Search

Models at runtime have been initially investigated for adaptive systems. Models are used as a reflective layer of the current state of the system to support the implementation of a feedback loop. More recently, models at runtime have also been identified as key for supporting the development of full-fledged digital twins. However, this use of models at runtime raises new challenges, such as the ability to seamlessly interact with the past, present, and future states of the system. In this paper, we propose a framework called DataTime to implement models at runtime which capture the state of the system according to the dimensions of both time and space, here modeled as a directed graph where both nodes and edges bear local states (i.e., values of properties of interest). DataTime offers a unifying interface to query the past, present, and future (predicted) states of the system. This unifying interface provides (i) an optimized structure of the time series that capture the past states of the system, possibly evolving over time, (ii) the ability to get the last available value provided by the system's sensors, and (iii) a continuous micro-learning over graph edges of a predictive model to make it possible to query future states, either locally or more globally, thanks to a composition law. The framework has been developed and evaluated in the context of the Intelligent Public Transportation Systems of the city of Rennes (France). This experimentation has demonstrated how DataTime can be used for managing data from the past, the present, and the future and facilitate the development of digital twins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Écrans is the property of Classiques Garnier 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.)

Mass graves are usually key historical markers with strong incentive for archeological investigations. The identification of individuals buried in mass graves has long benefitted from traditional historical, archaeological, anthropological and paleopathological techniques. The addition of novel methods including genetic, genomic and isotopic geochemistry have renewed interest in solving unidentified mass graves. In this study, we demonstrate that the combined use of these techniques allows the identification of the individuals found in two Breton historical mass graves, where one method alone would not have revealed the importance of this discovery. The skeletons likely belong to soldiers from the two enemy armies who fought during a major event of Breton history: the siege of Rennes in 1491, which ended by the wedding of the Duchess of Brittany with the King of France and signaled the end of the independence of the region. Our study highlights the value of interdisciplinary approaches with a particular emphasis on increasingly accurate isotopic markers. The development of the sulfur isoscape and testing of the triple isotope geographic assignment are detailed in a companion paper [13]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deterioration and cost‐effective maintenance of infrastructure has for many years been an area of social and financial importance. The deterioration of the wastewater infrastructure is particularly important because of its key role in the maintenance of public health for urban conglomerations. This paper describes two case studies that are taken from an ongoing study of the sewerage network in the Municipality of Rennes, France. Both studies concern spun concrete pipes laid approximately 55 years ago. The first case is that of a sewer in good order because of its location within the network and its design. The second case describes a sewer that has been oversized and the conditions within the reach of the sewer have led to sulphide attack. It is concluded that two important considerations that must be taken into account is the design detailing and appropriate selection of materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As pointed out by some scholars, the public response to homelessness and poverty changed dramatically with the pandemic (Parsell et al., 2020) as public stakeholders decided to spend additional fundings for homelessness and poverty policies. However, these interventions were often thought of as a means to reduce the threat to the health of the non-homeless population (Parsell et al., 2020) and were led by local governments which remain reluctant to provide the necessary resources for ending homelessness (Evans et al., 2021). As these public interventions were insufficient and took a long time to be implemented, grassroots organizations were often at the forefront of the crisis for providing resources to the most marginalized people. Drawing on this basis, this paper aims at understanding the role taken by a grassroots organization in Rennes (a medium-sized city in France) during the pandemic. I focus on a local grassroots organization which worked independently of the state and developed informal practices to deliver food to people experiencing homelessness and food insecure households. In this perspective, they managed to compete with professional and state-funded service providers and the pandemic shed light on the efficiency of their practices, based on unconditionality and empowerment. Through observant participation and interviews with the grassroots organization's managers, volunteers and public stakeholders, I argue that, during the pandemic, this grassroots organization was not only a "buffer to state absence and neglect" (De Verteuil, 2017, p.1518), but it also managed to put forward some of their claims, hence challenging the "reticent state" (Evans et al., 2021) and steering public policies into more compassionate ways to address food insecurity. • Coeurs Résistants , a grassroots organization located in Rennes (France), managed to subvert neoliberal welfare practices based on imposing access conditions, by itself providing food without conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. • The crisis was an opportunity for this organization to influence the municipal government and local stakeholders to move away from national government requirements, for promoting unconditionality in food provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Écrans is the property of Classiques Garnier 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.)

