How physicians caring for adult patients presenting a chronic mental disturbance take account of the difficulties their patients’ children under 18: Preliminary study

AbstractAimsTo study how physicians caring for adult patients presenting a chronic mental disturbance take account of the difficulties of their patients’ children under 18.MethodExploratory and qualitative study based on an in-depth study of interviews.Study populationThirteen physiatrists or neurologists following brain-damaged patients and 12 psychiatrists following patients with chronic psychiatric disorders.ResultsIn the two groups of physicians, diversified practices in catering for the issues of the patient's parenthood, child–parent relationships, and difficulties experienced by the child. The child's difficulties are not approached as such. For many of the physicians, representations of the parenting function, and of the child's needs and difficulties are not often used in work with the patient. Patient-centred care appears at odds with catering for the patient's children and their specific difficulties. The seriousness of the mental pathologies, their chronic nature, and the fact that they can affect the patient in his/her parental functioning and concerns, appear as factors in the reluctance of physicians. Other reasons are lack of familiarity with issues relating to childhood, and the feeling of encroaching on a private and intimate sphere. The representations of physicians with regard to parenthood, parent–child relations, and the needs and difficulties of children, are often not integrated into the corpus of knowledge. These issues are more often aspects of physicians’ own experience.ConclusionThe conflict of values and the uneasiness of the physicians suggest the need for ethical reflection groups or Balint groups

All solution-processed organic photocathodes with increased efficiency and stability via the tuning of the hole-extracting layer †

International audiencePhotoelectrodes based on solution-processed organic semiconductors are emerging as low-cost alternatives to crystalline semiconductors and platinum. In this work, the performance and stability of P3HT:PCBM\MoS 3-based photocathodes are considerably improved by changing the hole-extracting layer (HEL). Oxides such as reduced graphene oxide, nickel oxide or molybdenum oxide are deposited via solution processes. With MoO x , a photocurrent density of 2 mA cm À2 during 1 h is obtained with the processing temperature lower than 150 C – thus compatible with flexible substrates. Furthermore, we show that the performances are directly correlated with the work function of the HEL material, and the comparison with solid-state solar cells shows that efficient HELs are not the same for the two types of devices

New insights in the electronic transport in reduced graphene oxide using Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy

International audienceGraphene and graphene analogues such as GO or reduced-GO (r-GO) are attracting increasing attention from the scientific community. These materials have outstanding properties, so that many potential applications in the fields of electronics, sensors, catalysis and energy storage are being considered. GO combines several advantages such as availability in large quantity, low cost and easy processability. However, contrary to graphene, GO is electronically insulating and has to be reduced into a conductive material, r-GO. In a recent work we introduced a new localized functionalization method of GO deposited on a silicon oxide surface based on its reduction at the local scale thanks to scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM): the reducer is generated at the microelectrode, that is moved close to the substrate. The recovery of electronic conductivity upon reduction enables the selective electrochemical functionalization of patterns. In the present work, we introduce a new method to evaluate at a local scale the conductivity of r-GO layers with SECM. In addition we show how images of individual and interconnected flakes directly reveal the signature of the contact resistance between flakes in a non-contact and substrate-independent way. Quantitative evaluation of the parameters is achieved with the support of numerical simulations to interpret the experimental results. Overall, these works illustrates the high potential and versatility of SECM to investigate and functionalize 2D materials

3,4-Phenylenedioxythiophene (PheDOT): a novel platform for the synthesis of planar substituted pi-donor conjugated systems

3,4-Phenylenedioxythiophene (PheDOT), a benzenic analogue of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT), has been synthesized using two different routes namely etherification of 2,5-dicarboethoxy-3,4-dihydroxythiophene with halo-aromatics and transetherification of 3,4-dimethoxythiophene with catechols. Quantum calculations and electrochemical measurements show that replacement of the ethylene bridge of EDOT by a phenyl group leads to an increase of the HOMO level and to a stabilization of the cation radical, making electropolymerization of PheDOT more difficult than that of EDOT. The synthesis of several PheDOT derivatives is described together with preliminary results on their electrochemical polymerization and on the properties of the resulting polymers and copolymers

Host-Guest Complexation of [60]Fullerenes and Porphyrins Enabled by “Click Chemistry”

Herein the synthesis, characterization, and organization of a first-generation dendritic fulleropyrrolidine bearing two pending porphyrins are reported. Both the dendron and the fullerene derivatives were synthesized by Cu(I) -catalyzed alkyne-azide cycloaddition (CuAAC). The electron-donor-acceptor conjugate possesses a shape that allows the formation of supramolecular complexes by encapsulation of C60 within the jaws of the two porphyrins of another molecule. The interactions between the two photoactive units (i.e., C60 and Zn-porphyrin) were confirmed by cyclic voltammetry as well as by steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy. For example, a shift of about 85 mV was found for the first reduction of C60 in the electron-donor-acceptor conjugate compared with the parent molecules, which indicates that C60 is included in the jaws of the porphyrin. The fulleropyrrolidine compound exhibits a rich polymorphism, which was corroborated by AFM and SEM. In particular, it was found to form supramolecular fibrils when deposited on substrates. The morphology of the fibrils suggests that they are formed by several rows of fullerene-porphyrin complexes

Context-dependent combination of sensor information in Dempster–Shafer theory for BDI

