Mesure de la matière organique dissoute colorée dans le lagon sud-ouest de Nouvelle-Calédonie : comparaison entre les spectrophotomètres : Ultrapath et Perkin Elmer : rapport de stage

L'absorption de la lumière par la matière organique dissoute colorée (CDOM) est un élément capital pour la calibration des mesures satellitales de concentration en chlorophylle de surface. En effet, le CDOM est un composé qui fausse l'estimation de la chlorophylle de surface. Le lagon de Nouvelle-Calédonie est une zone fragile car soumise à des pressions d'origine minière et urbaine, ainsi qu'aux aléas climatiques. Un projet de surveillance du lagon par étude des concentrations en chlorophylle de surface via des images satellites est en cours (projet PNTS Valhybio). Or le lagon de Nouvelle-Calédonie présente les caractéristiques des milieux oligotrophes. Les concentrations en CDOM sont donc difficiles à mesurer. Elles s'effectuent par la méthode de la spectrophotométrie UV-visible. Pour avoir des mesures fiables, une comparaison a été faite entre les mesures de deux spectrophotomètres de longueur de trajet optique différente, le Perkin Elmer lambda 20 et l'Ultrapath LWCC. Un protocole opératoire a été mis en place pour limiter les erreurs de mesures. Le choix de l'eau de référence, eau MilliQ ou eau salée, conditionne également la qualité du signal mesuré

Body image and body dysmorphic concerns

Most people would like to change something about their bodies and the way that they look, but for some it becomes an obsession. A healthy skin plays an important role in a person’s physical and mental wellbeing, whereas a disfiguring appearance is associated with body image concerns. Skin diseases such as acne, psoriasis and vitiligo produce cosmetic disfigurement and patients suffering these and other visible skin conditions have an increased risk of depression, anxiety, feelings of stigmatization and self-harm ideation. Body image affects our emotions, thoughts, and behaviours in everyday life, but, above all, it influences our relationships. Furthermore, it has the potential to influence our quality of life. Promotion of positive body image is highly recommended, as it is important in improving people’s quality of life, physical health, and health-related behaviors. Dermatologists have a key role in identifying body image concerns and offering patients possible treatment options

Visualizing genetic constraints

Principal Components Analysis (PCA) is a common way to study the sources of variation in a high-dimensional data set. Typically, the leading principal components are used to understand the variation in the data or to reduce the dimension of the data for subsequent analysis. The remaining principal components are ignored since they explain little of the variation in the data. However, evolutionary biologists gain important insights from these low variation directions. Specifically, they are interested in directions of low genetic variability that are biologically interpretable. These directions are called genetic constraints and indicate directions in which a trait cannot evolve through selection. Here, we propose studying the subspace spanned by low variance principal components by determining vectors in this subspace that are simplest. Our method and accompanying graphical displays enhance the biologist's ability to visualize the subspace and identify interpretable directions of low genetic variability that align with simple directions.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/12-AOAS603 the Annals of Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Screening for body dysmorphic disorder in patients with acne

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), is a mental health disorder that is difficult to diagnose, causes much suffering and is a challenge to treat. The main symptoms are the preoccupation with the perceived defect and the actions taken to reduce accompanying feelings of distress. Prevalence of BDD is between 9% and 12% in dermatology patients. Although the onset of BDD is usually during adolescence, patients are usually diagnosed after many years of suffering, in part because patients are too ashamed to talk about their symptoms. The main objective of this multicenter study carried out in Spain, was to screen patients diagnosed with acne vulgaris for BDD by asking appearance-specific questions. A total of 403 patients were screened..

