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Participatory democracy and public consultations are increasingly being used to shape public policy or resolve political issues. In France, the Grand Débat was launched in early 2019 as a democratic response to the Yellow Vests movement, a massive grassroots social protest. With more than 500,000 participants, the Grand Débat platform was interpreted as a popular success by the government and the media, but little is known about which citizens expressed their opinions online. Although participants on the platform were anonymous and only answered public policy questions, we are able to infer their support for the Yellow Vests movement by using a second platform (a Facebook app) that asks similar questions as well as support for the Yellow Vests. We find that a large majority of participants in the Grand Débat did not support the Yellow Vests movement, in contrast to the general population at the time. This is evidence of a strong self-selection of participants on political grounds, resulting in a biased representation of French public opinion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the impact of parental human capital background on ethnic educational gaps between second-generation immigrants using a large data set conducted in France in 2003. Estimates from censored random effect ordered Probit regressions show that the skills of immigrants explain in the most part, the ethnic educational gap between their children. Fluency in French and the length of their parents' stay in France also matter. The impact of the immigrants' education on the educational attainment of their children further depends on their country of origin, their place of schooling, and their proficiency in French. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

Most studies about students' conceptions and conceptual change are based exclusively on the analysis language, which is treated as a tool to make private contents of the mind public to researchers. Following recent studies that focused on (a) language and discursive practice and (b) the pragmatics of communication that draws on talk, gestures, and semiotic resources in the setting, we propose a redefinition of the nature of conception. Conceptions are understood as the dialectical relation of simultaneously available speech, gestures, and contextual structures that cannot be reduced to verbal rendering because gestures and contextual structures constitute different modalities in the communication. Drawing on data collected during a physics unit about gas taught in French tenth grade classrooms, we show why an appropriate account of conceptions requires: (a) gestures simultaneously produced with talk; and (b) identification of the relevant structures in the setting used by the participants as meaning-making (semiotic) resources. We propose to: (a) reconceptualize the notion of conception as consisting of a dialectical unit of all relevant semiotic (meaning-making) resources publicly made available by a speaker (talk, gesture, context); and (b) consider conceptual change through the temporal evolution of the dialectical unit defined in this manner.

• This paper investigates the influence of transaction mode on fish prices • Data includes 40 million transactions achieved in France between 2010 and 2018 • The average price gap is 1.7 euro per kilo between auctions and OTC sales • Once heterogeneity is controlled for, the price differential is very low (-1.7%) • The two sale methods co-exist for fish markets because of the low price gap While information technology has led to increased market integration, in many markets there are still significant heterogeneity associated with factors such as product characteristics, market location, market lots, transaction mode and buyer and seller characteristics. Using a data set of 40 million observations of up-streams fish sales in Atlantic France, we use the rich attribute information to investigate the extent to which the price differences in a highly heterogenous market can be explained, with a particular focus on the importance of transaction mode. While 78% of the quantity is sold at auctions, the remainder are over-the-counter transactions and this share is increasing. Estimation of hedonic price regressions controlling for fish attributes, local market, buyer and seller heterogeneity show that there is a price differential of 1.7% between the two transaction modes. This result remains robust when taking into account the endogeneity of the sale method through an exact matching of auction and over-the-counter transactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: There are regional disparities in access to stroke units in France. Several studies have shown that living in disadvantaged areas is associated with a higher frequency of stroke, worse severity at presentation, increased level of dependency and higher mortality rates. However, few studies have explored the association between an individual's socioeconomic characteristics and stroke care. Our study aimed to determine if living standards are associated with stroke unit access for patients admitted to hospital for acute ischaemic stroke. Methods: Using the EDP‐Santé French administrative database, all patients admitted to hospital for acute ischaemic stroke between 2014 and 2017 were selected. Acute ischaemic stroke corresponded to hospital stay with International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision codes I63 or I64 as the main diagnosis. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify if standard of living was associated with likelihood of admission to a stroke unit. Results: In all, 14,123 acute care episodes were identified, corresponding to 335,273 episodes in the general population when appropriately weighted. Of these, 52.9% were admitted to a stroke unit. Being in the first (i.e., poorest) living standard quartile was associated with lower likelihood of admission to a stroke unit compared with the fourth (i.e., wealthiest) quartile, and was associated with a higher likelihood of paralysis and language disorder, and death at 1 year. Conclusion: A low living standard was associated with lower likelihood of admission to a stroke unit as well as a greater chance of paralysis and aphasia at the end of hospitalization and a higher possibility of death at 1 year after stroke. Greater access to stroke units for disadvantaged people should be promoted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to have great impacts on the care of non-COVID-19 patients. This was especially true during the first epidemic peak in France, which coincided with the national lockdown. The aim of this study was to identify whether a decrease in stroke admissions occurred in spring 2020, by analyzing the evolution of all stroke admissions in France from January 2019 to June 2020. Methods: We conducted a nationwide cohort study using the French national database of hospital admissions (Information Systems Medicalization Program) to extract exhaustive data on all hospitalizations in France with at least one stroke diagnosis between January 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020. The primary endpoint was the difference in the slope gradients of stroke hospitalizations between pre-epidemic, epidemic peak, and post-epidemic peak phases. Modeling was carried out using Bayesian techniques. Results: Stroke hospitalizations dropped from March 10, 2020 (slope gradient: −11.70), and began to rise again from March 22 (slope gradient: 2.090) to May 7. In total, there were 23,873 stroke admissions during the period