Des systèmes d'irrigation alpins entre gouvernance communautaire et étatique = Alpine Bewässerungssysteme zwischen Genossenschaft und Staat

La gouvernance communautaire liée à l'exploitation des bisses valaisans représente-t-elle (vraiment) un modèle de gestion durable des ressources en eau ? C'est à cette question - qui fait écho au vaste ensemble de littérature regroupée sous le label des CPR (common-pool resources) Theories - que le présent ouvrage entend répondre. A travers une approche diachronique centrée sur le long terme, cinq études de cas éclairent de manière originale et critique non seulement l'évolution de cette gouvernance communautaire (vers un degré d'hybridation accru) et, surtout, son caractère durable. La perspective ressourcielle et la conception forte de la durabilité adoptées mettent, sur ce point, en évidence les limites de ces modèles de gouvernance. Sous un angle social en particulier, ils se caractérisent historiquement par un degré d'exclusivité marqué qui tend à en faire des biens de club auxquels seuls les usagers admis ont accès. Les interventions d'acteurs étatiques ont à cet égard joué un grand rôle pour ouvrir les bisses à de nouveaux usagers et assurer le maintien de la ressource dans un environnement socio-économique en mutation.

Time for change: a roadmap to guide the implementation of the World Anti-Doping Code 2015

A medical and scientific multidisciplinary consensus meeting was held from 29 to 30 November 2013 on Anti-Doping in Sport at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland, to create a roadmap for the implementation of the 2015 World Anti-Doping Code. The consensus statement and accompanying papers set out the priorities for the antidoping community in research, science and medicine. The participants achieved consensus on a strategy for the implementation of the 2015 World Anti-Doping Code. Key components of this strategy include: (1) sport-specific risk assessment, (2) prevalence measurement, (3) sport-specific test distribution plans, (4) storage and reanalysis, (5) analytical challenges, (6) forensic intelligence, (7) psychological approach to optimise the most deterrent effect, (8) the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) and confounding factors, (9) data management system (Anti-Doping Administration & Management System (ADAMS), (10) education, (11) research needs and necessary advances, (12) inadvertent doping and (13) management and ethics: biological data. True implementation of the 2015 World Anti-Doping Code will depend largely on the ability to align thinking around these core concepts and strategies. FIFA, jointly with all other engaged International Federations of sports (Ifs), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), are ideally placed to lead transformational change with the unwavering support of the wider antidoping community. The outcome of the consensus meeting was the creation of the ad hoc Working Group charged with the responsibility of moving this agenda forward.

Evaluation of the toxicity of different metal compounds in the developing brain using aggregating cell cultures as a model.

To evaluate their toxicity in the developing brain, eight metal compounds, [bismuth sodium tartrate (BiNA-tartrate), CdCl(2), CoCl(2), HgCl(2), dimethyl mercury, NiCl(2), TlCl and triethyltin chloride (TET)] were tested in aggregating cell cultures of foetal rat telencephalon. The compounds were applied to the cultures continuously, either during an early developmental stage (between days 5 and 14) or during and advanced stage of maturation (between days 24 and 34). Changes in the activities of cell type-specific enzymes were used as a criterion for toxicity. A general cytotoxic effect was observed after treatment with either CdCl(2), HgCl(2) or TET at 10(-6)m, and with TlCl at 10(-5)m. Selective effects were found with BiNa-tartrate and dimethylmercury. CoCl(2) did not modify the parameters tested, whereas a stimulant effect was found with NiCl(2). The effects of several compounds were development dependent: HgCl(2), TET and TlCl were more toxic in immature cultures, whereas BiNa-tartrate, dimethylmercury and NiCl(2) were more effective in differentiated cultures.

Stimulus-induced, sleep-bound, focal seizures: a case report.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (NFLE), seizures occur almost exclusively during NREM sleep. Why precisely these seizures are sleep-bound remains unknown. Studies of patients with nonlesional familial forms of NFLE have suggested the arousal system may play a major role in their pathogenesis. We report the case of a patient with pharmaco-resistant, probably cryptogenic form of non-familial NFLE and strictly sleep-bound seizures that could be elicited by alerting stimuli and were associated with ictal bilateral thalamic and right orbital-insular hyperperfusion on SPECT imaging. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: University Hospital Zurich. PATIENTS OR PARTICIPANTS: One patient with pharmaco-resistant epilepsy. CONCLUSION: This case shows that the arousal system plays a fundamental role also in cryptogenic non-familial forms of NFLE.

