Cooperative Decision Making : a methodology based on collective preferences aggregation

National audienceThe benefice of a collective decisions process mainly rests upon the possibility for the participants to confront their respective points of views. To this end, they must have cognitive and technical tools that ease the sharing of the reasons that motivate their own preferences, while accounting for information and feelings they should keep for their own. The paper presents the basis of such a cooperative decision making methodology that allows sharing information by accurately distinguishing the components of a decision and the steps of its elaboration

Evaluation ofthe Middle East and North Africa Land Data Assimilation System

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is dominated by dry, warm deserts, areas of dense population, and inefficient use of fresh water resources. Due to the scarcity, high intensity, and short duration of rainfall in the MENA, the region is prone to hydro climatic extremes that are realized by devastating floods and times of drought. However, given its widespread water stress and the considerable demand for water, the MENA remains relatively poorly monitored. This is due in part to the shortage of meteorological observations and the lack of data sharing between nations. As a result, the accurate monitoring of the dynamics of the water cycle in the MENA is difficult. The Land Data Assimilation System for the MENA region (MENA LDAS) has been developed to provide regional, gridded fields of hydrological states and fluxes relevant for water resources assessments. As an extension of the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS), the MENA LDAS was designed to aid in the identification and evaluation of regional hydrological anomalies by synergistically combining the physically-based Catchment Land Surface Model (CLSM) with observations from several independent data products including soil-water storage variations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and irrigation intensity derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). In this fashion, we estimate the mean and seasonal cycle of the water budget components across the MENA

A Diversity-Accuracy Measure for Homogenous Ensemble Selection

Several selection methods in the literature are essentially based on an evaluation function that determines whether a model M contributes positively to boost the performances of the whole ensemble. In this paper, we propose a method called DIversity and ACcuracy for Ensemble Selection (DIACES) using an evaluation function based on both diversity and accuracy. The method is applied on homogenous ensembles composed of C4.5 decision trees and based on a hill climbing strategy. This allows selecting ensembles with the best compromise between maximum diversity and minimum error rate. Comparative studies show that in most cases the proposed method generates reduced size ensembles with better performances than usual ensemble simplification methods

Prediction of Ideas Number During a Brainstorming Session

International audienceIn this paper, we present an approach allowing the prediction of ideas number during a brainstorming session. This prediction is based on two dynamic models of brainstorming, the non-cognitive and the cognitive models proposed by Brown and Paulus (Small Group Res 27(1):91–114, 1996). These models describe for each participant, the evolution of ideas number over time, and are formalized by differential equations. Through solution functions of these models, we propose to calculate the number of ideas of each participant on any time intervals and thus in the future (called prediction). To be able to compute solution functions, it is necessary to determine the parameters of these models. In our approach, we use optimization model for model parameters calculation in which solution functions are approximated by numerical methods. We developed two generic optimization models, one based on Euler’s and the other on the fourth order Runge–Kutta’s numerical methods for the solving of differential equations, and we apply them to the non-cognitive and respectively to the cognitive models. Through some feasibility tests, we show the adequacy of the proposed approach to our prediction context

Pain frequency, severity and QT dispersion in adult patients with sickle cell anemia: correlation with inflammatory markers

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory markers are increased during vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) in adult patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA), but this is not clear in clinical steady state. AIM: The present study aims to establish the frequency and intensity of bone pain episodes in adult patients with SCA in clinical steady state and to determine the correlation between different inflammatory markers, other variables including QT dispersion (QTd) and pain frequency and intensity in SCA. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients were classified into two groups: group 1, those with more than three hospital admissions in the last 6 months, and group 2, those with no hospital admission. Pearson correlation between variables such as body mass index (BMI), level of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukin-1 (IL-1), C-reactive protein (CRP), hemoglobin (Hb), reticulocyte count, white blood cell count (WBC), ferritin, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), parathormone (PTH), vitamin D3 (25-OH cholecalciferol) and bone pain frequency with severity was evaluated. RESULTS: Forty-six patients were enrolled in this study with a mean age of 18.47±5.78 years, with 23 patients in each group. Vitamin D3 and Hb were lower (17.04±5.77 vs 37.59±4.83 ng/L, P<0.01 and 7.96±0.3 vs 8.44±0.27 g/dL, P<0.01, respectively); the inflammatory markers showed significantly higher level of TNF-α, IL-1 and CRP (56.52±5.43 pg/ml, 44.17±4.54 pg/ml and 3.20±0.72 mg/L, respectively, P<0.05); WBC, LDH and reticulocyte count were also significantly higher and the QTd was higher (45.0±2.22 vs 41.55±0.8 ms, P<0.05) in group 1 when compared with group 2. Pearson correlation coefficient showed significant positive correlation between serum level of TNF-α and bone pain frequency (r=0.414, P<0.005) and serum level of IL-1 (r=0.39, P<0.008). CONCLUSION: There is a strong positive correlation between TNF-α, IL-1 and WBC and bone pain frequency in steady state in adult patients with SCA. CRP and low hemoglobin had weak positive correlation. QTd was significantly longer in patients who had hospitalizations with VOC

