Women's view on sexual intercourse and physical abuse : results from a cross-sectional survey in villages surrounding Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

Our objective is to understand what do verbal and physical interactions within the couple as declared by women tell us about their related autonomy regarding sexual intercourse with their regular partner. Data were gathered thanks to a baseline KABP survey in 8 villages in Burkina Faso. Overall, 591 women aged 15 to 49 living in a stable union constitute our analysis sample. A low percentage (18.2%) of respondents declares that a woman can refuse to have sex with her partner. However, a large part (77.3%) considers this refusal as an unacceptable reason for wife beating. Multivariate logistic regression shows that the belief in a possibility to refuse sex is higher among women in polygamous union and among those who have their own resources. In contrast, disapproval of wife beating as a reaction to this refusal increases with age. It is also higher among women not denying that their partner has multiple sexual partners. Surprisingly, it is lower among women who have their own economic resources. These findings suggest that programs should work on strong beliefs, which are the result of internalization of gender roles as they may, in patriarchal societies such as Burkina Faso, facilitate acceptance of domestic violence

Kinematic dynamo action in square and hexagonal patterns

We consider kinematic dynamo action in rapidly rotating Boussinesq convection just above onset. The velocity is constrained to have either a square or a hexagonal pattern. For the square pattern, large-scale dynamo action is observed at onset, with most of the magnetic energy being contained in the horizontally averaged component. As the magnetic Reynolds number increases, small-scale dynamo action becomes possible, reducing the overall growth rate of the dynamo. For the hexagonal pattern, the breaking of symmetry between up and down flows results in an effective pumping velocity. For intermediate rotation rates, this additional effect can prevent the growth of any mean-field dynamo, so that only a small-scale dynamo is eventually possible at large enough magnetic Reynolds number. For very large rotation rates, this pumping term becomes negligible, and the dynamo properties of square and hexagonal patterns are qualitatively similar. These results hold for both perfectly conducting and infinite magnetic permeability boundary conditions

Carcinomatous Meningitis from Unknown Primary Carcinoma

Carcinomatous meningitis (CM) occurs in 3 to 8% of cancer patients. Patients present with a focal symptom, and multifocal signs are often found following neurological examination. The gold standard for diagnosis remains the demonstration of carcinomatous cells in the cerebrospinal fluid on cytopathological examination. Despite the poor prognosis, palliative treatment could improve quality of life and, in some cases, overall survival. We report on a patient who presented with vertigo, tinnitus and left-sided hearing loss followed by progressive diffuse facial nerve paralysis. Lumbar cerebrospinal fluid confirmed the diagnosis of CM. However, no primary tumor was discovered, even after multiple invasive investigations. This is the first reported case in the English-language medical literature of CM resulting from a carcinoma of unknown primary origin

Blind multiuser equalization using a PARAFAC-subspace spproach

- Dans cet article, nous utilisons la décomposition tensorielle PARAFAC (PARAllel FACtors) en vue de développer une nouvelle approche pour l'égalisation aveugle multi-utilisateur dans le cadre des systèmes de communications sans fil. Le système considéré est basé sur l'utilisation conjointe d'un réseau d'antennes et d'un sur-échantillonnage à la réception. Nous proposons tout d'abord un modèle tridimensionnel du type PARAFAC pour le signal reçu, dont les 3 dimensions sont l'espace, le temps et le sur-échantillonnage. Ensuite, nous présentons un nouveau récepteur aveugle multi-utilisateur pour la séparation des signaux et pour l'égalisation. Le récepteur proposé combine une modélisation PARAFAC, une méthode de sous-espace et l'exploitation de la propriété d'alphabet fini des symboles transmis. Des résultats de simulations sont montrés pour illustrer la performance du récepteur aveugle proposé

Quasi-static magnetohydrodynamic turbulence at high Reynolds number

We analyse the anisotropy of homogeneous turbulence in an electrically conducting fluid submitted to a uniform magnetic field, for low magnetic Reynolds number, in the quasi- static approximation. We interpret disagreeing previous predictions between linearized theory and simulations: in the linear limit, the kinetic energy of transverse velocity components, normal to the magnetic field, decays faster than the kinetic energy of the axial component, along the magnetic field (Moffatt (1967)); whereas many numerical studies predict a final state characterised by dominant energy of transverse velocity components. We investigate the corresponding nonlinear phenomenon using Direct Numerical Simulations of freely-decaying turbulence, and a two-point statistical spectral closure based on the Eddy Damped Quasi-Normal Markovian model. The transition from the three-dimensional turbulent flow to a "two-and-a-half-dimensional" flow (Montgomery & Turner (1982)) is a result of the combined effects of short-time linear Joule dissipation and longer time nonlinear creation of polarisation anisotropy. It is this combination of linear and nonlinear effects which explains the disagreement between predictions from linearized theory and results from numerical simulations. The transition is characterized by the elongation of turbulent structures along the applied magnetic field, and by the strong anisotropy of directional two-point correlation spectra, in agreement with experimental evidence. Inertial equatorial transfers in both DNS and the model are presented to describe in detail the most important equilibrium dynamics. Spectral scalings are maintained in high Reynolds number turbulence attainable only with the EDQNM model, which also provides simplified modelling of the asymptotic state of quasi-static MHD turbulence.Comment: Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 201

Reconnaissance observations by CIGIDEN after the 2015 Illapel, Chile earthquake and tsunami

