Access to information in Switzerland : From secrecy to transparency

Access to information legislations are now present in over 50 countries world-wide. Lagging behind some of its own Cantons, the Swiss Federal government was until recently one of the few hold outs in Europe. But, in December 2004, the Confederation voted the 'Loi sur la Transparence de l'administration' or Law on Transparency (LTrans) a Law that came into effect in July 2006. This paper presents an overview of the new Law and underlines the main institutional challenges to its introduction in Switzerland.

Diet diversity and the risk of laryngeal cancer: a case-control study from Italy and Switzerland.

Diet diversity (defined as the number of different foods consumed) has been considered an indicator of a healthy diet, and favorably related to the risk of several digestive tract cancers. We analyzed the relation between diet diversity and the risk of laryngeal cancer using data from a case-control study carried out between 1992 and 2000 in Italy and Switzerland. The subjects of the study were 527 patients with histologically confirmed incident cancers of the larynx and 1297 patients admitted for acute, non-neoplastic diseases, unrelated to tobacco or alcohol consumption. Total diversity was computed as the number of different foods (overall and within four food groups, i.e., vegetables, fruit, meat, and cereals) consumed at least once per week. A significant inverse association was observed for vegetable diversity (OR=0.41, 95% CI: 0.28-0.59, for the highest versus the lowest quartile) and fruit diversity (OR=0.40, 95% CI: 0.27-0.59). Conversely, a direct association was found for meat diversity (OR=1.67, 95% CI: 1.11-2.50), while no meaningful association was found for total diet and cereal diversity. The results were consistent across strata of age, alcohol drinking and tobacco smoking. This study suggests that a diet not only rich but also varied in fruit and vegetables is related to a decreased risk of laryngeal cancer risk.

Social mobility in 20th century, Switzerland

The study of social mobility enables us to assess the extent to which a given society is "open". Addressing this issue is particularly crucial in our democratic societies, where it is expected that the place of individuals in society should no longer be determined at birth, but rather by individual quality. The present inquiry investigates this issue in the context of Switzerland, a country characterised by specific institutional settings, notably through the close association its educational system shares with the labour market. Through a detailed empirical analysis based on robust statistical analyses carried out from a unique tailor-made dataset, I demonstrate that Swiss society has not become more open throughout the twentieth century. Although some barriers have lost some salience, Swiss society has overall remained extremely rigid. In particular, because it channels individuals into highly segmented tracks very early on, the Swiss educational system does not attenuate social background differences. Thus, Switzerland is found in a particular configuration where an individual's place in society is highly determined not only by his or her educational attainment, but also by his or her social background. In other words, Switzerland constitutes a sort of "non-meritocratic meritocracy". - L'étude de la mobilité sociale permet d'évaluer dans quelle mesure une société donnée est « ouverte ». S'intéresser à cette question est particulièrement crucial dans nos sociétés démocratiques, où il est attendu que la place des individus ne soit plus déterminée à la naissance, mais plutôt par les qualités individuelles. La présente étude examine cette question dans le cadre de la Suisse, un pays aux caractéristiques institutionnelles spécifiques, particulièrement de part le lien étroit que son système éducatif entretien avec le marché du travail. A travers une analyse empirique détaillée fondée sur des analyses statistiques robustes menées à partir d'un jeu de données unique construit sur-mesure, je démontre que la société suisse n'est pas devenue plus ouverte au cours du 20ème siècle. Même si certaines barrières ont perdu de l'importance, dans son ensemble, la société suisse est restée extrêmement rigide. En particulier, parce qu'il oriente très tôt les individus dans des filières fortement segmentées, le système éducatif suisse n'atténue pas les différences entre milieux sociaux. Ainsi, la Suisse se trouve dans une configuration particulière où, d'une part, la place d'un individu dans la société est hautement déterminée par son niveau d'étude et, d'autre part, par son origine sociale. En d'autres termes, la Suisse apparaît comme une sorte de « méritocratie non-méritocratique ».

