Smartphone Screen Integrated Optical Breathalyzer

RÉSUMÉ: One third of fatal car accidents and so many tragedies are due to alcohol abuse. These sad numbers could be mitigated if everyone had access to a breathalyzer anytime and anywhere. Having a breathalyzer built into a phone or wearable technology could be the way to get around reluctance to carry a separate device. With this goal, we propose an inexpensive breathalyzer that could be integrated in the screens of mobile devices. Our technology is based on the evaporation rate of the fog produced by the breath on the phone screen, which increases with increasing breath alcohol content. The device simply uses a photodiode placed on the side of the screen to measure the signature of the scattered light intensity from the phone display that is guided through the stress layer of the Gorilla glass screen. A part of the display light is coupled to the stress layer via the evanescent field induced at the edge of the breath microdroplets. We demonstrate that the intensity signature measured at the detector can be linked to blood alcohol content. We fabricated a prototype in a smartphone case powered by the phone’s battery, controlled by an application installed on the smartphone, and tested it in real-world environments. Limitations and future work toward a fully operational device are discussed

Room-temperature single-phase Li insertion/extraction in nanoscale LixFePO4

Classical electrodes for Li-ion technology operate by either single-phase or two-phase Li insertion/de-insertion processes, with single-phase mechanisms presenting some intrinsic advantages with respect to various storage applications. We report the feasibility to drive the well-established two-phase room-temperature insertion process in LiFePO4 electrodes into a single-phase one by modifying the material's particle size and ion ordering. Electrodes made of LiFePO4 nanoparticles (40 nm) formed by a low-temperature precipitation process exhibit sloping voltage charge/discharge curves, characteristic of a single-phase behaviour. The presence of defects and cation vacancies, as deduced by chemical/physical analytical techniques, is crucial in accounting for our results. Whereas the interdependency of particle size, composition and structure complicate the theorists' attempts to model phase stability in nanoscale materials, it provides new opportunities for chemists and electrochemists because numerous electrode materials could exhibit a similar behaviour at the nanoscale once their syntheses have been correctly worked out

Revue des écrits systématiques des interactions enseignant-élèves ayant un effet négatif sur les jeunes

Les élèves peuvent vivre plusieurs effets négatifs liés à la fréquentation scolaire, comme le désengagement et la détresse psychologique. Le but de cette recherche est de décrire comment les enseignants y contribuent. Nous avons réalisé une revue des écrits en utilisant la méthode EPPI. L’analyse démontre que les interactions négatives rapportées par les élèves sont l’incompétence, le caractère offensant et l’indolence de l’enseignant. Certaines interactions négatives échappent à la perception des élèves, soit le contrôle de l’enseignant et les relations conflictuelles. Même si les interactions négatives débutent dès le préscolaire, la situation s’aggrave surtout au secondaire. Nous décrivons les mécanismes psychiques à l’origine des comportements des enseignants, et leurs effets sur le développement des jeunes.Students may experience several negative effects related to school attendance, such as disengagement and psychological distress. The purpose of this research is to describe how teachers contribute to it. We conducted a literature review using the EPPI method. The analysis shows that the negative interactions reported by the students are the incompetence, the offensiveness and the indolence of the teacher. Some negative interactions escape the students’ perceptions, which are the teacher control, and the conflictual relationships. Even if negative interactions begin as early as preschool, the situation worsens especially in high school. We describe the psychic mechanisms behind the behavior of teachers, and their effects on the development of students

Commission 51: Bioastronomy

International audienceCommission 51 met on August 12, 2009. Outgoing President Alan Boss chaired the meeting, and there were several dozen members present, including incoming President William Irvine, incoming Vice President Pascale Ehrenfreund, and outgoing Past President Karen Meech. Commission 51 (C51) was re-authorized for a term of six more years at the 2006 Prague General Assembly of the IAU, and hence comes up for renewal at the 2012 IAU General Assembly in Beijing, China

Effect of 1-h moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on intramyocellular lipids in obese men before and after a lifestyle intervention

