Computerization of African languages-French dictionaries

This paper relates work done during the DiLAF project. It consists in converting 5 bilingual African language-French dictionaries originally in Word format into XML following the LMF model. The languages processed are Bambara, Hausa, Kanuri, Tamajaq and Songhai-zarma, still considered as under-resourced languages concerning Natural Language Processing tools. Once converted, the dictionaries are available online on the Jibiki platform for lookup and modification. The DiLAF project is first presented. A description of each dictionary follows. Then, the conversion methodology from .doc format to XML files is presented. A specific point on the usage of Unicode follows. Then, each step of the conversion into XML and LMF is detailed. The last part presents the Jibiki lexical resources management platform used for the project.Comment: 8 page

Favorisons la diversité linguistique en TAL

International audienceNous montrons dans cet article la faible diversité linguistique en TAL et évoquons quelques raisons pour cet état de fait. Nous pensons enfin que, sur la base de ce constat, la communauté pourrait contribuer à remédier à ce problème en adoptant quelques règles simples.Dans la première partie, nous abordons la rareté et la faible qualité des ressources en ligne puis nous présentons la faible diversité linguistique des travaux en TAL à travers une étude sur les publications du domaine, ainsi que celle des dictionnaires et des systèmes de traduction automatique. Dans la deuxième partie, nous évoquons les besoins des locuteurs et des chercheurs en TAL. Dans la troisième partie, nous abordons certaines difficultés rencontrées lors de travaux sur les langues peu dotées. En conclusion, nous formulons des préconisations visant à augmenter la diversité linguistique du TAL

Computerization of African languages-French dictionaries

8 pagesInternational audienceThis paper relates work done during the DiLAF project. It consists in converting 5 bilingual African language-French dictionaries originally in Word format into XML following the LMF model. The languages processed are Bambara, Hausa, Kanuri, Tamajaq and Songhai-zarma, still considered as under-resourced languages concerning Natural Language Processing tools. Once converted, the dictionaries are available online on the Jibiki platform for lookup and modification. The DiLAF project is first presented. A description of each dictionary follows. Then, the conversion methodology from .doc format to XML files is presented. A specific point on the usage of Unicode follows. Then, each step of the conversion into XML and LMF is detailed. The last part presents the Jibiki lexical resources management platform used for the project

Favorisons la diversité linguistique en TAL

International audienceNous montrons dans cet article la faible diversité linguistique en TAL et évoquons quelques raisons pour cet état de fait. Nous pensons enfin que, sur la base de ce constat, la communauté pourrait contribuer à remédier à ce problème en adoptant quelques règles simples.Dans la première partie, nous abordons la rareté et la faible qualité des ressources en ligne puis nous présentons la faible diversité linguistique des travaux en TAL à travers une étude sur les publications du domaine, ainsi que celle des dictionnaires et des systèmes de traduction automatique. Dans la deuxième partie, nous évoquons les besoins des locuteurs et des chercheurs en TAL. Dans la troisième partie, nous abordons certaines difficultés rencontrées lors de travaux sur les langues peu dotées. En conclusion, nous formulons des préconisations visant à augmenter la diversité linguistique du TAL

Vildagliptin: a new oral treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus

Vildagliptin is a new oral antidiabetic agent that enhances pancreatic islet cell responsiveness to glucose. An extensive clinical program involving approximately 22,000 patients and 7000 patient-years of exposure to vildagliptin has shown that the agent is well tolerated and efficacious in improving glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Monotherapy trials have shown that significant HbA1c lowering is accompanied by body weight-neutral and lipid-neutral effects, low risk of edema, and low risk of hypoglycemia. These characteristics make vildagliptin a favorable partner for combination therapy. Studies of vildagliptin as an add-on to metformin have shown significant improvements in glycemic control (comparable to that of thiazolidinedione add-on), with the combination being well tolerated and associated with low risks for hypoglycemia and adverse effects on weight or lipid levels. Good tolerability and clinically relevant improvements in glycemic control have also been observed with vildagliptin as an add-on treatment to sulfonylurea, thiazolidinedione, or insulin treatment or in initial combination treatment with pioglitazone. Improved β-cell function and glycemic control have been shown with vildagliptin in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance and in T2DM patients with mild hyperglycemia, with some evidence in the latter suggesting the potential for modifying disease course