Eligibility for statin therapy in primary prevention: discrepancies using different guidelines in a population-based study in Switzerland

Introduction: Recommendations for statin use for primary prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD) are based on estimation of the 10-year CHD risk. We compared the 10-year CHD risk assessments and eligibility percentages for statin therapy using three scoring algorithms currently used in Switzerland. Methods: We studied 5683 women and men, aged 35-75, without overt cardiovascular disease (CVD), in a population-based study in Lausanne, Switzerland. We compared the 10-year CHD risk using three scoring schemes, i.e., the Framingham risk score (FRS) from the U.S. National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III), the PROCAM scoring scheme from the International Atherosclerosis Society (IAS), and the European risk SCORE for low-risk countries, without and with extrapolation to 60 years as recommended by the European Society of Cardiology guidelines (ESC). With FRS and PROCAM, high-risk was defined as a 10-year risk of fatal or non-fatal CHD >20% and a 10-year risk of fatal CVD >= 5% with SCORE. We compared the proportions of high-risk participants and eligibility for statin use according to these three schemes. For each guideline, we estimated the impact of increased statin use from current partial compliance to full compliance on potential CHD deaths averted over 10 years, using a success proportion of 27% for statins. Results: Participants classified at high-risk (both genders) were 5.8% according to FRS and 3.0% to the PROCAM, whereas the European risk SCORE classified 12.5% at high-risk (15.4% with extrapolation to 60 years). For the primary prevention of CHD, 18.5% of participants were eligible for statin therapy using ATP III, 16.6% using IAS, and 10.3% using ESC (13.0% with extrapolation) because ESC guidelines recommend statin therapy only in high-risk subjects. In comparison with IAS, agreement to identify eligible adults for statins was good with ATP III, but moderate with ESC (Figure). Using a population perspective, a full compliance with ATP III guidelines would reduce up to 17.9% of the 24'310 CHD deaths expected over 10 years in Switzerland, 17.3% with IAS and 10.8% with ESC (11.5% with extrapolation). Conclusion: Full compliance with guidelines for statin therapy would result in substantial health benefits, but proportions of high-risk adults and eligible adults for statin use varied substantially depending on the scoring systems and corresponding guidelines used for estimating CHD risk in Switzerland.

Genetic differentiation in two European tree frog (Hyla arborea) metapopulations in contrasted landscapes of Western Switzerland

The survival of threatened species as the European tree frog (Hyla arborea) is strongly dependent on the genetic variability within populations, as well as gene flow between them. In Switzerland, only two sectors in its western part still harbour metapopulations. The first is characterised by a very heterogeneous and urbanized landscape, while the second is characterised by a uninterrupted array of suitable habitats. In this study, six microsatellite loci were used to establish levels of genetic differentiation among the populations from the two different locations. The results show that the metapopulations have: (i) weak levels of genetic differentiation (FST within metapopulation ≈ 0.04), (ii) no difference in levels of genetic structuring between them, (iii) significant (p = 0.019) differences in terms of genetic diversity (Hs) and observed heterozygozity (Ho), the metapopulation located in a disturbed landscape showing lower values. Our results suggest that even if the dispersal of H. arborea among contiguous ponds seems to be efficient in areas of heterogeneous landscape, a loss of genetic diversity can occur.

Substance use among sportive adolescents in the French-speaking part of Switzerland

