Recent developments and strategies in pediatric pharmacology research in the USA

Research in pediatric pharmacology has undergone major changes in the last ten years, with an expansion in both publicly and privately funded activities. A number of pharmacokinetics studies and multi-site controlled efficacy trials have been conducted, so that treatment of children and adolescents can now be better informed and evidence-based. Regulatory financial incentives to industry in return for studies on drugs still covered by patent exclusivity have resulted in a substantial increase in pediatric research funded by pharmaceutical companies. In parallel, public funding has supported research on off-patent medications and other clinical important aspects of treatment, such as comparisons between active treatments, including non-pharmacological interventions. With greater interest by industry in pediatric research, the role of government funding agencies has been redefined to avoid duplication and ensure better integration of efforts and utilization of resources. The present review discusses some of the recent developments in pediatric pharmacology with focus on psychiatric medications

Suivi biologique de quatre marais saumâtres à Bourgneuf en Retz et Les Moutiers en Retz (Loire Atlantique)

Le suivi biologique des quatre marais saumâtres de Bourgneuf et des Moutiers-en-Retz réalisé en 1985 (objet d'un précédent rapport), s'est poursuivi en 1986 et 1987. Ce rapport présente les résultats de ces deux dernières années de suivi, cependant les principales caractéristiques physico-chimiques et biologiques ont été analysées en considérant également les données obtenues en 1985

European Administration. Normative Fundaments and Systemic Models

Making use of the relevant literature in the area, this paper proposes a systemic approach to the European administration. The difficulty of the research design stems from the inconsistency of the regulations European treaties exhibit, as well as from the sectorial approaches, mostly of legal nature, on the conceptualization of the EU administration. To this we add the complexity of the analyzed process which, under the conditions set by the EU enlargement tends to overcome, both in sphere and content, many of the administrations of the federal states or international organizations. The systemic model we propose is a complex system, of a mixed architecture. It is there that the self-regulatory processes have a unique specificity and make use of both a legal foundation and of complementary processes such are those of Europeanization, convergence and administrative dynami

Etude de la prolifération des algues vertes dans le bassin d'Arcachon

[Notes_IRSTEA]Nous disposons également du rapport de 1993 (DOC POL 31 bis) de la société d'assainissement du Bassin d'Arcachon [Departement_IRSTEA]GT [TR1_IRSTEA]GT6-Modes d'utilisation de l'espace ruralCette étude a porté uniquement sur l'algue verte Monostroma obscurum dont le développement était largement le plus préoccupant. Devant la lourdeur et la complexité d'une telle étude et dans le délai imparti, il eut été présomptueux et inefficace de vouloir traiter l'ensemble des proliférations observées dans le bassin d'Arcachon. Néanmois, la somme d'observations recueillies au cours de cette étude, confrontée aux résultats des travaux concernant les proliférations d'autres espèces dans d'autres sites, permettra de mieux comprendre les mécanismes d'apparition et de développement de ces phénomènes à travers l'exemple de Monostroma obscurum

Weak interactions between groups and physical drivers of community dynamics in coastal phytoplankton

AbstractPhytoplanktonic communities maintain a high diversity in a seemingly homogeneous environment, competing for the same set of resources. Many theories have been proposed to explain this coexistence despite likely competition, such as contrasted responses to temporal environmental variation. However, theory has developed at a faster pace than its empirical evaluation using field data, that requires to infer biotic and abiotic drivers of community dynamics from observational time series. Here, we combine autoregressive models with a data set spanning more than 20 years of biweekly plankton counts and abiotic variables, including nutrients and physical variables. By comparing models dominated by nutrients or physical variables (hydrodynamics and climate), we first explore which abiotic factors contribute more to phytoplankton growth and decline. We find that physical drivers - such as irradiance, wind, and salinity - explain some of the variability in abundances unexplained by biotic interactions. In contrast, responses to nutrients explain less of phytoplankton variability. Concerning biotic drivers of community dynamics, multivariate autoregressive models reveal that competition between different groups (at the genus level for most) has a much weaker effect on population growth rates than competition within a group. In fact, the few biotic interactions between genera that are detected are frequently positive. Hence, our system is unlikely to be best represented as a set of competitors whose differing responses to fluctuating environments allow coexistence, as in “paradox of the plankton” models with a storage effect or a relative nonlinearity of competition. Coexistence is more likely to result from stabilizing niche differences, manifested through high intragroup density-dependence. Competition between planktonic groups and nutrients are often invoked as drivers of phytoplankton dynamics; our findings suggest instead that more attention should be given to the physical structure of the environment and natural enemies, for coastal phytoplankton at least.</jats:p

Modelling Seasonal Dynamics of Biomasses and Nitrogen Contents in a Seagrass Meadow (Zostera noltii hornem). Application to the Thau Lagoon (French Mediterranean Coast).

Abstract not availableJRC.H-Institute for environment and sustainability (Ispra