Ministere de l'Education Nationale

By 2020, more than 50 billion devices will be connected through radio communications. In conjunction with the rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) market, low power wide area networks (LPWAN) have become a popular low-rate long-range radio communication technology. Sigfox, LoRa, and NB-IoT are the three leading LPWAN technologies that compete for large-scale IoT deployment. This paper provides a comprehensive and comparative study of these technologies, which serve as efficient solutions to connect smart, autonomous, and heterogeneous devices. We show that Sigfox and LoRa are advantageous in terms of battery lifetime, capacity, and cost. Meanwhile, NB-IoT offers benefits in terms of latency and quality of service. In addition, we analyze the IoT success factors of these LPWAN technologies, and we consider application scenarios and explain which technology is the best fit for each of these scenarios.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the practical knowledge of expert sailing coaches of the French team preparing for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Coaching knowledge was studied from a cognitive ergonomics perspective based on the task activity model. According to this model, a task is a set of constraints facing individuals. To meet the demands imposed by these constraints, an individual engages in an adaptative activity which can be studied from the point of view of his or her knowledge and cognitive operating modes. In-depth interviews were conducted after observation of five training sessions, and the verbal protocols obtained were coded inductively. The results showed that coaching tasks were considered by coaches as a set of interacting constraints which generate complex, contradictory, and ill defined problems. Coaches' operating modes appeared to be based on organization routines, cognitive anticipation on flexible plans, flexible on-site adaptation, joint control of training with athletes, and involvement in the training situation based on past experiences.

Polarized Cu ${L}_{3}$-edge x-ray absorption spectra of a single crystal of Y${\mathrm{Ba}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}$${\mathrm{O}}_{6.8}$ have been measured to determine the symmetry of the orbital of the electronic holes induced by doping. The states induced by doping in $\mathrm{Y}{\mathrm{Ba}}_{2}{\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}{\mathrm{O}}_{7\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\delta}}$ ($0<\ensuremath{\delta}<\ensuremath{\sim}0.5$) have been found to be ligand holes ${\mathit{L}}^{*}$, giving the ${3d}^{9}{\mathit{L}}^{*}$ configuration, and their weight is correlated with ${T}_{c}$. The polarization dependence shows that the hole ${\mathit{L}}^{*}$, induced by doping, is found to be mainly in the Cu-O orbital oriented along the $\mathbf{c}$ axis involving the $\mathrm{O} {2p}_{z}$ orbital of the O(4) atom in the Ba plane and the $\mathrm{Cu} {3d}_{{z}^{2}}$ orbitals. This result indicates the important role of BaO layers and shows that theories of high-${T}_{c}$ superconductivity have to take account of a second band with different symmetry, beyond the single band (the two-dimensional band derived from the $\mathrm{Cu} {3d}_{{x}^{2}\ensuremath{-}{y}^{2}}$ and O ${2p}_{x}$, ${2p}_{y}$ orbitals in the $\mathbf{a}\ensuremath{-}\mathbf{b}$ plane of the Cu${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ layers) usually considered in models of the electronic structure of high-${T}_{c}$ superconductors.

Multi-phase filamentary structures around brightest cluster galaxies (BCG) are likely a key step of AGN-feedback. We observed molecular gas in three cool cluster cores, namely Centaurus, Abell S1101, and RXJ1539.5, and gathered ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) and MUSE (Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer) data for 12 other clusters. Those observations show clumpy, massive, and long (3−25 kpc) molecular filaments, preferentially located around the radio bubbles inflated by the AGN. Two objects show nuclear molecular disks. The optical nebula is certainly tracing the warm envelopes of cold molecular filaments. Surprisingly, the radial profile of the H α /CO flux ratio is roughly constant for most of the objects, suggesting that (i) between 1.2 and 6 times more cold gas could be present and (ii) local processes must be responsible for the excitation. Projected velocities are between 100 and 400 km s −1 , with disturbed kinematics and sometimes coherent gradients. This is likely due to the mixing in projection of several thin (and as yet) unresolved filaments. The velocity fields may be stirred by turbulence induced by bubbles, jets, or merger-induced sloshing. Velocity and dispersions are low, below the escape velocity. Cold clouds should eventually fall back and fuel the AGN. We compare the radial extent of the filaments, r fil , with the region where the X-ray gas can become thermally unstable. The filaments are always inside the low-entropy and short-cooling-time region, where t cool / t ff < 20 (9 of 13 sources). The range of t cool / t ff of 8−23 at r fil , is likely due to (i) a more complex gravitational potential affecting the free-fall time t ff (sloshing, mergers, etc.) and (ii) the presence of inhomogeneities or uplifted gas in the ICM, affecting the cooling time t cool . For some of the sources, r fil lies where the ratio of the cooling time to the eddy-turnover time, t cool / t eddy , is approximately unity.