CONTEXTE: Pour diverses raisons, les adultes et en particulier les parents croient que la pratique sportive à l'adolescence est un facteur de protection contre les comportements à risque tels que la consommation de substances. Les preuves présentes à l'intérieur de la littérature ne sont toutefois pas concluantes à ce sujet. Le principal objectif de notre étude était donc de comparer la prévalence de la consommation de substances psychoactives (licites et illicites) et de substances ergogéniques et dopantes entre les jeunes de Suisse Romande pratiquant un sport et ceux n'en pratiquant pas.METHODES: À l'aide de plusieurs méthodes de recrutement, des adolescents sportifs et non sportifs âgés de 16 à 20 ans furent invités à répondre à un questionnaire anonyme en ligne sur leur consommation de substances. Les substances psychoactives étudiées furent principalement le tabac, l'alcool, et le cannabis. Le dopage a été limité à la volonté d'améliorer les performances tout en utilisant des produits interdits selon l'Agence Mondiale Antidopage (liste 2009). Plusieurs produits légaux liés à la pratique sportive ont également été étudiés. Sur une période de 10 mois, un total de 1303 questionnaires ont été complétés. De l'échantillon final pondéré, les réponses de 1247 sujets éligibles ont été analysées.RESULTATS ET CONCLUSIONS: Dans l'ensemble, l'effet protecteur d'une pratique sportive contre l'utilisation de substances psychoactives semble dépendre de la substance à l'étude.Les jeunes non-sportifs sont plus susceptibles de fumer que les sportifs, et, parmi ces derniers, ceux évoluant dans un contexte de loisir sont plus susceptibles de fumer que ceux en pratique compétitive. Au contraire, aucune différence concernant l'abus d'alcool n'a été observée entre les adolescents sportifs et non-sportifs, indiquant que la pratique sportive ne représente pas une protection contre l'abus d'alcool. Bien que les jeunes non-sportifs soient deux fois plus susceptibles d'être utilisateurs actuels de cannabis, un jeune sportif sur neuf en a néanmoins consommé dans le dernier mois.Les trois quarts des jeunes sportifs interrogés indiquent utiliser activement des produits pour améliorer leurs performances, confirmant la tendance actuellement perçue. Parmi les substances utilisées pour améliorer les performances sportives, les produits contenant de la caféine, les boissons sportives et les suppléments alimentaires sont les trois plus souvent signalés.Peu de jeunes sportifs en Suisse Romande semblent utiliser des substances bannies par l'Agence Mondiale Antidopage, le cannabis étant celui le plus fréquemment cité.Parmi les jeunes sportifs, ceux en pratique compétitive semblent plus susceptibles d'utiliser des produits pour améliorer leurs performances que ceux évoluant dans un contexte de loisir. En outre, Un lien entre les substances psychoactives et celles prises pour améliorer les performances sportives semblent exister: tous les jeunes sportifs signalant soit fumer, avoir abusé de l'alcool récemment ou consommer actuellement du cannabis ont démontré une consommation plus élevée de produits dopants. L'usage du cannabis comme un moyen d'améliorer les performances sportives semble assez fréquent chez les consommateurs récréatifs de cette substance.Les jeunes sportifs évoluant au niveau international ont montré des taux plus bas d'abus d'alcool et de cannabis.

Changing Religiosity, Changing Politics? The Influence of 'Belonging' and 'Believing' on Political Attitudes in Switzerland

Starting from theories of secularization and of religious individualization, we propose a two-dimensional typology of religiosity and test its impact on political attitudes. Unlike classic conceptions of religiosity used in political studies, our typology simultaneously accounts for an individual's sense of belonging to the church (institutional dimension) and his/her personal religious beliefs (spiritual dimension). Our analysis, based on data from the World Values Survey in Switzerland (1989-2007), shows two main results. First, next to evidence of religious decline, we also find evidence of religious change with an increase in the number of people who "believe without belonging." Second, non-religious individuals and individuals who believe without belonging are significantly more permissive on issues of cultural liberalism than followers of institutionalized forms of religiosity.

Acknowledgment and psychiatric symptoms in police officers in Switzerland

The way supervisors acknowledge specific contribution and efforts of their employees has an impact on occupational health and wellbeing. Acknowledgement is a protective factor when it is sufficiently provided. We carried out a study about occupational health in police officers with special emphasis on acknowledgment and reward. A questionnaire was sent to 1000 police officers and inspectors working for a cantonal administration in Switzerland. In total, 695 participants answered the questionnaire. We used the TST questionnaire (French version of the Langner's questionnaire on psychiatric symptoms) to identify cases characterized by potential mental health problems. Multiple choice items (5 modalities ranging from "not at all" to "tremendously") were used to measure acknowledgment. The score for psychiatric symptoms was high (TST score >or= 9) for 86 police officers and inspectors for whom health might be at risk. Compared with police officers having low or medium scores for psychiatric symptoms (TST score < 9), police officers with high TST scores were more likely to report the lack of support and attention from the supervisors (odds ratio [OR] 3.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.0 to 5.1) and the lack of acknowledgment by the hierarchy (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.9 to 4.8). They were also more likely to mention that judicial authorities have a low consideration for police officers (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.7 to 4.3) and that the public in general have a low appreciation of police officers (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.9). Preserving mental health in occupations characterized by high emotional demand is challenging. Our results show that acknowledgment and mental health are associated. Further research should address a potential causal relation of acknowledgment on mental health in police officers and inspectors.

