"C'est pas du travail!": les représentations des participants issus de l'ORP de la mesure de placement qu'ils effectuent à l'OSEO Valais

Au cours de mon activité, j’entends régulièrement des propos négatifs au sujet de « la mesure de placement » réalisée dans le cadre de l’assurance chômage. Cette étude a pour but de mettre en évidence les raisons qui poussent une partie des assurés de l’Office Régional de Placement à avancer de tels propos. Des éléments de réponse sont présentés ici, ils sont issus des entretiens réalisés in situ avec la précieuse collaboration des bénéficiaires. Il en ressort clairement une méconnaissance liée à la mesure elle-même. Parfois, un parcours de vie difficile renforce une représentation négative de cette mesure

Clinical review: Intrapericardial fibrinolysis in management of purulent pericarditis

Purulent pericarditis (PP) is a potentially life-threatening disease. Reported mortality rates are between 20 and 30%. Constrictive pericarditis occurs over the course of PP in at least 3.5% of cases. The frequency of persistent PP (chronic or recurrent purulent pericardial effusion occurring despite drainage and adequate antibiotherapy) is unknown because this entity was not previously classified as a complication of PP. No consensus exists on the optimal management of PP. Nevertheless, the cornerstone of PP management is complete eradication of the focus of infection. In retrospective studies, compared to simple drainage, systematic pericardiectomy provided a prevention of constrictive pericarditis with better clinical outcome. Because of potential morbidity associated with pericardiectomy, intrapericardial fibrinolysis has been proposed as a less invasive method for prevention of persistent PP and constrictive pericarditis. Experimental data demonstrate that fibrin formation, which occurs during the first week of the disease, is an essential step in the evolution to constrictive pericarditis and persistent PP. We reviewed the literature using the MEDLINE database. We evaluated the clinical efficacy, outcome, and complications of pericardial fibrinolysis. Seventy-four cases of fibrinolysis in PP were analysed. Pericarditis of tuberculous origin were excluded. Among the 40 included cases, only two treated by late fibrinolysis encountered failure requiring pericardiectomy. No patient encountered clinical or echocardiographic features of constriction during follow-up. Only one serious complication was described. Despite the lack of definitive evidence, potential benefits of fibrinolysis as a less invasive alternative to surgery in the management of PP seem promising. Early consideration should be given to fibrinolysis in order to prevent both constrictive and persistent PP. Nevertheless, in case of failure of fibrinolysis, pericardiectomy remains the primary option for complete eradication of infection

High-temperature oxidation resistance of chromium-based coatings deposited by DLI-MOCVD for enhanced protection of the inner surface of long tubes

For nuclear safety issues, there is an international effort to develop innovative “Enhanced Accident Tolerant Fuels” (EATF) materials. EATF cladding tubes are of particular interest because they constitute the first barrier against radioactive fission species dispersal in case of accidental scenario such as LOCA (LOss of Coolant Accident). Actual nuclear fuel claddings are made from Zr-based alloys and to increase safety margins, both mechanical strength and resistance to high-temperature oxidation have to be improved. Several alternatives using high-temperature oxidation resistant coatings for outer-wall protection have been proposed worldwide but there is currently no solution for the inner-wall protection. In order to resist to high temperature steam environment upon LOCA transients, internal Cr-based coatings deposited by DLI-MOCVD (Direct Liquid Injection of MetalOrganic precursors) were investigated. These hard metallurgical coatings could also be used in high-temperature corrosive environments as those encountered in aeronautics and other industries to protect 3D complex components. Thanks to a suitable chemistry of the liquid Cr precursor, bis(ethylbenzene)chromium, different coatings were deposited including: metal Cr, chromium carbides CrxCy and mixed carbides CrxSizCy. The high-temperature behavior of these Cr-based coatings under oxidizing atmospheres has been studied using several techniques and various oxidation tests including pure steam environment followed by water quenching down to room temperature to be representative of LOCA situations. Amorphous CrxCy coatings showed the most promising properties. For instance compared to uncoated substrate, they shift the catastrophic oxidation towards higher temperatures and delay the complete oxidation of the substrate at 1473K of >2h. The results are discussed in terms of oxidation mechanisms and protection of the fuel claddings inner surface deduced from fine characterizations of the samples before and after oxidation tests

Fifty years of the CERN Proton Synchrotron : Volume 2

This report sums up in two volumes the first 50 years of operation of the CERN Proton Synchrotron. After an introduction on the genesis of the machine, and a description of its magnet and powering systems, the first volume focuses on some of the many innovations in accelerator physics and instrumentation that it has pioneered, such as transition crossing, RF gymnastics, extractions, phase space tomography, or transverse emittance measurement by wire scanners. The second volume describes the other machines in the PS complex: the proton linear accelerators, the PS Booster, the LEP pre-injector, the heavy-ion linac and accumulator, and the antiproton rings.Comment: 58 pages, published as CERN Yellow Report https://cds.cern.ch/record/1597087?ln=e

