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Summary Background We aimed to assess the settings and activities associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the context of B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant circulation in France, as well as the protection against symptomatic Delta infection. Methods In this nationwide case-control study, cases were SARS-CoV-2 infected adults recruited between 23 May and 13 August 2021. Controls were non-infected adults from a national representative panel matched to cases by age, sex, region, population density and calendar week. Participants completed an online questionnaire and multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association between acute SARS-CoV-2 infection and recent activity-related exposures, past history of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and COVID-19 vaccination. Findings We did not find any differences in the settings and activities associated with Delta versus non-Delta infections and grouped them for subsequent analyses. In multivariable analysis involving 12634 cases (8644 Delta and 3990 non-Delta) and 5560 controls, we found individuals under 40 years and attending bars (aOR:1.9; 95%CI:1.6-2.2) or parties (aOR:3.4; 95%CI:2.8-4.2) to be at increased risk of infection. In those aged 40 years and older, having children attend daycare (aOR:1.9; 95%CI:1.1-3.3), kindergarten (aOR:1.6; 95%CI:1.2-2.1), primary school (aOR:1.4; 95%CI:1.2-1.6) or middle school (aOR:1.3; 95%CI:1.2-1.6) were associated with increased risk of infection. We found strong protection against symptomatic Delta infection for those with prior infection whether it was recent (2-6 months) (95%; 95%CI:90-97) or associated with one dose (85%; 95%CI:78-90) or two doses of mRNA vaccine (96%; 95%CI:87-99). For those without past infection, protection was lower with two doses of mRNA vaccine (67%; 95%CI:63-71). Interpretation In line with other observational studies, we find reduced vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic Delta infections. The settings and activities at increased risk of infection indicate where efforts to reinforce individual and public health measures need to be concentrated.

International audience; Intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium (Host) Barkworth & D.R. Dewey) is being developed for use as a new perennial grain crop through breeding and agronomic research. However, progress has been hampered by lack of understanding of environmental requirements for flowering and grain production. Therefore, we developed a phenology model for IWG adapted from the STICS soil-crop model. The model was compliant with experimental results (relative root mean square error = 0.03). The optimal vernalizing temperature was between 4 and 5 • C, optimal daylength between 13 and 14h, while daylength below 11h slowed reproductive development. Vernalization requirement was found to be a constraining inductive process. Including a photoperiod limitation to the model with temperature improved its ability to predict induction at various latitudes. Therefore, timing and duration of vegetative vs. reproductive growth may differ between environments and change reproductive tiller elongation earliness, weed competitiveness, management timing, and stress conditions during phases critical to grain yield. Accurate phenology models will enable optimal field management and inform future breeding strategies. However, plasticity may lead to divergent ideotypes under various agroecosystems.

Resume Objectifs Diminuer l’irradiation des patients lors des gestes de rhumatologie interventionnelle, sans diminuer la qualite du geste. Methodes La dose d’irradiation recue (produit dose surface [PDS]) a d’abord ete quantifiee lors de 283 infiltrations realisees sous scopie, avant optimisation, entre mai et juillet 2013. Elle a ete a nouveau mesuree en 2014, lors de 158 nouvelles infiltrations realisees cette fois apres optimisation des procedures : (1) interposition d’un filtre cuivre ; (2) retrait de la grille antidiffusante ; (3) reglage de la sensibilite de la cellule d’exposition en mode eleve. Resultats Avant optimisation, l’irradiation moyenne etait de 175 μgray/m 2 pour les infiltrations de quatre articulations zygapophysaires et de 43 μgray/m 2 pour celles des hanches, mais elle restait inferieure a 20 μgray/m 2 pour celles des epaules (15,7), chevilles (7,7), poignets (3,7) et doigts (3,3). Une tres nette diminution des PDS a ete observee pour chaque site d’infiltration apres optimisation des procedures, la baisse de la PDS allant de 52 % (pour l’epaule) a 87 % (pour les articulations zygapophysaires, desormais a 22,7 μgray/m 2 seulement). Ceci etant vrai pour les 3 etapes : installation du patient, geste medical et cliche final. Les PDS des infiltrations des articulations zygapophysaires etaient de 84 (54,5–108,5) μgray/m 2 pour les indices de masse corporelle (IMC) 2 pour les IMC > 30. Conclusion Des procedures techniques simples permettent une diminution majeure de l’irradiation des patients lors des infiltrations realisees sous scopie, en particulier pour les articulations zygapophysaires et chez des personnes a IMC eleve.