Pesticides residues on Loquat: A minor crop in Lebanon

Loquat in Lebanon is subjected to sprays by a variety of unregistered pesticides, as is the case with minor crops in many parts of the world, to protect it from pests mainly scab. This malpractice would raise consumer's health safety issues related to pesticides residues that could be avoided if the pesticides industry worldwide is not reluctant in investing in the registration of minor crops pesticides. Penconazole is registered as a fungicide against scab on apples and pears in Lebanon without prior supervised field trials, but it is not registered on loquat. The aims of this study are to screen and quantify the range of pesticide residues in 128 loquat samples gathered from Lebanese market between 2017 and 2019, study the dissipation behavior of penconazole on apple and loquat in the field, confirm the critical good agricultural practices (cGAP) of penconazole on apples and propose a pre-harvest interval (PHI) for penconazole on Loquat in Lebanon. The samples were analyzed using a validated MRM method on apple with GC-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS determination. A total of 51 samples were irregular in terms of the pesticides residues found, with, residues of unauthorized pesticides detected on 48 samples. The most frequently encountered unauthorized pesticides banned in Lebanon were: cypermethrin (10.9%), dimethoate (6.25%), methomyl (6.25%), carbendazim (3.1%), and thiametoxam (2.3%). Penconazole dissipated following a first order kinetic dissipation model on apple and loquat. The half-life calculated on apple and loquat were 8.56 days and 9.49 days, respectively. A PHI = 14 days can be proposed for loquat with a MRL of 0.07 mg/kg without any food safety issues raised with the same cGAP practiced on apple. © 2021 Elsevier Lt

Do managed alcohol programs change patterns of alcohol consumption and reduce related harm? A pilot study

BACKGROUND: Managed alcohol programs (MAPs) are a harm reduction strategy for people with severe alcohol dependence and unstable housing. MAPs provide controlled access to alcohol usually alongside accommodation, meals, and other supports. Patterns of alcohol consumption and related harms among MAP participants and controls from a homeless shelter in Thunder Bay, Ontario, were investigated in 2013. METHODS: Structured interviews were conducted with 18 MAP and 20 control participants assessed as alcohol dependent with most using non-beverage alcohol (NBA). Qualitative interviews were conducted with seven participants and four MAP staff concerning perceptions and experiences of the program. Program alcohol consumption records were obtained for MAP participants, and records of police contacts and use of health services were obtained for participants and controls. Some participants’ liver function test (LFT) results were available for before and after MAP entry. RESULTS: Compared with periods off the MAP, MAP participants had 41 % fewer police contacts, 33 % fewer police contacts leading to custody time (x(2) = 43.84, P < 0.001), 87 % fewer detox admissions (t = −1.68, P = 0.06), and 32 % fewer hospital admissions (t = −2.08, P = 0.03). MAP and control participants shared similar characteristics, indicating the groups were broadly comparable. There were reductions in nearly all available LFT scores after MAP entry. Compared with controls, MAP participants had 43 % fewer police contacts, significantly fewer police contacts (−38 %) that resulted in custody time (x(2) = 66.10, P < 0.001), 70 % fewer detox admissions (t = −2.19, P = 0.02), and 47 % fewer emergency room presentations. NBA use was significantly less frequent for MAP participants versus controls (t = −2.34, P < 0.05). Marked but non-significant reductions were observed in the number of participants self-reporting alcohol-related harms in the domains of home life, legal issues, and withdrawal seizures. Qualitative interviews with staff and MAP participants provided additional insight into reductions of non-beverage alcohol use and reductions of police and health-care contacts. It was unclear if overall volume of alcohol consumption was reduced as a result of MAP participation. CONCLUSIONS: The quantitative and qualitative findings of this pilot study suggest that MAP participation was associated with a number of positive outcomes including fewer hospital admissions, detox episodes, and police contacts leading to custody, reduced NBA consumption, and decreases in some alcohol-related harms. These encouraging trends are being investigated in a larger national study

Pilot study of the multicentre DISCHARGE trial: image quality and protocol adherence results of computed tomography and invasive coronary angiography (vol 30, pg 1997, 2020)

The original version of this article, published on 16 December 2019, unfortunately contained two mistakes.Cardiovascular Aspects of Radiolog