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Defects induced by 62 MeV protons in single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) are studied. A study of the dark count rate (DCR) variation after irradiations for different biasing conditions underlines the predominance of field enhancement effects such as Poole–Frenkel (PF) effect and phonon-assisted tunneling (PAT) over band-to-band tunneling (BTBT). Activation energy measurements below mid-gap value confirm the important contribution of these field effects. However, unexpected behaviors in these energies are seen: very low activation energies are extracted for SPADs with a DCR induced around 103 counts per second (cps). We attribute them to the contribution of different groups of defects, with different energy-level distribution. This analysis is completed with an annealing study between 100 °C and 300 °C. Results for high DCR SPADs correlate well with the presence of defect clusters. Moreover, histogram of the annealing temperature at which the DCR starts to drop displays two peaks at 170 °C and 250 °C. The first one is attributed to phosphorus vacancies and complex cluster of defects with an energy distribution inside the Si bandgap centered above mid-gap. The second one is attributed to clusters of divacancies that also anneal at temperatures around 250 °C.

Dark count rate (DCR) degradation is measured on 40-nm 2-D and stacked CMOS single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) after proton irradiations. Mean DCR increase is plotted for different displacement damage doses (DDDs) for two biasing conditions. Due to field enhancement effects such as Poole–Frenkel and phonon-assisted-tunneling (PAT), non-ionizing energy loss (NIEL) scaling is found to be dependent on the excess bias. Moreover, the associated damage factors are higher compared to pixels with unity gain photodiodes. A model predicting DCR increase with DDD based on field enhancement factor equations and damage energy deposited by the proton-induced recoil spectrum is established and fits well with experimental data. Finally, activation energies are extracted: low values between $25 ^{\circ} \text{C}$ and $60 ^{\circ} \text{C}$ confirm the domination of field effects over thermal generation. Furthermore, large energy discrepancies seen at a fixed DCR increase are suggesting that defect structures could also have an impact on DCR distributions.

Faba beans are promising alternatives to animal proteins due to environmental, food functional and nutritional benefits. However, they are characterised by off-flavours, notably off-notes and bitterness. Research on pulses and pulse-based products has largely focused on the involvement of volatile compounds in off-notes whereas the molecules responsible for pulse bitterness have not been studied as much. To better understand the role of non-volatile compounds in faba bean bitterness, different cultivars and air-classified fractions (flour, starch and protein) were investigated for their taste properties. Firstly, 21 trained panellists evaluated the bitter intensity of gels containing faba bean fractions. Bitter differences were highlighted according to the type of fractions and cultivars. Secondly, an untargeted metabolomics approach based on UHPLC-DAD-HRMS (ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector-high-resolution mass spectrometry) analysis was carried out for profiling the non-volatile content of the fractions. Thirdly, the sensory data was correlated with the metabolomic data resulting in the tentative identification of 42 phytochemical compounds (mainly alkaloids). Fourthly, the bitterness of highlighted compounds was studied using an in vitrocellular-based assay. Linking sensory attributes with the chemical content of pulse-based products allows to target compounds responsible for bitterness to propose strategies improving their flavour and the consumer acceptability.

Although substantial advances have been made in our comprehension of functional politicization – political capacities and activities being taken on by bureaucrats in their administrative duties – questions surrounding its causal mechanisms remain. To shed light on these questions, we here explore increasing political polarization (and fragmentation) in Dutch politics and functional politicization over the period 2007 – 2019 to see how the two are related. To do so, we adopt a cross-time approach that observes which skills – political-strategic insight, substantive expertise (Fachwissen), or procedural knowledge (Dienstwissen) – senior civil servants perceive to be the most relevant to successfully and correctly exercise their profession in a period of increasing polarization in the Dutch political landscape. Drawing from surveys conducted with senior civil servants in 2007, 2013 and 2019, combined with semi-structured interviews conducted in 2019, the data depicts the prevalence of political astuteness in the profession and highlights the factors for its causes: institutional, organizational, and interpersonal dynamics. This indicates an (in)direct link between political polarization and functional politicization of the administrative apparatus that serves as a basis for further cross-time and cross-country investigation.

