"Periodic crises": Clément Juglar between theories of crises and theories of business cycles

Business cycle theory is normally described as having evolved out of a previous tradition of writers focusing exclusively on crises. In this account, the turning point is seen as residing in Clément Juglar's contribution on commercial crises and their periodicity. It is well known that the champion of this view is Schumpeter, who propagated it on several occasions. The same author, however, pointed to a number of other writers who, before and at the same time as Juglar, stressed one or another of the aspects for which Juglar is credited primacy, including the recognition of periodicity and the identification of endogenous elements enabling the recognition of crises as a self-generating phenomenon. There is indeed a vast literature, both primary and secondary, relating to the debates on crises and fluctuations around the middle of the nineteenth century, from which it is apparent that Juglar's book Des Crises Commerciales et de leur Retour Périodique en France, en Angleterre et aux États-Unis (originally published in 1862 and very much revised and enlarged in 1889) did not come out of the blue but was one of the products of an intellectual climate inducing the thinking of crises not as unrelated events but as part of a more complex phenomenon consisting of recurring crises related to the development of the commercial world - an interpretation corroborated by the almost regular occurrence of crises at about 10-year intervals.

Conservation genetics and population monitoring of the Alpine Salamander (Salamandra Atra) :

SUMMARYIn the context of the biodiversity crisis, amphibians are experiencing the most severe worldwide decline of all vertebrates and are in urgent need of better management. Efficient conservation strategies rely on sound knowledge of the species biology and of the genetic and demographic processes that might impair their welfare. Nonetheless, these processes are poorly understood in amphibians. Delineating population boundaries remains consequently problematic for these species, while it is of critical importance to define adequate management units for conservation. In this study, our attention focused on the alpine salamander (Salamandra atra), a species that deserves much interest in terms of both conservation biology and evolution. This endemic alpine species shows peculiar life-history traits (viviparity, reduced activity period, slow maturation) and has a slow population turnover, which might be problematic for its persistence in a changing environment. Due to its elusive behaviour (individuals spend most of their time underground and are unavailable for sampling), dynamic processes of gene and individuals were poorly understood for that species. Consequently, its conservation status could hardly be reliably assessed. Similarly the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) also poses special challenges for conservation, as no clear demarcation of geographical populations exists and dispersal patterns are poorly known. Through a phylogeographic analysis, we first studied the evolutionary history of the alpine salamander to better document the distribution of the genetic diversity along its geographical range. This study highlighted the presence of multiple divergent lineages in Italy together with a clear genetic divergence between populations from Northern and Dinaric Alps. These signs of cryptic genetic differentiation, which are not accounted for by the current taxonomy of the species, should not be neglected for further definition of conservation units. In addition, our data supported glacial survival of the species in northern peripheral glacial réfugia and nunataks, a pattern rarely documented for long-lived species. Then, we evaluated the level of gene flow between populations at the local scale and tested for asymmetries in male versus female dispersal using both field-based (mark-recapture) and genetic approaches. This study revealed high level of gene flow between populations, which stems mainly from male dispersal. This corroborated the idea that salamanders are much better dispersers than hitherto thought and provided a well- supported example of male-biased dispersal in amphibians. In a third step, based on a mark- recapture survey, we addressed the problem of sampling unavailability in alpine salamanders and evaluated its impact on two monitoring methods. We showed that about three quarters of individuals were unavailable for sampling during sampling sessions, a proportion that can vary with climatic conditions. If not taken into account, these complexities would result in false assumptions on population trends and misdirect conservation efforts. Finally, regarding the daunting task of delineating management units, our attention was drawn on the fire salamander. We conducted a local population genetic study that revealed high levels of gene flow among sampling sites. Management units for this species should consequently be large. Interestingly, despite the presence of several landscape features often reported to act as barriers, genetic breaks occurred at unexpected places. This suggests that landscape features may rather have idiosyncratic effects on population structure. In