Showing papers by "Conservatoire national des arts et métiers published in 2012"

A linear complexity phasing method for thousands of genomes

Abstract: An efficient haplotype-estimation algorithm that features linear complexity allows the rapid and accurate phasing of diploid genomes from trios, duos and unrelated samples.

A strategy for human factors/ergonomics: developing the discipline and profession

Abstract: Human factors/ergonomics (HFE) has great potential to contribute to the design of all kinds of systems with people (work systems, product/service systems), but faces challenges in the readiness of ...

HCV burden of infection in Egypt: results from a nationwide survey.

Abstract: Summary. Egypt is the country with the largest hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemic in the world. In 2008, a Demographic Health Survey (DHS) was carried out in Egypt, providing for the first time a unique opportunity for HCV antibody testing on a nationwide representative sample of individuals. Consenting individuals answered a questionnaire on socio-demographic characteristics and iatrogenic exposures, before providing a blood sample for HCV antibody testing by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Factors independently associated with HCV infection were examined through multivariate logistic regression models. Of 12 780 eligible subjects aged 15–59 years, 11 126 (87.1%) agreed to participate and provided a blood sample. HCV antibody prevalence nationwide was 14.7% (95% CI 13.9–15.5%) in this age group. HCV antibody prevalence gradually increased with age, reaching, in the 50–59 years age group, 46.3% and 30.8% in males and females, respectively. It was higher in males compared to females (17.4% versus 12.2%, respectively, P < 0.001), and in rural compared to urban areas (18.3% versus 10.3%, respectively, P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, age, male sex, poverty, past history of intravenous anti-schistosomiasis treatment, blood transfusion, and living outside of the Frontier Governorates were all significantly associated with an increased risk of HCV infection. In addition, in urban areas, lack of education and being circumcised for females were associated with an increased risk of HCV infection. This study confirmed on a nationwide representative sample the very high HCV antibody prevalence in Egypt. It stresses the urgent need for strengthening prevention efforts, and bringing down the costs of antiviral drugs for countries like Egypt, where the people in the most precarious situations are also those most likely to be infected by the virus.

A Novel Filter-Bank Multicarrier Scheme to Mitigate the Intrinsic Interference: Application to MIMO Systems

Abstract: Filter-bank multicarrier (FBMC) transmission system was proposed as an alternative approach to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system since it has a higher spectral efficiency. One of the characteristics of FBMC is that the demodulated transmitted symbols are accompanied by interference terms caused by the neighboring transmitted data in time-frequency domain. The presence of this interference is an issue for some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) schemes and until today their combination with FBMC remains an open problem. We can cite, among these techniques, the Alamouti scheme and the maximum likelihood detection (MLD) with spatial multiplexing (SM). In this paper, we shall propose a new FBMC scheme and transmission strategy in order to avoid this interference term. This proposed scheme (called FFT-FBMC) transforms the FBMC system into an equivalent system formulated as OFDM regardless of some residual interference. Thus, any OFDM transmission technique can be performed straightforwardly to the proposed FBMC scheme with a corresponding complexity growth compared to the classical FBMC. First, we will develop the FFT-FBMC in the case of single-input single-output (SISO) configuration. Then, we extend its application to SM-MIMO configuration with MLD and Alamouti coding scheme. Simulation results show that FFT-FBMC can almost reach the OFDM performance, but it remains slightly outperformed by OFDM.

The ETAPE corpus for the evaluation of speech-based TV content processing in the French language

Abstract: The paper presents a comprehensive overview of existing data for the evaluation of spoken content processing in a multimedia framework for the French language. We focus on the ETAPE corpus which will be made publicly available by ELDA at the end of 2012, after completion of the evaluation, and recall existing resources resulting from previous evaluation campaigns. The ETAPE corpus consists of 30 hours of TV and radio broadcasts, selected to cover a wide variety of topics and speaking styles, emphasizing spontaneous speech and multiple speaker areas.

