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Aims: The aim of this work was to measure the impact of P2P (i.e. peer‐to‐peer), a peer‐led smoking prevention intervention, on daily smoking prevalence of adolescents over 2 school years. Design: A cluster‐randomized controlled trial was performed over a 16‐month follow‐up (trial status: closed to follow‐up). P2P was implemented 1–3 and 13–15 months after baseline. Assessments took place at baseline and 4, 10 and 16 months after baseline. The research team, assessors and adolescents were blinded to the study‐arm assignment only at baseline. Setting: Fifteen vocational high schools in France were randomized into two clusters, using a 1:1 allocation ratio per French department (n intervention = 7, n control = 8). Participants: Participants comprised a sample of 2010 students in year 11 (i.e. 15–16 years) in vocational high schools. A total of 437 students could not be assessed at baseline (absent or left school), yielding a total sample of 1573 students (n intervention = 749, n control = 824). Intervention and comparator: The P2P programme trained voluntary students to become peer educators and design smoking prevention actions for their schoolmates in the intervention group (n = 945 students), compared with a passive control group (n = 1065 students). Measurements The primary outcome was change from baseline in the prevalence of self‐reported daily smoking (i.e. at least one cigarette per day) at 16 months. Findings The 'time × group' interaction indicated that, compared with the control group, the intervention group had statistically significantly fewer daily smokers after 16 months [odds ratio (OR) = 0.33, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.20, 0.53]. Similarly, compared with the control group, the intervention group had statistically significantly fewer daily smokers after 4 months (OR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.30, 0.82) and 10 months (OR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.37, 0.98). No adverse events of P2P2 were reported. Conclusions: A cluster‐randomized trial found evidence that the peer‐led P2P (peer‐to‐peer) smoking prevention intervention reduced the uptake of daily smoking among high school students in France over 16 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibodies (ANCA)-associated vasculitides (AAV) are rare conditions characterized by inflammatory cell infiltration in small blood vessels, leading to tissue necrosis. While most patients with AAV present antibodies against either myeloperoxidase (MPO) or proteinase 3 (PR3), rare cases of dual positivity for both antibodies (DP-ANCA) have been reported, and their impact on the clinical picture remains unclear. The goal of this study was to investigate the clinical implications, phenotypic profiles and outcomes of patients with DP-ANCA. Methods A retrospective screening for DP-ANCA cases was conducted at Brest University Hospital's immunology laboratory (France), analysing ANCA results from March 2013 to March 2022. Clinical, biological, imaging, and histological data were collected for each DP-ANCA case. Additionally, a comprehensive literature review on DP-ANCA was performed, combining an artificial intelligence (AI)-based search using BIBOT software with a manual PUBMED database search. Results The report of our cases over the last 9 years and those from the literature yielded 103 described cases of patients with DP-ANCA. We identified four distinct phenotypic profiles: (i) idiopathic AAV (∼30%); (ii) drug-induced AAV (∼25%); (iii) autoimmune disease associated with a low risk of developing vasculitis (∼20%); and (iv) immune-disrupting comorbidities (infections, cancers, etc) not associated with AAV (∼25%). Conclusion This analysis of over a hundred DP-ANCA cases suggests substantial diversity in clinical and immunopathological presentations. Approximatively 50% of DP-ANCA patients develop AAV, either as drug-induced or idiopathic forms, while the remaining 50%, characterized by pre-existing dysimmune conditions, demonstrates a remarkably low vasculitis risk. These findings underscore the complex nature of DP-ANCA, its variable impact on patient health, and the necessity for personalized diagnostic and management approaches in these cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: New tools have been developed to distinguish the COVID‐19 diagnosis from other viral infections presenting similar symptomatology and mitigate the lack of sensitivity of molecular testing. We previously identified a specific "sandglass" aspect on the white blood cells (WBC) scattergram of COVID‐19 patients, as a highly reliable COVID‐19 screening test (sensitivity: 85.9%, specificity: 83.5% and positive predictive value: 94.3%). We then decided to validate our previous data in a multicentric study. Methods: This retrospective study involved 817 patients with flu‐like illness, among 20 centers, using the same CBC instrument (XN analyzer, SYSMEX, Japan). After training, one specialist per center independently evaluated, under the same conditions, the presence of the "sandglass" aspect of the WDF scattergram, likely representing plasmacytoid lymphocytes. Results: Overall, this approach showed sensitivity: 59.0%, specificity: 72.9% and positive predictive value: 77.7%. Sensitivity improved with subgroup analysis, including in patients with lymphopenia (65.2%), patients presenting symptoms for more than 5 days (72.3%) and in patients with ARDS (70.1%). COVID‐19 patients with larger plasmacytoid lymphocyte cluster (>15 cells) more often have severe outcomes (70% vs. 15% in the control group). Conclusion: Our findings confirm that the WBC scattergram analysis could be added to a diagnostic algorithm for screening and quickly categorizing symptomatic patients as either COVID‐19 probable or improbable, especially during COVID‐19 resurgence and overlapping with future influenza epidemics. The observed large size of the plasmacytoid lymphocytes cluster appears to be a hallmark of COVID‐19 patients and was indicative of a severe outcome. Furthers studies are ongoing to evaluate the value of the new hematological parameters in combination with WDF analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of avelumab first-line (1L) maintenance therapy plus best supportive care (BSC) versus BSC alone for adults with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (la/mUC) that had not progressed following platinum-based chemotherapy in France. Methods: A three-state partitioned survival model was developed to assess the lifetime costs and effects of avelumab plus BSC versus BSC alone. Data from the phase 3 JAVELIN Bladder 100 trial (NCT02603432) were used to inform estimates of clinical and utility values considering a 10-year time horizon and a weekly cycle length. Cost data were estimated from a collective perspective and included treatment acquisition, administration, follow-up, adverse event–related hospitalization, transport, post-progression, and end-of-life costs. Health outcomes were measured in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and life-years gained. Costs and clinical outcomes were discounted at 2.5% per annum. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were used to compare cost-effectiveness and willingness to pay in France. Uncertainty was assessed using a range of sensitivity analyses. Results: Avelumab plus BSC was associated with a gain of 2.49 QALYs and total discounted costs of €136,917; BSC alone was associated with 1.82 QALYs and €39,751. Although avelumab plus BSC was associated with increased acquisition costs compared with BSC alone, offsets of −€20,424 and −€351 were observed for post-progression and end-of-life costs, respectively. The base case analysis ICER was €145,626/QALY. Sensitivity analyses were consistent with the reference case and showed that efficacy parameters (overall survival, time to treatment discontinuation), post-progression time on immunotherapy, and post-progression costs had the largest impact on the ICER. Conclusions: This analysis demonstrated that avelumab plus BSC is associated with a favorable cost-effectiveness profile for patients with la/mUC who are eligible for 1L maintenance therapy in France. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some research on written production has focused on the role of the syllable as a processing unit. However, the precise nature of this syllable unit has yet to be elucidated. The present study examined whether the nature of this processing unit is orthographic (i.e., an ortho-syllable) or phonological. We asked French adults to copy three-syllable and two-syllable words with or without a mute e. In French, a silent e may affect the orthographic syllabification of a word and increase the number of ortho-syllables. In Experiment 1, the mute e was in final position. The presence of the mute e increased writing latencies. In Experiment 2, which compared words with or without an internal mute e, the latencies for three-syllable words did not differ from those for two-syllable words containing a mute e. These results support the hypothesis that handwriting has a specific orthographic processing unit based on graphemic constituents.