March–April 2020, compared to 29,263 at the same period in 2019, representing a decrease of 18.42%. The percentage change was −15.63%, −25.19%, −18.62% for ischemic strokes, transient ischemic attacks, and hemorrhagic strokes, respectively. Discussion/Conclusion: Stroke hospitalizations in France experienced a decline during the first lockdown period, which cannot be explained by a sudden change in stroke incidence. This decline is therefore likely to be a direct, or indirect, result of the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the COVID-19 pandemic many countries required COVID certificates, proving vaccination, recovery, or a recent negative test, to access public and private venues. We estimate their effect on vaccine uptake for France, Germany, and Italy using counterfactuals constructed via innovation diffusion theory. The announcement of COVID certificates during summer 2021 were associated – although causality cannot be directly inferred – with increased vaccine uptake in France of 13.0 (95% CI 9.7–14.9) percentage points (p.p.) of the total population until the end of the year, in Germany 6.2 (2.6–6.9) p.p., and in Italy 9.7 (5.4–12.3) p.p. Based on these estimates, an additional 3979 (3453–4298) deaths in France, 1133 (−312–1358) in Germany, and 1331 (502–1794) in Italy were averted; and gross domestic product (GDP) losses of €6.0 (5.9–6.1) billion in France, €1.4 (1.3–1.5) billion in Germany, and €2.1 (2.0–2.2) billion in Italy were prevented. Notably, in France, the application of COVID certificates averted high intensive care unit occupancy levels where prior lockdowns were instated. Many countries introduced COVID certificates that were required to access public venues. Here, the authors analyse data from France, Germany, and Italy, and estimate that these policies led to increased vaccine uptake of 6-13 percentage points with subsequent beneficial impacts on health and economic outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on price trends of seafood products in the medium run remain scarce. In this paper, we investigate changes in first-sale prices of fish sold in France over the last 25 years. Drawing on the index number literature, we construct monthly chained fish price indices which are free from seasonal fluctuations. Our empirical analysis relies on a dataset including 126 million transactions completed in all French fish markets from 1994 to 2020. We show that first-sale prices of seafood products have substantially increased in the medium run, more than the inflation rate, except during the economic crisis from 2007 to 2009 and recently in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic. However, those higher prices have not always led to an increase in sales revenue of fishermen because of the continuous decrease in fish catches. In particular, the economic situation of fisheries has substantially worsen since 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using cross-sectional data from a representative sample of the French population (the 2008 Disability Health survey), this paper examines whether the SF-6D, a widely used preference-based measure of health-related quality of life in economic evaluations, fully captures the variation in subjective well-being (SWB) due to chronic illnesses. We conduct a mediation analysis to disentangle the direct and indirect, through the SF-6D, effects of various chronic conditions on SWB (happiness). Our results show that the SF-6D reflects changes in happiness due to most illnesses except mental illness. Changes in SWB mediated by the SF-6D account for 74% of the total effect. The variation unexplained by the SF-6D is significant and increases substantially in the presence of multimorbidity when a chronic illness is combined with anxiety or depression. Overall, our results suggest that the SF-6D incompletely captures the subjective experience of chronically ill patients, especially those with comorbid conditions. • 74% of the effect of chronic illness on happiness is captured by the SF-6D. • The SF-6D does not fully capture the effect of mental illness on happiness. • The effect not captured by the SF-6D increases significantly with multimorbidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diurnal and seasonal variations of orographic water ice clouds in the Tharsis region have been investigated with EXI observations for MY 36 and 37. In order to provide context, meteorological fields from the Mars PCM (Mars Planetary Climate Model led by Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique Paris, France) have been incorporated. These fields include water ice column, atmospheric temperature, meteorological winds, water vapor, and dust mixing ratio. The diurnal cycle has been studied for sunlit hours (6 am–6 pm) by sampling data into 5 local time bins. Both the EXI observations and the Mars PCM underscore the significant role plays by diurnal thermal tides in controlling the thickness and existence of water ice clouds in the Tharsis region. During Spring and Summer, water ice clouds form in the morning and late-afternoon hours and exhibit greater thickness compared to those that form during the afternoon, primarily due to the influence of thermal tides. During Fall and Winter, water ice clouds are typically observed in the Arsia Mons region, occasionally extending to the Pavonis Mons region. During the Fall and Winter seasons, the clouds that form are mostly thin and have a tendency to develop in the afternoon hours, while the morning hours typically remain cloud-free or exhibit extremely thin clouds. This phenomenon can be attributed to a combination of factors, including the existence of cold temperature zones at higher altitudes formed by the influence of strong trade winds and the impact of diurnal thermal tides. According to the Mars PCM, water ice clouds typically form at altitudes below 25 km during Spring and Summer, whereas during Fall and Winter, cloud formation occurs at altitudes above 25 km. • EXI observations and the Mars PCM overview • EXI and Mars PCM water ice optical depth time series comparison • EXI water ice optical depths and Mars PCM meteorological fields comparison [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While numerous studies have addressed the issue of price formation in first-sale fish markets, little is known about the purchasing decisions of buyers. Using exhaustive data on 11.7 million transactions made in 2021 and 2022 by 1955 buyers in France, we provide an unsupervised classification that reveals the heterogeneous behavior of buyers in terms of quantity purchased, average price paid, number of markets visited, and type of transaction. The results of a hierarchical agglomeration cluster analysis led to eight buyer groups. We show that there are a small number of very active buyers, both at auction and over-the-counter, who purchase daily in large quantities and at many different markets, and whose main activity is wholesale. We find that the price-quantity elasticity values for first sales are very low, but the price paid by large buyers is even less sensitive to quantity than that observed for other buyer groups. • Analysis of the purchasing decisions of buyers active in French first-sale fish markets. • Classification of 1955 buyers involved in 11.7 million transactions into eight groups. • Two small groups include big buyers purchasing large quantities of fish. • The price-quantity elasticity is small for all buyer groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The early detection of patients at risk of developing schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and