This paper describes the reconnaissance work conducted by researchers from the National Research Center for Integrated Natural Disaster Management (CIGIDEN) between September 23rd and October 2nd in the area affected by the Mw 8.3 Illapel megathrust earthquake, which struck offshore the coast of the Coquimbo Region in central Chile on September 16th , 2015. A first team focused on the seismic performance and effects of the tsunami on public hospitals and on reinforced concrete (RC) buildings. A second team focused on the road network infrastructure. Field work included: (i) a survey on the physical and functional damages of the public hospitals in the Region; (ii) a visual inspection and preliminary damage assessment of 20 RC buildings in the largest cities of the region and an aftershock instrumentation of the Coquimbo hospital; and (iii) the inspection of bridges, pedestrian bridges, and rockfall along overstepped cut slopes of the road network. The overall limited impact of this megathrust earthquake may be explained in part by the long-term efforts made by the country to prepare for such events. Learnings from the 2010 Maule earthquake were evidenced in the successful evacuation along the coast of the country, and the overall good performance of engineered masonry structures, and of RC buildings designed after 2010

Laser frequency stabilization using folded cavity and mirror reflectivity tuning

International audienceA new method of laser frequency stabilization using polarization property of an optical cavity is proposed. In a standard Fabry–Perot cavity, the coating layers thickness of cavity mirrors is calculated to obtain the same phase shift for sand p-wave but a slight detuning from the nominal thickness can produce sand p-wave phase detuning. As a result, each wave accumulates a different round-trip phase shift and resonates at a different frequency. Using this polarization property, an error signal is generated by a simple setup consisting of a quarter wave-plate rotated at 45°, a polarizing beam splitter and two photodiodes. This method exhibits similar error signal as the Pound–Drever–Hall technique but without need for any frequency modulation. Lock theory and experimental results are presented in this paper.

AIM (Artery in microgravity): Design and development of an ice cubes mission

The Artery In Microgravity (AIM) project is the first experiment to be selected for the “Orbit Your Thesis!” programme of ESA Academy. It is a 2U experiment cube designed for the ICE Cubes facility on board of the International Space Station. The experiment is expected to be launched on SpaceX-20 in early 2020. The project is being developed by an international group of students from ISAE-SUPAERO and Politecnico di Torino, under the supervision of the ISAE-SUPAERO and Politecnico di Torino staff. The experiment is a test-bench for investigating haemodynamics in microgravity focusing on coronary heart disease, the most common form of cardiovascular disease and the cause of approximately 9 million deaths every year. Coronary heart disease is caused by stenosis of the coronary artery due to the build-up of plaque. While the development of atherosclerosis is not fully understood, the primary event seems to be subtle and repeated injury to the artery walls through various mechanisms including physical stresses from flow disturbances as well as from systemic and biological risk factors. In the presence of severe stenosis, patients are treated with the implantation of one or more coronary stents, which are tubular scaffolds devoted to restore and maintain myocardial perfusion. The coronary stenting procedure is largely applied (e.g., 1.8 million stents per year implanted in USA) In view of the impact that coronary artery disease has on humans, as well as of the increasing number of people that will be involved in space flights in the future, the way astronauts in space coronary hemodynamics is affected by the absence of gravity in the presence of stenosis or of stenting needs to be investigated in depth. In addition, as most stents are metallic objects, the radiation exposure in space might interact with their surface, altering blood flow, inducing particles release and ultimately leading to stent failure. Therefore, the aim of AIM is to start studying the vascular haemodynamics in a stented and a stenosed coronary artery on Earth and in microgravity and the stent-radiation coupling. This will allow to learn about the effect gravity plays on coronary artery haemodynamics, the effects of microgravity and radiation on the performance of implantable devices and ultimately the risks of myocardial infarction to astronauts on long-distance spaceflight. The experimental setup consists of a closed hydraulic loop containing two models of a coronary artery in series. An electric pump and reservoir will control the flow of a blood-mimicking fluid through the system. One model of the coronary artery will contain a coronary stent. The pressure of the fluid will be studied along its path using a series of pressure sensors and a camera will visualise the flow. The same experiments will be repeated on the ground with the same conditions as the in-flight model for comparison. The paper will outline in detail the design and development of the AIM experiment cube and the results of testing. The full data and results will be available after the completion of the mission which is expected to be between March and June 2020

Emulsion sheet doublets as interface trackers for the OPERA experiment

New methods for efficient and unambiguous interconnection between electronic counters and target units based on nuclear photographic emulsion films have been developed. The application to the OPERA experiment, that aims at detecting oscillations between mu neutrino and tau neutrino in the CNGS neutrino beam, is reported in this paper. In order to reduce background due to latent tracks collected before installation in the detector, on-site large-scale treatments of the emulsions ("refreshing") have been applied. Changeable Sheet (CSd) packages, each made of a doublet of emulsion films, have been designed, assembled and coupled to the OPERA target units ("ECC bricks"). A device has been built to print X-ray spots for accurate interconnection both within the CSd and between the CSd and the related ECC brick. Sample emulsion films have been extensively scanned with state-of-the-art automated optical microscopes. Efficient track-matching and powerful background rejection have been achieved in tests with electronically tagged penetrating muons. Further improvement of in-doublet film alignment was obtained by matching the pattern of low-energy electron tracks. The commissioning of the overall OPERA alignment procedure is in progress.Comment: 19 pages, 19 figure

Isotopic Composition of Light Nuclei in Cosmic Rays: Results from AMS-01

The variety of isotopes in cosmic rays allows us to study different aspects of the processes that cosmic rays undergo between the time they are produced and the time of their arrival in the heliosphere. In this paper we present measurements of the isotopic ratios 2H/4He, 3He/4He, 6Li/7Li, 7Be/(9Be+10Be) and 10B/11B in the range 0.2-1.4 GeV of kinetic energy per nucleon. The measurements are based on the data collected by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, AMS-01, during the STS-91 flight in 1998 June.Comment: To appear in ApJ. 12 pages, 11 figures, 6 table