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Skandalrapperin pfeift auf Brust-OP: Loredana macht Körper-Kritikern eine Ansage

Blick.ch - Mon, 06/21/2021 - 19:10
Loredana setzt sich mit einem Bikini-Foto gegen Körper-Kritik ein. Die Skandalrapperin spricht dafür offen über ihre Brüste.
Categories: Swiss News

Drame évité de peu: Procès d’un Turc qui a foncé dans un groupe de Kurdes à Berne

24heures.ch - Mon, 06/21/2021 - 19:04
L’homme s’était retrouvé bloqué dans sa voiture au milieu de la manifestation et avait mis les gaz pour en sortir. Le Ministère public requiert 8 ans de prison.
Categories: Swiss News

Atteinte aux symboles de la nation : le FFS fustige les « pyromanes »

Algérie 360 - Mon, 06/21/2021 - 19:00

Le plus vieux parti de l’opposition a vivement dénoncé les dernières attaques qui visaient « les symboles les plus emblématiques de l’Unité Nationale et de l’Histoire de notre pays ». Le FFS, a rappelé en effet, par le biais d’une déclaration publiée aujourd’hui sur sa page Facebook, qu’il s’agit « d’attaques méprisables et méthodiques contre tout ce qui […]

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Categories: Afrique

L’ARAV suspend la diffusion de la chaîne El Hayat

Algérie 360 - Mon, 06/21/2021 - 18:59

L’Autorité de régulation de l’audiovisuel (ARAV) a sévèrement sanctionné aujourd’hui, lundi, la chaîne de télévision privée arabophone « El-Hayat TV ». En effet, selon le communiqué rendu public à l’instant par la chaîne, l’Autorité de régulation de l’audiovisuel (ARAV) a décidé d’arrêter la diffusion de la chaîne. Le même communiqué a précisé que, la diffusion de la […]

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Categories: Afrique

Neue Gewitter zum Wochenstart: Nach dem Sturm ist vor dem Sturm

Blick.ch - Mon, 06/21/2021 - 18:49
Nach der Hitzewoche ist es in der Schweiz stürmisch. Eine heftige Gewitterfront überquerte am Sonntag die Schweiz und brachte vielerorts Zerstörung mit sich. Auch am Montag geht es stürmisch weiter. Alle Bilder und mehr News vom Tag jetzt auf Blick TV.
Categories: Swiss News

OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) Daily Report 142/2021 issued on 21 June 2021

OSCE - Mon, 06/21/2021 - 18:45
SDGs SDGs:  16 - Peace, justice and strong institutions

Summary

  • In Donetsk region, between the evenings of 18 and 20 June, the SMM recorded 129 ceasefire violations, including seven explosions. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 41 ceasefire violations in the region.
  • In Luhansk region, between the evenings of 18 and 20 June, the Mission recorded 68 ceasefire violations, including 45 explosions. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 45 ceasefire violations in the region.
  • Small-arms fire was assessed as directed at an SMM mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) near government-controlled Krasnohorivka, Donetsk region.*
  • The SMM continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. It recorded ceasefire violations close to the disengagement area near Zolote and inside the disengagement area near Petrivske.
  • The Mission facilitated and monitored adherence to localized ceasefires to enable the operation of critical civilian infrastructure.
  • The SMM continued following up on the situation of civilians, including at three entry-exit checkpoints and three corresponding checkpoints of the armed formations in Luhansk region.
  • The Mission observed no change in the security situation in east and south-east Kherson region.
  • The SMM’s freedom of movement continued to be restricted, including at checkpoints of the armed formations near Shevchenko and Zaichenko, southern Donetsk region. Its UAVs again experienced multiple instances of GPS signal interference.*
Categories: Central Europe

WHO teilt mit: Corona-Impfstoffproduktion in Afrika nun in Sicht

Blick.ch - Mon, 06/21/2021 - 18:41
Die Pläne zur Herstellung von Corona-Impfstoffen in Afrika nehmen Gestalt an. In Südafrika werde mit Hilfe eines Konsortiums das erste Zentrum zur Herstellung von sogenannten mRNA-Impfstoffen entstehen, teilte die Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO) am Montag in Genf mit.
Categories: Swiss News

Des ministres devant les députés ce jeudi

24 Heures au Bénin - Mon, 06/21/2021 - 18:36

Les députés de la 8è législature seront en séance plénière le jeudi 24 juin 2021 après le report de la séance de jeudi dernier. Au nombre des sujets inscrits à l'ordre de la séance, figurent sept (07) questions orales avec débat auxquelles des membres du gouvernement doivent répondre conformément au contrôle de l'action gouvernementale.

