Lu pour vous: Augmenter l'activité physique chez l'enfant: rien ne sert de faire courir ?

Résumé de: Metcalf B, et al. Effectiveness of intervention on physical activity of children: systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials with objectively measured outcomes (EarlyBird 54). BMJ. 2012 Sep 27;345:e5888. doi: 10.1136/bmj.e5888. PMID: 23044984.

Le peuple élu et les autres. L'Ancien Testament entre exclusion et ouverture

La conviction d'être le peuple élu s'enracine au coeur de la foi d'Israël. Mais elle justifia aussi par réaction tous les antisémitismes. La Bible, pourtant, ne nous fait pas entendre qu'un seul discours sur l'élection. A trop vite tirer à soi tel passage, on en vient à travestir dangereusement son message. En réalité la critique des dérives intégristes auxquelles peut donner et a donné lieu le thème de l'élection d'Israël est le fait de l'Ancien Testament lui-même. Il est vrai que dans les temps d'oppresion et de déportation la conscience d'être le peuple de Dieu a permis à Israël de fortifier son espérance et d'assurer son identité. Et ce fut là, notamment, le grand dessein auquel se consacrèrent les auteurs successsifs du Deutéronome, à l'époque de la domination assyrienne, puis de l'exil babylonien. Mais il est tout aussi vrai qu'à chaque fois aussi se sont levés des hommes avertis, dans la foulée des propnètes de jadis, pour mettre en garde contre la tentation du nombrilisme voire de l'exclusivisme ravageur. L'histoire d'Abraham réécrite au retour de l'exil, en est l'exemple le plus impressionnant, qui souligne combien Dieu n'a cessé d'élargir à tous les pepes son électon et sa bénédiction.

Estimation of a maximum Lu diffusion rate in a natural eclogite garnet

Lutetium zoning in garnet within eclogites from the Zermatt-Saas Fee zone, Western Alps, reveal sharp, exponentially decreasing central peaks. They can be used to constrain maximum Lu volume diffusion in garnets. A prograde garnet growth temperature interval of 450-600 A degrees C has been estimated based on pseudosection calculations and garnet-clinopyroxene thermometry. The maximum pre-exponential diffusion coefficient which fits the measured central peak is in the order of D-0= 5.7*10(-6) m(2)/s, taking an estimated activation energy of 270 kJ/mol based on diffusion experiments for other rare earth elements in garnet. This corresponds to a maximum diffusion rate of D (600 A degrees C) = 4.0*10(-22) m(2)/s. The diffusion estimate of Lu can be used to estimate the minimum closure temperature, T-c, for Sm-Nd and Lu-Hf age data that have been obtained in eclogites of the Western Alps, postulating, based on a literature review, that D (Hf) < D (Nd) < D (Sm) a parts per thousand currency sign D (Lu). T-c calculations, using the Dodson equation, yielded minimum closure temperatures of about 630 A degrees C, assuming a rapid initial exhumation rate of 50A degrees/m.y., and an average crystal size of garnets (r = 1 mm). This suggests that Sm/Nd and Lu/Hf isochron age differences in eclogites from the Western Alps, where peak temperatures did rarely exceed 600 A degrees C must be interpreted in terms of prograde metamorphism.

Lu pour vous: Prévention cardiovasculaire: efficacité des statines chez les plus de 70 ans

Résumé de: Glynn RJ et al. Rosuvastatin for primary prevention in older persons with elevated C-reactive protein and low to average low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels: exploratory analysis of a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2010 Apr 20;152(8):488-96, PMID: 20404379.

Pharmacokinetics and safety of panobacumab: specific adjunctive immunotherapy in critical patients with nosocomial Pseudomonas aeruginosa O11 pneumonia.

