Laser Doppler Velocimetry for Joint Measurements of Acoustic and Mean Flow Velocities : LMS-based Algorithm and CRB Calculation

This paper presents a least mean square (LMS) algorithm for the joint estimation of acoustic and mean flow velocities from laser doppler velocimetry (LDV) measurements. The usual algorithms used for measuring with LDV purely acoustic velocity or mean flow velocity may not be used when the acoustic field is disturbed by a mean flow component. The LMS-based algorithm allows accurate estimations of both acoustic and mean flow velocities. The Cram\'er-Rao bound (CRB) of the associated problem is determined. The variance of the estimators of both acoustic and mean flow velocities is also given. Simulation results of this algorithm are compared with the CRB and the comparison leads to validate this estimator

La colère chez les éducateurs de la PJJ : une émotion inutile mais légitime face à la transgression d’un jeune

Le travail éducatif auprès d’adolescents en conflit avec la loi peut être source de frustration et de colère. L’interprétation par les éducateurs du sens des comportements d’opposition est possiblement liée à leur réaction émotionnelle. Cette étude vise à explorer l’attitude des éducateurs de la Protection judiciaire de la jeunesse (PJJ) envers la colère. En présentant à des éducateurs stagiaires (N = 85) un scénario fictif qui relate une situation de transgression où un éducateur ressent de la colère, cette étude s’intéresse à l’évaluation de l’utilité et de la légitimité de la colère du professionnel ainsi qu’à la manière d’interpréter le comportement de l’adolescent (attributions causales contrôlables versus incontrôlables et internes versus externes).Les résultats indiquent qu’une large majorité des éducateurs jugent que la colère est inutile et qu’une légère majorité d’entre eux jugent qu’elle est pourtant légitime. Par ailleurs, les éducateurs tendent plutôt à percevoir les causes du comportement de l’adolescent comme étant internes mais incontrôlables, ce qui fournit une explication indulgente à la transgression, qui semble pouvoir être liée à l’attitude envers la colère. À la lumière de ces résultats et dans le contexte du travail émotionnel à accomplir par les éducateurs, ces attributions causales indulgentes peuvent être interprétées comme des stratégies cognitives de régulation de la colère. Enfin, la légitimité accordée à la colère pourrait traduire une revendication d’autonomie émotionnelle par les éducateurs ou une attitude favorable à la colère malgré des connaissances sur son inutilité.Educational work with teenagers that are likely to enter into conflict may be a source of frustration and anger. The youth workers’ interpretation of the meaning of opposition behaviors is possibly linked to their emotional reactions.The purpose of this study is to explore the juvenile justice educators’ attitudes towards anger. By presenting to juvenile justice trainee educators (N= 85) a fictive scenario that recounts a conflict situation in which an educator feels angry, this study is interested in the evaluation of usefulness and legitimacy of the youth worker’s anger as well as the way to interpret the teenager’s behavior (controllable causal attributions vs uncontrollable and internal vs external ones).The results show that a large majority of the youth workers judge that anger is useless and a small majority of them estimate that anger is, however, legitimate. Moreover, youth workers are more likely to perceive the adolescent’s behavior as internal but uncontrollable, what provides an indulgent explanation to the transgression that seems to be able to be linked to the attitude towards anger.In light of these results and in the context of the emotional work to be done by juvenile justice educators, those indulgent causal attributions can be interpreted as cognitive strategies of anger regulation. Finally, the legitimacy given to anger could translate a claim of emotional autonomy by youth workers or an attitude favorable to anger despite the knowledge of its uselessness.La labor educativa entre los adolescentes en conflicto con la ley puede ser fuente de frustración e ira. La interpretación por parte de los educadores del sentido de los comportamientos de oposición está probablemente vinculada a su reacción emocional. Este estudio pretende explorar la actitud de los educadores de la Protección Judicial de la Juventud (PJJ) respecto a la ira. Presentando a los educadores en período de prácticas (N = 85) un escenario ficticio que relata una situación de transgresión donde un educador siente ira, este estudio se interesa por la evaluación de la utilidad y la legitimidad de la ira del profesional, así como por la manera de interpretar el comportamiento del adolescente (atribuciones causales controlables frente a incontrolables e internas frente a externas).Los resultados indican que una amplia mayoría de los educadores consideran inútil la ira y que una minoría considera que, a pesar todo, es legítima. Además, los educadores tienden a percibir las causas del comportamiento del adolescente como internas pero incontrolables, lo que ofrece una explicación indulgente para la transgresión que parece poder estar asociada a la actitud ante la ira. A la vista de estos resultados y dentro del contexto del trabajo emocional que los educadores deben realizar, estas atribuciones causales indulgentes pueden interpretarse como estrategias cognitivas de regulación de la ira. Por último, la legitimidad reconocida a la ira podría revelar una reivindicación de autonomía emocional por parte de los educadores o una actitud favorable ante la ira a pesar de ser conscientes de su inutilidad