Selon l'invitation du président de l'Assemblée nationale Louis G. Vlavonou aux députés en date du 18 juin, la séance plénière de l'Assemblée nationale se tiendra le jeudi 24 juin 2021.
Neuf (09) dossiers seront examinés au cours de la plénière dont les trois (03) de la séance reportée de jeudi dernier et six (06) nouveaux autres pour le compte de jeudi 24 juin.
Au nombre des six (06) nouveaux dossiers, figurent cinq questions orales avec débat. Il s'agit de la question orale relative au retard observé dans la construction de la route Djougou-Dassa, de la question orale relative au non achèvement de la route Pahou-Tori, de la question orale relative au retard observé dans la réalisation d'infrastructures marchandes, de la question orale relative aux prestations du Centre National d'Essai et de Recherches des Travaux Publics (Cnertp) et de la question orale relative aux défalcations opérées en juin 2020 par le réseau Mtn sur les comptes Mobiles Money de certains de ses abonnés.
A cela s'ajoutent la question orale relative à la pollution des terres et de l'air due aux cimenteries installées à Xwlacodji dans le 5ème arrondissement de Cotonou et à Sèkandji dans la commune de Sèmè-Podji et celle relative à l'insuffisance de salles de classe et déficit d'enseignants dans les écoles primaires qui devraient être examinées à la séance de jeudi dernier.
La proposition de loi portant obligation de souscription d'assurance pour tout utilisateur de véhicule terrestre à moteur en République du Bénin et le projet de loi portant protection et règles relatives au commerce international des espèces de la faune et de la flore sauvage menacées d'extinction en République du Bénin sont également inscrits à l'ordre du jour de la séance plénière.
M. M.

Categories: Afrique

Wichtiges Ziel: EU will bis 2030 keine Obdachlosigkeit mehr

Blick.ch - Mon, 06/21/2021 - 18:27
Bis zum Jahr 2030 soll in der Europäischen Union nach dem Willen der EU-Staaten niemand mehr auf der Strasse leben müssen.
Categories: Swiss News

Article - Why is EU funding for regions important?

European Parliament (News) - Mon, 06/21/2021 - 18:23
EU funding will help regions recover from the Covid crisis, whilst reducing disparities, making them greener and creating jobs.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP
Categories: European Union

Article - Why is EU funding for regions important?

European Parliament - Mon, 06/21/2021 - 18:23
EU funding will help regions recover from the Covid crisis, whilst reducing disparities, making them greener and creating jobs.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP
Categories: European Union

Abbiege-Unfall in Liestal BL: Vater mit Kinderanhänger gerät unter Lastwagen

Blick.ch - Mon, 06/21/2021 - 18:13
Ein Vater (39), der am Montag mit seinem E-Bike samt Anhänger mit Kind unterwegs war, wurde von einem Lastwagen erfasst und schwer verletzt.
Categories: Swiss News

Accident impressionnant à Genève: Un passage piéton s’effondre aux Eaux-Vives

24heures.ch - Mon, 06/21/2021 - 18:09
Le Service d’incendie et de secours a été alerté. La police est sur place.
Categories: Swiss News

Ethiopia's Tigray crisis: Abiy Ahmed denies reports of hunger

BBC Africa - Mon, 06/21/2021 - 18:08
The UN says 350,000 people are living in famine conditions after eight months of war in the region.
Categories: Africa

Avions de combat: Ces quatre aléas politiques qui pèsent sur le choix du jet

24heures.ch - Mon, 06/21/2021 - 18:04
Alors que l’annonce de Viola Amherd est imminente, retour sur les événements qui ont pu influencer la décision de la conseillère fédérale chargée de la Défense.
Categories: Swiss News

Microbiomes: Small little things that run life on Earth

Written by Gianluca Quaglio with Virginia Mahieu.

