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Abstract: Asthma is children''s foremost chronic disease. If the medicinal progress is unambiguous, therapeutic education as well as rehabilitation efforts are integral parts of asthmatic children''s global care. Initiated and proposed by the Association asthme et allergies, a protocol that defines place, dates, purposes and means, received the agreement of the French ministry for Youth and Sports. Thirteen children (eight boys, five girls, with an average age of eleven) who suffer from persistent asthma, from moderate to severe and/or exercise-induced asthma, were selected by two Parisian hospitals. The children spent fourteen days on vacation in Ardèche (altitude, 1400m) during the month of July and were supervised by a medical and an animation team. Motivating children to engage in sports activities and strengthening therapeutic education trained in asthma''s schools (écoles de l’asthme) were the dual purpose of the stay. An educational diagnosis and an evaluation of the knowledge of each child were realized at the beginning and at the end of the stay. A flexible program was set up and combined outdoor games, role-playing, educational workshops on breathing, techniques of inhalation and measurement of breath… associated with tests and coupled with physical or sportive activities practiced individually or collectively. Climatic conditions did not provoke any asthma attack or intercurrent affection. The questionnaire dispensed at the end of the stay reveals the children''s global satisfaction. In terms of health, preliminary results are promising, particularly regarding their aerobic capacity and physical performances. A medium-term evaluation is in progress, but consequences of this experience – shared by children coming from different social milieus and in a less polluted environment – seem to confirm the interest for promoting educational and sportive stays supervised by health professionals specialized in therapeutic education and spent in specific places which correspond to the standards of allergens’ eviction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The effects of maternal nutrition on offspring phenotypes have been mainly documented over the past years in mammals, and are now studied in poultry as well. In the present study, we investigated the effects of a reduced level of dietary Methionine (Met) on laying performances of common laying ducks and their impacts on the phenotype of their mule ducklings. A total of 60 female laying ducks were divided into 2 dietary treatments at 10 wk of age. The restricted group received Met-restricted diets (R group) containing 0.25% of Met whereas the control group received control diets (C group) containing 0.40% of Met that meets Met requirements. The restriction was applied during the growing and laying periods, from 10 to 51 wk of age and a particular focus was put on female breeder traits that might be affected by the Met restriction. Plasma parameters of hepatic and lipid metabolisms were recorded in ducklings. Total weight (P  < 0.001), albumen weight (P  < 0.001) and albumen percentage of dry matter (P  < 0.01) were decreased for eggs laid by female breeders from the R group. Both male and female ducklings from the R group of female breeders showed a reduced BW at hatching (P  < 0.001) and a tendency to an increased proportional liver weight (P  = 0.07). Finally, the maternal low dietary Met level modified plasma parameters in newborn ducklings regardless of sex: alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and alanine transaminase (ALT) activities were reduced (P  = 0.07 and P  = 0.002, respectively), levels of glucose (P  = 0.03) and triglycerides (P  = 0.01) were higher whereas level of free fatty acids decreased (P  = 0.01). It was concluded that feeding female laying ducks with a restricted dietary Met content during the growing and laying periods has a negative effect on egg weight and composition. The ducklings that were restricted in nutrients during their early development, have a reduced BW, and altered lipid and hepatic metabolisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the cloning of cDNA encoding the nuclear form of chicken sterol response element binding protein-2, chromosomal localization and tissue expression of chicken SREBP-1 and -2 genes. Chicken whole genome radiation hybrid panel; DNA polymorphism and chromosomal localization od SREBP genes.