bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of Intervillous Thrombi is Increased in Placentas from Pregnancies Complicated by Diabetes
Authors: Basnet Kristen M. , Bentley-Lewis Rhonda , Wexler Deborah J. , Kilic Fusun , Roberts Drucilla J.
Published: December 2015

Intervillous thrombus (IVT) is a placental pathology of unclear cause. One possible cause is that IVT protects against fetomaternal transfusion due to trophoblastic disruption. A role for hyperglycemia in trophoblast apoptosis has been suggested. We sought to determine whether placentas from pregnancies complicated by diabetes had an increased incidence of IVT. Medical records of 206 patients with type 1 diabetes (n = 39), type 2 diabetes (n = 37), and gestational diabetes (GDM, n = 130) at the Massachusetts General Hospital were identified. Placental pathology reports were reviewed to determine prevalence of IVT. Gestational and maternal age-matched controls were selected from the pathology archives consisting of placentas examined only for the indication of group B streptococcus screen positivity; controls were confirmed euglycemic and reviewed for IVT. Fisher exact test was used for statistical analysis. An increased incidence of IVT was present in all diabetics (type 1, type 2, and GDM; 32 of 206; 15.5%; P = 0.04) and GDM exclusively (22 of 130; 16.9%; P = 0.03) versus controls (7 of 99; 7.1%). IVT were also increased in patients with type 1 diabetes (4 of 39; 10.3%) and type 2 diabetes (6 of 37; 16.2%) compared to controls (7 of 99; 7.1%), but the results did not attain statistical significance ( P = 0.73 and 0.19, respectively). The incidence of IVT was increased in the placentas of patients with diabetes as a group (type 1, type 2, and GDM), and in patients with GDM in particular. This is the first report of an association between diabetes and an increased incidence of placental IVT.
The Field Of A Step–Like Accelerated Point Charge: Liénard–Wiechert Potentials And Čerenkov Shock Waves Revisited
Authors: Šumichrast L’ubomír
Published: December 2015

Scalar and vector potential as well as the electromagnetic field of a moving point charge is a nice example how the application of symbolic functions (distributions) in electromagnetics makes it easier to obtain and interpret solutions of otherwise hardly solvable problems.
Caricaturing Colonial Space: Indigenized, Feminized Bodies and Anglo-Canadian Identity, 1873–94
Authors: Nielson Carmen J.
Published: December 2015

During the 1870s and 1880s, when cartoonists working for Britain's most popular satirical magazine, Punch, wanted to represent Canada visually, they drew on centuries' old artistic conventions that depicted America, and, later, British North America, as a woman and an “Indian.” During the same period, in Canada's most popular satirical magazine, Grip, normative portrayals of the embodied nation were unambiguously white. The visual trope of an indigenized, feminized body was enlisted instead to represent Manitoba and the North-West Territories. This imagery disavowed British depictions of Canada as a racialized and colonized subject and relocated the identity of the colonial Other onto the Prairie West. In other words, Grip's images constituted a representational politics that involved both “looking back” at Empire and directing the imperial gaze onto others.
Transforming Choices: The Marginalization of Gender-Specific Policy Making in Canadian Approaches to Women's Federal Imprisonment
Authors: Montford Kelly Struthers
Published: December 2015

In 2008, the Correctional Service of Canada accepted the 2007 report of Correctional Service of Canada Review Panel, A Roadmap to Strengthening Public Safety. This document provides the basis for the “transformation agenda” that now guides the administration of imprisonment for all populations. For federally sentenced women, this approach coexists with the recommendations made by the Task Force for Federally Sentenced Women in their 1990 report, Creating Choices. This analysis compares the composition of the committees responsible for these documents, their mandates, their consultation processes, and how these factors shaped their respective conclusions and recommendations. While Creating Choices can be understood as a feminist policy document, Roadmap employs a gender-neutral law-and-order discourse—its authors assume that the recommendations they make for male prisoners can be applied to women and minority groups. Shifting discourses about women, gender equality, and imprisonment are evident and are consistent with Laureen Snider's argument that the dominant conceptualization of imprisoned women has changed from that of the “woman in trouble” to that of the “atavistic woman.” Its implementation marks a shift in the trajectory of women's imprisonment and is a material example of the marginalization of gender considerations in public policy.
Towards a Literary Jurisprudence of Harm: Rewriting the Aboriginal Child in Law's Imaginary of Violence
Authors: van Rijswijk Honni
Published: December 2015

The figure of the “abused Aboriginal child” haunts the Australian legal imaginary in ways that are both poignant and dangerous. This article examines the role this figure has played in assertions of Australian law's violent jurisdictions, in the past and in the present. I examine the narratives that support law's claims to authority and jurisdiction over Aboriginal communities, arguing that practices of representation—narrative, figuration, and what we might more widely think of as “law's imaginary”—need to be interrogated and challenged as an important means of intervening in law's violent jurisdictions. We need to engage in what I term here a literary jurisprudence to intervene in law's claims to authority and jurisdiction that are based on narratives of purported harm to the Aboriginal child. “Haunting” is used to think through the significance of the legal imagination in two ways: first, the ways in which narratives in legal and state archives affect culture and politics and, second, the ways in which law's imaginary—its figures and narratives—affect judicial outcomes, perhaps in ways that function beyond logic. To say that law is haunted by the figure of the abused Aboriginal child is to point to the affective, political, legal, and imaginative afterlife of narratives and figurations that are part of law and that are not ended with each case or legislative regime but that, unresolved, are always living on.

