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En France, l'estimation du fardeau de la grippe saisonnière sur les hôpitaux est limitée au suivi des patients avec un diagnostic de grippe (taux d'hospitalisation estimé à 35 pour 100 000 en moyenne de 2012 à 2018). Toutefois, de nombreuses hospitalisations pour des complications respiratoires surviennent sans confirmation virologique de la grippe, surtout chez les personnes âgées. Notre objectif est d'estimer le fardeau de la grippe sur les hôpitaux, à partir du nombre d‘infections respiratoires aiguës basses attribuables à la grippe.

Light pollution is a growing concern at many levels, especially for the astronomical community. Indeed, not only does artificial lighting veil celestial objects, it disturbs the measurement of many atmospheric phenomena. The sky brightness is one of the most relevant parameters for astronomical site selection. Our goal is to evaluate the sky brightness of two Argentinian observation sites: LEO ++ and El Leoncito. Both sites were preselected to host the Cherenkov Telescope Array. This project consists of an arrangement of many telescopes that can measure high-energy gamma ray emissions via their Cherenkov radiation produced when entering the earth's atmosphere. In this paper, we describe the measurement methods used to determine whether those sites are valuable or not. We compared our results with the sky radiance of different renowned astronomical sites (Kitt Peak, Arizona, and Mont-Mégantic, Québec, Canada). Among our results, we found that LEO ++ is a good site, however the presence of a low layer of local aerosol can introduce uncertainties in the measurements. Consequently, El Leoncito would be a better option for such an installation. This latter site shows very low sky brightness levels, which are optimal for low light detection.

Chromosome I from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains a DNA molecule of approximately 231 kbp and is the smallest naturally occurring functional eukaryotic nuclear chromosome so far characterized. The nucleotide sequence of this chromosome has been determined as part of an international collaboration to sequence the entire yeast genome. The chromosome contains 89 open reading frames and 4 tRNA genes. The central 165 kbp of the chromosome resembles other large sequenced regions of the yeast genome in both its high density and distribution of genes. In contrast, the remaining sequences flanking this DNA that comprise the two ends of the chromosome and make up more than 25% of the DNA molecule have a much lower gene density, are largely not transcribed, contain no genes essential for vegetative growth, and contain several apparent pseudogenes and a 15-kbp redundant sequence. These terminally repetitive regions consist of a telomeric repeat called W', flanked by DNA closely related to the yeast FLO1 gene. The low gene density, presence of pseudogenes, and lack of expression are consistent with the idea that these terminal regions represent the yeast equivalent of heterochromatin. The occurrence of such a high proportion of DNA with so little information suggests that its presence gives this chromosome the critical length required for proper function.

The temperature-sensitive mutation prp20-1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae exhibits a pleiotropic phenotype associated with a general failure to maintain a proper organization of the nucleus. Its mammalian homolog, RCC1, is not only reported to be involved in the negative control of chromosome condensation but is also believed to assist in the coupling of DNA replication to the entry into mitosis. Recent studies on Xenopus RCC1 have strongly suggested a further role for this protein in the formation or maintenance of the DNA replication machinery. To elucidate the nature of the various components required for this PRP20 control pathway in S. cerevisiae, we undertook a search for multicopy suppressors of a prp20 thermosensitive mutant. Two genes, GSP1 and GSP2, were identified that encode almost identical polypeptides of 219 and 220 amino acids. Sequence analyses of these proteins show them to contain the ras consensus domains involved in GTP binding and metabolism. The levels of the GSP1 transcript are about 10-fold those of GSP2. As for S. cerevisiae RAS2, GSP2 expression exhibits carbon source dependency, while GSP1 expression does not. GSP1 is an essential gene, and GSP2 is not required for cell viability. We show that GSP1p is nuclear, that it can bind GTP in an in vitro assay, and finally, that a mutation in GSP1p which activates small ras-like proteins by increasing the stability of the GTP-bound form causes a dominant lethal phenotype. We believe that these two gene products may serve in regulating the activities of the multicomponent PRP20 complex.

The population density and activity of a microbial community associated with the sediment and rhizosphere of an intertidal freshwater wetland dominated by Scirpus pungens was monitored before and following the application of weathered Mesa light crude oil and fertilizers. The influence of nutrient enrichment (fertilizers) and plant growth on oil degradation rates was determined from the resulting data. The study plots (four blocks of replicates) were subjected to five treatments: oil only (natural attenuation); oil plus ammonium nitrate and phosphate, with regular cropping of the plants; oil plus ammonium nitrate and phosphate; oil plus sodium nitrate and phosphate; no oil, ammonium nitrate and phosphate. The plots were regularly monitored in the field for gas production (carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide), and samples were collected for laboratory analysis of denitrification activity, aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon degradation activity, and total heteroptrophic bacteria. The viable bacterial population density increased during the first 4 weeks in oiled and unoiled experimental plots that were fertilized. In contrast, population densities in untreated areas remained relatively unchanged throughout the monitoring period. The microbial population demonstrated a rapid and sustained increase in naphthalene mineralization activity in plots that were both fertilized and oiled. Hexadecane mineralization activity increased in response to fertilizer application, with ammonium nitrate causing a larger increase than sodium nitrate. A very significant difference observed in the mineralization of hexadecane was that the surface sediments were much more active than the subsurface sediments. This difference became even more pronounced in the second year of monitoring, even though the treatment regime had been discontinued. This compartmentalization of mineralization activity was not observed for naphthalene. Following fertilizer application, field and laboratory evaluation of nitrogen metabolism in the sediments indicated significant denitrification activity that was not adversely affected by oiling. The results demonstrated that the application of fertilizers stimulated the activities of indigenous hydrocarbon-degrading and denitrifying bacteria, and the presence of oil either enhanced or had no detrimental effect on these activities. As a remediation strategy, the application of fertilizers to a wetland shoreline following an oil spill would promote the growth of indigenous plants and their associated microbial flora, resulting in increased metabolic activity and the potential for increased oil degradation activity.

Le virus respiratoire syncytial (VRS) est l’agent le plus fréquent d’infections respiratoires aiguës basses (IRAB) de l’enfant avec des formes cliniques variant d’un simple rhume à une bronchiolite ou une pneumonie sévère. L’objectif de cette étude est d’analyser les caractéristiques des IRAB de l’enfant au cours des périodes de circulation du VRS en Loire-Atlantique et d’étudier la complémentarité de différentes sources de données.

Dans le cadre du dispositif de surveillance épidémiologique animé par la cellule d’intervention en région (Cire) Pays de la Loire, une augmentation brutale et importante des exacerbations d’asthme a été observée à Nantes en juin 2013. L’objectif de cette présentation est de décrire cet épisode afin d’informer les professionnels de santé et les autorités sanitaires et/ou politiques sur la présence d’effets sanitaires liés à un éventuel événement.