[Psychological and cognitive interventions in end-of-life support of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. A review.] / Prise en charge psychologique et cognitive au cours de l'accompagnement de fin de vie de patients atteints de sclérose latérale amyotrophique. Une revue systématique.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an incurable disease characterized by muscle atrophy leading to complete paralysis. Once diagnosed, the average life expectancy is three to five years. In this context, palliative and end-of-life care are essential, as well as the development of cognitive and/or psychological therapies to improve the quality of life of patients. In this context, we conducted a review of the pertinent literature about psychological and cognitive interventions in end-of-life support for ALS patients. We identified 504 references out of which only four studies met our inclusion criteria. Two studies focused on dignity therapy, one study on the delay between the diagnosis and the start of psychological care in a specialized centre, and one case-report on psychological therapy combined with a computer-assisted communication system. The results of these studies, although very limited, suggest that psychological interventions may improve the management and quality of life of end-of-life ALS patients. Further studies should investigate the impact of psychological support adapted to ALS, using, for example, computer-assisted communication allowing to implement these interventions in a larger number of patients and over the long term.

La sclérose latérale amyotrophique (SLA) est une maladie neurogénérative qui se caractérise notamment par une amyotrophie progressive évoluant jusqu'à la paralysie complète du patient dont l'espérance de vie est, en moyenne, de trois à cinq ans. Les soins palliatifs et le développement de thérapies pour améliorer la qualité de vie des patients sont essentiels. Dans ce cadre, nous avons réalisé une revue de la littérature portant sur les interventions psychologiques et cognitives dans la prise en charge des patients atteins de SLA en fin de vie. Nous avons identifié 504 références dont quatre rapportant des études qui répondaient aux critères d'inclusion. Deux études portaient sur la thérapie de la dignité, une sur la rapidité d'une prise en charge psychologique dans un centre spécialisé et un rapport de cas concernait une prise en charge psychologique combinée à un système de communication assistée par ordinateur. Les résultats de ces quatre études, bien que limités, suggèrent que les interventions psychologiques pourraient améliorer la qualité de vie des patients en fin de vie. De nouvelles recherches devraient être menées pour investiguer l'impact d'une prise en charge psychologique adaptée à la SLA en utilisant, par exemple, une communication assistée afin d'implémenter ces interventions sur un plus grand nombre de patients et sur le long terme.

[Heterotopic ossifications after hospitalisation in intensive care for SARS-CoV-2 pneumopathy]. / Face à la COVID-19. Ossifications hétérotopiques après une hospitalisation aux soins intensifs liée à une pneumopathie à SARS-CoV-2.

We report the case of a 63-year old patient admitted in the intensive care unit for 25 days because of a severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia. With diverse symptoms of critical illness polyneuropathy the patient has been taken care of in a rehabilitation centre. Ankylosis and joint motion limitation led to a more extensive imaging assessment. The later showed advanced periarticular heterotopic calcification in both hips and in right shoulder. Although hypothesis about this complication's physiopathology remains unclear, early identification would allow a better management. It is the first time heterotopic ossification involving three large joints is reported after a SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Nous rapportons le cas d'un patient de 63 ans admis dans une unité de soins intensifs durant 25 jours suite à pneumopathie à SARS-CoV-2 sévère. Le patient a présenté un tableau clinique de polyneuropathie des soins intensifs et a été pris en charge dans un centre de rééducation. L'ankylose et la limitation articulaire des hanches du patient ont conduit à compléter le bilan radiologique montrant d'importantes calcifications hétérotopiques périarticulaires des deux hanches et de l'épaule droite. Bien que les hypothèses physiopathologiques de cette complication restent incertaines, l'identification précoce a permis d'introduire une prise en charge adaptée. C'est la première observation d'ossification hétérotopique associée à une infection à SARS-Cov-2 impliquant trois grandes articulations chez un même patient.

Peroxyacetyl nitrate and peroxypropionyl nitrate during SCOS 97-NARSTO.

Peroxyacyl nitrates [RC(O)OONO2] play an important role in urban air quality and tropospheric chemistry. They also receive attention as mutagens, phytotoxins, and possible air quality indicators of changes in vehicle fuel composition. Ambient concentrations of PAN (R = CH3) and PPN (R = C2H5) have been measured during summer 1997 at two southern California locations, Azusa (July 14-October 16) and Simi Valley (June 18-October 16). The highest concentrations were 4.8 ppb for PAN and 0.72 ppb for PPN in Azusa and 3.0 ppb for PAN and 0.28 ppb for PPN in Simi Valley. Ambient levels of PAN and PPN during summer 1997 were lower than those measured in the last three studies carried out in southern California in the summers of 1990, 1991, and 1993. Average PPN/PAN concentration ratios were about the same in Azusa (0.142+/-0.025, n = 132) and in Simi Valley (0.135+/-0.028, n = 138). The PPN/PAN ratio measured in Azusa was the same as that measured at that location in 1993 prior to the introduction in 1996 of California Phase 2 reformulated gasoline. Diurnal variations of PAN and PPN generally followed those of ozone with respect to time of day but not with respect to amplitude. The PAN/ozone ratio was lower in Simi Valley than in Azusa, and daytime minima were recorded at both locations. The amount of PAN lost by thermal decomposition accounted for large fractions of the amount of PAN formed (measured + decomposed) during daytime hours at both locations. The amount of PAN lost by thermal decomposition was higher in Azusa and was up to ca. 8.5 ppb, i.e., 4-5 times more than that measured, when afternoon temperatures were ca. 40 degrees C.