OBJECTIVES: This research was conducted as a cross-sectional descriptive study aimed at determining the existence of pain in the musculoskeletal system among office workers and the reasons for it. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The sample consisted of 528 office workers. Collection of data was achieved using a questionnaire prepared by the researchers in line with information from the literature. RESULTS: The male and female office workers most frequently complained of pain in the lower back (55.1%), neck (52.5%) and back (53%). It was seen that out of the variables relating to the work environment, those which had the most significant effect on muscular-skeletal system pain were sitting at the desk for a long time without a break, working sitting on a chair that supported only the lumbar area and the arms, having the computer mouse at a distance from the keyboard, having the head inclined at 45° when working, working holding both forearms above the level of the desk, not taking exercise in daily life, and having a moderate or extremely stressful workplace (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The conclusion has been reached in this study that in order for office workers not to suffer musculoskeletal system pain, it is very important that the working environment should be ergonomically arranged and that various measures should be taken to ensure healthy life behavior. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2018;31(1):91-111.

Abstract The proto‐Paratethys Sea covered a vast area extending from the Mediterranean Tethys to the Tarim Basin in western China during Cretaceous and early Paleogene. Climate modelling and proxy studies suggest that Asian aridification has been governed by westerly moisture modulated by fluctuations of the proto‐Paratethys Sea. Transgressive and regressive episodes of the proto‐Paratethys Sea have been previously recognized but their timing, extent and depositional environments remain poorly constrained. This hampers understanding of their driving mechanisms (tectonic and/or eustatic) and their contribution to Asian aridification. Here, we present a new chronostratigraphic framework based on biostratigraphy and magnetostratigraphy as well as a detailed palaeoenvironmental analysis for the Paleogene proto‐Paratethys Sea incursions in the Tajik and Tarim basins. This enables us to identify the major drivers of marine fluctuations and their potential consequences on Asian aridification. A major regional restriction event, marked by the exceptionally thick (≤ 400 m) shelf evaporites is assigned a Danian‐Selandian age (ca. 63–59 Ma) in the Aertashi Formation. This is followed by the largest recorded proto‐Paratethys Sea incursion with a transgression estimated as early Thanetian (ca. 59–57 Ma) and a regression within the Ypresian (ca. 53–52 Ma), both within the Qimugen Formation. The transgression of the next incursion in the Kalatar and Wulagen formations is now constrained as early Lutetian (ca. 47–46 Ma), whereas its regression in the Bashibulake Formation is constrained as late Lutetian (ca. 41 Ma) and is associated with a drastic increase in both tectonic subsidence and basin infilling. The age of the final and least pronounced sea incursion restricted to the westernmost margin of the Tarim Basin is assigned as Bartonian–Priabonian (ca. 39.7–36.7 Ma). We interpret the long‐term westward retreat of the proto‐Paratethys Sea starting at ca. 41 Ma to be associated with far‐field tectonic effects of the Indo‐Asia collision and Pamir/Tibetan plateau uplift. Short‐term eustatic sea level transgressions are superimposed on this long‐term regression and seem coeval with the transgression events in the other northern Peri‐Tethyan sedimentary provinces for the 1st and 2nd sea incursions. However, the 3rd sea incursion is interpreted as related to tectonism. The transgressive and regressive intervals of the proto‐Paratethys Sea correlate well with the reported humid and arid phases, respectively in the Qaidam and Xining basins, thus demonstrating the role of the proto‐Paratethys Sea as an important moisture source for the Asian interior and its regression as a contributor to Asian aridification.

