La médecine ambulatoire youth-friendly. [Youth-friendly outpatient care].

Ambulatory pediatric and family medicine takes care of adolescent patients, most of whom regularly consult a physician. Consultations with young people involve issues specifically related to their age. Regarding health care systems and physicians, adolescents' expectations vary from those of adults, not so much in terms of the issues discussed but in terms of the priorities that they give to them. Confidential interviews are not always proposed but are highly appreciated, as are certain personal qualities on the part of the caregivers such as honesty, respect, and friendliness. Finally, easy access to care together with the continuity of care are essential. Prevention of risk behaviors by screening and health education is clearly insufficient. This issue could be approached during the consultation through a psychosocial history. This is a good opportunity to discuss sensitive issues that adolescents seldom bring up themselves. More systematic prevention would probably decrease youth morbidity and mortality, which are both closely related to risk behaviors. To meet these expectations and special health care needs, the World Health Organization has developed the concept of youth-friendly health services. This concept can be applied in both a specialized adolescence center and a pediatric or family practice. Youth-friendly services are still rarely evaluated but seem to bring a clear benefit in terms of patient satisfaction and access to care.

On the problematic of reserving and stochastic loss models

Abstract Traditionally, the common reserving methods used by the non-life actuaries are based on the assumption that future claims are going to behave in the same way as they did in the past. There are two main sources of variability in the processus of development of the claims: the variability of the speed with which the claims are settled and the variability between the severity of the claims from different accident years. High changes in these processes will generate distortions in the estimation of the claims reserves. The main objective of this thesis is to provide an indicator which firstly identifies and quantifies these two influences and secondly to determine which model is adequate for a specific situation. Two stochastic models were analysed and the predictive distributions of the future claims were obtained. The main advantage of the stochastic models is that they provide measures of variability of the reserves estimates. The first model (PDM) combines one conjugate family Dirichlet - Multinomial with the Poisson distribution. The second model (NBDM) improves the first one by combining two conjugate families Poisson -Gamma (for distribution of the ultimate amounts) and Dirichlet Multinomial (for distribution of the incremental claims payments). It was found that the second model allows to find the speed variability in the reporting process and development of the claims severity as function of two above mentioned distributions' parameters. These are the shape parameter of the Gamma distribution and the Dirichlet parameter. Depending on the relation between them we can decide on the adequacy of the claims reserve estimation method. The parameters have been estimated by the Methods of Moments and Maximum Likelihood. The results were tested using chosen simulation data and then using real data originating from the three lines of business: Property/Casualty, General Liability, and Accident Insurance. These data include different developments and specificities. The outcome of the thesis shows that when the Dirichlet parameter is greater than the shape parameter of the Gamma, resulting in a model with positive correlation between the past and future claims payments, suggests the Chain-Ladder method as appropriate for the claims reserve estimation. In terms of claims reserves, if the cumulated payments are high the positive correlation will imply high expectations for the future payments resulting in high claims reserves estimates. The negative correlation appears when the Dirichlet parameter is lower than the shape parameter of the Gamma, meaning low expected future payments for the same high observed cumulated payments. This corresponds to the situation when claims are reported rapidly and fewer claims remain expected subsequently. The extreme case appears in the situation when all claims are reported at the same time leading to expectations for the future payments of zero or equal to the aggregated amount of the ultimate paid claims. For this latter case, the Chain-Ladder is not recommended.

Scale decisions can reverse conclusions on community assembly processes.

