The Dark Side of Electroweak Naturalness Beyond the MSSM

Weak scale supersymmetry (SUSY) remains a prime explanation for the radiative stability of the Higgs field. A natural account of the Higgs boson mass, however, strongly favors extensions of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). A plausible option is to introduce a new supersymmetric sector coupled to the MSSM Higgs fields, whose associated states resolve the little hierarchy problem between the third generation squark masses and the weak scale. SUSY also accomodates a weakly interacting cold dark matter (DM) candidate in the form of a stable neutralino. In minimal realizations, the thus-far null results of direct DM searches, along with the DM relic abundance constraint, introduce a level of fine-tuning as severe as the one due to the SUSY little hierarchy problem. We analyse the generic implications of new SUSY sectors parametrically heavier than the minimal SUSY spectrum, devised to increase the Higgs boson mass, on this little neutralino DM problem. We focus on the SUSY operator of smallest scaling dimension in an effective field theory description, which modifies the Higgs and DM sectors in a correlated manner. Within this framework, we show that recent null results from the LUX experiment imply a tree-level fine-tuning for gaugino DM which is parametrically at least a few times larger than that of the MSSM. Higgsino DM whose relic abundance is generated through a thermal freeze-out mechanism remains also severely fine-tuned, unless the DM lies below the weak boson pair-production threshold. As in the MSSM, well-tempered gaugino-Higgsino DM is strongly disfavored by present direct detection results.Comment: 41 pages, 8 figures, references adde

3D Convolutional Networks for Action Recognition: Application to Sport Gesture Recognition

3D convolutional networks is a good means to perform tasks such as video segmentation into coherent spatio-temporal chunks and classification of them with regard to a target taxonomy. In the chapter we are interested in the classification of continuous video takes with repeatable actions, such as strokes of table tennis. Filmed in a free marker less ecological environment, these videos represent a challenge from both segmentation and classification point of view. The 3D convnets are an efficient tool for solving these problems with window-based approaches.Comment: Multi-faceted Deep Learning, 202

Provably insecure group authentication:Not all security proofs are what they claim to be

A paper presented at the ICICS 2019 conference describes what is claimed to be a `provably secure group authentication [protocol] in the asynchronous communication model'. We show here that this is far from being the case, as the protocol is subject to serious attacks. To try to explain this troubling case, an earlier (2013) scheme on which the ICICS 2019 protocol is based was also examined and found to possess even more severe flaws - this latter scheme was previously known to be subject to attack, but not in quite as fundamental a way as is shown here. Examination of the security theorems provided in both the 2013 and 2019 papers reveals that in neither case are they exactly what they seem to be at first sight; the issues raised by this are also briefly discussed.Comment: The previous versions of the paper contained an incorrect description of the ICICS 2019 scheme. This has been corrected. The attack has also been changed so that it applies to the correct version of the scheme. The main conclusions are unchange

Exposure to herbicide Atrazine impairs growth and energy budget in African Catfish Clarias gariepinus fingerlings

This study aims to determine, in a controlled environment, the impact of exposure to sub-lethal concentrations of the herbicide Atrazine on growth, feed utilization and energy budget in Clarias gariepinus. Fingerlings of C. gariepinus (2.54 ± 0.02 g mean weight, 7.32 ± 1.6 cm mean length) were exposed to concentrations of 0; 0.03165 and 0.3165 ppm Atrazine for 28 days. Biomass was assessed weekly and fish samples were taken from different aquaria to determine weight gain, specific growth rate, feed efficiency rate, protein efficiency ratio and the biochemical composition of fish. Results showed important behavioral reactions of the fish such as hyperexcitation, depth activity and surfacing activity during the first two weeks. Fish survival significanlty declined in exposed fish only during the first week. Atrazine inhibited the growth of C. gariepinus fingerlings throughout the exposure period without influencing feed utilization and protein efficiency compared with control fish. Carbohydrates were used primarily, followed by proteins and then lipids, as sources of energy in exposed fish, to meet energy demand generated by this chemical stressor. Keywords: Clarias gariepinus, Chemical stressor, Growth parameters, Bioenergeti

LJGS: Gradual Security Types for Object-Oriented Languages

LJGS is a lightweight Java core calculus with a gradual security type system. The calculus guarantees secure information flow for sequential, class-based, typed object-oriented programming with mutable objects and virtual method calls. An LJGS program is composed of fragments that are checked either statically or dynamically. Statically checked fragments adhere to a security type system so that they incur no run-time penalty whereas dynamically checked fragments rely on run-time security labels. The programmer marks the boundaries between static and dynamic checking with casts so that it is always clear whether a program fragment requires run-time checks. LJGS requires security annotations on fields and methods. A field annotation either specifies a fixed static security level or it prescribes dynamic checking. A method annotation specifies a constrained polymorphic security signature. The types of local variables in method bodies are analyzed flow-sensitively and require no annotation. The dynamic checking of fields relies on a static points-to analysis to approximate implicit flows. We prove type soundness and non-interference for LJGS