BACKGROUND: An international workshop on population health intervention research (PHIR) was organized to foster exchanges between experts from different disciplines and different fields. This paper aims to summarize the discussions around some of the issues addressed: (1) the place of theories in PHIR, (2) why theories can be useful, and (3) how to choose and use the most relevant of them in evaluating PHIR. METHODS: The workshop included formal presentations by participants and moderated discussions. An oral synthesis was produced by a rapporteur to validate, through an expert consensus, the key points of the discussion and the recommendations. All discussions were recorded and have been fully transcribed. RESULTS: The following recommendations were generated through a consensus in the workshop discussions: (i) The evaluation of interventions, like their development, could be improved through better use of theory. (ii) The referenced theory and framework must be clarified. (iii) An intervention theory should be developed by a partnership of researchers and practitioners. (iv) More use of social theory is recommended. (v) Frameworks and a common language are helpful in selecting and communicating a theory. (vi) Better reporting of interventions and theories is needed. CONCLUSION: Theory-driven interventions and evaluations are key in PHIR as they facilitate the understanding of mechanisms of change. There are many challenges in developing the most appropriate theories for interventions and evaluations. With the wealth of information now being generated, this subject is of increasing importance at many levels, including for public health policy. It is, therefore, timely to consider how to build on the experiences of many different disciplines to enable the development of better theories and facilitate evidence-based decisions.

A specific lactotransferrin receptor was identified in the mouse small-intestinal brush-border membrane and the binding features were investigated in homologous and heterologous systems. The receptor was found to be specific for lactotransferrins isolated from milk of various species, but the affinity was higher toward the homologous ligand (Ka = 3.5 x 10(6) M-1 compared with 2.6 x 10(6) M-1 for both human and bovine lactotransferrins). However, the number of binding sites (n) was the same for the three lactotransferrins, namely 0.53 x 10(12)/micrograms of membrane protein. The binding of mouse lactotransferrin to its receptor was found to be pH-dependent, with an optimal binding at pH 5.5, and seemed unlikely to be carbohydrate-mediated. The receptor was demonstrated to be devoid of any affinity for human and mouse serotransferrins or for a 'serotransferrin-like' protein isolated from mouse milk. The receptor was solubilized with 1% Triton X-100 with good yield. The solubilized receptor was found to retain lactotransferrin-binding activity and sensitivity to pH.

Background: Short-term forecasts of infectious disease burden can contribute to situational awareness and aid capacity planning. Based on best practice in other fields and recent insights in infectious disease epidemiology, one can maximise the predictive performance of such forecasts if multiple models are combined into an ensemble. Here, we report on the performance of ensembles in predicting COVID-19 cases and deaths across Europe between 08 March 2021 and 07 March 2022. Methods: We used open-source tools to develop a public European COVID-19 Forecast Hub. We invited groups globally to contribute weekly forecasts for COVID-19 cases and deaths reported by a standardised source for 32 countries over the next 1-4 weeks. Teams submitted forecasts from March 2021 using standardised quantiles of the predictive distribution. Each week we created an ensemble forecast, where each predictive quantile was calculated as the equally-weighted average (initially the mean and then from 26th July the median) of all individual models' predictive quantiles. We measured the performance of each model using the relative Weighted Interval Score (WIS), comparing models' forecast accuracy relative to all other models. We retrospectively explored alternative methods for ensemble forecasts, including weighted averages based on models' past predictive performance. Results: Over 52 weeks, we collected forecasts from 48 unique models. We evaluated 29 models' forecast scores in comparison to the ensemble model. We found a weekly ensemble had a consistently strong performance across countries over time. Across all horizons and locations, the ensemble performed better on relative WIS than 83% of participating models' forecasts of incident cases (with a total N=886 predictions from 23 unique models), and 91% of participating models' forecasts of deaths (N=763 predictions from 20 models). Across a 1-4 week time horizon, ensemble performance declined with longer forecast periods when forecasting cases, but remained stable over 4 weeks for incident death forecasts. In every forecast across 32 countries, the ensemble outperformed most contributing models when forecasting either cases or deaths, frequently outperforming all of its individual component models. Among several choices of ensemble methods we found that the most influential and best choice was to use a median average of models instead of using the mean, regardless of methods of weighting component forecast models. Conclusions: Our results support the use of combining forecasts from individual models into an ensemble in order to improve predictive performance across epidemiological targets and populations during infectious disease epidemics. Our findings further suggest that median ensemble methods yield better predictive performance more than ones based on means. Our findings also highlight that forecast consumers should place more weight on incident death forecasts than incident case forecasts at forecast horizons greater than 2 weeks. Funding: AA, BH, BL, LWa, MMa, PP, SV funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grant 1R01GM109718, NSF BIG DATA Grant IIS-1633028, NSF Grant No.: OAC-1916805, NSF Expeditions in Computing Grant CCF-1918656, CCF-1917819, NSF RAPID CNS-2028004, NSF RAPID OAC-2027541, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 75D30119C05935, a grant from Google, University of Virginia Strategic Investment Fund award number SIF160, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) under Contract No. HDTRA1-19-D-0007, and respectively Virginia Dept of Health Grant VDH-21-501-0141, VDH-21-501-0143, VDH-21-501-0147, VDH-21-501-0145, VDH-21-501-0146, VDH-21-501-0142, VDH-21-501-0148. AF, AMa, GL funded by SMIGE - Modelli statistici inferenziali per governare l'epidemia, FISR 2020-Covid-19 I Fase, FISR2020IP-00156, Codice Progetto: PRJ-0695. AM, BK, FD, FR, JK, JN, JZ, KN, MG, MR, MS, RB funded by Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Poland with grant 28/WFSN/2021 to the University of Warsaw. BRe, CPe, JLAz funded by Ministerio de Sanidad/ISCIII. BT, PG funded by PERISCOPE European H2020 project, contract number 101016233. CP, DL, EA, MC, SA funded by European Commission - Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology through the contract LC-01485746, and Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades and FEDER, with the project PGC2018-095456-B-I00. DE., MGu funded by Spanish Ministry of Health / REACT-UE (FEDER). DO, GF, IMi, LC funded by Laboratory Directed Research and Development program of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) under project number 20200700ER. DS, ELR, GG, NGR, NW, YW funded by National Institutes of General Medical Sciences (R35GM119582; the content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NIGMS or the National Institutes of Health). FB, FP funded by InPresa, Lombardy Region, Italy. HG, KS funded by European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. IV funded by Agencia de Qualitat i Avaluacio Sanitaries de Catalunya (AQuAS) through contract 2021-021OE. JDe, SMo, VP funded by Netzwerk Universitatsmedizin (NUM) project egePan (01KX2021). JPB, SH, TH funded by Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF; grant 05M18SIA). KH, MSc, YKh funded by Project SaxoCOV, funded by the German Free State of Saxony. Presentation of data, model results and simulations also funded by the NFDI4Health Task Force COVID-19 (https://www.nfdi4health.de/task-force-covid-19-2) within the framework of a DFG-project (LO-342/17-1). LP, VE funded by Mathematical and Statistical modelling project (MUNI/A/1615/2020), Online platform for real-time monitoring, analysis and management of epidemic situations (MUNI/11/02202001/2020); VE also supported by RECETOX research infrastructure (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic: LM2018121), the CETOCOEN EXCELLENCE (CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/17-043/0009632), RECETOX RI project (CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16-013/0001761). NIB funded by Health Protection Research Unit (grant code NIHR200908). SAb, SF funded by Wellcome Trust (210758/Z/18/Z).