AIM: Phylogenetic diversity patterns are increasingly being used to better understand the role of ecological and evolutionary processes in community assembly. Here, we quantify how these patterns are influenced by scale choices in terms of spatial and environmental extent and organismic scales. LOCATION: European Alps. METHODS: We applied 42 sampling strategies differing in their combination of focal scales. For each resulting sub-dataset, we estimated the phylogenetic diversity of the species pools, phylogenetic α-diversities of local communities, and statistics commonly used together with null models in order to infer non-random diversity patterns (i.e. phylogenetic clustering versus over-dispersion). Finally, we studied the effects of scale choices on these measures using regression analyses. RESULTS: Scale choices were decisive for revealing signals in diversity patterns. Notably, changes in focal scales sometimes reversed a pattern of over-dispersion into clustering. Organismic scale had a stronger effect than spatial and environmental extent. However, we did not find general rules for the direction of change from over-dispersion to clustering with changing scales. Importantly, these scale issues had only a weak influence when focusing on regional diversity patterns that change along abiotic gradients. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: Our results call for caution when combining phylogenetic data with distributional data to study how and why communities differ from random expectations of phylogenetic relatedness. These analyses seem to be robust when the focus is on relating community diversity patterns to variation in habitat conditions, such as abiotic gradients. However, if the focus is on identifying relevant assembly rules for local communities, the uncertainty arising from a certain scale choice can be immense. In the latter case, it becomes necessary to test whether emerging patterns are robust to alternative scale choices.

NUTRIENT RECOMMENDATION MODEL FOR CARROT CROP – FERTICALC CARROT

ABSTRACT The literature on fertilization for carrot growing usually recommends nutrient application rates for yield expectations lower than the yields currently obtained. Moreover, the recommendation only considers the results of soil chemical analysis and does not include effects such as crop residues or variations in yield levels. The aim of this study was to propose a fertilizer recommendation system for carrot cultivation (FERTICALC Carrot) which includes consideration of the nutrient supply by crop residues, variation in intended yield, soil chemical properties, and the growing season (winter or summer). To obtain the data necessary for modeling nutritional requirements, 210 carrot production stands were sampled in the region of Alto Paranaíba, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The dry matter content of the roots, the coefficient of biological utilization of nutrients in the roots, and the nutrient harvest index for summer and winter crops were determined for these samples. To model the nutrient supply by the soil, the literature was surveyed in regard to this theme. A modeling system was developed for recommendation of macronutrients and B. For cationic micronutrients, the system only reports crop nutrient export and extraction. The FERTICALC which was developed proved to be efficient for fertilizer recommendation for carrot cultivation. Advantages in relation to official fertilizer recommendation tables are continuous variation of nutrient application rates in accordance with soil properties and in accordance with data regarding the extraction efficiency of modern, higher yielding cultivars.

Public Employees Leadership Institute Final Report, August 2011

Public agencies in Iowa are continually challenged with reduced staff levels, reduced budgets, and increased expectations for services provided. Responding to these demands requires a well-informed and coordinated team that includes professionals, supervisors, technicians, lead workers, and workers. Becoming a coordinated team requires the training and interaction to produce a common foundation to build upon. In 2007, a training program did not exist in the state to provide this level of training for existing or upcoming managers and leaders of public agencies. The Iowa Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP), in conjunction with Iowa public agency representatives, set out to provide that foundation by developing the Iowa Public Employees Leadership Academy, which was renamed the Public Employees Leadership Institute in July 2011. The Institute is an on-demand, online training program designed to create better (or new) leaders and supervisors for Iowa’s public agencies. The Institute provides a curriculum to train the next generation of leaders, who will replace existing leaders when retirements occur. Through the Institute, Iowa LTAP will provide a coordinated, structured, non-credit educational program available for a modest fee. The techniques and skills offered through the Institute can apply to all who wish to develop or sharpen their leadership and management abilities. This will be true whether the participants are employed in the public or private sector. The 14 courses that were developed and are being offered are as follows: Supervisory Techniques and Skills, Team Development, Communications Skills, Leadership Skills, Community Service/Customer Orientation, Legal Understanding, Fundamentals of Government, Finance, Resource Management, Operations and Maintenance, Basic Management, Emergency Management, Project Management, and Winter Maintenance Management.

Modelling plant species distribution in alpine grasslands using airborne imaging spectroscopy.

