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The current state of knowledge indicates that regular sports practice helps prevent and treat non-communicable diseases. The promotion of sport is, therefore, an important community health intervention for maintaining and improving the health of individuals and populations. Culture is identified as being associated with sports practice and sedentary behaviour of ethnic and national minorities. This study aims qualitatively to analyse the potential for culture as a basis for the promotion of sport among immigrants in four regions of Mediterranean Europe. Ten focus groups (n = 62) were conducted with immigrants—adults and young people over the age of 11—and people involved in promoting sport. Thematic content analysis was conducted. The results enabled identifying two major issues: sport as a vehicle for cultural expression and synergies between sport and culture. Accordingly, sport serves to express global, local and non-ethno-national cultural belonging. Regarding synergies, culture and sport feed each other positively and contribute to immigrants' health and cultural well-being. Culture as a strategy for promoting sports practice requires an interdisciplinary approach that involves collaboration between healthcare practitioners and social sciences professionals. There is also a need to use the various axes of cultural definition—global, local and non-ethno-national—of those involved, and for them to take part themselves in designing sports activities. Moreover, promoting sport through non-ethno-national axes of cultural definition may help with immigrants' social inclusion, as intercultural relations between migrants and newcomers are promoted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our research provides real-life data showing a significant reduction in the number of respiratory patients referred to allergy specialists, the number of new AIT administered and also changes in qualitative prescription patterns during the first COVID-19 pandemic peak, that only partially recovered after the lockdown. Indeed, a higher risk of prescribing less AIT was recorded among doctors reporting their patients having a different attitude towards AIT (OR 6.140 [95% IC 1.714-24.995], I p i = .005). COVID 19 crisis reduced the number of patients attended in allergy departments Aeroallergen immunotherapy prescriptions decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic Among SCIT prescribers, an increase in SLIT prescriptions has been recorded To the Editor, The COVID-19 pandemic represents a global health crisis and a challenge at all societal, economic and health levels. To assess how COVID-19 crisis affected aeroallergen AIT prescription patterns during the lockdown period and the following post peak period, we collected real world data from doctors in Spain and France. [Extracted from the article]

It is unclear whether unemployment exposure, as well as working conditions, can have sustained effects on the health of retirees who are no longer exposed. The aim of the present study is to investigate this issue in 29,281 French retirees from the CONSTANCES cohort in whom the prevalence of suboptimal self-rated health, disability for routine tasks, cardiovascular diseases and cancers is assessed according to lifetime exposure to unemployment and prior working conditions. The analyses are performed retrospectively using multivariable logistic regression models with adjustment for potential confounders such as sex, birth year, parental histories of cardiovascular disease and cancer, social position, retirement age and duration. High lifetime exposure to unemployment is associated with an increased prevalence of suboptimal self-rated health (adjusted odds ratio (95% CI), 1.39 (1.23–1.57)), disability for routine tasks (1.41 (1.26–1.57)) and several cardiovascular diseases including stroke (1.66 (1.19–2.31)), myocardial infarction (1.65 (1.18–2.31)) and peripheral arterial disease (2.38 (1.46–3.90)). Bad prior working conditions are associated with an increased prevalence of disability for routine tasks (1.17 (1.04–1.33)) and cancers (1.27 (1.04–1.54)), notably prostate cancer (1.60 (1.01–2.64)). These findings suggest that unemployment and working conditions have long-term health effects that may cumulate over lifetime, emphasizing that risk evaluation and preventive strategies in retirees, as in workers, should take into account the life-course of individuals in addition to traditional risk factors. • Lifetime unemployment exposure and prior working conditions are associated with retirees' health. • Working conditions and unemployment have long-term health effects that may cumulate over lifetime. • Risk assessment in retirees should take into account life-course events in addition to traditional risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A paleoflood study in the Gardon River gorge in southern France identified extreme floods larger than any modern or historically gauged flood. During the course of our study, an extreme flood on the 8–9th of September 2002 claimed the lives of 21 people and caused millions of Euros worth of damage to the towns and villages along the river. The magnitude of this flood was larger than any known historical flood on record,. However, there is evidence of greater magnitude flood events in the form of slack-water flood deposits preserved in caves elevated 17–19 m above the normal base flow, and up to 3 m above the level reached by the 2002 floodwaters. The stratigraphy and radiocarbon dating show that at least five extreme events occurred during the past 500 years. The discharge estimation associated with these flood units, achieved using the HEC-RAS one dimensional model, indicates that at least three floods were bracketed by discharges between 6850 and 7100 m3 s−1, and at least two floods reached a magnitude above 8000 m3 s−1. Therefore, the extraordinary flood of 2002 was not the largest in the basin. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Background: The visual analog scale (VAS) and the verbally administered numerical rating scale (VNRS) are widely used to assess patients’ pain in a French emergency department (ED). Study objectives: The aim of this study was to know how patients and physicians use these two scales in a French emergency department (ED). Methods: Patients (N =198) and their physicians (N =48) rated the patients’ pain from 0 to 10 using both VAS and VNRS, both at arrival at and on discharge from the ED. Results: The ratings obtained by VAS and VNRS were highly correlated, for both patients and physicians. The Bland–Altman analysis indicated for the patients 95% of the differences between VNRS and VAS ratings were between −2.18 and 1.43 and for the physicians 95% of the differences between the two scales were between −0.80 and 0.67. Conclusion: Systematic differences between the scores on VRS and VAS were small. In addition, VNRS is easier and quicker to administer and more patients are able to use it. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article focuses on a meeting that was held in Villiers-le-Bel, France on the topic of libraries as social links within communities. Part of meeting included a discussion of the riots of 2005 in the region surrounding Paris, France. During this uprising, a number of libraries were burned. Participants discussed possible reasons why libraries in this area were targeted. Participants included librarians and elected officials.