© 2016, The Author(s). There has been much interest in the belief–desire–intention (BDI) agent-based model for developing scalable intelligent systems, e.g. using the AgentSpeak framework. However, reasoning from sensor information in these large-scale systems remains a significant challenge. For example, agents may be faced with information from heterogeneous sources which is uncertain and incomplete, while the sources themselves may be unreliable or conflicting. In order to derive meaningful conclusions, it is important that such information be correctly modelled and combined. In this paper, we choose to model uncertain sensor information in Dempster–Shafer (DS) theory. Unfortunately, as in other uncertainty theories, simple combination strategies in DS theory are often too restrictive (losing valuable information) or too permissive (resulting in ignorance). For this reason, we investigate how a context-dependent strategy originally defined for possibility theory can be adapted to DS theory. In particular, we use the notion of largely partially maximal consistent subsets (LPMCSes) to characterise the context for when to use Dempster’s original rule of combination and for when to resort to an alternative. To guide this process, we identify existing measures of similarity and conflict for finding LPMCSes along with quality of information heuristics to ensure that LPMCSes are formed around high-quality information. We then propose an intelligent sensor model for integrating this information into the AgentSpeak framework which is responsible for applying evidence propagation to construct compatible information, for performing context-dependent combination and for deriving beliefs for revising an agent’s belief base. Finally, we present a power grid scenario inspired by a real-world case study to demonstrate our work

Fermi level shift in carbon nanotubes by dye confinement

International audienceDye confinement into carbon nanotube significantly affects the electronic charge density distribution of the final hybrid system. Using the electron-phonon coupling sensitivity of the Raman G-band, we quantify experimentally how charge transfer from thiophene oligomers to single walled carbon nanotube is modulated by the diameter of the nano-container and its metallic or semiconducting character. This charge transfer is shown to restore the electron-phonon coupling into defected metallic nanotubes. For sub-nanometer diameter tube, an electron transfer optically activated is observed when the excitation energy matches the HOMO-LUMO transition of the confined oligothiophene. This electron doping accounts for an important enhancement of the photoluminescence intensity up to a factor of nearly six for optimal confinement configuration. This electron transfer shifts the Fermi level, acting on the photoluminescence efficiency. Therefore, thiophene oligomer encapsulation allows modulating the electronic structure and then the optical properties of the hybrid system

Charge transfer in conjugated oligomers encapsulated into carbon nanotubes

This study deals with a hybrid system consisting in quaterthiophene derivative encapsulated inside single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Investigations of the encapsulation step are performed by transmission electron microscopy. Raman spectroscopy data point out different behaviors depending on the laser excitation energy with respect to the optical absorption of quaterthiophene. At low excitation energy (far from the oligomer resonance window) there is no significant modification of the Raman spectra before and after encapsulation. By contrast, at high excitation energy (close to the oligomer resonance window), Raman spectra exhibit a G-band shift together with an important RBM intensity loss, suggesting a significant charge transfer between the inserted molecule and the host nanotubes. Those results suggest a photo induced process leading to a significant charge transfer.Peer reviewe

New materials and Electrochemical Analysis for Fuel Cell Electrical Vehicles without Platinum

International audienceFuel cells, as a highly efficient energy conversion technology, and hydrogen, as a clean energy carrier, have a great potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and to reduce Europe dependency on hydrocarbons. Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is the fuel cell predilection technology for automotive applications with a large deployment horizon by 2025-2030. The performance and durability of fuel cell electrical vehicles (FCEV) have already been proved with car integrating high content of Pt based catalyst. However, the availability on earth of Pt is too low not to avoid future barriers for large scale development of the technology. At LICSEN, we develop new materials for PEMFC using non-critical elements, with the aim of being competitive with Pt in terms of performance and durability, but with a much higher availability of the starting materials. This research also generates new needs in terms of electrochemical characterizations to address the complexity of the fonctionnal cores-namely the electrocatalytic layers. These have to operate not only the electrochemical reaction (oxygen reduction or hydrogen evolution) but to transport electrons, ions (H$^+$), molecules (H$_2$O), and gas (H$_2$ or O$_2$). At LICSEN, we use Electrochemical microscopy (SECM, Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy) to investigate the different processes occurring within these multifunctional materials and identify the limiting factors

Electrochemical and Physico-Chemical Investigation of New Promising N-Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

International audiencePolymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is a very promising technology that could be used for electrical transportation and/or as a stationary energy supplier (e.g. domestic applications). In such devices, chemical reactions that lead to the production of an electric current involve the oxidation of hydrogen (HER) at the anode and the reduction of oxygen (ORR) at the cathode. PEMFC operate under acidic conditions and unfortunately the conventional catalysts currently used for O$_2$ reduction as for H$_2$ oxidation are based on Pt which is scarce and very expensive. In order to meet the industrial requirements, and particularly when electrical vehicle applications are targeted, development of new efficient catalysts that could replace platinum is crucial. Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) are low cost promising alternative materials in fuel-cell catalysis. We recently demonstrated that such compounds could compete with platinum in alkaline media but unfortunately electrochemical activities remains unsatisfying in acidic media. Thus, in order to enable a practical application of NCNTs materials (i.e. to be the closest of the performances reached with Pt), new synthetic methods must be developed allowing to obtain structural and architectural features providing enhanced electrochemical performances (high electrocatalytic activity, good stability and resistance to corrosion). We report herein the synthesis and the characterizations at different length scale of promising catalysts for the ORR prepared through the annealing treatment under inert conditions of a carefully chosen azole derivative, used as nitrogen precursors, supported on multi-wall carbon nanotubes