Becker on Ewald on Foucault on Becker American Neoliberalism and Michel Foucault's 1979 'Birth of Biopolitics' Lectures

Abstract: In a series of lectures delivered in 1979 at the College de France under the title The Birth of Biopolitics, Michel Foucault conducted a close reading of Gary Becker’s writings on human capital and on crime and punishment, within the context of an elaboration and critique of American neoliberalism. Foucault was assisted at the time, at the College de France, by Francois Ewald. Since then, there has been ongoing debate over Foucault’s views about neoliberalism. In this historic meeting at the University of Chicago between Professors Becker and Ewald, Professor Ewald presents a framework to understand Foucault’s writings on Becker; Professor Bernard Harcourt offers a different reading of Foucault’s views on neoliberalism; and Professor Becker responds to Foucault’s lectures and to possible critical readings of his work on human capital. Apology or critique — that is the motivating question in this rich encounter between contemporary French philosophy and American economic theory.

PCR-TTGE Analysis of 16S rRNA from Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Gut Microbiota Reveals Host-Specific Communities of Active Bacteria

Abstract: This study assessed the relative contributions of host genetics and diet in shaping the gut microbiota of rainbow trout. Full sibling fish from four unrelated families, each consisting of individuals derived from the mating of one male and one female belonging to a breeding program, were fed diets containing either vegetable proteins or vegetable oils for two months in comparison to a control diet consisting of only fish protein and fish oil. Two parallel approaches were applied on the same samples: transcriptionally active bacterial populations were examined based on RNA analysis and were compared with bacterial populations obtained from DNA analysis. Comparison of temporal temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (TTGE) profiles from DNA and RNA showed important differences, indicating that active bacterial populations were better described by RNA analysis. Results showed that some bacterial groups were significantly (P<0.05) associated with specific families, indicating that microbiota composition may be influenced by the host. In addition, the effect of diet on microbiota composition was dependent on the trout family.

Association between dietary patterns and depressive symptoms over time: a 10-year follow-up study of the GAZEL cohort.

Abstract: Background Data on the association between dietary patterns and depression are scarce. The objective of this study was to examine the longitudinal association between dietary patterns and depressive symptoms assessed repeatedly over 10 years in the French occupational GAZEL cohort.

Performance of pile-supported embankment over soft soil: full-scale experiment.

Abstract: This paper describes a full-scale experiment of pile-supported embankments on soft soil, which is conducted within the French national research project, Amelioration des Sols par Inclusions RIgides (ASIRI), to provide a new design method. This experiment shows the great influence of a granular platform reinforced with geosynthetics in load-transfer mechanisms. The measurements of geosynthetic strains highlight that the maximum strain takes place at the vicinity of pile heads during the construction of an embankment. Measurements also show that the load-transfer behavior of a platform reinforced by a single geotextile is different from that of a platform reinforced by two geogrids, although the final settlement is the same in both sections. From the important measurement data of this full-scale experiment, some considerations on the design and the efficiency evaluation have been proposed.

The REPERE Corpus : a multimodal corpus for person recognition

Abstract: The REPERE Challenge aims to support research on people recognition in multimodal conditions. To assess the technology progression, annual evaluation campaigns will be organized from 2012 to 2014. In this context, the REPERE corpus, a French videos corpus with multimodal annotation, has been developed. This paper presents datasets collected for the dry run test that took place at the beginning of 2012. Specific annotation tools and guidelines are mainly described. At the time being, 6 hours of data have been collected and annotated. Last section presents analyses of annotation distribution and interaction between modalities in the corpus.

FS-FBMC: An alternative scheme for filter bank based multicarrier transmission

Abstract: An alternative scheme, named frequency spreading filter bank multicarrier (FS-FBMC), is introduced for multicarrier transmission. It is based on the FFT and closely follows the principle of OFDM, while preserving the key advantages of FBMC, namely the absence of guard time and the spectral separation of the sub-channels. It is optimal in the sense that it can provide perfect equalization of the transmission channel without the need for an additional delay and it maximizes the signal-to-noise ratio in the receiver. It generalizes the classical FFT-PPN approach, which, in fact, is a technique to remove some redundancy in the computations.