conclusion, this work brought new insights on both genetic and demographic processes occurring in salamanders. The results suggest that some biological paradigms should be taken with caution when particular species are in focus. Species- specific studies remain thus fundamental for a better understanding of species evolution and conservation, particularly in the context of current global changes.RESUMEDans le contexte de la crise de la biodiversité actuelle, les amphibiens subissent le déclin le plus important de tous les vertébrés et ont urgemment besoin d'une meilleure protection. L'établissement de stratégies de conservation efficaces repose sur des connaissances solides de la biologie des espèces et des processus génétiques et démographiques pouvant menacer leur survie. Ces processus sont néanmoins encore peu étudiés chez les amphibiens.Dans cette étude, notre attention s'est portée sur la salamandre noire (Salamandra atra), une espèce endémique des Alpes dont les traits d'histoire de vie atypiques (viviparité, phase d'activité réduite, lent turnover des populations) pourraient la rendre très vulnérable face aux changements environnementaux. Par ailleurs, en raison de son comportement cryptique (les individus passent la plupart de leur temps sous terre) la dynamique des gènes et des individus est mal comprise chez cette espèce. Il est donc difficile d'évaluer son statut de conservation de manière fiable. La salamandre tachetée {Salamandra salamandra), pour qui il n'existe aucune démarcation géographique apparente des populations, pose également des problèmes en termes de gestion. Dans un premier temps, nous avons étudié l'histoire évolutive de la salamandre noire afin de mieux décrire la distribution de sa diversité génétique au sein de son aire géographique. Cela a permis de mettre en évidence la présence de multiples lignées en Italie, ainsi qu'une nette divergence entre les populations du nord des Alpes et des Alpes dinariques. Ces résultats seront à prendre en compte lorsqu'il s'agira de définir des unités de conservation pour cette espèce. D'autre part, nos données soutiennent l'hypothèse d'une survie glaciaire dans des refuges nordiques périglaciaires ou dans des nunataks, fait rarement documenté pour une espèce longévive. Nous avons ensuite évalué la différentiation génétique des populations à l'échelle locale, ce qui a révélé d'important flux de gènes, ainsi qu'une asymétrie de dispersion en faveur des mâles. Ces résultats corroborent l'idée que les amphibiens dispersent mieux que ce que l'on pensait, et fournissent un exemple robuste de dispersion biaisée en faveur des mâles chez les amphibiens. Nous avons ensuite abordé le problème de Γ inaccessibilité des individus à la capture. Nous avons montré qu'environ trois quarts des individus sont inaccessibles lors des échantillonnages, une proportion qui peut varier en fonction des conditions climatiques. Ignoré, ce processus pourrait entraîner une mauvaise interprétation des fluctuations de populations ainsi qu'une mauvaise allocation des efforts de conservation. Concernant la définition d'unités de gestion pour la salamandre tachetée, nous avons pu mettre en évidence un flux de gènes important entre les sites échantillonnés. Les unités de gestion pour cette espèce devraient donc être étendues. Etonnamment, malgré la présence de nombreuses barrières potentielles au flux de gènes, les démarcations génétiques sont apparues à des endroits inattendus. En conclusion, ce travail a apporté une meilleure compréhension des processus génétiques et démographiques en action chez les salamandres. Les résultats suggèrent que certains paradigmes biologiques devraient être considérés avec précaution quand il s'agit de les appliquer à des espèces particulières. Les études spécifiques demeurent donc fondamentales pour une meilleure compréhension de l'évolution des espèces et leur conservation, tout particulièrement dans le contexte des changements globaux actuels.

Retinal dysfunction in combined methylmalonic aciduria and homocystinuria (Cblc) disease: a spectrum of disorders.

BACKGROUND: Cobalamin C methylmalonic aciduria with homocystinuria (cblC disease) is a rare hereditary inborn error of cobalamin metabolism, characterised by neurological, haematological and ophthalmological abnormalities. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Three consecutive patients with Cblc disease were examined. Investigations included slit lamp and fundus examination and full-field ERG. RESULTS: A maculopathy associated with both photopic and scotopic abnormal ERG was present in two cases and a salt and pepper retinopathy with abnormal photopic ERG was detected in the third patient. CONCLUSIONS: Despite early treatment and regular metabolic controls, all our patients exhibited both retinal and ERG abnormalities. There was no correlation between funduscopic appearance and the type of photoreceptor dysfunction. A literature review disclosed a retinopathy in 29 / 70 cases with cblC disease, with an abnormal ERG in 8 of the 12 tested cases, most with retinopathy. Retinal dysfunction in cblC disease may be more frequent than previously thought, and can involve cones only or both rods and cones. We recommend a formal ocular examination with full-field ERG in patients with Cblc disease.

