Big Picnic: Big Questions - Engaging the public with Responsible Research and Innovation on Food Security

Big Picnic: Big Questions - Engaging the public with Responsible Research and Innovation on Food Security' is a new European Union project on food security, funded of Horizon 2020, for three years period. It operates in 18 European institutions ans one African, coordinated by Botanic Garden Conservation International (BGCI). The Big Picnic is working with the public to open up the debate on the future of our food. The project aim is to encourage collaboration and conversation to build public understanding of food security issues and enable people to articulate their views to decision makers. Due to the international cooperation and engagement of various actors, representing different interests related to the food it is going to support local communities and find solutions that might be implemented. It offers various types of activities, participatory events, travelling exhibitions designed through joint creative collaboration in local context and science cafes. Botanic Garden Meise is situated close to Brussels and spanning 92 hectares. The mission of Botanic Garden Meise is to increase and disseminate knowledge about plants and fungi and to contribute to biodiversity conservation. Garden has a long tradition of collaboration with several African botanic gardens and research about food crops important for Africa. In the framework of Big Picnic project Botanic Garde Meise is developing activities around four main topics. The first focus is 'sustainable catering' - how can organisations make their catering more sustainable and meanwhile inform and sensitize their clients about sustainable food? The second focus, called 'your food - our food' will bring Belgians of different cultural backgrounds together to discuss and learn about each other's food traditions and food security problems. A third focus, 'So sweet', explores the role bees and pollination play in our food security. Finally, a fourth focus will explore traditional, biocultural and innovative ways of food production and transportation

Blinking when talking depends on the receiver: the case of nursing mothers

During nursing, a mother faces an infant who does not speak and hardly blinks. We established the eye-blinking rate in this special interactive context for comparison with the high rate repeatedly reported in between adult conversation. The 22 mothers we observed during bottle-feeding blinked much less—especially when talking to their infant—than when talking with another adult. Nursing may have put mothers in a state of concentration that inhibits blinking. So, we propose that the frequent blinks usually displayed during conversations may depend on intentions or expectations about the receiver, which maybe modulated by the affective state

Overview of central banks’ in-house credit assessment systems in the euro area

Los sistemas de evaluación del crédito desarrollados internamente por los bancos centrales nacionales (ICAS) son una fuente importante de valoración del riesgo de crédito dentro del marco de los activos de garantía de política monetaria del Eurosistema. En particular, los ICAS permiten que las entidades financieras aporten los préstamos concedidos a sociedades no financieras como garantía en las operaciones crediticias en las que se instrumenta la política monetaria del Eurosistema. En este sentido, los ICAS contribuyen a que los préstamos puedan ser utilizados como colateral, dado que generalmente no son aceptados como tal en la operativa privada de repos, y benefician potencialmente en mayor medida a los bancos de tamaño mediano o pequeño que financian a las pymes. Esto último conduce no solo a una ampliación del conjunto de activos de garantía disponibles en las entidades financieras y a una mejora del mecanismo de transmisión de la política monetaria, sino también a una menor dependencia de fuentes externas de valoración del riesgo de crédito, como las agencias externas de calificación. La importancia de los ICAS se ha puesto de manifiesto en las medidas aprobadas por el Eurosistema en abril de 2020 en respuesta a la crisis del COVID-19. Dichas medidas apoyaron un mayor uso de los préstamos como activos de garantía e, indirectamente, incrementaron la importancia de los ICAS como fuente de valoración del colateral. Este documento analiza en detalle el papel de los ICAS en el contexto de las operaciones crediticias de política monetaria del Eurosistema, describiendo las guías y los requerimientos más relevantes exigidos a los ICAS en términos, entre otros factores, de la estimación de las probabilidades de impago, el papel de los modelos estadísticos frente al análisis experto, la información utilizada en el proceso de evaluación y la validación periódica de su funcionamiento. Adicionalmente, describe los principales aspectos de cada uno de los ICAS actualmente aceptados como sistema de calificación por el Eurosistema, destacando tanto sus elementos comunes como los diferenciales.The in-house credit assessment systems (ICASs) developed by euro area national central banks (NCBs) are an important source of credit risk assessment within the Eurosystem collateral framework. They allow counterparties to mobilise as collateral the loans (credit claims) granted to non-financial corporations (NFCs). In this way, ICASs increase the usability of non-marketable credit claims that are normally not accepted as collateral in private market repo transactions, especially for small and medium-sized banks that lend primarily to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This ultimately leads not only to a widened collateral base and an improved transmission mechanism of monetary policy, but also to a lower reliance on external sources of credit risk assessment such as rating agencies. The importance of ICASs is exemplified by the collateral easing measures adopted in April 2020 in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. The measures supported the greater use of credit claim collateral and, indirectly, increased the prevalence of ICASs as a source of collateral assessment. This paper analyses in detail the role of ICASs in the context of the Eurosystem’s credit operations, describing the relevant Eurosystem guidelines and requirements in terms of, among other factors, the estimation of default probabilities, the role of statistical models versus expert analysis, input data, validation analysis and performance monitoring. It then presents the main features of each of the ICASs currently accepted by the Eurosystem as credit assessment systems, highlighting similarities and differences