Research and development (R&amp;D) is underestimated in services. This article combines deductive and inductive approaches to formulate a new definition of R&amp;D. The proposed revision does not fundamentally alter the structure of the current OECD definition, which is only marginally amended by making explicit certain implicit or insufficiently highlighted characteristics. In particular, it emphasises the importance of the social sciences and humanities and of design and development or organisational engineering, the composite nature of projects, and so on. Our objective is to attain a certain ‘psychological’ threshold that would mark our emancipation from the inertia of the still dominant industrialist and technologist approaches.

OBJECTIVES: We assessed whether maternal employment during pregnancy - overall and in selected occupational sectors - is associated with birth weight, small for gestational age (SGA), term low birth weight (LBW), length of gestation, and preterm delivery in a population-based birth cohort design. METHODS: We used data from >200 000 mother-child pairs enrolled in 13 European birth cohorts and compared employed versus non-employed women. Among employees, we defined groups of occupations representing the main sectors of employment for women where potential reproductive hazards are considered to be present. The comparison group comprised all other employed women not included in the occupational sector being assessed. We performed meta-analyses of cohort-specific estimates and explored heterogeneity. RESULTS: Employees had a lower risk of preterm delivery than non-employees [adjusted odds ratio (OR adj) 0.86, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.81-0.91]. Working in most of the occupational sectors studied was not associated with adverse birth outcomes. Being employed as a nurse was associated with lower risk SGA infants (OR adj0.91, 95% CI 0.84-0.99) whereas food industry workers had an increased risk of preterm delivery (OR adj1.50, 95% CI 1.12-2.02). There was little evidence for heterogeneity between cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that, overall, employment during pregnancy is associated with a reduction in the risk of preterm birth and that work in certain occupations may affect pregnancy outcomes. This exploratory study provides an important platform on which to base further prospective studies focused on the potential consequences of maternal occupational exposures during pregnancy on child development.