I provide a reading of harm in the novels of Alexis Wright, a leading Australian novelist. I argue that Wright's novels can be read together as an exemplary text that counters state law's representational practices and claims. What is needed to resist the use of the child figure as the occasion for further violence, I argue, and what this reading provides, can be described as a “counter-imaginary” to the law. This counter-imaginary rewrites law's narratives and figures, connects that which law has separated, and makes visible that which law has occluded. In particular, each of Wright's three novels Plains of Promise (1997), Carpentaria (2006), and The Swan Book (2013) is concerned with the relation of harm to questions of Aboriginal authority. Together, all three of Wright's novels provide a developed counter-imaginary to law's continuing assertions of authority over Aboriginal people from the early twentieth century to the present, which are based on the figure of the “abused Aboriginal child.”
Entropy and Quantum Gravity
Authors: Kay Bernard
Published: December 2015

We give a review, in the style of an essay, of the author’s 1998 matter-gravity entanglement hypothesis which, unlike the standard approach to entropy based on coarse-graining, offers a definition for the entropy of a closed system as a real and objective quantity. We explain how this approach offers an explanation for the Second Law of Thermodynamics in general and a non-paradoxical understanding of information loss during black hole formation and evaporation in particular. It also involves a radically different from usual description of black hole equilibrium states in which the total state of a black hole in a box together with its atmosphere is a pure state—entangled in just such a way that the reduced state of the black hole and of its atmosphere are each separately approximately thermal. We also briefly recall some recent work of the author which involves a reworking of the string-theory understanding of black hole entropy consistent with this alternative description of black hole equilibrium states and point out that this is free from some unsatisfactory features of the usual string theory understanding. We also recall the author’s recent arguments based on this alternative description which suggest that the Anti de Sitter space (AdS)/conformal field theory (CFT) correspondence is a bijection between the boundary CFT and just the matter degrees of freedom of the bulk theory.
Community Forestry Incentives and Challenges in Mozambique
Authors: Sitoe Almeida , Guedes Benard
Published: December 2015

Although communities have been living within forests and dependent on forest resources, in Mozambique, their role was not formally recognized until the late 1990s. The forest law of 1997 was the first to refer to communities as stakeholders in the forest sector, in line with the national Policy and Strategy for the Development of the Forestry and Wildlife Sector. As a new element, several pilot projects were established during the late 1990s and early 2000s to produce lessons that would inform policy and technical aspects. Community forestry received most of the attention until the first decade of this century, however, it seems that while communities have gained a role in the management of the forest sector, there are still challenges to fully implementing and securing community forestry initiatives. In this study, we document the advent and evolution of community forestry in Mozambique, discuss the conditions for success in community forestry, and discuss two cases of community forestry that have survived over beyond the end of external support. We conclude that devolution and training are the basic incentives, but additional incentives, including diversification of sources of revenue from non-destructive forestry activities, are required to maintain the stability of community forestry over time.
Active Travel by Built Environment and Lifecycle Stage: Case Study of Osaka Metropolitan Area
Authors: Waygood E. , Sun Yilin , Letarte Laurence
Published: December 2015

Active travel can contribute to physical activity achieved over a day. Previous studies have examined active travel associated with trips in various western countries, but few studies have examined this question for the Asian context. Japan has high levels of cycling, walking and public transport, similar to The Netherlands. Most studies have focused either on children or on adults separately, however, having children in a household will change the travel needs and wants of that household. Thus, here a household lifecycle stage approach is applied. Further, unlike many previous studies, the active travel related to public transport is included. Lastly, further to examining whether the built environment has an influence on the accumulation of active travel minutes, a binary logistic regression examines the built environment’s influence on the World Health Organization’s recommendations of physical activity. The findings suggest that there is a clear distinction between the urbanized centers and the surrounding towns and unurbanized areas. Further, active travel related to public transport trips is larger than pure walking trips. Females and children are more likely to achieve the WHO recommendations. Finally, car ownership is a strong negative influence.
Development and Characterization of Novel Films Based on Sulfonamide-Chitosan Derivatives for Potential Wound Dressing
Authors: Dragostin Oana , Samal Sangram , Lupascu Florentina , Pânzariu Andreea , Dubruel Peter , Lupascu Dan , Tuchilus Cristina , Vasile Cornelia , Profire Lenuta
Published: December 2015

The objective of this study was to develop new films based on chitosan functionalized with sulfonamide drugs (sulfametoxydiazine, sulfadiazine, sulfadimetho-xine, sulfamethoxazol, sulfamerazine, sulfizoxazol) in order to enhance the biological effects of chitosan. The morphology and physical properties of functionalized chitosan films as well the antioxidant effects of sulfonamide-chitosan derivatives were investigated. The chitosan-derivative films showed a rough surface and hydrophilic properties, which are very important features for their use as a wound dressing. The film based on chitosan-sulfisoxazol (CS-S6) showed the highest swelling ratio (197%) and the highest biodegradation rate (63.04%) in comparison to chitosan film for which the swelling ratio was 190% and biodegradation rate was only 10%. Referring to the antioxidant effects the most active was chitosan-sulfamerazine (CS-S5) which was 8.3 times more active than chitosan related to DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging ability. This compound showed also a good ferric reducing power and improved total antioxidant capacity.
Elicitation of Diosgenin Production in Trigonella foenum-graecum (Fenugreek) Seedlings by Methyl Jasmonate
Authors: Chaudhary Spandan , Chikara Surendra , Sharma Mahesh , Chaudhary Abhinav , Alam Syed Bakhtiyar , Chaudhary Pooja , Mehta Aditya , Patel Maulik , Ghosh Arpita , Iriti Marcello
Published: December 2015

