Phenetic, biogeographical, and evolutionary study ofOrnithogalum subg.Heliocharmos (Hyacinthaceae) in the western Mediterranean basin

A macromorphological study is made on taxa of the genusOrnithogalum subg.Heliocharmos in North Africa, Spain, and France. The results obtained are consistent with data from cytogenetics, reproductive biology and strategies of reproduction. They allow the retention of two species:O. algeriense and O. umbellatum. A biogeographical and phylogenetic interpretation of the subgenus is proposed for the western Mediterranean. Theoretical views on phenetics are discussed.

Going Public in the European Union: Action Repertoires of Western European Collective Political Actors

As a result of the Europeanization of politics and the increasing role of the public sphere, political actors in Western Europe are currently facing a double strategic challenge. Based on data from seven West European countries and the European Union, the authors analyze how state actors, political parties, interest groups, and social movement organizations cope with this double challenge at both the national and the supranational level. Results indicate that the classic repertoire of inside strategies at the national level is still the most typical for all actors, but media-related strategies are also prominent at the national level. The Europeanization of repertoires is mainly determined by institutional factors and by the actors' power, whereas the public arena plays an equally important role for all types of actors, in all countries and at both the national and the EU level.

Multi-stage garnet in the internal Brianconnais basement (Ambin massif, Savoy): New petrological constraints on the blueschist-facies metamorphism in the Western Alps and tectonic implications

Three types of garnet have been distinguished in pelitic schists from an epidote-blueschist-facies unit of the Ambin and South Vanoise Brianconnais massifs on the basis of texture, chemical zoning and mineral inclusion characterization. Type-1 garnet cores with high Mn/Ca ratios are interpreted as pre-Alpine relicts, whereas Type-1 garnet rims, Type-2 inclusion-rich porphyroblasts and smaller Type-3 garnets are Alpine. The latter are all characterized by low Mn/Ca ratios and a coexisting mineral assemblage of blue amphibole, high-Si phengite, epidote and quartz. Prograde growth conditions during Alpine D-1 high-pressure (HP) metamorphism are recorded by a decrease in Mn and increase in Fe (+/-Ca) in the Type-2 garnets, culminating in peak P-T conditions of 14-16 kbar and 500degreesC in the deepest parts of the Ambin dome. The multistage growth history of Type-1 garnets indicates a polymetamorphic history for the Ambin and South Vanoise massifs; unfortunately, no age constraints are available. The new metamorphic constraints on the Alpine event in the massifs define a metamorphic T `gap' between them and their surrounding cover (Brianconnais and upper Schistes Lustres units), which experienced metamorphism only in the stability field of carpholite-lawsonite (T < 400degreesC). These data and supporting structural studies confirm that the Ambin and South Vanoise massifs are slices of `eclogitized' continental crust tectonically extruded within the Schistes Lustres units and Brianconnais covers. The corresponding tectonic contacts with top-to-east movement are responsible for the juxtaposition of lower-grade metamorphic units on the Ambin and South Vanoise massifs.

Tertiary Himalayan structures and metamorphism in the Kulu Valley (Mandi-Khoksar transect of the Western Himalaya) - Shikar-Beh-nappe and crystalline nappe

The Crystalline Nappe of the High Himalayan Crystalline has been examined along the Kulu Valley and its vicinity (Mandi-Khoksar transect). This nappe was believed to have undergone deformation related only to its transport towards the SW essentially during the `'Main Central Thrust event''. New data has led to the conclusion that during the Himalayan orogeny, two distinctive phases, related to two opposite transport directions, characterize the evolution of this part of the chain, before the creation of the late NE-vergent backfolding. The first phase corresponds to an early NE-vergent folding and thrusting, creating the Tandi Syncline and the NE-oriented Shikar Beh Nappe stack, with a displacement amplitude of about 50 km. Two schistosities, together with a strong stretching lineation are developed at a deep tectonic level under amphibolite facies conditions (kyanite-staurolite-garnet-two mica schists). At a higher tectonic level and in the southern part of the section (Tandy Syncline and southern Kulu Valley between Kulu and Mandi) one or two schistosities are developed in the greenschist facies grade rocks (garnet-biotite and biotite schists). These structures and the associated Barrovian type metamorphism are all related to the NE-verging Shikar Beh Nappe. The creation of the NE-verging Shikar Beh Nappe may be explained by the reactivation of a SW dipping listric normal fault of the N Indian flexural passive margin, during the early stages of the Himalayan orogeny. In the second phase, the still hot metamorphic rocks of the Shikar Beh Nappe were folded and thrust towards the SW (mainly along the MBT and the MCT with a displacement in excess of 100 km) onto the cold, low-grade metamorphic rocks of the Larji-Kulu-Rampur Window or, near Mandi, on the non-metamorphic sandstones of the Ganges Molasse (Siwaliks). Sense of shear criteria and a strong NE-SW stretching-lineation indicate that the Crystalline Nappe has been overthrusted towards the SW. Thermometry on synkinematically crystallised garnet-biotite and garnet-hornblende pairs reveals the lower amphibolite facies temperature conditions related to the Crystalline Nappe formation. From the muscovite and biotite Rb-Sr cooling ages, the Shikar Beh Nappe emplacement occurred before 32 Ma and the southwestward thrusting of the Crystalline Nappe began before 21 Ma. Our model involving two opposite directions of thrusting goes against the conventional idea of only one main SW-oriented transport direction in the High Himalayan Crystalline Nappes.

