La force motrice hydraulique au service du développement économique helvétique : L'exemple du réseau d'eau sous pression à Lausanne 1868-1914

The success story of hydroelectricity long influenced and dominated Swiss scholarly literature devoted to the history of technology. This means of conducting power, which emerged at the end of the 19th century and is still dominating today, has attracted much more attention than technologies that have been shadowed by its success. In spite of their important contribution to Swiss economic development, the distribution networks of pressurized water have been neglected by scholars. This article contributes to close this historiographic gap by analyzing the introduction of pressurized water distribution in 1876 in Lausanne, in the context of the building of the first Swiss cable funicular between Lausanne and Ouchy. This article shows how pressurized water distribution transformed socio-economic practices in the urban areas in which it was adopted. Indeed, this innovation, which allowed the use of distant hydraulic resources, enabled the rationalization of industrial and artisanal production as well as improved the density of the urban industrial base. By facilitating the introduction of electric lighting, pressurized water networks played a key role in the early development, and further successes, of the Swiss hydroelectric industry.

Reasons for deploying an e-reader loan service at the UOC Library

The presentation will focus on the reasons for deploying an e-reader loan service at a virtual university library as a part of an e-learning support system to aid user mobility, concentration of documentary and electronic resources, and ICT skills acquisition, using the example of the UOC pilot project and its subsequent consolidation. E-reader devices at the UOC are an extension of the Virtual Campus. They are offered as a tool to aid user mobility, access to documentary and electronic resources, and development of information and IT skills. The e-reader loan service began as a pilot project in 2009 and was consolidated in 2010. The UOC Library piloted the e-reader loan service from October to December 2009. The pilot project was carried out with 15 devices and involved 37 loans. The project was extended into 2010 with the same number of devices and 218 loans (October 2010). In 2011 the e-reader loan service is to involve 190 devices, thus offering an improved service. The reasons for deploying an e-reader loan service at the UOC are the following: a) to offer library users access to the many kinds of learning materials available at the UOC through a single device that facilitates student study and learning; b) to enhance access to and use of the e-book collections subscribed to by the UOC Library; c) to align with UOC strategy on the development of learning materials in multiple formats, and promote e-devices as an extension of the UOC Virtual Campus, and d) to increase UOC Library visibility within and beyond the institution. The presentation will conclude with an analysis of the key issues to be taken into account at a university library: the e-reader market, the unclear business and license model for e-book contents, and the library's role in promoting new reading formats to increase use of e-collections.

M. Katz [chef du service français à l'ambassade d'Espagne à Bruxelles en 1917, cité dans le procès Marguliès en août 1919] : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]

Référence bibliographique : Rol, 55330

Preuve par l'ADN: la génétique au service de la justice

[Sommaire] Introduction. - Concepts biochimiques de base. - Concepts génétiques de base. - Quelques méthodes d'analyse de base en biologie. - Analyses génétiques - La caisse à outils de base. - Analyses génétiques - La caisse à outils spécialisée. - Les traces biologiques dans leur utilisation pratique. - Tests indicatifs et recherche des traces. - Quelques éléments d'évaluation probabiliste. - Au-delà du laboratoire. - Glossaire. - Index

Malaria in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, an Atlantic Forest area: an assessment using the health surveillance service

The lethality of malaria in the extra-Amazonian region is more than 70 times higher than in Amazonia itself. Recently, several studies have shown that autochthonous malaria is not a rare event in the Brazilian southeastern states in the Atlantic Forest biome. Information about autochthonous malaria in the state of Rio de Janeiro (RJ) is scarce. This study aims to assess malaria cases reported to the Health Surveillance System of the State of Rio de Janeiro between 2000-2010. An average of 90 cases per year had parasitological malaria confirmation by thick smear. The number of malaria notifications due to Plasmodium falciparum increased over time. Imported cases reported during the period studied were spread among 51% of the municipalities (counties) of the state. Only 35 cases (4.3%) were autochthonous, which represents an average of 3.8 new cases per year. Eleven municipalities reported autochthonous cases; within these, six could be characterised as areas of residual or new foci of malaria from the Atlantic Forest system. The other 28 municipalities could become receptive for transmission reintroduction. Cases occurred during all periods of the year, but 62.9% of cases were in the first semester of each year. Assessing vulnerability and receptivity conditions and vector ecology is imperative to establish the real risk of malaria reintroduction in RJ.

Health literacy [Document électronique] : an economic perspective and data for Switzerland. Part 2, A review of health literacy measures and a cost assessment of limited health literacy

Summary : 1. Measuring health literacy in Switzerland: a review of six surveys: 1.1 Comparison of questionnaires - 1.2 Measures of health literacy in Switzerland - 1.3 Discussion of Swiss data on HL - 1.4 Description of the six surveys: 1.4.1 Current health trends and health literacy in the Swiss population (gfs-UNIVOX), 1.4.2 Nutrition, physical exercise and body weight : opinions and perceptions of the Swiss population (USI), 1.4.3 Health Literacy in Switzerland (ISPMZ), 1.4.4 Swiss Health Survey (SHS), 1.4.5 Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), 1.4.6 Adult literacy and life skills survey (ALL). - 2 . Economic costs of low health literacy in Switzerland: a rough calculation. Appendix: Screenshots cost model

Initial complications and factors related to prehospital mortality in acute myocardial infarction with ST segment elevation.