The effects of methyl jasmonate (MeJA), an elicitor of plant defense mechanisms, on the biosynthesis of diosgenin, a steroidal saponin, were investigated in six fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) varieties (Gujarat Methi-2, Kasuri-1, Kasuri-2, Pusa Early Branching, Rajasthan Methi and Maharashtra Methi-5). Treatment with 0.01% MeJA increased diosgenin levels, in 12 days old seedlings, from 0.5%–0.9% to 1.1%–1.8%. In addition, MeJA upregulated the expression of two pivotal genes of the mevalonate pathway, the metabolic route leading to diosgenin: 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMG) and sterol-3-β-glucosyl transferase (STRL). In particular, MeJA increased the expression of HMG and STRL genes by 3.2- and 22.2-fold, respectively, in the Gujarat Methi-2 variety, and by 25.4- and 28.4-fold, respectively, in the Kasuri-2 variety. Therefore, MeJA may be considered a promising elicitor for diosgenin production by fenugreek plants.
Melt-Flow Behaviours of Thermoplastic Materials under Fire Conditions: Recent Experimental Studies and Some Theoretical Approaches
Authors: Joseph Paul , Tretsiakova-McNally Svetlana
Published: December 2015

Polymeric materials often exhibit complex combustion behaviours encompassing several stages and involving solid phase, gas phase and interphase. A wide range of qualitative, semi-quantitative and quantitative testing techniques are currently available, both at the laboratory scale and for commercial purposes, for evaluating the decomposition and combustion behaviours of polymeric materials. They include, but are not limited to, techniques such as: thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), oxygen bomb calorimetry, limiting oxygen index measurements (LOI), Underwriters Laboratory 94 (UL-94) tests, cone calorimetry, etc. However, none of the above mentioned techniques are capable of quantitatively deciphering the underpinning physiochemical processes leading to the melt flow behaviour of thermoplastics. Melt-flow of polymeric materials can constitute a serious secondary hazard in fire scenarios, for example, if they are present as component parts of a ceiling in an enclosure. In recent years, more quantitative attempts to measure the mass loss and melt-drip behaviour of some commercially important chain- and step-growth polymers have been accomplished. The present article focuses, primarily, on the experimental and some theoretical aspects of melt-flow behaviours of thermoplastics under heat/fire conditions.
Simulation of the Impact of Si Shell Thickness on the Performance of Si-Coated Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanofiber as Li-Ion Battery Anode
Authors: Das Susobhan , Li Jun , Hui Rongqing
Published: December 2015

Micro- and nano-structured electrodes have the potential to improve the performance of Li-ion batteries by increasing the surface area of the electrode and reducing the diffusion distance required by the charged carriers. We report the numerical simulation of Lithium-ion batteries with the anode made of core-shell heterostructures of silicon-coated carbon nanofibers. We show that the energy capacity can be significantly improved by reducing the thickness of the silicon anode to the dimension comparable or less than the Li-ion diffusion length inside silicon. The results of simulation indicate that the contraction of the silicon electrode thickness during the battery discharge process commonly found in experiments also plays a major role in the increase of the energy capacity.
Robust Hand Motion Tracking through Data Fusion of 5DT Data Glove and Nimble VR Kinect Camera Measurements
Authors: Arkenbout Ewout , De Winter Joost , Breedveld Paul
Published: December 2015

Vision based interfaces for human computer interaction have gained increasing attention over the past decade. This study presents a data fusion approach of the Nimble VR vision based system, using the Kinect camera, with the contact based 5DT Data Glove. Data fusion was achieved through a Kalman filter. The Nimble VR and filter output were compared using measurements performed on (1) a wooden hand model placed in various static postures and orientations; and (2) three differently sized human hands during active finger flexions. Precision and accuracy of joint angle estimates as a function of hand posture and orientation were determined. Moreover, in light of possible self-occlusions of the fingers in the Kinect camera images, data completeness was assessed. Results showed that the integration of the Data Glove through the Kalman filter provided for the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints of the fingers a substantial improvement of 79% in precision, from 2.2 deg to 0.9 deg. Moreover, a moderate improvement of 31% in accuracy (being the mean angular deviation from the true joint angle) was established, from 24 deg to 17 deg. The metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint was relatively unaffected by the Kalman filter. Moreover, the Data Glove increased data completeness, thus providing a substantial advantage over the sole use of the Nimble VR system.
Event Coverage Detection and Event Source Determination in Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Zhou Zhangbing , Xing Riliang , Duan Yucong , Zhu Yueqin , Xiang Jianming
Published: December 2015

