Associations between community participation and types of places visited among persons living with and without dementia: risks perception and socio-demographic aspects

INTRODUCTION: Increasingly, literature has focused on community participation in places visited by persons living with and without dementia. Earlier research indicates that multiple factors, including socio-demographic aspects and risk perception may influence community participation. AIM AND METHODS: This cross-sectional, explorative study aims to inquire into how places visited, socio-demographic aspects and risks perception are associated with self-rated community participation for persons living with and without dementia (n = 70) in Switzerland. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews with questionnaires (ACT-OUT, MoCA, sociodemographic). First, we investigated whether the number of places visited was correlated with self-rated participation; then we added socio-demographic and risks perception factors with a bivariate analysis; and searched for a model using multinomial logistic regressions. RESULTS: For the group of participants living with dementia, risks of falling (p = .014) and of getting lost (p = .037) were significantly associated with self-rated participation. For the group of participants living without dementia, visiting places outside the home was significantly associated with self-rated participation, especially visiting places in domain D/places for recreational and physical activities (p = .005). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The results of exploring multiple factors and searching for a model highlights the complexity of community participation as a construct. Risks and visiting places for recreational and physical activities seem to play a role in self-rated participation. Mobile interviews might be better suited to gain in-depth understanding on community participation for persons living with dementia

Impact of an extension tube on operator radiation exposure during coronary procedures performed through the radial approach

SummaryBackgroundOperator radiation exposure is high during coronary procedures. The radial access decreases the rate of local vascular complications but increases operator radiation exposure. As the X-ray exposure is related to the distance between the operator and the radiation source, the use of an extension tube between the proximal part of the coronary catheter and the ‘injection device’ might decrease operator radiation exposure.AimsTo demonstrate that the use of an extension tube during coronary procedures performed through the radial approach decreases operator radiation.MethodsOverall, 230 patients were included consecutively and randomized to procedures performed with or without an extension tube. Radiation exposure measures were obtained using two electronic dosimeters, one under the lead apron and the other exposed on the physician's left arm.ResultsA non-significant trend towards lower left-arm operator exposure was noted in the extension tube group (28.7±31.0μSv vs 38.4±44.2μSv, p=0.0739). No significant difference was noted according to the type of procedure. Radiation levels were low compared with the series published previously and decreased for each operator during the study.ConclusionThe use of an extension tube did not reduce operator radiation exposure during procedures performed through the radial approach. However, physician awareness was increased during the study due to the use of an exposed electronic dosimeter. The use of exposed electronic dosimeters could therefore be recommended to allow operators to improve their protection techniques

Pilot-Scale Lanthanide Precipitation from Sulfate-Based Spent Ni-MH Battery Leachates: Thermodynamic-Based Choice of Operating Conditions

Access to critical metals required for high-performance technologies, particularly, the light rare earth elements (REEs = La, Ce, Nd, Pr), has become a major challenge for import-dependent economies such as the European Union. In this regard, the recycling of spent nickel metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries by hydrometallurgical processes can serve as an attractive secondary source of REEs. In such processes, precipitation of REEs from pregnant leach solutions (PLS) in sulfate media using Na2SO4 is often reported. However, little consideration is given as to whether and how sodium ions influence the precipitation efficiency and selectivity. This work focuses on a better understanding of the precipitation process by coupling pilot-scale (2 L) experiments on industrially sourced PLS containing 50 g/L of Ni and 17 g/L of REEs, with thermodynamic modeling, to assess the influence of temperature (25 °C < T < 60 °C) and the Na/REEs molar ratio (0.8:1 < Na/REEs < 3.2:1). Equilibria calculations were performed using OLI Systems Inc. software whose database covers rare earth sulfate compound properties and an accurate description of the aqueous electrolytes. Highly selective precipitation was obtained at 60 °C and for a Na/REEs molar ratio of 4:1. A lanthanide-alkali solid solution was identified by multianalytical characterization