Proposition: Limbic encephalitis may represent limbic status epilepticus. A review of clinical and EEG characteristics.

Limbic encephalitis (LE) with waxing and waning neuropsychiatric manifestations including behavioral, personality, psychiatric, and memory changes can evolve over days to months. Many features of LE show remarkable overlap with the characteristics of mesial-temporal (limbic) status epilepticus (MTLSE or LSE). With LE, these prolonged impaired states are assumed not to be due to ongoing epileptic activity or MTLSE, because scalp EEGs usually show no epileptiform spike-wave activity; cycling behavioral and motor changes are attributed to LE; there may be little immediate improvement with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs); and of course, implanted electrodes are rarely used. Conversely, it is known that in pre-surgical patients with refractory limbic epilepsy, implanted electrodes have revealed limbic seizures that cannot be seen at the scalp. This paper assembles a chain of inferences to advance the proposition that refractory LE might represent LSE more often than is thought, and that implanted electrodes should be considered in some cases. We present two cases that suggest that LE was also LSE, one of which warranted implanted electrodes (case 1).

Evolution of mRNA expression levels of autosomal and sex-linked genes in amniotes

In addition to differences in protein-coding gene sequences, changes in expression resulting from mutations in regulatory sequences have long been hypothesized to be responsible for phenotypic differences between species. However, unlike comparison of genome sequences, few studies, generally restricted to pairwise comparisons of closely related mammalian species, have assessed between-species differences at the transcriptome level. They reported that gene expression evolves at different rates in various organs and in a pattern that is overall consistent with neutral models of evolution. In the first part of my thesis, I investigated the evolution of gene expression in therian mammals (i.e.7 placental and marsupials), based on microarray data from human, mouse and the gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica). In addition to autosomal genes, a special focus was given to the evolution of X-linked genes. The therian X chromosome was recently shown to be younger than previously thought and to harbor a specific gene content (e.g., genes involved in brain or reproductive functions) that is thought to have been shaped by specific sex-related evolutionary forces. Sex chromosomes derive from ordinary autosomes and their differentiation led to the degeneration of the Y chromosome (in mammals) or W chromosome (in birds). Consequently, X- or Z-linked genes differ in gene dose between males and females such that the heterogametic sex has half the X/Z gene dose compared to the ancestral state. To cope with this dosage imbalance, mammals have been reported to have evolved mechanisms of dosage compensation.¦In the first project, I could first show that transcriptomes evolve at different rates in different organs. Out of the five tissues I investigated, the testis is the most rapidly evolving organ at the gene expression level while the brain has the most conserved transcriptome. Second, my analyses revealed that mammalian gene expression evolution is compatible with a neutral model, where the rates of change in gene expression levels is linked to the efficiency of purifying selection in a given lineage, which, in turn, is determined by the long-term effective population size in that lineage. Thus, the rate of DNA sequence evolution, which could be expected to determine the rate of regulatory sequence change, does not seem to be a major determinant of the rate of gene expression evolution. Thus, most gene expression changes seem to be (slightly) deleterious. Finally, X-linked genes seem to have experienced elevated rates of gene expression change during the early stage of X evolution. To further investigate the evolution of mammalian gene expression, we generated an extensive RNA-Seq gene expression dataset for nine mammalian species and a bird. The analyses of this dataset confirmed the patterns previously observed with microarrays and helped to significantly deepen our view on gene expression evolution.¦In a specific project based on these data, I sought to assess in detail patterns of evolution of dosage compensation in amniotes. My analyses revealed the absence of male to female dosage compensation in monotremes and its presence in marsupials and, in addition, confirmed patterns previously described for placental mammals and birds. I then assessed the global level of expression of X/Z chromosomes and contrasted this with its ancestral gene expression levels estimated from orthologous autosomal genes in species with non-homologous sex chromosomes. This analysis revealed a lack of up-regulation for placental mammals, the level of expression of X-linked genes being proportional to gene dose. Interestingly, the ancestral gene expression level was at least partially restored in marsupials as well as in the heterogametic sex of monotremes and birds. Finally, I investigated alternative mechanisms of dosage compensation and found that gene duplication did not seem to be a widespread mechanism to restore the ancestral gene dose. However, I could show that placental mammals have preferentially down-regulated autosomal genes interacting with X-linked genes which underwent gene expression decrease, and thus identified a novel alternative mechanism of dosage compensation.

