A Model Driven Architecture Framework for Robot Design and Automatic Code Generation

International audienceThis work presents a research and development experiment in software engineering at the IMT Mines Ales, France. The goal is to define a framework allowing a system controller to be graphically designed and its java code to be automatically generated. This framework is expected to be a support for students following the system engineering curriculum, and who have to program LEGO Mindstorms EV3 robots although they have not already been trained to concurrent Java programming. The experimental methodology focuses on learning and implementing the following paradigms: model driven design, software architecture for event driven systems and reactive system programming using JAVA threads. We present the design framework defined during this experiment, and the feedback of students who have been involved in setting up the state of the art and developing the framework

Coloring Artemis graphs

We consider the class A of graphs that contain no odd hole, no antihole, and no ``prism'' (a graph consisting of two disjoint triangles with three disjoint paths between them). We show that the coloring algorithm found by the second and fourth author can be implemented in time O(n^2m) for any graph in A with n vertices and m edges, thereby improving on the complexity proposed in the original paper

Up-regulation of avian uncoupling protein in cold-acclimated and hyperthyroid ducklings prevents reactive oxygen species production by skeletal muscle mitochondria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although identified in several bird species, the biological role of the avian homolog of mammalian uncoupling proteins (avUCP) remains extensively debated. In the present study, the functional properties of isolated mitochondria were examined in physiological or pharmacological situations that induce large changes in avUCP expression in duckling skeletal muscle.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The abundance of avUCP mRNA, as detected by RT-PCR in gastrocnemius muscle but not in the liver, was markedly increased by cold acclimation (CA) or pharmacological hyperthyroidism but was down-regulated by hypothyroidism. Activators of UCPs, such as superoxide with low doses of fatty acids, stimulated a GDP-sensitive proton conductance across the inner membrane of muscle mitochondria from CA or hyperthyroid ducklings. The stimulation was much weaker in controls and not observed in hypothyroid ducklings or in any liver mitochondrial preparations. The production of endogenous mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) was much lower in muscle mitochondria from CA and hyperthyroid ducklings than in the control or hypothyroid groups. The addition of GDP markedly increased the mitochondrial ROS production of CA or hyperthyroid birds up to, or above, the level of control or hypothyroid ducklings. Differences in ROS production among groups could not be attributed to changes in antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase or glutathione peroxidase).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This work provides the first functional <it>in vitro </it>evidence that avian UCP regulates mitochondrial ROS production in situations of enhanced metabolic activity.</p

Impact of Human Dermal Microvascular Endothelial Cells on Primary Dermal Fibroblasts in Response to Inflammatory Stress

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of the microenvironment produced by dermal microvascular endothelial cells, secondary to a pro-inflammatory challenge, on 2D culture models using dermal fibroblasts and in 3D reconstructed skin model using dermal fibroblasts and keratinocytes from healthy donors. We hypothesized that specific microvascular endothelial low grade inflammation could change fibroblasts phenotype and be involved in extracellular matrix (ECM) modification and skin alteration. Following IFNγ, TNFα, IL-1β pro-inflammatory stress on Human Dermal Endothelial Cells (HDMEC) we observed the increased release of Chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2), IL-6 and IL-8 but not VEGF-A in the conditioned medium (CM). The subsequent addition of this endothelial pro-inflammatory CM in dermal fibroblasts revealed an upregulation of IL6, IL8 and CCL2 but no NF-κB gene expression. The resulting ECM formation was impaired with a reduction of the collagen 1 network and a decrease in COL1A1 gene expression in 2D and 3D models. Collagen 1 and pro-LOX protein expression were significantly reduced confirming an impairment of the collagen network related to endothelial inflammation secretion. To conclude, this work showed that, without any immune cells, the endothelial secretion in response to a pro-inflammatory stress is able to activate the fibroblasts that will maintain the pro-inflammatory environment and exacerbate ECM degradation

Population Genetic Structure of Listeria monocytogenes Strains as Determined by Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis and Multilocus Sequence Typing