Philosophy for children and mindfulness during COVID-19: Results from a randomized cluster trial and impact on mental health in elementary school students

significant impacts throughout the lifespan, preventing the negative repercussions of COVID-19 on children’s mental health is essential. Philosophy for children (P4C) and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) show promise in this regard. Objective: The goal of the present study was to compare the impact of online MBI and P4C interventions on mental health, within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a randomized cluster trial to assess and compare the impact of both interventions on elementary school students’ (N = 37) anxiety and inattention symptoms as well as on their basic psychological need satisfaction (BPN). Results: ANCOVAs revealed a significant effect of the P4C intervention on mental health difficulties, controlling for baseline levels. Participants in the P4C group showed lower scores on the measured symptoms at post-test than participants in the MBI group. Significant effects of the MBI on levels of BPN were also found. Participants in the MBI intervention reported greater BPN satisfaction at post-test than participants in the P4C intervention. Conclusion: Results from this study suggest that, in the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic, a P4C intervention centered around COVID-19 related themes may be helpful to reduce mental health difficulties, that a MBI may be useful to satisfy BPN, and that both interventions were easy to offer online to elementary school students. Future work including a larger sample size and follow-up measures is warranted. Public significance: Practice: Philosophy for children (P4C) and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) can be used to foster mental health in elementary school students, in the current COVID-19 context. Policy: As we do not anticipate that facilitators will be allowed in schools during the 2020–2021 school year and that children will, most likely, be attending school in the current COVID-19 context, policymakers who want to implement psychological support measures in elementary schools should consider an online modality, which has shown in this study to work well, be feasible, and yield positive results on youth mental health

Des dictionnaires éditoriaux aux représentations XML standardisées

International audienceCreate an electronic dictionary from scratch is an expensive job because this task mobilizes over a long period, the work of skilled contributors, if not in lexicology, at least in linguistics. The use of specialized computer tools is essential for resources used by programs in natural language processing. When the socio-economic environment does not gather the necessary resources to the drafting of an electronic dictionary and printed dictionaries exist, these dictionaries are an important resource that can be used to initialize the creation of electronic lexical resources. This paper presents theoretical and practical aspects concerning the conversion of publishing dictionaries to electronic lexical resources. It takes into account the issue of limited economic resources, technology and the availability of qualified persons. Our field experiments concerns under-resourced languages mainly in Southeast Asia (Khmer, Malay, Vietnamese) and the Sahel (Bambara, Hausa, Kanuri, Tamajaq, Zarma), as most of the examples and socio-linguistic situations described in the paper relate to these areas. After a brief history devoted to the formats of electronic dictionaries (SGML, XML, XSLT and CSS), we present two standards that are dedicated to them (Text Encoding Initiative and Lexical Markup Framework). The issue of under-resourced languages is exposed and is followed by some examples concerning published dictionaries. The main technical challenges are detailed like the lack of standardization of the alphabets used and special characters (outside the traditional latin range). The conversion methodology is outlined and then detailed. The conversion to a bridge format in XML can be done by regular expressions or using specialized tools. Then, the bridge format is converted into the target format in LMF. The last part is dedicated to the consultation of resources through an online platform resource management

Vers l'informatisation de quelques langues d'Afrique de l'Ouest

International audienceThe DILAF project aims to establish a methodology to convert of editorial dictionariesinto XML iles expressed according with rhe LMF (Lexical Markup Framework) formatand to apply tis mothodology on ive dictionaries. We present the motivation of thisproject, then the concerned dictionaries and the alphabets of the languages of thesedictionaries. These are bilingual dictionaries Africanlanguage-French: Hausa-French,Kanuri-French, Soŋay Zarma-French, Tamajaq-French and Bambara-French. The jibikiplatform is presented, then we detail the adavances of the project thanks to thecollaboration of linguists, computer scientists, and lexicographers. The ifth partestablishes a balance concerning the Unicode representation of the characters of thediferent languages and details the particular case of the tiinagh characters.Le projet DILAF vise à établir une méthodologie de conversion de dictionnaireséditoriaux en des ichiers XML au format (Lexical Markup Framework) et à l'appliquersur cinq dictionnaires. Nous présentonsles motivations de ce projet puis lesdictionnaires concernés ainsi que les alphabets des langues de ces dictionnaires. Il s'agitde dictionnaires bilingues langue africaine-français : haoussa-français, kanouri-français,soŋay zarma-français, tamajaq-français et bambara-français. La présentation de laplateforme jibiki de manipulation des ressources lexicales est suivie de l'exposé destravaux menés en collaboration avec les linguistes, informaticiens et lexicographesparticipant au projet. La cinquième partie établit un bilan quant à la représentation descaractères des diférentes langues dans Unicode et détaille le cas particulier descaractères tiinagh. Les travaux futurs sont ensuite évoqués