Professor Titmuss, an eminent English social theorist, believes that man is inherently altruistic and that the duty of government is to create that social and economic climate which best channels man's drive to work together for the common good. In support of this belief, he has written a book about the procurement, distribution, and transfusion of human blood, a medical topic which he employs as an illustrative social and economic microcosm. The conclusion he reaches is foregone: "The voluntary socialized system in Britain is economically, professionally, administratively and qualitatively more efficient than the mixed, commercialized, and individualistic American system" (Titmuss, R.M: "Why Give to Strangers?" Lancet 1 :123-125, 1971). As the book was written with a bias, so will it be read with bias. My own bias is that of an American and a blood-banker. I am only too conscious of many deficiencies in the American complex of arrangements—it isn't

The Gift Relationship: From Human Blood to Social Policy

Méthodes : Sur une série de 31 femmes présentant des varices périnéales d’origine extrasaphéniennes ayant bénéficié d’une exploration radiologique veineuse pelvienne et de l’embolisation des veines incontinentes nous avons étudié les résultats et les corrélations anatomo-clinique entre les varices et les signes cliniques de l’insuffisance veineuse pelvienne. Un sous-groupe B de 23 patientes présentant une insuffisance veineuse pelvienne et des signes cliniques a été comparé à un groupe A de 4 patientes qui ne présentaient pas d’insuffisance veineuse pelvienne à l’exploration. Nous avons choisi d’étudier 3 signes cliniques : la douleur pelvienne et la douleur des membres inférieurs survenant au début ou pendant les règles ainsi que la dyspareunie. La symptomatologie a été évaluée sur une échelle analogique de 0 à 10 et un score clinique (de 0 à 30) a été établi en ajoutant ces 3 chiffres.

http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/BF02973687.pdf

Références bibliographiques: La fibroscopie bronchique

L'ouvrage phare du pere de la sociologie allemande comporte ses concepts cles : la methode des ideaux-types, les formes de domination, la rationalisation de la societe. Une oeuvre marquante pour la discipline...

Économie et société

Blood group variants are characteristic of population groups, and can show conspicuous geographic patterns. Interest in the global prevalence of the Duffy blood group variants is multidisciplinary, but of particular importance to malariologists due to the resistance generally conferred by the Duffy-negative phenotype against Plasmodium vivax infection. Here we collate an extensive geo-database of surveys, forming the evidence-base for a multi-locus Bayesian geostatistical model to generate global frequency maps of the common Duffy alleles to refine the global cartography of the common Duffy variants. We show that the most prevalent allele globally was FY*A, while across sub- saharan Africa the predominant allele was the silent FY*B ES variant, commonly reaching fixation across stretches of the continent. The maps presented not only represent the first spatially and genetically comprehensive description of variation at this locus, but also constitute an advance towards understanding the transmission patterns of the neglected P. vivax malaria parasite.

/pdf/the-global-distribution-of-the-duffy-blood-group-12h1nppoy6.pdf

The global distribution of the Duffy blood group.

Somatotyping—Development and Applications

Over the past decade, a significant increase in the circulation of infectious agents was observed. With the spread and emergence of epizootics, zoonoses, and epidemics, the risks of pandemics became more and more critical. Human and animal health has also been threatened by antimicrobial resistance, environmental pollution, and the development of multifactorial and chronic diseases. This highlighted the increasing globalization of health risks and the importance of the human-animal-ecosystem interface in the evolution and emergence of pathogens. A better knowledge of causes and consequences of certain human activities, lifestyles, and behaviors in ecosystems is crucial for a rigorous interpretation of disease dynamics and to drive public policies. As a global good, health security must be understood on a global scale and from a global and crosscutting perspective, integrating human health, animal health, plant health, ecosystems health, and biodiversity. In this study, we discuss how crucial it is to consider ecological, evolutionary, and environmental sciences in understanding the emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases and in facing the challenges of antimicrobial resistance. We also discuss the application of the "One Health" concept to non-communicable chronic diseases linked to exposure to multiple stresses, including toxic stress, and new lifestyles. Finally, we draw up a list of barriers that need removing and the ambitions that we must nurture for the effective application of the "One Health" concept. We conclude that the success of this One Health concept now requires breaking down the interdisciplinary barriers that still separate human and veterinary medicine from ecological, evolutionary, and environmental sciences. The development of integrative approaches should be promoted by linking the study of factors underlying stress responses to their consequences on ecosystem functioning and evolution. This knowledge is required for the development of novel control strategies inspired by environmental mechanisms leading to desired equilibrium and dynamics in healthy ecosystems and must provide in the near future a framework for more integrated operational initiatives.

/pdf/the-one-health-concept-10-years-old-and-a-long-road-ahead-3cw8v0vm79.pdf

The one health concept: 10 years old and a long road ahead

Improving minority blood donation: anthropologic approach in a migrant community

Prevalence of diabetes and associated risk factors in a Senegalese urban (Dakar) population

Zoos humains : au temps des exhibitions humaines

The objective of this study was threefold: (1) assess the general perceptions of age stereotypes among older French and Moroccan adults, (2) analyze discourse associated with these different perceptions, and (3) compare aging self-perception scores of French and Moroccan (rural/urban) older adults and investigate the sociodemographic and health indicators likely to be associated with these self-perceptions. One-to-one structured interviews were conducted with 260 older French adults living in Marseille and 239 older Moroccans (123 living in Marrakech and 116 living in a Berber village). The same questionnaire comprising multiple-choice and short-answer questions was used in both countries. This methodology allowed us to perform quantitative and qualitative analyses. Participants averaged 73 years of age in both samples. The French and Moroccan older adults perceived positive and negative age stereotypes within their societies, but the Moroccan ones more often perceived positive stereotypes toward older adults. Moreover, almost as many Moroccan people living in Marrakech as French people perceived negative stereotypes toward older adults. The qualitative analysis allowed us to demonstrate that some notions associated with the status of older adults are shared in France and Morocco—such as respect is due to older adults—whereas other notions differ between these societies—such as the association between aging and affection/love in Morocco. Finally, this study also tended to show that the Attitudes Toward Own Aging Scale focuses mainly on the mental/physical domain of old age.

Gilles Boëtsch

Papers

The one health concept: 10 years old and a long road ahead

Improving minority blood donation: anthropologic approach in a migrant community

Prevalence of diabetes and associated risk factors in a Senegalese urban (Dakar) population

Zoos humains : au temps des exhibitions humaines

Perception of Age Stereotypes and Self-Perception of Aging: A Comparison of French and Moroccan Populations