The article presents information on the proceedings of the International Scientific Commission on the Family's second international seminar that was held in Rennes, France during April 10-13, 1969. The central theme was "The Images and Counter-Images of Young Families." Participants who presented their papers during the seminar included: Clio Presvelou, John Mogey and Bernard Farber.

Copyright of Lien Social et Politiques is the property of Institut National de Recherche Scientifique (INRS) 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.)

Marie Rouault was a French-born self-made paleontologist who left school at the age of 10. He then worked as a shepherd and spent a considerable portion of his life as a barber. During this period, he developed a keen interest in the rocks surrounding the city of Rennes in Brittany, northwestern France. All his free time was spent collecting the prolific fossils that he encountered. His collection grew to such an extent that he opened a private museum and he attracted the attention of notable geologists in Paris. Finally, in 1853, the municipality decided to create, a "Geological Museum" of which he became, Director-Curator. On his appointment, he donated his samples to the city, part of which were placed at the Town Hall, the rest remained at his residence. On 28 July 1875 Rouault was informed that the Rennes City Council demanded the creation of a commission of inquiry. The results of this survey were catastrophic for Rouault and he was ultimately dismissed. Despite his early scientific success, Rouault did not publish anything for a period of 20 years (1858 to 1878). This sad end to Rouault's career terminated with his death on December 16, 1881. From an ichnological point of view his most significant publications were done in 1850 and in a book following his death entitled Oeuvres Posthumes de Marie Rouault edited and augmented by Paul Lebesconte a pharmacist and amateur geologist from Rennes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • The metabolic rift analytical framework was implemented and discussed. • The methodology adopted in the article coupling quantitative and qualitative data concerning organic waste flows. • The data enables us to apprehend metabolic rift in terms of social, ecological and individual dimension. • Urban metabolism is affected to an equal extent by political and socio-economic processes. Abstract This work contributes to the urban agriculture field of investigation in one aspect that remains lightly explored: the coupling of material and social dimensions in urban metabolisms studies. This paper offers an urban metabolism path investigation, which aims at confronting the flows of organic waste, the practices of the city-dwellers and the strategies of public bodies. We've applied the "metabolic rift" theoretical framework, established by McClintock (2010), to explore the ecological, social and individual dimensions of organic waste management in Rennes Metropolitan Area (France). In this way, the trajectory of the Rennes Metropolitan waste programs, the material flow analysis of biomass, and the study of inhabitants' composting practices have allowed us apprehending the metabolic rift between its social dimension (the decommodification of land, food, and labor), its ecological dimension (short-loop recycling by distributing compost to participants or other users), and its individual dimension (de-alienation from nature). The strengths and weaknesses relating to these three dimensions are then discussed to bring out some opportunities and threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the 2011 Journée Science et Musique , Science and Music Day, held at the Université de Rennes in Rennes, France.

The use of renewable energy sources (RES) has increased exponentially worldwide, as an alternative to the indiscriminate use of fossil fuels and to mitigate their effects on the environment. Cuba is not lagging behind in this development since the government's plan until 2030 includes the contribution of renewable sources as a fundamental component in the national energy mix. This paper models possible scenarios based on 2019 statistics for achieving a 25% and 100% penetration of renewable sources by 2030 in the Isla de la Juventud's (an island south of the main island of Cuba) electrical power system (EPS). This modeling is carried out utilizing and open source Excel-based accounting framework Long-range Integrated Development Analysis (LINDA). For this purpose, international and national trends in the use and development of renewable energy sources and the influence of the characteristics of each renewable source (wind, solar, biodiesel, battery storage) were analyzed. The analysis of Isla de la Juventud's electrical power system was based on the characteristics of its energy mix, the possibilities of renewable energy penetration and the current and future energy demand by sector. Based on the analysis, two probable scenarios were modeled with LINDA model: a 25% renewable energy-based scenario (RENES) and a 100% renewables-based scenario (MAXRES). Results from RENES and MAXRES scenarios show high penetration of renewable energy sources in electricity generation is theoretically possible with