The Mirrornet : Learning Audio Synthesizer Controls Inspired by Sensorimotor Interaction

Experiments to understand the sensorimotor neural interactions in the human cortical speech system support the existence of a bidirectional flow of interactions between the auditory and motor regions. Their key function is to enable the brain to `learn' how to control the vocal tract for speech production. This idea is the impetus for the recently proposed "MirrorNet", a constrained autoencoder architecture. In this paper, the MirrorNet is applied to learn, in an unsupervised manner, the controls of a specific audio synthesizer (DIVA) to produce melodies only from their auditory spectrograms. The results demonstrate how the MirrorNet discovers the synthesizer parameters to generate the melodies that closely resemble the original and those of unseen melodies, and even determine the best set parameters to approximate renditions of complex piano melodies generated by a different synthesizer. This generalizability of the MirrorNet illustrates its potential to discover from sensory data the controls of arbitrary motor-plants

Clinical outcomes and characteristics of critically ill patients with influenza- and COVID-19-induced ARDS: A retrospective, matched cohort study

IntroductionSeasonal epidemic influenza and SARS-CoV-2 are the most frequent viruses causing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). To what extent these two etiologies differ in ICU patients remains uncertain. We, therefore, aimed at comparing the severity and outcomes of influenza and SARS-CoV-2-induced ARDS in mechanically ventilated patients.MethodsThis retrospective, analytic, single-center study was conducted in the medical ICU of Nancy University Hospital in France. Adult patients hospitalized with confirmed influenza (from 2009 to 2019) or SARS-CoV-2-induced ARDS (between March 2020 and May 2021) and those under mechanical ventilation were included. Each patient with influenza was matched with two patients with COVID-19, with the same severity of ARDS. The primary endpoint was death in ICU on day 28. The secondary endpoints were the duration of vasopressors, the use of renal replacement therapy, the duration of mechanical ventilation, and the ICU length of stay.ResultsA total of 42 patients with influenza were matched with 84 patients with COVID-19. They had similar sex distribution, age, Charlson comorbidity index, and ARDS severity. On day 28, 11 (26.2%) patients in the influenza group and nine (10.7%) patients in the COVID-19 group had died (p = 0.0084, HR = 3.31, CI 95% [1.36–8.06]). In the univariate Cox model, being infected with SARS-CoV-2, SOFA and SAPS II scores, initial arterial pH, PaCO2, PaO2/FiO2, serum lactate level, platelet count, and use of renal replacement therapy were significantly associated with mortality. In the multivariate Cox model, the SOFA score at admission (p < 0.01, HR = 1.284, CI 95% [1.081; 1.525]) and the initial pH (p < 0.01, HR = 0.618, CI 95% [0.461; 0.828]) were the only predictors of mortality. The type of virus had no influence on mortality, though patients with COVID-19 underwent longer mechanical ventilation and received more neuromuscular blockers and prone positioning.ConclusionIn mechanically ventilated patients with ARDS, 28-day mortality was higher among patients with influenza as compared to patients with COVID-19 because of a higher initial extra-pulmonary severity. However, the type of virus was not, by itself, correlated with mortality

Phenotype Presentation and Molecular Diagnostic Yield in Non-5q Spinal Muscular Atrophy

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is mainly caused by homozygous SMN1 gene deletions on 5q13. Non-5q SMA patients' series are lacking, and the diagnostic yield of next-generation sequencing (NGS) is largely unknown. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical and genetic landscape of non-5q SMA and evaluate the performance of neuropathy gene panels in these disorders. METHODS: Description of patients with non-5q SMA followed in the different neuromuscular reference centers in France as well as in London, United Kingdom. Patients without a genetic diagnosis had undergone at least a neuropathy or large neuromuscular gene panel. RESULTS: Seventy-one patients from 65 different families were included, mostly sporadic cases (60.6%). At presentation, 21 patients (29.6%) showed exclusive proximal weakness (P-SMA), 35 (49.3%) showed associated distal weakness (PD-SMA), and 15 (21.1%) a scapuloperoneal phenotype (SP-SMA). Thirty-two patients (45.1%) had a genetic diagnosis: BICD2 (n = 9), DYNC1H1 (n = 7), TRPV4 (n = 4), VCP, HSBP1, AR (n = 2), VRK1, DNAJB2, MORC2, ASAH1, HEXB, and unexpectedly, COL6A3 (n = 1). The genetic diagnostic yield was lowest in P-SMA (6/21, 28.6%) compared with PD-SMA (16/35, 45.7%) and SP-SMA (10/15, 66.7%). An earlier disease onset and a family history of the disease or consanguinity were independent predictors of a positive genetic diagnosis. Neuropathy gene panels were performed in 59 patients with a 32.2% diagnostic yield (19/59). In 13 additional patients, a genetic diagnosis was achieved through individual gene sequencing or an alternative neuromuscular NGS. DISCUSSION: Non-5q SMA is genetically heterogeneous, and neuropathy gene panels achieve a molecular diagnosis in one-third of the patients. The diagnostic yield can be increased by sequencing of other neuromuscular and neurometabolic genes. Nevertheless, there is an unmet need to cluster these patients to aid in the identification of new genes

