Centre Norbert Elias

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery calcification (CAC) detected by computed tomography is a noninvasive measure of coronary atherosclerosis, which underlies most cases of myocardial infarction (MI). We sought to identify common genetic variants associated with CAC and further investigate their associations with MI. METHODS AND RESULTS: Computed tomography was used to assess quantity of CAC. A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for CAC was performed in 9961 men and women from 5 independent community-based cohorts, with replication in 3 additional independent cohorts (n=6032). We examined the top single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with CAC quantity for association with MI in multiple large genome-wide association studies of MI. Genome-wide significant associations with CAC for SNPs on chromosome 9p21 near CDKN2A and CDKN2B (top SNP: rs1333049; P=7.58×10(-19)) and 6p24 (top SNP: rs9349379, within the PHACTR1 gene; P=2.65×10(-11)) replicated for CAC and for MI. Additionally, there is evidence for concordance of SNP associations with both CAC and MI at a number of other loci, including 3q22 (MRAS gene), 13q34 (COL4A1/COL4A2 genes), and 1p13 (SORT1 gene). CONCLUSIONS: SNPs in the 9p21 and PHACTR1 gene loci were strongly associated with CAC and MI, and there are suggestive associations with both CAC and MI of SNPs in additional loci. Multiple genetic loci are associated with development of both underlying coronary atherosclerosis and clinical events.

Understanding the environmental burdens associated with aquafeeds is a critical component for assessing and improving the environmental performance of aquaculture. The aim of the study was to assess the environmental impacts associated with feeds for rainbow trout production in France, using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The stages assessed are: the extraction of the raw materials, the production and transformation of the primary ingredients used, the manufacturing of the feeds, the use of the feeds at the farm, transport at all stages, and the production and use of energy resources. The assessment revealed that the use of fishery resources (such as biotic resource use) and nutrient emissions at the farm (such as eutrophication potential) contribute most to the potential environmental impacts of salmonid aquafeeds. Improvements in feed composition and management practices seem to be the best ways for improving the environmental profile of aquafeeds.

Peu d’institutions sont à la fois aussi explorées et mal connues que la famille. Celle-ci fait l’objet d’un discours politique et médiatique qui se renouvelle sans cesse, sans jamais s’épuiser ; chacun de nous est tenté par ailleurs de juger de la famille à partir de la connaissance intime, mais nécessairement partielle, voire partiale qu’il en a… Cette huitième édition, dont Martine Segalen a partagé la rédaction avec Agnès Martial, spécialiste des questions de genre et de parenté contemporaine, est largement refondue. Tout en conservant les développements sur l’histoire de la famille qui ont aujourd’hui toute leur importance, l’ouvrage intègre nombre de nouveaux débats concernant la place de l’institution familiale dans le champ social, en relation avec les phénomènes de crise, de chômage et de migration. Il donne un large écho aux discussions relatives au « mariage pour tous », comme aux nouvelles techniques et aux nouvelles pratiques qui transforment profondément le champ de la filiation. À l’aide de données statistiques remises à jour, il compare l’évolution respective de la situation de l’institution familiale dans le cadre européen. S’appuyant sur un ensemble de travaux neufs, grandes enquêtes longitudinales ou travaux plus pointus d’anthropologie, la huitième édition de ce classique sur le sujet offre au lecteur une vision renouvelée du champ familial.

