367 research outputs found

    Polarization entangled photon-pair source based on quantum nonlinear photonics and interferometry

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    We present a versatile, high-brightness, guided-wave source of polarization entangled photons, emitted at a telecom wavelength. Photon-pairs are generated using an integrated type-0 nonlinear waveguide, and subsequently prepared in a polarization entangled state via a stabilized fiber interferometer. We show that the single photon emission wavelength can be tuned over more than 50 nm, whereas the single photon spectral bandwidth can be chosen at will over more than five orders of magnitude (from 25 MHz to 4 THz). Moreover, by performing entanglement analysis, we demonstrate a high degree of control of the quantum state via the violation of the Bell inequalities by more than 40 standard deviations. This makes this scheme suitable for a wide range of quantum optics experiments, ranging from fundamental research to quantum information applications. We report on details of the setup, as well as on the characterization of all included components, previously outlined in F. Kaiser et al. (2013 Laser Phys. Lett. 10, 045202).Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure

    Effets d’une thĂ©rapie intensive de groupe pour les adolescentes et adolescents franco-quĂ©bĂ©cois qui bĂ©gaient : rĂ©sultats d’une Ă©tude rĂ©trospective = Impact of intensive group therapy for QuĂ©bec-French-speaking adolescents who stutter: Findings of a retrospective study

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    AbrĂ©gĂ© Le bĂ©gaiement dĂ©veloppemental est un trouble complexe qui affecte non seulement la parole, mais Ă©galement les relations sociales et le dĂ©veloppement identitaire chez plusieurs adolescentes et adolescents qui bĂ©gaient. Les thĂ©rapies de groupe semblent une modalitĂ© apprĂ©ciĂ©e et efficace auprĂšs de cette population. L’Association des jeunes bĂšgues du QuĂ©bec propose depuis 1993 une thĂ©rapie intensive de groupe, sous forme de camp de vacances, aux jeunes de 13 Ă  17 ans. Au total, les adolescentes et adolescents reçoivent environ 50 heures d’intervention orthophonique, lesquelles sont consacrĂ©es depuis 2011 Ă  une application adaptĂ©e du programme Camperdown accompagnĂ©e d’activitĂ©s d’éducation psychologique inspirĂ©es de la thĂ©rapie cognitivocomportementale. L’objectif de la prĂ©sente Ă©tude est d’évaluer les effets de cette thĂ©rapie intensive de groupe sur le plan de la parole. Pour y parvenir, une Ă©tude clinique rĂ©trospective a Ă©tĂ© effectuĂ©e. Les donnĂ©es sociodĂ©mographiques et cliniques ont Ă©tĂ© extraites d’un Ă©chantillon de 44 dossiers de jeunes de 13 Ă  17 ans ayant bĂ©nĂ©ficiĂ© de la thĂ©rapie de groupe de l’Association des jeunes bĂšgues du QuĂ©bec de 2011 Ă  2019. Des statistiques descriptives ont permis d’obtenir un portrait dĂ©taillĂ© des participantes et participants. Des analyses statistiques non paramĂ©triques ont dĂ©montrĂ© une diminution significative (p < 0,01) des valeurs de pourcentage de syllabes bĂ©gayĂ©es et de sĂ©vĂ©ritĂ© subjective du bĂ©gaiement au terme des six jours de thĂ©rapie intensive. De plus, la majoritĂ© des jeunes avaient amorcĂ© la phase III du programme Camperdown — qui comporte quatre phases au total. D’autres recherches sont nĂ©cessaires afin d’étudier l’efficacitĂ© de l’intervention auprĂšs des adolescentes et adolescents qui bĂ©gaient, notamment en regard des facteurs psychosociaux associĂ©s au bĂ©gaiement. Abstract Developmental stuttering is a complex disorder that affects not only speech, but also social interactions and identity formation in many adolescents who stutter. Group therapy appears to be a popular and effective treatment modality for working with this population. Since 1993, the Association des jeunes bĂšgues du QuĂ©bec [QuĂ©bec Association of Young Stutterers] has been offering intensive group therapy during summer camps to young people aged 13 to 17 years. In total, the adolescents receive approximately 50 hours of speech-language pathology therapy, which has been devoted to an adapted form of the Camperdown Program with cognitive behaviour therapy inspired activities since 2011. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of this intensive group therapy on adolescents’ speech abilities using a retrospective clinical study design. Sociodemographic and clinical data were drawn from the clinical files of 44 individuals aged 13 to 17 who took part in the group therapy offered by the Association des jeunes bĂšgues du QuĂ©bec between 2011 and 2019. Descriptive statistics provided a detailed profile of the participants. Nonparametric statistical analyses showed a significant decrease (p < .01) in the percentage of syllables stuttered and in the subjective severity of stuttering after 6 days of intensive therapy. In addition, most of the individuals had begun Stage III of the four-stage Camperdown Program. Further research is needed to investigate the effectiveness of this intervention with adolescents who stutter, particularly with regard to the psychosocial factors associated with stuttering. © 2023, Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists. All rights reserved