Systems of Systems (SoS) encompass a group of distributed and independent systems. This class of systems requires recurrent adaptation at runtime owing to the uncertainty and variability of the runtime environment. Thus, during their execution, SoS can deviate from the initial specification, which is often a consequence of successive evolutions. This problem occurs mainly due to (a) weak communication between the SoS analysis stage and architecture stage and (b) the lack of links between the operational planning in the SoS analysis stage and systems that must be involved in the SoS architecture stage. This paper proposes a model‐based process that strengthens the links between the SoS analysis stage and the architecture stage in the wave life cycle. We ensure that the mission and role concepts for the SoS definition are sufficiently abstract to allow adaptation to the variability of the environment. This definition is translated into an abstract architecture that guides the choices of the system architect during the design and evolution stages. The proposed language is an adaptation of the Systems Modeling Language (SysML). Furthermore, we define a crowd management SoS to illustrate the process.

Purpose: In 2011, Dutch municipalities requested supplementary legal enforcement instruments to tackle rogue landlords and substandard housing. The national government implemented new legislation granting municipalities’ local authorities more legal instruments in 2015. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the application and effectiveness of these instruments. Design/methodology/approach: Using both quantitative and qualitative (legal) empirical research methods, this study establishes the frequency these instruments are used and the manner they are applied in practice to determine their role in limiting abusive practices of rogue landlords. Findings: By comparing legislation and policies with their enforcement, the authors pinpoint differences between the law in the books and the law in practice and argue that the legal instruments have a stronger effect on the informal power than on formal power of local authorities. Moreover, the paper shows that the shift of responsibility from the Public Prosecutions Office to local authorities has left the Public Prosecutions Office disinterested, feeling that it no longer has to deal with substandard housing violations at all, therefore leaving the repeat offenders free to continue their activities with minor consequences. Originality/value: The paper presents original data on the ways governments address substandard housing and rogue landlords. This is the first study that analyses the fight against substandard housing in the Dutch context. Although centred on legislation and procedures in The Netherland, the paper’s findings are relevant in other jurisdictions facing similar issues.

Background:Sexual and gender minority (SGM; e.g., gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) people of color are at higher risk for poor sleep health outcomes than both White SGM adults and non-SGM people of color. Growing evidence suggests that chronic minority stressors (i.e., unique stressors attributed to one or more of an individual’s minoritized identities) are associated with short sleep duration and worse sleep quality in SGM adults. However, no study has examined the associations of daily intersectional minority stressors (i.e., attributed to any reason, such as race, sexual identity, gender) with sleep health outcomes in SGM people of color.Objective:To determine the associations of intersectional minority stressors (i.e., anticipated and experienced discrimination) with subsequent sleep health outcomes (i.e., sleep duration, sleep disturbances, and sleep-related impairment) at the day level among SGM people of color.Methods:An online sample of SGM people of color living in the United States participated in a 30-day daily diary study. Daily anticipated discrimination (i.e., expectation of encountering discrimination) and personally experienced discrimination as well as daily subjective sleep health outcomes were assessed using morning and evening electronic diaries. Daily anticipated and experienced discrimination were assessed using validated measures. Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) 4-item measures were used to assess daily subjective sleep disturbances and sleep-related impairment. Continuous wrist-worn actigraphy was used to objectively assess sleep duration. Multilevel linear models (MLMs) were used to estimate the independent associations of daily intersectional minority stressors with subsequent sleep health outcomes, adjusted for demographic factors and chronic minority stressors.Results:The sample included 43 SGM people of color with a mean age of 27.0 years (+/- 7.7) of which 84% were Latinx, 47% were multi-racial, and 37% were bisexual. Results of MLMs indicated that greater report of daily experienced discrimination was positively associated with same-night sleep disturbances (B[SE]= 0.33[0.12], p= 0.01). Further, daily anticipated discrimination was positively associated with sleep-related impairment on the following day (B[SE]= 0.39[0.17], p= 0.02). However, daily anticipated and experienced discrimination were not associated with same-night sleep duration.Conclusions:This is the first study to simultaneously examine the influence of daily anticipated and experienced discrimination on sleep health in any population. Further research is needed to identify factors driving the link between daily intersectional minority stressors and subjective sleep health outcomes in SGM people of color. This work is crucial to inform precision sleep health interventions tailored for this population.

