On making nD images well-composed by a self-dual local interpolation

International audienceNatural and synthetic discrete images are generally not well-composed, leading to many topological issues: connectivities in binary images are not equivalent, the Jordan Separation theorem is not true anymore, and so on. Conversely, making images well-composed solves those problems and then gives access to many powerful tools already known in mathematical morphology as the Tree of Shapes which is of our principal interest. In this paper, we present two main results: a characterization of 3D well-composed gray-valued images; and a counter-example showing that no local self-dual interpolation satisfying a classical set of properties makes well-composed images with one subdivision in 3D, as soon as we choose the mean operator to interpolate in 1D. Then, we briefly discuss various constraints that could be interesting to change to make the problem solvable in nD

Profil épidémiologique de la surcharge pondérale chez les travailleurs du Ministère du Travail et de la Fonction Publique (MTFP) au Bénin en 2023

Introduction : La question de la surcharge pondérale a été identifiée comme étant l’un des principaux problèmes de santé publique du XXIe siècle non seulement à cause de sa prévalence élevée, mais également à cause de sa progression rapide au cours des dernières décennies. La présente étude vise à déterminer le profil épidémiologique de la surcharge pondérale chez les travailleurs du Ministère du Travail et de la Fonction Publique (MTFP) en 2023 au Bénin. Matériels et méthodes : Il s'agit d'une étude transversale descriptive menée du 16 août au 17 décembre 2023 au sein du personnel du MTFP. Les variables à l’étude étaient la surcharge pondérale, les caractéristiques sociodémographiques, professionnelles et alimentaires, le mode de vie, les facteurs anthropométriques et les antécédents familiaux d’obésité. Il a été procédé à un recrutement exhaustif des travailleurs répondant à nos critères d’inclusion et à une enquête par questionnaire. Les données ont été analysées à l'aide du logiciel R 4.0.4. Résultats : Au total, 379 travailleurs ont été inclus dans notre étude. L’âge moyen des travailleurs enquêtés était de 44,86 ans ± 7,67 ans, avec 202 (53,30%) travailleurs d’au moins 45 ans. Les hommes prédominaient avec un effectif de 228 (60,16%). La prévalence de la surcharge pondérale était de 63,32% (240 travailleurs), les femmes étant dans une proportion de 52,50% (126 femmes). Chez ces travailleurs en surcharge pondérale, il est observé le déplacement pour le service en voiture chez 54,17%, des membres de famille généralement obèses chez 33,75%, une faible activité physique chez 64,58%, la consommation fréquente d’aliments sucrés chez 31,67%, la consommation fréquente de la pâte de maïs chez 19,17%, le grignotage chez 88,33%, l’hypertension artérielle chez 42,08% et le diabète chez 52,50%. Conclusion :  La prévalence de la surcharge pondérale chez les travailleurs du MTFP, de 63,32%, est élevée et les facteurs de risque sont multiples. Pour pallier la croissance de ce problème de santé publique, l’éducation et la sensibilisation des travailleurs sur ces facteurs s’avère nécessaire.   Introduction: The issue of overweight has been identified as one of the major public health problems of the 21st century, not only because of its high prevalence, but also because of its rapid progression over recent decades. The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiological profile of overweight among Ministry of Labour and Public Service (MTFP) workers in 2023 in Benin. Materials and methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted from 16 August to 17 December 2023 among MTFP staff. The study variables were overweight, sociodemographic, occupational and dietary characteristics, lifestyle, anthropometric factors and family history of obesity. All workers meeting our inclusion criteria were recruited and a questionnaire survey was carried out. Data were analysed using R 4.0.4 software. Results: A total of 379 workers were included in our study. The mean age of the workers surveyed was 44.86 ± 7.67 years, with 202 (53.30%) workers at least 45 years old. Men predominated, with 228 (60.16%). The prevalence of overweight was 63.32% (240 workers), with women accounting for 52.50% (126 women). Among these overweight workers, 54.17% traveled to work by car, 33.75% had generally obese family members, 64.58% were not very physically active, 31.67% frequently ate sugary foods, 19.17% frequently ate corn dough, 88.33% snacked, 42.08% had high blood pressure and 52.50% had diabetes. Conclusion: The prevalence of overweight among MTFP workers, at 63.32%, is high, and the risk factors are multiple. To counteract the growth of this public health problem, workers need to be educated and made aware of these factors

Efficacy of frovatriptan versus other triptans in the acute treatment of menstrual migraine: pooled analysis of three double-blind, randomized, crossover, multicenter studies