POV: Obama's ban on juvenile solitary confinement

Point of view article in BU Toda

Sistematización del proceso participativo para la creación de la política de innovación en la UNED

Las universidades, como organizaciones sociales requieren transitar en un proceso de transformación que les permita repensar su quehacer y, alcanzar una mayor cercanía a las comunidades educativas, por medio del trabajo en sus áreas sustantivas. La innovación, se constituye en este contexto, en un acicate para la educación superior; que invoca cambio y transformación profunda en lo que hace y en las formas, procesos y herramientas que emplea para lograrlo. Esta concepción de innovación va más allá de lo que se considera en estos días y en diferentes contextos, reducida al uso intensivo de las tecnologías de la información y comunicación. La necesidad de sistematizar y generar conocimiento que permitiera comprender y fortalecer las capacidades innovadoras en la UNED, propició que un grupo interdisciplinario, conformado por decisión abierta e individual de sus integrantes y, con representación de las distintas Vicerrectorías de la universidad, se organizara y conformara el Nodo de Innovación. Este grupo asumió la tarea de investigar el quehacer innovador de la institución y el estudio de distintos marcos de referencia teórico-conceptuales sobre la innovación y la organización para ofrecer a las autoridades universitarias y la comunidad educativa en general, un diseño de sistema de innovación particular orientado a la UNED; sustentado en la aprobación de una política institucional y su respectivo plan de implementación. Esta ponencia explica la sistematización diseñada especialmente por el Nodo de Innovación, en la definición de esa propuesta de la política de innovación como sistema y que desde el mes de julio del 2017, se encuentra en discusión dentro de dos comisiones del Consejo Universitario, con la intención de ser llevada y aprobada al seno del plenario de ese órgano político colegiado

Prevalence of oropharyngeal beta-lactamase-producing Capnocytophaga spp. in pediatric oncology patients over a ten-year period

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of beta-lactamase-producing Capnocytophaga isolates in young children hospitalized in the Pediatric Oncology Department of Hôpital Sud (Rennes, France) over a ten-year period (1993–2002). METHODS: In neutropenic children, a periodic survey of the oral cavity allows a predictive evaluation of the risk of systemic infections by Capnocytophaga spp. In 449 children with cancer, 3,053 samples were collected by oral swabbing and plated on TBBP agar. The susceptibility of Capnocytophaga isolates to five beta-lactams was determined. RESULTS: A total of 440 strains of Capnocytophaga spp. were isolated, 309 (70%) of which were beta-lactamase producers. The beta-lactamase-producing strains were all resistant to cefazolin, 86% to amoxicillin, and 63% to ceftazidime. The proportion of strains resistant to third-generation cephalosporins remained high throughout the ten-year study, while susceptibility to imipenem and amoxicillin combined with clavulanic acid was always conserved. CONCLUSION: These results highlight the risk of antibiotic failure in Capnocytophaga infections and the importance of monitoring immunosuppressed patients and testing for antibiotic susceptibility and beta-lactamase production

Outcome after allogeneic stem cell transplantation with haploidentical versus HLA-matched donors in patients with higher-risk MDS.

peer reviewedAllogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation remains the best curative option for higher-risk myelodysplastic syndrome. The presence of monosomal karyotype and/or complex karyotype abnormalities predicts inferior survival after allo-SCT in MDS patients. Haploidentical allo-SCT has been increasingly used in acute leukemia (AL) and has similar results as using HLA-matched donors, but data on higher-risk MDS is sparse. We compared outcomes in 266 patients with higher-risk MDS after HLA-matched sibling donor (MSD, n = 79), HLA-matched unrelated donor (MUD, n = 139) and HLA haploidentical donor (HID, n = 48) from 2010 to 2019. Median donor age differed between the three groups (p < 0.001). The overall survival was significantly different between the three groups with a better OS observed in the MUD group (p = 0.014). This observation could be explained by a higher progression-free survival with MUD (p = 0.014). The cumulative incidence of grade 2-4 acute GvHD was significantly higher in the HID group (p = 0.051). However, in multivariable analysis, patients transplanted using an HID had comparable mortality to patients transplanted using a MUD (subdistribution hazard ratio [sHR]: 0.58 [0.32-1.07]; p = 0.080) and a MSD ([sHR]: 0.56 [0.28-1.11]; p = 0.094). MUD do not remain a significant positive predictor of survival, suggesting that beyond the donor-recipient HLA matching, the donor age might impact recipient outcome