The Grand Sarcoui is a prominent trachytic volcano of the intraplate Quaternary volcanic field of Chaîne des Puys (Massif Central, France), which fulfills basic requirements for being qualified as monogenetic. Grand Sarcoui looks like a simple axisymmetric lava dome, but close observation reveals a complex and dissymmetric structure and composition. The construction of the dome, about 12.5 ka ago, combined both endogenous and exogenous growth which resulted in variable modes of emplacement and textures of the lava. One of its most interesting features is a large (~ 0.29 10 6 m 2 ) fan of deposits bearing hummocks and secondary hydro-eruption craters. Cross sections of these deposits demonstrate that they originated from a sector collapse accompanied by a blast-like event. The dome is covered by a thin layer of lapilli and ash, attributed to a delayed summit eruption which occurred about 10.6 ka ago, surprisingly late after its construction. So, this volcano has, at a reduced scale, features that are more usually observed in large composite volcanoes. However, some of these features differ slightly from those that have been documented to date, and they remain partly unexplained. This shows that monogenetic, well preserved, trachytic lava domes, are uncommon and poorly known, unlike rhyolitic, andesitic and dacitic domes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Importance: Risk factors associated with the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) are unknown. Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) may modify the risk of developing a severe COVID-19 infection, beside identified risk factors such as age and comorbidities., Objective: To describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes in patients with MS and COVID-19 and identify factors associated with COVID-19 severity., Design, Setting, and Participants: The Covisep registry is a multicenter, retrospective, observational cohort study conducted in MS expert centers and general hospitals and with neurologists collaborating with MS expert centers and members of the Société Francophone de la Sclérose en Plaques. The study included patients with MS presenting with a confirmed or highly suspected diagnosis of COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and May 21, 2020., Exposures: COVID-19 diagnosed with a polymerase chain reaction test on a nasopharyngeal swab, thoracic computed tomography, or typical symptoms., Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcome was COVID-19 severity assessed on a 7-point ordinal scale (ranging from 1 [not hospitalized with no limitations on activities] to 7 [death]) with a cutoff at 3 (hospitalized and not requiring supplemental oxygen). We collected demographics, neurological history, Expanded Disability Severity Scale score (EDSS; ranging from 0 to 10, with cutoffs at 3 and 6), comorbidities, COVID-19 characteristics, and outcomes. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate the association of collected variables with COVID-19 outcomes., Results: A total of 347 patients (mean [SD] age, 44.6 [12.8] years, 249 women; mean [SD] disease duration, 13.5 [10.0] years) were analyzed. Seventy-three patients (21.0%) had a COVID-19 severity score of 3 or more, and 12 patients (3.5%) died of COVID-19. The median EDSS was 2.0 (range, 0-9.5), and 284 patients (81.8%) were receiving DMT. There was a higher proportion of patients with a COVID-19 severity score of 3 or more among patients with no DMT relative to patients receiving DMTs (46.0% vs 15.5%; P < .001). Multivariate logistic regression models determined that age (odds ratio per 10 years: 1.9 [95% CI, 1.4-2.5]), EDSS (OR for EDSS ≥6, 6.3 [95% CI. 2.8-14.4]), and obesity (OR, 3.0 [95% CI, 1.0-8.7]) were independent risk factors for a COVID-19 severity score of 3 or more (indicating hospitalization or higher severity). The EDSS was associated with the highest variability of COVID-19 severe outcome (R2, 0.2), followed by age (R2, 0.06) and obesity (R2, 0.01)., Conclusions and Relevance: In this registry-based cohort study of patients with MS, age, EDSS, and obesity were independent risk factors for severe COVID-19; there was no association found between DMTs exposure and COVID-19 severity. The identification of these risk factors should provide the rationale for an individual strategy regarding clinical management of patients with MS during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Importance: The safety and efficacy of switching from natalizumab to fingolimod have not yet been evaluated in a large cohort of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) to our knowledge., Objective: To collect data from patients with MS switching from natalizumab to fingolimod., Design, Setting, and Participants: The Enquête Nationale sur l'Introduction du Fingolimod en Relais au Natalizumab (ENIGM) study, a survey-based, observational multicenter cohort study among MS tertiary referral centers. Participants were patients for whom a switch from natalizumab to fingolimod was planned. Clinical data were collected on natalizumab treatment, duration and management of the washout period (WP), and relapse or adverse events during the WP and after the initiation of fingolimod., Main Outcomes and Measures: Occurrence of MS relapse during the WP or during a 6-month follow-up period after the initiation of fingolimod., Results: Thirty-six French MS tertiary referral centers participated. In total, 333 patients with MS switched from natalizumab to fingolimod after a mean of 31 natalizumab infusions (female to male ratio, 2.36; mean age, 41 years; and Expanded Disability Status Scale score at the initiation of natalizumab, 3.6). Seventy-one percent were seropositive for the JC polyomavirus. The Expanded Disability Status Scale score remained stable for patients receiving natalizumab. Twenty-seven percent of patients relapsed during the WP. A WP shorter than 3 months was associated with a lower risk of relapse (odds ratio, 0.23; P = .001) and with less disease activity before natalizumab initiation (P = .03). Patients who stopped natalizumab because of poor tolerance or lack of efficacy also had a higher risk of relapse (odds ratio, 3.20; P = .004). Twenty percent of patients relapsed during the first 6 months of fingolimod therapy. Three percent stopped fingolimod for efficacy, tolerance, or compliance issues. In the multivariate analysis, the occurrence of relapse during the WP was the only significant prognostic factor for relapse during fingolimod therapy (odds ratio, 3.80; P = .05)., Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, switching from natalizumab to fingolimod was associated with a risk of MS reactivation during the WP or shortly after fingolimod initiation. The WP should be shorter than 3 months.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that intrathecal synthesis of IgM is observed in multiple sclerosis (MS) and correlates with a worse disease course. These results suggest that IgM participates in the formation of MS lesions., Objective: The aim of the present study was to assess the potential association between the level of intrathecal synthesis of IgM measured after a clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) and the subsequent formation of brain lesions., Methods: Fifty seven patients with a CIS and a high risk developing MS were enrolled in a longitudinal study. Examination of cerebrospinal fluid was performed after the CIS and included measures of intrathecal IgM and IgG synthesis. Patients were assessed with the same 1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system at baseline and after a mean follow-up period of 49 months (range 36-60). Spearman Rank correlation was used to assess the potential correlations between levels of intrathecal immunoglobulin synthesis and MRI data., Results: The level of intrathecal IgM synthesis was correlated with the number of gadolinium-enhancing lesions at baseline (p = 0.01) and with accrual of brain lesions during the follow-up period (p = 0.02). By taking into account brain sub-regions, we demonstrated that the level of intrathecal IgM synthesis was only correlated with the increased number of lesions in the periventricular regions (p = 0.004). The level of intrathecal IgG synthesis was not correlated with any MRI data., Conclusion: The present longitudinal study demonstrates that the level of intrathecal IgM synthesis measured after a CIS is associated with subsequent lesion accrual during the first years of MS. This result emphasizes the involvement of IgM in plaque formation.