The relationship between nonstandard work schedules (NSWS) and fertility assumes prominence in developed countries that have witnessed a concerning decline in fertility and an increase in NSWS. Our study investigates the effect of different types of NSWS on women's fertility in France. We use the Conditions de Travail (CT) panel dataset covering 4178 women of childbearing age in 2013, 2016, and 2019. Using fixed effect models, we find that working a nonstandard schedule decreases the propensity of a woman to have a new child. In addition, the result is primarily attributable to the first child compared to the second child. When assessing the different types of NSWS, we find that the negative effect of NSWS is stronger for the night schedule than the weekend, evening, and morning work. Finally, the implications of these findings are discussed related to work-life policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imputation servers offer the exclusive possibility to harness the largest public reference panels which have been shown to deliver very high precision in the imputation of European genomes. Many studies have nonetheless stressed the importance of 'study specific panels' (SSPs) as an alternative and have shown the benefits of combining public reference panels with SSPs. But such combined approaches are not attainable when using external imputation servers. To investigate how to confront this challenge, we imputed 550 French individuals using either the University of Michigan imputation server with the Haplotype Reference Consortium (HRC) panel or an in-house SSP of 850 whole-genome sequenced French individuals. With approximate geo-localization of both our target and SSP individuals we are able to pinpoint different scenarios where SSP-based imputation would be preferred over server-based imputation or vice-versa. This is achieved by showing to a high degree of resolution the importance of the proximity of the reference panel to target individuals; with a focus on the clear added value of SSPs for estimating haplotype phase and for the imputation of rare variants (minor allele-frequency below 0.01). Such benefits were most evident for individuals from the same geographical regions in France as the SSP individuals. Overall, only 42.3% of all 125,442 variants evaluated were better imputed with an SSP from France compared to an external reference panel, however this rises to 58.1% for individuals from geographic regions well covered by the SSP. By investigating haplotype sharing and population fine-structure in France, we show the importance of including SSP haplotypes for imputation but also that they should ideally be combined with large public panels. In the absence of the unattainable results from a combined panel of the HRC and our French SSP, we put forward a pragmatic solution where server-based and SSP-based imputation outcomes can be combined based on comparing posterior genotype probabilities. We show that such an approach can give a level of imputation accuracy in excess of what could be achieved with either strategy alone. The results presented provide detailed insights into the accuracy of imputation that should be expected from different strategies for European populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The use of myocardial reperfusion—mainly via angioplasty—has increased in our region to over 95%. We wondered whether old and very old patients have benefited from this development. Methods Setting: Greater Paris Area (Ile-de-France). Data Regional registry, prospective, including since 2003, data from 39 mobile intensive care units performing prehospital treatment of patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) (<24 h). Parameters Demographic, decision to perform reperfusion and outcome (in-hospital mortality). Primary endpoint Reperfusion decision rate by decade over age 70. Secondary endpoint Outcome. Results We analysed the prehospital management of 27,294 patients. There were 21,311 (78%) men and 5,919 (22%) women with a median age of 61 (52–73 years). Among these patients, 8,138 (30%) were > 70 years, 3,784 (14%) > 80 years and 672 (2%) > 90 years. The reperfusion decision rate was 94%. It decreased significantly with age: 93, 90 and 76% in patients in their seventh, eighth and ninth decade, respectively. The reperfusion decision rate increased significantly over time. It increased in all age groups, especially the higher ones. Mortality was 6%. It increased significantly with age: 8, 16 and 25% in patients in their seventh, eighth and ninth decade, respectively. It significantly decreased over time in all age groups. The odds ratio of the impact of reperfusion decision on mortality reached 0.42 (0.26–0.68) in patients over 90 years. Conclusion the increase in the reperfusion decision rate was the greatest in the oldest patients. It reduced mortality even in patients over 90 years of age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many patients admitted to general emergency departments (EDs) have a pattern of drinking that could lead to future alcohol-related complications. However, it is often difficult to screen these patients in the context of emergency. The aim of this study is to analyze whether reasons for admission could help to screen patients who have an unhealthy alcohol use. Method: Patients were recruited among six public hospital ED in France, between 2012 and 2014. During a one-month period in each hospital, anonymous questionnaires including sociodemographic questions, AUDIT-C and RAPS4-QF were administered to each patients visiting the ED. The reason for admission of each patient was noted at the end of their questionnaire by the ED practitioner. Results: Ten thousand Four hundred twenty-one patients were included in the analysis. Patients who came to the ED for injuries and mental disorders were more likely to report unhealthy alcohol use than non-harmful use or no use. Among male patients under 65  years old admitted to the ED for a mental disorder, 24.2% drank more than four drinks (40  g ethanol) in typical day at least four time a week in the last 12  months. Among these patients, 79.7% reported daily or almost daily heavy episodic drinking (HED, 60  g ethanol), and all were positive on the RAPS4-QF. Conclusion: This study highlights that unhealthy alcohol use is frequent among ED patients and particularly among those who come for injuries or mental disorders. Men under 65  years old with a mental disorder require special attention because of their increased prevalence of daily or almost daily HED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on day-ahead electricity load forecasting for substations of the distribution network in France; therefore, the corresponding problem lies between the instability of a single consumption and the stability of a countrywide total demand. Moreover, this problem requires to forecast the loads of over one thousand substations; consequently, it belongs to the field of multiple time series forecasting. To that end, the paper applies an adaptive methodology that provided excellent results at a national scale; the idea is to combine generalized additive models with state-space representations. However, extending this methodology to the prediction of over a thousand time series raises a computational issue. It is solved by developing a frugal variant that reduces the number of estimated parameters: forecasting models are estimated only for a few time series and transfer learning is achieved by relying on aggregation of experts. This approach yields a reduction of computational needs and their associated emissions. Several variants are built, corresponding to different levels of parameter transfer, to find the best trade-off between accuracy and frugality. The selected method achieves competitive results compared to individual models. Finally, the paper highlights the interpretability of the models, which is important for operational applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial contamination of platelet components (PC) poses the greatest microbial risk to recipients, as bacteria can multiply over the course of PC storage at room temperature. Between 2010 and 2020, the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) screened over 170,000 buffy coat-derived pooled (BCDP) and single-donor apheresis platelets (SDAPs) with the BACT/ALERT 3D microbial detection system (Biomerieux, L'Etoile, France), using a two-step screening protocol which incorporated primary and secondary cultures. Although the protocol was successful in averting septic transfusion reactions (STRs), testing large sample volumes at later time points was reported to improve detection of bacterial contamination. A modified large-volume delayed sampling (LVDS)-type protocol was adopted in 2020, which in the case of SDAP was applied to collections rather than individual splits (2020–2023, 44,642 PC screened). Rates of bacterial contamination for BCDP were 0.125% on Day-2, 0.043% on Day-4 vs. 0.191% in the post-LVDS period. SDAP contamination rates in the pre-LVDS period were 0.065% on Day-1, 0.017% on Day-4 vs. 0.072% in the post-LVDS period. Confirmed STRs were absent, and the interdiction rate for possibly contaminated SDAP was over 70%. In the post-LVDS period, BCDPs had a higher total positivity rate than SDAPs, 0.191% (1:525) versus 0.072% (1:1385), respectively, (chi-squared 12.124, 1 df, p = 0.0005). The majority of organisms detected were skin-flora-type, low pathogenicity organisms, including coagulase-negative staphylococci and Cutibacterium acnes, with little change in the frequency of clinically significant organisms identified over time. Both protocols prevented the issue of potentially harmful components contaminated (rarely) with a range of pathogenic bacteria, including Escherichia coli, Serratia marcesens, Staphylococcus aureus, and streptococci. Culture positivity of outdates post-LVDS whereby 100% of expired platelets are retested provides a residual risk estimate of 0.06% (95% CI 0.016–0.150). However, bacterial contamination rates in expired platelets did not demonstrate a statistically significant difference between the pre-LVDS 0.100% (CI 0.033–0.234) and post-LVDS 0.059% (0.016–0.150) periods (chi-squared = 0.651, 1 df, p = 0.42). