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At the request of French Regulatory Authorities, a new formulation of Levothyrox® was licensed in France in 2017, with the objective of avoiding the stability deficiencies of an existing licensed formulation. Before launching the new formulation, an average bioequivalence (ABE) trial was conducted, having enrolled 204 subjects and selected for interpretation a narrow a priori bioequivalence range of 0.90-1.11. Bioequivalence was concluded. In a previous publication, we questioned the ability of an ABE trial to guarantee the switchability within patients of the new and old levothyroxine formulations. It was suggested that the two formulations should be compared using the conceptual framework of individual bioequivalence. The present paper is a response to those claiming that, despite the fact that ABE analysis does not formally address the switchability of the two formulations, future patients will nevertheless be fully protected. The basis for this claim is that the ABE study was established in a large trial and analyzed using a stringent a priori acceptance interval of equivalence. These claims are questionable, because the use of a very large number of subjects nullifies the implicit precautionary intention of the European guideline when, for a Narrow Therapeutic Index drug, it recommends shortening the a priori acceptance interval from 0.80-1.25 to 0.90-1.11. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While cognitive sociology is a relatively new area in U.S. sociology, the subfield has a lengthy history in French sociology. Developing a typology based upon the existing literature, we identify three branches of cognitive sociology in France. The first was initiated by Raymond Boudon, one of the scholars most responsible for popularizing the area, who envisioned cognitive sociology as helping delineate the role of beliefs in rational action. Second, another group of researchers seeks to found sociology upon a naturalistic basis, thus drawing upon the disciplines constitutive of cognitive science (e.g., psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and cognitive anthropology). Finally, the third approach to cognitive sociology in France takes inspiration from linguistics as a foundation for sociological investigations. We conclude the paper by discussing the relationship between these three sub-fields and by examining the relationship between French and American cognitive sociologies in order to identify fruitful directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on sociological interviews and observations, this paper addresses the question of the politicization of art in a contemporary American fieldwork: the production and promotion of a fiction film referring to the war in Iraq, Day Zero (2007). The analysis of this artwork reveals the modes of politicization open to artists—holding different types of position in the film industry and diversely positioned in terms of their own careers—in this particular professional sphere. This case study contrasts both with the experiences of activist filmmakers in the 1960–1970s, in the USA as well as in France, and with the explicitly political, if not partisan, posture taken in a number of contemporary documentary films regarding Iraq. The paper first depicts the ambivalent type of involvement built through the participants’ discourses and activities around this movie. They refer to a civic duty fulfilled through their contribution to the making of the film but, at the same time, they remain extremely cautious, restrictive and minimal in the way they publicly acknowledge its connection to any “political message.” In so doing, they paradoxically define an “a-political engaged art.” The second section of the study analyzes the professional logics and rules driving the protagonists, resulting in such naming and framing mechanisms. The participants work to reshape the political events referred to in the movie according to the formats and limits required by the film world, in order to avoid the risk of transgressing the specialized norms and codes used to evaluate the quality of an artwork. The conditions of appropriate actions are thus defined at the crossroads between political dynamics and professional constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the anti-Vietnam War activism of a group of American expatriates in France, the Paris American Committee to Stopwar (PACS), from its formation in 1966 to its dissolution in 1968. Using oral history and archival research, the article uses PACS’ history to further recent studies focusing on the Vietnam War as a global event. Through an evaluation of how PACS dealt with Communism, networking, military deserters and the French government, the article demonstrates how being in France benefited and limited anti-war activism while also highlighting changes in French governmental attitudes post-May 1968. In so doing, the article showcases the significance of location in determining how anti-war protest plays out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of a study of American, British and Canadian records, this article examines the relationship of France to the negotiation of the North Atlantic Treaty from the perspective of the ‘ABC’ countries, particularly Canada. How did the perceived vulnerability of France influence the approach of the members of the ‘North Atlantic Triangle’ to the justification, timing and contents of the proposed pact? How did France's inclusion in Western Union and its exclusion from the preliminary talks in the Pentagon affect American, British and Canadian attitudes to the development of the draft alternatively known as the ‘Pentagon Paper’ or the ‘State Department Draft’? These questions are addressed, as well as the impact on the later ambassadorial talks of France's priority to immediate rearmament and its determination to include the departments of Algeria within the defensive perimeter of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Finally, the article assesses the extent to which France and its requirements influenced the policies and actions of the Canadian government throughout the negotiation of the North Atlantic Treaty. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In recent years scientists have created genetically modified pigs for the purpose of xenotransplantations. These are transplants of animal organs into human patients. But xenotransplantation has a long history. Since the early twentieth century, many surgeons tried to insert animal organs into human and non-human bodies. This paper examines the controversies that these innovations have caused in the United States and France, including the notion of the objectification of animals. Three phases are described. The historical review shows that far from the choice of pigs being "natural" it turns out to be recent and to follow controversies surrounding the possible use of primates. During the last phase, the scientists have internalized the "animal issue" in their practice: the official donor is now the pig, and the animals are treated respectfully during all the lab manipulations. Since pigs are different from humans they can be objectified and thus absorbed. This objective distance is, however, threatened by new discourses on animal rights, by genetic manipulations that "humanise" pigs, and by scientific practice itself that recognizes a moral proximity between pigs and men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]