Écrire les SHS en environnement numérique : l’éditeur de texte Stylo

L’écriture et l’édition scientifiques en contexte numérique sont relativement peu interrogées ou remises en cause. Quelques outils, qui posent un certain nombre de questions et de problèmes, sont utilisés pour structurer, mettre en forme et produire des documents académiques. Face à ces solutions bien souvent propriétaires, Stylo est un outil de rédaction et d’édition qui répond aux exigences scientifiques, et actuellement utilisé par des revues savantes. Expérimenter avec Stylo ouvre la perspective de nouvelles pratiques d’écriture numérique tout en alimentant une réflexion théorique sur la structuration de notre pensée.Scientific writing and editing in a digital context are relatively little interrogated or questioned. A few tools, which pose a number of questions and problems, are used to structure, format and produce academic documents. Faced with these often proprietary solutions, Stylo is a writing and editing tool that meets scientific requirements, and is currently used by academic journals. Experimenting with Stylo opens up the prospect of new digital writing practices while fueling theoretical reflection on the structuring of our thinking

Polyfunctionalised nanoparticles bearing robust gadolinium surface units for high relaxivity performance in MRI

The first example of an octadentate gadolinium unit based on DO3A (hydration number q = 1) with a dithiocarbamate tether has been designed and attached to the surface of gold nanoparticles (around 4.4 nm in diameter). In addition to the superior robustness of this attachment, the restricted rotation of the Gd complex on the nanoparticle surface leads to a dramatic increase in relaxivity (r1) from 4.0 mM‐1 s‐1 in unbound form to 34.3 mM‐1 s‐1 (at 10 MHz, 37 °C) and 22 ± 2 mM‐1s‐1 (at 63.87 MHz, 25 °C) when immobilised on the surface. The ‘one‐pot’ synthetic route provides a straightforward and versatile way of preparing a range of multifunctional gold nanoparticles. The incorporation of additional surface units improving biocompatibility (PEG and thioglucose units) and targeting (folic acid) lead to little detrimental effect on the high relaxivity observed for these non‐toxic multifunctional materials. In addition to the passive targeting attributed to gold nanoparticles, the inclusion of a unit capable of targeting the folate receptors overexpressed by cancer cells, such as HeLa cells, illustrates the potential of these assemblies

Leaching mechanisms of industrial powders of spent nickel metal hydride batteries in a pilot‐scale reactor

In view of a sustainable recycling process, the leaching mechanisms of nickel and rare‐earth elements (REEs) contained within industrial samples of spent nickel metal hydride battery powders were investigated in HCl and H2SO4, under mild temperature (25–60 °C) and pH (3–5.5). First, in‐depth characterization of the heterogeneous battery powder was carried out with powder XRD, SEM, electron probe microanalyzer wavelength‐dispersive spectroscopy (EPMA‐WDS) quantitative analyses of individual particles, and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP‐OES) elemental analysis. An unusual result is the identification of particles that exhibit a core–shell structure, which is related to anode active mass aging mechanisms. Then, a leaching study in a 10 L pilot‐scale reactor demonstrated the selective dissolution of REEs, with respect to nickel, at pH 3, which is attributed to 1) the kinetic inhibition of nickel metal dissolution, and 2) the specific core–shell structure of aged mischmetal particles. Furthermore, the use of H2SO4 led to coprecipitation of lanthanide–alkali double sulfates and nickel salts

Adaptive evolution and segregating load contribute to the genomic landscape of divergence in two tree species connected by episodic gene flow