With the advent of the Internet of Underwater Things, smart things are deployed in the ocean space and establish underwater wireless sensor networks for the monitoring of vast and dynamic underwater environments. When events are found to have possibly occurred, accurate event coverage should be detected, and potential event sources should be determined for the enactment of prompt and proper responses. To address this challenge, a technique that detects event coverage and determines event sources is developed in this article. Specifically, the occurrence of possible events corresponds to a set of neighboring sensor nodes whose sensory data may deviate from a normal sensing range in a collective fashion. An appropriate sensor node is selected as the relay node for gathering and routing sensory data to sink node(s). When sensory data are collected at sink node(s), the event coverage is detected and represented as a weighted graph, where the vertices in this graph correspond to sensor nodes and the weight specified upon the edges reflects the extent of sensory data deviating from a normal sensing range. Event sources are determined, which correspond to the barycenters in this graph. The results of the experiments show that our technique is more energy efficient, especially when the network topology is relatively steady.
Subjective Quality Assessment of Underwater Video for Scientific Applications
Authors: Moreno-Roldán José-Miguel , Luque-Nieto Miguel-Ángel , Poncela Javier , Díaz-del-Río Víctor , Otero Pablo
Published: December 2015

Underwater video services could be a key application in the better scientific knowledge of the vast oceanic resources in our planet. However, limitations in the capacity of current available technology for underwater networks (UWSNs) raise the question of the feasibility of these services. When transmitting video, the main constraints are the limited bandwidth and the high propagation delays. At the same time the service performance depends on the needs of the target group. This paper considers the problems of estimations for the Mean Opinion Score (a standard quality measure) in UWSNs based on objective methods and addresses the topic of quality assessment in potential underwater video services from a subjective point of view. The experimental design and the results of a test planned according standardized psychometric methods are presented. The subjects used in the quality assessment test were ocean scientists. Video sequences were recorded in actual exploration expeditions and were processed to simulate conditions similar to those that might be found in UWSNs. Our experimental results show how videos are considered to be useful for scientific purposes even in very low bitrate conditions.
A Vibrotactile and Plantar Force Measurement-Based Biofeedback System: Paving the Way towards Wearable Balance-Improving Devices
Authors: Ma Christina , Wan Anson , Wong Duo , Zheng Yong-Ping , Lee Winson
Published: December 2015

Although biofeedback systems have been used to improve balance with success, they were confined to hospital training applications. Little attempt has been made to investigate the use of in-shoe plantar force measurement and wireless technology to turn hospital training biofeedback systems into wearable devices. This research developed a wearable biofeedback system which detects body sway by analyzing the plantar force and provides users with the corresponding haptic cues. The effects of this system were evaluated in thirty young and elderly subjects with simulated reduced foot sensation. Subjects performed a Romberg test under three conditions: (1) no socks, system turned-off; (2) wearing five layers of socks, system turned-off; (3) wearing five layers of socks, and system turned-on. Degree of body sway was investigated by computing the center of pressure (COP) movement measured by a floor-mounted force platform. Plantar tactile sensation was evaluated using a monofilament test. Wearing multiple socks significantly decreased the plantar tactile sensory input (p < 0.05), and increased the COP parameters (p < 0.017), indicating increased postural sway. After turning on the biofeedback system, the COP parameters decreased significantly (p < 0.017). The positive results of this study should inspire future development of wearable plantar force-based biofeedback systems for improving balance in people with sensory deficits.
Understanding and Supporting “Families with Complex Needs”: An Editorial
Authors: Hughes Nathan , Munoz-Guzman Carolina
Published: December 2015

Family forms are many and varied, reflecting a myriad of understandings and influencing factors. [...]
L'évolution d'une commune landaise proche de Bordeaux : Cestas
Authors: Grandet Claude
Published: December 2015

La commune de Cestas peut être prise pour type de l'évolution économique de la région landaise. Mais la proximité de- Bordeaux est le facteur essentiel de son originalité. La mise en valeur traditionnelle du sol reposait sur la coexistence des vastes terres de parcours à moutons, sans arbres, inondées l'hiver, et d'une faible proportion de terres drainées cultivées en seigle ou millet, ou boisées. Dès la fin du xvme siècle, on discerne à Cestas les premiers signes d'une., évolution ; les bourgeois bordelais enrichis par le commerce avec les Antilles investissent leurs capitaux dans les landes cestadaises ; ils sont les pionniers des premières transformations. Au xixe siècle, c'est à Cestas que Gnambrelent situe sa terre d'expériences. Dès lors, la forêt de pins s'empare du paysage. La population s'accroît ; le niveau de vie s'élève avec le développement des plantations et les revenus qu'elles procurent. Mais à partir de 1936, les désastres s'accumulent sur le pignada, seule ressource du pays. Actuellement, Cestas pose tout le problème de la restauration des Landes de Gascogne
Les quartiers de l'agglomération bordelaise. Faubourgs industriels et banlieues
Authors: Barrère Pierre
Published: December 2015