The paper presents the measured cumulative yields of 44 Ti for nat Cr, 56 Fe, nat Ni and 93 Nb samples irradiated by protons at the energy range 0.04–2.6 GeV. The obtained excitation functions are compared with calculations of the well-known codes: ISABEL, Bertini, INCL4.2+ABLA, INCL4.5+ABLA07, PHITS, CASCADE07 and CEM03.02. The predictive power of these codes regarding the studied nuclides is analyzed.

Nitrogen (N) deficiency and weed infestation are main factors limiting yield and yield stability in organic wheat. Organic fertilizers may be used to improve crop performance but off-farm input costs tend to limit profitability. Instead, forage legumes may be inserted into the crop rotation to improve the N balance and to control weed infestation. In opposition to simultaneous cropping, relay intercropping of legumes in organic winter wheat limits resource competition for the legume cover crop, without decreasing the performance of the associated wheat. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of spring organic fertilization on the performance of intercropped legumes and wheat, and on services provided by the legume cover. Two species of forage legumes ( Trifolium pratense L . and Trifolium repens L . ) were undersown in winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L. cv Lona) in five organic fields during two consecutive crop seasons. Organic fertilizer was composed of feather meal and applied on wheat at legume sowing. The cover crop was maintained after the wheat harvest and destroyed just before sowing maize. Spring organic nitrogen fertilization increased wheat biomass (+35%), nitrogen (+49%), grain yield (+40%) and protein content (+7%) whatever the intercropping treatment. At wheat harvest, red clover biomass was significantly higher than white clover one (1.4 vs. 0.7 t ha −1 ). Nitrogen fertilization decreased forage legume above-ground biomass at wheat harvest, at approximately 0.5 t ha −1 whatever the specie. No significant difference in forage legume biomass production was observed at cover killing. Nitrogen accumulation in legume above-ground tissues was significantly higher for white clover than for red clover. Both red and white clover species significantly decreased weed infestation at this date. Nitrogen fertilization significantly increased weed biomass whatever the intercropping treatment and decreased nitrogen accumulation in both clover species (−12%). We demonstrated that nitrogen fertilization increased yield of wheat intercropped with forage legume while the performance of legumes was decreased. Legume growth was modified by spring fertilization whatever the species.

Contexte L’epuisement professionnel est devenue une question majeure de sante mentale au travail, mais peu est connu quant aux consequences professionnelles individuelles ou sur les prises en charges actuellement effectuees. L’objectif de cette etude est de decrire les consequences individuelles et les prises en charge vecues par des individus presentant une suspicion forte d’epuisement professionnel, parmi les salaries d’une entreprise. Materiel et methode La selection des 84 cas a ete realisee par les medecins du travail du service de sante au travail par suspicion clinique forte d’epuisement professionnel dans l’intervalle de janvier 2015 a mars 2017. Les participants ont ete vus individuellement en interview semi-dirigee par un investigateur unique et ont repondu a des questionnaires valides et des questionnaires experimentaux. Apres une phase descriptive, nous avons realise une repartition en deux groupes de gravite selon la presence et la duree de l’arret de travail, ainsi qu’une analyse unie et multivariee. Resultats Soixante ont participe a l’etude 85,5 % de l’effectif entre 41 et 55 ans, 73,7 % de cadres, 69,6 % sur le poste depuis moins de deux ans. Dans notre echantillon, la majorite (73,6 %) n’a aucun antecedent psychiatrique ou medical. Prise en charge medicale en ville : 22,8 % ont eu un suivi par un psychiatre, 63,2 % par un psychologue. Sur l’ensemble de l’echantillon, 45,6 % ont ete traites par antidepresseurs et 42,1 % n’ont recu aucun traitement medicamenteux. Au total, 69,6 % sont interesses par un groupe de parole lors de la prise en charge de l’epuisement professionnel. Consequences medicales et professionnelles : les idees suicidaires ont concerne 21 % des individus. Quarante pour cent ont change de poste et 73,7 % ont eu un amenagement de poste. Seuls 61,8 % travaillaient plus de 50 heures par semaines avant leur epuisement, contre 23,1 % apres. Le travail regulier a domicile ou le week-end ont egalement ete reduit (respectivement 63,6 % avant/20,7 % apres ; 38,2 % avant/7,5 % apres). Les analyses multivaries ont montres que le traitement par antidepresseurs, l’occupation d’un poste d’agent de maitrise et le changement de poste etaient statistiquement associes au groupe le plus grave (p Conclusion Bien qu’il soit discute et mal defini, l’epuisement professionnel est une problematique frequente dont la prise en charge est tres variable, et dont les consequences medicales et professionnelles sont importantes. Un travail systematique et rigoureux de semiologie descriptive du syndrome permettrait d’en rigidifier les contours et ainsi de progresser sur sa prise en charge et sa prevention.