Lorsque rap et hip-hop apparaissent en France au tournant des années 1980, nombreux sont ceux qui n’y voient qu’un phénomène éphémère. Trente ans plus tard, ce genre musical est non seulement bien vivant, mais il fait durablement partie des industries musicales, et la scène rap française est même l’une des plus visibles au niveau international. Comment le rap est-il né en France et comment s’est-il développé ? Qui a tiré profit de la commercialisation de ses chansons ? Pourquoi ce genre musical est-il si étroitement associé aux banlieues ? Qui sont les artistes qui l’ont promu, et en s’appuyant sur quelles ressources ? Pourquoi continue-t-il régulièrement à déchaîner les passions ? Émaillé de nombreux entretiens réalisés auprès de rappeurs, de DJ, d’animateurs, de professionnels de l’industrie du disque, etc., ce livre décrit comment l’émergence et l’inscription durable du rap en France ont été possibles. En s’intéressant aux artistes, mais aussi amateurs, en circulant des MJC des quartiers populaires aux bancs de l’Assemblée nationale, en observant les plateaux de télévision et les radios locales, Karim Hammou montre comment s’est imposée en France une nouvelle spécialité artistique, fondée sur une forme d’interprétation originale, ni parlée ni chantée : rappée.

A new class of low molecular-mass organogelators (LMOGs), N-alkyl perfluoroalkanamides, F(CF(2))(n)CONH(CH(2))(m)H, is described. The molecules are designed to exploit the incompatibilities of their three molecular parts, and the results demonstrate that this strategy can be used to tune molecular aggregation and gel stability. The gelating properties of these LMOGs have been examined in a wide variety of organic liquids (including alkanes, alcohols, toluene, n-perfluorooctane, CCl(4), and DMSO) as a function of the N-alkyl and perfluoroalkyl chain lengths by X-ray diffraction, polarizing optical microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). The gels are thermally reversible and require generally very low concentrations (<2 wt %) of LMOG. Several of the gels are stable for very long periods at room temperature. The incompatibility of the fluorocarbon and hydrocarbon segments causes the LMOGs to aggregate, probably into lamellae within the fibrils that constitute the basic unit of the gel networks. The SANS studies show that the cross-sections of fibers in the gel networks of LMOGs with shorter perfluoroalkyl chains are much larger than those with longer ones. Comparisons with the gelating properties of some analogous esters (F(CF(2))(n)CO(2)(CH(2))(m)H) and diblock perfluoroalkylalkanes (F(CF(2))(n)(CH(2))(m)H) indicate that additional ordering within the aggregate units is enforced by the intermolecular H bonding among amide groups that is evidenced by IR spectroscopy. Analyses of these results and structure/solvent correlations are provided.

Joint travel is a common social activity of many group-living animals, which requires some degree of coordination, sometimes through communication signals. Here, we studied the use of an acoustically distinct vocalisation in chimpanzees, the 'travel hoo', a signal given specifically in the travel context. We were interested in how this call type was produced to coordinate travel, whether it was aimed at specific individuals and how recipients responded. We found that 'travel hoos' were regularly given prior to impending departures and that silent travel initiations were less successful in recruiting than vocal initiations. Other behaviours associated with departure were unrelated to recruitment, suggesting that 'travel hoos' facilitated joint travel. Crucially, 'travel hoos' were more often produced in the presence of allies than other individuals, with high rates of recruitment success. We discuss these findings as evidence for how motivation to perform a specific social activity can lead to the production of a vocal signal that qualifies as 'intentional' according to most definitions, suggesting that a key psychological component of human language may have already been present in the common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans.

Melanoma claims annually more than 20,000 lives in Europe and is an important public health burden through its continuously increasing incidence and with its high mortality, costs, and complexity of care in advanced stages. Epidemiological surveillance is indispensable for the research into its causes, new prognostic markers, and innovative therapies, as well as for the building of efficient cancer control plans. However, important differences in the sources and availability of accurate epidemiological data exist among European countries and regions, contributing to a heterogeneous picture with 20-fold differences in the reported national melanoma incidence rates, divergent mortality trends, and solid disparities in survival across the Continent. Countries in the eastern half of Europe report the lowest incidence rates, but high case fatality, persisting and increasing mortality, a higher proportion of thicker tumors and late diagnosis, and lower survival rates. They are the least well equipped with quality cancer registration and reporting, and they lag behind in efficient cancer control plans implementation. This review highlights the main differences in melanoma epidemiology across Europe, together with an insight into their underlying causes in the areas of melanoma registration, early diagnosis, and prevention. These differences should be acknowledged and understood by physicians, researchers, and all stakeholders involved in improving melanoma care and outcomes, as no one-size-fits-all solution can tackle the melanoma problem in Europe. Instead, there is a need for nuanced strategies, adapted to the heterogeneous national and regional contexts, that would build on European diversity to eliminate the outcome disparities.