more broadly mood spectrum disorder, is a public health concern. The phenotypical overlap between the prodromes in these disorders calls for a simultaneous investigation into both illness trajectories. Method: This is an epidemiological, retrospective, multicentre, descriptive study conducted in the Grand-Est region of France in order to describe and compare early symptoms in 205 patients: 123 of which were diagnosed with schizophrenia and 82 with bipolar disorder or mood spectrum disorder. Data corresponding to the pre-morbid and prodromal phases, including a timeline of their onset, were studied in child and adolescent psychiatric records via a data grid based on the literature review conducted from birth to 17 years of age. Results: Two distinct trajectories were highlighted. Patients with schizophrenia tended to present more difficulties at each developmental stage, with the emergence of negative and positive behavioural symptoms during adolescence. Patients with mood spectrum disorder, however, were more likely to exhibit anxiety and then mood-related symptoms. Overall, our results corroborate current literature findings and are consistent with the neurodevelopmental process. We succeeded in extracting a decision tree with good predictability based on variables relating to one diagnosis: 77.6% of patients received a well-indexed diagnosis. An atypical profile was observed in future mood spectrum disorder patients as some exhibited numerous positive symptoms alongside more conventional mood-related symptoms. Conclusion: The combination of all these data could help promote the early identification of high-risk patients thereby facilitating early prevention and appropriate intervention in order to improve outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Escherichia coli is the leading cause of bloodstream infections, associated with a significant mortality. Recent genomic analyses revealed that few clonal lineages are involved in bloodstream infections and captured the emergence of some of them. However, data on within sequence type (ST) population genetic structure evolution are rare. Methods: We compared whole genome sequences of 912 E. coli isolates responsible for bloodstream infections from two multicenter clinical trials that were conducted in the Paris area, France, 12 years apart, in teaching hospitals belonging to the same institution ("Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris"). We analyzed the strains at different levels of granularity, i.e., the phylogroup, the ST complex (STc), and the within STc clone taking into consideration the evolutionary history, the resistance, and virulence gene content as well as the antigenic diversity of the strains. Results: We found a mix of stability and changes overtime, depending on the level of comparison. Overall, we observed an increase in antibiotic resistance associated to a restricted number of genetic determinants and in strain plasmidic content, whereas phylogroup distribution and virulence gene content remained constant. Focusing on STcs highlighted the pauci-clonality of the populations, with only 11 STcs responsible for more than 73% of the cases, dominated by five STcs (STc73, STc131, STc95, STc69, STc10). However, some STcs underwent dramatic variations, such as the global pandemic STc131, which replaced the previously predominant STc95. Moreover, within STc131, 95 and 69 genomic diversity analysis revealed a highly dynamic pattern, with reshuffling of the population linked to clonal replacement sometimes coupled with independent acquisitions of virulence factors such as the pap gene cluster bearing a papGII allele located on various pathogenicity islands. Additionally, STc10 exhibited huge antigenic diversity evidenced by numerous O:H serotype/fimH allele combinations, whichever the year of isolation. Conclusions: Altogether, these data suggest that the bloodstream niche is occupied by a wide but specific phylogenetic diversity and that highly specialized extra-intestinal clones undergo frequent turnover at the within ST level. Additional worldwide epidemiological studies overtime are needed in different geographical and ecological contexts to assess how generalizable these data are. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: To date, no study has attempted to quantify the impact of the COVID‐19 outbreak on the incidence and treatment of acute stroke. Methods: This was a retrospective review of acute stroke pathway parameters in all three stroke units in the Alsace region during the first month of the outbreak (1–31 March 2020), using the similar period from 2019 as a comparator. A secondary detailed analysis of all stroke alerts and stroke unit admissions was performed in the centre with the largest case volume. Results: Compared to the same period in 2019, in March 2020 there were 39.6% fewer stroke alerts and 33.3% fewer acute revascularization treatments [40.9% less intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) and 27.6% less mechanical thrombectomy (MT)]. No marked variation was observed in the number of stroke unit admissions (−0.6%). The proportion of patients with acute revascularization treatments (IVT or MT) out of the total number of stroke unit admissions was significantly lower in March 2020 (21.3%) compared to 2019 (31.8%), P = 0.034. There were no significant differences in time delays or severity of clinical symptoms for patients treated by IVT or MT, nor in the distribution of final diagnosis amongst stroke alerts and stroke unit admissions. Conclusion: These results suggest that the overall incidence of stroke remained the same, but fewer patients presented within the therapeutic time window. Increased public awareness and corrective measures are needed to mitigate the deleterious effects of the COVID‐19 outbreak on acute stroke care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In France, the incidence of severe imported malaria cases increased since early 2000. Artesunate was available (temporarily use authorization) since mid-2011 in France and commonly used for severe malaria since early 2013. Thus, the study objectives were to describe the patients with severe imported malaria admitted in intensive care unit (ICU) and assess the changes in clinical presentation and outcomes before and after this date. Methods: Retrospective observational single-center study in the infectious diseases ICU of a referral university hospital, conducted on patients admitted for severe imported malaria from 2004 to 2017. Demographic variables, severity scores, WHO's severity criteria on admission, treatment, and ICU and hospital lengths of stay were collected. Patients' characteristics and outcomes were compared between both periods. A poor outcome was defined as the composite endpoint of death, or requirement for vasopressors, invasive mechanical ventilation and/or renal replacement therapy. Results: 189 patients were included, 98 in 2004–2012 and 91 in 2013–2017, most often from West and Central African countries (96%). The number of WHO criteria for severe malaria was comparable in both groups, but SAPS II, SOFA and ICU length of stay were significantly higher in 2004–2012, while patients of African origin living in France were less frequent (p < 0.01). The outcome was poor for 41/98 cases in 2004–2012 and 12/91 cases in 2013–2017 (p < 0.01). The risk factors of poor outcome on the multivariate logistic regression were a neurological failure (adjusted odds ratio (adjOR = 3.23; 95% CI (1.03–10.08), p = 0.004), cardio-circulatory failure (adjOR = 9.92; 95% CI (2.34–42), p = <0.01) and creatinine