Western European agriculture is largely defined by the high level of productivity of its cereal grain production. Such productivity is largely a result of farm specialization and intensification. This approach however has led to environmental problems and farm sensitivity to climatic and economic hazards. Recently, perennial grains have been promoted as a potential alternative, particularly with intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium). Perennial grains bring new perspectives and innovation, and can contribute to both system diversification and environmental performance. Above all, the value of year-round ground cover and root activity, as well as the ability to harvest both grain and forage production, offers a large range of interest and potential application for such a grain crop. Realization of the potential benefits from perennial grains depends on the development of suitable seed material and the identification of tangible economic and environmental benefits coming from the integration of perennial grains into crop rotations. Although more work is needed, perennial grains are compatible with the current European interests and policies for food security, soil health, water quality, and farmer interest in innovative practices and sustainable cropping systems.

Introduction Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has revolutionized the prognosis of patients with severe aortic stenosis. Four categories of aortic stenosis can be defined depending on left ventricular ejection fraction (EF), mean transvalvular gradient and stoke volume index. Aim Whether aortic stenosis category influence prognosis after TAVR regarding functional improvement and mortality. Method In total, 263 TAVR patients with a complete baseline echocardiography and one year follow-up, were retrospectively classified into four categories: high gradient (n = 211); low-flow, low-gradient aortic stenosis with reduced EF (n = 21); low-flow, low-gradient aortic stenosis with preserved EF (n = 8) and normal-flow, low-gradient aortic stenosis with preserved EF (n = 23). Results At 12 months follow-up, 39 deaths occurred (14.8%): 25 in the high gradient group (11.8%), 9 in the low-gradient, low-flow, reduced EF group (43%), 1 in the low-gradient, low-flow, preserved EF group (12.5%), 4 in the low-gradient, normal flow group (17.4%). In a multivariate model, one-year all-cause mortality was higher in low-gradient, low-flow, reduced EF group (P Conclusion A complete echocardiography is necessary to evaluate aortic stenosis, its severity and its type before TAVR. Patients with low-gradient, low-flow reduced EF had a higher mortality rate one year after TAVR and remained more symptomatic one month after the procedure.

Deoxynivalenol was extracted from wheat grain and quantified by GC-ECD. The quantification of deoxynivalenol can be critical, for example in certifying the amount of the mycotoxin in a lot and determining if this amount is over or under a fixed limit. Thus, an objective was to obtain representative samples to monitor DON quantification variability. We show that among the different steps of analysis the critical one is grain sampling. We also show that we were able to significantly improve the extraction rate without increasing the variability by using a longer extraction time with a magnetic agitator, and a grinding process which takes into account both the heterogeneous repartition of deoxynivalenol within wheat grains and different extraction rates according to the size of the flour powder particles. Thus, it could be of interest to use this methodology to determine if a lot is above or below a maximum limit because it enables the detection limit to be lowered, thereby simplifying the subsequent analysis.

The composition of the space radiation environment inside spacecrafts is modified by the interaction with shielding material, with equipment and even with the astronauts' bodies. Accurate quantitative estimates of the effects of nuclear reactions are necessary, for example, for dose estimation and prediction of single-event-upset rates. To this end, it is necessary to construct predictive models for nuclear reactions, which usually consist of an intranuclear-cascade or quantum-molecular-dynamics stage, followed by a nuclear-de-excitation stage. While it is generally acknowledged that it is necessary to accurately simulate the first reaction stage, transport-code users often neglect or underestimate the importance of the choice of the de-excitation code. The purpose of this work is to prove that the de-excitation model is in fact a non-negligible source of uncertainty for the prediction of several observables of crucial importance for space applications. For some particular observables, the systematic uncertainty due to the de-excitation model actually dominates the total uncertainty. Our point will be illustrated by making use of nucleon-nucleus calculations performed with several intranuclear-cascade/de-excitation models, such as the Li\`{e}ge Intranuclear Cascade model (INCL) and Isabel (for the cascade part) and ABLA07, Dresner, GEM, GEMINI++ and SMM (on the de-excitation side)., Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures. Presented at the 38th COSPAR Scientific Assembly (Bremen, Germany, 18-25 July 2010). Submitted to Advances in Space Research