On-road measurement of carbonyls in California light-duty vehicle emissions.

Emissions of carbonyls by motor vehicles are of concern because these species can be hazardous to human health and highly reactive in the atmosphere. The objective of this research was to measure carbonyl emission factors for California light-duty motor vehicles. Measurements were made at the entrance and exit of a San Francisco Bay area highway tunnel, in the center bore where heavy-duty trucks are not allowed. During summer 1999, approximately 100 carbonyls were identified, including saturated aliphatic aldehydes and ketones, unsaturated aliphatic carbonyls, aliphatic dicarbonyls, and aromatic carbonyls. Concentrations were measured for 32 carbonyls and were combined with NMOC, CO, and CO2 concentrations to calculate by carbon balance emission factors per unit of fuel burned. The measured carbonyl mass emitted from light-duty vehicles was 68 +/- 4 mg L(-1). Formaldehyde accounted for 45% of the measured mass emissions, acetaldehyde 12%, tolualdehydes 10%, benzaldehyde 7.2%, and acetone 5.9%. The ozone forming potential of the carbonyl emissions was dominated by formaldehyde (70%) and acetaldehyde (14%). Between 1994 and 1999, emission factors measured at the same tunnel for formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and benzaldehyde decreased by 45-70%. Carbonyls constituted 3.9% of total NMOC mass emissions and 5.2% of NMOC reactivity. A comparison of carbonyl emissions with gasoline composition supports previous findings that aromatic aldehyde emissions are related to aromatics in gasoline. Carbonyl concentrations in liquid gasoline were also measured. Acetone and MEK were the most abundant carbonyls in unburned gasoline; eight other carbonyls were detected and quantified.

On-road emissions of carbonyls from light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles.

Vehicle emissions are a major source of carbonyls, which play an important role in atmospheric chemistry and urban air quality. Yet, little data are available for speciated carbonyls emitted by vehicles and especially by heavy-duty diesel vehicles. On-road vehicle emissions of carbonyls have been measured in May 1999 at the Tuscarora Mountain Tunnel, PA. Ten saturated aliphatic aldehydes, 4 saturated aliphatic ketones, 4 unsaturated aliphatic carbonyls, 4 aliphatic dicarbonyls, and 9 aromatic carbonyls have been identified and their concentrations measured. For light-duty (LD) vehicles, total carbonyl emissions were ca. 6.4 mg/km, and the 10 largest emission factors were, in decreasing order, those of formaldehyde (2.58 +/- 1.05 mg/km, ca. 40% of total carbonyls), acetone, acetaldehyde, heptanal, crotonaldehyde, 2-butanone, propanal, acrolein, methacrolein, and benzaldehyde. For weight class 7-8 heavy-duty diesel vehicles (7-8 HD), total carbonyl emissions were ca. 26.1 mg/km, and the 10 largest emission factors were, in decreasing order, those of formaldehyde (6.73 +/- 2.05 mg/km, ca. 26% of total carbonyls), acetaldehyde, acetone, crotonaldehyde, m-tolualdehyde, 2-pentanone, benzaldehyde, a C5 saturated aliphatic aldehyde isomer, 2,5-dimethylbenzaldehyde, and 2-butanone. Aromatic carbonyls, unsaturated aliphatic aldehydes, and aliphatic dicarbonyls represented larger fractions of the total carbonyl emissions for 7-8 HD vehicles than for LD vehicles. For HD vehicles, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde emission factors measured in this study are ca. 4-5 times lower than those measured in previous work. For LD vehicles, emission factors measured in this study are generally lower than those measured in earlier work and are about the same, within reported uncertainties, as those measured in 1992 in the same highway tunnel.

Liquid Chromatography Analysis of Carbonyl (2,4-Dinitrophenyl)hydrazones with Detection by Diode Array Ultraviolet Spectroscopy and by Atmospheric Pressure Negative Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry.

