Childhood cancer and nuclear power plants in Switzerland: a census-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies on childhood cancer and nuclear power plants (NPPs) produced conflicting results. We used a cohort approach to examine whether residence near NPPs was associated with leukaemia or any childhood cancer in Switzerland. METHODS: We computed person-years at risk for children aged 0-15 years born in Switzerland from 1985 to 2009, based on the Swiss censuses 1990 and 2000 and identified cancer cases from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry. We geo-coded place of residence at birth and calculated incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) comparing the risk of cancer in children born <5 km, 5-10 km and 10-15 km from the nearest NPP with children born >15 km away, using Poisson regression models. RESULTS: We included 2925 children diagnosed with cancer during 21 117 524 person-years of follow-up; 953 (32.6%) had leukaemia. Eight and 12 children diagnosed with leukaemia at ages 0-4 and 0-15 years, and 18 and 31 children diagnosed with any cancer were born <5 km from a NPP. Compared with children born >15 km away, the IRRs (95% CI) for leukaemia in 0-4 and 0-15 year olds were 1.20 (0.60-2.41) and 1.05 (0.60-1.86), respectively. For any cancer, corresponding IRRs were 0.97 (0.61-1.54) and 0.89 (0.63-1.27). There was no evidence of a dose-response relationship with distance (P > 0.30). Results were similar for residence at diagnosis and at birth, and when adjusted for potential confounders. Results from sensitivity analyses were consistent with main results. CONCLUSIONS: This nationwide cohort study found little evidence of an association between residence near NPPs and the risk of leukaemia or any childhood cancer.

Unification of multi-species vertebrate anatomy ontologies for comparative biology in Uberon.

BACKGROUND: Elucidating disease and developmental dysfunction requires understanding variation in phenotype. Single-species model organism anatomy ontologies (ssAOs) have been established to represent this variation. Multi-species anatomy ontologies (msAOs; vertebrate skeletal, vertebrate homologous, teleost, amphibian AOs) have been developed to represent 'natural' phenotypic variation across species. Our aim has been to integrate ssAOs and msAOs for various purposes, including establishing links between phenotypic variation and candidate genes. RESULTS: Previously, msAOs contained a mixture of unique and overlapping content. This hampered integration and coordination due to the need to maintain cross-references or inter-ontology equivalence axioms to the ssAOs, or to perform large-scale obsolescence and modular import. Here we present the unification of anatomy ontologies into Uberon, a single ontology resource that enables interoperability among disparate data and research groups. As a consequence, independent development of TAO, VSAO, AAO, and vHOG has been discontinued. CONCLUSIONS: The newly broadened Uberon ontology is a unified cross-taxon resource for metazoans (animals) that has been substantially expanded to include a broad diversity of vertebrate anatomical structures, permitting reasoning across anatomical variation in extinct and extant taxa. Uberon is a core resource that supports single- and cross-species queries for candidate genes using annotations for phenotypes from the systematics, biodiversity, medical, and model organism communities, while also providing entities for logical definitions in the Cell and Gene Ontologies. THE ONTOLOGY RELEASE FILES ASSOCIATED WITH THE ONTOLOGY MERGE DESCRIBED IN THIS MANUSCRIPT ARE AVAILABLE AT: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/uberon/releases/2013-02-21/ CURRENT ONTOLOGY RELEASE FILES ARE AVAILABLE ALWAYS AVAILABLE AT: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/uberon/releases/

Géotourisme et utilisation de sites naturels d'intérêt pour les sciences de la Terre: les régions de Crans-Montana-Sierre (Valais, Alpes suisses) et Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (Haute-Savoie, Alpes françaises)

