Microwave temperature and pressure measurements with the Odin satellite: I. Observational method

The Odin satellite is equipped with millimetre and sub-millimetre receivers for observations of several molecular lines in the middle and upper atmosphere of our planet (~25–100 km, the particular altitude range depending on the species) for studies in dynamics, chemistry, and energy transfer in these regions. The same receivers are also used to observe molecules in outer space, this being the astrophysical share of the project. Among the atmospheric lines that can be observed, we find two corresponding to molecular oxygen (118.75 GHz and 487.25 GHz). These lines can be used for retrievals of the atmospheric temperature vertical profile. In this paper, we describe the radiative-transfer modeling for O2 in the middle and upper atmosphere that we will use as a basis for the retrieval algorithms. Two different observation modes have been planned for Odin, the three-channel operational mode and a high-resolution mode. The first one will determine the temperature and pressure on an operational basis using the oxygen line at 118.75 GHz, while the latter can be used for measurements of both O2 lines, during a small fraction of the total available time for aeronomy, aimed at checking the particular details of the radiative transfer near O2 lines at very high altitudes (>70 km). The Odin temperature measurements are expected to cover the altitude range ~30–90 km

Acute febrile torticollis in youth: clinical investigation and current management Naouar Ouattassi

Acute febrile torticollis in children is a rare and a special clinical picture of variable causes. It may indicate an inflammatory or an infectious pathology affecting any of the anatomical structures of the neck. Treatment is quite clearly defined, and it may be a therapeutic emergency. It is a condition that all ENT specialists must be familiar with since they are most likely to be the first physician to whom such a child is brough

Traumatisme insolite de la région temporale

Un homme âgé de 37ans était victime d’une agression par coup de couteau. Le patient se présente aux urgences le couteau fiché dans la région temporale sans symptomatologie clinique particulière et avec un score de Glasgow à 15. Le bilan lésionnel n’a pas objectivé d’atteinte vasculaire. Le retrait du couteau a été réalisé au bloc opératoire. Aucune séquelle fonctionnelle n’a été déplorée, malgré la gravité du traumatisme. Nous présentons les particularités de ce type de traumatisme et discutons les problèmes qui se sont posés durant la prise en charge.Mots clés: Traumatisme temporal pénétrant, arme blanch

Acoustic assessment of erygmophonic speech of Moroccan laryngectomized patients

Introduction: Acoustic evaluation of alaryngeal voices is among the most prominent issues in speech analysis field. In fact, many methods have been developed to date to substitute the classic perceptual evaluation. The Aim of this study is to present our experience in erygmophonic speech objective assessment and to discuss the most widely used methods of acoustic speech appraisal. through a prospective case-control study we have measured acoustic parameters of speech quality during one year of erygmophonic rehabilitation therapy of Moroccan laryngectomized patients. Methods: We have assessed acoustic parameters of erygmophonic speech samples of eleven laryngectomized patients through the speech rehabilitation therapy. Acoustic parameters were obtained by perturbation analysis method and linear predictive coding algorithms also through the broadband spectrogram. Results: Using perturbation analysis methods, we have found erygmophonic voice to be significantly poorer than normal speech and it exhibits higher formant frequency values. However, erygmophonic voice shows also higher and extremely variable Error values that were greater than the acceptable level. And thus, live a doubt on the reliability of those analytic methods results. Conclusion: Acoustic parameters for objective evaluation of alaryngeal voices should allow a reliable representation of the perceptual evaluation of the quality of speech. This requirement has not been fulfilled by the common methods used so far. Therefore, acoustical assessment of erygmophonic speech needs more investigations

Governance along the St. Lawrence River: expanding beyond remedial action plans

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Microwave temperature and pressure measurements with the Odin satellite: II. Retrieval method

The millimetre receiver on the Swedish satellite Odin, will be used for detection of the 118.750 GHz oxygen line. The temperature and pressure will be determined from the output of a three-channel filter bank measurement. One frequency bin is centred over the emission-line frequency while the other two cover parts of the line wing, where the opacity is less, providing a useful signal at lower altitudes. The bandwidth of each channel is 40 MHz. The signal in the frequency bin covering the line centre is modeled by a high-resolution model including the Zeeman effect, developed by the Observatoire de Paris-Meudon. The other two 40 MHz bins are modeled using the much faster standard Odin forward model, developed at the Department of Meteorology at Stockholm University together with Chalmers University of Technology. The operational retrievals employ an iterative method that uses simulated signals from a reference atmosphere as a lookup table for the pressure. The temperature is then calculated from the equation of hydrostatic equilibrium, and a new lookup table computed. This process is repeated until a convergence criterion is reached. Simulations, including known error sources, show that the temperature can be retrieved with a root mean square (rms) around 3 K, in the altitude range ~ 25-90 km using the operational temperature retrieval method (the filter bank method). A sub-millimetre receiver on board Odin will also be used to observe the oxygen line at 487.249 GHz. Both this line and the 118.750 GHz line can be observed in high resolution (150 kHz) for detailed studies of the Zeeman splitting. Retrievals from the high-resolution measurements are expected to give a precision of ± 2 K rms at that resolution. However, this kind of observation will occupy an entire spectrometer and will not be made on a regular basis