Psychometric properties of the French version of the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire

Este estudio instrumental fue diseñado para investigar las propiedades psicométricas de la versión francesa y replicabilidad transcultural del Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ) en sus factores y facetas. El ZKPQ es un instrumento destinado a evaluar los cinco factores básicos del Alternative Five-Factor Model (AFFM). Los participantes fueron 843 suizos francófonos, principalmente estudiantes universitarios. Obtenidos los factores estos mostraron una fiabilidad entre 0,73 y 0,87, y sus facetas entre 0,57 y 0,77. Las diferencias entre géneros son similares a las informadas en la muestra americana. Las mujeres alcanzaron puntuaciones superiores en N-Anx, y puntuaciones más bajas en ImpSS y Act. El resultado de los análisis factoriales exploratorios respaldó la estructura de cinco factores y sus correspondientes facetas. Las correlaciones entre las escalas sostienen que los cinco factores básicos del AFFM son ortogonales. Los coeficientes de congruencia muestran la elevada eplicabilidad transcultural de los factores y sus facetas. Se puso a prueba el ajuste del modelo en sus factores y facetas mediante análisis factorial confirmatorio. Los resultados indican que la versión en lengua francesa del ZKPQ es un instrumento fiable y válido y posee buena replicabilidad transcultural.

Occupational UV exposure in French outdoor workers.

OBJECTIVES: Occupational ultraviolet (UV) exposure was evaluated in a population-based sample in France. METHODS: A random survey was conducted in 2012 in individuals aged 25 to 69 years. The median daily standard erythemal UV dose (SED) was estimated from exposure time and place and matched to satellite UV records. RESULTS: A total of 889 individuals were exposed to solar UV with highest doses observed among gardeners (1.19 SED), construction workers (1.13 SED), agricultural workers (0.95 SED), and culture/art/social science workers (0.92 SED). Information and communication technology, industry, and transport workers were highly exposed (>0.70 SED). Significant factors associated with high occupational UV exposure were sex (P < 0.0001), phototype (P = 0.0003), and taking lunch outdoors (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: This study identified not only expected occupations with high UV exposure but also unexpected occupations with high exposures. This could serve as a basis for future prevention.

Epistemological tensions between linguistic description and ordinary speakers' intuitive knowledge: examples from French verb morphology

In this article, I address epistemological questions regarding the status of linguistic rules and the pervasive--though seldom discussed--tension that arises between theory-driven object perception by linguists on the one hand, and ordinary speakers' possible intuitive knowledge on the other hand. Several issues will be discussed using examples from French verb morphology, based on the 6500 verbs from Le Petit Robert dictionary (2013).

Using music as a signal for biofeedback

Studies on the potential benefits of conveying biofeedback stimulus using a musical signal have appeared in recent years with the intent of harnessing the strong effects that music listening may have on subjects. While results are encouraging, the fundamental question has yet to be addressed, of how combined music and biofeedback compares to the already established use of either of these elements separately. This experiment, involving young adults (N = 24), compared the effectiveness at modulating participants' states of physiological arousal of each of the following conditions: A) listening to pre-recorded music, B) sonification biofeedback of the heart rate, and C) an algorithmically modulated musical feedback signal conveying the subject's heart rate. Our hypothesis was that each of the conditions (A), (B) and (C) would differ from the other two in the extent to which it enables participants to increase and decrease their state of physiological arousal, with (C) being more effective than (B), and both more than (A). Several physiological measures and qualitative responses were recorded and analyzed. Results show that using musical biofeedback allowed participants to modulate their state of physiological arousal at least equally well as sonification biofeedback, and much better than just listening to music, as reflected in their heart rate measurements, controlling for respiration-rate. Our findings indicate that the known effects of music in modulating arousal can therefore be beneficially harnessed when designing a biofeedback protocol.

A Descriptive Study of Gambling Among Emerging Adult Males in French-Speaking Switzerland.

