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Sea surface salinity can be measured by passive microwave remote sensing at L-band. In May 1999, the European Space Agency (ESA) selected the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) Earth Explorer Opportunity Mission to provide global coverage of soil moisture and ocean salinity. To determine the effect of wind on the sea surface emissivity, ESA sponsored the Wind and Salinity Experiment (WISE 2000). This paper describes the field campaign, the measurements acquired with emphasis in the radiometric measurements at L-band, their comparison with numerical models, and the implications for the remote sensing of sea salinity. Index Terms--Emissivity, microwave radiometry, sea measurements, sea surface electromagnetic emission.

A prerequisite for the successful retrieval of geophysical parameters from remote sensing measurements is the development of an accurate forward model. The European Space Agency Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS), carrying onboard an L-band interferometric radiometer (Microwave Interferometric Radiometer using Aperture Synthesis), was launched on November 2009. Due to the lack of L-band passive ocean measurements from space, several prelaunch forward models were developed and initially used in the SMOS ocean salinity operational processor. In this paper, an update of the prelaunch semi-empirical forward model is presented, using for the first time, real SMOS data. In particular, the ocean surface emissivity modulation at L-band due to rough sea surface is reviewed and reanalyzed. A new model definition is provided with the help of a simple neural network. The improvement is quantified in terms of retrieved salinity accuracy compared with the climatology and concerns essentially the range of wind speeds higher than 12 m·s-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our objective was to assess the value of transition preparation consultations (TPC) offered by the AD'venir unit (R. Debré hospital, Paris) as a new service of transitional care, from the perspective of adolescents with chronic conditions (CCs) and their referring healthcare providers (RHCPs). TPCs included a face-to-face interview with pediatricians trained in adolescent medicine, exploring the adolescent's past (CC history), present (daily life, Treatment Burden Questionnaire, family/peer relationships, school, hobbies, sexuality, drugs), and future (global life project, transition, Good2Go questionnaire). The mixed-methods design included the following: a qualitative analysis within a multidisciplinary group (clinicians/sociologists/psychologist/public health researchers) of audio-recordings of TPCs (n = 27/girls = 56%/median age = 17.7 years) and phone interviews with adolescents 2 years post-TPC (n = 26); and a quantitative analysis of the Treatment Burden and Good2Go questionnaires and the benefits perceived by RHCPs (questionnaire 6 months post-TPC). TPCs were a form of training for adult care, adolescents meeting a practitioner alone often for the first time. Naming their CC was difficult. All complained of limitations experienced in social life (diet, fatigue, laboratory/medical appointments), but not the treatment itself; most adolescents willingly talked about sexuality. Adolescents' feelings about transition were various, with poor representations of adult healthcare. Transfer was frequently unplanned. After TPCs, RHCPs modified their practices. Transition in the 2 years post-TPC was usually successful. Conclusion What is Known: • In adolescents with chronic conditions, it is advocated to personalize transition care according to the clinical and social context, pointed out as potentially impacting. • Little is known about the most effective ways to prepare patients according to their needs. What is New: • Based on a global approach to adolescent health, transition preparation consultations are delivered by specially trained physicians. • They are a feasible and valuable way to highlight facilitators and barriers to successful transition and initiate the adolescents' own vision of their future., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: The acute nature of the COVID-19 pandemic has put a strain on health resources that are usually dedicated to chronic illnesses. Resulting changes in care practices and networks have had major repercussions on the experience of people with chronic disorders., Objective: This paper presents the protocol of the Parcours, Associations, Réseau, Chronicité, Organisation, Usagers, Retour d'expérience, Soins (PARCOURS)-COVID study. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of reorganization of the health system on the usual care network of patients with chronic illness, which fosters and qualifies the quality and continuum of care provided. The first objective of this study is to document these patients' experiences through transformations and adaptations of their network, both in the practical dimension (ie, daily life and care) and subjective dimension (ie, psychosocial experience of illness and relationship to the health system). The second objective of the study is to understand and acknowledge these reorganizations during the COVID-19 lockdown and postlockdown periods. The third objective is to produce better adapted recommendations for patients with chronic illness and value their experience for the management of future health crisis., Methods: The PARCOURS-COVID study is a qualitative and participatory research involving patient organizations as research partners and members of these organizations as part of the research team. Three group of chronic diseases have been selected regarding the specificities of the care network they mobilize: (1) cystic fibrosis and kidney disease, (2) hemophilia, and (3) mental health disorders. Four consecutive phases will be conducted, including (1) preparatory interviews with medical or associative actors of each pathology field; (2) in-depth individual interviews with patients of each pathology, analyzed using the qualitative method of thematic analysis; (3) results of both these phases will then be triangulated through interviews with members of each patient's care ecosystem; and finally, (4) focus groups will be organized to discuss the results with research participants (ie, representatives of chronic disease associations; patients; and actors of the medical, psychosocial, and family care network) in a research-action framework., Results: The protocol study has undergone a peer review by the French National Research Agency's scientific committee and has been approved by the research ethical committee of the University of Paris (registration number: IRB 00012020-59, June 28, 2020). The project received funding from August 2020 through April 2021. Expected results will be disseminated in 2021 and 2022., Conclusions: Our findings will better inform the stakes of the current health crisis on the management of patients with chronic illness and, more broadly, any future crisis for a population deemed to be at risk. They will also improve health democracy by supporting better transferability of knowledge between the scientific and citizen communities., International Registered Report Identifier (irrid): DERR1-10.2196/28728., (©Élise Ricadat, Aude Béliard, Marie Citrini, Yann Craus, Céline Gabarro, Marie-France Mamzer, Ana Marques, Thomas Sannié, Maria Teixeira, Marko Tocilovac, Livia Velpry, François Villa, Louise Virole, Céline Lefève. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (https://www.researchprotocols.org), 09.09.2021.)