A system to test the toxicity of brake wear particles

Fine particulate matter from traffic increases mortality and morbidity. An important source of traffic particles is brake wear. American studies reported cars to emit break wear particles at a rate of about 11mg/km to 20mg/km of driven distance. A German study estimated that break wear contributes about 12.5% to 21% of the total traffic particle emissions. The goal of this study was to build a system that allows the study of brake wear particle emissions during different braking behaviours of different car and brake types. The particles should be characterize in terms of size, number, metal, and elemental and organic carbon composition. In addition, the influence of different deceleration schemes on the particle composition and size distribution should be studied. Finally, this system should allow exposing human cell cultures to these particles. An exposure-box (0.25 cubic-m volume) was built that can be mounted around a car's braking system. This allows exposing cells to fresh brake wear particles. Concentrations of particle numbers, mass and surface, metals, and carbon compounds were quantified. Tests were conducted with A549 lung epithelial cells. Five different cars and two typical braking behaviours (full stop and normal deceleration) were tested. Particle number and size distribution was analysed for the first six minutes. In this time, two braking events occurred. Full stop produced significantly higher particle concentrations than normal deceleration (average of 23'000 vs. 10'400 #/cm3, p= 0.016). The particle number distribution was bi-modal with one peak at 60 to 100 nm (depending on the tested car and braking behaviour) and a second peak at 200 to 400 nm. Metal concentrations varied depending on the tested car type. Iron (range of 163 to 15'600 μg/m3) and Manganese (range of 0.9 to 135 μg/m3) were present in all samples, while Copper was absent in some samples (<6 to 1220 μg/m3). The overall "fleet" metal ratio was Fe:Cu:Mn = 128:14:1. Temperature and humidity varied little. A549-cells were successfully exposed in the various experimental settings and retained their viability. Culture supernatant was stored and cell culture samples were fixated to test for inflammatory response. Analysis of these samples is ongoing. The established system allowed testing brake wear particle emissions from real-world cars. The large variability of chemical composition and emitted amounts of brake wear particles between car models seems to be related to differences between brake pad compositions of different producers. Initial results suggest that the conditions inside the exposure box allow exposing human lung epithelial cells to freshly produced brake wear particles.

Melt topology and chemistry during partial melting in contact aureoles : an experimental study and field example