Life histories and distribution of ostracods with depth in western Lake Geneva (Petit-Lac), Switzerland: A reconnaissance study

Because environmental conditions within a given basin are different for each season and at different water depth, knowledge of the life history and depth distribution of target species is important for environmental and palaeoenvironmental interpretations based on ostracod species assemblages and/or the geochemical compositions of their valves. In order to determine the distribution of species with depth as well as the life history of species from Lake Geneva, a one year sampling campaign of living ostracods was conducted at five sites (2, 5, 13, 33 and 70 m water depth) on a monthly basis in the Petit-Lac (western basin of Lake Geneva, Switzerland). Based on the results, the different species can be classified into three groups. Littoral taxa are found at 2 and 5 m water depth and include, in decreasing numbers of individuals, Cypridopsis vidua (O. F.Müller, 1776), Pseudocandona compressa (Koch, 1838), Limnocythere inopinata (Baird, 1843), Herpetocypris reptans (Baird, 1835), Potamocypris smaragdina (Vávra, 1891), Potamocypris similis (G. W. Müller, 1912), Plesiocypridopsis newtoni (Brady & Robertson, 1870), Prionocypris zenkeri (Chyzer & Toth, 1858) and Ilyocypris sp. Brady & Norman, 1889. Sublittoral species are found in a majority at 13 m water depth and to a lesser extend at 33 m water depth and include, in decreasing numbers of individuals, Fabaeformiscandona caudata (Kaufmann, 1900), Limnocytherina sanctipatricii, Candona candida (O. F. Müller, 1776) and Isocypris beauchampi (Paris, 1920). Profundal species are found equally at 13, 33 and 70 m water depth and includes, in decreasing numbers of individuals, Cytherissa lacustris (Sars, 1863), Candona neglecta Sars, 1887 and Cypria lacustris Lilljeborg, 1890. The occurrence of Limnocytherina sanctipatricii (Brady & Robertson, 1869) is restricted from late winter to late spring when temperatures are low, while C. vidua, L. inopinata, P. smaragdina, P. similis, P. newtoni and Ilyocypris sp. occur predominantly from spring to early autumn when temperatures are high. Individuals of C. neglecta, C. candida, F. caudata, P. compressa, C. lacustris, H. reptans and Cp. lacustris occur throughout the year with juveniles and adults occurring during the same period (C. neglecta at 70 m, C. lacustris at 13, 33 and 70 m, and H. reptans at 2, 5 and 13 m water depth) or with juveniles occurring during a different period of the year than adults (C. neglecta at 13 and 33 m and C. candida, F. caudata and P. compressa at their respective depth of occurrence). Among the environmental parameters investigated, an estimate of the relationship between ostracod autoecology and environmental parameters suggests that in the Petit-Lac: (i) water temperature and substrate characteristics are important factors controlling the distribution of species with depth, (ii) water temperature is also important for determining the timing of species development and, hence, its specific life history, and (iii) water oxygen and sedimentary organic matter content is less important compared to the other environmental parameter monitored.

Update of the BIPM comparison BIPM.RI(II)-K1.Cs-134 of activity measurements of the radionuclide 134Cs to include the 2008 results of the BEV (Austria), the 2009 result of the IRA (Switzerland) and the 2010 results of the NMISA (South Africa)

Purine nucleotide pyrophosphotransferase was purified to apparent homogeneity from a culture filtrate of Streptomyces morookaensis. It is a monomeric protein with a molecular weight of 24 000-25 000, and its isoelectric point is 6.9. The enzyme synthesizes purine nucleoside 5'-phosphate (mono, di, or tri) 3'-diphosphates such as pppApp, ppApp, pApp, pppGpp, ppGpp and pppIpp by transferring a pyrophosphoryl group from the 5'-position of ATP, dATP and ppApp to the 3'-position of purine nucleotides. The purified enzyme catalysed the formation of 435 mumol of pppApp and 620 mumol of pppGpp from ATP and GTP per min mg protein under the standard conditions. The enzyme requires absolutely a divalent cation for activity, and optimum pH for the enzyme activity lay above 10 for Mg2+, for Co2+ and Zn2+ from 9 to 9.5, and for Fe2+ from 7.5 to 8. The following Michaelis constants were determined: AMP, 2.78 mM; ADP, 3.23 mM; GMP, 0.89 mM; GDP, 0.46 mM and GTP, 1.54 mM, in the case of ATP donor. The enzyme is inhibited by guanine, guanosine, dGDP, dGTP, N-bromosuccinimide, iodacetate, sodium borate and mercuric acetate.