Amélioration de la détermination des propriétés de résistance de l'interface béton-rocher et des discontinuités des fondations rocheuses des barrages poids

CIGB 2018, 26è Congrès des Grands Barrages, Vienne, AUTRICHE, 01-/07/2018 - 07/07/2018La détermination des caractéristiques mécaniques régissant la stabilité d'un barrage existant peut s'avérer complexe notamment en ce qui concerne les discontinuités présentes en fondation et à l'interface barrage-fondation. Ces caractéristiques sont la résistance à la traction, la cohésion et l'angle de frottement. Fort de ce constat, IRSTEA et EDF ont lancé des travaux de recherche ces dernières années de manière d'une part à créer des données utiles à la compréhension des mécanismes de rupture et d'autre part à proposer des méthodologies d'estimation des caractéristiques mécaniques utilisables directement par l'ingénierie. Le présent article donne les principaux résultats des essais de traction et de cisaillement sur des interfaces béton-rocher. Ces résultats pourraient faire l'objet d'échange et de partage avec les ingénieries intéressées par le sujet. L'article présente également des méthodologies de détermination des caractéristiques de discontinuités rocheuses en cisaillement ainsi que des caractéristiques de résistance à la traction de l'interface béton-rocher. Des perspectives sont proposées quant à de futures actions de recherche prometteuses telles que la caractérisation de la cohésion apparente des discontinuités rocheuses et l'estimation de la géométrie du contact barrage-fondation par des méthodes non-destructives

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome associated with COVID-19: An Emulated Target Trial Analysis.

RATIONALE: Whether COVID patients may benefit from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) compared with conventional invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) remains unknown. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the effect of ECMO on 90-Day mortality vs IMV only Methods: Among 4,244 critically ill adult patients with COVID-19 included in a multicenter cohort study, we emulated a target trial comparing the treatment strategies of initiating ECMO vs. no ECMO within 7 days of IMV in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (PaO2/FiO2 <80 or PaCO2 ≥60 mmHg). We controlled for confounding using a multivariable Cox model based on predefined variables. MAIN RESULTS: 1,235 patients met the full eligibility criteria for the emulated trial, among whom 164 patients initiated ECMO. The ECMO strategy had a higher survival probability at Day-7 from the onset of eligibility criteria (87% vs 83%, risk difference: 4%, 95% CI 0;9%) which decreased during follow-up (survival at Day-90: 63% vs 65%, risk difference: -2%, 95% CI -10;5%). However, ECMO was associated with higher survival when performed in high-volume ECMO centers or in regions where a specific ECMO network organization was set up to handle high demand, and when initiated within the first 4 days of MV and in profoundly hypoxemic patients. CONCLUSIONS: In an emulated trial based on a nationwide COVID-19 cohort, we found differential survival over time of an ECMO compared with a no-ECMO strategy. However, ECMO was consistently associated with better outcomes when performed in high-volume centers and in regions with ECMO capacities specifically organized to handle high demand. This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Comment travailler avec les habitants dans le cadre d’une évaluation d’impact sur la santé (EIS) ? L’exemple du quartier du Port du Rhin à Strasbourg

