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International audience; ObjectiveTo measure the impact of a short-term variable-workload endurance-training programme (PEP’C) on cardiorespiratory parameters and endurance, and also on quality of life for seniors. The respective roles of the perception of physical activity and the financial factor involved in joining such a program were also investigated.PopulationTwo hundred and thirty-two volunteers aged 50 or over voluntarily participated in the “Physical Fitness for Health” assessment (CAPS). Subjects presenting the common contra-indications to physical activity were previously excluded.MethodAfter an initial assessment of aerobic capacity using a maximum cardiorespiratory test, a special variable-workload endurance-training programme on ergometric bicycles was run, comprising 18 sessions of 30 minutes each for 9 weeks. A final assessment of aerobic capacity completed the program. Quality of life was measured before and after the PEP’C using the MOS-SF-36.ResultsThe volunteers’ mean age was 66.0 ± 6.5 years ; 77.5% were aged 60 to 74 years and 11.6% were 75 years or older. Among the volunteers, 15.9% had never practiced any sport or physical activity. One out of two said that maintaining their physical fitness was their main motivation. The programme adherence rate was 100%. Over 18 sessions, maximum cardiorespiratory parameters (MTP VO2peak and MMV) and aerobic endurance parameters (VT1, HR, VT1, and lactate at MTP) improved (P > 0.05). An effect of gender was observed whereby improvement in performance was significantly greater in women. For aerobic endurance abilities, a significant gain was measured for 92.2% of the participants. Before starting PEP’C, scores on the MOS-SF-36 were high in all dimensions. At the end, all quality of life dimensions were significantly improved and the increase in global score was 10.0% ± 20.0%. The mean scores in the dimensions of “perceived health” and “vitality” were those that increased most. In men, physical activity particularly improved the “vitality” dimension, while for women it was rather the “mental health” dimension (P < 0.01). On average, 134 € was the amount considered affordable for a program of this sort, this amount being strongly dependent on the level of satisfaction.ConclusionThis study confirms the feasibility and benefits of this “individually tailored” PEP’C on maximum cardiorespiratory and endurance parameters, and on quality of life, among seniors. It also shows that adherence to a programme of this type is more influenced by the satisfaction derived from practicing physical activity and sport than by affordability.; ObjectifsMesurer l’impact d’un programme d’entraînement à l’effort personnalisé par créneaux (PEP’C) sur les paramètres cardiorespiratoires et d’endurance, mais également la qualité de vie des seniors. Les rôles respectifs de la perception de l’activité physique et du facteur financier sur l’adhésion à un tel programme étaient également investigués.PopulationDeux cent trente-deux volontaires âgés de 50 ans ou plus ayant volontairement participé à la consultation de l’aptitude physique pour la santé (CAPS). Les contre-indications habituelles à la pratique sportive étaient préalablement écartées.MéthodeAprès une évaluation initiale des capacités aérobiques avec réalisation d’une épreuve cardiorespiratoire maximale, un programme spécifique de reconditionnement en endurance à charge variable (PEP’C) comportant 18 séances d’ergocycle de 30 minutes chacune durant 9 semaines était proposé. Une évaluation finale des capacités aérobiques clôturait le programme. La qualité de vie était mesurée avant et après le PEP’C à l’aide du MOS-SF-36.RésultatsLa moyenne d’âge des volontaires était de 66,0 ± 6,5 ans ; 77,5 % étaient âgés de 60–74 ans et 11,6 % de 75 ans ou plus. Parmi les volontaires, 15,9 % n’avaient jamais pratiqué d’activité physique et sportive. Un sur deux déclarait que le maintien ou la remise en forme physique était leur motivation pour faire du sport. Le taux d’adhésion était de 100 %. En 18 séances, une amélioration des paramètres cardiorespiratoires maximaux (PMT, VO2pic, VMM) et des paramètres d’endurance aérobie (SV1, FC au SV1, taux de lactate à la PMT) était observée (p < 0,05). Il a été observé un effet du sexe avec une augmentation des performances significativement supérieure chez les femmes. Pour les aptitudes d’endurance aérobie, il était mesuré un gain significatif pour 92,2 % des participants. Avant d’initier le PEP’C, les scores au MOS-SF-36 étaient élevés dans tous les domaines. À la fin du PEP’C, tous les domaines de qualité de vie étaient significativement augmentés et l’augmentation du score global était de 10,0 ± 20,0 %. Les scores moyens dans les dimensions de « santé perçue » et de « vitalité » étaient les plus augmentés. Chez les hommes, la pratique d’une activité physique améliorait particulièrement la dimension « vitalité » alors que pour les femmes c’était plutôt la « santé psychique » (p < 0,01). En moyenne, 134 € était la somme qui pourrait être dédiée à un tel programme, le montant étant fortement dépendant du niveau de satisfaction.ConclusionCette étude confirme la faisabilité et les bénéfices du programme personnalisé PEP’C sur les principaux paramètres cardiorespiratoires maximaux, l’endurance et la qualité de vie des seniors. Elle montre aussi que l’adhésion à un tel dispositif est peu influencée par la satisfaction induite par la pratique d’une activité physique et sportive que par les coûts engendrés.

