Centre Paul Albert-Février

In this article, we provide brief overviews of the definitions of formative and summative assessment and a few examples of types of formative and summative assessments that can be used in classroom contexts. We highlight the points that these two types of assessment are complementary and the differences between them are often in the way these assessments are used. We also list several resources that may be useful for teachers who wish to know more about using formative and summative assessments in their classrooms.

Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by severe behavioral, cognitive, and motor deficits. Since the discovery of the huntingtin gene (HTT) mutation that causes the disease, several mouse lines have been developed using different gene constructs of Htt. Recently, a new model, the zQ175 knock-in (KI) mouse, was developed (see description by Menalled et al, [1]) in an attempt to have the Htt gene in a context and causing a phenotype that more closely mimics HD in humans. Here we confirm the behavioral phenotypes reported by Menalled et al [1], and extend the characterization to include brain volumetry, striatal metabolite concentration, and early neurophysiological changes. The overall reproducibility of the behavioral phenotype across the two independent laboratories demonstrates the utility of this new model. Further, important features reminiscent of human HD pathology are observed in zQ175 mice: compared to wild-type neurons, electrophysiological recordings from acute brain slices reveal that medium spiny neurons from zQ175 mice display a progressive hyperexcitability; glutamatergic transmission in the striatum is severely attenuated; decreased striatal and cortical volumes from 3 and 4 months of age in homo- and heterozygous mice, respectively, with whole brain volumes only decreased in homozygotes. MR spectroscopy reveals decreased concentrations of N-acetylaspartate and increased concentrations of glutamine, taurine and creatine + phosphocreatine in the striatum of 12-month old homozygotes, the latter also measured in 12-month-old heterozygotes. Motor, behavioral, and cognitive deficits in homozygotes occur concurrently with the structural and metabolic changes observed. In sum, the zQ175 KI model has robust behavioral, electrophysiological, and histopathological features that may be valuable in both furthering our understanding of HD-like pathophyisology and the evaluation of potential therapeutic strategies to slow the progression of disease.

OBJECTIVE: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for cancer therapy frequently induce immune-related adverse effects (IRAEs). Therefore, most patients with preexisting autoimmune diseases have been excluded from clinical trials of ICIs. This study was undertaken to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ICIs in patients with preexisting autoimmune disease and cancer. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted from January 2017 to January 2018 via 3 French national networks of experts in oncology and autoimmunity. Adults with preexisting autoimmune disease who were receiving ICIs were assessed for the occurrence of flare of preexisting autoimmune disease, other IRAEs, and cancer response. RESULTS: The study included 112 patients who were followed up for a median of 8 months. The most frequent preexisting autoimmune diseases were psoriasis (n = 31), rheumatoid arthritis (n = 20), and inflammatory bowel disease (n = 14). Twenty-four patients (22%) were receiving immunosuppressive therapy at ICI initiation. Autoimmune disease flare and/or other IRAE(s) occurred in 79 patients (71%), including flare of preexisting autoimmune disease in 53 patients (47%) and/or other IRAE(s) in 47 patients (42%), with a need for immunosuppressive therapy in 48 patients (43%) and permanent discontinuation of ICI in 24 patients (21%). The median progression-free survival was shorter in patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy at ICI initiation (3.8 months versus 12 months; P = 0.006), confirmed by multivariable analysis. The median progression-free survival was shorter in patients who experienced a flare of preexisting autoimmune disease or other IRAE, with a trend toward better survival in the subgroup without immunosuppressant use or ICI discontinuation. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that flares or IRAEs occur frequently but are mostly manageable without ICI discontinuation in patients with a preexisting autoimmune disease. Immunosuppressive therapy at baseline is associated with poorer outcomes.