‘Microbiota’ is a collective term referring to the reservoirs of micro-organisms living in the human body, in animals and in the environment. They are nearly ubiquitous, both in our soils and in our gut, working behind the scenes, but providing vital support to our health and well-being. Micro-organisms always live in microbial communities, which are quite diverse. Although the terms are used interchangeably, there is a slight difference between microbiome and microbiota. In fact, ‘microbiota’ refers to the actual organisms (‘bugs’) within a microbial community, and ‘microbiome’ to the organisms of a microbial community in its ‘theatre of activity’, i.e. taking environmental conditions into consideration, for example.

The human being has evolved with microbiomes and they are an integral part of life on Earth, although they have been relatively absent from the public consciousness. Scientific evidence of the last two decades shows the vital importance of microbiomes in our lives. The STOA workshop on the ‘Health and economic benefits of microbiomes‘ , held online on 21 May 2021, provided an insight into the importance of microbiomes in human, animal and environmental health, and how they could contribute to mitigating pollution and climate change, and boosting the European economy. Speakers illustrated the wide variety of applications and impacts of microbiomes and highlighted the ways in which their regulation at EU level could be improved.

STOA Chair Eva Kaili (S&D, Greece) opened the workshop by setting the scene on the role of microbiomes in health and the issues related when their balance is upset, as well as the related threats of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). She noted the current lack of EU regulation directly pertaining to microbiomes and stressed that it is crucial in the areas of healthcare and environmental sustainability that policy-making is guided by scientific and clinical evidence.

Microbiomes are vital to human, animal and environmental health

Emmanuelle Maguin, senior researcher at the French Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRAE), provided an insight into the roles that microbiomes play in the human being. Microbiomes and the host-microbe interplay are well documented. The human body offers microbiomes a sort of ‘shelter’, and in return they provide a number of ‘services’, such as protection against pathogens and support to our immune system and metabolism, breaking down fibre that we cannot digest, synthesising essential compounds such as vitamins, even metabolising drugs.

In the last 60 years, industrialised societies have markedly changed our lifestyles in terms of nutrition, food systems and food, physical activity, childbirth, drug treatments (including antibiotics), exposure to environmental factors etc. All these recent modifications are putting the human-microbe symbiosis at risk of progressive functional alterations.

The recent accumulation of knowledge on microbiomes radically transforms the human health paradigm inherited from our experience with infectious diseases and other pathological conditions. From a linear vision of one microbial agent and its ability to generate a disease, we have moved to a more complex situation, where the interactions between numerous environmental, host and microbiome factors determine the risk of developing a disease and possibly even the response to a given therapy.

The recent concepts of the One-Health approach and personalised medicine are integrating this complexity considering the specific history of the host, environmental exposure, and sometimes microbiome specificities and modifications over a human lifespan. However, there is still a need to advance knowledge on these multifactorial interactions. A key prerequisite for producing robust data and providing meaningful analyses is the availability and large-scale use of harmonised standards and operating procedures, as well as access to unified repositories.

This new vision necessitates reconsideration of our current health and medical approaches. This should enable us to integrate the environment-microbiome-host interactions as key elements in prevention of disease and maintenance of a healthy state, to re-examine and to create new diagnostic and therapeutic tools, and to devise the required regulatory framework for microbiome-based innovations and increase awareness of, as well as information and training in this paradigm.

The balance of microbiomes is important not only in our bodies and in nature, but also in ‘built environments’, as Elisabetta Caselli, from the University of Ferrara pointed out. Hospitals have their own microbiome, and persistent use of chemical disinfectants on surfaces leads to the selection for multi-drug antimicrobial resistant (AMR) pathogens that can cause HAIs. HAIs are a global concern, each year affecting over 4 million patients in the EU, with about 90 000 avoidable deaths and €1.1 billion of extra sanitary costs.

