Influence of a transverse static magnetic field on the magnetic hyperthermia properties and high-frequency hysteresis loops of ferromagnetic FeCo nanoparticles

The influence of a transverse static magnetic field on the magnetic hyperthermia properties is studied on a system of large-losses ferromagnetic FeCo nanoparticles. The simultaneous measurement of the high-frequency hysteresis loops and of the temperature rise provides an interesting insight into the losses and heating mechanisms. A static magnetic field of only 40 mT is enough to cancel the heating properties of the nanoparticles, a result reproduced using numerical simulations of hysteresis loops. These results cast doubt on the possibility to perform someday magnetic hyperthermia inside a magnetic resonance imaging setup.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Robotic experiment with a force reflecting handcontroller onboard MIR space station

During the French CASSIOPEE mission that will fly onboard MIR space station in 1996, ergonomic evaluations of a force reflecting handcontroller will be performed on a simulated robotic task. This handcontroller is a part of the COGNILAB payload that will be used also for experiments in neurophysiology. The purpose of the robotic experiment is the validation of a new control and design concept that would enhance the task performances for telemanipulating space robots. Besides the handcontroller and its control unit, the experimental system includes a simulator of the slave robot dynamics for both free and constrained motions, a flat display screen and a seat with special fixtures for holding the astronaut

Les solutions étudiées : améliorations et options innovantes : les améliorations du cycle actuel

École thématiqu

Visually guided grasping to study teleprogrammation within the BAROCO testbed

This paper describes vision functionalities required in future orbital laboratories; in such systems, robots will be needed in order to execute the on-board scientific experiments or servicing and maintenance tasks under the remote control of ground operators. For this sake, ESA has proposed a robotic configuration called EMATS; a testbed has been developed by ESTEC in order to evaluate the potentialities of EMATS-like robot to execute scientific tasks in automatic mode. For the same context, CNES develops the BAROCO testbed to investigate remote control and teleprogrammation, in which high level primitives like 'Pick Object A' are provided as basic primitives. In nominal situations, the system has an a priori knowledge about the position of all objects. These positions are not very accurate, but this knowledge is sufficient in order to predict the position of the object which must be grasped, with respect to the manipulator frame. Vision is required in order to insure a correct grasping and to guarantee a good accuracy for the following operations. We describe our results about a visually guided grasping of static objects. It seems to be a very classical problem, and a lot of results are available. But, in many cases, it lacks a realistic evaluation of the accuracy, because such an evaluation requires tedious experiments. We propose several results about calibration of the experimental testbed, recognition algorithms required to locate a 3D polyhedral object, and the grasping itself

Résidence, tenure foncière, alliance dans une société bilinéaire (Sérèr du Sine et du Baol, Sénégal)

M. Dupire, A. Lericollais, B. Delpech et J.-M. Gastellu — Residence, Land Tenure and Marriage in a Double-Descent Society: The Serer from the Sine and Baol Regions of Senegal. This society is characterized by virilocal residence, double-descent, and matrilineal inheritance of non-consumable goods. Residential compounds are inherited in both the agnatic and the uterine lines, the relative proportion of each type of succession varying in the four villages under study. A compound may be divided into 'wards', 'kitchens', and, further down, 'uterine huts', each of these units corresponding to a specifie economic function. Starting from K. Gough's five types of residential categories, we define seven different patterns, the form most frequently found being the patrilocal extended family, the elementary family and a composite type of avuncular family, in that order. There is a significant correlation between residence patterns and inheritance of traditional offices. 'Kitchens' differ from compounds insofar as they can be matrilocal and chiefly consist of elementary families. While married sons often live in the same 'kitchen' with their fathers, nephews seldom cohabit with their MB. The 'uterine hut' is the primary unit of economic accumulation. The bilineal pattern of inheritance is also found in the four-level System of land-rights, with a correlation between land-rights and residence. Residential patterns and pre-ferential marriages tend to counterbalance the dispersal of a matrilineage's women resulting from virilocality.Dupire Marguerite, Lericollais André, Delpech Bernard, Gastellu Jean-Marc. Résidence, tenure foncière, alliance dans une société bilinéaire (Serer du Sine et du Baol, Sénégal).. In: Cahiers d'études africaines, vol. 14, n°55, 1974. pp. 417-452

Trends in HIV testing and recording of HIV status in the UK primary care setting: a retrospective cohort study 1995-2005

Objectives: To provide nationally representative data on trends in HIV testing in primary care and to estimate the proportion of diagnosed HIV positive individuals known to general practitioners (GPs). Methods: We undertook a retrospective cohort study between 1995 and 2005 of all general practices contributing data to the UK General Practice Research Database (GPRD), and data on persons accessing HIV care (Survey of Prevalent HIV Infections Diagnosed). We identified all practice-registered patients where an HIV test or HIV positive status is recorded in their general practice records. HIV testing in primary care and prevalence of recorded HIV positive status in primary care were estimated. Results: Despite 11-fold increases in male testing and 19-fold increases in non-pregnant female testing between 1995 and 2005, HIV testing rates remained low in 2005 at 71.3 and 61.2 tests per 100 000 person years for males and females, respectively, peaking at 162.5 and 173.8 per 100 000 person years at 25–34 years of age. Inclusion of antenatal tests yielded a 129-fold increase in women over the 10-year period. In 2005, 50.7% of HIV positive individuals had their diagnosis recorded with a lower proportion in London (41.8%) than outside the capital (60.1%). Conclusion: HIV testing rates in primary care remain low. Normalisation of HIV testing and recording in primary care in antenatal testing has not been accompanied by a step change in wider HIV testing practice. Recording of HIV positive status by GPs remains low and GPs may be unaware of HIV-related morbidity or potential drug interactions