Résumé : Au travers de l'étude des régions de Crans-Montana-Sierre (Valais, Suisse) et de Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (Haute-Savoie, France), cette recherche considère les liens existants entre activités touristiques et sciences de la Terre. Ainsi, les sites géologiques et géomorphologiques pris en compte sont perçus comme ayant non seulement une valeur scientifique, mais aussi un intérêt scénique, culturel et économique. D'un point de vue (géo)touristique, différents modèles d'analyse sont proposés pour expliciter les composantes de l'offre et de la demande et comprendre le cycle de vie des objets étudiés. L'offre que constituent ces sites est tout d'abord présentée afin d'évaluer leurs différents potentiels, ainsi que l'utilisation spatio-temporelle, didactique et économique qui en est faite. Ensuite, les logiques d'acteurs sont analysées au travers des phases de valorisation, d'exploitation et de transformation, dans le but de comprendre les facteurs et les projets d'utilisation les concernant. Enfin, la demande des différents publics cibles, de même que leurs caractéristiques socio-touristiques et (géo)didactiques, sont discutées. Pour ce faire, des méthodes d'inventaire, d'évaluation, d'entretien et de questionnaire ont été utilisées, à différentes échelles d'analyse. On constate d'abord que le pôle des valeurs scénique et économique présente une plus forte mise à contribution, par rapport à l'utilisation didactique. De plus, le niveau de protection des sites ne restreint généralement pas leur exploitation, au contraire du facteur risque. Du point de vue des publics cibles, une forte demande d'explications didactiques est exprimée, s'orientant vers une approche multithématique des potentiels à mettre en valeur; des biens et services de base sont ainsi demandés. Enfin, force est de constater que seuls de grands projets peuvent rendre les activités (géo)touristiques rentables. A l'avenir, sachant que le géotourisme peut répondre à une demande touristique liée au rêve et à l'émotion, l'approche de l'offre devrait intégrer une réflexion en didactique des sciences de la Terre, d'autant que cette forme de tourisme tend à devenir une composante du développement économique régional, notamment en dehors de la saison d'hiver. Idéalement, l'utilisation touristique de la géodiversité devrait s'accompagner d'une politique de protection dynamique, combinant préservation et mise en valeur. A terme, le but ultime de cette entreprise est notamment d'élargir la notion de patrimoine culturel, pour favoriser une approche transdisciplinaire du paysage Abstract : Based on the study of the areas of Crans-Montana-Sierre (Valais, Switzerland) and Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (Haute-Savoie, France), this study considers the links between tourism activities and Earth science. Thus, the studied geological and geomorphological sites have not only a scientific va1ue, but also scenic, cultural and economic value. From a point of view of tourism, different models of analysis are examined in order to explain the components of the supply and the demand, and to understand the life cycles of the considered objects. The primary product of these sites is first presented, in order to assess their different potential as well as their didactic, economic, spatial and temporal use. The stakeholders' behaviour is then analysed to understand the factors and projected use, with the help of the optimisation, exploitation and transformation phases. Finally, the demand of the different target markets as well as their socio-tourist and (geo)didactic characteristics are discussed. To complete this study, methods of census, assessment, interviewing and questionnaire surveying are used, at different scales of analysis. The main results appear to demonstrate that the scenic and economic values present a higher value relative to the didactic use. Moreover, the required conservation measures for the studied sites do not generally restrict the use, on the contrary to the "risk" factor. From the point of view of the target market, a relevant requirement for explanatory commentary is expressed and tends towards an approach optimising different themes to utilise potential; basic popular goods and services are also requested. Finally, it is clearly demonstrated that only relevant projects are able to make this kind of activity profitable. For the future, geotourism may be marketed to a tourist demand for imagination and emotion. Consequently, the product approach should integrate a reflection on Earth science popularisation given that this branch of tourism tends to receive a component of the economic and regional development, notably during the summer period. However, the use of geodiversity should include a concept of dynamic management, taking into account conservation as well as tourism development. Thus, the final aim of this process is to r,r'iden the notion of cultural heritage, in order to stimulate a multidisciplinary approach to the landscape.

Climate Change, Neutrality and the Harm Principle

This paper aims at evaluating the compatibility of coercive climate policies with liberal neutrality. More precisely, it focuses on the doctrine of state neutrality as associated with the "harm principle". It argues that given the difficulty of attributing causal responsibilities for climate harms to individuals, the harm principle doesn't work in this case, at least if one endorses a liberal atomistic ontology. Furthermore, the definition of what constitutes climate harms implies making moral assumptions, which makes it impossible to justify climate policies in a neutral way. Finally, the paper shows another consequence of applying neutrality to the case of climate change, that is the risk of a shift from political forms of decision-making to technocracy. Focusing too much on liberty of choice may (paradoxically) be to the detriment of political freedom. The paper concludes that climate change is an intrinsically moral issue and that it should be the occasion of a political debate about our current values and lifestyles. It should not be reduced to a mere question of carbon metric.

