Bulking II: Classifications of Cellular Automata

This paper is the second part of a series of two papers dealing with bulking: a way to define quasi-order on cellular automata by comparing space-time diagrams up to rescaling. In the present paper, we introduce three notions of simulation between cellular automata and study the quasi-order structures induced by these simulation relations on the whole set of cellular automata. Various aspects of these quasi-orders are considered (induced equivalence relations, maximum elements, induced orders, etc) providing several formal tools allowing to classify cellular automata

Is There an Influence of Relative Age on Participation in Non-Physical Sports Activities? The Example of Shooting Sports.

International audienceThe aim of this study was to test the presence of the Relative Age Effect (RAE) on the overall male (n = 119,715) and female (n = 12,823) population of the shooting sports federation, and to see if it has an impact on discontinuance. For the boys as for the girls, the results show a uniform distribution of discontinuance. Concerning the girls, a RAE was not found, showing that in female shooting sports this effect is not operating. Looking at the males, a significant statistical RAE was not detected in “18-20 years old” and “13-14 years old” categories. However, this effect was found in “adults”, “11-12 years old” and “under 11 years old” categories. A significant “inverse” RAE was found for the “15-17 years old”. If the rejection of the null hypothesis in some male age groups of a non-physical sports activity is of interest, further qualitative research is needed in order to clearly understand which factors contribute to this asymmetric distribution of birth dates in French male shooting sports

Relative Age Effect in Female Sport: A Diachronic Examination of Soccer Players

International audienceThe Relative Age Effect (RAE) is a biased distribution of elite athletes' birthdates, with an over-representation of those born at the beginning of the competitive year and an under-representation of those born at the end. Despite an abundant literature, the impact of sex on this phenomenon remains neglected by most researchers. This study investigated the whole sample of female soccer players affiliated to the French Soccer Federation for the 2006-2007 season (n = 57,892). It first aimed at testing the presence of RAE depending on age. Next, we looked at the birthdates of dropout players during the next season (n = 15,285), to test whether relative age accounts for dropout from the activity. The analyses revealed significant differences between the expected and observed distributions for all age categories. Furthermore, a significantly biased distribution of dropout players' birthdates was found for the less than 10, less than 14 and less than 17 categories. As a whole, dropout players are under-represented in Q1 and Q2, but over-represented in Q3 and Q4. This study completes the literature on RAE among females, but the inconsistency of the results calls for more research on this population

Intrinsic Simulations between Stochastic Cellular Automata

The paper proposes a simple formalism for dealing with deterministic, non-deterministic and stochastic cellular automata in a unifying and composable manner. Armed with this formalism, we extend the notion of intrinsic simulation between deterministic cellular automata, to the non-deterministic and stochastic settings. We then provide explicit tools to prove or disprove the existence of such a simulation between two stochastic cellular automata, even though the intrinsic simulation relation is shown to be undecidable in dimension two and higher. The key result behind this is the caracterization of equality of stochastic global maps by the existence of a coupling between the random sources. We then prove that there is a universal non-deterministic cellular automaton, but no universal stochastic cellular automaton. Yet we provide stochastic cellular automata achieving optimal partial universality.Comment: In Proceedings AUTOMATA&JAC 2012, arXiv:1208.249

A new spice-like modeling tool for bio- and electro- acoustic systems including thermoviscous effects

International audienceA dedicated toolbox has been developed within ASYGN a recent software tool that simulates aVLSI circuits at a high-level of modeling. It accounts in both time- and frequency- domain for the specific feature of bio- and electro- acoustic systems especially when some of the constituting elements are very thin or narrow. The models correspond to systems of complex equations in which some of the complex coefficients can be frequency dependent. Results are solved and viewed in real time. The tool was developed to introduce some improvement in the model of the auditory system of the cricket. In 2007 Reeve et al. designed and tested an electrical equivalent circuit based on Michelsen 1994. The latter results from two major simplification namely the absence of thermoviscous effects and of any acoustical role of a septum located in the middle of a transverse acoustic trachea. Thanks to the weak couplings the model can be subdivided into independent elements such as tubes, cavities or membranes simply connected together. Thermoviscous effects and the role of the medial septum can now be fully investigated. Our results were first validated using Matlab. Our model reveals interesting feature compared to its historical counterpart