Summary 1. Many aspects of the flow regime influence the structure of stream communities, among which the minimum discharge left in rivers has received particular attention. However, instream habitat models predicting the ecological impacts of discharge management often lack biological validation and spatial generality, particularly for large rivers with many fish species. 2. The minimum flow at Pierre‐Bénite, a reach of the Rhône river bypassed by artificial channels, was increased from 10 to 100 m 3 s −1 in August 2000 (natural mean discharge 1030 m 3 s −1 ), resulting in a fivefold increase in average velocity at minimum flow. Fish were electrofished in several habitat units on 12 surveys between 1995 and 2004. 3. Principal components analysis revealed a significant change in the relative abundance of fish species. The relative abundance of species preferring fast‐flowing and/or deep microhabitats increased from two‐ to fourfold after minimum flow increase. A change in community structure confirmed independent quantitative predictions of an instream habitat model. This change was significantly linked to minimum flow increase, but not to any other environmental variables describing high flows or temperature at key periods of fish life cycle. The rapidity of the fish response compared with the lifespan of individual species can be explained by a differential response of specific size classes. 4. The fish community at Pierre‐Bénite is in a transitional stage and only continued monitoring will indicate if the observed shift in community structure is perennial. We expect that our case study will be compared with other predictive tests of the impacts of flow restoration in large rivers, in the Rhône catchment and elsewhere.

Equilibrium and dynamical properties of a storage-ring free-electron laser are shown as resulting from the combined effects of two different saturation mechanisms. The first one is the laser-induced energy spread of the electron beam. The second mechanism is due to an imperfect longitudinal synchronism between the electron and laser pulses. Consequences are briefly described.

What is the topic of this review? The aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of various altitude training strategies as investigated within the last few years. What advances does it highlight? Based on the available literature, the foundation to recommend altitude training to athletes is weak. Athletes may use one of the various altitude training strategies to improve exercise performance. The scientific support for such strategies is, however, not as sound as one would perhaps imagine. The question addressed in this review is whether altitude training should be recommended to elite athletes or not.

Abstract A single grain of the icosahedral Al—Pd—Mn phase has been extracted from an ingot, slowly cooled from the melt by the Bridgman technique. It has an approximate size of 1·5 cm × 0·5 cm × 0·5 cm and has been fully characterized by various techniques to be of perfect icosahedral symmetry.

Hand hygiene is the most effective way to stop the spread of microorganisms and to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAI). The World Health Organization launched the First Global Patient Safety Challenge - Clean Care is Safer Care - in 2005 with the goal to prevent HAI globally. This year, on 5 May, the WHO s initiative SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands, which focuses on increasing awareness of and improving compliance with hand hygiene practices, celebrated its second global day. In this article, four Member States of the European Union describe strategies that were implemented as part of their national hand hygiene campaigns and were found to be noteworthy. The strategies were: governmental support, the use of indicators for hand hygiene benchmarking, developing national surveillance systems for auditing alcohol-based hand rub consumption, ensuring seamless coordination of processes between health regions in countries with regionalised healthcare systems, implementing the WHO's My Five Moments for Hand Hygiene, and auditing of hand hygiene compliance.

The initial stages of molecular-beam-epitaxy heteroepitaxial growth of ZnTe on GaAs(001) substrates are studied by in situ grazing incidence x-ray diffraction performed under ultrahigh vacuum. Pseudomorphic fully strained layers are observed for deposits up to 4 molecular layers (ML), whereas plastic relaxation starts after a critical thickness of about 5 ML together with the onset of a three-dimensional growth mode. Evidence for a normal strain gradient is obtained in partially relaxed layers. The results are confirmed by ex situ high-resolution transmission electron microscopy.

AIMS: To compare the prevalence and incidence of respiratory symptoms and lung function values between hairdressing apprentices and office apprentices. METHODS: A total of 322 hairdressing apprentices and 277 office apprentices (controls) were studied. Two cross sectional surveys were conducted in 1994 and 1996/97 with longitudinal follow up for a subgroup of apprentices (191 hairdressing apprentices and 189 office apprentices). RESULTS: In the initial phase, the prevalence of respiratory symptoms was significantly lower among hairdressing apprentices than among office apprentices. Lung function test results showed significantly higher values for hairdressing apprentices. Non-specific bronchial reactivity was similar in the two groups. In the final phase, results for respiratory symptoms were similar. The incidence of respiratory symptoms was not significantly different between hairdressing apprentices and office apprentices. Subjects who dropped out had lower values for FVC and FEV1 in the initial phase than those who completed the final phase. There was a significant deterioration of FEV1 and FEF25-75% in hairdressing apprentices compared to office apprentices. There was a link between atopy and the incidence of most of the respiratory symptoms (day/night cough, wheezing, dyspnoea, mucosal hyperresponsiveness) and between smoking and the incidence of bronchial hyperreactivity. There was no significant correlation between change in lung function tests and specific hairdressing activities reported at the end of the apprenticeship or with environmental working conditions in hairdressing salons. CONCLUSIONS: Although a healthy worker effect can be suspected, results showed a significant deterioration of baseline values of lung function tests in the hairdressing apprentice group. However, no clear link was shown between change in lung function tests and specific parameters of occupational activities.