Drag reduction on the 25° slant angle Ahmed reference body using pulsed jets

Abstract: This paper highlights steady and unsteady measurements and flow control results obtained on an Ahmed model with slant angle of 25° in wind tunnel. On this high-drag configuration characterized by a large separation bubble along with energetic streamwise vortices, time-averaged and time-dependent results without control are first presented. The influence of rear-end periodic forcing on the drag coefficient is then investigated using electrically operated magnetic valves in an open-loop control scheme. Four distinct configurations of flow control have been tested: rectangular pulsed jets aligned with the spanwise direction or in winglets configuration on the roof end and rectangular jets or a large open slot at the top of the rear slant. For each configuration, the influence of the forcing parameters (non-dimensional frequency, injected momentum) on the drag coefficient has been studied, along with their impact on the static pressure on both the rear slant and vertical base of the model. Depending on the type and location of pulsed jets actuation, the maximum drag reduction is obtained for increasing injected momentum or well-defined optimal pulsation frequencies.

Competing risks regression for clustered data

Abstract: A population average regression model is proposed to assess the marginal effects of covariates on the cumulative incidence function when there is dependence across individuals within a cluster in the competing risks setting. This method extends the Fine?Gray model proportional hazards model for the subdistribution to situations where individualswithin a cluster may be correlated due to unobserved shared factors. Estimators of the regression parameters in the marginal model are developed under an independence working assumption, where the correlation across individuals within a cluster is completely unspecified. The estimators are consistent and asymptotically normal, and variance estimation may be achieved without specifying the form of the dependence across individuals. A simulation study evidences that the inferential procedures perform well with realistic sample sizes. The practical utility of the methods is illustrated with data from the European Bone Marrow Transplant Registry.

Investigating seasonality and season of birth in past herds: a reference set of sheep enamel stable oxygen isotope ratios

Abstract: Intra-tooth sequential analysis of enamel δ18O is currently used to investigate birth seasonality in past animal populations, offering new insights into seasonal availability of animal resources, herd management and seasonality of site occupation. Reference data sets are still required to address two major difficulties: (1) that inter-individual variability in the record of the seasonal cycle is affected by tooth size; and (2) that the season of birth cannot be directly estimated from the timing of tooth growth, because of a delay in enamel mineralization. We present a data set acquired on the lower second molar of 10 modern sheep from Rousay (Orkney) born within a few weeks of each other in April/May and submitted to the same environmental conditions until death. All sheep have recorded a sinusoidal pattern of δ18O variation spanning approximately a year. From the difference between the expected and the measured time sequence, the delay of enamel mineralization is estimated to be 5–6 months. The data set is then described using a model mainly based on a cosine function. The period, corresponding to the length of the M2 crown formed over a year, averaged 35.8 mm. A very slight variation of tooth growth rate with time and no attenuation of the isotopic signal towards the cervical margin of the crown could be detected in this data set. The lowest δ18O values, corresponding to the sheep's first winter, were tracked at a distance from the enamel/root junction that varied between 23.0 and 30.3 mm (xmin mean = 27.6 mm); the highest δ18O values, corresponding to the sheep's second summer, were between 6.3 and 11.6 mm (xmax mean = 9.9 mm). Most of the variability can be attributed to tooth size. When normalized on the period, xmin and xmax are 0.28 (± 0.05) and 0.78 (± 0.05) on average, meaning that the Rousay sheep have recorded the minimum and maximum δ18O values on average at 78% and 28%, respectively, of the end of the periodic cycle recorded in the second molar.