Global debates about vaccines as a key element of pandemic response and future preparedness in the era of Covid-19 currently focus on questions of supply, with attention to global injustice in vaccine distribution and African countries as rightful beneficiaries of international de-regulation and financing initiatives such as COVAX. At the same time, vaccine demand and uptake are seen to be threatened by hesitancy, often attributed to an increasingly globalised anti-vaxx movement and its propagation of misinformation and conspiracy, now reaching African populations through a social media 'infodemic'. Underplayed in these debates are the socio-political contexts through which vaccine technologies enter and are interpreted within African settings, and the crucial intersections between supply and demand. We explore these through a 'vaccine anxieties' framework attending to both desires for and worries about vaccines, as shaped by bodily, societal and wider political understandings and experiences. This provides an analytical lens to organise and interpret ethnographic and narrative accounts in local and national settings in Uganda and Sierra Leone, and their (dis)connections with global debates and geopolitics. In considering the socially-embedded reasons why people want or do not want Covid-19 vaccines, and how this intersects with the dynamics of vaccine supply, access and distribution in rapidly-unfolding epidemic situations, we bring new, expanded insights into debates about vaccine confidence and vaccine preparedness.

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) results, at least in part, from overloading and inflammation leading to cartilage degradation. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is one of the main catabolic factors involved in OA. Its synthesis is the result of cyclooxygenase (COX) and prostaglandin E synthase (PGES) activities whereas NAD+-dependent 15 hydroxy prostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH) is the key enzyme implicated in the catabolism of PGE2. For both COX and PGES, three isoforms have been described: in cartilage, COX-1 and cytosolic PGES are constitutively expressed whereas COX-2 and microsomal PGES type 1 (mPGES-1) are inducible in an inflammatory context. COX-3 (a variant of COX-1) and mPGES-2 have been recently cloned but little is known about their expression and regulation in cartilage, as is also the case for 15-PGDH. We investigated the regulation of the genes encoding COX and PGES isoforms during mechanical stress applied to cartilage explants. Mouse cartilage explants were subjected to compression (0.5 Hz, 1 MPa) for 2 to 24 hours. After determination of the amount of PGE2 released in the media (enzyme immunoassay), mRNA and proteins were extracted directly from the cartilage explants and analyzed by real-time RT-PCR and western blotting respectively. Mechanical compression of cartilage explants significantly increased PGE2 production in a time-dependent manner. This was not due to the synthesis of IL-1, since pretreatment with interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL1-Ra) did not alter the PGE2 synthesis. Interestingly, COX-2 and mPGES-1 mRNA expression significantly increased after 2 hours, in parallel with protein expression, whereas COX-3 and mPGES-2 mRNA expression was not modified. Moreover, we observed a delayed overexpression of 15-PGDH just before the decline of PGE2 synthesis after 18 hours, suggesting that PGE2 synthesis could be altered by the induction of 15-PGDH expression. We conclude that, along with COX-2, dynamic compression induces mPGES-1 mRNA and protein expression in cartilage explants. Thus, the mechanosensitive mPGES-1 enzyme represents a potential therapeutic target in osteoarthritis.

