The hotel industry and its importance in the technical and economic development of a region : the Lake Geneva case (1852-1914)

The historiography dedicated to tourism has emphasised how some socio-economic evolutions such as urbanisation, mechanisation of transport or the advent of leisure time in society have supported pleasure trips and therefore the development of the hotel industry. On the contrary, the research has too often neglected or at least minimised the impact of the hotel sector on a region's development. This contribution seeks to fill this gap by analysing the Geneva Lake region, one of the most important birthplaces of the European tourism. In this space not much touched by the first industrial revolution, the hotel business has in fact played the role of an economic motor, stimulating investment and employment. This dynamism provoked a domino effect on several other sectors of the economy (industry, bulding sector, banking). To please their customers, the hoteliers have not only given impulses on housing modernisation, but also to the revitalisation of transport, energy and communication networks. The necessity to remain on the state-of-the-art of technical issues, with the concern of competitiveness, has called forth an acceleration of the technology transfer and stimulated the constitution of technical know-how.

Comment on "Geochemistry, petrogenesis and tectonic setting of the Samothraki mafic suite, NE Greece: Trace-element, isotopic and zircon age constraints'' by N. Koglin, D. Kostopoulos & T. Reischmann [Tectonophysics 473, 53-68 (doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2008.10.028)]

The work by Koglin et al. (Koglin, N., Kostopoulos, D., Reichmann, T., 2009. Geochemistry, petrogenesis and tectonic setting of the Samothraki mafic Suite, NE Greece: Trace-element, isotopic and zircon age constraints. Tectonophysics 473, 53-68. doi: 10.1016/j.tecto.2008.10.028), where the authors have proposed to nullify the scenario presented by Bonev and Stampfli (Bonev, N., Stampfli, G., 2008. Petrology, geochemistry and geodynamic implications of Jurassic island arc magmatism as revealed by mafic volcanic rocks in the Mesozoic low-grade sequence, eastern Rhodope, Bulgaria. Lithos 100, 210-233) is here Put under discussion. The arguments for this proposal are reviewed in the light of available stratigraphic and radiometric age constraints, geochemical signature and tectonics of highly relevant Jurassic ophiolitic suites occurring immediately north of the Samothraki mafic suite. Our conclusion is that the weak arguments and the lack of knowledge on the relevant constraints from the regional geologic information make inconsistent the Proposal and the model of these authors. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nationalisme économique et réalisme mercantile : la politique énergétique russe sous Poutine (2000-2008)

Mon travail met en évidence la restructuration de l'industrie énergétique russe sous les deux mandats Poutine (2000-2008) via le rôle prédominant de l'État dans une perspective historique. Une nouvelle élite politique russe (les Silovikis) issue des structures de force de l'Etat favorise le nationalisme économique axé sur le rétablissement de l'autorité du gouvernement central au sein de l'industrie énergétique nationale au détriment des pouvoirs régionaux, des sociétés privées étrangères et des oligarques indépendants. Dans cette perspective, on peut citer "l'affaire Youkos" en 2003 caractérisée par l'arrestation de l'oligarque Mikhaïl Khodorkhovsky; les tentatives silovikiennes de reprendre l'ascendant sur les compagnies pétrolières régionales Tatneft et Bachneft gérées par les gouvernements tatar et bachkir, la pression fiscale envers les majors pétrolières étrangères à l'instar du conflit russo- britannique relatif à la joint-venture TNK-BP. Quant à la politique énergétique étrangère russe, elle est inspirée par line vision réaliste mercantile; le gouvernement silovikien vise à défendre l'intérêt national, le prestige et la puissance de la Russie via ses "champions" énergétiques Rosneft et Gazprom utilisés comme levier politique, notamment à l'égard des pays de la CEI considéré par Moscou comme sa sphère d'influence historique. Dans cette perspective, nous pouvons mentionner l'interruption des approvisionnements pétroliers et gaziers russes à l'Ukraine, aux Etats baltes ou encore à la Géorgie; la concurrence entre les majors russes et étrangères en Asie centrale / Caucase pour les champs pétrolifères et les tracés de pipelines (nouveau «Grand Jeu»); la diversification des marchés russes à l'exportation à travers la promotion de nouveaux pipelines partant des champs pétrolifères sibériens vers la Chine et l'océan Pacifique.¦My work highlights the restructuration of the Russian energy industry under the 2 Putin madates (2000-2008) by the predominant role of the state in a historical perspective. A new Russian politic elite (Siloviki) from state structure forces promotes the economic nationalism focused on the reestablishment of the central governmental authority in the national energy industry against regional powers, private foreign companies and independent oligarchs. In this perspective, we can mention the "Yukos Affair" in 2003 with the arrest of the oligarch Mikhail Khodorkhovsky; the silovikian attempts to take over the regional oil companies Tatneft and Bachneft handled by the Tatar and Bashkir governments; the fiscal silovikian pressure against foreign companies such as the Russo-Britannic joint- venture TNK-BP. As for the Russian energy Foreign policy, it is inspired by a mercantile realism vision; the silovikian government aims to defend the national interest, the prestige and the power of Russia through its energy companies Rosneft and Gazprom as a political leverage especially toward the CEI Countries considered by Moscow as it historical sphere of influence. In this perspective, we can mention the interruption of Russian oil&gas supply toward Ukraine, Baltic states or Georgia; the competition between Russian and foreign companies in Central Asia/Caucasus for oil and gas fields and pipeline routes (new "Great Game"); the diversification of Russian export markets through the promotion ο new pipelines from Siberian oil&gas fields to China and the Pacific Ocean.