Regulation of peptidase activity in a three-dimensional aggregate model of brain tumor vasculature.

The abnormal vascular system of brain cancers inappropriately expresses membrane proteins, including proteolytic enzymes, ultimately resulting in blood extravasation. The production of inflammatory mediators, such as cytokines and nitric oxide, and tumor hypoxia have been implicated in these effects. We have previously shown that the activity of aminopeptidase A is increased in the abnormal vascular system of human and rat brain tumors. To study the mechanisms regulating the activities of peptidases in cerebral vasculature in brain tumors, we have developed a three-dimensional model of differentiated rat brain cells in aggregate cultures in which rat brain microvessels were incorporated. The secretion of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the culture medium of aggregates was used as an indicator of inflammatory activation. Addition to these aggregates of C6 glioma cell medium (C6-CM) conditioned under hypoxic or normoxic conditions or serum mimicked tumor-dependent hypoxia or conditions of dysfunction of brain tumor vasculature. Hypoxic and normoxic C6-CM, but not serum, regulated peptidase activity in aggregates, and in particular it increased the activity of aminopeptidase A determined using histoenzymography. Serum, but not C6-CM, increased IL-6 production, but did not increase aminopeptidase A activity in aggregates. Thus soluble glioma-derived factors, but not serum-derived factors, induce dysfunctions of cerebral vasculature by directly regulating the activity of peptidases, not involving inflammatory activation. Tumor hypoxia is not necessary to modulate peptidase activity.

Vulnerabilität und psychische Erkrankung

Vulnerability and psychic illness Based on a sample of 1701 college and university students from four different sites in Switzerland, the U.S., and Argentina, this study investigated the interrelationships between insufficient coping skills under chronic stress and impaired general health. We sought to develop standardised means for "early" identification of students at risk of mental health problems, as these students may benefit from "early" interventions before psychiatric symptoms develop and reach clinically relevant thresholds. All students completed two self-report questionnaires: the Coping Strategies Inventory "COPE" and the Zurich Health Questionnaire "ZHQ", with the latter assessing "regular exercises", "consumption behavior", "impaired physical health", "psychosomatic disturbances", and "impaired mental health". This data was subjected to structure analyses based on neural network approaches, using the different study sites' data subsets as independent "learning" and "test" samples. We found two highly stable COPE scales that quantified basic coping behaviour in terms of "activity-passivity" and "defeatism-resilience". The excellent reproducibility across study sites suggested that the new scales characterise socioculturally independent personality traits. Correlation analyses for external validation revealed a close relationship between high scores on the defeatism scale and impaired physical and mental health, hence underlining the scales' clinical relevance. Our results suggested in particular: (1.) the proposed method to be a powerful screening tool for early detection and prevention of psychiatric disorders; (2.) physical activity like regular exercises to play a critical role not only in preventing health problems but also in contributing to early intervention programs.

La religion comme facteur de réhabilitation sociale. Réflexions sur les acteurs autorisés de l'islam dans les prisons suisses

L'accompagnement spirituel dans les prisons suisses est dominé par un modèle mono-culturel chrétienne. Or, la présence importante de détenus de confession musulmane dans les établissements pénitentiaires incite ceux-ci à organiser un soutien spirituel adapté à cette catégorie de leur population. Dans quel cadre légal cet accompagnement spirituel se déroule-t-il? Quelle forme prend-il ? Quels sont ceux (et plus rarement celles) qui assistent spirituellement les détenus musulmans ? Cet article propose de répondre à ces questions en énonçant les principes juridiques relatifs à l'exercice de la religion en contexte carcéral et en présentant des profils d'intervenants musulmans de prison.

Krisen - Ursachen, Deutungen und Folgen / Crises - Causes, interprétations et conséquences

L'effondrement inattendu de l'économie mondiale en 2009 a suscité un intérêt nouveau pour l'étude historique des crises. Dans ce contexte incertain, l'étude du passé a regagné en attractivité. L'ouvrage fait certaines propositions théoriques et offre une vision d'ensemble des différents types de crises du Haut Moyen-Age jusqu'à nos jours. La principale conclusion qui ressort de ces contributions est qu'il n'y a pas de réponse objective à une situation de crise. Les interprétations et les attentes ne sont certes pas complètement aléatoires, dans la mesure où elles s'inspirent des expériences du passé. Elles sont cependant soumises à de fortes variations, car les périodes de forte incertitude engendrent certains doutes vis-à-vis des enseignements du passé. Dans cette perspective, les auteurs.es parviennent, à partir de leurs études de cas historiques, à stimuler la réflexion sur la crise actuelle.