Fifty-four subjects with uncomplicated essential hypertension and 54 normotensive subjects were compared with regard to a widely employed clinical index of cognitive dysfunction (the Average Impairment Rating) calculated from neuropsychological tests that discriminate between brain-damaged and neurologically normal persons. Hypertensive subjects exhibited lower mean scores on this index when education was ignored, but results were not the same for highly educated and less well educated groups. There were no differences between exceptionally well educated hypertensive and normotensive subjects, but in the less well educated group, hypertensive subjects performed more poorly than normotensive subjects. The percentages of hypertensive and normotensive subjects scoring in a cognitively impaired range on the Average Impairment Rating were low and did not differ for either education group. These data indicate the important role of subtle differences in education level with respect to positive or negative findings for studies comparing hypertensive and normotensive subjects and illustrate the important role of clinical neuropsychological indices of cognitive dysfunction when one wishes to make meaningful inferences regarding cerebral cortical function in hypertensive subjects.

Résumé Pierre Bourdieu applique-t-il les concepts de l’économie à la théorie des champs et se borne-t-il à une analyse de la reproduction ? Un parcours de ses travaux suggère une réponse négative à ces deux questions. Certes le vocabulaire de l’économie est amplement mobilisé mais il se décline de façon spécifique dans chaque champ et livre des résultats bien différents de ceux que développe la théorie des choix rationnels qu’un économiste de Chicago appliquerait de façon indiscriminée à l’ensemble des phénomènes sociaux. De même, au-delà d’un ensemble de concepts qui semblent évoquer une histoire immobile, le jeu entre variations et invariants est central, d’autant plus que Pierre Bourdieu fait un usage fréquent de la mise en perspective historique. Il propose au moins cinq mécanismes explicatifs du changement et des crises : innovation à l’initiative des dominants d’un champ, entrée des nouveaux acteurs, déplacement endogène des frontières entre champs sous l’effet des stratégies qui s’y déploient, luttes pour le pouvoir de l’État et surtout désynchronisation entre champ et habitus due au changement de contexte. Enfin, apparaissent des homologies frappantes entre la sociologie de Pierre Bourdieu et les recherches inspirées par la théorie de la régulation, même si les objectifs et les notions de base des deux constructions théoriques demeurent distincts.

BACKGROUND: Lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women, as well as transgender men, are less likely than their heterosexual and female-identifying counterparts to access cervical cancer screening services. Although numerous factors that influence receipt of cervical screening have been identified, several gaps in research and knowledge merit additional research. OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to examine cervical cancer screening behaviors of LBQ women and transgender men using American Cancer Society guidelines as the standards for comparison and to determine factors that influence participation in cervical cancer screening. METHODS: A convenience sample of 21- to 65-year-old LBQ women and transgender men was recruited from the Internet and community events. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth telephone interviews and open-ended questions on an online questionnaire. A deductive-inductive content analysis approach was used. RESULTS: The sample was mostly non-Hispanic white women who identified as lesbian. Most were routine cervical cancer screeners. Eighteen factors/themes were identified in the data and were contextualized within a health services theoretical framework. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that although some factors overlap with the general female population, there are other areas that are specific to LBQ women and transgender men. Creating welcoming and inclusive healthcare environments is particularly important to facilitating cervical screening among LBQ women. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Nurse leaders can modify clinical environments, and clinical nurses can be educated to provide safe care for LBQ women and transgender men.

Résumé Selon des analyses récentes, on assisterait actuellement en Occident à une « naturalisation » de la filiation. À partir des analyses anthropologiques et historiques des parentés « parallèles » anciennes et des nouvelles formes de configurations familiales, cet article conteste cette hypothèse. Il rappelle l’ancienneté de la référence à la nature dans les représentations et usages de la parenté et l’existence d’un univers métaphorique et symbolique caractérisé, aujourd’hui comme hier, par la pluralité des significations données aux relations entre parents.