Advances in scientific understanding of the plant and soil behaviour in a cultivated field led to the design of numerous soil-crop models simulating crop growth. The frequent low predictive quality of these models is linked to uncertainties in inputs, parameters and equations. The AZODYN crop model predicting wheat grain yield and grain protein content was previously developed to support decision for N management of conventional and organic wheat crops. This paper outlines a sequential approach to improve the predictions of the AZODYN model by testing various formalisms. This study is based on the comparison of 38 versions of the model assessed in multi-environment trials carried out under conventional or low-input conditions. This paper describes and discusses the methodology. The results show that the predictive value of grain yield and grain protein content could be largely improved without increasing model complexity.

We measured integral thin target cross sections for the proton-induced production of 3He, 4He, 21Ne, 22Ne, 36Ar and 38Ar from Fe and Ni from the respective reaction thresholds up to 1.6 GeV. The production of noble gas isotopes, especially 4He, from Fe and Ni is of special importance for design studies of accelerator driven systems and/or energy amplifier, because Fe is the main structural material in almost every design study. Furthermore, the cross sections are needed to establish the first physical model calculations for the production of cosmogenic nuclides in iron meteorites. As a result of our new measurements there now exist for both target elements a complete and consistent database for the production of noble gas isotopes. The experimental data are compared to results from the theoretical nuclear model codes INCL4/ABLA and TALYS. This comparison clearly demonstrates again that experimental data are still needed because the predictive power of nuclear model codes, though permanently improving, does still not allow reliably predicting the cross sections needed for most applications and irradiation experiments remain indispensable.

Recently a renewed interest in photonuclear reactions has appeared. It is motivated by a number of different applications where progress in reliable and, in some cases, very high-intensity electron accelerators was awaited. In particular, today's interest is linked to the nuclear material interrogation and non-destructive nuclear waste characterization, both based either on prompt neutron, or delayed neutron, or delayed gamma detection following photofission. The knowledge of photonuclear reactions is also extremely important in the design of electron accelerators used for medical applications, nuclear physics, photoneutron sources, radioactive ion beam production, etc. In this paper we present the photonuclear activation file (PAF) under development to be included into any material depletion code. By now the PAF contains the photonuclear cross-sections for more than 600 isotopes, fission fragment distributions and delayed neutron evaluations for most of the actinides in the photon energy range from 0 up to 25 MeV. Theoretical predictions, evaluated data files and available experimental data were used to construct the PAF, and some benchmarks are in progress to ensure its quality. The release of the first version of PAF is planned in 2006.

The state-of-the-art regarding the predicting capabilities of some of the physics models available in MCNPX for Accelerator-Driven System design is discussed. The identified remaining deficiencies, which originate either from a lack of experimental data or from not well understood physics mechanisms, are stressed. To solve these problems, more constraining experiments are now needed to allow a deeper understanding of the reaction mechanisms.

We measured integral thin target cross-sections for the proton-induced production of He-, Ne-, Ar-, Kr-, and Xe-isotopes from lead and bismuth from the respective reaction threshold up to 2.6 GeV. The production of noble gas isotopes from lead and bismuth is of special importance for design studies of accelerator driven nuclear reactors and/or energy amplifiers. For all experiments with proton energies above 200 MeV a new mini-stack approach was used instead of the stacked-foil technique in order to minimise influences of secondary particles. The phenomenology of the determined excitation functions enables us to distinguish between the different reaction modes fragmentation, hot and cold symmetric fission, asymmetric fission, and deep spallation. For lead more than 420 cross-sections for 23 nuclear reactions have been measured. While the lead data have already been published, here we present first results for the production of noble gas isotopes from bismuth. The experimental data are compared to results from the theoretical nuclear model code INCL4/ABLA. This comparison clearly indicates that experimental data are still needed because the predictive power of nuclear model codes, though permanently improving, does still not allow to reliably predict the cross-sections needed for most applications and irradiation experiments remain indispensable.