blood levels > 265 µmol/L (adjOR = 10.76; 95% CI (3.17–36.53), p < 0.01). In the multivariate analysis, IV artesunate was not associated with a better outcome. Patients of African origin did not seem to have a better outcome than Caucasian patients or those from other origins (adjOR = 0.59; 95% CI (0.21–1.65), p = 0.31). Conclusion: Patients with imported malaria admitted in ICU in 2013–2017 were less severely ill than those in 2004–2012. These trends could be partially explained by the increasing proportion of African patients visiting friends or relatives or living in endemic areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Half of parental transfer crowded out by the means-tested scholarship. • IV estimate using nonlinear schedule slightly higher (0.5) than OLS (0.4). • Larger estimated crowding-out effect under IV is driven by non-intact families. • Predictions of the altruistic model (full eviction) not validated. • Means-testing necessary to prevent a windfall effect for wealthy parents. This paper investigates the extent to which means-tested scholarships received by higher education students crowd out parental financial support at the intensive margin. We estimate a private transfer function using survey data collected in France in 2014 on a sample of students aged 18–24 who receive public scholarships. Introducing the amount of public transfer as an exogenous covariate, we find that one additional euro of scholarship is associated with a decrease in parental transfers of 0.40 euro. Using an instrumental variable strategy that exploits the non-linear schedule of the scholarship amount, we find a larger effect with a decrease of about 0.50. Our results suggest that a substantial part of the scholarship benefits low-income parents by reducing the amount of money they give to their student children. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the literature on the health-retirement relationship by looking at the effect of retiring before legal age on health in later life in France. To account for the endogeneity of the early retirement decision, our identification strategy relies on eligibility rules to a long-career early retirement scheme introduced in France in 2004 that substantially increased the proportion of older workers leaving their last job before the legal age of 60 years. We find a positive correlation between early retirement and health problems among male retirees. However, we fail to find any significant causal effect of early retirement on poor health once we account for the endogeneity of the decision to retire before the legal age. Controlling for working conditions does not influence the effect of retirement and occupying a demanding job is harmful to health after retirement regardless of the retirement date. Similar results are found for female retirees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper investigates the short-term effects of transition into retirement on health within couples using French household data. We rely on a semi-parametric difference-in-differences method to account for the endogeneity of the retirement decision. We compare the health trajectories of respondents who retire to those of respondents who remain employed over the same period after balancing their pre-retirement characteristics using a matching procedure. We also look at potential spillover effects within the couple by comparing health changes for spouses of respondents who retire to those of respondents who remain employed. We find that transition into retirement has a short-term beneficial effect on respondents' self-assessed health. Conversely, we fail to find any significant effect of respondents' retirement on their spouses' health. Highlights • In France, retirement tends to improve individuals' self-assessed health in the short run. • This result holds only for workers employed in jobs with low physical burden. • Respondents' retirement decision has no significant effect on their spouses' health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. An outbreak of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) occurred among heart transplant recipients (HTR) at the outpatient clinic of a university hospital, from March to September 2015. Clinical, therapeutic, biological, and molecular data were analyzed to determine its origin and control the outbreak. Methods. Clinical and biological data regarding all HTR followed in the outpatient clinic were collected. PCP diagnosis was based on microscopy and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Investigations were performed by building a transmission map, completed by genotyping Pneumocystis isolates and by a control of chemoprophylaxis observance. Asymptomatic exposed patients were screened for colonization using real-time PCR. Results. Among 124 HTR, 7 PCP cases were confirmed. Screening identified 3 additional patients colonized by P. jirovecii. All patients were cured, and no further cases were identified after trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole prophylaxis was introduced in the entire cohort. Genotyping demonstrated the same strain in all PCP cases and colonized patients. All cases were linked with possible transmission chains from 2 possible index patients. Interhuman transmission was significantly associated with more frequent visits in the outpatient clinic. Six cases were receiving atovaquone as a prophylaxis. The occurrence of PCP was significantly associated with atovaquone prophylaxis. Conclusions. This is the first outbreak with detailed molecular analysis in HTR so far. Genotyping and transmission chain confirmed interhuman transmission in all colonized/infected PCP cases. Outpatient clinic layout and high encounters probably caused this PCP cluster, which was controlled after systematic trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole prophylaxis in exposed patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban shrinkage is a major challenge in most Eastern European countries, but is not identified as a public policy issue in France where the growth paradigm is still dominant. Although French urban shrinkage displays a significantly different pattern compared to other parts of Europe, some common demographic and economic trends justify the study of this process in a country where urban shrinkage is still emergent. Against this background this paper investigates the role urban shrinkage has played in France since the 1970s in order to draw conclusions on the contemporary situation. Thus, the evolution of 354 French urban areas is measured by two concepts before the results are linked to political awareness and responses on a national level in France. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using high-quality data collected in France in 2005 from more than 250 regular cannabis users, we estimate both quantity discount and price elasticity of cannabis net of the effect of perceived quality and real potency. We find evidence of substantial price discount and obtain a short-term price consumption elasticity ranging from −1.7 to −2.1, meaning that the demand for cannabis is elastic. Controlling for potency, either real or perceived, has little effect on the magnitude of the discount effect – even if customers are ready to pay more when their perception of the product quality is high – and no impact on price elasticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measuring working time is not only an important objective of the EU Labour Force Survey (LFS), but also a highly demanding task in terms of methodology. Against the background of a recent debate on the comparability of working time estimates in France and Germany, this article presents a comparative assessment of the measurement of working time in the Labour Force Survey obtained in both countries. It focuses on the measurement of the hours actually worked, the key working-time concept for short-term economic analysis and the National Accounts. The contribution systematically analyses the differences in the measurement approaches used in France and Germany in order to identify the methodological effects that hinder comparability. It comes to the conclusion that the LFS overstates the difference in hours actually worked in France and Germany and identifies question comprehension, rounding, editing effects, as well as certain aspects of the sampling design, as crucial factors of a reliable measurement in particular of absences from work during the reference week. We recommend continuing the work started in the European Statistical System towards the development of a model questionnaire in order to improve cross-national harmonisation of key variables such as hours actually worked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Implantable cardiac monitors (ICMs) are used for long-term heart rhythm monitoring, e.g. to diagnose unexplained syncope or for detection of suspected atrial and ventricular arrhythmias. The newest ICM, Reveal LINQ™ (Medtronic Inc.), is miniaturized and inserted with a specific insertion tool kit. The procedure is therefore minimally invasive and can be moved from catheterization laboratory (cath lab) to a less resource intensive setting. This study aims to assess the change in procedure costs when performed outside the cath lab.Methods and Results: A bottom-up costing methodology was used. Data were collected from interviews with physicians, cath lab managers, and financial controllers. Hospitals in the Netherlands, France, and the UK were included in this study. The cost comparison of a Reveal XT implantation in a cath lab setting vs. a Reveal LINQ insertion outside a cath lab resulted in an estimated reduction of €662 for the UK, €682 for the Netherlands, and €781 for France. These cost savings were primarily realized through fewer staff, less equipment, and overhead costs. The net effect on savings depends on the price differential between these two technologies. The patient care pathway can be improved due to the possibility to move the procedure out of the cath lab.Conclusion: Inserting the miniaturized version of the ICM is simpler and faster, and the procedure can take place outside the cath lab in a less resource intensive environment. Hospitals save resources when the higher price of the Reveal LINQ does not outweigh these savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates to what extent the return behaviour of migrants affects their transfer decisions, both at the extensive and intensive margins. We use a unique data set collected on migrants aged 45–70 living in France, with detailed information on both return intentions at retirement and on private transfers. We find that the temporary nature of migration strongly influences the pattern of transfers made by migrants. The probability of remitting for either personal savings or to family members in the origin country increases by more than 10 percentage points with return plans, the latter having no effect on gifts to family members living in France. At the intensive margin, the amount of personal savings sent to the origin country is about twice as high for migrants who intend to return. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Aims: Modifications of antimicrobials' pharmacokinetic parameters have been reported in critically ill patients, resulting in a risk of treatment failure. We characterized amikacin pharmacokinetic variability in critically ill patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and evaluated several dosing regimens. Methods: We conducted a prospective multicenter study in critically ill patients with presumptive diagnosis of Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) VAP. Patients empirically received imipenem and a single-dose of amikacin, which was administered as a 30-min infusion (20 mg/kg). Concentrations were measured 0.5, 1, 8, 16, and 24 h after beginning of infusion. Pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated using a population approach. Main pharmacodynamic target was a ratio ≥10 between the concentration achieved 1 h after beginning of infusion ( C) and the minimal inhibitory concentration of the liable bacteria (MIC). We simulated individual C for several dosing regimens by Monte Carlo method and computed C/MIC ratios for MICs from 0.5 to 64 mg/L. Results: Sixty patients (47 males), median (range) age, and body weight, 61.5 years (28-84) and 78 kg (45-126), respectively, were included. Amikacin median C was 45 mg/L (22-87). Mean value (between-patients variability) for CL, V1, Q, and V2 were 4.3 L/h (31 %), 15.9 L (22 %), 12.1 L/h (27 %), and 21.4 L (47 %), respectively. CL increased with CrCL ( p < 0.001) and V1 with body weight ( p < 0.001) and PaO/FIO ratio ( p < 0.001). With a 25 mg/kg regimen, the pharmacodynamic target was achieved in 20 and 96 % for a MICs of 8 and 4 mg/L, respectively. Conclusion: Amikacin clearance was decreased and its volume of distribution was increased as previously reported. A ≥25 mg/kg single-dose is needed for empirical treatment of GNB-VAP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. This study aimed at assessing the prevalence of pathologies presenting retinal inner nuclear layer (RINL) microcystic perimacular changes associated with optic nerve atrophy (OA). The charts of patients presenting a significant defect of the Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer (RNFL) were included prospectively in this study. Patients were classified according to the etiology of the RNFL defect. Two hundred and one eyes of 138 patients were enrolled in this analysis. Retinal images obtained showed the typical hyporeflective perifoveal crescent-shaped lesion composed of small round hyporeflective microcysts confined to the RINL in 35.3% of the eyes. Those findings were found in 75% of eyes presenting hereditary OA, 50% of eyes presenting ischemic optic neuritis, 50% of eyes with drusen of the optic nerve (ON), 44.4% of eyes presenting a compressive OA, 32% of eyes presenting inflammatory optic neuropathy from multiple sclerosis, 18.5% of eyes presenting OA from undetermined origin, and 17.6% ofeyes having primary open-angle glaucoma. This study demonstrates that microcystic changes in RINL are not specific to a disease but are found in OA of various etiologies. Moreover, their incidence was found to be dependent upon the cause of OA, with the highest incidence occurring in genetic OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using French data collected in 2007 from a sample of about 2,000 elderly people living in nursing homes, this paper investigates the role that individual characteristics play in satisfaction with life and depression. Following psychological studies that have highlighted the benefits of social interactions on individual well-being, I focus in particular on the role played by making friends in the nursing home. Results from random effect ordered Probit models show that both satisfaction with living conditions and feeling of depression are much more influenced by making friends in the institution than by visits from family and relatives or other individual background characteristics. These findings may be interpreted as evidence of a relational return to friendship within nursing