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In two cohorts of vaccinated cancer patients and healthcare workers, 5% had COVID-19 infection after vaccination. These infections occurred more frequently in younger cancer patients with gastrointestinal cancer, gynecological or breast cancer, or a localized cancer and in patients receiving chemotherapy or targeted therapy when vaccinated. In both cohorts, these breakthrough infections occurred early after initiation of vaccination (Alpha SARS-CoV-2 variant) or several months after the end of vaccination (Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant). In both cohorts these COVID-19 cases in vaccinated individuals were not severe, with only four cancer patients requiring oxygen therapy. In a multicenter prospective cohort of cancer patients (CP; n = 840) and healthcare workers (HCWs; n = 935) vaccinated against COVID-19, we noticed the following: i/after vaccination, 4.4% of HCWs and 5.8% of CP were infected; ii/no characteristic was associated with post-vaccine COVID-19 infections among HCWs; iii/CP who developed infections were younger, more frequently women (NS), more frequently had gastrointestinal, gynecological, or breast cancer and a localized cancer stage; iv/CP vaccinated while receiving chemotherapy or targeted therapy had (NS) more breakthrough infections after vaccination than those vaccinated after these treatments; the opposite was noted with radiotherapy, immunotherapy, or hormonotherapy; v/most COVID-19 infections occurred either during the Alpha wave (11/41 HCW, 20/49 CP), early after the first vaccination campaign started, or during the Omicron wave (21/41 HCW, 20/49 CP), more than 3 months after the second dose; vi/risk of infection was not associated with values of antibody titers; vii/the outcome of these COVID-19 infections after vaccination was not severe in all cases. To conclude, around 5% of our CPs or HCWs developed a COVID-19 infection despite previous vaccination. The outcome of these infections was not severe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pediatric diarrhea is a major public health problem worldwide. In France, continuous surveillance shows a winter epidemic peak and a more modest summer recrudescence. Few studies describe the infectious agents responsible for pediatric summer diarrhea in France. The objectives were to estimate the prevalence of infectious diarrhea and describe the pathogens responsible for summer diarrhea in children; and to describe common factors that can be used as guidance on the etiology of these diarrheas. A cross-sectional, single-center, epidemiological observational study was conducted in the pediatric emergency department of a French hospital between June and September in 2019 and 2020. Multiplex gastrointestinal pathogen panels were used for diagnostics. A multiple correspondence analysis was used to determine profiles of patients. A total of 95 children were included, of whom 82.1% (78/95) were under five years old. The prevalence of infectious summer diarrhea was 81.1% (77/95, 95%CI 71.7–88.4%). A total of 126 infectious agents were detected (50.0% bacteria, 38.1% viruses, 11.9% parasites). The main enteric pathogens were enteropathogen Escherichia coli (24/126), rotavirus (17/126) and Salmonella (16/126). A co-detection was found in 51.9% (40/77) of cases. Four patient profiles, considering the severity and the pathogen involved, were highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Rare disease referral centres are entrusted with missions of clinical expertise and research, two activities that have to contend with numerous obstacles. Providing specialist opinions is time-consuming, uncompensated and limited by difficulties in exchanging medical data. Clinical research is constrained by the need for frequent research protocol visits. Our objective was to determine whether telemedicine (TLM) can overcome these difficulties. Methods: To better characterise the activity of clinical expertise provided by our French centre, each opinion delivered by our team was reported on a standardised form. To investigate our clinical research activity, investigators and patients were asked to complete a questionnaire on the acceptability of research protocol teleconsultations. Results: Regarding clinical expertise, our team delivered 120 opinions per week (representing a total of 21 h), of which 29% were delivered to patients and 69% to medical practitioners. If these were delivered using TLM, it would represent a potential weekly income of EUR 500 (tele-expertise) and EUR 775 (teleconsultations). Regarding the research activity, 70% of investigators considered the frequency of visits to be a limiting factor for patient inclusions; nearly half of the patients surveyed would be in favour of having teleconsultations in place of (40%) or in addition to (56%) in-person visits. Conclusion: Whereas TLM has become widely used as a back-up procedure to in-person consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic, the solutions it provides to the problems encountered in performing expertise and research activities have made it a new conventional follow-up modality for patients with rare diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used population sample data from 25 societies to answer the following questions: (a) How consistently across societies do adolescents report more problems than their parents report about them? (b) Do levels of parent-adolescent agreement vary among societies for different kinds of problems? (c) How well do parents and adolescents in different societies agree on problem item ratings? (d) How much do parent-adolescent dyads within each society vary in agreement on item ratings? (e) How well do parent-adolescent dyads within each society agree on the adolescent's deviance status? We used five methods to test cross-informant agreement for ratings obtained from 27,861 adolescents ages 11 to 18 and their parents. Youth Self-Report (YSR) mean scores were significantly higher than Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) mean scores for all problem scales in almost all societies, but the magnitude of the YSR-CBCL discrepancy varied across societies. Cross-informant correlations for problem scale scores varied more across societies than across types of problems. Across societies, parents and adolescents tended to rate the same items as low, medium, or high, but within-dyad parent-adolescent item agreement varied widely in every society. In all societies, both parental noncorroboration of self-reported deviance and adolescent noncorroboration of parent-reported deviance were common. Results indicated many multicultural consistencies but also some important differences in parent-adolescent cross-informant agreement. Our findings provide valuable normative baselines against which to compare multicultural findings for clinical samples. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)

In a 3-year longitudinal study, we examined the relationships between oral language development, early training and reading acquisition on word-identification and reading-comprehension tests administered to a sample of 687 French children. Hierarchical linear models showed that both phonological awareness and oral comprehension at the age of 4 years were relevant to reading acquisition 2 years later. These two broad skills explained separate parts of the variance on both outcome measures, while revealing opposite effects: phonological skills explained more variance for alphabetic reading skills and oral comprehension explained more variance for reading comprehension. We also assessed the effects of two preschool training programmes focusing on either phonological awareness or comprehension skills. The results showed that phonological awareness training had a positive effect on alphabetic scores, and comprehension training had a positive effect on reading comprehension. These results provide insight into early oral instruction and contribute to the theoretical debate about the linguistic predictors of literacy acquisition. (Contains 6 tables and 4 notes.)

Lifelong learning has become one of the keys to making workers' career paths more secure at both the French and the European policy level. However, the implementation of these policy lines raises delicate questions as to how the responsibility for vocational training should be shared among employees, employers and public institutions. The capability approach is used here to elucidate the ambiguous relationships between responsibility and freedom that characterized French training reforms in 2004. The study, based on quantitative and qualitative surveys in which employers and their employees were consulted, shows that the environment provided by the company contributes more decisively than employees' previous training and career paths to the capability of the latter to attend vocational training and develop professionally at work. Relying on these empirical findings, it proposes a scheme for a capability-based conceptualization of professional development. (Contains 1 figure, 6 footnotes and 1 table.)

French children program the words they write syllable by syllable. We examined whether the syllable the children use to segment words is determined phonologically (i.e., is derived from speech production processes) or orthographically. Third, 4th and 5th graders wrote on a digitiser words that were mono-syllables phonologically (e.g. "barque" = [baRk]) but bi-syllables orthographically (e.g. "barque" = "bar.que"). These words were matched to words that were bi-syllables both phonologically and orthographically (e.g. "balcon" = [bal.ko] and "bal.con"). The results on letter stroke duration and fluency yielded significant peaks at the syllable boundary for both types of words, indicating that the children use orthographic rather than phonological syllables as processing units to program the words they write. (Contains 2 tables.)