We report four experiments investigating the effects of repeated and transposed letters in orthographic processing. Orthographically related primes were formed by removing one letter from the target word, by transposing two adjacent letters, or by replacing two adjacent letters with different letters. Robust masked priming in a lexical decision task was found for primes formed by removing a single letter (e.g., mircle-MIRACLE), and this was not influenced by whether or not the prime contained a letter repetition (e.g., balace vs. balnce as a prime for BALANCE ). Target words containing a repeated letter tended to be harder to respond to than words without a letter repetition, but the nonwords formed by removing a repeated letter (e.g., BALNCE) were no harder to reject than nonwords formed by removing a non-repeated letter (e.g., MIRCLE, BALACE). Significant transposition priming effects were found for 7-letter words (e.g., sevrice-SERVICE), and these priming effects did not vary as a function of the position of the transposition (initial, final, or inner letter pair). Priming effects disappeared when primes were formed by replacing the two transposed letters with different letters (e.g., sedlice-SERVICE), and five-letter words only showed priming effects with inner letter transpositions (e.g., ponit-POINT). We present a revised “open-bigram” scheme for letter position coding that accounts for these data.

Abstract. On the basis of a multi-proxy approach and a strategy combining lacustrine and marine records along a north–south transect, data collected in the central Mediterranean within the framework of a collaborative project have led to reconstruction of high-resolution and well-dated palaeohydrological records and to assessment of their spatial and temporal coherency. Contrasting patterns of palaeohydrological changes have been evidenced in the central Mediterranean: south (north) of around 40° N of latitude, the middle part of the Holocene was characterised by lake-level maxima (minima), during an interval dated to ca. 10 300–4500 cal BP to the south and 9000–4500 cal BP to the north. Available data suggest that these contrasting palaeohydrological patterns operated throughout the Holocene, both on millennial and centennial scales. Regarding precipitation seasonality, maximum humidity in the central Mediterranean during the middle part of the Holocene was characterised by humid winters and dry summers north of ca. 40° N, and humid winters and summers south of ca. 40° N. This may explain an apparent conflict between palaeoclimatic records depending on the proxies used for reconstruction as well as the synchronous expansion of tree species taxa with contrasting climatic requirements. In addition, south of ca. 40° N, the first millennium of the Holocene was characterised by very dry climatic conditions not only in the eastern, but also in the central- and the western Mediterranean zones as reflected by low lake levels and delayed reforestation. These results suggest that, in addition to the influence of the Nile discharge reinforced by the African monsoon, the deposition of Sapropel 1 has been favoured (1) by an increase in winter precipitation in the northern Mediterranean borderlands, and (2) by an increase in winter and summer precipitation in the southern Mediterranean area. The climate reversal following the Holocene climate optimum appears to have been punctuated by two major climate changes around 7500 and 4500 cal BP. In the central Mediterranean, the Holocene palaeohydrological changes developed in response to a combination of orbital, ice-sheet and solar forcing factors. The maximum humidity interval in the south-central Mediterranean started ca. 10 300 cal BP, in correlation with the decline (1) of the possible blocking effects of the North Atlantic anticyclone linked to maximum insolation, and/or (2) of the influence of the remnant ice sheets and fresh water forcing in the North Atlantic Ocean. In the north-central Mediterranean, the lake-level minimum interval began only around 9000 cal BP when the Fennoscandian ice sheet disappeared and a prevailing positive NAO-(North Atlantic Oscillation) type circulation developed in the North Atlantic area. The major palaeohydrological oscillation around 4500–4000 cal BP may be a non-linear response to the gradual decrease in insolation, with additional key seasonal and interhemispheric changes. On a centennial scale, the successive climatic events which punctuated the entire Holocene in the central Mediterranean coincided with cooling events associated with deglacial outbursts in the North Atlantic area and decreases in solar activity during the interval 11 700–7000 cal BP, and to a possible combination of NAO-type circulation and solar forcing since ca. 7000 cal BP onwards. Thus, regarding the centennial-scale climatic oscillations, the Mediterranean Basin appears to have been strongly linked to the North Atlantic area and affected by solar activity over the entire Holocene. In addition to model experiments, a better understanding of forcing factors and past atmospheric circulation patterns behind the Holocene palaeohydrological changes in the Mediterranean area will require further investigation to establish additional high-resolution and well-dated records in selected locations around the Mediterranean Basin and in adjacent regions. Special attention should be paid to greater precision in the reconstruction, on millennial and centennial timescales, of changes in the latitudinal location of the limit between the northern and southern palaeohydrological Mediterranean sectors, depending on (1) the intensity and/or characteristics of climatic periods/oscillations (e.g. Holocene thermal maximum versus Neoglacial, as well as, for instance, the 8.2 ka event versus the 4 ka event or the Little Ice Age); and (2) on varying geographical conditions from the western to the eastern Mediterranean areas (longitudinal gradients). Finally, on the basis of projects using strategically located study sites, there is a need to explore possible influences of other general atmospheric circulation patterns than NAO, such as the East Atlantic–West Russian or North Sea–Caspian patterns, in explaining the apparent complexity of palaeoclimatic (palaeohydrological) Holocene records from the Mediterranean area.

