Validation of videoconference administration of picture description from the Western Aphasia Battery : revised in neurotypicals Canadian French speakers

Purpose: During the COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians and researchers have increasingly used remote online assessments to pursue their activities, but mostly with tests not validated for videoconference administration. This study aims to validate the remote online administration of picture description in Canadian French neurotypical speakers and to explore the thematic unit (TU) checklist recently developed. Method: Spoken discourse elicited through the picture description task of the Western Aphasia Battery–Revised (WAB-R) was collected from Canadian French neurotypical speakers from Québec aged between 50 and 79 years old. Forty-seven participants completed the task in person, and 49 participants completed the task by videoconference. Videos of each discourse sample were transcribed using CHAT conventions. Microstructural variables were extracted using the CLAN (Computerized Language ANalysis) program, whereas thematic informativeness was scored for each sample using TUs. Chi-square tests were conducted to compare both groups on each TU; t tests were also performed on the total score of TUs and microstructural variables. Results: Groups were matched on sex, age, and education variables. The t tests revealed no intergroup difference for the total TU score and for the microstructural variables (e.g., mean length of utterances and number of words per minute). Chi-square tests showed no significant intergroup difference for all 16 TUs. Conclusions: These findings support remote online assessment of the picnic scene of the WAB-R picture description in Canadian French neurotypical speakers. These results also validate the 16 TUs most consistently produced. The use of videoconference could promote and improve the recruitment of participants who are usually less accessible, such as people using assistive mobility technologies

Autonomous quantum error correction of Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill states

The Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) code encodes a logical qubit into a bosonic system with resilience against single-photon loss, the predominant error in most bosonic systems. Here we present experimental results demonstrating quantum error correction of GKP states based on reservoir engineering of a superconducting device. Error correction is made autonomous through an unconditional reset of an auxiliary transmon qubit. The lifetime of the logical qubit is shown to be increased from quantum error correction, therefore reaching the point at which more errors are corrected than generated.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures + 26 pages, 12 figure

Trimester-Specific Serum Fructosamine in Association with Abdominal Adiposity, Insulin Resistance, and Inflammation in Healthy Pregnant Individuals

This study aimed to (1) characterize the variations in serum fructosamine across trimesters and according to pre-pregnancy BMI (ppBMI), and (2) examine associations between fructosamine and adiposity/metabolic markers (ppBMI, first-trimester adiposity, leptin, glucose homeostasis, and inflammation measurements) during pregnancy. Serum fructosamine, albumin, fasting glucose and insulin, leptin, adiponectin, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations were measured at each trimester. In the first trimester, subcutaneous (SAT) and visceral (VAT) adipose tissue thicknesses were estimated by ultrasound. In the 101 healthy pregnant individuals included (age: 32.2 ± 3.5 y.o.; ppBMI: 25.5 ± 5.5 kg/m2), fructosamine concentrations decreased during pregnancy whereas albumin-corrected fructosamine concentrations increased (p p p p p < 0.05 for both). In conclusion, serum fructosamine is inversely associated with adiposity before and during pregnancy, with markers of glucose homeostasis and inflammation, but the latter associations are partially influenced by albumin concentrations and ppBMI

Pratiques innovantes auprès des jeunes en difficulté

L'étendue des expérimentations locales dans le domaine de l'intervention psychosociale auprès des jeunes et de leur famille est largement méconnue. Pourtant, si l'on innove, c'est pour répondre à la nécessité souvent criante de s'adapter à l'environnement de travail et à la clientèle. Or, lorsque les pratiques originales restent dans l'ombre, les intervenants courent le risque de passer à côté de trouvailles utiles et de reproduire les erreurs du passé. Ce livre décrit une trentaine d'initiatives en cours dans le réseau des centres jeunesse du Québec. Les auteurs sont des praticiens et des universitaires dont la collaboration a permis de trouver des solutions prometteuses pour offrir aux jeunes en difficulté un soutien individuel et familial adéquat