New improvements of the INCL4 cascade model, bearing on cluster production, nucleon and pion potentials and Pauli blocking at low energy, are reviewed.

In organic wheat, nitrogen is one of the key limiting factors responsible for irregular productivity and low quality. On arable farms, the decreasing use of N-organic sources such as forage legumes, manures and composts relative to mixed-farms requires the development of suitable fertility strategies based on the use of off-farm organic fertilizers. The Azodyn crop model was previously adapted to organic fertilization and evaluated on various field trials in order to predict grain yield, grain protein content and soil mineral N at harvest. This paper analyses the value of Azodyn-Org as a decision-tool for managing N fertilization by (1) evaluating the economic benefits of an organic N application and (2) selecting optimal fertilization strategies according to farmers’ constraints and conditions. It appears that Azodyn-Org is relevant for selecting appropriate strategies in various conditions only if the multiple limiting factors (e.g. weeds, diseases, soil compaction) effect on yield was well predicted. In these conditions, its use could allow to identify the fields where an organic N application is profitable, through rule-based simulations. The development of an early risk-assessment method to predict the effect of major limiting factors is required before providing this tool to users. Other methodological elements of model-based explorations are addressed in the discussion.

We measured integral thin target cross sections for the proton-induced production of He-, Ne-, Ar-, Kr- and Xe-isotopes from lead from the respective reaction threshold up to 2.6 GeV. The production of noble gas isotopes from lead is of special importance for design studies of accelerator driven nuclear reactors and/or energy amplifiers. For all experiments with proton energies above 200 MeV a new mini-stack approach was used instead of the stacked-foil technique in order to minimise the influences of secondary particles on the residual nuclide production. About 420 cross sections for 23 nuclear reactions were determined. The phenomenology of the determined excitation functions enables us to distinguish between the different reaction modes fragmentation, hot and cold symmetric fission, asymmetric fission and deep spallation. Cross sections for the production of 21Ne and 38Ar measured below 100 MeV and 200 MeV, respectively, enable us to study nuclide production below the nominal Coulomb-barrier. The experimental data are compared to results from the theoretical nuclear model code INCL4/ABLA. While the model describes the production of 4He reasonably well, it underestimates the cross sections for Ne- and Ar-isotopes produced via deep spallation and/or multifragmentation by up to two orders of magnitude. For the Kr- and Xe-isotopes the agreement between modelled and measured data strongly depends on the reaction mechanisms. While INCL4/ABLA describes the production of n-poor Kr-isotopes via hot-symmetric fission and the production of Xe-isotopes via asymmetric fission reasonably well, i.e. within a factor of 2, the discrepancies between modelled and measured cross sections for the n-rich Kr-isotopes produced via cold symmetric fission are significantly larger. For the Xe-isotopes produced via spallation, i.e. at energies higher than about 600 MeV, the model completely fails to describe the experimental data. Therefore, the comparison of measured and modelled thin target cross sections clearly indicates that experimental data are still needed because the predictive power of nuclear model codes, though permanently improving, does still not allow to reliably predict the cross sections needed for most applications and irradiation experiments remain indispensable.

In agriculture, differences between the kinetics of crop requirements and the rate of soil mineralization are known to affect wheat yield and quality. The high cost of organic nitrogen fertilizer may result in nitrogen availability being a limiting factor during the crop cycle. It is therefore necessary to improve fertilizer application conditions, to limit losses, to ensure that grain quality exceeds a certain threshold, and to optimize economic efficiency. The aim of this study was to improve nitrogen management in organic winter wheat crops by optimizing spring fertilization. We validated and used the Azodyn model [Eur. J. Agron. 10 (1999) 129] to determine the effect of various fertilization strategies on winter wheat production under N constraints. We first adapted the Azodyn model by constructing an organic fertilizer submodel. The resulting Azodyn–Org model was tested under several sets of conditions for the rate and timing of organic fertilizer applications, in three experiments. Preliminary results confirmed that the Azodyn model accurately predicted N soil availability in a wide range of conditions. We assessed the performance of the Azodyn–Org model for predicting grain yield, grain protein content and mineral N in the soil. We found that grain yield was correctly predicted whereas grain protein content was slightly overestimated. Thus, the Azodyn–Org model has potential for use as a decision-making tool for managing spring N fertilization in organic wheat crops.