Remote sensing using airborne imaging spectroscopy (AIS) is known to retrieve fundamental optical properties of ecosystems. However, the value of these properties for predicting plant species distribution remains unclear. Here, we assess whether such data can add value to topographic variables for predicting plant distributions in French and Swiss alpine grasslands. We fitted statistical models with high spectral and spatial resolution reflectance data and tested four optical indices sensitive to leaf chlorophyll content, leaf water content and leaf area index. We found moderate added-value of AIS data for predicting alpine plant species distribution. Contrary to expectations, differences between species distribution models (SDMs) were not linked to their local abundance or phylogenetic/functional similarity. Moreover, spectral signatures of species were found to be partly site-specific. We discuss current limits of AIS-based SDMs, highlighting issues of scale and informational content of AIS data.

The effect of innovation and sex-specific migration on neutral cultural differentiation

Studies of behaviour are increasingly focusing on acquisition of traits through cultural inheritance. Comparison of patterns of spatial population structure (FST) between neutral genetic loci and behavioural or cultural traits can been used to test hypotheses about demography, life history, and the mechanisms of inheritance/transmission of these traits in humans, chimpanzees and other animals. Here, we develop analytical expectations to show how FST in cultural traits can differ strongly from that measured at neutral genetic markers if migration is largely restricted to one sex but social learning is predominantly modelled on the other (e.g. males migrate, females serve as models for cultural traits), if one individual is the learning model for many, or if rates of innovation (individual learning) are high or rates of social learning are low. We discuss how comparisons of FST between genetic loci and behavioural traits can be applied to evaluate the importance of innovation in shaping patterns of cultural differentiation, as even low rates of innovation can considerably reduce FST, relative to observed structure at neutral genetic loci. Our results also suggest that differentiation in neutral cultural traits should occur over much smaller scales in species with male migration and female enculturation (or the reverse).

Visual-gustatory interaction: orbitofrontal and insular cortices mediate the effect of high-calorie visual food cues on taste pleasantness.

Vision provides a primary sensory input for food perception. It raises expectations on taste and nutritional value and drives acceptance or rejection. So far, the impact of visual food cues varying in energy content on subsequent taste integration remains unexplored. Using electrical neuroimaging, we assessed whether high- and low-calorie food cues differentially influence the brain processing and perception of a subsequent neutral electric taste. When viewing high-calorie food images, participants reported the subsequent taste to be more pleasant than when low-calorie food images preceded the identical taste. Moreover, the taste-evoked neural activity was stronger in the bilateral insula and the adjacent frontal operculum (FOP) within 100 ms after taste onset when preceded by high- versus low-calorie cues. A similar pattern evolved in the anterior cingulate (ACC) and medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) around 180 ms, as well as, in the right insula, around 360 ms. The activation differences in the OFC correlated positively with changes in taste pleasantness, a finding that is an accord with the role of the OFC in the hedonic evaluation of taste. Later activation differences in the right insula likely indicate revaluation of interoceptive taste awareness. Our findings reveal previously unknown mechanisms of cross-modal, visual-gustatory, sensory interactions underlying food evaluation.

Intelligence-led crime scene processing. Part II : Intelligence and crime scene examination.

A better integration of the information conveyed by traces within intelligence-led framework would allow forensic science to participate more intensively to security assessments through forensic intelligence (part I). In this view, the collection of data by examining crime scenes is an entire part of intelligence processes. This conception frames our proposal for a model that promotes to better use knowledge available in the organisation for driving and supporting crime scene examination. The suggested model also clarifies the uncomfortable situation of crime scene examiners who must simultaneously comply with justice needs and expectations, and serve organisations that are mostly driven by broader security objectives. It also opens new perspective for forensic science and crime scene investigation, by the proposal to follow other directions than the traditional path suggested by dominant movements in these fields.