Four experiments examined whether motor programming in handwriting production can be modulated by the syllable structure of the word to be written. This study manipulated the number of syllables. The items, words and pseudo-words, had 2, 3 or 4 syllables. French adults copied them three times. We measured the latencies between the visual presentation and the first production (L1), the first and second production (L2), and the second and third production (L3). The results show an effect of the number of syllables in L1 for pseudo-words but not for words and on L2 and L3 for all the items (Experiments 1 and 2). Experiment 3 ruled out an interpretation of the latencies for pseudo-words in terms of reading time with a delayed copying task. Experiment 4 replicated the previous results and assessed the effect of varying the temporal interval between the second and third trials. The results of the four experiments confirm the role of the syllable in word writing. The number of syllables of a word modulates the time course of handwriting production.

The aim of this study was to compare the compositional performances of deaf and hearing students and to investigate the relationships between these performances and working memory capacities. Fifteen prelingually deaf, sign-using students and 15 hearing students composed a descriptive text and performed working memory tasks. The deaf students had poorer compositional performances in terms of fluency and spelling. They also displayed shorter writing and phonological spans. Correlations indicate that greater visuospatial capacity is associated with better conceptual processing in hearing students, but with an increase in grammatical errors in both deaf and hearing students. In the conclusion, we evoke ways of improving writing skills in deaf students in relation to working memory. (Contains 5 tables.)

Studies investigating X. fastidiosa (Xf) acquisition by cicadas are scarce. We collected 169 cicadas in infected areas throughout Corsica (France), belonging to the four species known from the island (Cicada orni; Cicadetta fangoana; Tibicina corsica corsica and Tibicina nigronervosa). All specimens were tested for the presence of Xf using a two‐step PCR approach followed by Illumina sequencing. All specimens tested negative. So far, there is no indication that European cicadas are playing a significant role in the spread of Xf. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analysed the interplay between palmiped farm density and the vulnerability of the poultry production system to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N8. To do so, we used a spatially-explicit transmission model, which was calibrated to reproduce the observed spatio-temporal distribution of outbreaks in France during the 2016–2017 epidemic of HPAI. Six scenarios were investigated, in which the density of palmiped farms was decreased in the municipalities with the highest palmiped farm density. For each of the six scenarios, we first calculated the spatial distribution of the basic reproduction number (R0), i.e. the expected number of farms a particular farm would be likely to infect, should all other farms be susceptible. We also ran in silico simulations of the adjusted model for each scenario to estimate epidemic sizes and time-varying effective reproduction numbers. We showed that reducing palmiped farm density in the densest municipalities decreased substantially the size of the areas with high R0 values (> 1.5). In silico simulations suggested that reducing palmiped farm density, even slightly, in the densest municipalities was expected to decrease substantially the number of affected poultry farms and therefore provide benefits to the poultry sector as a whole. However, they also suggest that it would not have been sufficient, even in combination with the intervention measures implemented during the 2016–2017 epidemic, to completely prevent the virus from spreading. Therefore, the effectiveness of alternative structural preventive approaches now needs to be assessed, including flock size reduction and targeted vaccination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite guidelines, poor access to appropriate care for juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) patients remains a global issue. Prompt referral to a pediatric rheumatology (PR) center and effective care is known to be critical for changing the natural history of the disease and improving long-term prognosis. This project assesses socio-economic factors of delayed referral to a pediatric rheumatologist (PRst) for JIA patients in France and Switzerland within the Juvenile Inflammatory Rheumatism (JIR) Cohort. Methods: All patients diagnosed with JIA, presenting at one center of the JIRcohort in France or Switzerland with additional data on referral pathway were included. Patient characteristics at first visit to the PR center, dates of visits to healthcare providers during referral, and parent characteristics were extracted from the JIRcohort database. Results: Two hundred fifty children were included. The overall median time to first PR assessment was 2.4 months [1.3; 6.9] and ranged widely across the JIA subtypes, from 1.4 months [0.6; 3.8] for children with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) to 5.3 months [2.0; 19.1] for children with enthesitis-related arthritis (ERA). A diagnosis of ERA and an appointment with an orthopedist during the referral pathway were significantly associated with a longer time before the first PR visit (hazard ratio HR 0.50 [95% CI: 0.29; 0.84]) and HR 0.68 [95% CI: 0.49; 0.93], respectively) in multivariable analysis. Having a mother with a post-graduate educational attainment level was tendentially associated with a shorter time before the first PR visit, (HR 1.32 [95% CI: 0.99; 1.78]). Conclusions: Time to first PRst visit was most often short compared to other studies and close to the British recommendations. However, this time remained too long for many patients. We observed no social inequities in access to a PRst, but we show the need to improve effective pathway and access to a PR center for JIA patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence of campylobacteriosis has substantially increased over the past decade, notably in France. Secondary localizations complicating invasive infections are poorly described. We aimed to describe vascular infection or endocarditis caused by Campylobacter spp. We included 57 patients from a nationwide 5-year retrospective study on Campylobacter spp. bacteremia conducted in France; 44 patients had vascular infections, 12 had endocarditis, and 1 had both conditions. Campylobacter fetus was the most frequently involved species (83%). Antibiotic treatment involved a β-lactam monotherapy (54%) or was combined with a fluoroquinolone or an aminoglycoside (44%). The mortality rate was 25%. Relapse occurred in 8% of cases and was associated with delayed initiation of an efficient antimicrobial therapy after the first symptoms, diabetes, and coexistence of an osteoarticular location. Cardiovascular Campylobacter spp. infections are associated with a high mortality rate. Systematically searching for those localizations in cases of C. fetus bacteremia may be warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining science, education, outreach, art, culture, and sustainable development, the International Congress–Festival‐CIRIR 2022 (ICF‐CIRIR 2022) was held from June 28 to July 2, 2022, in the Rochechouart impact structure. A total of 59 persons registered for the Congress–Festival, with 48 of these participating in person, from 18 countries on four continents, and with 46 abstract submissions. A field trip and a drill core sample screening party followed the event from July 4 to 6. Owing to the success of the event, it will be renewed every 3–4 years to help developing the interest of young scientists and the public at large, in impact processes and their role in the evolution of planets and life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Connecting the personal and the cultural, these pages offer a few impressions of the author's personal immigration narrative. Fleeing an archetypal oppression can lead to a relationship with the archetype of the oppressor. Here, the author takes the reader on her quest for the middle path, the transcendent, the self. Through her mother's experiences as a young Jewish woman in France in WWII, the trauma passed down to the author, and her journey from being hidden to being seen, she mends the broken pieces of her psyche. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: European national disparities in the integration of data linkage (ie, being able to match patient data between databases) into routine public health activities were recently highlighted. In France, the claims database covers almost the whole population from birth to death, offering a great research potential for data linkage. As the use of a common unique identifier to directly link personal data is often limited, linkage with a set of indirect key identifiers has been developed, which is associated with the linkage quality challenge to minimize errors in linked data. Objective: The aim of this systematic review is to analyze the type and quality of research publications on indirect data linkage on health product use and care trajectories in France. Methods: A comprehensive search for all papers published in PubMed/Medline and Embase databases up to December 31, 2022, involving linked French database focusing on health products use or care trajectories was realized. Only studies based on the use of indirect identifiers were included (ie, without a unique personal identifier available to easily link the databases). A descriptive analysis of data linkage with quality indicators and adherence to the Bohensky framework for evaluating data linkage studies was also realized. Results: In total, 16 papers were selected. Data linkage was performed at the national level in 7 (43.8%) cases or at the local level in 9 (56.2%) studies. The number of patients included in the different databases and resulting from data linkage varied greatly, respectively, from 713 to 75,000 patients and from 210 to 31,000 linked patients. The diseases studied were mainly chronic diseases and infections. The objectives of the data linkage were multiple: to estimate the risk of adverse drug reactions (ADRs; n=6, 37.5%), to reconstruct the patient's care trajectory (n=5, 31.3%), to describe therapeutic uses (n=2, 12.5%), to evaluate the benefits of treatments (n=2, 12.5%), and to evaluate treatment adherence (n=1, 6.3%). Registries are the most frequently linked databases with French claims data. No studies have looked at linking with a hospital data warehouse, a clinical trial database, or patient self-reported databases. The linkage approach was deterministic in 7 (43.8%) studies, probabilistic in 4 (25.0%) studies, and not specified in 5 (31.3%) studies. The linkage rate was mainly from 80% to 90% (reported in 11/15, 73.3%, studies). Adherence to the Bohensky framework for evaluating data linkage studies showed that the description of the source databases for the linkage was always performed but that the completion rate and accuracy of the variables to be linked were not systematically described. Conclusions: This review highlights the growing interest in health data linkage in France. Nevertheless, regulatory, technical, and human constraints remain major obstacles to their deployment. The volume, variety, and validity of the data represent a real challenge, and advanced expertise and skills in statistical analysis and artificial intelligence are required to treat these big data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aims to examine the association between nonstandard work schedules and time-based work--family conflict (WFC) among employed parents. Taking a gender perspective, it further considers whether job and family resources mediates this association. Background: The recent increase in nonstandard work schedules has proportionally affected women more than men in various EU countries. Previous research has established a link between nonstandard work schedules and WFC. However, limited attention has been given to directly investigating time-based WFC and exploring the factors that drive gender-specific effects. Method: Employing a mixed methods design, we use cross-sectional data from a large-scale French Working Conditions survey and qualitative interviews with couples who work nonstandard schedules. Results: Quantitative findings demonstrate that nonstandard work schedules increase time-based work-- family conflict for women more than men. Early morning and evening work disrupts socially valuable time for women, while weekend work negatively affects both genders. Lack of family support explains a significant portion of the association, with work schedule unpredictability being crucial for women. The qualitative findings shed light on the gender-specific generation of perceptions regarding time-based WFC among couples and the interaction of job and family resources in their daily lives. Conclusion: The findings suggest that a comprehensive understanding of the gendered interferences between family and work dynamics is vital for informing policy decisions, reducing gender inequalities, and enhancing workers' wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Oilseeds & Fats, Crops & Lipids (OCL) is the property of EDP Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Simple Summary: Vaccination against COVID-19 was a major weapon against current epidemics. In a multicenter cohort study conducted in cancer patients (CP) and health care workers (HCW) we demonstrated that: (i) vaccination was well accepted in both cohorts; (ii) the seropositivity rate was high after the first and second injections among HCW and among CP this was only after the second injection; (iii) similar patterns in antibody response followed the second dose; in both groups, antibody levels waned 3 months after the second dose. Overall, two-dose COVID-19 vaccination was effective in both populations studied, but could not totally prevent a few vaccine breakthrough infections, owing to the continuously emerging novel variants. In this prospective, real-life cohort study, we followed 523 cancer patients (CP) and 579 healthcare workers (HCW) from two cancer centers to evaluate the biological and clinical results of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Seventy percent of the CP and 90% of the HCW received an mRNA vaccine or the AZD1222 vaccine. Seropositivity was high after the first vaccine among HCW and poor among CP. The second dose resulted in almost 100% seropositivity in both cohorts. Antibody response was higher after the second injection than the first in both populations. Despite at least two doses, 8 CP (1.5%) and 14 HCW (2.4%) were infected, corresponding either to a weak level of antibody or a new strain of virus (particularly the Omicron variant of concern). Sixteen CP and three HCW were hospitalized but none of them died from COVID-19. To conclude, this study showed that two doses of COVID-19 vaccines were crucially necessary to attain sufficient seropositivity. However, the post-vaccination antibody level declines in individuals from the two cohorts and could not totally prevent new SARS-CoV-2 infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses worldwide has serious consequences for animal health and a major economic impact on the poultry production sector. Since 2014, Europe has been severely hit by several HPAI epidemics, with France being the most affected country. Most recently, France was again affected by two devastating HPAI epidemics in 2020–21 and 2021–22. We conducted a descriptive analysis of the 2020–21 and 2021–22 epidemics, as a first step towards identifying the poultry sector's remaining vulnerabilities regarding HPAI viruses in France. We examined the spatio‐temporal distribution of outbreaks that occurred in France in 2020–21 and 2021–22, and we assessed the outbreaks' spatial distribution in relation to the 2016–17 epidemic and to the two 'high‐risk zones' recently incorporated into French legislation to strengthen HPAI prevention and control. There were 468 reported outbreaks during the 2020–21 epidemic and 1375 outbreaks during the 2021–22 epidemic. In both epidemics, the outbreaks' distribution matched extremely well that of 2016–17, and most outbreaks (80.6% and 68.4%) were located in the two high‐risk zones. The southwestern high‐risk zone was affected in both epidemics, while the western high‐risk zone was affected for the first time in 2021–22, explaining the extremely high number of outbreaks reported. As soon as the virus reached the high‐risk zones, it started to spread between farms at very high rates, with each infected farm infecting between two and three other farms at the peaks of transmission. We showed that the spatial distribution model used to create the two high‐risk zones was able to predict the location of outbreaks for the 2020–21 and 2021–22 epidemics. These zones were characterized by high poultry farm densities; future efforts should, therefore, focus on reducing the density of susceptible poultry in highly dense areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ATL1-related spastic paraplegia SPG3A is a pure form of hereditary spastic paraplegia. Rare complex phenotypes have been described, but few data concerning cognitive evaluation or molecular imaging of these patients are available. We relate a retrospective collection of patients with SPG3A from the Neurology Department of Nancy University Hospital, France. For each patient were carried out a 18F-FDG PET (positron emission tomography), a electromyography (EMG), a sudoscan®, a cerebral and spinal cord MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) with measurement of cervical and thoracic surfaces, a neuropsychological assessment. The present report outlines standardised clinical and paraclinical data of five patients from two east-France families carrying the same missense pathogenic variation, NM_015915.4(ATL1): c.1483C > T p.(Arg495Trp) in ATL1. Mean age at onset was 14 ± 15.01 years. Semi-quantitatively and in comparison to healthy age-matched subjects, PET scans showed a significant cerebellar and upper or mild temporal hypometabolism in all four adult patients and hypometabolism of the prefrontal cortex or precuneus in three of them. Sudoscan® showed signs of small fibre neuropathy in three patients. Cervical and thoracic patients' spinal cords were significantly thinner than matched-control, respectively 71 ± 6.59mm2 (p = 0.01) and 35.64 ± 4.35mm2 (p = 0.015). Two patients presented with a dysexecutive syndrome. While adding new clinical and paraclinical signs associated with ATL1 pathogenic variations, we insist here on the variable penetrance and expressivity. We report small fibre neuropathy, cerebellar hypometabolism and dysexecutive syndromes associated with SPG3A. These cognitive impairments and PET findings may be related to a cortico-cerebellar bundle axonopathy described in the cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome (CCAS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pea root rot complex is a major concern for green pea production worldwide. This study aimed at characterizing its composition and dynamics throughout a cropping season in northern France. To this end, fungi and oomycetes were isolated from green pea plant roots with symptoms sampled at the flowering stage in 22 fields in 2017, and at the pea emergence, elongation and flowering stages in two fields in 2018. Out of 646 isolates collected, 317 were identified using molecular markers. Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani and F. redolens were highly predominant. Pathogenicity tests separated the isolates into four aggressiveness groups. F. solani isolates were the most aggressive. Phylogenetic analysis of their TEF1 sequences showed that they mainly belonged to the F. pisi lineage, and that F. oxysporum isolates were genetically close to isolates from the UK that did not belong to the forma specialis pisi. In addition, several Clonostachys rhizophaga isolates are reported for the first time to cause pea root rot. The oomycetes were rarely found and were represented by a few Pythium spp. isolates. Lastly, this study shows that the fungal and oomycete communities associated with pea root rot change during the cropping season. The level of dissimilarity of the root‐rot‐associated communities decreased throughout the cropping season towards a more similar composition at the flowering stage, dominated by F. solani, F. oxysporum and F. redolens. The proportion of nonpathogenic to weakly pathogenic isolates decreased progressively during the growing season in favour of moderately to highly pathogenic isolates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Campylobacter spp. bacteremia is a severe infection. A nationwide 5-year retrospective study was conducted to characterize its clinical features and prognostic factors. Methods The study included patients with Campylobacter spp. bacteremia diagnosed in 37 French hospitals participating in the surveillance network of the National Reference Center for Campylobacters and Helicobacters, from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2019. The goal was to analyze the effects of a delay of appropriate antibiotic therapy and other risk factors on 30-day mortality rates, antibiotic resistance, patient characteristics, and prognosis according to the Campylobacter species. Results Among the 592 patients, Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter fetus were the most commonly identified species (in 42.9% and 42.6%, respectively). The patients were elderly (median age 68 years), and most had underlying conditions, mainly immunodepression (43.4%), hematologic cancers (25.9%), solid neoplasms (23%), and diabetes (22.3%). C. jejuni and Campylobacter coli were associated with gastrointestinal signs, and C. fetus was associated with secondary localizations. Among the 80 patients (13.5%) with secondary localizations, 12 had endocarditis, 38 vascular, 24 osteoarticular, and 9 ascitic fluid infections. The 30-day mortality rate was 11.7%, and an appropriate antibiotic treatment was independently associated with 30-day survival (odds ratio, 0.47 [95% confidence interval,.24–.93]; P  = .03). The median efficient therapy initiation delay was quite short (2 days [interquartile range, 0–4 days]) but it had no significant impact on the 30-day mortality rate (P  = .78). Conclusions Campylobacter spp. bacteremia mainly occurred in elderly immunocompromised individuals with variable clinical presentations according to the species involved. Appropriate antimicrobial therapy was associated with improved 30-day survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nonacog alfa, a standard half‐life recombinant factor IX (FIX), is used as a prophylactic treatment in severe haemophilia B (SHB) patients. Its half‐life determined in clinical studies involving a limited sampling (72 h) was shown to be rather short. In our clinical practice, we suspected that its half‐life could have been underestimated. Objectives: We aimed to evaluate nonacog alfa pharmacokinetics in real world clinical practice based on FIX levels in patients receiving prophylaxis. Methods: We retrospectively collected data on patients with SHB receiving prophylaxis from eight centres across France. The terminal half‐life (THL), time to reach 5–2 IU/dl and FIX activity at 48, 72 and 96 h were derived by Bayesian estimations using NONMEM analysis. Results and conclusions: Infusion data (n = 455) were collected from 64 patients with SHB. The median THL measured in 92 pharmacokinetic (PK) studies was 43.4 h. In 26 patients ≤12 years of age, 51 PK studies showed a median time to reach 5 IU/dl of FIX of 70.5 h and a median time to reach 2 IU/dl of 121.5 h. In 38 patients 13–75 years of age, 41 PK studies showed a median time to reach 5 IU/dl of FIX of 92.0 h and a median time to reach 2 IU/dl of 167.5 h. Extending the sampling beyond 72 h makes it possible to observe a plateau, with FIX remaining between 2 and 5 IU/dl for several days and shows that the THL of nonacog alfa might be longer than previously described. Essentials: Nonacog alfa terminal half‐life (THL) in patients receiving regular prophylaxis was evaluated in clinical practice.The median THL was estimated to be 36.9 h for patients aged.8–12 years.The median THL was estimated to be 49.9 h for patients aged 13–75 years.For patients aged ≤12 and >12 years, the median times to reach 5 IU/dl were 70.5 and 92 h, respectively; to reach 3 IU/dl, 95.5 and 131.5 h, respectively; to reach 2 IU/dl, 121.5 and 167.5 h, respectively.We suggest that the half‐life of nonacog alfa might be longer than previously described in both younger and older patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Long-acting antipsychotics (e.g. 1-monthly (PP1M) / 3-monthly (PP3M) injection forms of paliperidone palmitate) have been developed to improve treatment continuation in schizophrenia patients. We aim to assess risk factors of treatment discontinuation of patients on paliperidone palmitate and risperidone microsphere. Additionally, treatment discontinuation between patients with PP1M and PP3M was compared. Methods: The IQVIA Longitudinal Prescription databases were used. Risk factors of treatment discontinuation were identified by a multilevel survival regression using Cox proportional hazards model. Kaplan Meier analyses were performed by identified significant risk factors. Results: Twenty-five thousand three hundred sixty-one patients (France: 9,720; Germany: 14,461; Belgium: 1,180) were included. Over a one-year follow-up period, a significant lower treatment discontinuation was observed for patients newly initiated on paliperidone palmitate (53.8%) than those on risperidone microspheres (85.4%). Additionally, a significantly lower treatment discontinuation was found for 'stable' PP3M patients (19.2%) than 'stable' PP1M patients (37.1%). Patients were more likely to discontinue when drugs were prescribed by GP only (HR = 1.68, p < 0.001 vs. psychiatrist only) or if they were female (HR = 1.07, p < 0.001), whereas discontinuation decreased with age (31–50 years: HR = 0.95, p = 0.006 and > 50 years: HR = 0.91, p < 0.001 vs. 18–30 years). Conclusions: This study demonstrates that patients stay significantly longer on treatment when initiated on paliperidone palmitate as compared to risperidone microspheres. It also indicated a higher treatment continuation of PP3M over PP1M. Treatment continuation is likely to be improved by empowering GPs with mental health knowledge and managing patients by a collaborative primary care-mental health model. Further research is needed to understand why females and younger patients have more treatment discontinuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the assessment and prediction of soil organic nitrogen (N) mineralization is essential: it contributes significantly to the N nutrition of crops and remains a major economic and environmental challenge. Consequently, a network of 137 fields was established in Brittany, France, to represent the wide diversity of soils and cultivation practices in this region. The experimental design was developed to measure net N mineralization for three consecutive years, in order to improve the accuracy of measuring it. Net N mineralization was quantified by the mineral N mass balance, which was estimated from March to October for a maize crop with no N fertilization. The effect of climate on mineralization was considered by calculating normalized time (ndays) and, then, calculating the N mineralization rate (Vn) as the ratio of the mineral N mass balance to normalized time. Strict screening of the experimental data, using agronomic and statistical criteria, resulted in the selection of a subset of 67 fields for data analysis. Mean Vn was relatively high (0.99 kg N ha−1 nday−1) over the period and varied greatly, from 0.62 to 1.46 kg N ha−1 nday−1 for the 10th and 90th percentiles, respectively. The upper soil layer (0–30 cm) was sampled to estimate its physical and chemical properties, particulate organic matter carbon and N fractions (POM-C and POM-N, respectively), soil microbial biomass (SMB), and extractable organic N (EON) determined in a phosphate borate extractant. The strongest correlations between Vn and these variables were observed with EON (r = 0.47), SMB (r = 0.45), POM-N (r = 0.43), and, to