As part of a large metagenomic project, a one million fosmid library was constructed from using DNA extracted from sludge obtained fromsampled in mesophilic anaerobic digester treating wastewater. This library was screened by high density filter DNA-DNA hybridization procedure using various 16S rDNA probes. While exploring the 16S rDNA diversity, we identified fosmid clones possibly constituting a novel bacterial lineage : WWE3. Sequence analysis of a WWE3 fosmid clone revealed a 16S rRNA sequence with unusual features. We thus we developed specific oligonucleotides for PCR detection, quantitative dot-blot hybridization and FISH analysis. WWE3 specific 16S rRNA rDNA genes libraries were constructed from two anaerobic digesters. Phylogenetic analysis were performed using ARB database and software package. Further analysis with PAUP using different evolutionary models were carried out to resolve WWE3 phylogenetic position.Phylogenetic analysis of almost 660 full-length sequences confirmed that WWE3 forms a distinct and monophyletic group deeply branching apart from all bacterial divisions. WWE3 bacteria were detected by PCR in 20 out of 50 analyzed digesters from Europe and America. FISH analysis revealed that these organisms are oval-shaped and located inside sludge flocs. Due to their unusual 16S rRNA sequences, WWE3 sequences could not be retrieved by the conventional "16S" approach and there is only one affiliated sequence in the databases. Moreover, they represent a non negligiblesignificant fraction of the bacterial population in the studied anaerobic digesters. Sequence analysis of WWE3 fosmid clones will give us a first glimpse at the genomic properties of a member of this novel bacterial candidate division., Présentation d'un poster au colloque ISME-11, International Symposium on Microbial Ecology, 20-25 August 2006, Vienna, Austria.

The atopic diseases, asthma, allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis, are common in children, adolescents and young adults. They may have important consequences on physical exercise, especially asthma.Elite athletes have been observed to have a high prevalence of asthma (and perhaps also rhinitis). The reasons for this observation are still debated, but different mechanisms linked to the intensity of physical activity in athletes are probably involved. Exercise-induced symptoms should be confirmed not only from the clinical history but also by objective measurements of lung function. In elite athletes confirmation of exercise-induced asthma might be difficult and may require special diagnostic tests such as bronchial provocation by eucapnic voluntary hyperventilation. Several drugs are effective in exercise-induced prevention of nasal and bronchial symptoms. Therapeutic approaches for atopic diseases in international guidelines (GINA and ARIA) are generally compatible with anti-doping laws but require compliance with specific prescription rules.A better understanding of mechanisms and risk factors involved in the increase of asthma prevalence in elite athletes may permit prevention by modifying training conditions during exercise.Atopic diseases are common in athletes. They require special therapeutic considerations. The increasing prevalence of respiratory asthma-like symptoms in elite athlete is opening new paths for research into airway physiology in extreme conditions.

International audience; A family of methods aiming at the reconstruction of a putative fascicle map from any diffusion-weighted dataset is proposed. This fascicle map is defined as a trade-off between local information on voxel microstructure provided by diffusion data and a priori information on the low curvature of plausible fascicles. The optimal fascicle map is the minimum energy configuration of a simulated spin glass in which each spin represents a fascicle piece. This spin glass is embedded into a simulated magnetic external field that tends to align the spins along the more probable fiber orientations according to diffusion models. A model of spin interactions related to the curvature of the underlying fascicles introduces a low bending potential constraint. Hence, the optimal configuration is a trade-off between these two kind of forces acting on the spins. Experimental results are presented for the simplest spin glass model made up of compass needles located in the center of each voxel of a tensor based acquisition.

2 textes en anglais ; 4 textes en espagnol; Cinquante-cinq chercheurs se saississent du paradigme de "centre" pour tenter d'expliciter la transition du monde. Ils usent pour cela de trois angles d'approche relevant d'hypothèses de pluricentralité, intercentralité, ultracentralité.

Weight loss is a nutritional problem commonly associated with Alzheimer disease. Two types of weight loss have been described. A severe weight loss correlated with a decrease in daily caloric intake and with increased difficulties in performing the activities of daily living. A slowly progressive but clinically significant loss, not associated with either a decrease in caloric intake or an inflammatory syndrome. It is difficult to explain this type of weight loss as subjects have adequate caloric intakes. Several hypothesis are however considered as increased energy requirements (which can result from increased energy expenditure, from increased metabolic disorder, or from increased growth hormone secretion), or mesial temporal cortex atrophy. But, at the present time, no study can give a proper explanation. Vitamin deficiencies, specially vitamin B6, B12 and folates, high homocysteine level, antioxidants deficiencies (especially, vitamin E deficiency), iron, counter, and phenol derived could also influence the memory capacities and have an effect upon cognitive impairment, as reported in epidemiological studies. The prevention of nutritional deficiencies in patients with Alzheimer's disease, could be one of the strategies to improve the caregiver and the patients quality of life.