the abundance of renewable energy resources, and thus it is possible for Cuba to move towards 100% renewable energy mix. However, the choices regarding the best fit energy mix need to be carefully analyzed in order to design a least cost system that answers the needs of the future demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apixaban and rivaroxaban have first-line use for many patients needing anticoagulation for venous thromboembolism (VTE). The pharmacokinetics of these drugs in non-obese subjects have been extensively studied, and, while changes in pharmacokinetics have been documented in obese patients, data remain scarce for these anticoagulants. The aim of this study was to perform an external validation of published population pharmacokinetic (PPK) models of apixaban and rivaroxaban in a cohort of obese patients with VTE. A literature search was conducted in the PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Embase databases following the PRISMA statement. External validation was performed using MonolixSuite software, using prediction-based and simulation-based diagnostics. An external validation dataset from the university hospitals of Brest and Rennes, France, included 116 apixaban pharmacokinetic samples from 69 patients and 121 rivaroxaban samples from 81 patients. Five PPK models of apixaban and 16 models of rivaroxaban were included, according to the inclusion criteria of the study. Two of the apixaban PPK models presented acceptable performances, whereas no rivaroxaban PPK model did. This study identified two published models of apixaban applicable to apixaban in obese patients with VTE. However, none of the rivaroxaban models evaluated were applicable. Dedicated studies appear necessary to elucidate rivaroxaban pharmacokinetics in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The uncertainty relation is regarded as a remarkable feature of quantum mechanics differing from the classical counterpart, and it plays a backbone role in the region of quantum information theory. In principle, the uncertainty relation offers a nontrivial limit to predict the outcome of arbitrarily incompatible observed variables. Therefore, to pursue a more general uncertainty relations ought to be considerably important for obtaining accurate predictions of multi-observable measurement results in genuine multipartite systems. In this article, we derive a generalized entropic uncertainty relation (EUR) for multi-measurement in a multipartite framework. It is proved that the bound we proposed is stronger than the one derived from Renes et al. in [Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 020402 (2009)] for the arbitrary multipartite case. As an illustration, we take several typical scenarios that confirm that our proposed bound outperforms that presented by Renes et al. Hence, we believe our findings provide generalized uncertainty relations with regard to multi-measurement setting, and facilitate the EUR's applications on quantum precision measurement regarding genuine multipartite systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ever-growing portion of the global population lives in urban areas. Cities are expanding quickly and consequently, the urban heat island effect has become a major health concern to maintain city dwellers' thermal comfort. For this reason, city planners want to access urban meteorological databases in local areas where specific attention is needed. With the growth of connected devices, it is possible to collect unusual but massive temperature measurements from people's activities. In this article, we study temperatures measured by thermometers embedded in everyday personal cars. To assess the quality of such opportunistic data, we first detect factors deteriorating the measurement. After preprocessing, the measurement error is then estimated thanks to two weather station networks providing a local-scale reference through the cities of Dijon and Rennes, France. The overall aggregation of private car temperature measurements allows us to estimate very precisely the urban heat island at a 200-m resolution. We detect the cooling effect of parks in Rennes and Paris urban areas. In Barcelona and Dijon, we observe the impact of regional environments and the orographic effect on the urban heat island. With our method, similar maps can be made accessible to every interested city in western Europe to target critical areas and support urban planning decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The objective of this paper is to describe our experience in developing a tool based on web technologies, for storing, managing and providing medical courses written by professors in the medical university of Rennes. The increasing number of documents sent by professors leaded us to build a specific resource management system. We created a relational database, containing all meta information about each available document. Professors provide their courses in various formats. We use natural language parsing techniques to extract information from the text, and provide a proper semantic indexation which will be used by a medical-specific search engine. Then the content of our database is dynamically displayed on a web interface. A user''s directory identifies teachers and students, controls the access, tracks the students’ navigation and allows an on-line discussion forum. This portal contains 524 courses and we had more than 3,000,000 connections on it last year. We are now integrating its content using the semantic web approach in a larger project: the French Virtual Medical University. