A taxonomical re-evaluation of the Valais chromosome race of the common shrew Sorex araneus (Insectivora: Soricidae)

The common shrew Sorex araneus Linnaeus, 1758 is subject to intense chromosomal polymorphism. About 65 chromosome races are presently known. One of these chromosome races (the Valais race) is karyologically, morphologically, biochemically, and genetically clearly distinct from all other chromosome races of the species. Recent studies of hybrid zones between the Valais race and other chromosome races in the Swiss and French Alps add further strong evidence for the specific taxonomic status of the Valais race. Chromosomes and diagnostic protein markers reveal sharp frequency clines and strong heterozygote deficits. In one hybrid zone, the maintenance of the strong genetic differentiation of the hybridizing taxa was confirmed by a study with autosomal microsatellites indicating minimal gene flow. A microsatellite marker on the Y-chromosome showed complete absence of male mediated gene flow suggesting hybrid male sterility. To clarify the taxonomic status of this taxon, additional analyses were conducted. A morphometric analysis of the mandible indicated the Valais race is morphologically as distinct from neighbouring chromosome races of S. araneus as from other related Sorex species. In a phylogeny based on complete mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b gene sequences, the Valais race clearly appears as the sister taxon to all other races of S. araneus. Therefore, the chromosome race Valais of S. araneus herein is elevated to specific status and the name Sorex antinorii Bonaparte, 1840 is applied.

Efficient targeted transcript discovery via array-based normalization of RACE libraries.

Rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) is a widely used approach for transcript identification. Random clone selection from the RACE mixture, however, is an ineffective sampling strategy if the dynamic range of transcript abundances is large. To improve sampling efficiency of human transcripts, we hybridized the products of the RACE reaction onto tiling arrays and used the detected exons to delineate a series of reverse-transcriptase (RT)-PCRs, through which the original RACE transcript population was segregated into simpler transcript populations. We independently cloned the products and sequenced randomly selected clones. This approach, RACEarray, is superior to direct cloning and sequencing of RACE products because it specifically targets new transcripts and often results in overall normalization of transcript abundance. We show theoretically and experimentally that this strategy leads indeed to efficient sampling of new transcripts, and we investigated multiplexing the strategy by pooling RACE reactions from multiple interrogated loci before hybridization.

Valuing equity-linked death benefits in jump diffusion models

The paper is motivated by the valuation problem of guaranteed minimum death benefits in various equity-linked products. At the time of death, a benefit payment is due. It may depend not only on the price of a stock or stock fund at that time, but also on prior prices. The problem is to calculate the expected discounted value of the benefit payment. Because the distribution of the time of death can be approximated by a combination of exponential distributions, it suffices to solve the problem for an exponentially distributed time of death. The stock price process is assumed to be the exponential of a Brownian motion plus an independent compound Poisson process whose upward and downward jumps are modeled by combinations (or mixtures) of exponential distributions. Results for exponential stopping of a Lévy process are used to derive a series of closed-form formulas for call, put, lookback, and barrier options, dynamic fund protection, and dynamic withdrawal benefit with guarantee. We also discuss how barrier options can be used to model lapses and surrenders.

Geometric stopping of a random walk and its applications to valuing equity-linked death benefits

We study discrete-time models in which death benefits can depend on a stock price index, the logarithm of which is modeled as a random walk. Examples of such benefit payments include put and call options, barrier options, and lookback options. Because the distribution of the curtate-future-lifetime can be approximated by a linear combination of geometric distributions, it suffices to consider curtate-future-lifetimes with a geometric distribution. In binomial and trinomial tree models, closed-form expressions for the expectations of the discounted benefit payment are obtained for a series of options. They are based on results concerning geometric stopping of a random walk, in particular also on a version of the Wiener-Hopf factorization.