Predictors of patients’ choices for breast-conserving therapy or mastectomy: a prospective study

A study was undertaken to describe the treatment preferences and choices of patients with breast cancer, and to identify predictors of undergoing breast-conserving therapy (BCT) or mastectomy (MT). Consecutive patients with stage I/II breast cancer were eligible. Information about predictor variables, including socio-demographics, quality of life, patients' concerns, decision style, decisional conflict and perceived preference of the surgeon was collected at baseline, before decision making and surgery. Patients received standard information (n = 88) or a decision aid (n = 92) as a supplement to support decision making. A total of 180 patients participated in the study. In all, 72% decided to have BCT (n = 123); 28% chose MT (n = 49). Multivariate analysis showed that what patients perceived to be their surgeons' preference and the patients' concerns regarding breast loss and local tumour recurrence were the strongest predictors of treatment preference. Treatment preferences in itself were highly predictive of the treatment decision. The decision aid did riot influence treatment choice. The results of this study demonstrate that patients' concerns and their perceptions of the treatment preferences of the physicians are important factors in patients' decision making. Adequate information and communication are essential to base treatment decisions on realistic concerns, and the treatment preferences of patients, (C) 2004 Cancer Research U

Etch rate modification by implantation of oxide and polysilicon forplanar double gate MOS fabrication

In the context of transistor size miniaturization the motivation of this work was focused on the fabrication process of planar double gate devices. We proposed in this work three process flows based on the use of buried mask which could allow the fabrication of self-aligned planar double gate transistors. The novel concept of buried mask consists into modifying the etch rate of a buried polysilicon or oxide layer. This etch rate modification being defined by ion implantation, etch stop or scacrificial zones aligned with the implantation mask can thus be fabricated. This technique solve the alignment of the front and back gate. Ion implantation causes damages to the implanted target, and is used to dope semiconductor material. If the implanted atoms have a small radii they can induce stress to the implanted lattice. These three consequences of ion implantation, damage, doping and stress are used to modify the etch rate of oxide and polysilicon. High etching selectivity are reached, which allow the fabrication of a localized buried sacrificial or etch stop zone, called buried mask. The definition of the buried mask being done by ion implantation, it opens the possibility to fabricate a buried mask aligned with the implantation mask. Although some more work has to be invested to fabricate planar double gate MOS using buried mask in polysilicon, this concept of buried mask, which could also be called anisotropic wet and vapor etching, is foreseen as a very promising technique in MEMS micromachining and for bio sensor applications.(FSA 3)--UCL, 200

La relation médecin-patient vers la décision partagée, un nouveau champ d’investigation en psychologie de la santé

En raison de l’évolution de la médecine et des mentalités, la relation entre le médecin et le patient a elle-même profondément évolué. Elle implique aujourd’hui non seulement l’information du patient mais également son implication dans la décision thérapeutique. Nous proposons une revue critique des différents modèles théoriques de relation thérapeutique, allant du modèle paternaliste au modèle de décision partagée. Cette analyse permet de mieux comprendre pourquoi ce dernier est désigné comme le modèle idéal tout en restant difficile à appliquer et ouvre ainsi de nouvelles perspectives de recherche et d’application clinique pour les psychologues de la santé.Charavel Marie. La relation médecin-patient vers la décision partagée, un nouveau champ d’investigation en psychologie de la santé. In: Bulletin de psychologie, tome 56 n°463, 2003. pp. 79-88