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We analyze dynamical properties of the logarithmic Schrödinger equation under a quadratic potential. The sign of the nonlinearity is such that it is known that in the absence of external potential, every solution is dispersive, with a universal asymptotic profile. The introduction of a harmonic potential generates solitary waves, corresponding to generalized Gaussons. We prove that they are orbitally stable, using an inequality related to relative entropy, which may be thought of as dual to the classical logarithmic Sobolev inequality. In the case of a partial confinement, we show a universal dispersive behavior for suitable marginals. For repulsive harmonic potentials, the dispersive rate is dictated by the potential, and no universal behavior must be expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grafts from donors with cardiac death (DCD) are subject to warm ischemia time (WIT) due to the no‐touch‐period (20 min in Italy and 5 min in France). These livers (LT) have higher rates of early allograft dysfunction (EAD), primary non‐function (PNF), and ischemic cholangiopathy (IC) compared to LT from brain dead donors (DBD). Normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) is a beneficial strategy to mitigate organ damage; a further approach is the application of ex vivo hypothermic oxygenated perfusion (HOPE) after cold storage (CS). We retrospectively analyzed LTs performed from 2016 to 2019 at three transplant centers using NRP‐DCD grafts: Bologna and Milan treated with HOPE (group A), Rennes preserved using CS (group B). No‐flow period, total and functional WIT were significantly higher in group A than in group B (30.5±7.7 vs. 20.5±4.1; 56.5±20.4 vs. 39.1±21.6; 41.9±12.5 vs. 25.5±3.7; respectively, P <.05), without differences in the postoperative course. In particular, the two groups had similar rates of EAD (21.1% vs. 25.0%), PNF (5.3% vs. 6.3%), IC (0% vs. 12.5%, P =.112), and non‐IC biliary complications (0% vs. 6.3%, P =.457), re‐LT (10.5% vs.12.5%). This occurred despite a high rate of UK DCD risk score > 10 (63.2% A vs. 17.6% B, P =.000), which theoretically would make a large number of these transplants "futile." In conclusion, Italian and French groups had similar post‐LT outcomes, probably related to the use of HOPE after CS in the case of long WIT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eocene–Oligocene Transition (EOT) marks the onset of the Antarctic glaciation and the switch from greenhouse to icehouse climates. However, the driving mechanisms and the precise timing of the EOT remain controversial mostly due to the lack of well-dated stratigraphic records, especially in continental environments. Here we present a cyclo-magnetostratigraphic and sedimentological study of a ∼ 7.6 Myr long lacustrine record spanning the late Eocene to the earliest Oligocene, from a drill core in the Rennes Basin (France). Cyclostratigraphic analysis of natural gamma radiation (NGR) log data yields duration estimates of Chrons C12r through C16n.1n, providing additional constraints on the Eocene timescale. Correlations between the orbital eccentricity curve and the 405 kyr tuned NGR time series indicate that 33.71 and 34.10 Ma are the most likely proposed ages of the EO boundary. Additionally, the 405 kyr tuning calibrates the most pronounced NGR cyclicity to a period of ∼ 1 Myr, matching the g1–g5 eccentricity term, supporting its significant expression in continental depositional environments, and hypothesizing that the paleolake level may have behaved as a low-pass filter for orbital forcing. Two prominent changes in the sedimentary facies were detected across the EOT, which are temporally equivalent to the two main climatic steps, EOT-1 and Oi-1. We suggest that these two facies changes reflect the two major Antarctic cooling/glacial phases via the hydrological cycle, as significant shifts to drier and cooler climate conditions. Finally, the interval spanning the EOT precursor glacial event through EOT-1 is remarkably dominated by obliquity. This suggests preconditioning of the major Antarctic glaciation, either from obliquity directly affecting the formation/(in)stability of the incipient Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS), or through obliquity modulation of the North Atlantic Deep Water production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Résumé: Les antiagrégants plaquettaires (AAP) exposent à des risques d'hémorragie gastro-intestinale importants. Les inhibiteurs de la pompe à protons (IPP) semblent prévenir ce risque mais leur prise au long cours peut entraîner des effets indésirables et des coûts importants. L'identification des patients devant bénéficier d'une prévention est donc nécessaire. Il existe différentes recommandations quant à cette utilisation des IPP. L'objectif principal de cette étude était