L'articulation des rapports sociaux de sexe, de classe et de race dans la migration et le travail des femmes haïtiennes

Nombre de femmes paysannes haïtiennes migrent vers Port-au-Prince où elles deviennent travailleuses domestiques. Leur service domestique permet aux femmes qui les emploient de s'investir dans le travail non-domestique et de pouvoir accéder ainsi à la migration internationale. En France, ces migrantes deviennent à leur tour travailleuses domestiques, ce qui permet aux femmes françaises de s'investir dans le travail non-domestique. Ces phénomènes témoignent de l'existence d'une chaîne de travail et de migration où s'articulent les rapports sociaux de sexe, de classe, de race et les confrontations Nord/Sud, au coeur de la mondialisation néolibérale. Quelques-unes de ces femmes racontent leur histoire qui exprime à la fois la violence des rapports sociaux et leurs stratégies pour devenir sujet. Pour penser ces « Sujettes », je propose une approche qui croise la recherche féministe et la sociologie clinique sur les plans théorique, méthodologique et épistémologique. -- Many rural Haitian women migrate to Port-au-Prince and become domestic workers. Their domestic service allows other women to invest in the non-domestic work and access to international migration as well. In France, these Haitian migrants become domestic workers in turn, which allows French women to invest in the non-domestic work. These phenomena demonstrate the existence of a global work and migration chain where gender, class, race and the North/South confrontations are articulated, in the neoliberal globalization. Some of these women tell their life story which expresses both the violence of social problems and their strategies to become subject. To think these "subjects" I propose to cross feminist research and clinical sociology on the theoretical, methodological and epistemological point of view. Intersectionality among gender, race and class, North / South confrontations, productive and reproductive labour , domestic work, domestic service, care work , internal and international migration, neoliberal globalization, clinical sociology.

Accessibility, equity and the sharing of water resources

While the supply of water to dry or arid mountain regions has long been a major challenge, the on-going processes of climatic and socio-economic change currently affecting the hydrosystems of the Alps raise the spectre of renewed pressure on water resources and possible local shortages. In such a context, questions relating to fair distribution of water are all the more sensitive given the tendency to neglect the social dimension of sustainability. The present paper makes both a conceptual and empirical contribution to this debate by analysing a system of distribution that has a long experience of water scarcity management: the community governance models traditionally linked to the irrigation channels, or bisses, typical of the Swiss Alpine canton of Valais. More specifically, we evaluate these models in terms of accessibility and equity, characteristics that we use to operationalize the notion of 'fair distribution'. We examine these dimensions in three case studies with a view to highlighting the limitations of the aforementioned models. Indeed, despite their cooperative and endogenous nature, they tend to not only exclude certain members of the population, but also to reproduce rather than reduce social inequalities within the community. In general, these results challenge the rosy picture generally found in the literature relating to these community governance models.

L'invention de la race : des représentations scientifiques aux exhibitions populaires

4e de couv.: Comment est né le concept moderne, scientifique, de "race" ? Pourquoi est-il devenu si rapidement hiérarchique, distinguant les "races inférieures" des "races supérieures" ? Et comment ce concept a-t-il pu revêtir une telle importance, aussi bien au sein de la communauté scientifique qu'auprès du grand public, au cours du XIXe siècle et du début du XXe siècle, jusqu'à être utilisé pour expliquer l'histoire et le devenir de l'humanité ? Autant d'interrogations, à l'origine de ce livre. L'invention de la race analyse la genèse des conceptions scientifiques de la "race", et montre que les nouvelles techniques de mesure et de représentation des corps racialisés opèrent une révolution visuelle majeure, inscrivant la différence humaine dans la biologie. Cet ouvrage avance qu'à partir d'une origine européenne, l'idée de race s'est étendue - par les connexions transnationales de réseaux scientifiques et marchands -, à tout l'Occident, mais aussi au Japon, à la Corée et à une partie de la Chine. Partout, elle suscite représentations et politique raciales discriminatoires. L'ouvrage montre aussi que les théories sur les hiérarchies raciales ont influencé les spectacles ethniques (dont les zoos humains), les expositions internationales et coloniales, la photographie ou les collections ethnographiques. Les expositions internationales et coloniales et l'internationalisation des spectacles ethniques ont largement véhiculé ces hiérarchies, contribuant forger une vision du monde fondée sur l'inégalité des races.