Speciation often involves repeated episodes of genetic contact between divergent populations before reproductive isolation (RI) is complete. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) holds great promise for unravelling the genomic bases of speciation. We have studied two ecologically divergent, hybridizing species of the ‘model tree’ genus Populus (poplars, aspens, cottonwoods), Populus alba and P. tremula, using >8.6 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from WGS of population pools. We used the genomic data to (i) scan these species’ genomes for regions of elevated and reduced divergence, (ii) assess key aspects of their joint demographic history based on genomewide site frequency spectra (SFS) and (iii) infer the potential roles of adaptive and deleterious coding mutations in shaping the genomic landscape of divergence. We identified numerous small, unevenly distributed genome regions without fixed polymorphisms despite high overall genomic differentiation. The joint SFS was best explained by ancient and repeated gene flow and allowed pinpointing candidate interspecific migrant tracts. The direction of selection (DoS) differed between genes in putative migrant tracts and the remainder of the genome, thus indicating the potential roles of adaptive divergence and segregating deleterious mutations on the evolution and breakdown of RI. Genes affected by positive selection during divergence were enriched for several functionally interesting groups, including well-known candidate ‘speciation genes’ involved in plant innate immunity. Our results suggest that adaptive divergence affects RI in these hybridizing species mainly through intrinsic and demographic processes. Integrating genomic with molecular data holds great promise for revealing the effects of particular genetic pathways on speciation

A dedicated target capture approach reveals variable genetic markers across micro- and macro-evolutionary time scales in palms

Understanding the genetics of biological diversification across micro‐ and macro‐ evolutionary time scales is a vibrant field of research for molecular ecologists as rapid advances in sequencing technologies promise to overcome former limitations. In palms, an emblematic, economically and ecologically important plant family with high diversity in the tropics, studies of diversification at the population and species levels are still hampered by a lack of genomic markers suitable for the genotyping of large numbers of recently diverged taxa. To fill this gap, we used a whole genome sequencing approach to develop target sequencing for molecular markers in 4,184 genome regions, including 4,051 genes and 133 non‐genic putatively neutral regions. These markers were chosen to cover a wide range of evolutionary rates allowing future studies at the family, genus, species and population levels. Special emphasis was given to the avoidance of copy number variation during marker selection. In addition, a set of 149 well‐known sequence regions previously used as phylogenetic markers by the palm biological research community were included in the target regions, to open the possibility to combine and jointly analyse already available data sets with genomic data to be produced with this new toolkit. The bait set was effective for species belonging to all three palm sub‐families tested (Arecoideae, Ceroxyloideae and Coryphoideae), with high mapping rates, specificity and efficiency. The number of high‐quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) detected at both the sub‐family and population levels facilitates efficient analyses of genomic diversity across micro‐ and macro‐evolutionary time scales

Journals in the digital age: penser de nouveaux modèles de publication en sciences humaines

Dans sa nouvelle Wearable books (Pidd 2016), Michael Pidd propose un monde académique dystopique où les technologies numériques de publication sont devenues un système de contrôle, de traçage et d’uniformisation de la recherche et des modèles épistémologiques sur lesquels elle est basée. Dans ce monde Pidd imagine des universitaires révolutionnaires qui, pour garantir une liberté de pensée et la possibilité d’existence de plusieurs paradigmes de recherche, décident de revenir au papier. En effet, si au début de son développement, le Web semblait la promesse d’un espace de pluralité, de différences et de liberté d’expression – n’oublions pas la déclaration d’indépendance du cyberespace de Barlow (2000) – aujourd’hui, en grande partie à cause de l’impact croissant des GAFAM, nous assistons à une uniformisation des modèles et à une concentration de pouvoir dans les mains d’une poignée d’entreprises (Morozov 2013). Dans le monde de la recherche cela se concrétise en une langue dominante, des formats cristallisés, une chaîne éditoriale sclérosée, un système de légitimation problématique mais que nous pouvons questionner, et une importance croissante, même en sciences humaines, des facteurs d’impact et des méthodes quantitatives pour évaluer la qualité de la recherche. Would it be possible to go back to the promises of the beginnings of the Web ? How can we take advantage of the multiplicity of different technologies and digital spaces to make them the basis for free, plural and collective research and dissemination of knowledge ? This panel will ask this question by focusing in particular on the publishing practices of scholarly journals in the social sciences and humanities, and by presenting the research results of the Journal 2.0 project we are conducting as part of a SSHRC partnership development funding. Trois chercheur·se·s exposent leurs pratiques d’édition scientifique et leur réflexion inhérente