Rufinamide is a new, orally active antiepileptic drug (AED), which has been found to be effective in the treatment of partial seizures and drop attacks associated with the Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. When taken with food, rufinamide is relatively well absorbed in the lower dose range, with approximately dose-proportional plasma concentrations up to 1,600 mg/day, but less than dose-proportional plasma concentrations at higher doses due to reduced oral bioavailability. Rufinamide is not extensively bound to plasma proteins. During repeated dosing, steady state is reached within 2 days, consistent with its elimination half-life of 6-10 h. The apparent volume of distribution (V(d)/F) and apparent oral clearance (CL/F) are related to body size, the best predictor being body surface area. Rufinamide is not a substrate of cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzymes and is extensively metabolized via hydrolysis by carboxylesterases to a pharmacologically inactive carboxylic acid derivative, which is excreted in the urine. Rufinamide pharmacokinetics are not affected by impaired renal function. Potential differences in rufinamide pharmacokinetics between children and adults have not been investigated systematically in formal studies. Although population pharmacokinetic modeling suggests that in the absence of interacting comedication rufinamide CL/F may be higher in children than in adults, a meaningful comparison of data across age groups is complicated by age-related differences in doses and in proportion of patients receiving drugs known to increase or to decrease rufinamide CL/F. A study investigating the effect of rufinamide on the pharmacokinetics of the CYP3A4 substrate triazolam and an oral contraceptive interaction study showed that rufinamide has some enzyme-inducing potential in man. Findings from population pharmacokinetic modeling indicate that rufinamide does not modify the CL/F of topiramate or valproic acid, but may slightly increase the CL/F of carbamazepine and lamotrigine and slightly decrease the CL/F of phenobarbital and phenytoin (all predicted changes were <20%). These changes in the pharmacokinetics of associated AEDs are unlikely to make it necessary to change the dosages of these AEDs given concomitantly with rufinamide, with the exception that consideration should be given to reducing the dose of phenytoin. Based on population pharmacokinetic modeling, lamotrigine, topiramate, or benzodiazepines do not affect the pharmacokinetics of rufinamide, but valproic acid may increase plasma rufinamide concentrations, especially in children in whom plasma rufinamide concentrations could be increased substantially. Conversely, comedication with carbamazepine, vigabatrin, phenytoin, phenobarbital, and primidone was associated with a slight-to-moderate decrease in plasma rufinamide concentrations, ranging from a minimum of -13.7% in female children comedicated with vigabatrin to a maximum of -46.3% in female adults comedicated with phenytoin, phenobarbital, or primidone. In population modeling using data from placebo-controlled trials, a positive correlation has been identified between reduction in seizure frequency and steady-state plasma rufinamide concentrations. The probability of adverse effects also appears to be concentration-related.

Trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) is a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that is nonselectively activated by endogenous metabolites of amino acids. TAAR1 is considered a promising drug target for the treatment of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. However, no selective ligand to identify TAAR1-specific signaling mechanisms is available yet. Here we report a selective TAAR1 antagonist, EPPTB, and characterize its physiological effects at dopamine (DA) neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA). We show that EPPTB prevents the reduction of the firing frequency of DA neurons induced by p-tyramine (p-tyr), a nonselective TAAR1 agonist. When applied alone, EPPTB increases the firing frequency of DA neurons, suggesting that TAAR1 either exhibits constitutive activity or is tonically activated by ambient levels of endogenous agonist(s). We further show that EPPTB blocks the TAAR1-mediated activation of an inwardly rectifying K(+) current. When applied alone, EPPTB induces an apparent inward current, suggesting the closure of tonically activated K(+) channels. Importantly, these EPPTB effects were absent in Taar1 knockout mice, ruling out off-target effects. We additionally found that both the acute application of EPPTB and the constitutive genetic lack of TAAR1 increase the potency of DA at D2 receptors in DA neurons. In summary, our data support that TAAR1 tonically activates inwardly rectifying K(+) channels, which reduces the basal firing frequency of DA neurons in the VTA. We hypothesize that the EPPTB-induced increase in the potency of DA at D2 receptors is part of a homeostatic feedback mechanism compensating for the lack of inhibitory TAAR1 tone.

Four visual lexical decision experiments using the masked priming paradigm tested for effects of prime word frequency and cumulative root frequency with primes varying in degree of morphological and orthographic overlap with free root targets in French. Experiments 1 and 3 showed that only high frequency morphologically related primes produce significantly faster response times compared to orthographic control primes. On the other hand, no significant orthographic priming effects were observed in the present study, except in Experiment 2 where the most frequent orthographic primes produced significantly more errors than the other priming conditions. In Experiment 4 similar levels of morphological priming were obtained to free root targets with high and low cumulative root frequencies. These findings are interpreted within the framework of a supralexical representation of morphological information in memory.

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) 4 is a transcriptional repressor that contains a glutamine-rich domain. We hypothesised that it may be involved in the molecular pathogenesis of Huntington's disease (HD), a protein-folding neurodegenerative disorder caused by an aggregation-prone polyglutamine expansion in the huntingtin protein. We found that HDAC4 associates with huntingtin in a polyglutamine-length-dependent manner and co-localises with cytoplasmic inclusions. We show that HDAC4 reduction delayed cytoplasmic aggregate formation, restored Bdnf transcript levels, and rescued neuronal and cortico-striatal synaptic function in HD mouse models. This was accompanied by an improvement in motor coordination, neurological phenotypes, and increased lifespan. Surprisingly, HDAC4 reduction had no effect on global transcriptional dysfunction and did not modulate nuclear huntingtin aggregation. Our results define a crucial role for the cytoplasmic aggregation process in the molecular pathology of HD. HDAC4 reduction presents a novel strategy for targeting huntingtin aggregation, which may be amenable to small-molecule therapeutics.

The term “biobank” first appeared in the scientific literature in 1996 and for the next five years was used mainly to describe human population-based biobanks. In recent years, the term has been used in a more general sense and there are currently many different definitions to be found in reports, guidelines and regulatory documents. Some definitions are general, including all types of biological sample collection facilities. Others are specific and limited to collections of human samples, sometimes just to population-based collections. In order to help resolve the confusion on this matter, we conducted a survey of the opinions of people involved in managing sample collections of all types. This survey was conducted using an online questionnaire that attracted 303 responses. The results show that there is consensus that the term biobank may be applied to biological collections of human, animal, plant or microbial samples; and that the term biobank should only be applied to sample collections with associated sample data, and to collections that are managed according to professional standards. There was no consensus on whether a collection's purpose, size or level of access should determine whether it is called a biobank. Putting these findings into perspective, we argue that a general, broad definition of biobank is here to stay, and that attention should now focus on the need for a universally-accepted, systematic classification of the different biobank types.