•Structural stigma is positively associated with negative alcohol-related outcomes•There are differences by gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual identity•Most studies are cross-sectional and used non-probability samples•Gender minority people and many sexual identity subgroups are underrepresented•Sexual and gender minority people of color are underrepresented

Des recommandations de bonnes pratiques de formation continue aux soins palliatifs ont été rédigées selon la méthode du consensus formalisé d’experts sous l’égide de la Société française d’accompagnement et de soins palliatifs (Sfap) et de la Haute Autorité de santé (HAS). Ces recommandations concernent la formation continue en institution et en libéral. Il est nécessaire de les diffuser largement pour améliorer la qualité des formations à la démarche palliative et ainsi les prises en charge des patients en situation palliative et terminale.

Cet article, inscrit dans une recherche plus globale qui avait pour hypothèse principale que la reconnaissance de la difficulté du soin de bouche, et du lien avec son caractère intrusif, conditionne les changements d’attitude et de pratique de soins, propose un focus sur les résultats de cadres de santé.

Introduction:Gender minority (e.g., transgender, gender nonbinary) adults have been shown to be at higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to cisgender adults. However, prior research has primarily examined differences in individual cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics rather than composite measures. We examined gender identity differences in ideal CVH using the American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7, which includes three health behaviors (i.e., tobacco use, diet, and physical activity) and four health factors (i.e., body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, and total cholesterol).Methods:We analyzed self-reported data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (2015-2019). Participants received a score of 0 (nonideal) or 1 (ideal) for each CVH metric and scores were summed to calculate ideal CVH scores (continuous; range 0-7). We ran regression models, adjusted for demographic and clinical factors, to compare ideal CVH scores and the odds of meeting criteria for ideal CVH (i.e., ≥5 CVH metrics with score of 1) between gender minority and cisgender adults. We separately compared all groups of gender minority participants (i.e., transgender women, transgender men, gender nonbinary) to both cisgender women and men.Results:The sample included 368,541 participants, of which 99.6% were cisgender, 0.3% were transgender, and 0.1% were nonbinary. Transgender women (B= -0.22, p<0.01) and gender nonbinary (B= -0.42, p<0.01) participants had lower ideal CVH scores than cisgender women. No differences in ideal CVH scores were found when comparing gender minority adults to cisgender men. Transgender women (AOR 0.54, 95% CI = 0.50, 0.76) and gender nonbinary (AOR 0.46, 95% CI=0.30, 0.71) adults were less likely to meet criteria for ideal CVH than cisgender women. In contrast, transgender men were more likely to meet criteria for ideal CVH than cisgender men (AOR 1.61, 95% CI = 1.10, 2.36).Conclusions:Findings indicate that transgender women and gender nonbinary participants are at higher risk of CVD than cisgender women. Transgender men had a lower risk of CVD than cisgender men. Future research is needed to examine factors that may contribute to the CVH disparities observed among transgender women and gender nonbinary adults.

Oral care for patients receiving non-specialist palliative care has been reported to be lacking in several respects. The present study explored the oral care social representation of nurses and health-care assistants providing non-specialist palliative care. A mixed methodology utilising a questionnaire and focus groups was adopted. The research identified difficulties in providing oral care in this setting. The participants reported managing their emotions around carrying out oral care. They had resources available and were convinced of the positive effects. However, their personal efficacy needed to be reinforced and they needed to receive positive feedback.

SummaryWe describe an eddy current sensor based on the induction balance principle for the buried conductive tag recognition. The objective is to identify the various types of ground pipes without excavation. The principle is to associate to each pipe type a characteristic tag incorporating conductive elements. We present the changes made to the first sensor generation with the aim of view to improve its performances. We also describe the sensor modeling and its optimization by the replacement of the flat coils by turned coils. The other principal modifications are the integration of a numerical lock in detection and the use of an audio amplifier to improve the excitation signal. We show the results of methods used to recognize the two coding systems. We conclude by a summary of the improvements obtained and suggestions for future work.