    Influence of Igneous Basement on Deep Sediment Microbial Diversity on the Eastern Juan de Fuca Ridge Flank

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    Microbial communities living in deeply buried sediment may be adapted to long-term energy limitation as they are removed from new detrital energy inputs for thousands to millions of years. However, sediment layers near the underlying oceanic crust may receive inputs from below that influence microbial community structure and/or activity. As part of the Census of Deep Life, we used 16S rRNA gene tag pyrosequencing on DNA extracted from a spectrum of deep sediment-basement interface samples from the subsurface of the Juan de Fuca Ridge flank (collected on IODP Expedition 327) to examine this possible basement influence on deep sediment communities. This area experiences rapid sedimentation, with an underlying basaltic crust that hosts a dynamic flux of hydrothermal fluids that diffuse into the sediment. Chloroflexi sequences dominated tag libraries in all sediment samples, with variation in the abundance of other bacterial groups (e.g., Actinobacteria, Aerophobetes, Atribacteria, Planctomycetes, and Nitrospirae). These variations occur in relation to the type of sediment (clays versus carbonate-rich) and the depth of sample origin, and show no clear connection to the distance from the discharge outcrop or to basement fluid microbial communities. Actinobacteria-related sequences dominated the basalt libraries, but these should be viewed cautiously due to possibilities for imprinting from contamination. Our results indicate that proximity to basement or areas of seawater recharge is not a primary driver of microbial community composition in basal sediment, even though fluids diffusing from basement into sediment may stimulate microbial activity

    Single cell genomics-based analysis of gene content and expression of prophages in a diffuse-flow deep-sea hydrothermal system

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    © The Author(s), 2019. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Labonte, J. M., Pachiadaki, M., Fergusson, E., McNichol, J., Grosche, A., Gulmann, L. K., Vetriani, C., Sievert, S. M., & Stepanauskas, R. Single cell genomics-based analysis of gene content and expression of prophages in a diffuse-flow deep-sea hydrothermal system. Frontiers in Microbiology, 10, (2019): 1262, doi:10.3389/fmicb.2019.01262.Phage–host interactions likely play a major role in the composition and functioning of many microbiomes, yet remain poorly understood. Here, we employed single cell genomics to investigate phage–host interactions in a diffuse-flow, low-temperature hydrothermal vent that may be reflective of a broadly distributed biosphere in the subseafloor. We identified putative prophages in 13 of 126 sequenced single amplified genomes (SAGs), with no evidence for lytic infections, which is in stark contrast to findings in the surface ocean. Most were distantly related to known prophages, while their hosts included bacterial phyla Campylobacterota, Bacteroidetes, Chlorobi, Proteobacteria, Lentisphaerae, Spirochaetes, and Thermotogae. Our results suggest the predominance of lysogeny over lytic interaction in diffuse-flow, deep-sea hydrothermal vents, despite the high activity of the dominant Campylobacteria that would favor lytic infections. We show that some of the identified lysogens have co-evolved with their host over geological time scales and that their genes are transcribed in the environment. Functional annotations of lysogeny-related genes suggest involvement in horizontal gene transfer enabling host’s protection against toxic metals and antibacterial compounds.This work was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Dimensions of Biodiversity Program [OCE-1136488 (to RS), OCE-1136727 (to SMS) and OCE-1136451 (to CV)], as well as DEB-1441717 and OCE-1335810 (to RS), and the DOE JGI CSP project 1477

    Birefringence analysis of multilayer leaky cladding optical fibre

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    We analyse a multilayer leaky cladding (MLC) fibre using the finite element method and study the effect of the MLC on the bending loss and birefringence of two types of structures: (i) a circular core large-mode-area structure and (ii) an elliptical-small-core structure. In a large-mode-area structure, we verify that the multilayer leaky cladding strongly discriminates against higher order modes to achieve single-mode operation, the fibre shows negligible birefringence, and the bending loss of the fibre is low for bending radii larger than 10 cm. In the elliptical-small-core structure we show that the MLC reduces the birefringence of the fibre. This prevents the structure from becoming birefringent in case of any departures from circular geometry. The study should be useful in the designs of MLC fibres for various applications including high power amplifiers, gain flattening of fibre amplifiers and dispersion compensation.Comment: 18 page

    Dietary Mediators of the Genetic Susceptibility to Obesity—Results from the Quebec Family Study

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    BACKGROUND: Recent studies showed that eating behaviors such as disinhibition, emotional and external eating, and snacking mediate genetic susceptibility to obesity. It remains unknown if diet quality and intake of specific food groups also mediate the genetic susceptibility to obesity. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess if diet quality and intakes of specific food groups mediate the association between a polygenic risk score (PRS) for BMI and BMI and waist circumference (WC). We hypothesized that poor diet quality, high intakes of energy-dense food groups, and low intakes of nutrient-dense food groups mediate the genetic susceptibility to obesity. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 750 participants (56.3% women, aged 41.5 ± 14.9 y, BMI 27.8 ± 7.5 kg/m2) from the Quebec Family Study. A PRSBMI based on >500,000 genetic variants was calculated using LDpred2. Dietary intakes were assessed with a 3-d food record from which a diet quality score (i.e. Nutrient Rich Food Index 6.3) and food groups were derived. Mediation analyses were conducted using a regression-based and bootstrapping approach. RESULTS: The PRSBMI explained 25.7% and 19.8% of the variance in BMI and WC, respectively. The association between PRSBMI and BMI was partly mediated by poor diet quality (ÎČ = 0.33 ± 0.12; 95% CI: 0.13, 0.60), high intakes of fat and high-fat foods (ÎČ = 0.46 ± 0.16; 95% CI: 0.19, 0.79) and sugar-sweetened beverages (ÎČ = 0.25 ± 0.14; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.60), and low intakes of vegetables (ÎČ = 0.15 ± 0.08; 95% CI: 0.03, 0.32), fruits (ÎČ = 0.37 ± 0.12; 95% CI: 0.17, 0.64), and dairy products (ÎČ = 0.17 ± 0.09; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.37). The same trends were observed for WC. CONCLUSIONS: The genetic susceptibility to obesity was partly mediated by poor diet quality and intakes of specific food groups. These results suggest that improvement in diet quality may reduce obesity risk among individuals with high genetic susceptibility and emphasize the need to intervene on diet quality among these individuals

    On Passion and Sports Fans:A Look at Football

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    The purpose of the present research was to test the applicability of the Dualistic Model of Passion (Vallerand et al., 2003) to being a sport (football) fan. The model posits that passion is a strong inclination toward an activity that individuals like (or even love), that they value, and in which they invest time and energy. Furthermore, two types of passion are proposed: harmonious and obsessive passion. While obsessive passion entails an uncontrollable urge to engage in the passionate activity, harmonious passion entails a sense of volition while engaging in the activity. Finally, the model posits that harmonious passion leads to more adaptive outcomes than obsessive passion. Three studies provided support for this dualistic conceptualization of passion. Study 1 showed that harmonious passion was positively associated with adaptive behaviours (e.g., celebrate the team’s victory), while obsessive passion was rather positively associated with maladaptive behaviours (e.g., to risk losing one’s employment to go to the team’s game). Study 2 used a short Passion Scale and showed that harmonious passion was positively related to the positive affective life of fans during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, psychological health (self-esteem and life satisfaction), and public displays of adaptive behaviours (e.g., celebrating one’s team victory in the streets), while obsessive passion was predictive of maladaptive affective life (e.g., hating opposing team’s fans) and behaviours (e.g., mocking the opposing team’s fans). Finally, Study 3 examined the role of obsessive passion as a predictor of partner’s conflict that in turn undermined partner’s relationship satisfaction. Overall, the present results provided support for the Dualistic Model of Passion. The conceptual and applied implications of the findings are discussed

    Reflections on the ethics of recruiting foreign-trained human resources for health

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Developed countries' gains in health human resources (HHR) from developing countries with significantly lower ratios of health workers have raised questions about the ethics or fairness of recruitment from such countries. By attracting and/or facilitating migration for foreign-trained HHR, notably those from poorer, less well-resourced nations, recruitment practices and policies may be compromising the ability of developing countries to meet the health care needs of their own populations. Little is known, however, about actual recruitment practices. In this study we focus on Canada (a country with a long reliance on internationally trained HHR) and recruiters working for Canadian health authorities.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted interviews with health human resources recruiters employed by Canadian health authorities to describe their recruitment practices and perspectives and to determine whether and how they reflect ethical considerations.</p> <p>Results and discussion</p> <p>We describe the methods that recruiters used to recruit foreign-trained health professionals and the systemic challenges and policies that form the working context for recruiters and recruits. HHR recruiters' reflections on the global flow of health workers from poorer to richer countries mirror much of the content of global-level discourse with regard to HHR recruitment. A predominant market discourse related to shortages of HHR outweighed discussions of human rights and ethical approaches to recruitment policy and action that consider global health impacts.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We suggest that the concept of corporate social responsibility may provide a useful approach at the local organizational level for developing policies on ethical recruitment. Such local policies and subsequent practices may inform public debate on the health equity implications of the HHR flows from poorer to richer countries inherent in the global health worker labour market, which in turn could influence political choices at all government and health system levels.</p
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