Les quartiers de l'agglomération bordelaise, 3e article : Faubourgs industriels et banlieues. — La grosse industrie, établie on quatre foyers symétriques sur les rives de la Garonne a fait naître des quartiers strictement prolétariens sur les marges desquels les conditions d'habitabilité peuvent être extrêmement médiocres. L'originalité de la rive droite (La Bastide) est renforcée par l'influence des gares sur la disposition de l'habitat et sur la composition des : populations. La ceinture d'habitat dissocié de la rive gauche ne subit qu'une pénétration industrielle modeste et discontinue ; elle est au contraire le siège des principales migrations alternantes unissant le centre et les banlieues. Les vieux bourgs ruraux (Pessac, Mérignac, Le Bouscat) y constituent seuls des unités vivaces alors que dans les lotissements récents la notion de quartier s'estompe souvent. La politique actuelle de construction H.L.M. qui atteint exclusivement les faubourgs industriels et les banlieues peut y introduire des structures élémentaires solides.
Le relief de haute montagne dans les massifs de Luchon et des Monts Maudits
Authors: Galibert Gérard
Published: December 2015

La haute montagne est définie comme un domaine morphoclimatique dont la limite inférieure atteint 2 500 m environ dans les Pyrénées centrales. Le défoncement plus ou moins accentué du relief préglaciaire par les glaciers quaternaires permet de distinguer divers types de formes : crêtes aplanies en «boulevards», crêtes aiguisées en «lames de sabres», sommets en forme de «pyramides tronquées». Le cachet du relief, par contre, est dû aux processus d'érosion actuels, très différents suivant l'exposition : les versants nord, massifs, évoluent sous l'effet d'une désagrégation mécanique peu active, commandée seulement par les variations de la température de l'air. Les versants sud, profondément burinés au contraire, évoluent sous l'effet d une intense désagrégation mécanique provoquée par de nombreuses alternances de dégel-gel. L'intensité du rayonnement solaire direct (maxima de 1,55 cal.g./cm/heure à 2 500 m) et diffus (totaux de 600 à 700 calg/cm/jour à 2 500 m au mois de juillet), presque deux fois plus élevée en haute montagne, où l'air est sec, qu'en plaine, est responsable du phénomène, plus que la durée de l'insolation. es avalanches n'ont une action morphologique qu'en moyenne montagne, entre 1 800 et 2 500 m, où elles creusent de nombreux couloirs. L'étude des processus morphologiques permet donc de définir avec précision un étagement e formes du relief.
Etudes hydrologiques sur les rivières françaises du Sud-Ouest
Authors: Pardé Maurice
Published: December 2015

Historique des observations. Etude détaillée de l'hydrologie du réseau du haut Tarn : débits moyens annuels, variations saisonnières, étiages, crues.
Les coteaux de Jurançon et de Monein. Problème d'habitat et de structure agraire
Authors: Lerat Serge
Published: December 2015

La mise en valeur des coteaux de Jurançon et de Monein date essentiellement du Moyen-Âge et du début des temps modernes. Une vieille paysannerie y pratique une polyculture de type aquitain dans laquelle la vigne constitue un élément de commercialisation. De renommée très ancienne, le « Jurançon » a de tout temps alimenté un commerce d'exportation, notamment au XVIIIe siècle vers les pays de la mer du Nord. Les crises du vignoble, les malfaçons des intermédiaires, la fermeture de certains marchés ont provoqué la décadence relative de ce trafic. Une tentative actuelle de coopération constitue un des éléments d'avenir du vignoble, joint à une modernisation indispensable de l'exploitation rurale. Le voisinage de l'agglomération paloise tend à modifier partiellement les genres de vie de la région de Jurançon.
Les manuscrits d'un bibliophile bourguignon du XVe siècle, Jean de Wavrin
Authors: Naber Antoinette
Published: December 2015

Le fait que Jean de Wavrin (chroniqueur et chambellan sous Philippe le Bon) ait été un bibliophile remarquable, n'a pas passé inaperçu. Pourtant, la composition de sa collection de manuscrits est restée peu connue. Une liste de manuscrits qui portent ses armes ou sa signature n'est pas aussi longue que les publications antérieures le faisaient supposer. Elle nous permet de constater cependant que son goût littéraire allait aux romans de chevalerie qui se déroulent dans le Nord de la France et aux œuvres inspirées de l'Antiquité : un goût bien bourguignon. Contrairement aux œuvres «classiques», les manuscrits contenant les romans de chevalerie forment un corpus homogène : ils ont une «origine commune», l'atelier du «Maître de Wavrin», qui a trouvé parmi ses clients même le duc de Bourgogne.
Quelques signes de l'affirmation de l'INSEE de 1946 à 1986 ou les difficultés d'un commencement
Authors: Touchelay Béatrice
Published: December 2015

C'est à la faveur des réformes de la Libération qu'est créé l'Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques. Héritier de l'appareil statistique de l'entre-deux-guerres et du régime de Vichy il se voit attribuer une mission fondamentale. Pourtant ses premières années sont difficiles ; victime privilégiée des restrictions budgétaires il n'a pas les moyens de remplir sa mission avec efficacité. L'organisme reste isolé jusqu'aux années soixante. Son affirmation s'effectue par étapes successives ce qui donne un aspect bigarré à son recrutement. Plusieurs "styles" y cohabitent ce qui garantit l'existence des débats internes et accroît la fiabilité de l'outil statistique.
Core Standards of the EUBIROD Project
Authors: Carinci F. , Brillante M. , Leese G. P. , McAlpine R. R. , Azzopardi J. , Beck P. , Bratina N. , Bocquet V. , Doggen K. , Jarosz-Chobot P. K. , Jecht M. , Lindblad U. , Moulton T. , Metelko Ž. , Nagy A. , Olympios G. , Pruna S. , Skeie S. , Storms F. , Di Iorio C. T. , Benedetti M. Massi , Cunningham S. G.
Published: December 2015

Background: A set of core diabetes indicators were identified in a clinical review of current evidence for the EUBIROD project. In order to allow accurate comparisons of diabetes indicators, a standardised currency for data storage and aggregation was required. We aimed to define a robust European data dictionary with appropriate clinical definitions that can be used to analyse diabetes outcomes and provide the foundation for data collection from existing electronic health records for diabetes.