Sexual behaviour of men that consulted in medical outpatient clinics in Western Switzerland from 2005-2006: risk levels unknown to doctors?

BACKGROUND: To determine male outpatient attenders' sexual behaviours, expectations and experience of talking about their sexuality and sexual health needs with a doctor. METHODS: A survey was conducted among all male patients aged 18-70, recruited from the two main medical outpatient clinics in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 2005-2006. The anonymous self-administered questionnaire included questions on sexual behaviour, HIV/STI information needs, expectations and experiences regarding discussion of sexual matters with a doctor. RESULTS: The response rate was 53.0% (N = 1452). The mean age was 37.7 years. Overall, 13.4% of patients were defined as at STI risk--i.e. having not consistently used condoms with casual partners in the last 6 months, or with a paid partner during the last intercourse--regarding their sexual behaviour in the last year. 90.9% would have liked their physician to ask them questions concerning their sexual life; only 61.4% had ever had such a discussion. The multivariate analysis showed that patients at risk tended to have the following characteristics: recruited from the HIV testing clinic, lived alone, declared no religion, had a low level of education, felt uninformed about HIV/AIDS, were younger, had had concurrent sexual partners in the last 12 months. However they were not more likely to have discussed sexual matters with their doctor than patients not at risk. CONCLUSION: Recording the sexual history and advice on the prevention of the risks of STI should become routine practice for primary health care doctors.

Paediatric oral peanut challenges: a comparison of practice in London and Western Switzerland.

BACKGROUND: There are guidelines on how to develop a food challenge protocol, but at present there is no gold standard guidance on method, and separate units produce differing protocols. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of 200 patients' data from the paediatric allergy units in Lausanne and Geneva, Western Switzerland, and St Thomas' Hospital (STH), UK. RESULTS: St Thomas' Hospital has a younger cohort with a lower overall mean spIgE (2.36 kU/l vs 8.00 kU/l, P = 0.004). The target peanut protein volumes differed: Switzerland 4.4 g vs STH 8.4 g. Despite this, the dose actually achieved in positive challenges was not significantly different (2.33 g vs 1.49 g, P = 0.16). 26% of challenges reacted at 4 g or more of peanut protein. CONCLUSIONS: The differences in results highlight how the variation in reasoning behind food challenge alters the outcome. Standardization of food challenges would allow easy comparison between hospitals and geographical areas for research purposes.

Male beach workers and western female tourists : livelihood strategies in Kenya's south coast region

Recent years have seen an emerging knowledge base and increasing public interest and awareness of sexual-economic relationships between local men and Western women, in different touristic regions around the world. However, to date, Western perspectives on the phenomenon make up the bulk of the existent literature. Questioning the dominant discourse of 'romance tourism' and representations of male participants as 'victims-opportunists', this dissertation explores male beach workers' experiences with, and perspectives on sexual-economic relationships between Kenyan men and visiting Western women in Kenya's South Coast region. The men were not considered in isolation; their experiences and perspectives are situated in relation to their family ties, social networks and the political economy of beach tourism. The study shows that locally these relationships are clearly understood as livelihood strategies for the visited. Men seek to establish long-term intimate relationships with female tourists as a means to accessing life's basic necessities for themselves and for their families and overall to improve their standards of living. It is argued that these relationships are a response to the poverty and inequalities generated by socio-economic changes over time. They are also a response to local gender role prescriptions that hinge male social value on men's capacity to marry, procreate and provide intergenerational social and economic support. The men's parallel quest for non-sexual economically motivated friendships with visiting foreign tourists termed "family friends" is a salient finding, that serves to reinforce the finding that the sexual- economic relationships are above all livelihood strategies. Résumé Ces dernières années ont vu l'émergence d'une base de connaissance, ainsi que d'un intérêt et d'une prise de conscience accrue du public, à l'égard des relations économico-sexuelles entre hommes locaux et femmes occidentales, dans différentes régions touristiques du monde. Cependant, à ce jour, des perspectives occidentales sur ce phénomène constituent l'essentiel de la littérature existante. En remettant en question le discours dominant du «romance tourism» (tourisme sentimental) et les représentations qui conçoivent les hommes participants comme étant 'victimes-opportunistes', cette thèse explore les expériences, et les visions qu'ont les travailleurs de plage sur les relations économico-sexuelles entre hommes Kenyans et femmes Occidentales dans la région de la côte sud du Kenya. Les hommes n'ont pas été considérés de manière isolée; leurs expériences et leurs perspectives sont situées par rapport à leur liens familiaux, leur réseaux sociaux et aussi par rapport à l'économie politique du tourisme balnéaire. L'étude montre que sur place ces relations sont clairement conçues comme des stratégies de survie pour les participants hôtes. Les hommes cherchent à établir des relations de long durée avec des femmes touristes comme moyen d'accéder à des biens et des services qui constituent des nécessités de bases, pour eux et pour leur familles et globalement pour relever leur niveau de vie! L'étude fait valoir que ces relations sont une réponse à la pauvreté et aux inégalités sociales crées par des dynamiques socio-économiques au fil du temps. Elles sont aussi une réponse au prescriptions sociales locales par lesquelles la valeur sociale masculine est définie à travers la capacité des hommes à se marier, à procréer et d'assurer un soutien intergénérationnel social et économique. La quête, en parallèle, de relations d'amitiés non-sexuelles à motivation économique, dénommé « family friends », par des hommes, est un résultat saillant de cette étude qui vient renforcer l'observation que les relations économico-sexuelles relèvent avant tout des stratégies de survie.

