Combining visual and noise characteristics of a neighborhood environment to model residential satisfaction: An application using GIS-based metrics

International audienceThis paper focuses on the combined impact of sound and visibility features on residential satisfaction in a suburban context. Based on a modeling approach, the study presents an integrated analysis where a set of spatial metrics, describing visibility of landscape features and road-traffic noise, are associated with data from a survey of neighborhood satisfaction. This survey was conducted on a sample of 845 inhabitants living in a medium-size French city. Using a PLS path model, the main objective of this paper is to assess how visual and sound metrics combine to provide complementary explanations of neighborhood satisfaction. Moreover, the analysis focuses on assessing the extent to which a part of the heterogeneity of the residents’ neighborhood perception is due to their socio-economic position or to their neighborhood’s characteristics. The results show that visual and sound criteria influence residential satisfaction cumulatively, and that sensitivity to these criteria varies according to the socio-economic position of individuals, opposing specifically homeowners and tenants. By using digital spatial data and GIS methods, an integrated indicator is produced to map the spatial distribution of neighborhood satisfaction for all residential locations of the study area. In an urban planning context, such a spatially oriented approach can be considered as a decision-making tool for planning and development to identify high-stakes zones in order to improve the inhabitants’ quality of life

Predictors of Gaming Disorder or Protective from It, in a French Sample: A Symptomatic Approach to Self-Regulation and Pursued Rewards, Providing Insights for Clinical Practice

Gaming disorder (GD) is a new health condition still requiring a lot of evidence established around its underlying and related psychological mechanisms. In our study we focused on Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs), a specific very popular and engaging game genre, to determine that benefit, motivation and control aspects could be predictive of a dysfunctional engagement in gaming. In total, 313 participants were recruited from private forums of gamers between May 2009 and March 2010. They filled out a questionnaire on their socio-demographic data and their weekly gaming time. They also completed different psychometric assessments such as the DSM IV-TR criteria for substance dependence adapted to gaming such as the Dependence Adapted Scale (DAS), the external rewards they expected from gaming (External Motives), the expected internal reward they expected from gaming (Internal Motives), the Zuckerman Sensation Seeking Scale (ZSSS), and the Barratt impulsiveness Scale (BIS-10). Results showed that some psychological factors related to online gaming represented risk factors for GD in participants (i.e., competition and advancement motives, reduced anxiety, solace, greater personal satisfaction, and sense of power), whereas some others were found to be protective factors from GD (i.e., recreation, enjoyment and experience seeking) in participants. Additionally, the study found that disinhibition, boredom susceptibility, thrill and adventure seeking, and high impulsivity were correlated to GD in participants. In conclusion, not only motives for gaming and impulsivity could be predictors for GD, but maladaptive coping strategies based on experienced relief in-game from negative feelings (anxiety and boredom) or experienced improvement in-game of self-perception (personal satisfaction, sense of power) could play as well a role of negative reinforcers for GD. Some benefits from gaming, typically entertainment and enjoyment, are shown to be protective factors from GD, playing the role of positive reinforcing factors. They are worthy of being identified and promoted as functional gaming habits. These findings can feed the clinical and health promotion fields, with a more in-depth understanding of diverse psychological factors in gamers, identifying those at risk for GD and those protective from it. The current work can foster a more balanced approach towards gaming activities, taking their opportunities for mankind and controlling for their adverse effects in some individuals

The impact of hospital and surgeon volume on the 30-day mortality of lung cancer surgery: A nation-based reappraisal

International audienc

Comparison between type A and type B early adiposity rebound in predicting overweight and obesity in children: a longitudinal study

International audienceEarly adiposity rebound (EAR) predicts paediatric overweight/obesity, but current approaches do not consider both the starting point of EAR and the BMI trajectory. We compared the clinical characteristics at birth, age 3-5 and 6-8 years of children, according to the EAR and to its type (type A/type B-EAR). We assessed the children's odds of being classified as overweight/obese at age 6-8 years, according to the type of EAR as defined at age 3-5 years. As part of this two-wave observational study, 1055 children were recruited and examined at age 3-5 years. Antenatal and postnatal information was collected through interviews with parents, and weight and height from the health records. Type A and type B-EAR were defined in wave 1 according to the BMI nadir and the variation of BMI z-score between the starting point of the adiposity rebound and the last point on the curve. At 6-8 years (wave 2), 867 children were followed up; 426 (40·4 %) children demonstrated EAR. Among them, 172 had type A-EAR, higher rates of parental obesity (P < 0·05) and greater birth weight compared with other children (P < 0·001). Odds for overweight/obesity at 6-8 years, when adjusting for antenatal and postnatal factors, was 21·35 (95 % CI 10·94, 41·66) in type A-EAR children and not significant in type B-EAR children (OR 1·76; 95 % CI 0·84, 3·68) compared with children without EAR. Classification of EAR into two subtypes provides physicians with a reliable approach to identify children at risk for overweight/obesity before the age of 5 years

