Greenland Snow Evidence of Large Scale Atmospheric Contamination for Platinum, Palladium, and Rhodium

Since 1976 in the United States, Canada, and Japan, and later in other countries, the exhaust system of gasoline powered cars has been equipped with catalytic converters containing Pt and/or Pd and/or Rh. This has resulted in a very significant decrease in urban air pollution for various chemical species such as NOx, CO, and hydrocarbons. There has however been concern that their ever increasing use might lead to Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) becoming widely dispersed in the environment. From the analysis of Pt, Pd, and Rh in central Greenland recent snow and ancient ice using the ultrasensitive inductively coupled plasma sector field mass spectrometry technique, we show here that the concentrations of these metals in snow dated from the mid 1990s are indeed 40−120 times higher than in ice dated from 7000 years ago. The fact that such an increase is observed far away from populated areas at a high altitude location indicates there is now a large scale contamination of the troposphere of the Northern Hemisphere for PGMs. Pt/Rh mass ratio in the most recent snow samples is close to the same ratio documented for catalytic converter exhausts in a recent study, which suggests that a large fraction of the recent increase for Pt and Rh might originate from automobile catalytic converters

Clinical and cost effectiveness of computer treatment for aphasia post stroke (Big CACTUS): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Background Aphasia affects the ability to speak, comprehend spoken language, read and write. One third of stroke survivors experience aphasia. Evidence suggests that aphasia can continue to improve after the first few months with intensive speech and language therapy, which is frequently beyond what resources allow. The development of computer software for language practice provides an opportunity for self-managed therapy. This pragmatic randomised controlled trial will investigate the clinical and cost effectiveness of a computerised approach to long-term aphasia therapy post stroke. Methods/Design A total of 285 adults with aphasia at least four months post stroke will be randomly allocated to either usual care, computerised intervention in addition to usual care or attention and activity control in addition to usual care. Those in the intervention group will receive six months of self-managed word finding practice on their home computer with monthly face-to-face support from a volunteer/assistant. Those in the attention control group will receive puzzle activities, supplemented by monthly telephone calls. Study delivery will be coordinated by 20 speech and language therapy departments across the United Kingdom. Outcome measures will be made at baseline, six, nine and 12 months after randomisation by blinded speech and language therapist assessors. Primary outcomes are the change in number of words (of personal relevance) named correctly at six months and improvement in functional conversation. Primary outcomes will be analysed using a Hochberg testing procedure. Significance will be declared if differences in both word retrieval and functional conversation at six months are significant at the 5% level, or if either comparison is significant at 2.5%. A cost utility analysis will be undertaken from the NHS and personal social service perspective. Differences between costs and quality-adjusted life years in the three groups will be described and the incremental cost effectiveness ratio will be calculated. Treatment fidelity will be monitored. Discussion This is the first fully powered trial of the clinical and cost effectiveness of computerised aphasia therapy. Specific challenges in designing the protocol are considered. Trial registration Registered with Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN68798818 webcite on 18 February 2014

DEPOTS DE METAUX LOURDS SUR LE MANTEAU NEIGEUX ALPIN FRANCAIS (CARTOGRAPHIE DE FLUX ET IDENTIFICATION DES SOURCES IMPACT DE LA METEOROLOGIE ET DU RELIEF)

GRENOBLE1-BU Sciences (384212103) / SudocSudocFranceF

Mercury speciation in the French seasonal snow cover

International audienc

Estimation of Bathymetry and Benthic Habitat Composition from Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Data (BIODIVERSITY) Using a Semi-Analytical Approach

International audienceThe relevant benefits of hyperspectral sensors for water column determination and seabed features mapping compared to multispectral data, especially in coastal areas, have been demonstrated in recent studies. In this study, we used hyperspectral satellite data in the accurate mapping of the bathymetry and the composition of water habitats for inland water. Particularly, the identification of the bottom diversity for a shallow lagoon (less than 2 m in depth) was examined. Hyperspectral satellite data were simulated based on aerial hyperspectral imagery acquired above a lagoon, namely the Vaccarès lagoon (France), considering the spatial and spectral resolutions, and the signal-to-noise ratio of a satellite sensor, BIODIVERSITY, that is under study by the French space agency (CNES). Various sources of uncertainties such as inter-band calibration errors and atmospheric correction were considered to make the dataset realistic. The results were compared with a recently launched hyperspectral sensor, namely the DESIS sensor (DLR, Germany). The analysis of BIODIVERSITY-like sensor simulated data demonstrated the feasibility to satisfactorily estimate the bathymetry with a root-mean-square error of 0.28 m and a relative error of 14% between 0 and 2 m. In comparison to open coastal waters, the retrieval of bathymetry is a more challenging task for inland waters because the latter usually shows a high abundance of hydrosols (phytoplankton, SPM, and CDOM). The retrieval performance of seabed abundance was estimated through a comparison of the bottom composition with in situ data that were acquired by a recently developed imaging camera (SILIOS Technologies SA., France). Regression coefficients for the retrieval of the fractional species abundances from the theoretical inversion and measurements were obtained to be 0.77 (underwater imaging camera) and 0.80 (in situ macrophytes data), revealing the potential of the sensor characteristics. By contrast, the comparison of the in situ bathymetry and macrophyte data with the DESIS inverted data showed that depth was estimated with an RSME of 0.38 m and a relative error of 17%, and the fractional species abundance was estimated to have a regression coefficient of 0.6

Fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase deficiency: clinical, biochemical and genetic features in French patients

International audienceFructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase) deficiency is a very rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by a mutation of the fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase gene(FBP1). Disease is mainly revealed by hypoglycemia and lactic acidosis, both symptoms being characteristic for an enzymatic block in the last steps of the gluconeogenesis. Twelve patients with FBPase deficiency were diagnosed in France in the 2001-2013 period, using a diagnostic system based on a single blood sample which allows simultaneous enzyme activity measurement on mononuclear white blood cells and molecular analysis. Sequencing of exons and intron-exon junctions of FBP1 gene was completed in unsolved cases by a gene dosage assay developed for each exon. For most patients, first metabolic decompensation occurred before two years of age with a similar sequence: the triggering factors were fever, fasting, or decrease of food intake. However, diagnosis was made late at a mean age of 3 years, as mitochondrial defects or glycogen storage diseases were firstly suspected. Enzyme activity in leukocytes was dramatically decreased ( T, one point deletion c.48del, one point duplication c.865dupA, one deletion-insertion, and two splice mutations (c.427-1del and c.825 + 1G > A). We described the first intragenic deletion in FBP1 (g.97,364,754_97,382,011del) in homozygous state. Our report also confirms that this very rare disease is misdiagnosed, as other energetic defects are firstly suspected

A somatic mosaicism in the G6PD gene inducing a late onset chronic non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia

International audienceNo abstract availabl

Philosophie, Phänomenologie und Psychologie. Husserl und der “zeitgemäße Anachronismus” der Phänomenologie der Gestaltpsychologie

Often there has been seen connections and continuity between the phenomenology of Husserl and the epistemological orientation of representatives of Gestalt psychology. In fact the two methodological procedures are quite different. In the era of Weimarer Republic the Berlin School used a combination of empirical research, philosophical reflexion, phenomenology and physiology, those conceptions – derived from the work of Stumpf – were their methodological guidelines until World War II. Compared to the ‘pure’ phenomenology and epistemology in times of the Weimarer Republic the gestalt phenomenology can be seen as ‘impure’ and ‘anachronistic’. In this paper the characteristics and the actuality of this ‘anachronism’ are discussed