Diallyl sulfide (DAS) and diallyl disulfide (DADS), two garlic constituents, were found previously to inhibit aflatoxin B1 (AFB1)-initiated carcinogenesis in rat liver, DADS being the most effective. In order to study the mechanisms involved in this protection, we have examined the ability of liver microsomes and cytosols from DAS- and DADS-treated rats to modulate the mutagenicity and the metabolism of AFB1. We also examined the effects of these compounds on the expression of cytochromes P450 (CYP) and phase II enzymes known to be involved in AFB1 metabolism. Administration of DAS (1 mmol/kg for 4 days) to rats resulted in significant inhibition of microsome-mediated mutagenicity of AFB1, whereas DADS treatment did not alter AFB1 mutagenicity. DAS treatment increased the metabolism of AFB1 mainly towards the formation of AFQ1 and AFM1, which might account for the reduction of AFB1 microsomal-mediated mutagenicity. DADS treatment slightly affected the oxidative metabolism of AFB1. DAS and DADS induced CYP3A2, CYP2B1 and CYP2B2, DAS being more potent. Cytosols from DAS- and DADS-treated rats produced a significant inhibition of AFB1-8,9-epoxide (AFBO)-induced mutagenicity and significantly increased the cytosolic formation of AFB1-glutathione conjugates, DADS treatment being more effective. Western blot analysis showed that DADS is a potent inducer of glutathione S-transferase A5 (rGSTA5) and AFB1 aldehyde reductase 1 (rAFAR1), while DAS is a weak inducer of these enzymes. Finally, we demonstrated that antibodies raised against rGSTA5 strongly reduced the antimutagenic activity of cytosols from DAS- and DADS-treated rats against AFBO. All together, these results demonstrate that DAS prevents AFB1 mutagenicity through a dual mechanism, i.e. by modulating both the phase I and II metabolism of AFB1, whereas DADS acts mainly by increasing the phase II metabolism of AFB1. The induction of rGSTA5 and rAFAR1 is probably the main mechanism by which allyl sulfides give protection against AFB1-induced carcinogenesis.

Hepatic stearoyl CoA desaturase (SCD) activity in chickens from a fat line is higher than that of chickens from a lean line and correlates with plasma triacylglycerol concentrations. Furthermore, in these lines, the hepatic SCD1 mRNA level is positively correlated with the adipose tissue weight. To analyze the contribution of the SCD1 gene in the regulation of adiposity in the early stages of triacylglycerol secretion, SCD1 coding sequence and antisense RNA expression vectors were transfected in LMH cells. After selection, these cells were analyzed with regard to SCD1 expression and lipid secretion. The amounts of secreted triacylglycerols and phospholipids were shown to be higher in LMH cells transfected with the SCD1 gene, but reduced in those transfected with the SCD1 antisense sequences when compared to cells transfected with the vector alone (without SCD1 sequences). These results provide direct evidence that the expression of the SCD1 gene plays a major role in the triacylglycerol and phospholipid secretion process.

Six computed tomography examinations were performed on four patients: two of them had tuberous sclerosis, and the other two had solitary angiomyolipomas. Computed tomography is an easy way of diagnosing tumoral hemorrhages and thus facilitates the supervision of patients with tuberous sclerosis. In two patients, the authors observed dense masses that might have indicated cartilage deposits.

Hepatocytes isolated from 9-week-old chickens were cultured in a serum-free, hormonally defined medium. Relative amounts of mRNAs coding for lipogenic enzymes (acetyl-CoA carboxylase, fatty acid synthase, delta 9 desaturase, malic enzyme) and apoproteins (apoprotein A1 and apoprotein B) were determined until the 12th day. beta-actin and albumin mRNA, as well as albumin secretion, were also assessed. Cellular metabolic activity appeared to be very low for the first days of culture, but increased after the 7th day. All the mRNAs studied, except for that of malic enzyme, were present from this time throughout the culture lifespan. The biological significance of the observed results and the relevance of this chicken hepatocyte culture system for long-term metabolic and genetic studies are discussed.

Investigate the associations of gender minority stressors (including stigma consciousness [SC] and gender-related discrimination [GRD]) with sleep health in gender minority individuals.