homes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Influenza-vaccination rates among healthcare workers (HCW) remain low worldwide, even during the 2009 A(H1N1) pandemic. In France, this vaccination is free but administered on a voluntary basis. We investigated the factors influencing HCW influenza vaccination. Methods: In June-July 2010, HCW from wards of five French hospitals completed a cross-sectional survey. A multifaceted campaign aimed at improving vaccination coverage in this hospital group was conducted before and during the 2009 pandemic. Using an anonymous self-administered questionnaire, we assessed the relationships between seasonal (SIV) and pandemic (PIV) influenza vaccinations, and sociodemographic and professional characteristics, previous and current vaccination statuses, and 33 statements investigating 10 sociocognitive domains. The sociocognitive domains describing HCWs' SIV and PIV profiles were analyzed using the classification-and-regression-tree method. Results: Of the HCWs responding to our survey, 1480 were paramedical and 401 were medical with 2009 vaccination rates of 30% and 58% for SIV and 21% and 71% for PIV, respectively (p<0.0001 for both SIV and PIV vaccinations). Older age, prior SIV, working in emergency departments or intensive care units, being a medical HCW and the hospital they worked in were associated with both vaccinations; while work shift was associated only with PIV. Sociocognitive domains associated with both vaccinations were self-perception of benefits and health motivation for all HCW. For medical HCW, being a role model was an additional domain associated with SIV and PIV. Conclusions: Both vaccination rates remained low. Vaccination mainly depended on self-determined factors and for medical HCW, being a role model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of self-assessed health on retirement plans of older migrants living in France. As immigration is primarily associated with labor considerations, the role of economic incentives in the migration decision suggests that health could play a minor effect in immigrants' decision to retire. Design/methodology/approach – Using detailed data on immigrants living in France collected in 2003, the authors examine the role of health on early retirement intentions using simultaneous, recursive models that account for the fact that subjective health is potentially endogenous. Findings – It is found that being in poor health increases the intention of migrant workers to retire early, but the subjective health outcomes have little influence on retirement plans. Practical implications – Since subjective health outcomes have less influence on retirement plan than economic variables, migrants may have incentives to postpone their retirement decisions in order to avoid an excessive pension reduction. Originality/value – Knowing the relative contribution of health variables and economic factors in the context of migration is a challenging issue since in almost all industrialized countries, the proportion of migrants having retired or nearing retirement has increased substantially. The authors' analysis is the first contribution to study the role of health on retirement intentions of older migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The role played by parental wealth in facilitating the life chances and living standards of offspring is a topic of growing interest in stratification research. For working and middle class households much of their intervivos transfers to children is provided in the form of assistance with a home purchase. This paper examines the impact of parental wealth and transfers of wealth on several aspects of the homeownership decision – the timing of the purchase, the cost of the home, and the downpayment proportion, as well as living standards subsequent to the purchase. We utilize a unique data set from France which contains information on parental wealth and wealth transfers from both sets of parents of a couple. We correct for possible endogeneity of parental transfers and model the joint determination of the downpayment proportion and home value. The results make clear the complex pathways by which parental wealth influences the tenancy arrangements and living standards of offspring. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Introduction: Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) has been extensively studied in the ward but only scarcely in intensive care unit (ICU) patients, even if they may be particularly prone to develop or to worsen acute kidney insufficiency. We aimed to measure the incidence of CIN in a large ICU population using the Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN) definition and to investigate its impact on patients'' outcome. Methods: In this 3-year retrospective study, we included all patients undergoing, during their stay in our medical ICU, a contrast media–enhanced computed tomographic scan. Change in serum creatinine between baseline (24 hours before to 12 hours after contrast media injection) and its maximum value over the 96 hours after contrast media injection was recorded. Contrast-induced nephropathy was defined as a 44.2-μmol/L absolute or a 25% relative minimal increase in serum creatinine over 48, 72, or 96 hours and according to the stage 1 of the AKIN classification (at least 26.4 μmol/L or 50% increase over 48 hours). Results: A total of 398 contrast-enhanced computed tomographic scans performed among 299 patients were analyzed. Incidence of CIN was 14% according to the AKIN definition and ranged from 8% (48-hour absolute definition) to 23% (96-hour relative definition). The need for renal replacement therapy and ICU mortality were significantly higher in case of CIN. After adjusting for other variables associated with ICU mortality, the occurrence of at least 1 CIN episode during the ICU stay (AKIN criteria) was independently associated with ICU mortality (odds ratio, 3.85; 95% confidence interval, 1.85-8.00). Conclusions: Even if incidence varied greatly depending on the definition, CIN appeared frequent in our critically ill patients. The AKIN definition, independently associated with ICU mortality, may allow unifying diagnostic criteria to further evaluate this condition that impacts morbidity and mortality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we study the impact of parental human capital background on ethnic educational gaps between second-generation immigrants using a large data set conducted in France in 2003. Estimates from censored random effect ordered Probit regressions show that the skills of immigrants explain in the most part, the ethnic educational gap between their children. Fluency in French and the length of their parents’ stay in France also matter. The impact of the immigrants’ education on the educational attainment of their children further depends on their country of origin, their place of schooling, and their proficiency in French. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper focuses on preferences for specific characteristics in a potential partner using data from 1993 to 1999 provided by a French marriage bureau. We perform an econometric analysis of the various traits either sought or rejected in a potential partner, respectively by men and women. Our results are consistent with investment in marriage. On the one hand, men tend to reject vulgar and unfaithful women, meaning that they are likely to suffer serious fitness costs from infidelity. On the other hand, women dread meeting potential partners who are alcoholic, selfish or violent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using individual data from the French Labour Force Survey and the Complementary Survey on Working Conditions for 1998, we analyse earnings inequalities along the wage distribution between workers using novel Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) at their job and those not using them. We estimate quantile regressions with technological dummies and carry out a decomposition analysis, both at the aggregate level and by occupations. At the aggregate level, most of the wage gap between both populations is explained by the divergence in their labour characteristics. In jobs where ICT are not very diffused, the technological premium is larger than in jobs characterized by a large presence of novel technologies. Whereas in the former type of jobs, the technological premium is mainly justified by a divergence in the labour market characteristics between ICT users and nonusers, in positions characterized by a wide presence of novel technologies the technological premium responds rather to a divergence in the returns to identical characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a study is made of the mobility and housing choices of the elderly when retiring, using household data collected in France. From a theoretical viewpoint, individuals are likely to decrease their housing quantity because of an income loss when retiring, but they may also increase it to benefit from more housing comfort for leisure. Using the 1992 Trois Générations survey, it is first shown that housing mobility at retirement is substantial in France, with a variety of self-reported motives. Then, using the 1994—2001 French Europanel survey, evidence is found of both upsizing and downsizing for mobile recent retirees. In many cases, housing adjustments lead to a correction of the initial disequilibrium between the number of rooms and the number of occupants. However, a significant proportion of mobile recent retirees improve the quality of their dwelling. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Using original French panel data, this paper investigates the relevance of the broken windows theory in case of an offence category featured by the absence of monetary benefits. Estimates from random and fixed effects models highlight the deterrent effect of sanctions for rapes and minor sexual offences. The enforcement activity of rapes is the most deterrent factor both for rapes and other sexual offences, compared with the rapes- and minor sexual offences-reducing impact of an increase in the enforcement activity for minor sexual offences. Our results cast doubt on the broken windows theory. From a normative perspective, it would be more efficient to deter the authors of rapes rather than those of less severe sexual offences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Family Apperception Test (FAT) is a projective assessment procedure based on the family system theory. FAT allows the subjects' affects and feelings about their family to be assessed. The original version and its French translation removed some of the conceptual and psychometric limitations of previous projective tests and family assessment procedures but several questions remained. The current study proposes several modifications to the conceptual background, administration, coding procedure, and standardization of the FAT, which considerably improve its psychometric properties. Data were collected on 168 typical and clinical children in the French-speaking part of Belgium. The results provide significant evidence for inter- and intra-assessor reliability; the factorial analysis and the internal consistency of the revised version were good; the FAT enabled us to discriminate between typical children and those in the clinical sample. The discussion focuses on the interest and limits of the quantitative coding procedure, based on several categories conceptualized as risk versus protective factors. The FAT is characterized by a complementary approach--both quantitative and qualitative--to the children and their families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neurologic complications of endocarditis can influence diagnosis, therapeutic plans, and prognosis. Objective: To describe how early cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) affects the diagnosis and management of endocarditis in hospitalized adults. Design: Single-center prospective study between June 2005 and October 2008. (ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT00144885) Setting: Tertiary care university hospital in France. Patients: 130 patients with endocarditis. Intervention: Cerebral MRI with angiography performed up to 7 days after admission and before any surgical intervention. Measurements: 2 experts jointly established the endocarditis diagnostic classification (according to Duke-modified criteria) and therapeutic plans just before and after MRI and then compared them. Results: Endocarditis was initially classified as definite in 77 patients and possible in 50 and was excluded in 3. Sixteen patients (12%) had acute neurologic symptoms. Cerebral lesions were detected by MRI in 106 patients (82% [95% CI, 75% to 89%]), including ischemic lesions in 68, microhemorrhages in 74, and silent aneurysms in 10. Solely on the basis of MRI results and excluding microhemorrhages, diagnostic classification of 17 of 53 (32%) cases of nondefinite endocarditis was upgraded to either definite (14 patients) or possible (3 patients). Endocarditis therapeutic plans were modified for 24 (18%) of the 130 patients, including surgical plan modifications for 18 (14%). Overall, early MRI led to modifications of diagnosis or therapeutic plan in 36 patients (28% [CI, 20% to 36%]). Limitation: Investigators did not assess whether the MRI-related changes in diagnosis and therapeutic plans improved patient outcomes or led to unnecessary procedures and increased costs. Conclusion: Cerebral lesions were identified by MRI in many patients with endocarditis but no neurologic symptoms. The MRI findings affected both diagnostic classifications and clinical management plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Little is known about the health status of older migrants living in Europe. Using detailed data collected in 2003, this study investigated differences in health status by country of origin within the older immigrant population living in France using a self-rated health measure. Study design: The database used in this research was the Passage à la Retraite des Immigrés survey, conducted from November 2002 to February 2003 on a sample of 6211 migrants aged 45-70 years and living in France at the time of the survey. Methods: A difficulty with a self-rated outcome is that it may not be comparable between different origin groups, particularly because of cultural and linguistic differences. Therefore, generalized ordered Probit models were estimated, and an indicator of health, net of cross-cultural effects was constructed for each respondent. Results: This study found that male immigrants from southern Africa and Asia, and female immigrants from northern Europe, southern Africa and Asia are more likely to be in good health, while the health status is lower among immigrants from Eastern Europe living in France. Conclusion: The diversity in health status within the immigrant population is large in France. These results are helpful in order to target the more disadvantaged origin groups and to adjust the provision of health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pouvoirs is the property of Editions du Seuil 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.)