d'évaluer le respect des recommandations de gastro-protection par IPP pour les patients traités par AAP au centre hospitalo-universitaire de Rennes. L'objectif secondaire était d'étudier les facteurs associés aux prescriptions d'IPP. Pour tous les patients sous AAP le 05 juin 2019, la co-prescription d'un IPP a été recueillie, ainsi que des facteurs de risque connus d'hémorragie. Le respect des recommandations a été analysé ainsi que les facteurs associés à la prescription d'IPP. Parmi les 287 patients inclus, 126 (43,9 %) sont sous IPP. Lorsqu'un IPP est recommandé, il est bien prescrit dans 80 % des cas. Parmi les patients présentant d'autres facteurs de risque non couverts par les recommandations, 56,3 % n'ont pas d'IPP. Aucune justification n'est retrouvée pour 21 % des prescriptions d'IPP. Tous les patients ayant des antécédents d'hémorragie digestive ou un reflux gastro-œsophagien sont sous IPP. Les autres facteurs significativement associés à la prescription d'IPP sont la double anti-agrégation plaquettaire (OR : 4,71 [2,14-10,34]) et l'anticoagulation (OR : 2,92 [1,29-6,63]). Les critères définissant les sujets à risque mériteraient d'être précisés dans les recommandations nationales et les professionnels de santé sensibilisés à évaluer le rapport bénéfice risque des IPP. Antiplatelet agents expose to an important risk of gastro-intestinal bleeding. Proton pump inhibitors (PPI) seem to prevent this risk but their long-term use can be responsible of adverse effects and represents important costs. Identifying patients who would beneficiate of a PPI prevention is necessary. Different guidelines exist regarding this preventive use. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the agreement of PPI prescriptions with the guidelines for patients treated with antiplatelet agents in Rennes' University hospital. The secondary objective was to analyze factors associated with PPI prescription. For all patients with an antiplatelet prescription on 05/06/2019, we searched for co-prescription of a PPI as well as other known bleeding risk factors. We analyzed the agreement with the guidelines as well as the factors associated with PPI prescription. Among the 287 patients included, 126 (43.9%) were treated with a PPI. National guidelines were well respected (>80%) when a PPI was recommended. However, 56.3% of patients presenting other bleeding risk factors, not mentioned in these guidelines, were not protected by a PPI. We found no justification for 21% of all PPI prescriptions. All patients with a history of gastro-intestinal bleeding or gastro-esophageal reflux disease were protected by a PPI. Other factors significantly associated with PPI prescription were dual antiplatelet therapy (OR: 4.71 [2.14-10.34]) and anticoagulation (OR: 2.92 [1.29-6.63]). The criteria which define patients at risk should be better specified in national guidelines. Health professionals should also be sensitized to evaluate the benefit risk ratio of PPI prescription. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2016, Renes et al. were the first to propose complete addition formulas for Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) on Weierstrass curves. With these formulas, the same set of equations can be used for point addition and point doubling, which makes software and hardware implementations less vulnerable to side-channel (SCA) attacks. Further, all inputs are valid, so there is no need for conditional statements handling special cases such as the point at infinity. This paper presents the first ASIC design of the complete addition formulas of Renes et al. Each computation layer in the design is balanced, from the field arithmetic to the point multiplication. The design explores two datapaths: a full-width Montgomery Multiplier ALU (MMALU) with a built-in adder and a serialized version of the MMALU. The interface sizes of the MMALU are optimized through an exploration of the design parameters. The register file size is minimized through an optimal scheduling of the modular operations. The top-level point multiplication is implemented using the Montgomery ladder algorithm, with the additional option of randomizing the execution order of the point operations as a countermeasure against SCA attacks. The implementation results after synthesis are generated using the open source NANGATE45 library. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about the topics discussed during the XXIIIth Annual Colloquium of the International Association of Climatology which was held in Rennes, France on September 1-4, 2010 is presented. Topics include risks and extreme climate events, urban climatology, and agroclimatology. Furthermore, the conference was attended by Florina Grecu, Liliana Zaharia, and Gabriela Iona-Toroimac.

The Bibliothèque nationale de France (BNF), held a conference June 30 through July 1, 2005 in Rennes, France. The BNF will reform its legal depository program in partnership with a network of 26 regional institutions. Regional newspapers will be digitized by regional libraries and national papers by the Paris-based BNF as part of a digitization initiative. BNF plans to work with other libraries to add their manuscript holdings to BNF online catalogs such as CCfr and Gallica.