This study was initiated to investigate partial melting within the high-grade metamorphic rocks beneath the Little Cottonwood contact aureole (Utah, USA), in order to understand the melt generation, melt migration, and geometry of initial melt distribution on grain scale during crustal anatexis. The emplacement of the Little Cottonwood stock produced a contact aureole in the pelitic host rocks of the Big Cottonwood formation (BC). Metamorphic isogrades in pelitic rocks range form biotite to 2nd sillimanite grade as a function of distance from the contact. Migmatites are restricted to the highest grade and resulted form partial melting of the BC formation rocks. First melt was produced by a combined muscovite/biotite dehydration reaction in the sillimanite + k-feldspar stability field. Melt extraction from the pelites resulted in restites (magnetite + cordierite + alumosilicate ± biotite) surrounded by feldspar enriched quartzite zones. This texture is the result of gradual infiltration of partial melts into the quartzite. Larger, discrete melt accumulation occurred in extensional or transpressional domains such as boudin necks, veins, and ductile shear zones. Melt composition are Si02- rich, crystallized as pegmatites, and apparently were very mobile. They were able to infiltrate the quartzite pervaisivly. These melts are similar in composition to first melts produced in the hydrothermal partial melt experiments at 2kbar between 700 - 800°C on fine grained high metamorphic rocks (andalusite-cordierited-biotite-zone) of the BC formation. The experimental melts are water rich and in disequilibrium with the melting rock. Initial melt composition is heterogeneous for short run duration, reflective a lack of chemical equilibrium between individual melt pools. Rock core scale heterogeneity decreased with time indicating partial homogenization of melt compositions. A simultaneous shift of melt composition to higher silica content with time was observed. The silica content of the melt increased due to local melt/mineral reactions. Melt textures indicate that reactive melt transport is most efficient along grain boundaries rimmed by dissimilar grains. Melt heterogeneity resulted in chemical potential gradients which are major driving forces for initial melt migration and govern melt distribution during initial melting. An additional subject of the thesis is the crystal size distributions of opaque minerals in a fine-grained, high-grade meta-pelite of the Big Cottonwood which were obtained from 3D X-ray tomography (uCT) and 2D thin section analysis. µCT delivers accurate size distributions within a restricted range (~ a factor of 20 in size in a single 3D image), while the absolute number of crystals is difficult to obtain from these sparsely distributed, small crystals on the basis of 2D images. Crystal size distributions obtained from both methods are otherwise similar. - Ce travail de recherche a été entrepris dans le but d'étudier les processus de fusion partielle dans les roches fortement métamorphiques de l'auréole de contact de Little Cottonwood (Utah, USA) et ceci afin de comprendre la génération de liquide de fusion, la migration de ces liquides et la géométrie de la distribution initiale des liquides de fusion à l'échelle du grain durant l'anatexie de la croûte. L'emplacement du petit massif intrusif de Little Cottonwood a produit une auréole de contact dans les roches pélitiques encaissantes appartenant à la Foimation du Big Cottonwood (BC). Les isogrades métamorphiques dans les roches pélitiques varient de l'isograde de la biotite à la deuxième isograde de la sillimanite en fonction de la distance par rapport au massif intrusif. Les migmatites sont restreintes aux zones montrant le plus haut degré métamorphique et résultent de la fusion partielle des roches de la Formation de BC. Le premier liquide de fusion a été produit par la réaction de déshydratation combinée de la muscovite et de la biotite dans le champ de stabilité du feldspath potassique Pt de la sillimanite. L'extraction du liquide de fusion des pélites forme des restites (magnétites + cordiérite + aluminosilicate ± biotite) entourées par des zones de quartzites enrichies en feldspath. Cette texture est le résultat de l'infiltration graduelle du liquide de fusion partielle dans les quartzites. Des accumulations distinctes et plus larges de liquide de fusion ont lieu dans des domaines d'extension ou de transpression tels que les boudins, les veines, et les zones de cisaillement ductile. La composition des liquides de fusion est similaire à celle des liquides pegmatoïdes, et ces liquides sont apparemment très mobiles et capables d'infiltrer les quartzites. Ces liquides de fusion ont la même composition que les premiers liquides produits dans les expériences hydrotheunales de fusion partielle à 2kbar et entre 700-800° C sur les roches finement grenues et hautement métamorphiques (andalousite-cordiérite-biotite zone) de la Formation de BC. Les liquides de fusion obtenus expérimentalement sont riches en eau et sont en déséquilibre avec la roche en fusion. La composition initiale des liquides de fusion est hétérogène pour les expériences de courte durée et reflète l'absence d'équilibre chimique entre les différentes zones d'accumulation des liquides de fusion. L'hétérogénéité à l'échelle du noyau s'estompe avec le temps et témoigne de l'homogénéisation de la composition des liquides de fusion. Par ailleurs, on observe parallèlement un décalage de la composition des liquides vers des compositions plus riches en silice au cours du temps. Le contenu en silice des liquides de fusion évolue vers un liquide pegmatitique en raison des réactions liquides/minéraux. Les textures des liquides de fusion indiquent que le transport des liquides est plus efficace le long des bordures de grains bordés par des grains différents. Aucun changement apparent du volume total n'est visible. L'hétérogénéité des liquides s'accompagne d'un gradient de potentiel chimique qui sert de moteur principal à la migration des liquides et à la distribution des liquides durant la fusion. Un sujet complémentaire de ce travail de thèse réside dans l'étude de la distribution de la taille des cristaux opaques dans les pélites finement grenues et fortement métamorphiques de la Formation de Big Cottonwood. Les distributions de taille ont été obtenues suite à l'analyse d'images 3D acquise par tomographie ainsi que par analyse de lames minces. La microtomographie par rayon X fournit une distribution de taille précise sur une marge restreinte (- un facteur de taille 20 dans une seule image 3D), alors que le nombre absolu de cristaux est difficile à obtenir sur la base d'image 2D en raison de la