Multiscale determinants of tree frog (Hyla arborea L.) calling ponds in western Switzerland

A tree frog (Hyla arborea L., 1758) metapopulation in western Switzerland was studied during spring 2001. All potential calling ponds in an area of 350 km(2) were searched for tree frog calling males. Twenty-nine out of 111 ponds sheltered between 1 and 250 callers. Most ponds were occupied by less than 12 males. Pond parameters were measured at three different levels using field analysis and a Geographical Information System (GIS). The first level was water chemistry and pond-associated measures. The second level was the surrounding land use in a 30 m buffer around the pond. The third level consisted of landscape indices on a broader scale (up to 2 km). Logistic regression was applied to identify parameters that can predict the presence of calling males in a pond. Response variable was the presence or absence of callers. Four significant parameters allowed us to explain about 40% of the total deviance of the observed occupational pattern. Urbanization around the pond had a highly negative impact on the probability of presence of calling males. Hours of direct sunlight on the pond was positively correlated with callers. Higher water conductivity was associated with a lesser probability of species presence. Finally, the further the closest two-lane road, the higher the probability of callers presence. Our results show that presence or absence of callers is influenced by factors acting at various geographical scales.

Petrography and geochemistry of accreted oceanic fragments below the Western Cordillera of Ecuador

The Western Cordillera of Ecuador consists of Cretaceous crustal fragments of oceanic plateaux and superimposed insular arcs, which were accreted to the northwestern South American margin during the Late Cretaceous and Paleocene. Slices of high-grade metabasites, ultramafic rocks, gabbros and basalts, unmetamorphosed radiolarian cherts and scarce garnet-bearing metasediments were randomly exhumed along Miocene to Recent transcurrent faults crosscutting the Western Cordillera. The basalts show geochemical characteristics of oceanic plateau basalts (flat REE patterns, La/Nb = 0.85). The gabbros differ from the basalts in having lower REE levels, positive Eu anomalies, and negative Nb and Ta anomalies; they are interpreted as resulting from arc magmatism. The amphibolites and banded amphibolites have major and trace element chemistry similar to that of oceanic plateau basalts (flat REE patterns, La/Nb = 0.86) or to cumulate gabbros. The granulite shares with oceanic plateaus similar trace element chemistry (flat REE patterns, La/Nb < 1) and epsilon(Ndi) values (+7.6). Continent-derived metasediments are depleted in heavy REE (La/Y = 4.8) and have a negative Eu anomaly. Foliated Iherzolites, melagabbronorites and pyroxenites consist of serpentinized olivine + cpx + opx +/- Ca-plagioclase. Lherzolites, melagabbronorites and pyroxenites are LREE depleted with positive Eu anomalies, while the harzburgite displays a U-shaped REE pattern. The trace element abundances of the ultramafic rocks are very low (0.1 to 1 times the chonctritic and primitive mantle values). The ultramafic rocks represent fragments of depleted mantle, deformed cpx-rich cumulate, and continental lithospheric mantle or mantle contaminated by subduction-fluid. Except the scarce quartz-rich metasediments, all these rocks likely represent remnants of accreted oceanic crustal fragments and associated depleted mantle. Since these samples were randomly sampled at depth by the fault, we propose that the Western Cordillera and its crustal root are mainly of oceanic nature.