The (2,4-dinitrophenyl)hydrazones of carbonyls are separated by liquid chromatography and detected by ultraviolet spectroscopy (diode array detector) and by atmospheric pressure negative chemical ionization mass spectrometry. Results are presented for 78 carbonyls including 18 1-alkanals (from formaldehyde to octadecanal), 16 other saturated aliphatic carbonyls (5 C(4)-C(7) aldehydes and 11 C(3)-C(9) ketones), 16 unsaturated aliphatic carbonyls (9 C(3)-C(11) aldehydes and 7 C(4)-C(9) ketones), 13 aromatic carbonyls (including hydroxy- and/or methoxy-substituted compounds), 10 C(2)-C(10) aliphatic dicarbonyls, 3 aliphatic carbonyl esters, and 2 other carbonyls. Isomers were observed for α,ß-unsaturated ketones and saturated carbonyls that bear other oxygen-containing substituents, e.g. methoxyacetone, 2-furaldehyde, and the 3 carbonyl esters. For all but two of the carbonyls studied, the base peak in the negative APCI mass spectrum was the M - 1 ion (NO(2))(2)C(6)H(3)NN [Formula: see text] CR(1)R(2) (R(1) = H for aldehydes), where M is the molecular mass of the carbonyl (2,4-dinitrophenyl)hydrazone derivative. The dicarbonyls 2,4-pentanedione and succinic dialdehyde reacted with DNPH to yield predominantly other products. Concentrations measured by ultraviolet spectroscopy (peak area) and by mass spectrometry (abundance of M - 1 ion) were in good agreement. Applications described include the measurement of 34 C(1)-C(18) carbonyls at levels of 0.015-14 parts per billion (ppb) in urban air and the identification of carbonyls at ppb concentrations as reaction products in laboratory studies of the atmospheric oxidation of unsaturated organic compounds.

Monitoring ambient ozone with a network of passive samplers: a feasibility study.

Ambient levels of ozone have been measured at 46 mountain forest, desert, Class I Wilderness areas and other remote locations using a network of passive samplers. Typical values were 40-80 ppb (2 week samples) and exhibited temporal variations (studied for up to 1 year) as well as changes with elevation (studied up to 10 500 ft (3 200 m)). The performance of the passive sampler was evaluated with respect to reproducibility, field controls, data capture (>0.95), precision for co-located samples (av. = 11.9%, n = 103), and the role of other atmospheric oxidants as potential interferents (2 locations). Suggestions for additional sampler performance evaluation and network operation are outlined.

Detecting ozone and demonstrating its phytotoxicity in forested areas of Poland: a pilot study.

Ambient concentrations of ozone (O(3)) were measured and O(3) phytotoxicity to tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) was demonstrated in several forest locations in Poland during a pilot study from July-October, 1991. At southern and central locations in Poland, the 24-hour average O(3) concentrations measured with a UV absorption photometer were in the range of 32-55 ppb, and the corresponding 1-hour maxima in the range of 39-83 ppb. At these locations longer period (four to fifteen days) average concentrations were determined using O(3) passive samplers (DGA, Inc.) and were reaching 60 ppb, while at Bialowieza in eastern Poland O(3) concentrations averaged less than 40 ppb. In Szarow, near the Niepolomice Forest in southern Poland, 1-hour O(3) maxima estimated from the data obtained using passive samplers were about 105 ppb in early September. At several locations in southern and central Poland, extensive O(3) injury was determined on O(3)-sensitive Bel W-3 tobacco plants; such injury did not occur in the Bialowieza Forest of eastern Poland. The results of this pilot study indicate that O(3) is present at phytotoxic levels in southern and central Poland.

Theory of mode-locked intracavity second-harmonic generation in a ring laser.

We model the dynamics of a Q-switched mode-locked intracavity second-harmonic-generation (SHG) ring laser. Numerical studies show that a long train of constant-pulse-duration short pulses at the second-harmonic and fundamental frequencies result. The efficiency of the mode-locked intracavity SHG laser is comparable with that of the mode-locked fundamental-frequency laser not containing SHG.

Peroxybenzoylnitrate: measurements in smog chambers and in urban air.

Peroxybenzoylnitrate (PBzN, C6H5C(O)OONO2), a photochemical atmospheric pollutant and powerful eye irritant, was detected at greater than or equal to 10 ng following aqueous alkaline hydrolysis to benzoate ion and analysis by ion chromatography with ultraviolet detection. Method validation studies and studies of potential interferents including benzaldehyde and benzoic acid are described, together with applications to PBzN measurements in environmental chamber atmospheres and in ambient air.

Time-resolved temperature measurements in a laboratory flame using the optoacoustic beam-deflection method.

A method of obtaining time-resolved measurements of gas temperatures in a combustion environment is described. The noncontact optical laser-beam deflection technique utilizes rapid heating at a gas-solid interface as an acoustic source and is capable of acquiring localized temperature values at a repetition rate of >1 kHz. Measurements taken on a premixed propane-air laboratory flame show a 12.5-Hz thermal oscillation at the flame edge and no significant oscillation at the center.