petite taille et de la faible abondance de ces cristaux. Les distributions de taille obtenues par les deux méthodes sont sinon similaire. Abstact: Chemical differentiation of the primitive Earth was due to melting and separation of melts. Today, melt generation and emplacement is still the dominant process for the growth of the crust. Most granite formation is due to partial melting of the lower crust, followed by transport of magma through the crust to the shallow crust where it is emplaced. Partial melting and melt segregation are essential steps before such a granitic magma can ascent through the crust. The chemistry and physics of partial melting and segregation is complex. Hence detailed studies, in which field observations yield critical information that can be compared to experimental observations, are crucial to the understanding of these fundamental processes that lead and are leading to the chemical stratification of the Earth. The research presented in this thesis is a combined field and experimental study of partial melting of high-grade meta-pelitic rocks of the Little Cottonwood contact aureole (Utah, USA). Contact metamorphic rocks are ideal for textural studies of melt generation, since the relatively short times of the metamorphic event prevents much of the recrystallization which plagues textural studies of lower crustal rocks. The purpose of the study is to characterize melt generation, identify melting reactions, and to constrain melt formation, segregation and migration mechanisms. In parallel an experimental study was undertaken to investigate melt in the high grade meta pelitic rocks, to confirm melt composition, and to compare textures of the partial molten rock cores in the absence of deformation. Results show that a pegmatoidal melt is produced by partial melting of the pelitic rocks. This melt is highly mobile. It is capable of pervasive infiltration of the adjacent quartzite. Infiltration results in rounded quartz grains bordered by a thin feldspar rim. Using computed micro X-ray tomography these melt networks can be imaged. The infiltrated melt leads to rheological weakening and to a decompaction of the solid quartzite. Such decompaction can explain the recent discovery of abundant xenocrysts in many magmas, since it favors the isolation of mineral grains. Pervasive infiltration is apparently strongly influenced by melt viscosity and melt-crystal wetting behavior, both of which depend on the water content of melt and the temperature. In all experiments the first melt is produced on grain boundaries, dominantly by the local minerals. Grain scale heterogeneity of a melting rock leads thus to chemical concentration gradients in the melt, which are the driving force for initial melt migration. Pervasive melt films along grain boundaries leading to an interconnected network are immediately established. The initial chemical heterogeneities in the melt diminish with time. Résumé large public: La différenciation chimique de la Terre primitive est la conséquence de la fusion des roches et de la séparation des liquides qui en résultent. Aujourd'hui, la production de liquide magmatique est toujours le mécanisme dominant pour la croissance de la croûte terrestre. Ainsi la formation de la plupart des granites est un processus qui implique la production de magma par fusion partielle de la croûte inférieure, la migration de ces magmas à travers la croûte et finalement son emplacement dans les niveaux superficielle de la croûte terrestre. Au cours de cette évolution, les processus de fusion partielle et de ségrégation sont des étapes indispensables à l'ascension des granites à travers la croûte. Les conditions physico-chimiques nécessaires à la fusion partielle et à l'extraction de ces liquides sont complexes. C'est pourquoi des études détaillées des processus de fusion partielle sont cruciales pour la compréhension de ces mécanismes fondamentaux responsables de la stratification chimique de la Terre. Parmi ces études, les observations de terrain apportent notamment des informations déterminantes qui peuvent être comparées aux données expérimentales. Le travail de recherche présenté dans ce mémoire de thèse associe études de terrain et données expérimentales sur la fusion partielle des roches pélitiques de haut degré métamorphiques provenant de l'auréole de contact de Little Cottonwood (Utah, USA). Les roches du métamorphisme de contact sont idéales pour l'étude de la folination de liquide de fusion. En effet, la durée relativement courte de ce type d'événement métamorphique prévient en grande partie la recristallisation qui perturbe les études de texture des roches dans la croûte inférieure. Le but de cette étude est de caractériser la génération des liquides de fusion, d'identifier les réactions responsables de la fusion de ces roches et de contraindre la formation de ces liquides et leur mécanisme de ségrégation et de migration. Parallèlement, des travaux expérimentaux ont été entrepris pour reproduire la fusion partielle de ces roches en laboratoire. Cette étude a été effectuée dans le but de confirmer la composition chimique des liquides, et de comparer les textures obtenues en l'absence de déformation. Les résultats montrent qu'un liquide de fusion pegmatoïde est produit par fusion partielle des roches pélitiques. La grande mobilité de ce liquide permet une infiltration pénétrative dans les quarzites. Ces infiltrations se manifestent par des grains de quartz arrondis entourés par une fine bordure de feldspath. L'utilisation de la tomography à rayons X a permis d'obtenir des images de ce réseau de liquide de fusion. L'infiltration de liquide de fusion entraîne un affaiblissement de la rhéologie de la roche ainsi qu'une décompaction des quartzites massifs. Une telle décompaction peut expliquer la découverte récente d'abondants xénocristaux dans beaucoup de magmas, puisque elle favorise l'isolation des minéraux. L'infiltration pénétrative est apparemment fortement influencée par la viscosité du fluide de fusion et le comportement de la tension superficielle entre les cristaux et le liquide, les deux étant dépendant du contenu en eau dans le liquide de fusion et de la température. Dans toutes les expériences, le premier liquide est produit sur les bordures de grains, principalement par les minéraux locaux. L'hétérogénéité à l'échelle des grains d'une roche en fusion conduit donc à un gradient de concentration chimique dans le liquide, qui sert de moteur à l'initiation de la migration du liquide. Des fines couches de liquide de fusion le long de bordures de grains formant un réseau enchevêtré s'établit immédiatement. Les hétérogénéités chimiques initiales dans le liquide s'estompent avec le temps.