Intramyocellular lipids (IMCL) are depleted in response to an acute bout of exercise in lean endurance-trained individuals; however, it is unclear whether changes in IMCL content are also seen in response to acute and chronic exercise in obese individuals. We used magnetic resonance spectroscopy in 18 obese men and 5 normal-weight controls to assess IMCL content before and after an hour of cycling at the intensity corresponding with each participant's maximal whole-body rate of fat oxidation (Fat(max)). Fatmax was determined via indirect calorimetry during a graded exercise test on a cycle ergometer. The same outcome measures were reassessed in the obese group after a 16-week lifestyle intervention comprising dietary calorie restriction and exercise training. At baseline, IMCL content decreased in response to 1 h of cycling at Fatmax in controls (2.8 +/- 0.4 to 2.0 +/- 0.3 A.U., -39%, p = 0.02), but not in obese (5.4 +/- 2.1 vs. 5.2 +/- 2.2 A.U.,p = 0.42). The lifestyle intervention lead to weight loss (-10.0 +/- 5.4 kg, p < 0.001), improvements in maximal aerobic power (+5.2 +/- 3.4 mL/(kg.min)), maximal fat oxidation rate (+0.19 +/- 0.22 g/min), and a 29% decrease in homeostasis model assessment score (all p < 0.05). However, when the 1 h of cycling at Fatmax was repeated after the lifestyle intervention, there remained no observable change in IMCL (4.6 +/- 1.8 vs. 4.6 +/- 1.9 A.U., p = 0.92). In summary, there was no IMCL depletion in response to 1 h of cycling at moderate intensity either before or after the lifestyle intervention in obese men. An effective lifestyle intervention including moderate-intensity exercise training did not impact rate of utilisation of IMCL during acute exercise in obese men

Commissioning the New CERN Beam Instrumentation Following the Upgrade of the LHC Injector Chain

The LHC injectors Upgrade (LIU) program has been fully implemented during the second long shutdown (LS2), which took place in 2019-20. In this context, new or upgraded beam instrumentation was developed to cope with H⁻ beam in LINAC4 and the new Proton Synchrotron Booster (PSB) injection systems which would provide high brightness proton beams in the rest of the injector complex. After a short overview of the newly installed diagnostics, the main focus of this paper will move to the instruments already commissioned with the beam. This will include LINAC4 diagnostics, the PSB H⁰/H⁻ monitor, the PSB Trajectory Measurement System, and the PS beam gas ionization monitor. In addition, particular emphasis will be given to the first operational experience with the new generation of fast wire scanners installed in all injector synchronous

CHIME Level 2A and 2B: Atmospheric Correction and Higher-Level Processing

Challenge. CHIME (Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission for the Environment), planned to be launched in 2028, aims to complement the existing Copernicus satellites for observing land and coastal areas. The mission is synergetic with Sentinel-1, -2, -3 and LSTM, and also with other international hyperspectral missions such as SBG, EnMAP (by DLR) and PRISMA (by ASI). The imaging spectrometer covers the visible, near and shortwave infra-red spectral range from 400 nm to 2500 nm at intervals of at most 10 nm and at spatial resolutions of at most 30 m. These Earth observation capabilities will in particular support services for food security, agriculture and raw materials. Based on Top-Of-Atmosphere (TOA) radiances in cartographic or sensor geometry, Bottom-Of-Atmosphere (BOA) reflectance will be generated fulfilling the CEOS ARD surface and aquatic reflectance specifications. Also, a range of higher-level high priority products related to canopy and leaf level and soil and mineralogy will be provided. Methodology. CHIME Level 2A and 2B processors will be provided as open source and integrated in the Copernicus Expansion Mission Product Algorithms Laboratory (CEM-PAL) and for Level 2A in ESA’s operational processing environments for systematic product generation and distribution to users. The CHIME Level 2A processor will use several features of PACO (Python-based Atmospheric COrrection), duly optimized for CHIME, and optimized atmospheric corrections for land and water surfaces. First, it masks pixels, e.g. land-water, cloud-haze-cirrus-clear. It then derives atmospheric parameters based on mission-external Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) and mission-internal instrument data. Next, it determines the reflectance for all types of terrain using the Copernicus DEM and based on Look-Up-Tables containing various atmospheric profiles and radiative transfers using libRadTran. Finally, the surface anisotropy quantified by Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) models is corrected. The CHIME Level 2B processor will apply well-established approaches for the retrieval of Canopy and Leaf Nitrogen and Water Content, Leaf Mass per Area for vegetated pixels, and Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) content and Kaolinite abundance for non-vegetated pixels. Due to the influence of cover fractions of green photosynthetic active vegetation (PV), dry non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPV) and bare soil per pixel, these will be estimated by an improved and tailored pixel masking. Results. To derive the atmospheric profile, air temperature and total ozone columns are extracted based on CAMS. Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) retrieval is based on dark reference areas in different wavelength ranges, e.g. 2100 nm, 660 nm, 470 nm for land and 850 nm, 660 nm for water, and especially in typical spectral relations. Water Vapour (WV) is estimated based on absorption regions at 945 nm, 1130 nm. Other molecular absorbers are expected to have constant mixing ratios. Vegetation products are based on a hybrid model blending the physics described by coupled canopy-leaf radiative transfers related to multiple states of vegetation characteristics and the efficiency of machine learning regression algorithms. For SOC content products, first dominant soil pixels are selected and then a SOC reference soil database is used for the parametrization of the machine learning retrieval model. For kaolinite abundance products, first kaolinite-bearing pixels are selected and then the kaolinite abundance and uncertainty are determined using machine learning techniques. The uncertainty analysis for the outputs considers the input uncertainties and uncertainty tree diagrams for the processing to account precisely for error contributors and to achieve consistency for Level 2A and 2B. Propagation is performed through analytical or Monte Carlo methods, depending on the applicability of assumptions on Gaussian probability distributions and linear measurement functions in the range of errors. Outlook for the future. L2H/F (harmonized / fused) extends Level 2A processing based on CHIME and SBG Level 1C products by considering co-registration to a reference image, inter-calibration, and spectral band adjustment, to obtain denser (and longer) time series. The realization of Level 2A and 2B processors will start by Q4/2023 and first prototypical versions are expected for Q4/2024 and Q2/2026, respectively, and final operational versions one year before CHIME satellite launch. In particular after launch, the Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) of Level 2A and 2B products will extensively consider uncertainty information to ensure the mission performs within specified limits and to verify the accuracy of the derived products, usually by comparing it to a reference standard traceable to the International System of Units (SI) or to other internationally accepted standards and to independent ground-based measurements, e.g. RadCalNet and AERONET, or other mission products like NASA SBG and ESA TRUTH