National audienc

Pertinence des combinaisons traqueur-détecteur pour le suivi-par-détection

National audienceCes travaux étudient la pertinence des associations filtre-détecteur dans toute stratégie visuelle de suivi par détec-tion. Ils privilégient notamment les méthodes de Monte Carlo et des traqueurs basés sur des banques de repré-sentations couplés à des détecteurs visuels. Les évalua-tions quantifient l'influence des associations filtre, détec-teur, mono vs. multi représentations sur les performances globales. Nous observons, par exemple, que celles-ci sont très liées au choix du détecteur ; une différence de 1% en rappel entre détecteurs peut induire une baisse de 10% sur la précision du traqueur global

La construction des climats viticoles en Bourgogne, la relation du vin au lieu au Moyen Âge. Une culture du vin et du lieu en Bourgogne

International audienceClimats is the technical term for portions of vineyards delimited and named according to specific wine qualities. They arose from the seventeenth century onwards as a specific terroir meaning in Burgundy. However, tradition still emphasizes the medieval actors of Burgundian viti-viniculture as dukes and monks as the determinants for the emergence of climats. Therefore it is worth exploring medieval history to decipher the relationship linking wine to place in the Middle Ages : for instance, the way wines were labelled in cellars and storerooms in Dijon. Some monastic communities were not accustomed to differentiating their wine according to the original place in which it grew. Human practices that changed soil qualities were widespread from the Middle Ages to the recent period and testify to paradigmatic.Les climats, des portions de vignobles délimités, nommés, associés à des crus particuliers, émergent à partir du XVIIe siècle comme la déclinaison spécifiquement bourguignonne du terroir viticole. Pourtant la tradition continue à mettre en avant, dans la construction des climats, les acteurs médiévaux de la viti-viniculture de Bourgogne avec les ducs et les ordres monastiques. Cette mise en avant des acteurs traditionnels de la viti-viniculture de Bourgogne justifie dès lors une exploration historique de la relation du vin au lieu au Moyen Âge. On verra ainsi quelle était la dénomination des vins dans les caves et celliers de Dijon mais aussi que certains celliers monastiques ne différenciaient pas leurs vins par le lieu d'origine. Sur le plan de la qualité des sols en relation avec celle des vins, les pratiques médiévales de transformation des sols attestent du changement de paradigme opéré avec l'avènement des climats qui a accentué la naturalité des terroirs viticoles

A Comparative View on Exemplar 'Tracking-by-Detection' Approaches

International audienceIn this work, we present a comparative evaluation of various 'tracking-by-detection' approaches on public datasets. The work investigates popular sequential Monte Carlo and template ensemble based trackers coupled with relevant visual people detectors with emphasis on exhibited performance variation depending on tracker-detector choice. Extensive experimental results are provided on public dataset and results indicate the choice of a detector can significantly vary the performance of a tracker. Our experimental results show, depending on the choice of the detector, average tracking accuracy across three public datasets could exhibit a 45% standard deviation with only, on average, a 6.8% and 11.1% standard deviation in detector recall and precision respectively

Comparative environmental life cycle assessment of materials in wooden boat ecodesign

The authors extend their warmest thanks to the Cluster ABOVE who financed the research and in particular to the Dubourdieu 1800 boatyard (Mr Emmanuel Martin) who built the Greenboat and who supplied us with a great quantity of data for our LCA.International audiencePurpose: Wooden boatyard building has been replaced in the 70’s in favor of materials which are considered cheaper and simpler to work with (such as composite or aluminium). With today's new environmental standards, the choices of materials must also be compatible with the aims of ecodesign. We promote wood based boats, and replacing exotic woods with local varieties (from France). An environmental impact assessment is needed to clarify the relative position of each solution.Methods: In order to validate the choices, we used a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) "from cradle to grave" of the hull. This LCA is based on the comparison of the different materials used: aluminum, composite, exotic wood and maritime pine. This study is based on the construction of an 18-meter-long passenger transport boat. These evaluations were carried out with respect to ISO 14040 standards, beginning with an existing database and measurements taken on the building and production sites. Results: Our results demonstrate the benefits of using a wood-based hull compared to other materials. Moreover, the results show that the maritime pine used in replacement of imported exotic woods is more favorable from both economic and environmental points of view. This LCA allowed us to characterize precisely the stages in the life cycle of a passenger boat and to propose a hierarchy between the different materials under comparison for the purposes of boat building. The recommendations and lines of progress highlighted by this study will allow us to enhance the efficiency of upcoming constructions and to promote the ecodesign conception in the boatyard