Efficacies of moxifloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and vancomycin against experimental endocarditis due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus expressing various degrees of ciprofloxacin resistance.

The new 8-methoxyquinolone moxifloxacin was tested against two ciprofloxacin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus strains (strains P8 and COL) and two ciprofloxacin-resistant derivatives of strain P8 carrying a single grlA mutation (strain P8-4) and double grlA and gyrA mutations (strain P8-128). All strains were resistant to methicillin. The MICs of ciprofloxacin and moxifloxacin were 0.5 and 0.125 mg/liter, respectively, for P8; 0.25 and 0.125 mg/liter, respectively, for COL; 8 and 0.25 mg/liter, respectively, for P8-4; and &gt;or=128 and 2 mg/liter, respectively, for P8-128. In vitro, the rate of spontaneous resistance of P8 and COL was 10(-7) on agar plates containing ciprofloxacin at two times the MIC, whereas it was &lt;or=10(-10) on agar plates containing moxifloxacin at two times the MIC. Rats with experimental aortic endocarditis were treated with doses of drugs that simulate the kinetics in humans: moxifloxacin, 400 mg orally once a day; ciprofloxacin, 750 mg orally twice a day; or vancomycin, 1 g intravenously twice a day. Treatment was started either 12 or 24 h after infection and lasted for 3 days. Moxifloxacin treatment resulted in culture-negative vegetations in a total of 20 of 21 (95%) rats infected with P8, 10 of 11 (91%) rats infected with COL, and 19 of 24 (79%) rats infected with P8-4 (P &lt; 0.05 compared to the results for the controls). In contrast, ciprofloxacin treatment sterilized zero of nine (0%) vegetations infected with first-level resistant mutant P8-4. Vancomycin sterilized only 8 of 15 (53%), 6 of 11 (54%), and 12 of 23 (52%) of the vegetations, respectively. No moxifloxacin-resistant derivative emerged among these organisms. However, moxifloxacin treatment of highly ciprofloxacin-resistant mutant P8-128 failed and selected for variants for which the MIC increased two times in 2 of 10 animals. Thus, while oral moxifloxacin might deserve consideration as treatment for staphylococcal infections in humans, caution related to its use against strains for which MICs are borderline is warranted.