Synthèse et conclusions aux Journées de la biodiversité 2008 dans le Vallon de Nant (Bex, Alpes vaudoises).

Les auteurs abordent la problématique de la biodiversité et de sa valorisation par les Journées de la biodiversité. Les 5 et 6 juillet 2008 ont été organisées les premières Journées de la biodiversité dans le Vallon de Nant regroupant 55 spécialistes. Une première analyse de l'ensemble des données récoltées est présentée. Plus de 1100 espèces ont été recensées au cours de ces deux journées et environ 2000 espèces sont actuellement connues dans le vallon. Les Rhopalocères montrent une diversité particulièrement élevée (environ 40 % des espèces suisses) et plusieurs espèces remarquables sont présentes parmi les autres groupes taxonomiques (par ex. salamandre noire, vipère péliade, ...). La réserve naturelle du Vallon de Nant abrite une grande diversité de milieux mais certains, comme les pâturages maigres subalpins, sont menacés par la dynamique naturelle. Les données obtenues lors de ces Journées de la biodiversité seront très utiles pour la gestion et les suivis futurs du vallon. Cependant, plusieurs groupes n'ont été que très superficiellement, voire pas du tout, inventoriés. Nous souhaitons que ces lacunes soient comblées par de futurs inventaires.

Application of the 2008 definitions for invasive fungal diseases to the trial comparing voriconazole versus amphotericin B for therapy of invasive aspergillosis: a collaborative study of the Mycoses Study Group (MSG 05) and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Infectious Diseases Group.

BACKGROUND: Strict definition of invasive aspergillosis (IA) cases is required to allow precise conclusions about the efficacy of antifungal therapy. The Global Comparative Aspergillus Study (GCAS) compared voriconazole to amphotericin B (AmB) deoxycholate for the primary therapy of IA. Because predefined definitions used for this trial were substantially different from the consensus definitions proposed by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Mycoses Study Group in 2008, we recategorized the 379 episodes of the GCAS according to the later definitions. METHODS: The objectives were to assess the impact of the current definitions on the classification of the episodes and to provide comparative efficacy for probable/proven and possible IA in patients treated with either voriconazole or AmB. In addition to original data, we integrated the results of baseline galactomannan serum levels obtained from 249 (65.7%) frozen samples. The original response assessment was accepted unchanged. RESULTS: Recategorization allowed 59 proven, 178 probable, and 106 possible IA cases to be identified. A higher favorable 12-week response rate was obtained with voriconazole (54.7%) than with AmB (29.9%) (P < .0001). Survival was higher for voriconazole for mycologically documented (probable/proven) IA (70.2%) than with AmB (54.9%) (P = .010). Higher response rates were obtained in possible IA treated with voriconazole vs AmB with the same magnitude of difference (26.2%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 7.2%-45.3%) as in mycologically documented episodes (24.3%; 95% CI, 11.9%-36.7%), suggesting that possible cases are true IA. CONCLUSIONS: Recategorization resulted in a better identification of the episodes and confirmed the higher efficacy of voriconazole over AmB deoxycholate in mycologically documented IA.