Methods: Existing clinical datasets used by 15 partner institutions across Europe were collated and common data items analysed for consistency in terms of recording, data definition and units of measurement. Where necessary, data mappings and algorithms were specified in order to allow partners to meet the standard definitions. A series of descriptive elements were created to document metadata for each data item, including recording, consistency, completeness and quality.

Results: While datasets varied in terms of consistency, it was possible to create a common standard that could be used by all. The minimum dataset defined 53 data items that were classified according to their feasibility and validity. Mappings and standardised definitions were used to create an electronic directory for diabetes care, providing the foundation for the EUBIROD data analysis repository, also used to implement the diabetes registry and model of care for Cyprus.

Conclusions: The development of data dictionaries and standards can be used to improve the quality and comparability of health information. A data dictionary has been developed to be compatible with other existing data sources for diabetes, within and beyond Europe.
Effects of RNA Interference Therapy against Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Encephalitis
Authors: Da Silva Alexandre S , Raposo Jéssica V , Pereira Tiago C , Pinto Marcelo A , De Paula Vanessa S
Published: December 2015

Background

Herpetic encephalitis (HSE) is caused mainly by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) with an annual incidence of 1–4 cases/million inhabitants. Currently, HSE treatment faces difficulties such as the use of antivirals with elevated toxicity, metabolic side effects and HSV-1 resistance. An alternative to antivirals is the use of small interfering RNA (siRNA) as a viral replication inhibitor. In this work, siRNA targeting the UL-39 region was evaluated for HSE treatment in vivo.

Methods

BALB/c mice were inoculated with HSV-1 and treated with siRNA. The treatment was evaluated through kinetics of HSV-1 replication inhibition, number of siRNA doses administered and treatment with siRNA plus acyclovir. All groups were evaluated for signs of HSE, mortality and HSV-1 replication inhibition.

Results

The treated group of the kinetic experiment demonstrated a reduction of HSE signs and an HSV-1 replication inhibition of 43.6–99.9% in the brain and 53–98% in trigeminal ganglia (TG). Animals treated with one or two doses of siRNA had a prolonged survival time, reduced clinical signs of HSE and HSV-1 replication inhibition of 67.7% in brains and 85.7% in TG of animals treated with two doses of siRNA. Also, animals treated with siRNA plus acyclovir demonstrated reduced signs of HSE and mortality, as well as HSV-1 replication inhibition in the brain (83.2%) and TG (74.5%).

Conclusions

These findings demonstrated that siRNA was capable of reducing HSE clinical signs, prolonging survival time and inhibiting HSV-1 replication in mice. Thus, siRNA can be a potential alternative to the standard HSE treatment especially to reduce clinical signs and extend survival time in vivo.
Impact of Platelet-Rich Plasma on Bone Height Changes around Platform Switched Implants Supporting Mandibular Overdentures in Controlled Diabetic Patients
Authors: Ibraheem Eman Mostafa Ahmed , Eldeen Amany Mohy
Published: December 2015

BACKGROUND: The platform switching concept was recently introduced to implant dentistry involving the reduction of restoration abutment diameter with respect to the diameter of dental implant. Long-term follow-up around these implants showed higher levels of bone preservation and proper stress distribution and improved esthetics.AIM: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the changes in bone height by means of radiographic examination around platform switched implant supporting mandibular overdentures in controlled diabetic patients.SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fourteen male complete edentulous patients were selected and enrolled in a follow-up study plan. Split mouth technique was applied; one side implant chosen randomly with Platelet-rich-plasma (PRP) and the other without PRP, bone height changes was assessed by Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) radiographic examination after 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 1 year later. RESULTS: There was increase in bone height loss in both sides but with no statistical significance difference between the two sides after 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 1 year respectively.CONCLUSION: The result of this article satisfied the patients both esthetically and functionally with recorded increase in bone height loss.
Biochemical Assessment of Bone Health in Working Obese Egyptian Females with Metabolic Syndrome; the Effect of Weight Loss by Natural Dietary Therapies
Authors: Moaty Maha I.A. , Fouad Suzanne , El Shebini Salwa M. , Kazem Yusr I. , Tapozada Salwa T.
Published: December 2015