In the first two installments of this series, various cloud models were studied with angularly discretized versions of radiative transfer. This simplification allows the effects of cloud inhomogeneity to be studied in some detail. The families of scattering media investigated were those whose members are related to each other by scale changing operations that involve only ratios of their sizes (“scaling” geometries). In part 1 it was argued that, in the case of conservative scattering, the reflection and transmission coefficients of these families should vary algebraically with cloud size in the asymptotically thick regime, thus allowing us to define scaling exponents and corresponding “universality” classes. In part 2 this was further justified (by using analytical renormalization methods) for homogeneous clouds in one, two, and three spatial dimensions (i.e., slabs, squares, or triangles and cubes, respectively) as well as for a simple deterministic fractal cloud. Here the same systems are studied numerically. The results confirm (1) that renormalization is qualitatively correct (while quantitatively poor), and (2) more importantly, they support the conjecture that the universality classes of discrete and continuous angle radiative transfer are generally identical. Additional numerical results are obtained for a simple class of scale invariant (fractal) clouds that arises when modeling the concentration of cloud liquid water into ever smaller regions by advection in turbulent cascades. These so‐called random “β models” are (also) characterized by a single fractal dimension. Both open and cyclical horizontal boundary conditions are considered. These and previous results are contrasted with plane‐parallel predictions, and measures of systematic error are defined as “packing factors” which are found to diverge algebraically with average optical thickness and are significant even when the scaling behavior is very limited in range. Several meteorological consequences, especially concerning the “albedo paradox” and global climate models, are discussed, and future directions of investigation are outlined. Throughout this series it is shown that spatial variability of the optical density field (i.e., cloud geometry) determines the exponent of optical thickness (hence universality class), whereas changes in phase function can only affect the multiplicative prefactors. It is therefore argued that much more emphasis should be placed on modeling spatial inhomogeneity and investigating its radiative signature, even if this implies crude treatment of the angular aspect of the radiative transfer problem.

BACKGROUND: For over 20 years, Madagascar has been challenged by continued high prevalence of stunting, underweight and wasting among children under 5 years of age. Yet, nutritional status of post-under-five age group has never been assessed in the country, despite its importance in relation not only to physical health but also to cognitive capacity and educational achievements of children. This study aims to estimate prevalence of malnutrition among schoolchildren aged 5-14 years in Madagascar. It further attempts to identify the possible risk factors for their malnutrition. This is the first study that estimates prevalence of malnutrition among school-aged children in Madagascar. METHODS: A cross-sectional household survey was conducted in Antananarivo-Avaradrano district, Analamanga region, Madagascar. The study targeted 393 first and second graders 5-14 years of age enrolled at 10 primary schools, where school-feeding was implemented. Data were collected from anthropometric measurements, their subsequent household structured interviews and observations. Bivariate (Chi-square test or Mann-Whitney's U test) and multivariable (logistic regression) analyses were performed, to identify the possible risk factors associated with malnutrition. RESULTS: The overall prevalence rates of stunting, underweight and thinness were 34.9%, 36.9% and 11.2%, respectively. Nineteen children (4.8%) suffered from all the three forms of undernutrition. Older schoolchildren had a significantly greater likelihood of being stunted, underweight and thin. The greater number of members a household had, the higher likelihood of being stunted and thin its schoolchild had. Children having lower Household Dietary Diversity Score were more likely to be underweight. Yet, 'Had lunch at school yesterday' was associated neither with being stunted nor with being underweight and thin. This implies room for improvement of the current school feeding program. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence rates of stunting and underweight among 393 children examined were as high as the national averages among children under 5 years of age. Adequate food availability and dietary diversity over a sufficient period (incl. 5-14 years of age) are necessary for increasing likelihood of catch-up in height-for-age and weight-for-age, which are expectable during adolescence. To supplement inadequate household dietary diversity practices, school-feeding program may need to use more animal-protein ingredients.