A novel neuro-muscular marker for the heavy subunit of neurofilament proteins, NF-H, and striated muscle myosin of Xenopus laevis.

A novel monoclonal antibody, M7, is described, that reacts on Western blots with the large subunit of the neurofilament triplet proteins (NF-H) and with striated muscle myosin of Xenopus laevis. Enzymatically digested neurofilament and myosin proteins revealed different immunoreactive peptide fragments on Western blots. Therefore, the antibody must react with immunologically related epitopes common to both proteins. Immunohistochemistry showed staining of large and small axons in CNS and PNS, and nerves could be followed into endplate regions of skeletal muscles. These muscles were characterized by a striated immunostaining of the M-lines. Despite the crossreactivity of M7 with NF-H and muscle myosin, this antibody may be a tool to study innervation of muscle fibers, and to define changes in the neuromuscular organization during early development and metamorphosis of tadpoles.

Chronic subjective dizziness

CONCLUSION: Chronic subjective dizziness (CSD) is frequent and affects twice as many women as men. Anxiety is a strong predisposing factor. The pathophysiologic concept of this disorder assumes that balance function and emotion share common neurologic pathways, which might explain that the balance disorder can provoke fear and vice versa, giving rise to a problem in perception of space and motion. In anxious patients this can turn into a space and motion phobia, with avoidance behaviour. OBJECTIVE: CSD is a diagnosis based on the hypothesis of an interaction between the vestibular system and the psychiatric sphere. Patients complain of chronic imbalance, worsened by visual motion stimulation, and frequently suffer from anxiety. Vestibular examination reveals no anomalies. We evaluated the incidence and characteristics of CSD in patients referred to our neuro-otology centre (tertiary hospital outpatient clinic). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study of 1552 consecutive patients presenting with vertigo. CSD was diagnosed in 164 patients (female:male=111:53). RESULTS: CSD represents 10.6% of the dizzy patients in our clinic. Psychiatric disorder, mainly anxiety, was found in 79.3% of the cases. Other frequently associated factors were fear of heights and former vestibular lesion (healed). In all, 79.0% of the patients with CSD had poor balance performance on dynamic posturography testing.

Linee guida della consensus conference dell'ANGP per il monitoraggio plasmatico dei farmaci (TDM) in psichiatria. Aggiornamento 2011 =AGNP consensus guidelines for therapeutic drug monitoring in psychiatry: update 2011

Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), i.e., the quantification of serum or plasma concentrations of medications for dose optimization, has proven a valuable tool for the patient-matched psychopharmacotherapy. Uncertain drug adherence, suboptimal tolerability, non-response at therapeutic doses, or pharmacokinetic drug-drug interactions are typical situations when measurement of medication concentrations is helpful. Patient populations that may predominantly benefit from TDM in psychiatry are children, pregnant women, elderly patients, individuals with intelligence disabilities, forensic patients, patients with known or suspected genetically determined pharmacokinetic abnormalities or individuals with pharmacokinetically relevant comorbidities. However, the potential benefits of TDM for optimization of pharmacotherapy can only be obtained if the method is adequately integrated into the clinical treatment process. To promote an appropriate use of TDM, the TDM expert group of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Neuropsychopharmakologie und Pharmakopsychiatrie (AGNP) issued guidelines for TDM in psychiatry in 2004. Since then, knowledge has advanced significantly, and new psychopharmacologic agents have been introduced that are also candidates for TDM. Therefore the TDM consensus guidelines were updated and extended to 128 neuropsychiatric drugs. 4 levels of recommendation for using TDM were defined ranging from "strongly recommended" to "potentially useful". Evidence-based "therapeutic reference ranges" and "dose related reference ranges" were elaborated after an extensive literature search and a structured internal review process. A "laboratory alert level" was introduced, i.e., a plasma level at or above which the laboratory should immediately inform the treating physician. Supportive information such as cytochrome P450 substrateand inhibitor properties of medications, normal ranges of ratios of concentrations of drug metabolite to parent drug and recommendations for the interpretative services are given. Recommendations when to combine TDM with pharmacogenetic tests are also provided. Following the guidelines will help to improve the outcomes of psychopharmacotherapy of many patients especially in case of pharmacokinetic problems. Thereby, one should never forget that TDM is an interdisciplinary task that sometimes requires the respectful discussion of apparently discrepant data so that, ultimately, the patient can profit from such a joint effort.

