2D surface temperature measurement of plasma facing components with modulated active pyrometry.

In nuclear fusion devices, such as Tore Supra, the plasma facing components (PFC) are in carbon. Such components are exposed to very high heat flux and the surface temperature measurement is mandatory for the safety of the device and also for efficient plasma scenario development. Besides this measurement is essential to evaluate these heat fluxes for a better knowledge of the physics of plasma-wall interaction, it is also required to monitor the fatigue of PFCs. Infrared system (IR) is used to manage to measure surface temperature in real time. For carbon PFCs, the emissivity is high and known (ɛ ∼ 0.8), therefore the contribution of the reflected flux from environment and collected by the IR cameras can be neglected. However, the future tokamaks such as WEST and ITER will be equipped with PFCs in metal (W and Be/W, respectively) with low and variable emissivities (ɛ ∼ 0.1-0.4). Consequently, the reflected flux will contribute significantly in the collected flux by IR camera. The modulated active pyrometry, using a bicolor camera, proposed in this paper allows a 2D surface temperature measurement independently of the reflected fluxes and the emissivity. Experimental results with Tungsten sample are reported and compared with simultaneous measurement performed with classical pyrometry (monochromatic and bichromatic) with and without reflective flux demonstrating the efficiency of this method for surface temperature measurement independently of the reflected flux and the emissivity.

[Quality and improvement propositions for the Annecy emergency medical services]. / Etat des lieux et propositions d'amélioration de l'accueil des urgences à Annecy.

Emergency visits are one of the most common ways patients are admitted to hospitals. This study aims to characterise emergency visits in the Annecy District, in order to identify future actions for better management. Four studies were implemented: telephone surveys among 600 households and 130 physicians; and two observational studies of emergency visits to 80 physicians and to hospital emergency services. We observed that the hospital emergency service offers patients a good service, and therefore attracts many minor pathologies not requiring a hospital visit. Implementation of alternative structures, outside the hospital, to offer similar service must be considered. Co-operation among the different actors must be improved, and can benefit from new communication technology.

Sale of drugs and health care utilization in a health care district in Zaire.

Health centres of Idjwi district (Zaire) have been self-financed through the selling of drugs since 1985. Medical care is expensive and its use is low (24 visits per year per 100 inhabitants). In 1989 the medical team tried to reduce the cost of visits by changing the prices of drugs and prescriptions. A limited control was set up to assess this intervention. The study showed that although prescribed drug costs were stabilized compared to inflation, there was no increase in the use of medical care. Moreover, the reduction of drug profit margins for health centres seriously affected the health care institution by causing a drop in income. Six months after the intervention the monthly accounts showed a deficit in 6 centres out of 8. The need for health care centres to be self-financing is a major limiting factor in the use of health care in Idjwi district. There are no easy solutions for health centre managers that satisfy both low-cost access to care and health care self-financing. Some minimal financial participation from the state is required. Only then can the concept of financing health care through the selling of drugs be operational.

[Evaluation of an educational action on accident prevention in children]. / Evaluation d'une action éducative contre les accidents d'enfants.

A health education action for childhood injuries prevention took place from october 1988 to march 1989 in the town of Chambéry (Savoie), a town of 95,000 inhabitants. The health education concerned 21,950, 0 to 15 years old children and their close relatives (parents or educators). Two assessment means were applied: 1) a questionnaire submitted to the parents and the children before and after the intervention; 2) a comparison with the evolution of chosen indicators in a control town (Annecy, Haute-Savoie, 112,000 inhabitants), the informations being supplied by private doctors, hospital, clinics, pupils insurance and anti poison centres. The comparison between the action and the control areas shows a tendency towards a decrease in the action area of the frequency of home accidents and calls to the anti-poison centres. However the overall impact of the action looks weak and possible variations appears difficult to ascertain. This work highlights the methodological difficulties of the evaluation of community health education actions.

[Detection of HIV antibodies in a rural region of a developing country]. / Dépistage des anticorps VIH en milieu rural d'un pays en voie de développement.

A HIV seroprevalence among 312 antenatal mothers at their first visit to the Idjwi isle's hospital, in Zaïre, near Rwanda, and among 61 other patients, was made with the HIV1 Immunocomb of PBS Orgenics during one year: 1989. The seroprevalence is 0.32%, in this rural area, as was confirmed by Western-Blot. A panel of this 51 "false and true positive" and 13 negative african sera was tested with one other ELISA and two new rapid tests used in France, HIV CHEK 1 + 2 and TEST PACK HIV1/HIV2 to evaluate efficacy under conditions in which transfusions are normally given. These were performed within 15 mn of receipt of blood from a donor in Zaïre.