The aims were twofold: to examine the gambling habits of emerging adult males in the French-speaking regions of Switzerland and to what extent these habits predict problem gambling within this population. We also evaluated problem gambling rates and provided data concerning variables such as gambling location, level of information about problem gambling and awareness of treatment centers. 606 Swiss male conscripts, aged 18-22 years, completed a self-report questionnaire. This was administered during their army recruitment day in 2012. Problem gambling was assessed through the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) (Ferris and Wynne 2001). 78.5% of the respondents were lifetime gamblers, 56.1% were past-year gamblers. Four out of ten past-year gamblers played in private spaces and in back rooms. The PGSI indicated that 10.8% of past-year gamblers presented with moderate gambling problems, whilst 1.4% appeared to be problem gamblers. The majority of respondents had never received information about problem gambling. Moreover, they were unaware of the existence of treatment centers for problem gambling in their region. PGSI scores were significantly predicted by the variety of games played. Problem gambling rates among young men appear to be higher than those of the general Swiss population. This confirms that emerging adult males are a particularly vulnerable population with regards to gambling addiction. The implications of this are considered for youth gambling-prevention programs.

Dépistage du risque d'allergie et prévention en maternité : enquête des pratiques AllerNaiss [Screening for the risk of allergy and prevention in French maternity units: A survey].

Allergy has been on the rise for half a century and concerns nearly 30% of children; it has now become a real public health problem. The guidelines on prevention of allergy set up by the French Society of Paediatrics (SFP) and the European Society of Paediatric Allergology and Clinical Immunology (ESPACI) are based on screening children at risk through a systematic search of the family history and recommend, for children at risk, exclusive breastfeeding whenever possible or otherwise utilization of hypoallergenic infant formula, which has demonstrated efficacy. The AllerNaiss practice survey assessed the modes of screening and prevention of allergy in French maternity units in 2012. The SFP guidelines are known by 82% of the maternity units that took part in the survey, and the ESPACI guidelines by 55% of them. A screening strategy is in place in 59% of the participating maternity wards, based on local consensus for 36% of them, 13% of the units having a written screening procedure. Screening is based on the search for a history of allergy in first-degree relatives (99%) during pregnancy (51%), in the delivery room (50%), and after delivery (89%). A mode of prevention of the risk of allergy exists in 62% of the maternity units, most often in writing (49%). A hypoallergenic infant formula is prescribed for non-breastfed children in 90% of the units. The survey shows that there is a real need for formalization of allergy risk screening and prevention of allergy in newborns in French maternity units.

Evolving characteristics and outcome of secondary acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL): A prospective analysis by the French-Belgian-Swiss APL group.

BACKGROUND: Reports of patients with secondary acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) have increased in recent years, particularly for those who received treatment with mitoxantrone, and retrospective studies have suggested that their characteristics and outcomes were similar to those of patients with de novo APL. METHODS: The authors investigated patients with de novo and secondary APL who were included in the ongoing APL-2006 trial. Patients with secondary APL who were included in that trial also were compared with a previous retrospective cohort of patients with secondary APL. RESULTS: In the APL-2006 trial, 42 of 280 patients (15%) had secondary APL. Compared with the retrospective cohort, patients with secondary APL in the APL-2006 trial had a lower incidence of prior breast carcinoma (35.7% vs 57%; P = .03) and a higher incidence of prior prostate carcinoma (26.2% vs 4.7%; P < .001). Treatment of the primary tumor in the APL-2006 trial less frequently included combined radiochemotherapy (28.6% vs 47.2%; P = .044) and no mitoxantrone (0% vs 46.7%; P = .016) but more frequently included anthracyclines (53.3% vs 38.3%; P = .015). In the APL-2006 trial, patients who had secondary APL, compared with those who had de novo APL, were older (mean, 60.2 years vs 48.7 years, respectively; P < .0001) but had a similar complete response rate (97.6% vs 90.3%, respectively), cumulative incidence of relapse (0% vs 1.8%, respectively), and overall survival (92.3% vs 90.9%, respectively) at 18 months. CONCLUSIONS: Although the incidence of secondary APL appears to be stable over time, evolving strategies for the treatment of primary cancers have reduced its occurrence among breast cancer patients but have increased its incidence among patients with prostate cancer. The current results confirm prospectively that patients with secondary APL have characteristics and outcomes similar to those of patients with de novo APL. Cancer 2015;121:2393-2399. © 2015 American Cancer Society.