Recanalization Treatments for Pediatric Acute Ischemic Stroke in France

International audienceImportance: There is to date limited evidence that revascularization strategies are associated with improved functional outcome in children with acute ischemic stroke (AIS).Objectives To report clinical outcomes and provide estimates of revascularization strategy safety and efficacy profiles of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) and/or endovascular treatment (EVT) in children with AIS.Design, Setting, and Participants The KidClot multicenter nationwide cohort study retrospectively collected data of children (neonates excluded) with AIS and recanalization treatment between January 1, 2015, and May 31, 2018. Data analysis was performed from January 1, 2015, to May 31, 2019.Exposure: IVT and/or EVT.Main Outcomes and Measures Primary outcome was day 90 favorable outcome (modified Rankin Scale [mRs] 0-2, with 0 indicating no symptoms and 6 indicating death). Secondary end points included 1-year favorable outcome (mRs, 0-2), mortality, and symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage. Other measures included the Pediatric National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (pedNIHSS), with pedNIHSS 0 indicating no symptoms, 1 to 4 corresponding to a minor stroke, 5 to 15 corresponding to a mild stroke, greater than 15 to 20: severe stroke, and the adult Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS), which provides segmental assessment of the vascular territory, with 1 point deducted from the initial score of 10 for every region involved (from 10 [no lesion] to 0 [maximum lesions]).Results: Overall, 68 children were included in 30 centers (IVT [n = 44]; EVT [n = 40]; 44 boys [64.7%]; median [IQR] age, 11 [4-16] years; anterior circulation involvement, 57 [83.8%]). Median (IQR) pedNIHSS score at admission was 13 (7-19), higher in the EVT group at 16 (IQR, 10-20) vs 9 (6-17) in the IVT only group (P &lt; .01). Median time from stroke onset to imaging was higher in the EVT group at 3 hours and 7 minutes (IQR, 2 hours and 3 minutes to 6 hours and 24 minutes) vs 2 hours and 39 minutes (IQR, 1 hour and 51 minutes to 4 hours and 13 minutes) (P = .04). Median admission ASPECTS score was 8 (IQR, 6-9). The main stroke etiologies were cardioembolic (21 [30.9%]) and focal cerebral arteriopathy (17 [25.0%]). Median (IQR) time from stroke onset to IVT was 3 hours and 30 minutes (IQR, 2 hours and 33 minutes to 4 hours and 28 minutes). In the EVT group, the rate of postprocedure successful reperfusion (≥modified Treatment in Cerebral Infarction 2b) was 80.0% (32 of 40). Persistent proximal arterial stenosis was more frequent in focal cerebral arteriopathy (P &lt; .01). Death occurred in 3 patients (4.4%). Median pedNIHSS reduction at 24 hours was 4 (IQR, 0-9) points. Intracerebral hemorrhage occurred in 4 patients and symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage occurred in 1 patient, all in the EVT group. The median mRS was 2 (IQR, 0-3) at day 90 and 1 (IQR, 0-2) at 1 year, which was not significantly different between EVT and IVT only groups, although different in initial severity.Conclusions and Relevance: The findings of this cohort study suggest that use of EVT and/or IVT is safe in children with AIS