Patient reported outcome measure in atopic dermatitis patients treated with dupilumab: 52-weeks results

Dupilumab is used to treat atopic dermatitis (AD) patients who have proven to be refractory to previous treatments. The aim of this study was to assess evolution and patient reported outcome measures in adult patients with moderate-to-severe AD treated with dupilumab in routine clinical practice. The outcomes were evaluated and registered at baseline and weeks 16, 40 and 52. The variables evaluated were: disease severity, pruritus, stressful life events, difficulty to sleep, anxiety and depression, quality of life, satisfaction, adherence to the treatment, efficacy and safety. Eleven patients were recruited between 14 Nov 2017 and 16 Jan 2018. Demographic variables: 90% Caucasian, 82% women. Clinical variables: Mean duration of AD = 17.7 (±12.8), 91% had severe disease severity. At baseline, SCORAD median (range) score = 69.2 (34.8–89.2); itch was reported by 100% of patients; itch visual analogue scale median (range) was 9 (6–10); HADS median (range) total score = 13 (5–21); DLQI mean score = 16 (2–27); EQ-5D-3L median (range) = 57 (30–99). At week- 52 there was a significant reduction of SCORAD scores median (range) = 4.3 (0–17.1), HADS total score median (range) = 2 (0–10) and improved quality of life EQ-5D-3L median (range) = 89 (92–60). This study confirms that dupilumab, used for 52-weeks under routine clinical practice, maintains the improved atopic dermatitis signs and symptoms obtained at week 16, with a good safety profile. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Laughter as a diagnostic measure of psoriasis severity

Laughter has been studied for its beneficial effects on health and as a therapeutic method to prevent and treat medical conditions. We explore the predictive potential of laughter as a psoriasis severity diagnostic tool. In this study, the dermatologist first examines the patient and registers the PASI and BSA scores. Then patients complete the DLQI and EQ-5D-3L (quality of life), as well as the HADS (anxiety and depression) and the NEO PI-R (personality traits). Finally, the laughs of 30 patients with plaque psoriasis (15 mild cases and 15 moderate to severe cases), and 30 healthy controls will be registered. To do this, patients and accompanying health controls (in pairs), watch a 15-minute video with humorous sketches..

The psychosocial burden of hidradenitis suppurativa: the patients' perspectives

We designed a qualitative study to interview 12 patients with Hidradenitis Suppurativa. This was done by means of a semistructured interview. Questions on quality of life, the impact of their skin disease on family, friends, work, intimate relationships, treatments, etc. were asked. Patients consented to be interviewed and to be video taped to facilitate the transcription of the interviews. The interviews lasted between 30 and 60 minutes and were carried out by a psychologist and a social worker. The dermatologist had previously seen the patients and filled in a form with the Hurley Stage, years of evolution and treatment..

Social Entrepreneurship: Marketing Hunger Awareness

This paper emerges from a pedagogical philosophy that business students should experience working with a real-world consulting client prior to graduation. An equally important component of this capstone experience is the opportunity for the students to study a problem and to make a set of solution-driven recommendations that will lead to social good. This research is part of a series of conference papers from graduate students at Molloy College. This paper focuses on the consulting work performed for Island Harvest. Island Harvest is the largest food bank on Long Island. The student consultants were charged with recommending a marketing program for the Coin Harvest Campaign, with the intent of refreshing this important campaign focused on Hunger Awareness. The goal was to increase the campaign’s breadth and depth

Impairment of Sexual Life in 3,485 Dermatological Outpatients From a Multicentre Study in 13 European Countries

Skin conditions may have a strong impact on patients' sexual life, and thus influence personal relationships. Sexual issues are difficult to discuss directly in clinical practice, and a mediated instrument may be useful to capture such information. In this study item 9 of the Dermatology Life Quality Index was used to collect information on sexual impact of several skin conditions in 13 European countries. Among 3,485 patients, 23.1% reported sexual problems. The impairment was particularly high in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa, prurigo, blistering disorders, psoriasis, urticaria, eczema, infections of the skin, or pruritus. Sexual impact was strongly associated with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. It was generally more frequent in younger patients and was positively correlated with clinical severity and itch. It is important to address the issue of sexual well-being in the evaluation of patients with skin conditions, since it is often linked to anxiety, depression, and even suicidal ideation.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio