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Résumé: Les thérapies à médiation animale font l'objet d'un grand intérêt dans la prise en charge des maladies neurocognitives. Nous avons étudié les effets de la thérapie assistée par le poney (TAP) sur le comportement de personnes ayant des troubles neurocognitifs en Ehpad. Une étude d'intervention avec un plan expérimental d'étude de type cas-croisé (cross-over) a été réalisée sur deux mois pour 15 participants. Ce groupe a été étudié durant deux périodes, une avec TAP et une sans TAP. Un groupe contrôle de 8 autres participants sans séances de TAP aussi été étudié. L'apathie et l'anxiété ont été évaluées au moyen de l'échelle NPI-R. Le comportement de la personne durant deux séances de TAP et une séance d'animation a été évalué avec l'échelle ECPAI. Cette échelle produit un score positif reflétant l'engagement dans l'activité et un score d'indifférence reflétant un comportement apathique. Dans l'étude croisée, l'engagement est plus important dans l'interaction résident/poney que dans l'interaction résident/animateur (p < 0,01). Le score ECPAI reflétant le comportement apathique est significativement plus faible durant l'interaction avec l'animal que dans l'interaction avec l'animateur (p < 0,01). Le score reflétant l'engagement est plus important dans l'interaction avec le poney pour les personnes suivies en thérapie que pour le groupe contrôle en situation d'interaction avec l'animateur (p < 0,01). Ces premiers résultats sont encourageants. Ils rejoignent les conclusions des études menées sur la médiation animale et confirment les observations cliniques recueillies. Context: Experienced in psychomotricity in two nursing homes, pony-assisted therapy shows first positive effects on psycho-behavioral symptoms. Recognized in the field of disability and psychiatry, this form of therapy is not developed in gerontology. Objectives: To measure the effects of this therapy on the behavior of elderly people with neurocognitive disorders living in long-term care and especially on the involvement in this activity. Anxiety and apathy were chosen as the measurement criteria. Methods: An intervention study with an experimental cross-study design was conducted over two months for 23 subjects. An intervention group was studied during a period with TAP and a period without TAP. Another group without intervention was also studied. All participants were assessed before and after intervention with the NPI-R scale. The engagement during two TAP sessions and one animation time was also evaluated with the ECPAI scale. Results: In the crossover study, positive engagement is more important in participant/pony interaction than in participant/facilitator interaction (p<0.01). The ECPAI score reflecting apathetic behavior was significantly decreased during interaction with the animal than in the interaction with the facilitator in patients undergoing therapy (p<0.01). The ECPAI score reflecting engagement is greater in pony interaction for participants in therapy than in the control group in facilitator interaction (p<0.01). There is no significant change in the scores for the anxiety and apathy items on the NPI-R scale. Conclusion: TAP participates in the positive engagement of the elderly people in the interaction with the animal. These results are consistent with the conclusions of the studies on animal mediation and confirm the clinical observations collected. TAP could work by improving self-esteem and valuing all of the person's preserved abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sl-ERF.B.3 (Solanum lycopersicum ethylene response factor B.3) gene encodes for a tomato transcription factor of the ERF (ethylene responsive factor) family. Our results of real-time RT-PCR showed that Sl-ERF.B.3 is an abiotic stress responsive gene, which is induced by cold, heat, and flooding, but downregulated by salinity and drought. To get more insight into the role of Sl-ERF.B.3 in plant response to separate salinity and cold, a comparative study between wild type and two Sl-ERF.B.3 antisense transgenic tomato lines was achieved. Compared with wild type, Sl-ERF.B.3 antisense transgenic plants exhibited a salt stress dependent growth inhibition. This inhibition was significantly enhanced in shoots but reduced in roots, leading to an increased root to shoot ratio. Furthermore, the cold stress essay clearly revealed that introducing antisense Sl-ERF.B.3 in transgenic tomato plants reduces their cell injury and enhances their tolerance against 14?d of cold stress. All these results suggest that Sl-ERF.B.3 gene is involved in plant response to abiotic stresses and may play a role in the layout of stress symptoms under cold stress and in growth regulation under salinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sl-ERF.B.3 (Solanum lycopersicum ethylene response factor B.3) gene encodes for a tomato transcription factor of the ERF (ethylene responsive factor) family. Our results of real-time RT-PCR showed that Sl-ERF.B.3 is an abiotic stress responsive gene, which is induced by cold, heat, and flooding, but downregulated by salinity and drought. To get more insight into the role of Sl-ERF.B.3 in plant response to separate salinity and cold, a comparative study between wild type and two Sl-ERF.B.3 antisense transgenic tomato lines was achieved. Compared with wild type, Sl-ERF.B.3 antisense transgenic plants exhibited a salt stress dependent growth inhibition. This inhibition was significantly enhanced in shoots but reduced in roots, leading to an increased root to shoot ratio. Furthermore, the cold stress essay clearly revealed that introducing antisense Sl-ERF.B.3 in transgenic tomato plants reduces their cell injury and enhances their tolerance against 14 d of cold stress. All these results suggest that Sl-ERF.B.3 gene is involved in plant response to abiotic stresses and may play a role in the layout of stress symptoms under cold stress and in growth regulation under salinity.