Sturgeons are fish species with a complex biology. They are also characterized by complex aspects including polyploidization and easiness of hybridization. As with most of the Ponto-Caspian sturgeons, the populations of Acipenser ruthenus from the Danube have declined drastically during the last decades. This is the first report on mitochondrial point heteroplasmy in the cytochrome b gene of this species. The 1141 bp sequence of the cytb gene in wild sterlet sturgeon individuals from the Lower Danube was determined, and site heteroplasmy evidenced in three of the 30 specimens collected. Two nucleotide sequences were identified in these heteroplasmic individuals. The majority of the heteroplasmic sites are synonymous and do not modify the sequence of amino acids in cytochrome B protein. To date, several cases of point heteroplasmy have been reported in animals, mostly due to paternal leakage of mtDNA. The presence of specific point heteroplasmic sites might be interesting for a possible correlation with genetically distinct groups in the Danube River.

Tanto a situação na França quanto os quadros de referência teóricos usados para analisar a flexibilidade evoluíram consideravelmente nos últimos vinte anos. Nosso artigo pretende descrever essa transformação e defender uma tese específica. O mundo moderno pós-Ford apresenta dois novos aspectos quando comparado ao que fora descrito na análise funcionalista tradicional: por um lado, as tensões inerentes à natureza ambivalente da flexibilidade são vistas hoje como questões mais pessoais; por outro, a ambivalência não é mais encarada como puramente disfuncional, mas tem um aspecto positivo. À luz desse novo quadro de referência, apresentaremos inicialmente o cenário dos vários debates sobre flexibilidade na França, e mostraremos, em seguida, as relações entre flexibilidade e ambivalência sociológica, antes de apresentarmos os dados empíricos que sustentam nossa tese.

Both the situation of employment in France and the frameworks used to analyse flexibility have evolved considerably over the last twenty years. The paper aims to describe this transformation and defend a particular thesis. Our post-Ford modern world has two new aspects when compared with the traditional functionalist analysis: on the one hand, the tensions inherent in the ambivalent nature of flexibility are today seen as more personal issues, and on the other, ambivalence is no longer seen as purely dysfunctional, but to have a possible positive aspect. Given this new framework, the paper first presents the background to the various debates on flexibility in France, and then shows the links between flexibility and sociological ambivalence before presenting empirical data in support of the thesis.

The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of congenital toxoplasmosis (CT) and to assess the performances of prenatal and neonatal diagnoses. From 1994-2005, in Toulouse University Hospital, France, amniocentesis was performed on 352 pregnant women who were infected during pregnancy. All women were treated with spiramycin and pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine when prenatal diagnosis was positive. Among the 275 foetuses with follow-up, 66 (24%) were infected. The transmission rates of Toxoplasma gondii were 7%, 24% and 59% in the first, second and third trimesters, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of PCR on amniotic fluid (AF) were 91% and 99.5%, respectively. One case was diagnosed by mouse inoculation with AF and six cases were diagnosed by neonatal or postnatal screening. The sensitivity and specificity of PCR on placentas were 52% and 99%, respectively. The sensitivity of tests for the detection of specific IgA and IgM in cord blood was 53% and 64%, respectively, and specificity values were 91% and 92%. In conclusion, PCR performed on AF had the highest levels of sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of CT. This permits an early diagnosis of most cases and should be recommended.