AIM: To investigate the relation between bone parameters and the metabolic syndrome criteria, before and after the administration of two different natural dietary supplements in middle aged working obese Egyptian women suffering from metabolic syndrome (MetS).SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fifty eight middle aged obese female volunteers suffering from metabolic syndrome were divided into two groups. During the first period, group (A) consumed a low caloric diet and nutritional supplement consisting of doum flour biscuits, while group (B) consumed whole meal wheat flour biscuit with the same instructions. During the second period, both supplements were omitted. Assessment of blood pressure, relevant anthropometric parameters, lipid accumulation product, fasting blood glucose, uric acid, 25 hydroxy vitamin D (25 (OH) D), parathyroid hormone (PTH) and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase were performed.RESULTS: Data showed that although both supplements improved the MetS criteria and the bone health parameters, the supplement containing the doum flour proved to be more effective.CONCLUSION: These results confirm the benefit of doum in improving bone health parameter [25 (OH) D/PTH axis] in the MetS patients, beside the MetS criteria. So, we can conclude that natural effective supplements lead towards the optimization of biochemical parameters in favor of a healthy outcome.
Evaluation of Neonatal Hemolytic Jaundice: Clinical and Laboratory Parameters
Authors: Papazovska Cherepnalkovski Anet , Krzelj Vjekoslav , Zafirovska-Ivanovska Beti , Gruev Todor , Markic Josko , Aluloska Natasa , Zdraveska Nikolina , Piperkovska Katica
Published: December 2015

BACKGROUND: Neonatal jaundice that occurs in ABO or Rhesus issoimunisation has been recognized as one of the major risk factors for development of severe hyperbilirubinemia and bilirubin neurotoxicity.AIM: Aim of our study was to investigate clinical and laboratory parameters associated with hemolytic jaundice due to Rh and ABO incompatibility and compare results with the group of unspecific jaundice.MATERIAL AND METHODS: One hundred sixty seven (167) neonatal hyperbilirubinemia cases were included in the study, 24.6% of which presented with ABO/Rhesus type hemolytic jaundice, and the rest with unspecific jaundice. Evaluation included: blood count, reticulocites, serum bilirubin, aminotransferases, blood grouping, and Coombs test, also the day of bilirubin peak, duration of the hyperbilirubinemia, and additional bilirubin measurements.RESULTS: We showed significantly lower mean values of hemoglobin, erythrocytes and hematocrit and significantly higher values of reticulocytes in the group of ABO/Rh incompatibility compared to the group of jaundice of unspecific etiology; also an earlier presentation and a higher-grade jaundice in this group.CONCLUSIONS: The laboratory profile in ABO/Rh isoimmunisation cases depicts hemolytic mechanism of jaundice. These cases carry a significant risk for early and severe hyperbilirubinemia and are eligible for neurodevelopmental follow-up. Hematological parameters and blood grouping are simple diagnostic methods that assist the etiological diagnosis of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.
Pheochromocytoma and Neurofibromatosis Type 1 in a Patient with Hypertension
Authors: Petrovska Julijana , Gerasimovska Kitanovska Biljana , Bogdanovska Stevka , Pavleska Kuzmanoska Svetlana
Published: December 2015

BACKGROUND: Neurofibromatosis type 1 is an autosomal dominant condition that has a variety of clinical manifestations. Essential or secondary hypertension may be associated with neurofibromatosis. A rare finding is hypertension due to pheochromocytoma in patient with neurofibromatosis type 1.CASE REPORT: We present a case with a 7-year medical history of hypertension which was poorly controlled and with wide variations of blood pressure before the examination. Investigations did not reveal a secondary cause of hypertension. After the physical examination and establishing the diagnosis of neurofibromatosis, as well as the history of symptomes suggestive of catecholamine discharge, diagnostic procedures for pheochromocytoma were undertaken. Abdominal CT and MRI have proven the presence of a right adrenal tumor mass which was suspected to be a pheochromocytoma. Patient was preoperatively treated for two weeks with alpha and beta blokers and right adrenalectomy was performed. Perioperatively and on a longer term, blood pressure remained well controlled with less antihypertensive therapy. Diagnosis and management of pheochromocytoma in neurofibromatosis involves a dermatologist, endocrinologist, nephrologist and an urologist and requires a well-coordinated multidisciplinary approach.CONCLUSIONS: Pheochromocytoma, although a rare condition in patients with neurofibromatosis, may be a cause for uncontrolled hypertension, as well as other cardiovascular complications and the clinician should do all available clinical investigations to confirm it or exclude it on time.
Au Havre, l’aluminium a pris des couleurs
Authors: Reneau Serge , Gosselin Raymond
Published: December 2015

À travers l’histoire de deux sculpteurs, Reynold Arnould et Raymond Gosselin qui travaillèrent beaucoup le métal et en particulier l’aluminium, cet article montre le dialogue et les interactions fructueuses qui peuvent exister entre l’art, l’industrie et la technique. Il révèle ainsi comment les artistes peuvent contribuer eux aussi par les défis qu’ils posent dans leurs réalisations aux progrès des industriels. Ce dialogue entre par ailleurs en écho avec celui que l’art entretient avec la cité elle-même. Il est ici question notamment de la ville du Havre, ville en pleine reconstruction au lendemain de la Second Guerre mondiale et champ d’expérimentation de toutes les audaces architecturales et artistiques.
Étude des alliages aluminium pour la mise au point des traitements de conservation des avions
Authors: Guilminot Élodie , Tissier Yolaine
Published: December 2015