Clinically meaningful parameters of progression and long-term outcome of Parkinson disease: An international consensus statement.

Parkinson disease (PD) is associated with a clinical course of variable duration, severity, and a combination of motor and non-motor features. Recent PD research has focused primarily on etiology rather than clinical progression and long-term outcomes. For the PD patient, caregivers, and clinicians, information on expected clinical progression and long-term outcomes is of great importance. Today, it remains largely unknown what factors influence long-term clinical progression and outcomes in PD; recent data indicate that the factors that increase the risk to develop PD differ, at least partly, from those that accelerate clinical progression and lead to worse outcomes. Prospective studies will be required to identify factors that influence progression and outcome. We suggest that data for such studies is collected during routine office visits in order to guarantee high external validity of such research. We report here the results of a consensus meeting of international movement disorder experts from the Genetic Epidemiology of Parkinson's Disease (GEO-PD) consortium, who convened to define which long-term outcomes are of interest to patients, caregivers and clinicians, and what is presently known about environmental or genetic factors influencing clinical progression or long-term outcomes in PD. We propose a panel of rating scales that collects a significant amount of phenotypic information, can be performed in the routine office visit and allows international standardization. Research into the progression and long-term outcomes of PD aims at providing individual prognostic information early, adapting treatment choices, and taking specific measures to provide care optimized to the individual patient's needs.

Prototype of a web-based participative decision support platform in natural hazards and risk management

This paper presents the current state and development of a prototype web-GIS (Geographic Information System) decision support platform intended for application in natural hazards and risk management, mainly for floods and landslides. This web platform uses open-source geospatial software and technologies, particularly the Boundless (formerly OpenGeo) framework and its client side software development kit (SDK). The main purpose of the platform is to assist the experts and stakeholders in the decision-making process for evaluation and selection of different risk management strategies through an interactive participation approach, integrating web-GIS interface with decision support tool based on a compromise programming approach. The access rights and functionality of the platform are varied depending on the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders in managing the risk. The application of the prototype platform is demonstrated based on an example case study site: Malborghetto Valbruna municipality of North-Eastern Italy where flash floods and landslides are frequent with major events having occurred in 2003. The preliminary feedback collected from the stakeholders in the region is discussed to understand the perspectives of stakeholders on the proposed prototype platform.

Comparison of differential gene expression to water stress among bacteria with relevant pollutant-degradation properties.

Resistance to semi-dry environments has been considered a crucial trait for superior growth and survival of strains used for bioaugmentation in contaminated soils. In order to compare water stress programmes, we analyse differential gene expression among three phylogenetically different strains capable of aromatic compound degradation: Arthrobacter chlorophenolicus A6, Sphingomonas wittichii RW1 and Pseudomonas veronii 1YdBTEX2. Standardized laboratory-induced water stress was imposed by shock exposure of liquid cultures to water potential decrease, induced either by addition of solutes (NaCl, solute stress) or by addition of polyethylene glycol (matric stress), both at absolute similar stress magnitudes and at those causing approximately similar decrease of growth rates. Genome-wide differential gene expression was recorded by micro-array hybridizations. Growth of P. veronii 1YdBTEX2 was the most sensitive to water potential decrease, followed by S. wittichii RW1 and A. chlorophenolicus A6. The number of genes differentially expressed under decreasing water potential was lowest for A. chlorophenolicus A6, increasing with increasing magnitude of the stress, followed by S. wittichii RW1 and P. veronii 1YdBTEX2. Gene inspection and gene ontology analysis under stress conditions causing similar growth rate reduction indicated that common reactions among the three strains included diminished expression of flagellar motility and increased expression of compatible solutes (which were strain-specific). Furthermore, a set of common genes with ill-defined function was found between all strains, including ABC transporters and aldehyde dehydrogenases, which may constitute a core conserved response to water stress. The data further suggest that stronger reduction of growth rate of P. veronii 1YdBTEX2 under water stress may be an indirect result of the response demanding heavy NADPH investment, rather than the presence or absence of a suitable stress defence mechanism per se.