102 research outputs found
Prenatal diagnosis of facial clefts: evaluation of a specialised counselling.
Prenatal diagnosis of cleft lip and palate has raised many questions concerning the best way to inform the parents and offer appropriate support during the remaining pregnancy to help prepare a positive birth experience. Prenatal counselling differs according to who is responsible, and to that person's knowledge of the practical aspects of care and the impact of the malformation on the child's quality of life. The aim of the study was to evaluate our current techniques and modify them when appropriate.
29 couples having experienced prenatal diagnosis were asked to respond retrospectively to a questionnaire. Personal obstetric and family history, timing and quality of information provided and their impressions at birth were considered.
The parents used several sources of information: the obstetrician, the counsel by the cleft team surgeon, the parents support groups and the Internet. 93% of the parents felt well prepared psychologically for the birth of their child and concerning the practical aspects of care. 54% felt relieved that their child was less affected than imagined. 96% considered prenatal diagnosis a benefit.
Basic information should be provided soon after ultrasound confirmation, followed by progressively more detailed technical discussions over the remaining pregnancy
Phimosis et corticostéroïdes topiques : une alternative au traitement chirurgical? : revue Cochrane pour le praticien
Question clinique: Une mère vous consulte avec son fils âgé de 6 ans, en bonne santé habituelle mais connu pour un phimosis. Il ne présente pas de troubles mictionnels, ni d'antécédents de balanite ou de paraphimosis. Sa mère est inquiète de voir le phimosis persister et vous demande s'il existe une alternative au traitement chirurgical.
Contexte: Présent dès la naissance, le phimosis physiologique se résout spontanément dans la majorité des cas. Alors que 10% des garçons présentent un phimosis à l'âge de 3 ans, cette prévalence diminue à 6-8% à l'âge de 7 ans, pour atteindre 1% à l'âge de 16 ans. On parle de phimosis pathologique lorsque le prépuce présente des cicatrices fibreuses suite à des inflammations répétées ou des décalottages forcés. Cependant, la distinction clinique entre un phimosis pathologique et physiologique est difficile et le traitement chirurgical reste fréquent. Un traitement par corticostéroïdes topiques est utilisé depuis de nombreuses années pour son action anti-inflammatoire et immunosuppressive (diminution de la production de collagène). Pourtant, il n'existe pas de preuve quant à l'efficacité et la sécurité de ce traitement
An Extension of the Fluctuation Theorem
Heat fluctuations are studied in a dissipative system with both mechanical
and stochastic components for a simple model: a Brownian particle dragged
through water by a moving potential. An extended stationary state fluctuation
theorem is derived. For infinite time, this reduces to the conventional
fluctuation theorem only for small fluctuations; for large fluctuations, it
gives a much larger ratio of the probabilities of the particle to absorb rather
than supply heat. This persists for finite times and should be observable in
experiments similar to a recent one of Wang et al.Comment: 12 pages, 1 eps figure in color (though intelligible in black and
white
Electron scattering mechanisms in fluorine-doped SnO2 thin films
Polycrystalline fluorine-doped SnO2 (FTO) thin films have been grown by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis on glass substrate. By varying growth conditions, several FTO specimens have been deposited and the study of their structural, electrical, and optical properties has been carried out. By systematically investigating the mobility as a function of carrier density, grain size, and crystallite size, the contribution of each physical mechanism involved in the electron scattering has been derived. A thorough comparison of experimental data and calculations allows to disentangle these different mechanisms and to deduce their relative importance. In particular, the roles of extended structural defects such as grain or twin boundaries as revealed by electron microscopy or x-ray diffraction along with ionized impurities are discussed. As a consequence, based on the quantitative analysis presented here, an experimental methodology leading to the improvement of the electro-optical properties of FTO thin films is reported. FTO thin films assuming an electrical resistivity as low as 3.7 center dot 10(-4)Omega cm (square sheet resistance of 8 Omega/square) while retaining good transmittance up to 86% (including substrate effect) in the visible range have been obtained. (c) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC
Transport Properties of a Chain of Anharmonic Oscillators with random flip of velocities
We consider the stationary states of a chain of anharmonic coupled