Volcanic activity controls cholera outbreaks in the East African Rift

International audienceWe hypothesized that Cholera (Vibrio cholerae) that appeared along Lake Kivu in theAfrican Rift in the seventies, might be controlled by volcano-tectonic activity, which, byincreasing surface water and groundwater salinity and temperature, may partly rule thewater characteristics of Lake Kivu and promote V. cholerae proliferation. Volcanic activity(assessed weekly by the SO2 flux of Nyiragongo volcano plume over the 2007–2012 period)is highly positively correlated with the water conductivity, salinity and temperature of theKivu lake. Over the 2007–2012 period, these three parameters were highly positively correlatedwith the temporal dynamics of cholera cases in the Katana health zone that border thelake. Meteorological variables (air temperature and rainfall), and the other water characteristics(namely pH and dissolved oxygen concentration in lake water) were unrelated to choleradynamics over the same period. Over the 2016–2018 period, we sampled weekly lake watersalinity and conductivity, and twice a month vibrio occurrence in lake water and fish. Theabundance of V. cholerae in the lake was positively correlated with lake salinity, temperature,and the number of cholera cases in the population of the Katana health zone. V. choleraeabundance in fishes was positively correlated with V. cholerae abundance in lakewater, suggesting that their consumption directly contaminate humans. The activity of thevolcano, by controlling the physico-chemical characteristics of Lake Kivu, is therefore amajor determinant of the presence of the bacillus in the lake. SO2 fluxes in the volcanoplume can be used as a tool to predict epidemic risks

Liberal or Conservative Oxygen Therapy for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

International audienceBackground: In patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute ARDS Clinical Trials Network recommends a target partial pressure of arterial oxygen (Pao2) between 55 and 80 mm Hg. Prospective validation of this range in patients with ARDS is lacking. We hypothesized that targeting the lower limit of this range would improve outcomes in patients with ARDS.Methods: In this multicenter, randomized trial, we assigned patients with ARDS to receive either conservative oxygen therapy (target Pao2, 55 to 70 mm Hg; oxygen saturation as measured by pulse oximetry [Spo2], 88 to 92%) or liberal oxygen therapy (target Pao2, 90 to 105 mm Hg; Spo2, ≥96%) for 7 days. The same mechanical-ventilation strategies were used in both groups. The primary outcome was death from any cause at 28 days.Results: After the enrollment of 205 patients, the trial was prematurely stopped by the data and safety monitoring board because of safety concerns and a low likelihood of a significant difference between the two groups in the primary outcome. Four patients who did not meet the eligibility criteria were excluded. At day 28, a total of 34 of 99 patients (34.3%) in the conservative-oxygen group and 27 of 102 patients (26.5%) in the liberal-oxygen group had died (difference, 7.8 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], -4.8 to 20.6). At day 90, 44.4% of the patients in the conservative-oxygen group and 30.4% of the patients in the liberal-oxygen group had died (difference, 14.0 percentage points; 95% CI, 0.7 to 27.2). Five mesenteric ischemic events occurred in the conservative-oxygen group.Conclusions: Among patients with ARDS, early exposure to a conservative-oxygenation strategy with a Pao2 between 55 and 70 mm Hg did not increase survival at 28 days. (Funded by the French Ministry of Health; LOCO2 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02713451.)