Modulating the hospital microbiome by using probiotic cleaning hygiene systems to reduce pathogens and AMR in clinical settings could be a new and effective method. This system, called probiotic-based sanitation (PBS), contains selected probiotic bacteria, which are non-pathogenic and also present in the human gut and diet. A number of studies that applied PBS showed a massive decrease in pathogens on surfaces compared to using chemical-based sanitation, as well as a decrease in AMR genes, while presenting no risk to hospital patients. Furthermore, it led to a considerable decrease in costs related to HAIs. The PBS approach could open new perspectives in the fight against infections of bacterial, fungal and viral origin, including SARS‑CoV‑2.

Shifting the focus from human health to that of animals and the environment, Lene Lange, of BioEconomy Research & Advisory, explained that the gut microbiome is highly relevant for the agricultural industry, particularly in the breeding of pigs, chicken and fish. Harnessing it can give a better life to livestock with less inflammation and a lower mortality rate, and could reduce the use of antibiotics and thus the threat of AMR. Animal health can be improved by analysing the gut microbiome and producing feed with beneficial effects: probiotics (beneficial microbes) and prebiotics (fibre) are anti-inflammatory components that can be added to or released through fermentation of the feed, producing a cascade of good products that strengthen the gut flora. She recommended making these gut microbiome-improving animal feed additives a part of dietary requirements in industrial animal breeding.

The speaker also noted that the same concept as HAIs, mentioned above, can be applied to natural ecosystems: ‘undisturbed’ nature offers insight into a healthy balance of microbiomes in soils, and can inform biological measures to strengthen them and reduce pesticide use (crucial for halting biodiversity loss), improve nutrition efficiency, and mitigate climate change. Furthermore, estimates of emissions from permafrost melt can be made by monitoring the soil microbiome, and study of bacteria-rich wastewater can inform soil-improvement products and track the spread and development of AMRs. Dr Lange concluded by saying that microbiomes present a scientists’ dream pool for the discovery of new enzymes, recommending that their research would benefit from becoming more cross-sectorial with EU support and given a high priority.

Microbiomes could support a circular bio-economy, but currently face regulatory gaps

To elaborate on the crucial roles of microbiomes in maintaining life on Earth and their potential role in the economy, Angela Sessitsch from the Austrian Institute of Technology spoke about how these ‘tiny little things run the Earth and the circular economies’. Microbiomes are key for ecosystem function and can be considered a natural resource. In soils, they perform vital functions: contributing to growth and nutrient cycling by fixing nitrogen and methane, breaking down plant cells, and through fermentation, all reducing expensive fertiliser needs and greenhouse gas emissions. They have a variety of important environmental uses such as breaking down organic waste, toxic compounds and plastics, and they can improve sustainable food, feed and biofuel production. Specifically, agricultural management practices can favour microbiome conditions and thus improve food production.

These potential applications for better, more sustainable agriculture and recycling can contribute to a circular bio-economy, which has been acknowledged by several organisations including the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and microbiomes can substantially contribute to Sustainable Development Goals and EU Green Deal ambitions. Their many applications are also extremely promising for market growth in medical areas: they can generate economic value through products and therapies, diagnostics, predictions and personalised medicine and food. To best exploit microbiomes, the EU needs to increase awareness about them and integrate them into cross-sectorial policies.

Indeed, microbiomes are not yet regulated at the EU level. Marta Hugas from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) spoke about the safety and regulatory challenges of microbiome innovations. One of EFSA’s core tasks is to assess risks to human, animal and environmental health from substances linked to food and feed production The increasing role of microbiomes in health calls for a prospective mapping of their various roles into regulatory assessment, with a view to understanding their potential health impact in the various hosts.

Legal requirements under EU food law do not specify that risk assessments account for microbiomes. There is currently also no internationally agreed guidance or methodology in place to systematically assess possible effects on the microbiomes, or caused by the microbiomes, on human, animal or plant health. Translating a decrease in microbiome diversity into a functional effect is challenging, as there are currently no standards for defining a healthy microbiome.