Objectives Nosocomial Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia remains a major concern in critically ill patients. We explored the potential impact of microorganism-targeted adjunctive immunotherapy in such patients. Patients and methods This multicentre, open pilot Phase 2a clinical trial (NCT00851435) prospectively evaluated the safety, pharmacokinetics and potential efficacy of three doses of 1.2 mg/kg panobacumab, a fully human monoclonal anti-lipopolysaccharide IgM, given every 72 h in 18 patients developing nosocomial P. aeruginosa (serotype O11) pneumonia. Results Seventeen out of 18 patients were included in the pharmacokinetic analysis. In 13 patients receiving three doses, the maximal concentration after the third infusion was 33.9 ± 8.0 μg/mL, total area under the serum concentration-time curve was 5397 ± 1993 μg h/mL and elimination half-life was 102.3 ± 47.8 h. Panobacumab was well tolerated, induced no immunogenicity and was detected in respiratory samples. In contrast to Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) prediction, all 13 patients receiving three doses survived, with a mean clinical resolution in 9.0 ± 2.7 days. Two patients suffered a recurrence at days 17 and 20. Conclusions These data suggest that panobacumab is safe, with a pharmacokinetic profile similar to that in healthy volunteers. It was associated with high clinical cure and survival rates in patients developing nosocomial P. aeruginosa O11 pneumonia. We concluded that these promising results warrant further trials.

Three essays on bankruptcy risk

Abstract Market prices of corporate bond spreads and of credit default swap (CDS) rates do not match each other. In this paper, we argue that the liquidity premium, the cheapest-to-deliver (CTD) option and actual market segmentation explain the pricing differences. Using the European transaction data from Reuters and Bloomberg, we estimate the liquidity premium that is time- varying and firm-specific. We show that when time-dependent liquidity premiums are considered, corporate bond spreads and CDS rates behave in a much closer way than previous studies have shown. We find that high equity volatility drives pricing differences that can be explained by the CTD option.

Intraobserver and interobserver variability of ascending aorta diameter measurements as assessed by ECG-gated MDCT : automatic versus manual measurements : P15

Purpose: Revolutionary endovascular treatments are on the verge of being available for management of ascending aortic diseases. Morphometric measurements of the ascending aorta have already been done with ECG-gated MDCT to help such therapeutic development. However the reliability of these measurements remains unknown. The objective of this work was to compare the intraobserver and interobserver variability of CAD (computer aided diagnosis) versus manual measurements in the ascending aorta. Methods and materials: Twenty-six consecutive patients referred for ECG-gated CT thoracic angiography (64-row CT scanner) were evaluated. Measurements of the maximum and minimum ascending aorta diameters at mid-distance between the brachiocephalic artery and the aortic valve were obtained automatically with a commercially available CAD and manually by two observers separately. Both observers repeated the measurements during a different session at least one month after the first measurements. Intraclass coefficients as well the Bland and Altman method were used for comparison between measurements. Two-paired t-test was used to determine the significance of intraobserver and interobserver differences (alpha = 0.05). Results: There is a significant difference between CAD and manual measurements in the maximum diameter (p = 0.004) for the first observer, whereas the difference was significant for minimum diameter between the second observer and the CAD (p <0.001). Interobserver variability showed a weak agreement when measurements were done manually. Intraobserver variability was lower with the CAD compared to the manual measurements (limits of variability: from -0.7 to 0.9 mm for the former and from -1.2 to 1.3 mm for the latter). Conclusion: In order to improve reproductibility of measurements whenever needed, pre- and post-therapeutic management of the ascending aorta may benefit from follow-up done by a unique observer with the help of CAD.

Frequent MAGE mutations in human melanoma.

Abstract: Background: Cancer/testis (CT) genes are expressed only in the germ line and certain tumors and are most frequently located on the X-chromosome (the CT-X genes). Amongst the best studied CT-X genes are those encoding several MAGE protein families. The function of MAGE proteins is not well understood, but several have been shown to potentially influence the tumorigenic phenotype. Methodology/Principal Findings: We undertook a mutational analysis of coding regions of four CT-X MAGE genes, MAGEA1, MAGEA4, MAGEC1, MAGEC2 and the ubiquitously expressed MAGEE1 in human melanoma samples. We first examined cell lines established from tumors and matching blood samples from 27 melanoma patients. We found that melanoma cell lines from 37% of patients contained at least one mutated MAGE gene. The frequency of mutations in the coding regions of individual MAGE genes varied from 3.7% for MAGEA1 and MAGEA4 to 14.8% for MAGEC2. We also examined 111 fresh melanoma samples collected from 86 patients. In this case, samples from 32% of the patients exhibited mutations in one or more MAGE genes with the frequency of mutations in individual MAGE genes ranging from 6% in MAGEA1 to 16% in MAGEC1. Significance: These results demonstrate for the first time that the MAGE gene family is frequently mutated in melanoma.