Chronic urine acidification by fludrocortisone to treat infectious kidney stones

Chronic urinary tract infections by urease-producing bacteria may increase urine pH and promote thereby the formation of recurrent kidney stones made of highly carbonated calcium phosphate apatite and struvite, a magnesium ammonium phosphate. To date, there is no safe and effective treatment decreasing urine pH on a long term. We hypothesized that fludrocortisone, a mineralocorticoid, would decrease urine pH by increasing proton secretion in the kidney collecting tubule. We report three cases of patients with kidney stone suffering from chronic urinary infection by urease-producing germs, treated by fludrocortisone on a long term. Urine pH decreased sustainably over several months and tolerance was good

Choix d’orientation atypiques et normes de sexe : ressenti des lycéens insérés dans des filières dites « féminines »

Cette étude s’intéresse au ressenti de lycéens garçons inscrits dans des filières considérées comme féminines. Contrairement à ce que prévoyaient les hypothèses, les garçons indiquent des sentiments d’efficacité personnelle élevés et identiques à ceux des filles et se perçoivent, en majorité, tout autant androgynes qu’elles. Une seule différence, non prévue, apparaît : les filles, et notamment celles insérées dans la filière littéraire, rapportent un soutien social plus important que celui des garçons, même si ce dernier peut être considéré comme bon. Ces résultats sont mis en perspective avec d’autres études et la pratique professionnelle des conseiller.ère.s d’orientation-psychologues.This study focuses on the feeling of high school boys enrolled in sectors considered feminine. Contrary to the assumptions anticipated, the boys show feelings of high efficacy and identical to those girls and see themselves, mostly, they just as androgynous. One difference, not provided, appears: girls, including those inserted in the literary, report greater social support than boys, although it can be considered good. These results are put into perspective with other studies and the professional practice of guidance counselor psychologists

Chronic urine acidification by fludrocortisone to treat infectious kidney stones

Chronic urinary tract infections by urease-producing bacteria may increase urine pH and promote thereby the formation of recurrent kidney stones made of highly carbonated calcium phosphate apatite and struvite, a magnesium ammonium phosphate. To date, there is no safe and effective treatment decreasing urine pH on a long term. We hypothesized that fludrocortisone, a mineralocorticoid, would decrease urine pH by increasing proton secretion in the kidney collecting tubule. We report three cases of patients with kidney stone suffering from chronic urinary infection by urease-producing germs, treated by fludrocortisone on a long term. Urine pH decreased sustainably over several months and tolerance was good

Extracorporeal photopheresis for the treatment of graft rejection in 33 adult kidney transplant recipients

Background - Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) has shown encouraging results in the prevention of allograft rejection in heart transplantation. However, the role of ECP in kidney transplant (KT) rejection needs to be determined. Methods - This multicentre retrospective study included 33 KT recipients who were treated with ECP for allograft rejection (23 acute antibody-mediated rejections (AMRs), 2 chronic AMRs and 8 acute cellular rejections (ACRs)). The ECP indications were KT rejection in patients who were resistant to standard therapies (n = 18) or in patients for whom standard therapies were contraindicated because of concomitant infections or cancers (n = 15). Results - At 12 months (M12) post-ECP, 11 patients (33%) had a stabilization of kidney function with a graft survival rate of 61%. The Banff AMR score (g + ptc + v) was a risk factor for graft loss at M12 (HR 1.44 [1.01-2.05], p < 0.05). The factorial mixed data analysis identified 2 clusters. Patients with a functional graft at M12 tended to have cellular and/or chronic rejections. Patients with graft loss at M12 tended to have acute rejections and/or AMR; higher serum creatinine levels; DSA levels and histologic scores of AMR; and a longer delay between the rejection and ECP start than those of patients with functional grafts. Conclusions - ECP may be helpful to control ACR or moderate AMR in KT recipients presenting concomitant opportunistic infections or malignancies when it is initiated early