Analysis of the transplacental transmission of SARS CoV-2 virus and antibody transfer according to the gestational age at maternal infection

Abstract To quantify transplacental transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus and antibody transfer in pregnant women and their newborns according to the gestational age at maternal infection. A prospective observational multicenter study including pregnant women with a positive RT-PCR or a positive serology for SARS-CoV-2 and compatible symptoms, from April to December 2020, in 11 French maternities. The study was designed to obtain a systematic collection of mother-infant dyad’s samples at birth. SARS-CoV-2 viral load was measured by RT-PCR. IgG and IgM antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Antibody concentrations and transplacental transfer ratios were analyzed according to the gestational age at maternal infection. The primary outcome was the rate of SARS CoV-2 materno-fetal transmission at birth. The secondary outcome was the quantification of materno-fetal antibody transfer. Maternal and neonatal outcomes at birth were additionally assessed. Among 165 dyads enrolled, one congenital infection was confirmed {n = 1 (0.63%) IC95% [0.02%; 3.48%]}. The average placental IgG antibody transfer ratio was 1.27 (IC 95% [0.69–2.89]). The transfer ratio increased with increasing time between the onset of maternal infection and delivery (P Value = 0.0001). Maternal and neonatal outcomes were reassuring. We confirmed the very low rate of SARS-CoV-2 transplacental transmission (< 1%). Maternal antibody transfer to the fetus was more efficient when the infection occurred during the first and second trimester of pregnancy

Trajectories of cough without a cold in early childhood and associations with atopic diseases

BackgroundAlthough children can frequently experience a cough that affects their quality of life, few epidemiological studies have explored cough without a cold during childhood. ObjectivesThe objective of the study was to describe the latent class trajectories of cough from one to 10 years old and analyse their association with wheezing, atopy and allergic diseases. MethodsQuestions about cough, wheeze and allergic diseases were asked at 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10 years of age in the European prospective cohort of Protection against Allergy: STUdy in Rural Environment (PASTURE). Specific IgE assays were performed at 10 years of age. Questions regarding a cough without a cold were used to build a latent class model of cough over time. ResultsAmong the 961 children included in the study, apart from the never/infrequent trajectory (59.9%), eight trajectories of cough without a cold were identified: five grouped acute transient classes (24.1%), moderate transient (6.8%), late persistent (4.8%) and early persistent (4.4%). Compared with the never/infrequent trajectory, the other trajectories were significantly associated with wheezing, asthma and allergic rhinitis. For asthma, the strongest association was with the early persistent trajectory (ORa = 31.00 [14.03-68.51]), which was inversely associated with farm environment (ORa = 0.39 [0.19-0.77]) and had a high prevalence of cough triggers and unremitting wheeze. Late and early persistent trajectories were also associated with food allergy. Atopic sensitization was only associated with the late persistent trajectory. ConclusionLate and early persistent coughs without a cold are positively associated with atopic respiratory diseases and food allergy. Children having recurrent cough without a cold with night cough and triggers would benefit from an asthma and allergy assessment. Growing up on a farm is associated with reduced early persistent cough.Peer reviewe

Trajectories of cough without a cold in early childhood and associations with atopic diseases

BackgroundAlthough children can frequently experience a cough that affects their quality of life, few epidemiological studies have explored cough without a cold during childhood. ObjectivesThe objective of the study was to describe the latent class trajectories of cough from one to 10 years old and analyse their association with wheezing, atopy and allergic diseases. MethodsQuestions about cough, wheeze and allergic diseases were asked at 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10 years of age in the European prospective cohort of Protection against Allergy: STUdy in Rural Environment (PASTURE). Specific IgE assays were performed at 10 years of age. Questions regarding a cough without a cold were used to build a latent class model of cough over time. ResultsAmong the 961 children included in the study, apart from the never/infrequent trajectory (59.9%), eight trajectories of cough without a cold were identified: five grouped acute transient classes (24.1%), moderate transient (6.8%), late persistent (4.8%) and early persistent (4.4%). Compared with the never/infrequent trajectory, the other trajectories were significantly associated with wheezing, asthma and allergic rhinitis. For asthma, the strongest association was with the early persistent trajectory (ORa = 31.00 [14.03-68.51]), which was inversely associated with farm environment (ORa = 0.39 [0.19-0.77]) and had a high prevalence of cough triggers and unremitting wheeze. Late and early persistent trajectories were also associated with food allergy. Atopic sensitization was only associated with the late persistent trajectory. ConclusionLate and early persistent coughs without a cold are positively associated with atopic respiratory diseases and food allergy. Children having recurrent cough without a cold with night cough and triggers would benefit from an asthma and allergy assessment. Growing up on a farm is associated with reduced early persistent cough.Peer reviewe