Tarski’s Practice and Philosophy: Between Formalism and Pragmatism: What has Become of Them?

Collection : Synthese Library, n°341International audienceConsidering works by Tarski, the author claims that Tarski’s fundamental aim was to establish formal semantics as a new branch of mathematics

Interactions and functionalities of the gut revealed by computational approaches

The gastrointestinal tract is subject of much research for its role in an organism’s health owing to its role as gatekeeper. The tissue acts as a barrier to keep out harmful substances like pathogens and toxins while absorbing nutrients that arise from the digestion of dietary components in in the lumen. There is a large population of microbiota that plays an important role in the functioning of the gut. All these sub-systems of the gastrointestinal tract contribute to the normal functioning of the gut. Due to its various functionalities, the gut is able to respond to different types of stimuli and bring the system back to homeostasis after perturbations. The work done in this thesis uses several bioinformatic tools to improve our understanding of the functioning of the gut. This was achieved with data from model animals, mice and pigs which were subjected to changing environments before their gastrointestinal response was measured. Different types of stimuli were studied (eg, antibiotic exposure, changing diets and infection with pathogens) in order to understand the response of the gut to varying environments. This data was analysed using different data integration techniques that provide a holistic view of the gut response. Vertical data integration techniques look for associations between different types of ~omics data to highlight possible interactions between the measured variables. Lateral integration techniques allow the study of one type of ~omics data over several time points or several experimental conditions. Using these techniques, we show proof of interactions between different sub-systems of the gut and the functional plasticity of the gut. Of the several hypotheses generated in this thesis we have validated several using existing literature and one using an in-vitro system. Further validation of these hypotheses will increase understanding of the responses of the gut and the interactions involved.</p

Facets and Levels of Mathematical Abstraction

International audienceMathematical abstraction is the process of considering and manipulating operations, rules, methods and concepts divested from their reference to real world phenomena and circumstances, and also deprived from the content connected to particular applications. There is no one single way of performing mathematical abstraction. The term "abstraction" does not name a unique procedure but a general process, which goes many ways that are mostly simultaneous and intertwined ; in particular, the process does not amount only to logical subsumption. I will consider comparatively how philosophers consider abstraction and how mathematicians perform it, with the aim to bring to light the fundamental thinking processes at play, and to illustrate by significant examples how much intricate and multi-leveled may be the combination of typical mathematical techniques which include axiomatic method, invarianceprinciples, equivalence relations and functional correspondences.L'abstraction mathématique consiste en la considération et la manipulation d'opérations, règles et concepts indépendamment du contenu dont les nantissent des applications particulières et du rapport qu'ils peuvent avoir avec les phénomènes et les circonstances du monde réel. L'abstraction mathématique emprunte diverses voies. Le terme " abstraction " ne désigne pasune procédure unique, mais un processus général où s'entrecroisent divers procédés employés successivement ou simultanément. En particulier, l'abstraction mathématique ne se réduit pas à la subsomption logique. Je vais étudier comparativement en quels termes les philosophes expliquent l'abstraction et par quels moyens les mathématiciens la mettent en oeuvre. Je voudrais parlà mettre en lumière les principaux processus de pensée en jeu et illustrer par des exemples divers niveaux d'intrication de techniques mathématiques récurrentes, qui incluent notamment la méthode axiomatique, les principes d'invariance, les relations d'équivalence et les correspondances fonctionnelles

Re-Evaluating Performance Measurement: New Mathematical Methods to Address Common Performance Measurement Challenges

Performance Measurement is an essential discipline for any business. Robust and reliable performance metrics for people, processes, and technologies enable a business to identify and address deficiencies to improve performance and profitability. The complexity of modern operating environments presents real challenges to developing equitable and accurate performance metrics. This thesis explores and develops two new methods to address common challenges encountered in businesses across the world. The first method addresses the challenge of estimating the relative complexity of various tasks by utilizing the Pearson Correlation Coefficient to identify potentially over weighted and under weighted tasks. The second method addresses the challenge of determining performers\u27 influence on a metric by treating performance rankings as vectors and evaluating the change of the vector over multiple performance periods

One Digital Health is FAIR

The One Digital Health framework aims at transforming future health ecosystems and guiding the implementation of a digital technologies-based systemic approach to caring for humans' and animals' health in a managed surrounding environment. To integrate and to use the data generated by the ODH data sources, "FAIRness" stands as a prerequisite for proper data management and stewardship