both high and low waist circumference (WC) thresholds. Cohen's kappa coefficient (kappa) was utilized to measure the degree of agreement between MS definitions. RESULTS: The prevalence of the MS defined by the JIS was 28.0% and 24.7% when using the low (94/80) and the high (102/88) WC cut-off points, respectively. The prevalence was significantly higher in men than in women (OR = 2.6 and 2.3 for the low and high WC thresholds), as were all components of the MS except abdominal obesity measured by both thresholds. It also increased with age (OR values in age categories ranging from 2.7 to 28 when compared to the younger subjects for low WC and from 3.3 to 31 for the high WC cut-offs). The 10-year predicted risk of CHD by FRS did not depend on the threshold used. Globally, excellent agreement was observed between the three definitions of MS (kappa= 0.89), in particular between JIS and IDF (kappa = 0.93). Agreement was significantly higher in women than in men, and differed between age groups. CONCLUSION: Regardless of the definition used, the adult population of Luxembourg reveals a high MS prevalence. Our findings contribute to build evidence regarding the definitive construct of the MS, to help selecting the waist circumference thresholds for Europid populations, and to support the need to revise the guidelines for abdominal obesity levels

First nationwide survey on cardiovascular risk factors in Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg (ORISCAV-LUX)

BACKGROUND: The ORISCAV-LUX study is the first baseline survey of an on-going cardiovascular health monitoring programme in Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. The main objectives of the present manuscript were 1) to describe the study design and conduct, and 2) to present the salient outcomes of the study, in particular the prevalence of the potentially modifiable and treatable cardiovascular disease risk factors in the adult population residing in Luxembourg. METHOD: ORISCAV-LUX is a cross-sectional study based on a random sample of 4496 subjects, stratified by gender, age categories and district, drawn from the national insurance registry of 18-69 years aged Luxembourg residents, assuming a response rate of 30% and a proportion of 5% of institutionalized subjects in each stratum. The cardiovascular health status was assessed by means of a self-administered questionnaire, clinical and anthropometric measures, as well as by blood, urine and hair examinations. The potentially modifiable and treatable risk factors studied included smoking, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and obesity. Both univariate and multivariate statistical analyses used weighted methods to account for the stratified sampling scheme. RESULTS: A total of 1432 subjects took part in the survey, yielding a participation rate of 32.2%. This figure is higher than the minimal sample size of 1285 subjects as estimated by power calculation. The most predominant cardiovascular risk factors were dyslipidemia (69.9%), hypertension (34.5%), smoking (22.3%), and obesity (20.9%), while diabetes amounted 4.4%. All prevalence rates increased with age (except smoking) with marked gender differences (except diabetes). There was a significant difference in the prevalence of hypertension and of lipid disorders by geographic region of birth. The proportion of subjects cumulating two or more cardiovascular risk factors increased remarkably with age and was more predominant in men than in women (P<0.0001). Only 14.7% of men and 23.1% of women were free of any cardiovascular risk factor. High prevalence of non-treated CVRF, notably for hypertension and dyslipidemia, were observed in the study population. CONCLUSION: The population-based ORISCAV-LUX survey revealed a high prevalence of potentially modifiable and treatable cardiovascular risk factors among apparently healthy subjects; significant gender and age-specific differences were seen not only for single but also for combined risk factors. From a public health perspective, these preliminary findings stress the urgent need for early routine health examinations, preventive interventions and lifestyle behavioural changes, even in young asymptomatic adults, to decrease cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in Luxembourg

The epidemiology of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in community-living seniors: protocol of the MemoVie cohort study, Luxembourg

BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are increasingly considered a major public health problem. The MemoVie cohort study aims to investigate the living conditions or risk factors under which the normal cognitive capacities of the senior population in Luxembourg (≥ 65 year-old) evolve (1) to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) – transitory non-clinical stage – and (2) to AD. Identifying MCI and AD predictors undeniably constitutes a challenge in public health in that it would allow interventions which could protect or delay the occurrence of cognitive disorders in elderly people. In addition, the MemoVie study sets out to generate hitherto unavailable data, and a comprehensive view of the elderly population in the country. METHODS/DESIGN: The study has been designed with a view to highlighting the prevalence in Luxembourg of MCI and AD in the first step of the survey, conducted among participants selected from a random sample of the general population. A prospective cohort is consequently set up in the second step, and appropriate follow-up of the non-demented participants allows improving the knowledge of the preclinical stage of MCI. Case-control designs are used for cross-sectional or retrospective comparisons between outcomes and biological or clinical factors. To ensure maximal reliability of the information collected, we decided to opt for structured face to face interviews. Besides health status, medical and family history, demographic and socio-cultural information are explored, as well as education, habitat network, social behavior, leisure and physical activities. As multilingualism is expected to challenge the cognitive alterations associated with pathological ageing, it is additionally investigated. Data relative to motor function, including balance, walk, limits of stability, history of falls and accidents are further detailed. Finally, biological examinations, including ApoE genetic polymorphism are carried out. In addition to standard blood parameters, the lipid status of the participants is subsequently determined from the fatty acid profiles in their red blood cells. The study obtained the legal and ethical authorizations. DISCUSSION: By means of the multidisciplinary MemoVie study, new insights into the onset of cognitive impairment during aging should be put forward, much to the benefit of intervention strategies as a whole