Croire ensemble. Analyse institutionnelle du paysage religieux en Suisse

L'étude présentée dans cet ouvrage offre pour la première fois en Suisse une perspective sociologique empirique et générale sur les organisations religieuses locales. Vu sous cet angle, le fait religieux se manifeste d'abord, comme le précisaient déjà Weber ou Durkheim, par l'existence de communautés de tailles et de profils divers, tant dans l'espace rural qu'urbain. En Suisse, 5'734 paroisses et groupes religieux ont pu être dénombrés en 2008. Ce recensement permet de souligner la prégnance institutionnelle des Eglises historiques, mais également l'émergence d'une plus forte pluralité religieuse, particulièrement en milieu urbain. La sociologie des organisations que propose cette étude permet de jeter un éclairage nouveau sur les effets de la sécularisation (baisse des membres et de la pratique) et de la pluralisation (diversification des confessions et traditions religieuses). L'analyse des différences et des similitudes organisationnelles selon les traditions religieuses fait apparaître un positionnement social des groupes en fonction de statuts acquis au cours de l'histoire. Les théories classiques - par exemple à pro- pos des relations entre statuts sociaux des membres et groupes d'appartenance, des types d'autorités religieuses ou encore des différences entre Eglise et Secte - sont revisitées, précisées ou reformulées grâce à des données quantitatives originales et représentatives du champ religieux suisse. -- The study presented in this book for the first time in Switzerland offers a broad empirical and sociological perspective on local religious organizations. From this perspective, religion appears first, as already observed by Weber and Durkheim, through communities regardless of their various profiles. In Switzerland, 5,734 parishes and religious groups have been identified by a national census in 2008. The book underlines the institutional salience of historical churches (Reformed and Roman Catholic) but also the emerging religious plurality, particularly in urban areas. This study sheds a new light upon the effects of secularization (lower limbs and practice) and pluralisation (diversification of religious denominations and traditions) in the organizational field. The analysis of differences and similarities between religious traditions shows a social positioning of the local groups according to the statutes acquired in history. The classical theories − e.g. about the relationship between social status of members and membership groups, types of religious authorities or differences between Church and Sect − are revisited, clarified or reformulated based on an original and representative quantitative data of the Swiss religious field.

Contribution of fine particulate matter sources to indoor exposure in bars, restaurants, and cafes

This study investigated the contribution of sources and establishment characteristics, on the exposure to fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)) in the non-smoking sections of bars, cafes, and restaurants in central Zurich. PM(2.5)-exposure was determined with a nephelometer. A random sample of hospitality establishments was investigated on all weekdays, from morning until midnight. Each visit lasted 30 min. Numbers of smokers and other sources, such as candles and cooking processes, were recorded, as were seats, open windows, and open doors. Ambient air pollution data were obtained from public authorities. Data were analysed using robust MM regression. Over 14 warm, sunny days, 102 establishments were measured. Average establishment PM(2.5) concentrations were 64.7 microg/m(3) (s.d. = 73.2 microg/m(3), 30-min maximum 452.2 microg/m(3)). PM(2.5) was significantly associated with the number of smokers, percentage of seats occupied by smokers, and outdoor PM. Each smoker increased PM(2.5) on average by 15 microg/m(3). No associations were found with other sources, open doors or open windows. Bars had more smoking guests and showed significantly higher concentrations than restaurants and cafes. Smokers were the most important PM(2.5)-source in hospitality establishments, while outdoor PM defined the baseline. Concentrations are expected to be even higher during colder, unpleasant times of the year. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Smokers and ambient air pollution are the most important sources of fine airborne particulate matter (PM(2.5)) in the non-smoking sections of bars, restaurants, and cafes. Other sources do not significantly contribute to PM(2.5)-levels, while opening doors and windows is not an efficient means of removing pollutants. First, this demonstrates the impact that even a few smokers can have in affecting particle levels. Second, it implies that creating non-smoking sections, and using natural ventilation, is not sufficient to bring PM(2.5) to levels that imply no harm for employees and non-smoking clients. [Authors]