Cet article s’intéresse à la conservation dans le temps d’un alliage à base d’aluminium bien particulier, le Duralumin. Son apparition au début du XX e siècle a constitué un élément déterminant dans le développement de l’aéronautique et sa présence dans les avions est très vite devenue prédominante. À ses débuts, sa composition, ses traitements thermiques et ses mises en forme pouvaient varier en fonction de son lieu de production. Ces variations ont entraîné des modifications de sa structure métallographique et de sa sensibilité à la corrosion. Ainsi, tous les avions ne se sont pas aussi bien conservés. La conservation de ces épaves d’avions constitue un défi devant associer les connaissances scientifiques de ce matériau aux données historiques. L’étude sur la mise au point des traitements de conservation de cet alliage illustre cette démarche. Elle a été menée sur deux pales d’hélice datant de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. L’analyse métallographique de ces objets a confirmé leur mise en forme par forgeage, elle a aussi montré des différences dans la répartition des inclusions, qui correspondraient à des provenances différentes de fabrication. Les analyses ont enfin montré une très faible présence d’ions chlorure. Les traitements de déchloruration se sont donc avérés inutiles pour ces objets.
Religion et démocratie : du vicaire savoyard à nous
Authors: Gatti Roberto
Published: December 2015

Dans cette étude, Roberto Gatti * entreprend l’analyse du déisme de la Profession de foi du vicaire savoyard et montre que ce dernier, contrairement à ce que pensait Pascal, est à même de résister à l’athéisme, dans la mesure où il reste ouvert au surnaturel. En réalité, le « scepticisme involontaire » du vicaire devrait être perçu comme l’exercice d’une pensée toujours engagée dans la recherche d’une vérité qui ne peut jamais être totalement dévoilée, mais qui continue de nous interpeller à travers des traces, des événements, des narrations ou des symboles qui ne sauraient se réduire, selon une logique pseudo-rationaliste maintenant épuisée, à des « mythes ».
Un projet stratégique de service pour l’inspection générale de l’administration
Authors: Abadie Marc , Peneau Valérie
Published: December 2015

Résumé  Face à la multiplication des sollicitations dont elle fait l’objet, comme sa récente implication dans les politiques de réforme de l’État, l’Inspection générale de l’administration (IGA) a réfléchi à la nature et aux objectifs de ses activités. Le résultat a été la rédaction d’un projet stratégique qui s’articule autour de trois lignes directrices. La première consiste à aider l’administration, et en premier lieu son ministère de rattachement, le ministère de l’intérieur, à assurer ses missions avec une efficacité et une efficience accrue, à améliorer ses performances et à se réformer pour construire le service public de demain. La seconde vise à accompagner les mutations des territoires en veillant à l’articulation et à la complémentarité optimales entre État et collectivités territoriales. Enfin, il s’agit de contribuer à préserver le lien de confiance entre l’administration et le citoyen. Pour mettre en œuvre ces lignes directrices, l’Inspection s’est engagée à se structurer et à renforcer son expertise sur quatre axes : métier, qualité des travaux, management et valorisation des travaux.
Un nouvel opéra — conjuguer esprit d’entreprise, modèle de la poubelle et fenêtres d’opportunité
Authors: Christensen Tom
Published: December 2015

La présente étude porte sur le processus décisionnel qui a abouti à la construction d’un nouvel opéra à Oslo. La décision a finalement été prise en 1999 et la construction du nouvel opéra s’est achevée en 2008. Afin d’analyser le processus décisionnel, nous utilisons un « modèle de la poubelle révisé », tel que proposé par Kingdon, qui combine la notion d’initiative politique grâce à l’établissement de coalitions instrumentales et des caractéristiques du modèle de la poubelle. La coalition gagnante se composait d’acteurs du Parlement et du gouvernement local, mais aussi des intérêts privés, et si elle a réussi, c’est parce qu’elle est parvenue à profiter d’une fenêtre d’opportunité ouverte par d’autres acteurs. Cela s’expliquait principalement par le fait que le projet d’opéra a été temporairement dissocié d’un vaste projet de construction routière et est parvenu à obtenir l’adhésion d’intérêts liés à un aménagement urbain plus général dans l’est d’Oslo. La faiblesse relative des arguments culturels en faveur de la construction du nouvel opéra était manifeste d’un bout à l’autre du processus. La décision relative à sa construction était par conséquent un effet secondaire ou le résultat d’autres préoccupations et intérêts. L’étude, qui s’appuie sur un cas unique, se base sur un vaste éventail de documents publics, d’entretiens et d’articles de presse. Remarques à l’intention des praticiens Les décisions concernant les projets publics importants ne suivent pas toujours une trajectoire rationnelle stricte en raison des déséquilibres entre les secteurs, des effets secondaires et des caractéristiques de la coalition. Cela veut dire que les « secteurs faibles » peuvent soit accepter les décisions d’autres secteurs, soit se lancer dans des coalitions avec ceux-ci pour faire avancer les grands projets. Les acteurs plus larges sont en mesure de s’attacher à ces grands projets — en d’autres termes, plus ils sont en mesure de satisfaire des intérêts différents, plus ils auront de chances de parvenir à une décision. Une approche pragmatique de ce type peut s’avérer essentielle non seulement pour réaliser les projets, mais aussi pour les faire évoluer en les éloignant de l’idée à leur origine.