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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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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.

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.

Cette étude analyse les erreurs lexicales dans la production écrite de lycéens maltais étudiant le français L2 aux niveaux B1 et B2, en se focalisant sur les erreurs attribuables à l’influence de la L1, qui, à Malte, comprend le maltais, l’anglais et l’italien. Des réflexions sont faites sur la difficulté d’admettre une idéologie translinguistique, tolérante de l’appui fourni par la L1 dans l’écriture en L2, dans le contexte d’un examen à un niveau avancé, avec ses normes de correction linguistique. Un corpus de copies d’examen aux niveaux Avancé et Intermédiaire est fouillé pour les possibilités de phénomènes de transfert, catégorisés en cinq types, émanant de difficultés orthographiques, de choix de mots, ou sémantiques, ces dernières provoquant l’utilisation des faux-amis. Les résultats sont comparés aux conclusions d’études faites dans les cadres maltais et international. La fréquence des contacts linguistiques dans le corpus est probablement attribuable tant à l’alternance codique, comportement omniprésent à Malte, qu’à la nature même de la rédaction en L2, activité forcément bilingue. Des calculs statistiques permettent des comparaisons des fréquences de contact aux niveaux Avancé et Intermédiaire, entre les copies mieux notées et les moins bien notées, comme entre les tâches plus exigeantes et les tâches plus simples.

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.

There is increasing interest today in how the arts contribute to individual and community wellbeing. This scoping review identified and examined ways in which the arts have been used to address wellbeing in communities in the United States. The review examined 44 publications, with combined study populations representing a total of 5,080 research participants, including marginalized populations. It identified the types of artistic practices and interventions being conducted, research methods, and outcomes measured. It highlights positive associations found across a broad spectrum of psychological, physical, and social outcomes, including improvements in self-esteem and identity formation, cognition, physical balance, and physical conditioning. It also reports negative outcomes of arts interventions that may be underreported. The study identifies the need for core outcomes sets and reporting guidelines for advancing evidence synthesis in this area.

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.

International audience

Food-related mobilizations and protests include a wide range of practices, from collective acts by producers or consumers to organized social and political movements, from efforts taking place in small local areas to those involving national or international scales of action. Starting from a large and inclusive definition of « food activism », this paper aims to discuss on forms, ideas and practices of food activism that we can observe in Europe. What are the boundaries of food activism and how can we study it? What kinds of economy do « food activists » imagine or practice? What positions do activists defend and what political strategies do they employ inside Europe? Using two case studies - the international Slow Food movement and vegetable baskets systems like AMAP - I will put forward some hypotheses about the paradigms and practices of such activism. Discussing food activism allows us to understand not only the changes that occur over time in the forms of mobilization and their aims, but also links and connections between different food activisms. And it allows us to reflect also about our paradigms and our practices of research.