Système complet d’acquisition vidéo, de suivi de trajectoires et de modélisation comportementale pour des environnements 3D naturellement encombrés : application à la surveillance apicole

This manuscript provides the basis for a complete chain of videosurveillence for naturally cluttered environments. In the latter, we identify and solve the wide spectrum of methodological and technological barriers inherent to : 1) the acquisition of video sequences in natural conditions, 2) the image processing problems, 3) the multi-target tracking ambiguities, 4) the discovery and the modeling of recurring behavioral patterns, and 5) the data fusion. The application context of our work is the monitoring of honeybees, and in particular the study of the trajectories bees in flight in front of their hive. In fact, this thesis is part a feasibility and prototyping study carried by the two interdisciplinary projects EPERAS and RISQAPI (projects undertaken in collaboration with INRA institute and the French National Museum of Natural History). It is for us, computer scientists, and for biologists who accompanied us, a completely new area of investigation for which the scientific knowledge, usually essential for such applications, are still in their infancy. Unlike existing approaches for monitoring insects, we propose to tackle the problem in the three-dimensional space through the use of a high frequency stereo camera. In this context, we detail our new target detection method which we called HIDS segmentation. Concerning the computation of trajectories, we explored several tracking approaches, relying on more or less a priori, which are able to deal with the extreme conditions of the application (e.g. many targets, small in size, following chaotic movements). Once the trajectories are collected, we organize them according to a given hierarchical data structure and apply a Bayesian nonparametric approach for discovering emergent behaviors within the colony of insects. The exploratory analysis of the trajectories generated by the crowded scene is performed following an unsupervised classification method simultaneously over different levels of semantic, and where the number of clusters for each level is not defined a priori, but rather estimated from the data only. This approach is has been validated thanks to a ground truth generated by a Multi-Agent System. Then we tested it in the context of real data.Ce manuscrit propose une approche méthodologique pour la constitution d’une chaîne complète de vidéosurveillance pour des environnements naturellement encombrés. Nous identifions et levons un certain nombre de verrous méthodologiques et technologiques inhérents : 1) à l’acquisition de séquences vidéo en milieu naturel, 2) au traitement d’images, 3) au suivi multi-cibles, 4) à la découverte et la modélisation de motifs comportementaux récurrents, et 5) à la fusion de données. Le contexte applicatif de nos travaux est la surveillance apicole, et en particulier, l’étude des trajectoires des abeilles en vol devant la ruche. De ce fait, cette thèse se présente également comme une étude de faisabilité et de prototypage dans le cadre des deux projets interdisciplinaires EPERAS et RISQAPI (projets menées en collaboration avec l’INRA Magneraud et le Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle). Il s’agit pour nous informaticiens et pour les biologistes qui nous ont accompagnés, d’un domaine d’investigation totalement nouveau, pour lequel les connaissances métiers, généralement essentielles à ce genre d’applications, restent encore à définir. Contrairement aux approches existantes de suivi d’insectes, nous proposons de nous attaquer au problème dans l’espace à trois dimensions grâce à l’utilisation d’une caméra stéréovision haute fréquence. Dans ce contexte, nous détaillons notre nouvelle méthode de détection de cibles appelée segmentation HIDS. Concernant le calcul des trajectoires, nous explorons plusieurs approches de suivi de cibles, s’appuyant sur plus ou moins d’a priori, susceptibles de supporter les conditions extrêmes de l’application (e.g. cibles nombreuses, de petite taille, présentant un mouvement chaotique). Une fois les trajectoires collectées, nous les organisons selon une structure de données hiérarchique et mettons en œuvre une approche Bayésienne non-paramétrique pour la découverte de comportements émergents au sein de la colonie d’insectes. L’analyse exploratoire des trajectoires issues de la scène encombrée s’effectue par classification non supervisée, simultanément sur des niveaux sémantiques différents, et où le nombre de clusters pour chaque niveau n’est pas défini a priori mais est estimé à partir des données. Cette approche est dans un premier temps validée à l’aide d’une pseudo-vérité terrain générée par un Système Multi-Agents, puis dans un deuxième temps appliquée sur des données réelles

Transcriptomic Analysis of a Diabetic Skin-Humanized Mouse Model Dissects Molecular Pathways Underlying the Delayed Wound Healing Response

Defective healing leading to cutaneous ulcer formation is one of the most feared complications of diabetes due to its consequences on patients’ quality of life and on the healthcare system. A more in-depth analysis of the underlying molecular pathophysiology is required to develop effective healing-promoting therapies for those patients. Major architectural and functional differences with human epidermis limit extrapolation of results coming from rodents and other small mammal-healing models. Therefore, the search for reliable humanized models has become mandatory. Previously, we developed a diabetes-induced delayed humanized wound healing model that faithfully recapitulated the major histological features of such skin repair-deficient condition. Herein, we present the results of a transcriptomic and functional enrichment analysis followed by a mechanistic analysis performed in such humanized wound healing model. The deregulation of genes implicated in functions such as angiogenesis, apoptosis, and inflammatory signaling processes were evidenced, confirming published data in diabetic patients that in fact might also underlie some of the histological features previously reported in the delayed skin-humanized healing model. Altogether, these molecular findings support the utility of such preclinical model as a valuable tool to gain insight into the molecular basis of the delayed diabetic healing with potential impact in the translational medicine field