Purpose Based on Greimas' contributions in 2002 and on qualitative research, this paper aims to focus on a semiotic analysis of the meaning of nostalgia related to products and brands. Design/methodology/approach This paper involves a two‐stage interview process. Informants were interviewed first in T1 (July‐August 2005) about products and brands connected to nostalgic feelings. They were re‐interviewed a year after in T2 (June‐July 2006). Pictures of products and brands evoked in T1 were shown and informants where asked what came to mind when they where exposed to such material. Based on the transcription of the interviews, a three‐step content analysis was performed: a first reading of the corpus made it possible to identify the two dimensions of time that structure the informant's discourse: “continuity” and “discontinuity”. Then a lexical analysis of the vocabulary associated with nostalgic experience was computed. Finally, a semiotic analysis of the texts was performed. Findings The two opposing dimensions of a semiotic square, “continuity” versus “discontinuity” provide a structure for understanding the most important features of nostalgia: “long‐standing nostalgia” (continuity) and “first‐time nostalgia” (discontinuity). This provides a typology of four nostalgic moments: everyday past, uniqueness, tradition and transition which are linked to specific brands and objects. Research limitations/implications Since this typology is qualitative, it must be confirmed on a larger scale in order to be implemented by managers in the marketing decision‐making process. Originality/value These four distinct moments enable a researcher to propose a typology of brands, products or objects that when considered in association, can provide a better understanding of emotional attachment.

ABSTRACT Since the 1970s, increase in fire frequency has been observed in all European Mediterranean regions. The objectives of this study were (1) to determine the effects of wildfire frequency on the recovery at short‐ and long‐term of soil chemical and microbial properties and (2) to identify the mechanisms underlying the recovery of these sites properties. Soils from 17 plots (Maures mountains range, Var, France) were classified into 5 wildfire regimes (i.e. not burned since at least 57 years ago, infrequently and frequently burned‐with time since fire between 4 and 17 years). Soil samples from these plots were analysed for their nutrient content, chemical functions of soil organic matter (SOM) using FT‐MIR spectroscopy and microbial mineralising activities. Our results showed that the frequent wildfire regime slowed down the recovery in the short term of SOM spectroscopic properties and nutrient availability. Both low quantity and low quality (i.e. high percentage of aromatic and phenolic organic forms) of soil organic matter were found to be related to soil microbial recovery at 4 years after frequent wildfires. The frequent wildfires improved the recovery in net nitrification and nitrate content, leading to an increase in catabolic evenness and a recovery in microbial C‐substrate utilisation profiles between 4 and 17 years. However, frequent wildfires slowed down the recovery of hydrolytic enzyme pool (i.e. FDA hydrolases) and phenol oxidase activity, both involved in soil C cycling. Overall, our observations suggest that 4 fires in 50 years is a threshold beyond which soil quality may be endangered. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

We treated 48 symptomatic osteochondral lesions of the talar dome arthroscopically. Of these, 18 patients had an osteochondral fracture with a loose fragment located in every case on the anteriolateral side of the talus. Treatment consisted of removal (16 cases) or fixation (2 cases) of the bone fragment. Thirty patients had chronic lesions (27 subchondral necrosis with a sequestrum and 3 extensive cysts). The lesion was posteromedial in 27 cases and the treatment consisted of removal of the sequestrum with curettage of the subchondral bone necrosis (27 cases) or transchondral drilling if the cartilage surface was intact (3 cases). All the patients were clinically and radiogically reviewed with a mean follow-up of 5 years (7 months to 11 years). Patients treated for an osteochondral fracture obtained significant better results (16 excellent or good results out of 18 cases) than those treated for chronic lesions (20 excellent or good results out of 30 cases). On radiographic examination, we noticed that, even at the longest follow-up, the bone healing was usually incomplete and the bone defect persisted indefinitely in case of extensive subchondral bone necrosis. The articular surface could be seen in 11 cases (8 computed arthrotomographies, 1 magnetic resonance imaging, and 2 second-look arthroscopies). The fibrous cartilaginous surface was apparently regular in 6 cases without any clear correlation with our clinical results. This study suggests that we must make a distinction between osteochondral fractures (recent or not healed) located in the anterolateral part of the talar dome, which carry a good prognosis, and necrotic lesions located medially, which are less likely to have a favorable outcome.