Low-grade metamorphism of the Gets nappe (Western Alps)

The Gets nappe, a decollement cover nappe located at the top of the Prealps, is characterized by the occurrence of ophiolitic rocks. The metamorphic grade in the Gets nappe was determined using illite crystallinity and clay mineral assemblages. Samples from the same locality were analyzed to estimate variations in illite crystallinity values and in the parageneses of clay minerals, both in sedimentary elements of a breccia and in the embedding shaly flysch. For samples from one and the same locality, the range in illite crystallinity data between breccia elements and the shaly flysch is comparable to the variation between different shaly beds. Two S-N transects along the Gets nappe reveal the same metamorphic gradient, with the internal parts of the nappe being characterized by middle anchizonal metamorphism and the external parts showing diagenetic conditions. The metamorphic grade is higher within the Gets nappe than in its hangingwall (i.e. the Breche and Simme nappes), suggesting that the metamorphism in the Gets unit is transported. The timing and conditions of thrusting of the Gets Nappe onto the Br che and the Simme nappes is constrained by stratigraphic and metamorphic data.

Application of K-feldspar-jadeite-quartz barometry to eclogite facies metagranites and metapelites in the Sesia Lanzo Zone (Western Alps, Italy)

The eclogite facies assemblage K-feldspar-jadeite-quartz in metagranites and metapelites from the Sesia-Lanzo Zone (Western Alps, Italy) records the equilibration pressure by dilution of the reaction jadeite + quartz = albite. The metapelites show partial transformation from a pre-Alpine assemblage of garnet (Alm(63)Prp(26)Grs(10))-K-feldspar-plagioclase-biotite +/- sillimanite to the Eo-Alpine high-pressure assemblage garnet (Alm(50)Prp(14)Grs(35))-jadeite (Jd(80-97)Di(0-4)Hd(0-8)Acm(0-7))=zoisite-phengite. Plagioclase is replaced by jadeite-zoisite-kyanite-K-feldspar-quartz and biotite is replaced by garnet-phengite or omphacite-kyanite-phengite. Equilibrium was attained only in local domains in the metapelites and therefore the K-feldspar-jadeite-quartz (KJQ) barometer was applied only to the plagioclase pseudomorphs and K-feldspar domains. The albite content of K-feldspar ranges from 4 to 11 mol% in less equilibrated assemblages from Val Savenca and from 4 to 7 mol% in the partially equilibrated samples from Monte Mucrone and the equilibrated samples from Montestrutto and Tavagnasco. Thermodynamic calculations on the stability of the assemblage K-feldspar-jadeite-quartz using available mixing data for K-feldspar and pyroxene indicate pressures of 15-21 kbar (+/- 1.6-1.9 kbar) at 550 +/- 50 degrees C. This barometer yields direct pressure estimates in high-pressure rocks where pressures are seldom otherwise fixed, although it is sensitive to analytical precision and the choice of thermodynamic mixing model for K-feldspar. Moreover, the KJQ barometer is independent of the ratio P-H2O/P-T. The inferred limiting a(H2O) for the assemblage jadeite-kyanite in the metapelites from Val Savenca is low and varies from 0.2 to 0.6.

Are invasive marsh frogs (Pelophylax ridibundus) replacing the native P. lessonae /P. esculentus hybridogenetic complex in Western Europe? Genetic evidence from a field study.

The water-frog L-E system, widespread in Western Europe, comprises the pool frog Pelophylax lessonae and the hybridogenetic edible frog P. esculentus, which originated from hybridization between pool frogs and marsh frogs (P. ridibundus). In P. esculentus, the lessonae (L) genome is eliminated during meiosis and has to be gained anew each generation from a P. lessonae partner, while the ridibundus (R') genome is transmitted clonally. It therefore accumulates deleterious mutations, so that R'R' offspring from P. esculentus x P. esculentus crosses are normally unviable. This system is now threatened by invasive P. ridibundus (RR) imported from Eastern Europe and the Balkans. We investigated the genetic interactions between invasive marsh frogs and native water frogs in a Swiss wetland area, and used genetic data collected in the field to validate several components of a recently postulated mechanism of species replacement. We identified neo-ridibundus individuals derived from crosses between invasive ridibundus and native esculentus, as well as newly arisen hybridogenetic esculentus lineages stemming from crosses between invasive ridibundus (RR) and native lessonae (LL). As their ridibundus genomes are likely to carry less deleterious mutations, such lineages are expected to produce viable ridibundus offspring, contributing to species replacement. However, such crosses with invasive ridibundus only occurred at a limited scale; moreover, RR x LL crosses did not induce any introgression from the ridibundus to the lessonae genome. We did not find any ridibundus stemming from crosses between ancient esculentus lineages. Despite several decades of presence on the site, introduced ridibundus individuals only represent 15% of sampled frogs, and their spatial distribution seems shaped by specific ecological requirements rather than history of colonization. We therefore expect the three taxa to coexist stably in this area.