oscillators, whose deterministic hamiltonian dynamics is perturbed by random
independent sign change of the velocities (a random mechanism that conserve
energy). The extremities are coupled to thermostats at different temperature
and and subject to constant forces and . If
the forces differ the center of mass of the system will
move of a speed inducing a tension gradient inside the system. Our aim is
to see the influence of the tension gradient on the thermal conductivity. We
investigate the entropy production properties of the stationary states, and we
prove the existence of the Onsager matrix defined by Green-kubo formulas
(linear response). We also prove some explicit bounds on the thermal
conductivity, depending on the temperature.Comment: Published version: J Stat Phys (2011) 145:1224-1255 DOI
10.1007/s10955-011-0385-
Large deviations of lattice Hamiltonian dynamics coupled to stochastic thermostats
We discuss the Donsker-Varadhan theory of large deviations in the framework
of Hamiltonian systems thermostated by a Gaussian stochastic coupling. We
derive a general formula for the Donsker-Varadhan large deviation functional
for dynamics which satisfy natural properties under time reversal. Next, we
discuss the characterization of the stationary state as the solution of a
variational principle and its relation to the minimum entropy production
principle. Finally, we compute the large deviation functional of the current in
the case of a harmonic chain thermostated by a Gaussian stochastic coupling.Comment: Revised version, published in Journal of Statistical Physic
A meaningful expansion around detailed balance
We consider Markovian dynamics modeling open mesoscopic systems which are
driven away from detailed balance by a nonconservative force. A systematic
expansion is obtained of the stationary distribution around an equilibrium
reference, in orders of the nonequilibrium forcing. The first order around
equilibrium has been known since the work of McLennan (1959), and involves the
transient irreversible entropy flux. The expansion generalizes the McLennan
formula to higher orders, complementing the entropy flux with the dynamical
activity. The latter is more kinetic than thermodynamic and is a possible
realization of Landauer's insight (1975) that, for nonequilibrium, the relative
occupation of states also depends on the noise along possible escape routes. In
that way nonlinear response around equilibrium can be meaningfully discussed in
terms of two main quantities only, the entropy flux and the dynamical activity.
The expansion makes mathematical sense as shown in the simplest cases from
exponential ergodicity.Comment: 19 page
Ergodic properties of quasi-Markovian generalized Langevin equations with configuration dependent noise and non-conservative force
We discuss the ergodic properties of quasi-Markovian stochastic differential
equations, providing general conditions that ensure existence and uniqueness of
a smooth invariant distribution and exponential convergence of the evolution
operator in suitably weighted spaces, which implies the validity
of central limit theorem for the respective solution processes. The main new
result is an ergodicity condition for the generalized Langevin equation with
configuration-dependent noise and (non-)conservative force
Hot scatterers and tracers for the transfer of heat in collisional dynamics
We introduce stochastic models for the transport of heat in systems described
by local collisional dynamics. The dynamics consists of tracer particles moving
through an array of hot scatterers describing the effect of heat baths at fixed
temperatures. Those models have the structure of Markov renewal processes. We
study their ergodic properties in details and provide a useful formula for the
cumulant generating function of the time integrated energy current. We observe
that out of thermal equilibrium, the generating function is not analytic. When
the set of temperatures of the scatterers is fixed by the condition that in
average no energy is exchanged between the scatterers and the system, different
behaviours may arise. When the tracer particles are allowed to travel freely
through the whole array of scatterers, the temperature profile is linear. If
the particles are locked in between scatterers, the temperature profile becomes
nonlinear. In both cases, the thermal conductivity is interpreted as a
frequency of collision between tracers and scatterers
Exponential Mixing for a Stochastic PDE Driven by Degenerate Noise
We study stochastic partial differential equations of the reaction-diffusion
type. We show that, even if the forcing is very degenerate (i.e. has not full
rank), one has exponential convergence towards the invariant measure. The
convergence takes place in the topology induced by a weighted variation norm
and uses a kind of (uniform) Doeblin condition.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figur
- …