a lesser extent, the soil N stock (r = 0.31). Vn was also strongly correlated with a cropping system indicator (r = 0.39). A modeling approach, using generalized additive models, was used to identify and rank the variables with the greatest ability to predict net N mineralization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coxsackievirus A6 (CVA6) emerged as the most common enterovirus of seasonal outbreaks of hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD). We investigated CVA6 genetic diversity among the clinical phenotypes reported in the paediatric population during sentinel surveillance in France between 2010 and 2018. CVA6 infection was confirmed in 981 children (mean age 1.52 years [IQR 1.17–2.72]) of whom 564 (58%) were males. Atypical HFMD was reported in 705 (72%) children, followed by typical HFMD in 214 (22%) and herpangina in 57 (6%) children. Throat specimens of 245 children were processed with a target-enrichment new-generation sequencing approach, which generated 213 complete CVA6 genomes. The genomes grouped within the D1 and D3 clades (phylogeny inferred with the P1 genomic region). In total, 201 genomes were classified among the recombinant forms (RFs) A, B, F, G, H, and N, and 12 genomes were assigned to 5 previously unreported RFs (R–V). The most frequent RFs were A (58%), H (19%), G (6.1%), and F (5.2%). The yearly number of RFs ranged between 1 (in 2012 and 2013) and 6 (2018). The worldwide CVA6 epidemic transmission began between 2005 and 2007, which coincided with the global spread of the recombinant subclade D3/RF-A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the aesthetical accordance between a given skin tone and the 11 possible colours of head hairs, covered by a marketed hair colouration product. Material and methods: The photographs of professional top models, representing several ancestries (non‐Hispanic European and Euro–American, East Asian, Hispanic Euro–American, and African–American ancestries), were used to virtually modify skin tones (from light, medium to dark) and hair colour by an artificial intelligence (AI)‐based algorithm. Hence, 117 modified photographs were then assessed by five local panels of about 60 women each (one in China, one in France and three in US). The same questionnaire was given to the panels, written in their own language, asking which and how both skin tones and hair colours fit preferentially (or not appreciated), asking in addition the reasons of their choices, using fixed wordings. Results: Answers from the five panels differed according to origin or cultural aspects, although some agreements were found among both non‐Hispanic European and Euro‐American groups. The Hispanic American panel in US globally much appreciated darker hair tones (HTs). Two panels (East Asian in China and African American in US) and part of non‐Hispanic European panel in France declared appreciating all HTs, almost irrespective with the skin tone (light, medium and dark). This surprising result is very likely caused by gradings (in %) that differ by too low values, making the establishment of a decisive or significant assessment. By nature highly subjective (culturally and/or fashion driven), the assessments should be more viewed as trends, an unavoidable limit of the present virtual approach. The latter offers nevertheless a full respect of ethical rules as such objective could hardly be conducted in vivo: applying 10 or 11 hair colourations on the same individual is an unthinkable option. Conclusion: The virtual approach developed in the present study that mixes two major facial coloured phenotypes seems at the crossroad of both genetic backgrounds and the secular desire of a modified appearance. Nonetheless, this methodology could afford, at the individual level in total confidentiality, a great help to subjects exposed to some facial skin disorders or afflictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Justification: The WHO 95-95-95 targets for 2030 do not imply that people living with HIV (PLHIV) achieve a good quality of life. The current 30-day dispensing interval for antiretroviral (ART) burdens the healthcare system. Lengthening dispensing intervals could alleviate this burden as well as enhance patient well-being. Objectives: To capture perceptions on 90-day dispensing interval (90D) for ART from the perspective of PLHIV, people on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), doctors, and pharmacists. Methods: Multi-centre observational survey led in France from 16 to 20 October 2020, among doctors agreeing to participate via regional coordinated care organisations for HIV, all PLHIV or people on PrEP consulting these outpatient-clinic doctors, and pharmacists doing ART dispensing. Results: The survey was completed by 220 doctors who saw 1087 people (999 PLHIV; 88 on PrEP) and 176 pharmacists from 55 centres. Among the PLHIV, 855 (85.6%, 95% CI: 83.2%–87.7%) and among the patients on PrEP, 70 (79.5%, 95% CI: 69.6%–87.4%) stated they would be interested in 90D. All in all, patients who were more likely to endorse 90D are those who opt exclusively for hospital dispensing (OR 3.22 [1.57–6.58]) and who rotate between hospital and community pharmacy dispensing (OR 3.29 [1.15–9.32]). Patients who were less likely to endorse 90-D were those who consult in a city located outside the 3 French high HIV prevalence regions (OR 0.66 [0.44–0.99]), receive 2 vs 1 pill QD regimens (OR 0.53 [0.31–0.91]), and anticipate at least one vs no limitation to 90D (OR 0.27 [0.17–0.42]). 90D was perceived as possible by 152 pharmacists (86.4%), including 8 (5%) without restriction, and 219 doctors (99.6%), including 42 (19.2%) regardless of PLHIV's immunovirologic status or social conditions (health insurance coverage, access to housing or accommodation, access to rights, resources). Comparison of the benefits and limitations of a 90-day ART dispensing interval as perceived by PLHIV and people on PrEP, doctors and pharmacists shows that doctors anticipate a higher number of benefits than people on ART and/or pharmacists, chiefly that 90D would be more convenient and create less risk of drug shortages and that patients would gain autonomy and a better quality of life. Pharmacists were found to clearly perceive the economic benefits (90D would be less expensive) but anticipate more drawbacks than doctors and the people on ART themselves: more administrative burdens, more non-dispensing if doses get lost, harder to track adherence and more drug–drug interaction issues, and more work as they shall have to warn the patient of potential risks of shortages due to the cost of the stock. Conclusion: A clear majority of PLHIV, people on PrEP, doctors, and pharmacists endorsed 90D of ART. Most patients thought that 90D would be a good option, whereas most pharmacists and doctors thought that eligibility for 90D dispensing should depend on immunovirologic factors and social condition criteria. Moreover, pharmacists thought it would be necessary to commit regulatory resources and a better follow-up on adherence and drug–drug interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Population & Sociétés is the property of Institut National d'Etudes Demographiques and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

When foster care is discussed in research, emotions are mostly kept out of the scope. This article explores emotions narrated by young people in foster care and by their foster carers. It brings together findings from two studies: The first used biographical interviews conducted with 100 young people from Germany, while the second draws on ethnographic interviews with 12 young people from France and England. The analysis, in line with relevant literature, shows that although emotions are hardly mentioned directly, they seem to be highly relevant in understanding the experience of foster care. Therefore, we suggest, professionalism and emotions need to be understood as complementary elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To examine in elite soccer players after traveling across 6 time zones some psychometric and physiological responses to a competitive camp in the heat. Methods: Data from 12 elite professional players (24.6 ± 5.3 y) were analyzed. They participated in an 8-d preseason summer training camp in A sia (heat index 34.9°C ± 2.4°C). Players' activity was collected during all training sessions and the friendly game using 15-Hz GPS. Perceived training/playing load was estimated using session rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and training/match duration. Psychometric measures o f wellness were collected on awakening before, during, and after the camp using simple questionnaires. Heart-rate (HR) response to a submaximal 4-min run (12 km/h) and the ratio between velocity and force-load (accelerometer-derived measure, a marker of neuromuscular efficiency) response to four ~60-m runs (22-24 km/h) were collected before, at the end of, and after the camp. Results: After a large increase, the RPE:m/min ratio decreased substantially throughout the camp. There were possible small increases in perceived fatigue and small decreases in subjective sleep quality on the 6th day. There were also likely moderate (~3%) decreases in HR response to the submaximal run, both at the end of and after the camp, which were contemporary to possible small (~8%) and most likely moderate (-19%) improvements in neuromuscular efficiency, respectively. Conclusions: Despite transient increases in fatigue and reduced subjective sleep quality by the