Evolution of the P-type II ATPase gene family in the fungi and presence of structural genomic changes among isolates of Glomus intraradices.

BACKGROUND: The P-type II ATPase gene family encodes proteins with an important role in adaptation of the cell to variation in external K+, Ca2+ and Na2+ concentrations. The presence of P-type II gene subfamilies that are specific for certain kingdoms has been reported but was sometimes contradicted by discovery of previously unknown homologous sequences in newly sequenced genomes. Members of this gene family have been sampled in all of the fungal phyla except the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF; phylum Glomeromycota), which are known to play a key-role in terrestrial ecosystems and to be genetically highly variable within populations. Here we used highly degenerate primers on AMF genomic DNA to increase the sampling of fungal P-Type II ATPases and to test previous predictions about their evolution. In parallel, homologous sequences of the P-type II ATPases have been used to determine the nature and amount of polymorphism that is present at these loci among isolates of Glomus intraradices harvested from the same field. RESULTS: In this study, four P-type II ATPase sub-families have been isolated from three AMF species. We show that, contrary to previous predictions, P-type IIC ATPases are present in all basal fungal taxa. Additionally, P-Type IIE ATPases should no longer be considered as exclusive to the Ascomycota and the Basidiomycota, since we also demonstrate their presence in the Zygomycota. Finally, a comparison of homologous sequences encoding P-type IID ATPases showed unexpectedly that indel mutations among coding regions, as well as specific gene duplications occur among AMF individuals within the same field. CONCLUSION: On the basis of these results we suggest that the diversification of P-Type IIC and E ATPases followed the diversification of the extant fungal phyla with independent events of gene gains and losses. Consistent with recent findings on the human genome, but at a much smaller geographic scale, we provided evidence that structural genomic changes, such as exonic indel mutations and gene duplications are less rare than previously thought and that these also occur within fungal populations.

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Pierre Bourdieu's field theory is a strong account of how human action can be understood based on the principle that negotiates between structural, relational, and cognitive dimensions within the social world. With his central notion of fields, Bourdieu provides social scientists and economists, a way to transcend the dichotomies that shape theoretical thinking about human conduct and its innovative potentials. This chapter is dedicated to locate the position of the notion of field with respect to major schools of thought, and in particular to the embeddedness tradition that addresses similar questions on the social structuring of human behavior.