Characterization of the GATC regulatory network in E. coli

BACKGROUND: The tetranucleotide GATC is methylated in Escherichia. coli by the DNA methyltransferase (Dam) and is known to be implicated in numerous cellular processes. Mutants lacking Dam are characterized by a pleiotropic phenotype. The existence of a GATC regulated network, thought to be involved in cold and oxygen shift, had been proposed and its existence has recently been confirmed. The aim of this article is to describe the components of the GATC regulated network of E. coli in detail and propose a role of this network in the light of an evolutionary advantage for the organism. RESULTS: We have classified the genes of the GATC network according to the EcoCyc functional classes. Comparisons with all of E. coli's genes and the genes involved in the SOS and stress response show that the GATC network forms a group apart. The functional classes that characterize the network are the Energy metabolism (in particular respiration), Fatty acid/ Phospholipid metabolism and Nucleotide metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: The network is thought to come into play when the cell undergoes coldshock and is likely to enter stationary phase. The respiration is almost completely under GATC control and according to our hypothesis it will be blocked at the moment of coldshock; this might give the cell a selective advantage as it increases its chances for survival when entering stationary phase under coldshock. We predict the accumulation of formate and possibly succinate, which might increase the cell's resistance, in this case to antimicrobial agents, when entering stationary phase

Relative Age Effect in Elite Sports: Methodological Bias or Real Discrimination?

Sport sciences researchers talk about a relative age effect when they observe a biased distribution of elite athletes' birthdates, with an over-representation of those born at the beginning of the competitive year and an under-representation of those born at the end. Using the whole sample of the French male licensed soccer players (n = 1,831,524), our study suggests that there could be an important bias in the statistical test of this effect. This bias could in turn lead to falsely conclude to a systemic discrimination in the recruitment of professional players. Our findings question the accuracy of past results concerning the existence of this effect at the elite level

Chronic Pain Opioid-Maintained Patients Receive Less Analgesic Opioid Prescriptions

Treating pain and opioid use disorder represents a clinical challenge. While most studies that have assessed opioid analgesic use in opioid substitution treatment (OST) patients primarily address opioid analgesic misuse (1, 2), only few studies focused on OST patients assessed the prescription of analgesic opioids for chronic pain. We sought to compare the prevalence of analgesic opioid prescription (AOP) in two groups of chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) patients: OST patients vs. the general population. This was a population-based cross-sectional study based on the French national healthcare claims database SNIIRAM (Système National d'Informations Inter-Régimes de l'Assurance Maladie) covering over 66 million people (98.8% of the French population). Overall, 67,173 participants ≥15 years old undergoing continuous OST in 2015 (“OST patients” group) were included and age- and gender-matched by means of a 1:1 ratio with 67,173 patients without OST (“control” group). In each group, patients with cancer conditions were excluded and those having received opioid and non-opioid analgesics for at least 3 months were identified (CNCP patients). Compared to control patients, CNCP OST patients received less AOP (47.8 vs. 68.0%, p < 0.0001) and more often non-opioid prescription (52.2 vs. 32.0%, p < 0.0001). In multivariate analysis, CNCP OST patients were 2.7 times less likely to be prescribed analgesic opioids (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 2.7 [2.42–3.01], p < 0.0001) than control patients. AOP correlated in CNCP OST patients with: age ≤ 40 years old, female gender, low-income status, methadone-maintained treatment, mental health disorder, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, and alcohol abuse disorder. Opioid analgesics were less often prescribed in CNCP OST patients. AOP prevalence was 2.7-fold lower than in the general population. Chronic pain management in OST patients needs to be reinforced through additional physician training and a multidisciplinary approach

Ultracool Subdwarfs: The Halo Population Down to the Substellar Limit

Ultracool subdwarfs are low luminosity, late-type M and L dwarfs that exhibit spectroscopic indications of subsolar metallicity and halo kinematics. Their recent discovery and ongoing investigation have led to new insights into the role of metallicity in the opacity structure, chemistry (e.g. dust formation) and evolution of low-temperature atmospheres; the long-term evolution of magnetic activity and angular momentum amongst the lowest-mass stars; the form of the halo luminosity and mass functions down to the hydrogen-burning mass limit; and even fundamental issues such as spectral classification and absolute brightness scales. This Splinter Session was devoted to bringing advances in observational and theoretical ultracool subdwarf research to the attention of the low-mass stellar and brown dwarf communities, as well as to share results among ultracool subdwarf enthusiasts.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, Splinter Session contribution for Cool Stars 15 (AIP formatting