end of the camp, these elite players showed clear signs of heat acclimatization that were associated with improved cardiovascular fitness and neuromuscular running efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regular physical activity (PA) is a key element in chronic disease management. We studied the effect of a recent legislative framework given to physical activity prescription (PAP) on practices, motivations, barriers, and needs for PAP in primary care among general practitioners (GP) of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, France. Our cross-sectional survey used a self-administrated questionnaire through two recruitment methods: e-mail address (online group) and face-to-face (office group). Based on the data pertaining to demography, motivation scores, needs, and barriers, we analyzed the profiles of participating GPs. Among the 283 GPs, online participants (n = 250) were younger than office participants (n = 33) (46 ± 11 vs. 51 ± 12 years, p = 0.0083), and were physically more active (80% vs 51%, p = 0.0006). Regular PA was also critical in the profile of current prescribers (OR = 2.83 (95%CI [1.28, 7.00]), p = 0.015). The motivation score for PAP was high and equal in both groups (10.5 ± 3.3 in a maximum of 15), but multiple barriers emerged, which demonstrated age-dependent variations in the score. Young GPs mostly identified self-imposed barriers (exercise referral, PAP training), while for older GPs these barriers were equally attributable to patients. Although the legislative framework given to PAP in France was associated with a 12% increase in the number of prescribers, PA remains poorly prescribed in primary care, even among the most motivated physicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate the efficacy of ear protection (earplug and surf hood) in preventing the development of external auditory exostosis (EAE) in surfers. Methods: We performed a prospective observational study. Volunteer surfers were recruited from June 2016 to October 2017 on the Brittany coast in France. Each participant filled in a questionnaire and underwent otoscopic digitalized photography to establish the degree of external ear obstruction by two different practitioners. The correlation between the percentage of external ear obstruction and the time spent in water with or without protection was evaluated. Risk factors of EAE were assessed. Results: Two hundred and forty-two ears were analysed. The incidence of EAE was 89.96% with an average rate of obstruction of 37.65%. Risk factors for EAE were male sex (p = 0.0005), number of years practicing surf (p < 0.0001) and symptoms of ear obstruction (p = 0.0358). A significant correlation was found between EAE severity and number of hours spent in water without any protection (earplugs or surf hood) (p < 0.0001). No correlation was found between EAE severity and time spent in water with earplugs (p = 0.6711) but a correlation was identified between obstruction and time spent in water with surf hood (p = 0.0358). Conclusions: Wearing earplugs is an effective way to prevent EAE in surfers unlike surf hood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reidite, the high‐pressure zircon (ZrSiO4) polymorph, is a diagnostic indicator of impact events. Natural records of reidite are, however, scarce, occurring mainly as micrometer‐sized lamellae, granules, and dendrites. Here, we present a unique sequence of shocked zircon grains found within a clast from the Chassenon suevitic breccia (shock stage III) from the ˜200 Ma, 20–50 km wide Rochechouart impact structure in France. Our study comprises detailed characterization with scanning electron microscopy coupled with electron backscatter diffraction with the goal of investigating the stability and response of ZrSiO4 under extreme P–T conditions. The shocked zircon grains have preserved various amounts of reidite ranging from 4% up to complete conversion. The grains contain various variants of reidite, including the common habits: lamellae and granular reidite. In addition, three novel variants have been identified: blade, wedge, and massive domains. Several of these crosscut and offset each other, revealing that reidite can form at multiple stages during an impact event. Our data provide evidence that reidite can be preserved in impactites to a much greater extent than previously documented. We have further characterized reversion products of reidite in the form of fully recrystallized granular zircon grains and minute domains of granular zircon in reidite‐bearing grains that occur in close relationship to reidite. Neoblasts in these grains have a distinct crystallography that is the result of systematic inheritance of reidite. We interpret that the fully granular grains have formed from prolonged exposure of temperatures in excess of 1200 °C. Reidite‐bearing grains with granular domains might signify swift quenching from temperatures close to 1200 °C. Grains subjected to these specific conditions therefore underwent partial zircon‐to‐reidite reversion, instead of full grain recrystallization. Based on our ZrSiO4 microstructural constraints, we decipher the grains evolution at specific P–T conditions related to different impact stages, offering further understanding of the behavior of ZrSiO4 during shock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Deciding to withdraw non-invasive ventilation (NIV) at end-of-life (EOL) in patients with chronic respiratory failure is a challenge. The European Association for Palliative Care recommends not maintaining artificial therapies that could prolong life during palliative sedation (PS) at EOL. The aim of this survey was to assess palliative care physicians' and pulmonologists' opinion on withdrawing or maintaining NIV in patients with chronic respiratory failure during PS at EOL. Methods: From April to May 2019, we performed a prospective survey among pulmonologists (n = 1545) and palliative care physicians (n = 631) in France to determine the prevalence of opinion in favour of maintaining NIV and identify the factors associated with opinion in favour of withdrawing or maintaining NIV with multiple logistic regression. Results: A total of 457 participants were enrolled comprising 202 pulmonologists and 255 palliative care physicians. An opinion in favour of maintaining NIV was found in 88 (19.3 95%CI [15.7; 23.2]) physicians comprising 57 (28.2%) pulmonologists and 31 (12.2%) palliative care physicians (p < 0.001). The factors associated with an opinion in favour of maintaining NIV were spending time looking for advanced directives (AD) in the patient's file (odds ratio (OR): 6.54, 95%CI [2.00; 21.32], p = 0.002) and personal ethics of physicians (OR: 17.97, 95%CI [9.52; 33.89], p < 0.001). The factor associated with an opinion in favour of withdrawing NIV was palliative care training (OR: 0.31, 95%CI [0.16; 0.60], p < 0.001). The three main reasons in favour of maintaining NIV among the nine identified were emotional comfort for close relatives, reducing discomfort of dyspneoa and anticipation of suffocation. Conclusion: In France, around 20% of pulmonologists and palliative care physicians declared an opinion in favour of maintaining NIV during PS at EOL because of their personal ethics and spending time looking for AD, if any, in the patient's file. Palliative care training can stimulate reflection help foster a change of opinion about practices, especially in the case of patients with NIV during PS at EOL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Current intensive care unit (ICU) sedation guidelines recommend strategies using non-benzodiazepine sedatives. This survey was undertaken to explore inhaled ICU sedation practice in France. Methods: In this national survey, medical directors of French adult ICUs were contacted by phone or email between July and August 2019. ICU medical directors were questioned about the characteristics of their department, their knowledge on inhaled sedation, and practical aspects of inhaled sedation use in their department. Results: Among the 374 ICUs contacted, 187 provided responses (50%). Most ICU directors (73%) knew about the use of inhaled ICU sedation and 21% used inhaled sedation in their unit, mostly with the Anaesthetic Conserving Device (AnaConDa, Sedana Medical). Most respondents had used volatile agents for sedation for <5 years (63%) and in <20 patients per year (75%), with their main indications being: failure of intravenous sedation, severe asthma or bronchial obstruction, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Sevoflurane and isoflurane were mainly used (88% and 20%, respectively). The main reasons for not using inhaled ICU sedation were: "device not available" (40%), "lack of medical interest" (37%), "lack of familiarity or knowledge about the technique" (35%) and "elevated cost" (21%). Most respondents (80%) were overall satisfied with the use of inhaled sedation. Almost 75% stated that inhaled sedation was a seducing alternative to intravenous sedation. Conclusion: This survey highlights the widespread knowledge about inhaled ICU sedation in France but shows its limited use to date. Differences in education and knowledge, as well as the recent and relatively scarce literature on the use of volatile agents in the ICU, might explain the diverse practices that were observed. The low rate of mild adverse effects, as perceived by respondents, and the users' satisfaction, are promising for this potentially important tool for ICU sedation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]