GANIL D.C. power converters: improvements of the response to mains fluctuations. Mains voltage harmonic filtering

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GANIL RF system

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Maternal childhood abuse and neglect predicts offspring development in early childhood: the roles of reflective functioning and child sex

Background: Recent evidence suggests that offspring of mothers having been exposed to childhood abuse and neglect (CA&N) are at increased risk of developmental problems and that boys are more affected by maternal CA&N than girls. Since impairments in reflective functioning (RF) have been associated with maternal CA&N and offspring development, RF could represent a key mechanism in these intergenerational risk trajectories. Objective: This study evaluated mediating (RF) and moderating (child sex) mechanisms in the association between maternal CA&N and child development. Participants and setting: In a longitudinal setting, 111 mothers completed measures during pregnancy and between 11 and 36 months postpartum. Methods: CA&N and impairments in RF were assessed during pregnancy and offspring development was measured during the longitudinal follow-up using the Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ-3). Child development was operationalized in two ways: using the global score at the ASQ-3 and using a dichotomous score of accumulation of delays across domains of development. Results: Structural equation modeling indicated that RF mediated the association between maternal CA&N and offspring development. Child sex moderated the association between CA&N and the clustering of developmental problems (Wald = 5.88, p = 0.02), with boys being particularly likely to accumulate developmental delays when their mother experienced CA&N (RR = 2.62). Accumulation of developmental problems was associated with impairments in maternal RF in girls and with maternal exposure to CA&N in boys. Conclusions: Results provide novel insights on the role of mentalization and child sex in the association between maternal CA&N and child development. © 2021 The Author

Socioemotional development in infants of pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic : The role of prenatal and postnatal maternal distress

Background An upsurge in psychological distress was documented in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated with a longitudinal design whether prenatal and postnatal maternal distress during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with lower infant socioemotional development. Methods Pregnant women (N = 468, Mage = 30,00, 97.6% White) were recruited during the first COVID-19 mandatory lockdown in Quebec, Canada, from April 2nd to April 13th 2020 and were re-contacted at two months postpartum to complete self-reported measures of general (i.e. not specifically related to the COVID-19 pandemic) anxio-depressive symptoms and infant development. Structural equation modeling analyses were performed using maximum likelihood parameter estimation. Results Higher maternal prenatal distress significantly contributed to poorer infant socioemotional development. A mediation model showed that postnatal distress significantly mediated the association between prenatal distress and infant socioemotional development, whereas the direct effect of prenatal distress was no longer significant. Prenatal and postnatal maternal distress accounted for 13.7% of the variance in infant socioemotional development. Conclusion Our results call for special means of clinical surveillance in mothers and for innovative (online) interventions aiming to support maternal mental health during pregnancy and after delivery

Variability and change in the Canadian cryosphere

Abstract During the International Polar Year (IPY), comprehensive observational research programs were undertaken to increase our understanding of the Canadian polar cryosphere response to a changing climate. Cryospheric components considered were snow, permafrost, sea ice, freshwater ice, glaciers and ice shelves. Enhancement of conventional observing systems and retrieval algorithms for satellite measurements facilitated development of a snapshot of current cryospheric conditions, providing a baseline against which future change can be assessed. Key findings include: 1. surface air temperatures across the Canadian Arctic exhibit a warming trend in all seasons over the past 40 years. A consistent pan-cryospheric response to these warming temperatures is evident through the analysis of multi-decadal datasets; 2. in recent years (including the IPY period) a higher rate of change was observed compared to previous decades including warming permafrost, reduction in snow cover extent and duration, reduction in summer sea ice extent, increased mass loss from glaciers, and thinning and break-up of the remaining Canadian ice shelves. These changes illustrate both a reduction in the spatial extent and mass of the cryosphere and an increase in the temporal persistence of melt related parameters. The observed changes in the cryosphere have important implications for human activity including the close ties of northerners to the land, access to northern regions for natural resource development, and the integrity of northern infrastructure

Impact of Spectral Resolution on Quantifying Cyanobacteria in Lakes and Reservoirs: A Machine-Learning Assessment

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms are an increasing threat to coastal and inland waters. These blooms can be detected using optical radiometers due to the presence of phycocyanin (PC) pigments. The spectral resolution of best-available multispectral sensors limits their ability to diagnostically detect PC in the presence of other photosynthetic pigments. To assess the role of spectral resolution in the determination of PC, a large ( N=905 ) database of colocated in situ radiometric spectra and PC are employed. We first examine the performance of selected widely used machine-learning (ML) models against that of benchmark algorithms for hyperspectral remote sensing reflectance ( Rrs ) spectra resampled to the spectral configuration of the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) with a full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of < 6 nm. Results show that the multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural network applied to HICO spectral configurations (median errors < 65%) outperforms other ML models. This model is subsequently applied to Rrs spectra resampled to the band configuration of existing satellite instruments and of the one proposed for the next Landsat sensor. These results confirm that employing MLP models to estimate PC from hyperspectral data delivers tangible improvements compared with retrievals from multispectral data and benchmark algorithms (with median errors between ∼73 % and 126%) and shows promise for developing a globally applicable cyanobacteria measurement approach

Components of SurA Required for Outer Membrane Biogenesis in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli

Background: SurA is a periplasmic peptidyl-prolyl isomerase (PPIase) and chaperone of Escherichia coli and other Gramnegative bacteria. In contrast to other PPIases, SurA appears to have a distinct role in chaperoning newly synthesized porins destined for insertion into the outer membrane. Previous studies have indicated that the chaperone activity of SurA rests in its ‘‘core module’ ’ (the N- plus C-terminal domains), based on in vivo envelope phenotypes and in vitro binding and protection of non-native substrates. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this study, we determined the components of SurA required for chaperone activity using in vivo phenotypes relevant to disease causation by uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), namely membrane resistance to permeation by antimicrobials and maturation of the type 1 pilus usher FimD. FimD is a SurA-dependent, integral outer membrane protein through which heteropolymeric type 1 pili, which confer bladder epithelial binding and invasion capacity upon uropathogenic E. coli, are assembled and extruded. Consistent with prior results, the in vivo chaperone activity of SurA in UPEC rested primarily in the core module. However, the PPIase domains I and II were not expendable for wild-type resistance to novobiocin in broth culture. Steady-state levels of FimD were substantially restored in the UPEC surA mutant complemented with the SurA N- plus C-terminal domains. The addition of PPIase domain I augmented FimD maturation into the outer membrane, consistent with a model in which domain I enhances stability of and/or substrat