Rituximab dans le traitement des maladies rénales glomérulaires: indications et evidences cliniques [Rationale and clinical evidence for the use of rituximab in glomerular diseases].

Autoimmune glomerulopathies are an important cause of chronic kidney disease. Conventional treatments based on steroids, antiproliferative and cytotoxic agents are efficacious, but highly toxic. Because of their central role in the pathogenesis of autoimmunity, B cells have become an attractive therapeutic target. Rituximab is a monoclonal antibody directed against CD20 expressed on the surface of B cells, inducing profound depletion of B cells in the peripheral blood. In spite of encouraging results regarding the off-label use of Rituximab in membranous nephropathy, systemic lupus erythematosus and small vessel vasculitis, controlled, long-term data, and data with specific renal endpoints are currently lacking.

Evidence of climatic niche shift during biological invasion

Niche-based models calibrated in the native range by relating species observations to climatic variables are commonly used to predict the potential spatial extent of species' invasion. This climate matching approach relies on the assumption that invasive species conserve their climatic niche in the invaded ranges. We test this assumption by analysing the climatic niche spaces of Spotted Knapweed in western North America and Europe. We show with robust cross-continental data that a shift of the observed climatic niche occurred between native and non-native ranges, providing the first empirical evidence that an invasive species can occupy climatically distinct niche spaces following its introduction into a new area. The models fail to predict the current invaded distribution, but correctly predict areas of introduction. Climate matching is thus a useful approach to identify areas at risk of introduction and establishment of newly or not-yet-introduced neophytes, but may not predict the full extent of invasions.

Can PR voting serve as a shelter against declining turnout ? : Evidence from Swiss municipal elections

To assess the impact of electoral systems on voting turnout, cross-national studies can be usefully complemented by studies of turnout in local elections in countries using more than one electoral system at that level. In this article, we look at data from a 1998 survey of Swiss municipalities to revisit the findings of our earlier study. This previous study, based on a 1988 survey, concluded, in particular, that there exists a positive relationship between proportional representation elections, party politicization, and voter turnout. The moment is opportune since, in the interval, turnout has markedly declined in Swiss municipalities, as elsewhere. By testing whether municipalities with proportional representation voting were more or less successful in stemming the decline, we learn more about the relationship among these three phenomena. We use the results for those Swiss municipalities which participated in both surveys as our primary source.

Patterns of calcium-binding proteins in human inferior colliculus: identification of subdivisions and evidence for putative parallel systems.

The subdivisions of human inferior colliculus are currently based on Golgi and Nissl-stained preparations. We have investigated the distribution of calcium-binding protein immunoreactivity in the human inferior colliculus and found complementary or mutually exclusive localisations of parvalbumin versus calbindin D-28k and calretinin staining. The central nucleus of the inferior colliculus but not the surrounding regions contained parvalbumin-positive neuronal somata and fibres. Calbindin-positive neurons and fibres were concentrated in the dorsal aspect of the central nucleus and in structures surrounding it: the dorsal cortex, the lateral lemniscus, the ventrolateral nucleus, and the intercollicular region. In the dorsal cortex, labelling of calbindin and calretinin revealed four distinct layers.Thus, calcium-binding protein reactivity reveals in the human inferior colliculus distinct neuronal populations that are anatomically segregated. The different calcium-binding protein-defined subdivisions may belong to parallel auditory pathways that were previously demonstrated in non-human primates, and they may constitute a first indication of parallel processing in human subcortical auditory structures.

Gonadal alterations in male whitefish Coregonus fatioi: no evidence for genetic damage reducing viability in early life stages.

In recent years, numerous cases of morphological gonadal alterations in fish have been recorded throughout the world and across a wide range of species. In the whitefish Coregonus fatioi from the pre-alpine Lake Thun (Switzerland), the frequency of gonadal alterations is particularly high and the variety of alteration types large. Little is known about the proximal causes and the direct consequences of these morphological features on population persistence. In particular, the potential for the observed alterations to be the phenotypic expression of reduced genetic quality has not yet been addressed. In this study, we used offspring survival during embryogenesis as a proximate indicator of male genetic quality and tested whether the presence of gonadal alterations in males is an indicator of reduced quality. Embryos resulted from in vitro fertilizations of gametes from 126 males and females. We found no significant correlation between embryo survival and gonadal alteration in adults. Our findings suggest that in C. fatioi of Lake Thun, alterations in gonad morphology are not a phenotypic expression of variation in genetic quality.