The impact of lesion location on cognitive functioning was assessed in a group of 97 patients with a clinically isolated syndrome. Using the Brief Repeatable Battery, we evidenced that 24% of patients showed at least one abnormal test, 20% at least two and 15% at least three. Verbal learning performances were inversely associated with presence of lesions in Broca's area, in the right frontal lobe and in the splenium while spatial learning performances were inversely correlated to the presence of lesions in the deep white matter. No associations were evidenced between lesion location and performance of tasks exploring attention and executive functions.

In 1975, the French law on veterinary drug products was adopted. In 1976, the Ceyrac law prohibited the use of oestrogens. After various scandals, Parliament voted unanimously in favour of the "Rocard" law in 1984. This law defined the use of anabolics very strictly. In 1985, the EEC decided to ban anabolics. This ban has resulted in the illegal use of many kinds of substances, a situation which is difficult to control. This has exposed public health to risk, and has perturbed commercial rules and regulations within the EEC countries.

Basic considerations dealing with the biological significance of drug residues and safety evaluation are studied. The specific problem of covalently bound residues is considered from three different points of view. (1) Analytical characteristics clearly distinguish between soluble residues, which deplete relatively fast, and bound material which is slowly eliminated from edible tissues of target animals. (2) These two residual fractions have not the same bioavailability. (3) Finally, toxicity assessment of bound residues is considered.