Les praticiens à diplôme hors Union Européenne (PADHUE) en France : quand les hôpitaux ont recours à des médecins-migrants

Depuis les années 1980, l’évolution de la démographie médicale française engendre une inégale distribution des praticiens sur le territoire national. Ces déséquilibres sont en partie liés à des déficits de praticiens dans les hôpitaux de pôles urbains secondaires et à des stratégies d’évitement de certaines zones urbaines défavorisées ou rurales par les nouvelles générations de médecins. Cette problématique a ainsi créé une possibilité pour les praticiens à diplôme hors Union Européenne de venir travailler en France, pour pallier à des déficits dramatiques au sein de structures hospitalières. L’objectif de cette recherche est d’étudier la situation des PADHUE au sein de la région Poitou-Charentes, région touchée par la « pénurie médicale partielle ». Elle s’interroge sur la répartition géographique et les conditions d’exercice de ces médecins ainsi que sur les parcours et les projets migratoires de ces migrants hautement qualifiés qui exercent dans un secteur-clé: celui de l’hôpital.Since the 1980s, the evolution of the French medical demography has led to an uneven distribution through the national territory. These imbalances are partially due to practitioners’ deficits in the hospitals of secondary urban centers and to strategies of avoidance of certain disadvantaged or rural urban areas by the new generations of doctors. This problematic situation has created a possibility for foreign practitioners, qualified outside the European Union to come and work in France in order to alleviate the dramatic deficits within hospitals. The objective of our research is to study the situation of these particular doctors within the region of Poitou-Charentes, one of the areas affected by the “partial medical shortage”. At the crossroads between the academic fields of international migrations and geography of health, this study analyzes the presence and role of these doctors within the French health system, their geographical distribution as well as their particular conditions of exercise. The specific context is examined by looking through the trajectory and migratory projects of these foreign practitioners qualified outside the European Union working in the public hospitals of the region Poitou-Charentes. The methodology used in this present research combines quantitative and qualitative data. The qualitative data was provided through the conduct of 80 interviews with doctors and with the administrative personnel (direction / human resources). The public hospitals of the region Poitou-Charentes has offered a privileged entry for the study of the particular situation of the foreign doctors qualified outside the European Union practicing in France. The conduct of an inventory listing all current practitioners within the public hospitals as of January 1st, 2011 brings new data including all doctors (number, distribution, etc.) and specific to the foreign practitioners qualified outside the European Union. Representing a proportion of about 10% of all doctors working in the public sector, these highly qualified migrants play a real role of adjustment and balance within a healthcare system that has been submitted to national and regional disparities in the distribution of the medical staff. For the past several years, these doctors have gradually come to enlarge the staff of hospitals that were the most abandoned by medical graduates in France. By doing so, they have been compensating the negative impacts on medical demography caused by the numerus clausus and the reforms of the medical schools. Furthermore, the analysis of the assigned departments of these practitioners through the inventory illustrates how they have been filling the least attractive medical specialties and the most in need of personnel, thus highlighting the original and essential role they play in the functioning of the French healthcare system. The study of the countries where doctors obtained their medical qualifications reveals that these particular practitioners are mainly qualified in old French colonies and protectorates, making France a privileged destination due to the language, the strong historic links and because of the reputation of the French healthcare system. The analysis of the migratory projects of these doctors has showed that economic motivations are not a fundamental factor in this migration. The majority of these doctors are initially motivated by the offer of diplomas in specific specializations proposed by France to foreign practitioners. Other subsequent factors and events (personal, family-related, etc.) often lead to the abandonment of the initial project, which usually includes an eventual return to the country of origin. The original student mobility is gradually transformed into a long-term international migration. The two main elements usually refraining from the initial project of return are the entitlement to practice and the French nationality, since their acquisition is a much complicated process. Many doctors have recognized that these elements, combined with a greater job security and higher income, have put a definite stop in their project to return. These doctors are however subjected to a specific and unstable legislation generating numerous obstacles in their professional paths, which makes it difficult for them to fully incorporate the French medical community. Through their discourses and trajectory, we come to reveal the surprising complexity of their careers and their strategies of adaptation that we have coined under the notion of itinerant career allowing us to understand the steps undertaken by these doctors to fully integrate the corporate association. Whether they become mobile or temporarily change professions, these doctors demonstrate a constant capacity of adaptation that is forged by opportunities and strategies. Although often seen and referred to as “the invisible people of the hospital”, these doctors have been essential in the French healthcare system for almost half a century