Teaching evidence-based management with a focus on producing local evidence

We present an approach to teaching evidence-based management (EBMgt) that trains future managers how to produce local evidence. Local evidence is causally interpretable data, collected on-site in companies to address a specific business problem. Our teaching method is a variant of problem-based learning, a method originally developed to teach evidence-based medicine. Following this method, students learn an evidence-based problem-solving cycle for addressing actual business cases. Executing this cycle, students use and produce scientific evidence through literature searches and the design of local, experimental tests of causal hypotheses. We argue the value of teaching EBMgt with a focus on producing local evidence, how it can be taught, and what can be taught. We conclude by outlining our contribution to the literature on teaching EBMgt and by discussing limitations of our approach.

Pédiatrie 4. Comment traiter la fièvre de l'enfant en 2013 avec un peu d'évidence [How to treat pediatric fever in 2013 with little evidence-based?].

Treatment of pediatric fever is based on two main molecules, paracetamol and ibuprofen. Fever should be treated when associated with discomfort. The two molecules have almost similar efficacy and safety. Monotherapy should be preferred to a combined or alternating treatment. Antipyretics do not seem to prevent febrile seizures.

Impact of brain aging and neurodegeneration on cognition: evidence from MRI.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: We present an overview of recent concepts in mechanisms underlying cognitive decline associated with brain aging and neurodegeneration from the perspective of MRI. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent findings challenge the established link between neuroimaging biomarkers of neurodegeneration and age-related or disease-related cognitive decline. Amyloid burden, white matter hyperintensities and local patterns of brain atrophy seem to have differential impact on cognition, particularly on episodic and working memory - the most vulnerable domains in 'normal aging' and Alzheimer's disease. Studies suggesting that imaging biomarkers of neurodegeneration are independent of amyloid-β give rise to new hypothesis regarding the pathological cascade in Alzheimer's disease. Findings in patients with autosomal-dominant Alzheimer's disease confirm the notion of differential temporal trajectory of amyloid deposition and brain atrophy to add another layer of complexity on the basic mechanisms of cognitive aging and neurodegeneration. Finally, the concept of cognitive reserve in 'supernormal aging' is questioned by evidence for the preservation of neurochemical, structural and functional brain integrity in old age rather than recruitment of 'reserves' for maintaining cognitive abilities. SUMMARY: Recent advances in clinical neuroscience, brain imaging and genetics challenge pathophysiological hypothesis of neurodegeneration and cognitive aging dominating the field in the last decade and call for reconsidering the choice of therapeutic window for early intervention.

New perspectives in the use of ink evidence in forensic science: Part III: Operational applications and evaluation

The research reported in this series of article aimed at (1) automating the search of questioned ink specimens in ink reference collections and (2) at evaluating the strength of ink evidence in a transparent and balanced manner. These aims require that ink samples are analysed in an accurate and reproducible way and that they are compared in an objective and automated way. This latter requirement is due to the large number of comparisons that are necessary in both scenarios. A research programme was designed to (a) develop a standard methodology for analysing ink samples in a reproducible way, (b) comparing automatically and objectively ink samples and (c) evaluate the proposed methodology in forensic contexts. This report focuses on the last of the three stages of the research programme. The calibration and acquisition process and the mathematical comparison algorithms were described in previous papers [C. Neumann, P. Margot, New perspectives in the use of ink evidence in forensic science-Part I: Development of a quality assurance process for forensic ink analysis by HPTLC, Forensic Sci. Int. 185 (2009) 29-37; C. Neumann, P. Margot, New perspectives in the use of ink evidence in forensic science- Part II: Development and testing of mathematical algorithms for the automatic comparison of ink samples analysed by HPTLC, Forensic Sci. Int. 185 (2009) 38-50]. In this paper, the benefits and challenges of the proposed concepts are tested in two forensic contexts: (1) ink identification and (2) ink evidential value assessment. The results show that different algorithms are better suited for different tasks. This research shows that it is possible to build digital ink libraries using the most commonly used ink analytical technique, i.e. high-performance thin layer chromatography, despite its reputation of lacking reproducibility. More importantly, it is possible to assign evidential value to ink evidence in a transparent way using a probabilistic model. It is therefore possible to move away from the traditional subjective approach, which is entirely based on experts' opinion, and which is usually not very informative. While there is room for the improvement, this report demonstrates the significant gains obtained over the traditional subjective approach for the search of ink specimens in ink databases, and the interpretation of their evidential value.