OBJECTIVE Hospital mortality in myocardial infarction ST-elevation myocardial infarction has decreased in recent years, in contrast to prehospital mortality. Our objective was to determine initial complications and factors related to prehospital mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction with ST segment elevation (STEMI). METHODS Observational study based on a prospective continuous register of patients of any age attended by out-of-hospital emergency teams in Andalusia between January 2006 and June 2009. This includes patients with acute coronary syndrome-like symptoms whose initial ECG showed ST elevation or presumably new left bundle branch block (LBBB). Epidemiological, prehospital data and final diagnostic were recorded. The study included all patients with STEMI on the register, without age restrictions. Forward stepwise logistic regression analysis was performed to control for confounders. RESULTS A total of 2528 patients were included, 24% were women. Mean age 63.4±13.4 years; 16.7% presented atypical clinical symptoms. Initial complications: ventricular fibrillation (VF) 8.4%, severe bradycardia 5.8%, third-degree atrial-ventricular (AV) block 2.4% and hypotension 13.5%. Fifty-two (2.1%) patients died before reaching hospital. Factors associated with prehospital mortality were female sex (OR 2.36, CI 1.28 to 4.33), atypical clinical picture (OR 2.31, CI 1.21 to 4.41), hypotension (OR 4.95, CI 2.60 to 9.20), LBBB (OR 4.29, CI 1.71 to 10.74), extensive infarction (ST elevation in ≥5 leads) (OR 2.53, CI 1.28 to 5.01) and VF (OR 2.82, CI 1.38 to 5.78). CONCLUSIONS A significant proportion of patients with STEMI present early complications in the prehospital setting, and some die before reaching hospital. Prehospital mortality was associated with female sex and atypical presentation, as pre-existing conditions, and hypotension, extensive infarction, LBBB and VF on emergency team attendance.

The Rise of The Swiss Tax Haven in the Interwar Period: An International Comparison

The history of tax havens is still little known for the decades before World War II. Up to now the studies that have focused on the 1920s and 30s have presented either a very general perspective on the development of tax havens or a narrow national point of view. Based on unpublished historical archives of four countries, this paper offers therefore a new comparative look on international tax competition during this period in order to answer the following question: was the Swiss case - already considered as a quintessential tax haven at the time - specific in comparison to other banking centres? This research has two results. On the one hand, the 1920s and 30s appear as something of a golden age of opportunity for avoiding taxation through the relocation of assets. Actually, most of the financial centres granted consistent tax benefits for imported capital, while the extremely limited degree of international cooperation and the usual guarantee of banking secrecy in European countries prevented the taxation of exported assets. On the other hand, within this general balance sheet, the fiscal strategies of a tax haven like Switzerland differed from those of a great financial power like Great Britain. Whereas the Swiss administration readily placed itself at the service of the bankers, the British policy was more balanced between the contradictory interests of the Board of Inland Revenue, the Treasury and the English business circles.

The administration of atomoxetine during alcohol deprivation induces a time-limited increase in alcohol consumption after relapse.

The administration of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) typically used as antidepressants increases alcohol consumption after an alcohol deprivation period in rats. However, the appearance of this effect after the treatment with selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) has not been studied. In the present work we examined the effects of a 15-d treatment with the SNRI atomoxetine (1, 3 and 10 mg/kg, i.p.) in male rats trained to drink alcohol solutions in a 4-bottle choice test. The treatment with atomoxetine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) during an alcohol deprivation period increased alcohol consumption after relapse. This effect only lasted one week, disappearing thereafter. Treatment with atomoxetine did not cause a behavioral sensitized response to a challenge dose of amphetamine (1.5 mg/kg, i.p.), indicating the absence of a supersensitive dopaminergic transmission. This effect is markedly different from that of SSRI antidepressants that produced both long-lasting increases in alcohol consumption and behavioral sensitization. Clinical implications are discussed.

Multi-modal distraction: insights from children's limited attention.

How does the multi-sensory nature of stimuli influence information processing? Cognitive systems with limited selective attention can elucidate these processes. Six-year-olds, 11-year-olds and 20-year-olds engaged in a visual search task that required them to detect a pre-defined coloured shape under conditions of low or high visual perceptual load. On each trial, a peripheral distractor that could be either compatible or incompatible with the current target colour was presented either visually, auditorily or audiovisually. Unlike unimodal distractors, audiovisual distractors elicited reliable compatibility effects across the two levels of load in adults and in the older children, but high visual load significantly reduced distraction for all children, especially the youngest participants. This study provides the first demonstration that multi-sensory distraction has powerful effects on selective attention: Adults and older children alike allocate attention to potentially relevant information across multiple senses. However, poorer attentional resources can, paradoxically, shield the youngest children from the deleterious effects of multi-sensory distraction. Furthermore, we highlight how developmental research can enrich the understanding of distinct mechanisms controlling adult selective attention in multi-sensory environments.