Response of embryonic heart to hypoxia and reoxygenation: an in vitro model

OBJECTIVES: To define properly the consequences of oxygen deprivation and readmission for the functioning of the developing heart. METHODS: Spontaneously beating hearts excised from three-day-old chick embryos were loaded with a drop of viscous nontoxic silicone oil and cultured in a special chamber in which variations of PO2 at the tissue level could be strictly controlled. All parts of the hearts were simultaneously submitted to identical changes in PO2. Instantaneous heart rate, myocardial shortening, velocities of contraction and relaxation, and mechanical propagation along the heart tube were determined photometrically. RESULTS: The hearts, submitted to a PO2 ramp (0 to 9.3 kPa) or absolute anoxia, reacted rapidly, reversibly and reproducibly. Under sustained anoxia, ventricular activity stopped after 3.8±0.7 mins (n=4) and then resumed intermittently in the form of tachycardic bursts. Brief anoxia (1 min) provoked tachycardia followed by bradycardia, induced contracture, depressed contractility and retarded atrioventricular propagation. Upon reoxygenation, ventricular contractions ceased suddently for 20±11 s (n=5), whereas a residual atrial activity could persist. The duration of this arrest and the rate of recovery depended on duration of the preceding anoxia. Such a dysfunction constitutes the embryonic analogue of the oxygen paradox observed in adult hearts. Initial impulses, including arrhythmic activity, originated exclusively from the atrium, and no ventricular ectopic beats were detected whatever the conditions of oxygenation. CONCLUSIONS: This in vitro model seems promising for studying the pathophysiological mechanisms associated with hypoxia and reoxygenation in the developing heart.

From Leadership to Citizenship Behavior in Public Organizations: When Values Matter

After decades of management reforms in the public sector, questions on the impact of leader-ship behavior in public organizations have been attracting increasing attention. This paper investigates the relationship between transformational leadership behavior and organizational citizenship behavior as one major extra-role outcome of transformational leadership. Refer-ring to a growing body of research that shows the importance of public service values and employee identification in public administration research, we include public service motiva-tion and organizational goal clarification as mediating variables in our analysis. Structural equation modeling is applied as the method of analysis for a sample of 569 public managers at the local level of Switzerland. The findings of our study support the assumed indirect relation-ship between leadership and employee behavior and emphasize the relevance of public ser-vice values when analyzing leadership behavior in public sector organizations.

Progression rate of self-propelled feeding tubes in critically ill patients.