Abstract New size-controlled microgels formed by crosslinking polymers under shear flow are very promizing for various applications in oil production. Indeed, when produced by using a proper polymer/crosslinker system and under the conditions needed to obtain the desired properties, these microgels should be quasi-ideal products. They are expected to control water mobility at long distances from the wells to improve sweep efficiency and reduce selectively permeability to water for water production control. For this latter application, injecting stable, preformed microgels eliminates the risks inherent to in-situ gelling which is a technique now recognized as being very difficult to control. This paper reports the results of new lab experiments conducted to complete our theoretical description of the crosslinking-under-shear process and to test the properties of these microgels in porous media. The actual properties of these microgels are compared to theoretical predictions. The results provide new theoretical insights into microgel formation and show that such microgels 1) have sizes measured directly by Photon Correlation Spectroscopy which are satisfactorily predicted by our model 2) adsorb quasi-irreversibly, forming adsorbed layers having a thickness equal to two times their viscometric radius of gyration, thus, are capable of controlling permeability more efficiently than the polymer alone 3) can be injected in porous media without any plugging tendency 4) have small internal rigidity as suggested by elastic modulus measurements and thus, they should be ideal disproportionate permeability modifiers 5) have viscosity higher than polymers in the dilute regime and extremely high in the semi-dilute regime, and 6) are stable, showing no tendency to re-form larger microgels when ageing, in presence of a suitable stabilizer.

Aim The aim of this study was to determine how spatial variation in vegetation type and landscape connectivity influence fire intervals in a semi-arid landscape with low relief and complex mosaics of woodland and shrubland vegetation. Location Our study focused on a 15,500-km2 area of relatively undisturbed and unmanaged land in south-western Australia, referred to as the Lake Johnston region. Methods We modelled fire-interval data from a 67-year (1940–2006) digital fire history database using a two-parameter Weibull function, and tested for the effects of vegetation type and landscape connectivity on estimates of the length of fire intervals (Weibull parameter b) and the dependence of fire intervals on fuel age (Weibull parameter c). Results Vegetation type and landscape connectivity significantly influenced fire interval probability distributions. Fire intervals in shrublands (dense low shrub assemblage) were typically shorter (b = 46 years) and more dependent on fuel age (c = 2.33) than most other vegetation types, while fire intervals in open eucalypt woodlands were much longer (b = 405 years) and were less dependent on fuel age (c = 1.36) than in shrub-dominated vegetation types. Areas adjacent to or surrounded by salt lakes burnt less frequently (b = 319 years) and fire intervals were less dependent on fuel age (c = 1.48) compared with more exposed areas (e.g. b < 101 years, c > 1.68). Fire intervals in thickets (dense tall shrub assemblage) were longer (b = 101 years) than would be expected from fuel loads, most likely because they were protected from fire by surrounding fuel-limited woodlands. Main conclusions Fire intervals in south-western Australia are strongly influenced by spatial variation in vegetation (fuel structure) and landscape connectivity. The importance of fuel structure as a control of fire intervals in south-western Australia contrasts with other landscapes, where topographical gradients or climatic influences may override the effects of underlying vegetation. We found that, regardless of low relief, topographical features such as large salt lake systems limited the connectivity and spread of fire among landscape units in an analogous manner to lakes or mountainous features elsewhere.

A method was designed to study frequency distributions of hydrologic variables (rainfall and discharge) which combined a stochastic model for hourly rainfall with a general conceptual model for transforming rainfall into discharge. The model generates many different flood events over a given simulation period to evaluate hydrologic risks. The Simulated Hydrographs for flood Probability Estimation (SHYPRE) method was based on the use of observations to describe phenomena and statistically reproduce them. Frequency distributions of hydrological variables are built empirically from simulated rainfall and flood events. Extrapolation of these frequency distributions toward rare frequencies is performed by generating very different events over a long simulation period rather than by directly fitting a theoretical probability distribution on observed values. This method yields an original estimation of flood quantiles from common to rare frequencies and provides complete temporal data about these floods. In addition, the approach supplies more stable estimates of flood quantiles than statistical distributions fitted on observed values, even for frequent events. This is due to a better integration of rainfall data and the parametric design stability of the two models (rainfall model and rainfall‐discharge model).