We report a study using Doppler echocardiography looking for pulmonary arterial hypertension (HTAP) in 36 patients presenting with chronic airflow obstruction (BPCO) who are in a stable state. 18 of these (group 1) had confirmed HTAP by right heart catheterisation which had been done the day before and was defined as a mean pulmonary arterial pressure (PAPm) of greater than 20 mm of mercury. The other 18 patients (group 2) did not have HTAP at rest. The systolic ejection flow and the duration of the peak (expressed in msec) was analysed at the time of each examination. The Doppler data was compared between the two groups of patients and also with the results obtained in ten healthy subjects. The Doppler examination was successfully performed in 35 patients in spite of a poor echographic window in 86% of cases. When there was HTAP, the systolic ejection flow had a triangular aspect which contrasted with the dome shaped appearance of the normals. In group 1 the peak time was significantly shortened (p less than 0.01) compared to group 2 and to the healthy subjects. On the other hand there was no linear correlation between the value of the peak time and the level of HTAP measured by the catheter. Thus the severity of HTAP could not be precisely measured using these parameters. In considering that the peak time is normally greater than 100 msec, the sensitivity and specificity of the Doppler examination for the detection of HTAP during the course of BPCO are 90 and 88% respectively, which appears to be superior to the values obtained using other non invasive methods in the diagnosis of HTAP.

To assess the association between cannabis consumption and sport practice.We randomised a representative sample of 1,506 girls and 1,420 boys from the third to the last year of school in the French Midi-Pyrénées region, excluding classes reserved for children practising high level sport. Information was collected by self-answer questionnaire.More than 90% of boys and 70% of girls declared they practised sport outside physical education at school (athletic students). Among boys, sport practice mainly concerned activities in clubs or competitions (respectively 66% and 60%, against 35% and 27% among girls; p0.001). Twenty-eight percents of boys and 19% of girls declared they had consumed cannabis (at least occasionnally, during or outside sport). Among athletic students, such potential consumption concerned 28.6% of boys and 19.6% of girls (p0.001). Moreover, 1.2% of athletic students (n=7) declared they had already consumed cannabis during the practice sport with clubs or competitions. Among boys, this potential consumption increased with age, was lower among non-athletic students and the most athletic students, but was highest among those practising an individual "X-treme" sport (50% in this group versus 26% among athletes practising collective or non- "X-treme" sport; p0.001). Potential cannabis consumption was also highest among athletes who declared they practiced sport for seeking emotions, who did not practise sport for health benefits but who considered that sport could involve taking risks.It seems more important to consider how sport is practised rather than its intensity when assessing the association between sport and cannabis consumption. Indeed, sport appears to be more favourable for cannabis consumption when associated with ideas of emotion and risk and when practised outside of an organisation.

Some drugs regularly used in the treatment of asthma (beta-agonists and corticosteroids) are registered on the list of drugs forbidden in sport, because they have a doping action. To avoid penalizing asthmatic sportsmen, some beta-agonists (Salbutamol, Salmeterol, Terbutaline) and corticosteroids are allowed only in inhaled form, with written notification from the prescribing physician, a pneumologist or the team doctor. Considering the increase of doping with increasing involvement of physicians, good and up to date notions about the current rules of prescription in asthmatic sportsmen are needed.

Nous choisissons ici d'aborder la question de l'accès aux services de soins en nous intéressant à la répartition de l'offre libérale et de l'offre hospitalière à différentes échelles. Nous essayerons de montrer, à travers l'examen de la répartition de l'offre libérale que les moyens de l'Etat sont indirects et limités pour influer sur la répartition de cette offre, et que de fait, elle répond davantage aux logiques d'installation des généralistes et des spécialistes qu'à une logique d'adéquation stricte aux besoins en soins. Nous montrerons à travers l'offre hospitalière que le rôle de l'Etat est prégnant, mais que la logique à laquelle il obéit est davantage une logique de hiérarchisation et de concentration que de diffusion de l'offre. Nous nous appuierons sur les travaux d'experts en géographie de la santé qui montrent, à travers différents exemples régionaux que l'offre de soin a tendance à se concentrer dans les villes et à délaisser les espaces où la demande est peu solvable ou peu abondante. Nous ne traiterons donc pas spécifiquement des espaces en décroissance, mais plus généralement de l'adéquation entre la répartition de l'offre et des besoins en soins.