Impact de la pose précoce préopératoire d'un cathéter ilio fascial à visée antalgique dans la fracture de l'extrémité supérieure du fémur chez le patient de plus de 75 ans : étude « SURF »

Introduction: The hip fracture is a frequent pathology of the elderly and has serious consequences in terms of morbidity and mortality. At one year post-fracture, 20% of patients have lost the ability to walk, 30 to 50% are partially dependent, and 30% are totally dependent. The main factors limiting functional recovery are pain and communication disorders, which may result from analgesic drug iatrogeny. Early optimisation of walking rehabilitation is therefore essential, and requires optimal analgesia, with the lowest possible iatrogenicity, in order to prevent loss of independence. The aim of our study is to evaluate the effects of prolonged analgesia through early placement of an iliofascial catheter (IFC) on functional and motor recovery. Method: We designed a multicentre study, on the orthogeriatric units on the CHU Grenoble Alpes, CHU Saint-Etienne, CHU Clermont Ferrand, CHU Lyon Edouard Herriot and CHU Lyon Sud. This is a prospective, randomized, controlled, double-blind study of Ropivacaine treatment administered via a continuous ilio-fascial peri-nervous catheter preoperatively versus placebo in patients aged 75 years or older admitted for ESF. We will study the effects of this perioperative pre-habilitation on the time to return to walking in the postoperative period, defined as a displacement of 3 meters or more. Results: Our initial hypothesis aims to demonstrate a 30% improvement in the time to return to walking in patients receiving IFC. The number of subjects needed to demonstrate this difference is 260, over a 2-year inclusion period. Conclusion: This study could allow the integration of IFC in the management of patients over 75 years of age admitted for hip fracture.Introduction : La fracture de l’extrémité supérieure du fémur (FESF) est une pathologie fréquente du sujet âgé et présente de lourdes conséquences en terme de morbi-mortalité. A un an post-fracturaire, 20% des patients ont perdu la capacité de marcher, 30 à 50% présentent une dépendance partielle, et une dépendance totale est constatée pour 30% des patients. Les principaux facteurs limitants de récupération fonctionnelle sont la douleur, ainsi que les troubles de la communication, pouvant découler d’une iatrogénie médicamenteuse analgésique. Une optimisation précoce de la réhabilitation à la marche est donc primordiale, et passe par une analgésie optimale, avec une iatrogénie la plus faible possible, afin de prévenir la perte d’indépendance. Notre étude vise à évaluer les effets d’une analgésie prolongée par la mise en place précoce d’un cathéter péri-nerveux ilio-fascial (CAIF), sur la récupération fonctionnelle et motrice. Méthode : Nous avons conçu une étude multicentrique, sur les centres d’orthogériatrie des CHU Grenoble Alpes, CHU DE Saint-Etienne, CHU De Clermont Ferrand, CHU Lyon Edouard Herriot et CHU Lyon Sud. Il s’agit d’une étude prospective, randomisée, contrôlée, en double aveugle, du traitement par Ropivacaïne administrée par l’intermédiaire d’un cathéter péri nerveux ilio-fascial en continue en préopératoire contre placebo chez les patients de 75 ans ou plus admis pour une FESF. Nous étudierons les effets de cette pré habilitation péri opératoire sur les délais de reprise de la marche sur la période post-opératoire, défini par un déplacement de 3 mètres ou plus. Résultats : Notre hypothèse de départ vise à mettre en évidence une amélioration du délai de reprise de la marche de 30% chez les patients bénéficiant d’un CAIF. Le nombre de sujets nécessaire pour mettre en évidence cette différence est de 260, sur une période d’inclusion de 2 ans. Conclusion : Cette étude pourrait permettre d’intégrer le CAIF dans la prise en charge des patients de plus de 75 ans admis pour une FESF