Three essays in behavioral and experimental economics

The present PhD dissertation consists of three papers, organized in chapters, in the field of behavioral economics. This discipline studies economic behavior of individuals subject to limitations, such as bounded self-interest and bounded willpower. The behavior studied in the present thesis ranges from the complex decision to register as an organ donor, decision¬making in the presence of uncertainty and the decision to give money to a charitable organization. The first chapter aims at testing the effectiveness of an active-decision (AD) mechanism on the decision to become an organ donor in Switzerland, using field experiments. We found that stimulating participants' reflection on the topic of organ donation had a negative effect on the decision to become an organ donor. Moreover, a non-binding commitment nudge reduces putting off the decision, but does not lead to donation rates higher than in the control group. The results suggest that AD may be far more limited than previously thought and raise doubts about the efficacy of engaging potential donors to reflect on the topic of organ donation. Beyond carrying for others, behavioral economics also recognizes that individuals do not evaluate outcomes in absolute terms but rather by comparing them to some reference levels, called reference points. Above the reference points, economic outcomes are perceived as gains, while below these levels the same outcomes are felt as losses. The last two chapters analyze the importance of reference points in the evaluation of economic outcomes. Using a laboratory experiment where subjects played two consecutive lotteries, Chapter 2 studies the speed of adjustment of the reference point. We find that varying the probability of winning the first lottery has no effect on subjects' risk behavior regarding the second lottery. This result indicates a very fast adjustment of the reference point to the latest information. Chapter 3 investigates whether reference points are relevant for charitable preferences. Using actual donation decisions of participants in a laboratory experiment, the results suggest that reference points are not crucial for shaping charitable giving. -- Cette thèse de doctorat consiste en trois articles, organisés en chapitres, dans le domaine de l'économie comportementale. Cette discipline étudie le comportement d'agents économiques sujets à des limitations, telles qu'un égoïsme limité et une volonté limitée. Le comportement étudié dans cette thèse va de la décision complexe de devenir donneur d'organes, la prise de décision en présence d'incertitude à la décision de donner de l'argent à une oeuvre caritative. Le premier chapitre vise à tester l'efficacité d'un mécanisme de « décision active » (active decision, AD) sur la décision de devenir donneur d'organes en Suisse, et ce en recourant à deux expériences hors-laboratoire. Les résultats montrent que stimuler la réflexion des participants sur le don d'organes a un effet négatif sur la décision de devenir donneur. De plus, un mécanisme qui encourage les participants à prendre une décision sur le champ réduit la tendance à procrastiner, mais ne mène pas à un taux de donneurs plus élevé par rapport à un groupe de contrôle. Les résultats suggèrent que le mécanisme AD est bien plus limité que ce qui a été supposé jusqu'à maintenant. De plus, ils suscitent le doute quant à l'efficacité de stimuler la réflexion de potentiels donneurs sur le sujet du don d'organes. En plus de se soucier des autres, l'économie comportementale admet également que les individus n'évaluent pas les résultats de façon absolue, mais en comparant ceux-ci à des niveaux de références, souvent appelés points de référence. Au-dessus de ces points de référence, les résultats sont perçus en tant que gains, tandis qu'en-dessous ces mêmes résultats sont considérés comme des pertes. Les deux derniers chapitres analysent l'importance des points de référence dans diverses situations. A l'aide d'une expérience en laboratoire dans laquelle les participants participent à deux loteries consécutives, le chapitre 2 étudie la vitesse d'ajustement du point de référence. Le résultat montre que varier la probabilité de gagner la première loterie n'a aucun effet sur le comportement en matière de risques concernant la deuxième loterie. Cela indique un ajustement très rapide du point de référence. Le chapitre 3 vise à déterminer si les points de référence ont un rôle majeur concernant les préférences caritatives. Les données relatives aux décisions de don des participants d'une expérience en laboratoire montrent que les points de référence n'influencent pas significativement le don caritatif.

La palce de la spiritualité dans les soins infirmiers: une revue de littérature [The role of spirituality in nursing care: a literature review].

Spirituality addresses the need to give meaning to life events and is characterized by the relationship with oneself, others and the universe. This article aims to provide an overview of the empirical knowledge, and the prevailing thoughts about spirituality in nursing and suggest perspectives for future directions. The literature review was conducted using the main databases; 36 articles, published between 2008-2013, were selected. The themes covered include the definitions of the spirituality, the spiritual care and the spiritual well-being. Spirituality differs from, yet is not opposed to religion and takes different forms in multicultural and secular societies. Cancer incites existential questions and impacts quality of life, and spiritual well-being is recognized as a good indicator of quality of life for people living with cancer. Professional caregivers are concerned about the needs and spiritual well-being of their patients and often consider interventions to address them. This article reflects the depth of thought and research in nursing and touches on both discipline-specific and interdisciplinary issues.

Premier épisode thymique: cas particulier de l'intervention dans la phase précoce des troubles bipolaires [First episode of mood disorders: an opportunity for early intervention in bipolar disorders].

While early intervention strategies have been developed for psychotic disorders, affective psychoses and bipolar disorders have been neglected by this movement. However, when considering that outcome of bipolar disorders is often not as favorable as previously thought and that delay between illness onset and introduction of an adequate treatment is often very long, such developments seem clearly justified. In this paper we briefly review arguments supporting early intervention in bipolar disorders, the practical and theoretical obstacles that still need to be overcome, the strategies that may already now contribute to decrease treatment delay, and we describe current state of research regarding identification of the prodromal phase of bipolar disorders.