EFSA is currently working on integrating the new scientific information on microbiomes and clarifying how it can be applied. There are suspicions that differences between animal and human microbiomes could be the reason for the differences that sometimes exist between studies and clinical trials, which raises questions as to how to interpret toxicological studies. Further questions include determining criteria for when an effect becomes adverse and establishing causality between metabolic pathways and microbiota (i.e. if a disease is the cause or the effect of microbiome imbalance). Research does not usually focus on regulatory science. EFSA will therefore soon publish the research questions the EU and Member State levels need to address from a regulatory perspective, such as the link between microbiomes and diet/toxicology.

While the field of microbiomes holds genuine promise, it is also subject to hype. Challenges remain with regard to the standardisation of terms and protocols, and credible and well-tailored information is needed. These issues were addressed by Kathleen D’Hondt, from the Department of Economy, Science and Innovation of the Flemish Government. For example, many health claims ascribed to food products targeting the microbiome lack sufficient scientific substantiation and are merely associative, with no established causal pathway. For such a promising scientific field to lead to innovative applications, policies on science and innovation could be improved in several areas: (1) international research should be strengthened, with common access to a large interconnected data infrastructure; (2) standard protocols are required for clinical design and marker validation, as better characterisation of a healthy gut will be important for establishing disease biomarkers; (3) public-private collaboration could be reinforced; (4) the framework for evaluating health claims for new food products and new dietary approaches needs to be improved. Finally, (5) healthcare professionals and the public should be informed in a clearer and more understandable way.

In his closing remarks, Othmar Karas, Vice-President of the European Parliament (PPE, Austria) and STOA Panel member, noted how microbiomes dominate every aspect of our lives. Studying microbiomes and their effects opens a range of new possibilities in medicine, agriculture, the circular economy, waste decomposition, recycling, and sustainable energy generation. The last few years have seen a number of tools put forward such as the circular economy action plan, the Farm to Fork Strategy, and the EU4Health programme. Nevertheless, he concluded, a lack of EU regulation persists around microbiomes and these gaps must be filled: ‘Now we need to act’.

The full recording of the workshop is available here.

Categories: European Union

Cour de Tipasa : 4 ans de prison ferme contre Kamel Chikhi

Algérie 360 - Mon, 06/21/2021 - 17:58

La Cour de Tipasa a rendu ce lundi 21 juin 2021 son verdict dans l’affaire de Kamel Chikhi alias El Boucher, dans l’affaire liée à l’obtention d’indus avantages dans laquelle sont également poursuivis un notaire et deux fonctionnaires à la Direction des Impôts. En effet, la Cour de Tipasa a condamné le principal mis en […]

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Categories: Afrique

Bac 2021 : l’épreuve de mathématiques « jugée trop difficile »

Algérie 360 - Mon, 06/21/2021 - 17:57

Au deuxième jour des épreuves du baccalauréat, les candidats de la session de juin 2021, s’accordent  à dire que l’épreuve de mathématiques était extrêmement difficile. Au cours d’un micro trottoir effectué par le journal Ennahar, les candidats des spécialités scientifiques et Gestion et économies,  se sont plaint que le premier sujet de mathématiques était presque « impossible à résoudre ». […]

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Categories: Afrique

Artikel - Diese Woche im EP: Journalistenpreis, Klimagesetz, Fonds für Regionen

Europäisches Parlament (Nachrichten) - Mon, 06/21/2021 - 17:53
In der Plenarsitzung vom 23. bis 24. Juni werden die Abgeordneten über ein neues EU-Klimagesetz abstimmen und Fonds zur Unterstützung benachteiligter Regionen bewilligen.

Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2021 - EP
Categories: Europäische Union

Une journée dans la vie d'un inventeur d'arômes

BBC Afrique - Mon, 06/21/2021 - 17:53
Sans aide, les arômes ne fonctionnent pas toujours bien et ne durent pas longtemps. Les scientifiques font donc appel à toutes sortes d'agents pour conférer certains goûts aux aliments transformés.
Categories: Afrique

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