The objective of this study was to review the efficacy and safety of frovatriptan (F) versus rizatriptan (R), zolmitriptan (Z) and almotriptan (A), in women with menstrually related migraine (IHS criteria) through a pooled analysis of three individual studies. Subjects with a history of migraine with or without aura were randomized to F 2.5 mg or R 10 mg (study 1), F or Z 2.5 mg (study 2), and F or A 12.5 mg (study 3). The studies had an identical multicenter, randomized, double-blind, crossover design. After treating three episodes of migraine in no more than 3 months with the first treatment, patients had to switch to the next treatment for other 3 months. 346 subjects formed intention-to-treat population of the main study; 280 of them were of a female gender, 256 had regular menses and 187 were included in the menstrual migraine subgroup analysis. Rate of pain free at 2, 4 and 24 h was 23, 52 and 67 % with F and 30, 61 and 66 % with comparators (P = NS). Pain relief episodes at 2, 4 and 24 h were 37, 60 and 66 % for F and 43, 55 and 61 % for comparators (P = NS). Rate of recurrence was significantly (P < 0.05) lower under F either at 24 h (11 vs. 24 % comparators) or at 48 h (15 vs. 26 % comparators). Number of menstrual migraine attacks associated with drug-related adverse events was equally low (P = NS) between F (5 %) and comparators (4 %)

The consolidated European synthesis of CO2 emissions and removals for the European Union and United Kingdom: 1990–2020

Quantification of land surface–atmosphere fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2) and their trends and uncertainties is essential for monitoring progress of the EU27+UK bloc as it strives to meet ambitious targets determined by both international agreements and internal regulation. This study provides a consolidated synthesis of fossil sources (CO2 fossil) and natural (including formally managed ecosystems) sources and sinks over land (CO2 land) using bottom-up (BU) and top-down (TD) approaches for the European Union and United Kingdom (EU27+UK), updating earlier syntheses (Petrescu et al., 2020, 2021). Given the wide scope of the work and the variety of approaches involved, this study aims to answer essential questions identified in the previous syntheses and understand the differences between datasets, particularly for poorly characterized fluxes from managed and unmanaged ecosystems. The work integrates updated emission inventory data, process-based model results, data-driven categorical model results, and inverse modeling estimates, extending the previous period 1990–2018 to the year 2020 to the extent possible. BU and TD products are compared with the European national greenhouse gas inventory (NGHGI) reported by parties including the year 2019 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The uncertainties of the EU27+UK NGHGI were evaluated using the standard deviation reported by the EU member states following the guidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and harmonized by gap-filling procedures. Variation in estimates produced with other methods, such as atmospheric inversion models (TD) or spatially disaggregated inventory datasets (BU), originate from within-model uncertainty related to parameterization as well as structural differences between models. By comparing the NGHGI with other approaches, key sources of differences between estimates arise primarily in activities. System boundaries and emission categories create differences in CO2 fossil datasets, while different land use definitions for reporting emissions from land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF) activities result in differences for CO2 land. The latter has important consequences for atmospheric inversions, leading to inversions reporting stronger sinks in vegetation and soils than are reported by the NGHGI. For CO2 fossil emissions, after harmonizing estimates based on common activities and selecting the most recent year available for all datasets, the UNFCCC NGHGI for the EU27+UK accounts for 926 ± 13 Tg C yr−1, while eight other BU sources report a mean value of 948 [937,961] Tg C yr−1 (25th, 75th percentiles). The sole top-down inversion of fossil emissions currently available accounts for 875 Tg C in this same year, a value outside the uncertainty of both the NGHGI and bottom-up ensemble estimates and for which uncertainty estimates are not currently available. For the net CO2 land fluxes, during the most recent 5-year period including the NGHGI estimates, the NGHGI accounted for −91 ± 32 Tg C yr−1, while six other BU approaches reported a mean sink of −62 [] Tg C yr−1, and a 15-member ensemble of dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) reported −69 [] Tg C yr−1. The 5-year mean of three TD regional ensembles combined with one non-ensemble inversion of −73 Tg C yr−1 has a slightly smaller spread (0th–100th percentiles of [] Tg C yr−1), and it was calculated after removing net land–atmosphere CO2 fluxes caused by lateral transport of carbon (crop trade, wood trade, river transport, and net uptake from inland water bodies), resulting in increased agreement with the NGHGI and bottom-up approaches. Results at the category level (Forest Land, Cropland, Grassland) generally show good agreement between the NGHGI and category-specific models, but results for DGVMs are mixed. Overall, for both CO2 fossil and net CO2 land fluxes, we find that current independent approaches are consistent with the NGHGI at the scale of the EU27+UK. We conclude that CO2 emissions from fossil sources have decreased over the past 30 years in the EU27+UK, while land fluxes are relatively stable: positive or negative trends larger (smaller) than 0.07 (−0.61) Tg C yr−2 can be ruled out for the NGHGI. In addition, a gap on the order of 1000 Tg C yr−1 between CO2 fossil emissions and net CO2 uptake by the land exists regardless of the type of approach (NGHGI, TD, BU), falling well outside all available estimates of uncertainties. However, uncertainties in top-down approaches to estimate CO2 fossil emissions remain uncharacterized and are likely substantial, in addition to known uncertainties in top-down estimates of the land fluxes. The data used to plot the figures are available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8148461 (McGrath et al., 2023)

Generic implementation of morphological image operators

Abstract Several libraries dedicated to mathematical morphology exist. But they lack genericity, that is to say, the ability for operators to accept input of different natures —2D binary images, graphs enclosing floating values, etc. We describe solutions which are integrated in Olena, a library providing morphological operators. We demonstrate with some examples that translating mathematical formulas and algorithms into source code is made easy and safe with Olena. Moreover, experimental results show that no extra costs at run-time are induced