First investigation on microcrystalline pathologies of kidney allografts through cellular scale physicochemical techniques

AbstractTubulo-interstitial microcalcifications in renal transplant are described with a wide difference of incidence (4–78%) according to time and goal of biopsies. Currently, staining procedures are used to deduce the composition of crystals and speculate about their aetiologies. Here we test the contribution of infrared microspectroscopy (IR-MS) in understanding kidney transplant crystal deposits. First, microcalcifications observed in 118 allograft biopsies are studied by IR-MS. The Fourier transform infrared signal shows that a major proportion (92%) of calcium phosphate crystals is in the pure or mixed form. Next, we compare 50 patients with calcifications to 100 without calcifications and show persistent hyperparathyroidism and tubular cell vacuolization as circumstances of crystal deposition. Finally, the graduation level of calcification by IR-MS appears to be correlated with the graft outcome. Graft survival seems to be worse in case of high microcalcification detection by IR-MS. These preliminary data suggest IR-MS as a great tool for clinicians to diagnose, characterize, and quantify microcalcifications in kidney allografts

Actualización en síndrome hemolítico urémico atípico: diagnóstico y tratamiento. Documento de consenso. Revisión

Podeu consultar la versió en castellà del document a: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nefro.2015.07.005Haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) is a clinical entity defined as the triad of nonimmune haemolytic anaemia, thrombocytopenia, and acute renal failure, in which the underlying lesions are mediated by systemic thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA). Different causes can induce the TMA process that characterises HUS. In this document we consider atypical HUS (aHUS) a sub-type of HUS in which the TMA phenomena are the consequence of the endotelial damage in the microvasculature of the kidneys and other organs due to a disregulation of the activity of the complement system. In recent years, a variety of aHUs-related mutations have been identified in genes of the complement system, which can explain approximately 60% of the aHUS cases, and a number of mutations and polymorphisms have been functionally characterised. These findings have stablished that aHUS is a consequence of the insufficient regulation of the activation of the complement on cell surfaces, leading to endotelial damage mediated by C5 and the complement terminal pathway. Eculizumab is a monoclonal antibody that inhibits the activation of C5 and blocks the generation of the pro-inflammatory molecule C5a and the formation of the cell membrane attack complex. In prospective studies in patients with aHUS, the use of Eculizumab has shown a fast and sustained interruption of the TMA process and it has been associated with significative long-term improvements in renal function, the interruption of plasma therapy and important reductions in the need of dialysis. According to the existing literature and the accumulated clinical experience, the Spanish aHUS Group published a consensus document with recommendations for the treatment of aHUs (Nefrologia 2013;33[1]:27-45). In the current online version of this document, we update the aetiological classification of TMAs, the pathophysiology of aHUS, its differential diagnosis and its therapeutic management

Micromechanical Properties of Injection-Molded Starch–Wood Particle Composites

The micromechanical properties of injection molded starch–wood particle composites were investigated as a function of particle content and humidity conditions. The composite materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction methods. The microhardness of the composites was shown to increase notably with the concentration of the wood particles. In addition,creep behavior under the indenter and temperature dependence were evaluated in terms of the independent contribution of the starch matrix and the wood microparticles to the hardness value. The influence of drying time on the density and weight uptake of the injection-molded composites was highlighted. The results revealed the role of the mechanism of water evaporation, showing that the dependence of water uptake and temperature was greater for the starch–wood composites than for the pure starch sample. Experiments performed during the drying process at 70°C indicated that the wood in the starch composites did not prevent water loss from the samples.Peer reviewe