Extending the QCR method to general mixed-integer programs

Abstract: Let (MQP) be a general mixed integer quadratic program that consists of minimizing a quadratic function subject to linear constraints. In this paper, we present a convex reformulation of (MQP), i.e. we reformulate (MQP) into an equivalent program, with a convex objective function. Such a reformulation can be solved by a standard solver that uses a branch and bound algorithm. We prove that our reformulation is the best one within a convex reformulation scheme, from the continuous relaxation point of view. This reformulation, that we call MIQCR (Mixed Integer Quadratic Convex Reformulation), is based on the solution of an SDP relaxation of (MQP). Computational experiences are carried out with instances of (MQP) including one equality constraint or one inequality constraint. The results show that most of the considered instances with up to 40 variables can be solved in 1 h of CPU time by a standard solver.

Effect of crystallization on barrier properties of formulated polylactide

Abstract: Polylactide (PLA), a biodegradable polymer obtained from biomass, was formulated with a nucleating agent, talc, and a plasticizer, acetyl tributyl citrate, and cold crystallized in α and α′ form. The barrier properties of crystallized PLA were investigated as a function of the formulation and the crystalline form, thanks to three molecules with increasing polymer interactions, i.e. helium, oxygen and ethyl acetate (EA). Contrary to expectation, the oxygen diffusion coefficient in neat and formulated PLA did not decrease with crystallization. Even an increase of the diffusion coefficient was noticed for the most interacting probe, EA, in formulated PLA. Conditioning of neat and formulated PLA in an atmosphere containing EA vapour caused a modification of the material structure by plasticization and induced crystallization even at small EA activities. The plasticizing effect caused the glass transition temperature Tg to shift to below ambient temperature. In the case of neat PLA induced crystallization in solely the α form was obtained, and in the case of formulated PLA a blend of α and α′ forms was observed. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry

Cross-species transmission of simian foamy virus to humans in rural Gabon, central Africa

Abstract: In order to characterize simian foamy retroviruses (SFVs) in wild-born nonhuman primates (NHPs) in Gabon and to investigate cross-species transmission to humans, we obtained 497 NHP samples, composed of 286 blood and 211 tissue (bush meat) samples. Anti-SFV antibodies were found in 31 of 286 plasma samples (10.5%). The integrase gene sequence was found in 38/497 samples, including both blood and tissue samples, with novel SFVs in several Cercopithecus species. Of the 78 humans, mostly hunters, who had been bitten or scratched by NHPs, 19 were SFV seropositive, with 15 cases confirmed by PCR. All but one were infected with ape SFV. We thus found novel SFV strains in NHPs in Gabon and high cross-species transmission of SFVs from gorilla bites.

Sparse Stabilization and Control of Alignment Models

Abstract: From a mathematical point of view self-organization can be described as patterns to which certain dynamical systems modeling social dynamics tend spontaneously to be attracted. In this paper we explore situations beyond self-organization, in particular how to externally control such dynamical systems in order to eventually enforce pattern formation also in those situations where this wished phenomenon does not result from spontaneous convergence. Our focus is on dynamical systems of Cucker-Smale type, modeling consensus emergence, and we question the existence of stabilization and optimal control strategies which require the minimal amount of external intervention for nevertheless inducing consensus in a group of interacting agents. We provide a variational criterion to explicitly design feedback controls that are componentwise sparse, i.e. with at most one nonzero component at every instant of time. Controls sharing this sparsity feature are very realistic and convenient for practical issues. Moreover, the maximally sparse ones are instantaneously optimal in terms of the decay rate of a suitably designed Lyapunov functional, measuring the distance from consensus. As a consequence we provide a mathematical justification to the general principle according to which "sparse is better" in the sense that a policy maker, who is not allowed to predict future developments, should always consider more favorable to intervene with stronger action on the fewest possible instantaneous optimal leaders rather than trying to control more agents with minor strength in order to achieve group consensus. We then establish local and global sparse controllability properties to consensus and, finally, we analyze the sparsity of solutions of the finite time optimal control problem where the minimization criterion is a combination of the distance from consensus and of the l1-norm of the control.

The missing link to connect education and employment: recognition of non-formal and informal learning outcomes☆

Abstract: The concept of learning outcomes is at the heart of many research programmes and policy responses. International surveys (from the International Adult Literacy Survey, back in the mid-nineties, to ...