Listeria monocytogenes is a ubiquitous bacterium that may cause the foodborne illness listeriosis. Only a small amount of data about the population genetic structure of strains isolated from food is available. This study aimed to provide an accurate view of the L. monocytogenes food strain population in France. From 1999 to 2014, 1,894 L. monocytogenes strains were isolated from food at the French National Reference Laboratory for L. monocytogenes and classified according to the five risk food matrices defined by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). A total of 396 strains were selected on the basis of different pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) clusters, serotypes, and strain origins and typed by multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and the MLST results were supplemented with MLST data available from Institut Pasteur, representing human and additional food strains from France. The distribution of sequence types (STs) was compared between food and clinical strains on a panel of 675 strains. High congruence between PFGE and MLST was found. Out of 73 PFGE clusters, the two most prevalent corresponded to ST9 and ST121. Using original statistical analysis, we demonstrated that (i) there was not a clear association between ST9 and ST121 and the food matrices, (ii) serotype IIc, ST8, and ST4 were associated with meat products, and (iii) ST13 was associated with dairy products. Of the two major STs, ST121 was the ST that included the fewest clinical strains, which might indicate lower virulence. This observation may be directly relevant for refining risk analysis models for the better management of food safety. IMPORTANCE This study showed a very useful backward compatibility between PFGE and MLST for surveillance. The results enabled better understanding of the population structure of L. monocytogenes strains isolated from food and management of the health risks associated with L. monocytogenes food strains. Moreover, this work provided an accurate view of L. monocytogenes strain populations associated with specific food matrices. We clearly showed that some STs were associated with food matrices, such as meat, meat products, and dairy products. We opened the way to source attribution modeling in order to quantify the relative importance of the main food matrices

The effects of a 12-week strength training program on skeletal muscle impairments and physical limitations in men with myotonic dystrophy type 1

Background/rationale: Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a genetic multisystemic degenerative disease and represents the most prevalent myopathy in adults. Skeletal muscles are particularly affected, as demonstrated by muscle weakness and atrophy experienced by affected people, which limit their social participation. Purpose/research objectives: The aim of this project is to determine the effects of a 12-week strength training program on skeletal muscle impairments and physical limitations in men with DM1. Relevance: Strength training has been shown to be safe in this population, but it remains unknown if it can trigger muscle hypertrophy process, thus slowing or reversing the significant muscle impairments that characterize this disease. Methods: In this before-after study, a 12-week strength training program (twice a week) of 6 to 8 maximal repetitions (RM) of five different lower limb exercises was completed by 11 men with DM1. The evaluation included: 10 meter walk test (comfortable and maximal speed), 30 second sit-to-stand test, quantitative muscle strength assessment of knee extensors muscle group, 1-RM test for all exercises and an interview about perceived changes. Results: Results showed significant maximal muscle strength increases as well as improvement in all functional tests (p<0.05). Patients also reported many positive changes after the training program such as an improved confidence in their legs and that they had ceased falling. Conclusion: Many positive changes have resulted from this training program showing that a well standardized strength training is an efficient and promising treatment option to reduce skeletal muscle impairments and physical limitations in people with DM1

The emission by dust and stars of nearby galaxies in the Herschel KINGFISH survey

Using new far-infrared imaging from the Herschel Space Observatory with ancillary data from ultraviolet (UV) to submillimeter wavelengths, we estimate the total emission from dust and stars of 62 nearby galaxies in the KINGFISH survey in a way that is as empirical and model independent as possible. We collect and exploit these data in order to measure from the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) precisely how much stellar radiation is intercepted and re-radiated by dust, and how this quantity varies with galaxy properties. By including SPIRE data, we are more sensitive to emission from cold dust grains than previous analyses at shorter wavelengths, allowing for more accurate estimates of dust temperatures and masses. The dust/stellar flux ratio, which we measure by integrating the SEDs, has a range of nearly three decades (from 10(-2.2) to 10(0.5)). The inclusion of SPIRE data shows that estimates based on data not reaching these far-IR wavelengths are biased low by 17% on average. We find that the dust/stellar flux ratio varies with morphology and total infrared (IR) luminosity, with dwarf galaxies having faint luminosities, spirals having relatively high dust/stellar ratios and IR luminosities, and some early types having low dust/stellar ratios. We also find that dust/stellar flux ratios are related to gas-phase metallicity ((log(f(dust)/f(*)) over bar) = -0.66 +/- 0.08 and -0.22 +/- 0.12 for metal-poor and intermediate-metallicity galaxies, respectively), while the dust/stellar mass ratios are less so (differing by approximate to 0.2 dex); the more metal-rich galaxies span a much wider range of the flux ratios. In addition, the substantial scatter between dust/stellar flux and dust/stellar mass indicates that the former is a poor proxy of the latter. Comparing the dust/stellar flux ratios and dust temperatures, we also show that early types tend to have slightly warmer temperatures (by up to 5 K) than spiral galaxies, which may be due to more intense interstellar radiation fields, or possibly to different dust grain compositions. Finally, we show that early types and early-type spirals have a strong correlation between the dust/stellar flux ratio and specific star formation rate, which suggests that the relatively bright far-IR emission of some of these galaxies is due to ongoing (if limited) star formation as well as to the radiation field from older stars, which is heating the dust grains