OBJECTIVE: Gaining postpyloric access in ventilated, sedated ICU patients usually requires time-consuming procedures such as endoscopy. Recently, a feeding tube has been introduced that migrates spontaneously into the jejunum in surgical patients. The study aimed at assessing the rate of migration of this tube in critically ill patients. DESIGN: Prospective descriptive trial. SETTING: Surgical ICU in a tertiary University Hospital. PATIENTS: One hundred and five consecutive surgical ICU patients requiring enteral feeding were enrolled, resulting in 128 feeding-tube placement attempts. METHODS: A self-propelled tube was used and followed up for 3 days: progression was assessed by daily contrast-injected X-ray. Severity of illness was assessed with SAPS II and organ failure assessed with SOFA score. RESULTS: The patients were aged 55+/-19 years (mean+/-SD) with SAPS II score of 45+/-18. Of the 128 tube placement attempts, 12 could not be placed in the stomach; eight were accidentally pulled out while in gastric position due to the necessity to avoid fixation during the progression phase. Among organ failures, respiratory failure predominated, followed by cardiovascular. By day 3, the postpyloric progression rate was 63/128 tubes (49%). There was no association between migration and age, or SAPS II score, but the progression rate was significantly poorer in patients with hemodynamic failure. Use of norepinephrine and morphine were negatively associated with tube progression (P<0.001), while abdominal surgery was not. In ten patients, jejunal tubes were placed by endoscopy. CONCLUSION: Self-propelled feeding tubes progressed from the stomach to the postpyloric position in 49% of patients, reducing the number of endoscopic placements: these tubes may facilitate enteral nutrient delivery in the ICU.

Meal-induced thermogenesis in obese children with or without familial history of obesity.

Resting metabolic rate (RMR) and the thermic effect of a meal (TEM) were measured in a group of 26 prepubertal children divided into three groups: (1) children with both parents obese (n = 8, group OB2); (2) children with no obese parents and without familial history of obesity (n = 8, OB0); and (3) normal body weight children (n = 10, C). Average RMR was similar in OB2 and OB0 children (4785 +/- 274 kJ/day vs 5091 +/- 543 kJ/day), but higher (P < 0.05) than in controls (4519 +/- 322 kJ/day). Adjusted for fat-free mass (FFM) mean RMRs were comparable in the three groups of children (4891 +/- 451 kJ/day vs 5031 +/- 451 kJ/day vs 4686 +/- 451 kJ/day in OB2, OB0, and C, respectively). The thermic response to the mixed meal was similar in OB2, OB0 and C groups. The TEM calculated as the percentage of RMR was lower (P < 0.05) in obese than in control children: 10.2% +/- 3.1% vs 10.9% +/- 4.3% vs 14.0% +/- 4.3% in OB2, OB0, and C, respectively. The similar RMR as absolute value as well as adjusted for FFM, and the comparable thermic effect of food in the obese children with or without familial history of obesity, failed to support the view that family history of obesity can greatly influence the RMR and the TEM of the obese child with obese parents.

Le virage des tribunes. Le public de Neuchâtel Xamax dans un contexte de modernisation des stades

Depuis une décennie, les stades de football suisses connaissent une vague de modernisation. Conçues selon des standards de confort et de sécurité plus élevés, les enceintes sportives s'intègrent désormais dans des complexes multifonctionnels construits dans une optique de rentabilité économique. La transformation du « lieu » stade soulève de nombreuses questions sur le profil et les modes de fréquentation du public. En s'appuyant sur une double enquête menée auprès des spectateurs du club de Neuchâtel Xamax, avant et après l'inauguration d'un nouveau stade, cet ouvrage étudie les principales implications sociales du processus de modernisation en cours. L'analyse porte plus spécifiquement sur l'évolution de la composition sociodémographique du public, sur les pratiques participatives et sur le rôle social joué par ce lieu encore largement méconnu.

Ophtalmologie. Nouvelles tendances dans la chirurgie de la cataracte [Ophthalmology. New trends in cataract surgery].

Cataract surgery is the most frequent surgery performed in the world. Modernization of cataract surgery is a continuous process and recent technological progress have enlarged the spectrum of treatable refractive errors, improved safety of surgery, speed of visual recovery and reduction of complications rate. Thus, during the last years, refractive intraocular lenses such as toric and multifocal IOLS have been introduced in practice, as well as torsional phacoemulsification and corneal microincision. For endophthalmitis prophylaxis, modern management includes intracameral injection of antibiotics. The future of cataract surgery is probably to replace phacoemulsification surgery by laser surgery, which is safer and more reproducible.