Dermal filler injections are one of the most popular cosmetic procedures in the United States. Of the many options available, hyaluronic acid (HA) dermal fillers like Juvederm or Restylane are often used. Despite their use and popularity, adverse events are known to occur from these procedures. Although most outcomes may be mild and resolve over time, rare instances of severe complications cannot be ignored, as these effects may be irreversible. Healthcare practitioners and patients must be aware of these risks, as these cosmetic procedures can affect the patient’s quality of life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of adverse events (AEs) reported from the use of hyaluronic acid dermal fillers in the facial region. A systemized search of randomized controlled trials was conducted using Cochrane Central, Embase, Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), and the Web of Science databases. After screening for eligibility and conducting a critical appraisal of the articles, 19 studies were retained for the final review. The meta-analysis results included different side effects by facial location, i.e., nasolabial fold (NLF) vs. other (midface, perioral line, and lip region). The midface includes the anteromedial cheek region, the zygomaticomalar region, and the submalar region. The adverse events were swelling, pain, erythema, bruising, lumps and bumps, firmness, tenderness, itching, and skin discoloration. A significant difference was found in individuals experiencing swelling, lumps or bumps, and firmness at the midface, perioral line, and lip region versus the nasolabial fold site. There was no significant difference in the proportion of individuals experiencing pain, erythema, bruising, tenderness, itching, or skin discoloration at the nasolabial fold site versus the other sites. The study highlights the prevalence of common AEs that can result from HA dermal fillers like Juvederm or Restylane, thus emphasizing the importance of healthcare professionals explaining the risk and benefits to patients.

Despite being central to the development of Saharan regional connectivity, northern Chad has been closed to researchers since the late 1960s and thus remains virtually unknown to scholarship. Based on long-term fieldwork, The Value of Disorder is an original and in-depth account of the area and its Tubu majority inhabitants. Julien Brachet and Judith Scheele examine trans-border connectivity and trade; civil war and rebellion; wealth creation and dispersal; labour and gender relations; and aspirations to moral autonomy in northern Chad from an internal point of view - a point of view that in turn participates in a dynamic process of regional interdependence. Vividly ethnographic, the book gives precedence to local categories of value, while asking broader questions about the nature of non-state regional political organisation. Questions that inform current political developments in the Sahara more widely, and have the potential to challenge key concepts in Saharan studies and the social sciences.

The development of management strategies under different market conditions and the choice &#13;\nof optimal positioning methods, including a wide range of producing products price positions, &#13;\nis an essential and complicated task for the companies’ management under current unstable &#13;\nmarket conditions, with a decrease in people's consumer activity. The search for sound &#13;\nmanagement decisions is complicated due to many factors of the internal and external &#13;\nenvironment and requires a fully justified algorithm of actions. The management process is &#13;\na whole series of interconnected analytical procedures and decisions that allow the company &#13;\nto move consistently towards achieving its intended strategic goal. These procedures and &#13;\ndecisions are also typical for the process of price positioning formation, the importance of &#13;\nwhich is exceptionally high, given the fact that the price as a monetary category concentrates &#13;\nthe expectations of financial results on which the company focused. In this respect, pricing &#13;\nbecomes the basis of all other product management decisions.

En mai 2014, nous avons coordonné un premier dossier sur le thème du “patient contemporain” dans la revue Anthropologie &amp; Santé. Après avoir examiné l’évolution des représentations du patient dans la pensée médicale et profane et défini ce que nous entendions par « patient contemporain » dans l’introduction du dossier, nous avons rappelé les limites et l’ambiguïté des initiatives visant à placer le patient au centre du système de soins. Si ces nouvelles politiques caractéristiques du mouvemen...