With the use of data on migrants living in France, we study the pattern of transfers of time and money made to parents. Monetary transfers allocate predominantly towards the large number of elderly parents in the country of origin, while the smaller number of migrant parents in France are more likely to receive time transfers. Our econometric results suggest that monetary transfers are more consistent with the altruistic hypothesis. Furthermore, while the donor's labour participation increases the propensity to give money, there is no negative relationship between time transfers and the labour participation of the donor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our paper analyses the modalities according to which a large European university collaborates with firms by exploring its relational portfolio. We address this issue by exploiting a database that lists more than 1,000 firms having collaborated with the University Louis Pasteur (ULP) between 1990 and 2002. We first observe the relative importance of four collaborative channels (private contracts, European contracts, co-publications, co-inventions) across the whole population of firms. Second, using a multi-correspondence analysis, we derive a typology of collaborative patterns which underline the discriminating features of the frequency of interactions, of the exclusive versus open character of the relationships and of the nature of the collaborative channels. Four coherent classes emerge from particular combinations of these relational characteristics. Finally, using multinomial logit estimation, we show how this diversity of partnerships is connected to some individual attributes of the firms: size, status, sector and location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we investigate the relevance of the glass ceiling hypothesis in France, according to which there exist larger gender wage gaps at the upper tail of the wage distribution. Using a matched worker-firm data set of about 1 30 000 employees and 14 000 employers, we estimate quantile regressions and rely on a principal component analysis to summarize information specific to the firms. Our different results show that accounting for firm-related characteristics reduces the gender earnings gap at the top of the distribution, but the latter still remains much higher at the top than at the bottom. Furthermore, a quantile decomposition shows that the gender wage gap is mainly due to differences in the returns to observed characteristics rather than in differences in characteristics between men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to assess the relevance of the glass ceiling effect, according to which the gender log wage gap accelerates in the upper tail of the wage distribution, at the firm level. Design/methodology/approach - The empirical analysis is based on a sample of 4,654 employees, working in a French private company from the Defence and Aerospace sector. Quantile wage regressions were used to study whether a glass ceiling effect exits at the firm level. The difference between the male and female wage distributions is also decomposed into two components, one due to differences in labour market characteristics between men and women and one due to differences in rewards to these individual characteristics. Findings - It was found that the gender wage gap measured through OLS is quite low, less than 8 per cent when controlling for age, experience, qualification and location. It remains rather flat along the wage distribution, a result which casts doubt on the glass ceiling theory. The gender gap is mainly due to differences in labour market characteristics rather than to differences in the rewards of these characteristics, especially among executives. Finally, women face a lower probability of reaching higher hierarchical positions within the firm. Research limitations/implications - Taking into account firm effects matters when measuring the magnitude of the gender wage throughout the wage gap distribution. Originality/value - This paper presents original estimates of the gender wage gap with an unusual, firm-based sample of workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Population is the property of Springer Nature 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.)

To study the effect of non-exertional heatstroke on serum procalcitonin (PCT) levels. Cohort study. The emergency and intensive care departments of two academic tertiary-care hospitals, Paris, France A total of 53 patients with defined heatstroke attending the emergency department and/or the intensive care unit during the August 2003 heat wave in France. None. Serum PCT measurement using a sensitive assay and vital and routine biological variables on arrival of patients presenting with classic heatstroke. Thirty-day mortality was recorded. Among the 53 patients included, 14 (26%) were admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). At 30 days, 24 patients (45%) had died. Median PCT value was 0.58 μg/l (95% confidence interval 0.16–1.61) and 31 (58%) patients had PCT above 0.2 μg/l (PCT+). Temperature above or equal to 40 °C was the only variable significantly associated with fatal outcome. Median PCT values were 1.4 μg/l (0.16–4.71) and 0.18 μg/l (0.12–1.61) in the group of deceased and surviving patients respectively ( p = 0.22). All patients admitted in ICU had elevated PCT values. Patients PCT+ initially presented with a more pronounced systemic inflammatory response. Microbiologically or clinically documented infection was not more frequent in PCT+ group. High serum PCT levels can be observed in heatstroke without any concomitant documented bacterial infection. The PCT is not a valid mortality predictor in heatstroke but could be an indicator of the severity of illness. Heatstroke could represent a model of a “non-septic” pathway of PCT synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]