Background: Climate change poses unprecedented challenges, ranging from global and local policy challenges to personal and social action. Heat-related deaths are largely preventable, but interventions for the most vulnerable populations need improvement. Therefore, the prior identification of high risk areas at the community level is required to better inform planning and prevention. We aimed to demonstrate a simple and flexible conceptual framework relying upon satellite thermal data and other digital data with the goal of easily reproducing this framework in a variety of urban configurations. Results: The study area encompasses Rennes, a medium-sized French city. A Landsat ETM + image (60 m resolution) acquired during a localized heatwave (June 2001) was used to estimate land surface temperature (LST) and derive a hazard index. A land-use regression model was performed to predict the LST. Vulnerability was assessed through census data describing four dimensions (socio-economic status, extreme age, population density and building obsolescence). Then, hazard and vulnerability indices were combined to deliver a heatwave health risk index. The LST patterns were quite heterogeneous, reflecting the land cover mosaic inside the city boundary, with hotspots of elevated temperature mainly observed in the city center. A spatial error regression model was highly predictive of the spatial variation in the LST (RR2 = 0.87) and was parsimonious. Three land cover descriptors (NDVI, vegetation and water fractions) were negatively linked with the LST. A sensitivity analysis (based on an image acquired on July 2000) yielded similar results. Southern areas exhibited the most vulnerability, although some pockets of higher vulnerability were observed northeast and west of the city. The heatwave health risk map showed evidence of infra-city spatial clustering, with the highest risks observed in a north-south central band. Another sensitivity analysis gave a very high correlation between 2000 and 2001 risk indices (r = 0.98, p<10-12). Conclusions: Building on previous work, we developed a reproducible method that can provide guidance for local planners in developing more efficient climate impact adaptations. We recommend, however, using the health risk index together with hazard and vulnerability indices to implement tailored programs because exposure to heat and vulnerability do not require the same prevention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting in Sweden, where the institution originated in 1809, the origins of the ombudsman lie in the desire to control the power of state agencies. Since the 1960s, the profession of ombudsman has grown in the United States, particularly in corporations, universities and government agencies. This current model, sometimes referred to as an organizational ombudsman, works as a designated neutral party, one who is high ranking in an organization, but who is not considered management. In France, since 1973, there has been a government-appointed ombudsman, the 'Mediateur de la Republique'. More recently the Rennes University's ombudsman was launched, created six years ago. The ombudsman provides a free mediation service with the purpose of resolving disputes between students and the Rennes University. The experience of the Rennes University's ombudsman is utilized to examine traditional elements within the organizational ombudsman's role. The history and context of the role and persons in it are discussed in relation to organizational experience, independence, impartiality and neutrality, investigative power, responsibility for recommendations and confidentiality. The implications of these elements in practice are described, and then explored through three case examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of beta-lactamase- producing Capnocytophaga isolates in young children hospitalized in the Pediatric Oncology Department of Hx00F4;pital Sud (Rennes, France) over a ten-year period (1993-2002). Methods: In neutropenic children, a periodic survey of the oral cavity allows a predictive evaluation of the risk of systemic infections by Capnocytophaga spp. In 449 children with cancer, 3,053 samples were collected by oral swabbing and plated on TBBP agar. The susceptibility of Capnocytophaga isolates to five beta-lactams was determined. Results: A total of 440 strains of Capnocytophaga spp. were isolated, 309 (70%) of which were beta-lactamase producers. The beta-lactamase-producing strains were all resistant to cefazolin, 86% to amoxicillin, and 63% to ceftazidime. The proportion of strains resistant to third-generation cephalosporins remained high throughout the ten-year study, while susceptibility to imipenem and amoxicillin combined with clavulanic acid was always conserved. Conclusion: These results highlight the risk of antibiotic failure in Capnocytophaga infections and the importance of monitoring immunosuppressed patients and testing for antibiotic susceptibility and beta-lactamase production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a essay which was delivered on September 24, 1997, at the William Faulkner Centenary France, relating to a dedication at the University of Rennes of a William Faulkner bust.

Invited for the cover of this issue are the groups of Eric Collet from Université de Rennes 1, France, and Shin‐ichi Ohkoshi from The University of Tokyo, Japan. The cover image shows the application of X‐ray diffraction at the synchrotron to study photoinduced phase transition in charge‐transfer systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]