[Recommendations for a gradual and controlled resumption of electroconvulsive therapy in France during the period of lifting of the containment and of the COVID-19 pandemic linked to SARS-CoV-2]. / Recommandations pour une reprise progressive et contrôlée de l'électroconvulsivothérapie en France en période de levée du confinement et de pandémie COVID-19 liée au SARS-CoV-2.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had major consequences for the organization of care. In France and around the world, centers practicing electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) have seen their activity decrease, or even stop for many reasons. In this context, maintaining or resuming this essential therapeutic activity for many patients suffering from psychiatric disorders requires material, human and logistical adaptations that should be supervised. The objective of this collective and national work is to offer simple recommendations that can be applied immediately by any healthcare establishment, public or private, practicing ECT. They are the result of feedback from multiprofessional and inter-establishment experiences. Declined in three stages, these recommendations are accompanied by a practical sheet which describes in detail the necessary conditions and prerequisites for any resumption of ECT activity.

[Role of dental panorama in identification procedures]. / Rôle du panoramique dentaire lors des procédures d'identification.

Identifying the bodies of victims of terrorism or major catastrophies is a difficult task. When the regular procedures of forensic medicine are insufficient, either because the bodies have become putrefied or were burned, the coroner often has to rely on dental identification. The precision of the different dental records written during the life of the victim is not always adequate. Panoramic dental radiography is the only regularly updated and truly reliable identification card. Films taken earlier can be compared to films of the unidentified body. This method could concern members of the armed forces serving abroad as well as airline personnel. The radiogram would be taken at the same time as chest films during medical check-ups. This document would provide a reliable basis for legal identification when needed.

Puma (SA 330) helicopter impact simulation: demonstration of the efficiency of the French crashworthy seat.

An experiment examining the accelerations encountered during a helicopter crash has been conducted on the SA 330 Puma. The measures recorded from anthropomorphic dummies used in this experiment clearly demonstrated the efficiency of crashworthy seats. Very high levels of acceleration recorded on the aircraft floor are attenuated by the seat. Neither phase shift nor amplification have been observed in the elastic response of the various parts of the dummies' bodies (head-chest-pelvis). The four point restraint harness was also found to be very efficient. However, the extrapolation of results obtained from dummies can be misleading. Original data processing technics and interpretation methods have been developed for this experiment. They might allow the prediction of human tolerance to crash accelerations with a fair safety margin.

Cardiovascular responses of man exposed to +Gz accelerations in a centrifuge.

Cardiovascular investigations were conducted in male volunteer subjects exposed to +Gz accelerations. Some of them did not have any previous experience of the centrifuge. Electrocardiogram, blood pressure, heart rate, stroke volume, and cardiac output were recorded. Accelerations ranging from +1.5 Gz to +6 Gz were applied during periods of from 30 s to 20 min. Acceleration was achieved in 10-90 s. Heart rate markedly increased as a function of acceleration intensity, reaching 160 beats/s. Decreases in cardiac output (30-40%) and stroke volume were also observed. Protection by an anti-G suit reduces tachycardia. Accelerations induce various electrocardiographic disorders lasting several minutes after the stress has been stopped. These are sometimes the first symptoms of functional cardiovascular failure. The centrifuge turns out to be an excellent screening tool. However, when used for testing various aircrew equipment, strict monitoring of the subjects is required.

Characteristics in the atmosphere of long-range transport aircraft cabins.

In the long run, the fatigue in aircrews performing frequent, long-range flights is linked to factors connected to the aircraft, such as noise, temperature, cabin pressure, atmosphere quality, and flight characteristics. These are the factors inherent to the aircraft which we have investigated during six long-range flights without time zone changes in DC-8 and DC-10 aircraft of the U.T.A. Cie. The results show that none of the pollutants researched reach doses considered hazardous by FAR 25 or by French legislation. This fact is due to the effective ventilation in the cabins. In flight, thermal comfort is limited by a too-low hygrometry RH = 12%. Even in a modern aircraft, the noise level remains high, but acoustical energy is spread over the less detrimental frequencies.