139 research outputs found
: Approche écogéographique d'une maladie hydro-dépendante : la schistosomose urogénitale à Madagascar
Article disponible en ligne : http://www.john-libbey-eurotext.fr/fr/revues/sante_pub/ers/e-docs/00/04/13/12/article.phtml [en français]Urogenital schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma haematobium is endemic to Madagascar and more particularly to the Menabe region (along the west coast). Its transmission involves interactions between society and the environment, with humans both responsible for the disease and its victim. This article aims mainly to show the importance of a global and systemic eco-geographical approach to understanding how waterborne diseases are transmitted. The hydric environment is where humans, mollusks and parasites -- the 3 main participants in disease transmission -- meet. It is thus the ecological center of schistosomiasis\; this ecology can be approached through the concept of risk, defined as the arithmetic product of a hazard and vulnerability. The risk of transmission of bilharzia is defined here as the product of the risk of infestation and the risk of contamination. We also clarify various dimensions of the risk of transmission -- spatiotemporal, cultural and even sacred. Finally, in this interdisciplinary approach to the risk of transmission, the distinction between physical and human geography is pointless\; geography thus regains its fundamental unity.La schistosomose urogénitale à Schisosoma haematobium est endémique à Madagascar et en particulier dans le Menabe (côté ouest). Son système de transmission présente des interactions entre la société et son environnement, où l'homme est aussi bien acteur que victime de la maladie. L'article vise notamment à montrer l'intérêt d'une approche écogéographique, globalis0ante et systémique, pour appréhender le fonctionnement d'une maladie dépendante de la qualité des eaux de surface. Le milieu hydrique, interface où sont en relation les différents acteurs de la transmission (l'homme, le mollusque et le parasite), occupe une place centrale dans l'écologie de la maladie. Cette dernière est abordée au travers du concept de "risque" que nous assimilons au produit arithmétique d'un aléa par une vulnérabilité. Globalement, le risque de transmission de la bilharziose est défini comme le produit du risque d'infestation par le risque de contamination. Par ailleurs, les différentes dimensions du risque de transmission sont mises en évidence, allant de la dimension spatio-temporelle jusqu'aux caractères culturel et sacré du risque. Enfin, dans cette approche transdisciplinaire du risque de transmission, la distinction entre géographie physique et géographie humaine n'a pas lieu d'être ; la géographie retrouve des fondements unitaires
Towards Control of Steady State Plasma on Tore Supra
The Tore Supra tokamak is the largest superconducting magnetic fusion
facility, has been devoted to long-duration high-performance discharge
research. With a steady-state magnetic field and water cooled plasma facing
components, discharges up to 6 minutes 24 seconds duration with injected /
extracted energy up to 1 GJ have been performed. The Tore Supra real time
measurements and control (RTMC) system has been upgraded to address schemes
dedicated to long pulse operation with simultaneous control of an increasing
number of plasma parameters. This includes plasma equilibrium control with
possible self calibration during the discharge, plasma density control with
possible pellet injection, current profile control to avoid
magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities and infrared monitoring of plasma
facing components preventing overheating. Most of these improvements are
relevant to the tokamaks operation in a fully steady state regime
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