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study on primary breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant tamoxifen treatment was to determine how their perceptions of the treatment and their experience of side-effects contributed to their adherence to the treatment. METHODS: A consecutive series of primary breast cancer patients eligible for tamoxifen therapy were studied qualitatively by conducting semi-structured in-depth interviews at two French cancer centres. RESULTS: The women aged 35-65 (N=34) were struggling with several issues involving their understanding and experience of the treatment, which have not been documented so far. These issues included confusion about the 'hormonal' nature and activity of tamoxifen and the etiology of the changes in their menopausal status, as well as the symbolic associations formed by patients about the paradox of taking a treatment that has aging effects but saves lives. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the great physical burden often associated with tamoxifen treatment and brings to light women's own complex representations of the treatment and their interpretation of the side-effects. Better communication between health-care providers and patients should ultimately help to prevent refusal or discontinuation of tamoxifen treatment.

La production de vaisselle de table glaçurée commence à Byzance au début du viie siècle. Jusqu’au xe siècle, sa fabrication est centralisée et sa diffusion est limitée aux grandes implantations urbaines telles que Constantinople, Athènes, Corinthe, Nessèbre, Chersonèse et Otrante. C’est la vaisselle à pâte blanche qui domine - mais elle reste minoritaire par rapport aux vases sans glaçure -, et compte tenu des quantités importantes découvertes dans la capitale de l’Empire, elle est considérée...

Après la publication de la Vie syriaque de Maxime qui en réalité un Palestinien, unpoint était nécessaire sur les légendes hagiographiques grecques qui en faisaient unConstantinopolitain qui aurait occupé le poste de prôtosecretis dans l’administrationimpériale. Nous montrons par une analyse prosopographique de la correspondancede Maxime que les liens qu’il entretient avec Alexandrie et notamment Sophroneconfirment la Vie syriaque qui en fait l’éminence grise de Sophrone. L’idée de V.Grumel que Maxime aurait été moine à Saint-Georges, à Constantinople, est unehypothèse arbitraire. Il est étonnant, si Maxime a été moine au monastère dePhilippikos à Chrysopolis dont Pyrrhus était l’higoumène, que Maxime nementionne pas cet élément qui le rapproche de Pyrrhus. Les liens de Maxime avec leclan des Héraclius reposent sans doute sur sa proximité avec Anastase, son futurdisciple en 618, notaire en Afrique probablement de la femme du patrice Nicétas,cousin d’Héraclius, gouverneur d’Alexandrie, soutien de Jean l’Aumônier qu’ilnomma. A part ses relations avec les deux hauts fonctionnaires de la courconstantinopolitaine que sont Jean le Cubiculaire et Constantin le Sacellaire, c’estavec les hauts dignitaires de l’Afrique byzantine que Maxime a noué des liens,notamment l’exarque de Carthage, Grégoire (futur usurpateur et petit-fils peut-êtrede Nicétas), le patrice Pierre, stratège de Numidie, et l’éparque de Carthage, Georges.Lors de son procès, Maxime ne reçoit aucun soutien de la part de la noblesseconstantinopolitaine et manifeste même son opposition à l’identitéconstantinopolitaine en disant qu’il “aime les Romains, parce qu’[ils ont] même foi,et les Grecs (γραικούς) parce qu’[ils ont] même langue”. Maxime semble donc plutôt“provincial” (sans doute palestinien) que constantinopolitain.

Abstract. We present here a comparison between the outputs of 25 General Circulation Models run for the mid-Holocene period (6 ka BP) with a set of palaeoclimate reconstructions based on over 400 fossil pollen sequences distributed across the European continent. Three climate parameters were available (moisture availability, temperature of the coldest month and growing degree days), which were grouped together using cluster analysis to provide regions of homogenous climate change. Each model was then investigated to see if it reproduced 1) similar patterns of change and 2) the correct location of these regions. A fuzzy logic distance was used to compare the output of the model with the data, which allowed uncertainties from both the model and data to be taken into account. The models were compared by the magnitude and direction of climate change within the region as well as the spatial pattern of these changes. The majority of the models are grouped together, suggesting that they are becoming more consistent. A test against a set of zero anomalies (no climate change) shows that, although the models are unable to reproduce the exact patterns of change, they all produce the correct signs of change observed for the mid-Holocene.