Near the city of Marseille is one of France’s largest industrial regions, home to over 400 industrial facilities. Adjacent to these facilities are towns whose residents have complained of myriad health problems, from respiratory illness and autoimmune disease to cancers. While human environmental health in this region has been studied repeatedly by state agencies and allied organizations, the studies focused on tightly constructed questions answerable within particular languages of expertise. This rarely translated into information that residents found relevant or credible in relationship to their own experience living in their polluted communities. We argue that these disciplinarily circumscribed health studies are conditioned by the way policy-relevant science is produced in France given the strong centralized state and its civil service elite. Thus many residents’ questions remain unanswered and the absence of answers produce a form of ignorance called ‘undone science’. We examine three studies paradigmatic of the kinds of health research that has been done in the region. We illustrate the disconnect between the profession-driven studies’ questions and outcomes, and the areas of greatest interest to residents. In concluding, we advocate for study designs which engage with local residents and attempt to fill the knowledge gap of their unanswered questions.

Recent trends in social sciences advocate the recognition of interactive properties in human–animal relationships. Based on an ethnographic study, this paper explores the interactive properties of the relationships between herding dogs and their trainer-users, and how the dogs' behaviors participate in the construction of trainer-users' knowledge. Trainer-users' discourses and practices revealed a common theoretical axis, portraying the herding dog as a social predator descended from the wolf and driving the game towards his pack-leader. The dog's hunting skills are used to turn him/her into a working tool, through minimally constrained education and training. Once trained, the dog should become an autonomous but controllable worker, who helps livestock breeders lead their flock quietly. Two training modes were identified and used simultaneously by the trainers: contextual training (teaching the human–dog–livestock relationship to the dog) and conditioned training (teaching the commands to the dog). Trainer-users all recognized the individual personalities of the dogs and were sensitive to the quality of their relationships with them. They expected the dogs to be more competent than humans in understanding livestock behaviors, thus suggesting that the dog is more a work assistant than a work tool. Indeed, the dog helps the livestock breeder to establish an optimal interrelational distance between the species by managing space, time, and affectivity in the human–dog–livestock relationship. This triangular relationship, defined by the trainers as a leader–predator–prey relation, resembles a misunderstanding maintained by the livestock breeders in order to reach the leader position. Finally, the livestock-handling context appears particularly fruitful for revealing the complexity of interspecific relationships, the evolution of work in the livestock breeding context, and for understanding the human's connection to their social environment, including non-human living beings.

BACKGROUND: In 2009, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria established the Affordable Medicines Facility-malaria (AMFm) in order to increase access to quality-assured artemisinin combination therapy (QAACT). AMFm Phase 1, which includes nine pilot programmes in eight countries, was launched in 2009. The objective of this study was to assess anti-malarial stock and purchase patterns at private outlets in five AMFm Phase 1 countries in regard to three of the core AMFm goals: increase the affordability of QAACT, increase the availability of QAACT, and crowd out artemisinin monotherapies and other substandard therapies. METHODS: The study was conducted between April and May 2012 and included interviews with personnel in 598 private pharmaceutical outlets in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda. Questionnaires were administered at private retail outlets and the data were analyzed to assess within- and between-country differences in QAACT price, availability, and popularity. RESULTS: AMFm medications were less expensive than their non-AMFm counterparts, yet prices for both types were above country-specific suggested retail prices. Market penetration of AMFm QAACT in both urban and rural areas was high, although stock-outs of both AMFm and non-AMFm products were more common in rural compared with urban outlets in Ghana and Kenya (p = 0.0013). Government recommendation was the most significant factor influencing anti-malarial stock choices in urban (41.5%) and rural (31.9%) outlets. The three top-selling anti-malarials reported for both urban and rural areas in each country were, with the exception of rural Uganda and urban Nigeria, combination therapies. CONCLUSIONS: Results from this study indicate that the AMFm has not fully achieved its affordability and crowd-out objectives. Still, the final purchase price of AMFm QAACT was substantially lower than non-AMFm equivalents. Moreover, for both urban and rural areas, AMFm QAACT availability was found to be high, and the various forms of QAACT were the best-selling products among all anti-malarials. These findings suggest a continued need for initiatives like the AMFm that improve the affordability and accessibility of QAACT. Similar programmes may be especially effective if employed in combination with rapid diagnostic testing to ensure the appropriate use of these products.