A study of the effects of PVAC on works of art on paper and wood: pH and colour change

This paper presents the preliminary findings of pH and colour measurements carried out on artworks on paperand on wood that had been treated with a poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAC) based adhesive in the 1980s. In both cases, areas treated with PVAC proved to be less acidic than untreated areas. Contrary to expectations, the conservation treatments have not, as yet, increased acidity levels in the objects under study. Colour measurements of the works on paper showed that those that had been backed with a cotton fabric using a mixture of methylcellulose and PVAC were less yellow than those from the same print run that had not been backed. This finding suggests that the backing somehow prevented the natural degradation of the support. In view of these preliminary results, further research is clearly needed. This study forms part of a broader ongoing project to assess the role of PVAC in the conservation of a range of cultural assets.

The role of just world beliefs and justice perceptions in explaining undesirable attitudes and behaviors at work

Perceiving injustice is a key antecedent of a large range of undesirable employee attitudes and behaviors at work. For example, research has shown that employees who perceive their workplace as unfair are less satisfied, less committed and engage in more counterproductive behaviors. In this study, we suggest that justice motives like the belief in a just world (BJW) contribute to explaining relations between justice perceptions and undesirable behaviors. Specifically, we propose that individual differences in BJW (i.e, the belief that the world is just, where everyone is rewarded for his or her behavior) are related to work-related behaviors and attitudes by coloring perceptions of workplace fairness. We investigated our hypotheses in a survey study with 176 employees of various organizations (36% women; mean tenure 12.3 yeares). Results showed that after controlling for other influencing factors (e.g., neuroticism) BJW was negatively related to self-reported work deviant behaviors and to cynical, disillusioned attitudes toward the current job. Moreover, BJW was positively related to overall job satisfaction. Consistent with our expectations, relations of BJW with deviant behaviors and with attitudes were mediated by perceptions of interactional and procedural justice. These results suggest extending models of justice and deviance by including motives such as BJW.

Very high-resolution environmental predictors in species distribution models: moving beyond topography?

Recent advances in remote sensing technologies have facilitated the generation of very high resolution (VHR) environmental data. Exploratory studies suggested that, if used in species distribution models (SDMs), these data should enable modelling species' micro-habitats and allow improving predictions for fine-scale biodiversity management. In the present study, we tested the influence, in SDMs, of predictors derived from a VHR digital elevation model (DEM) by comparing the predictive power of models for 239 plant species and their assemblages fitted at six different resolutions in the Swiss Alps. We also tested whether changes of the model quality for a species is related to its functional and ecological characteristics. Refining the resolution only contributed to slight improvement of the models for more than half of the examined species, with the best results obtained at 5 m, but no significant improvement was observed, on average, across all species. Contrary to our expectations, we could not consistently correlate the changes in model performance with species characteristics such as vegetation height. Temperature, the most important variable in the SDMs across the different resolutions, did not contribute any substantial improvement. Our results suggest that improving resolution of topographic data only is not sufficient to improve SDM predictions - and therefore local management - compared to previously used resolutions (here 25 and 100 m). More effort should be dedicated now to conduct finer-scale in-situ environmental measurements (e.g. for temperature, moisture, snow) to obtain improved environmental measurements for fine-scale species mapping and management.

Assessing small non-zero perceptions of chance: The case of H1N1 (swine) flu risks

Feelings of invulnerability, seen in judgments of 0% risk, can reflect misunderstandings of risk and risk behaviors, suggesting increased need for risk communication. However, judgments of 0% risk may be given by individuals who feel invulnerable, and by individuals who are rounding from small non-zero probabilities. We examined the effect of allowing participants to give more precise responses in the 0-1% range on the validity of reported probability judgments. Participants assessed probabilities for getting H1N1 influenza and dying from it conditional on infection, using a 0-100% visual linear scale. Those responding in the 0-1% range received a follow-up question with more options in that range. This two-step procedure reduced the use of 0% and increased the resolution of responses in the 0-1% range. Moreover, revised probability responses improved predictions of attitudes and self-reported behaviors. Hence, our two-step procedure allows for more precise and more valid measurement of perceived invulnerability. [Authors]