Improvement of post-fault performance of a cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter.

This paper is focused on improving the post-fault performance of Cascaded H-bridge Multilevel Inverters by decreasing the common mode voltage. First, an algorithm is proposed to determine the optimal post-fault state among all possible states which have the same maximum available voltage. Furthermore, a modified technique is proposed to calculate the references of inverter phase voltages under faulty conditions. This technique leads to a decrease in the common mode voltage when the required output voltage is less than its maximum value. These solutions are mutually employed in the post-fault control system. Simulation and experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed solutions in comparison with the existing methods in different cases

EVALUATING A MARKERLESS METHOD FOR STUDYING ARTICULATORY MOVEMENTS: APPLICATION TO A SYLLABLE REPETITION TASK

none4siThe analysis of the articulatory movements allows investigating the kinematic characteristics of some speech disorders. However, the methodologies most used until now, as electromagnetic articulography and optoelectronic systems, are expensive and intrusive which limit their use to specialized laboratories. In this work, we use a completely markerless and low-cost technique to study lip movements during a syllable repetition task. By means of a Kinect-like and an existing face tracking algorithm, we are able to track the movements of the lower lip, testing the performances against a reference method (marker-based optoelectronic system). Good results were obtained in terms of RMSE for the tracking of the lower lip during the repetitions. Some kinematic measures, as opening and closing velocities and accelerations, were also computed. Despite the limitations in terms of image resolution, these results are very promising in the optic of developing a new markerless system for studying speech articulation.noneBandini A.; Ouni S.; Orlandi S.; Manfredi C.Bandini A.; Ouni S.; Orlandi S.; Manfredi C

Study of Leishmania pathogenesis in mice : experimental considerations

Although leishmaniases are endemic in 98 countries, they are still considered neglected tropical diseases. Leishmaniases are characterized by the emergence of new virulent and asymptomatic strains of Leishmania spp. and, as a consequence, by a very diverse clinical spectrum. To fight more efficiently these parasites, the mechanisms of host defense and of parasite virulence need to be thoroughly investigated. To this aim, animal models are widely used. However, the results obtained with these models are influenced by several experimental parameters, such as the mouse genetic background, parasite genotype, inoculation route/infection site, parasite dose and phlebotome saliva. In this review, we propose an update on their influence in the two main clinical forms of the disease: cutaneous and visceral leishmaniases

Use genetic modification indicator to increase the precision and accuracy of genomic analysis

Το υψηλό κόστος προσδιορισμού του γονότυπου και η χαμηλή ακρίβεια της αξιολόγησης σε μικρό αριθμό δειγμάτων γονότυπου όταν χρησιμοποιούνται γονιδιωματικά δεδομένα και γενετικοί δείκτες για την εκτέλεση γονιδιωματικών αξιολογήσεων είναι δύο σημαντικά προβλήματα. Η επίδραση των επιπέδων γενετικών δεικτών σε έναν πληθυσμό F2 που ελήφθη από αμφίδρομη διασταύρωση ιθαγενών κοτόπουλου Ιράν με χαμηλό ρυθμό ανάπτυξης και στελέχους κρέατος Arian με υψηλό ρυθμό ανάπτυξης διερευνήθηκε σε αυτή τη μελέτη προκειμένου να απομονωθούν SNPs με υψηλότερη επίδραση και να χρησιμοποιηθούν αυτοί οι δείκτες στη γονιδιωματική αξιολόγηση ως κατάλληλη μέθοδος διαλογής SNPs προκειμένου να αυξηθεί η ακρίβεια της αξιολόγησης και να μειωθεί το κόστος γονότυπου. Σε αυτή τη μελέτη, μελετήθηκε η ακρίβεια πρόβλεψης των τιμών διόρθωσης σε πέντε ομάδες δεικτών με διάφορα MAF, επιπλέον της απόδειξης της υπεροχής της προσέγγισης ssGBLUP έναντι της μεθόδου BLUP από τη μέθοδο 5-πλής διασταυρούμενης επικύρωσης (CV) στο ένα βήμα στρατηγική αξιολόγησης. Αυτή η ομάδα δεικτών (MAF 0,4 - 0,5) εισήχθη ως το καλύτερο επίπεδο αλληλικής συχνότητας για τη διεξαγωγή γονιδιωματικών αξιολογήσεων για το χαρακτηριστικό ανάπτυξης αφού τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν ότι η χρήση SNPs με αλληλική συχνότητα 0,4-0,5 σε καθεμία από τη δεύτερη έως την έβδομη εβδομάδα έδειξε υψηλότερη προγνωστική ακρίβεια από τις πληροφορίες όλων των SNP. Εκτός από την επιβολή χαμηλού κόστους γονότυπου, η χρήση SNP με αλληλική συχνότητα 0,4–0,5 και η ανάπτυξη τσιπ SNP χαμηλής πυκνότητας με δείκτες με τις προαναφερθείσες ιδιότητες μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί για την αξιόπιστη αξιολόγηση ατόμων με βάση τη γενετική αξία.The high expense of genotype determination and the low accuracy of the evaluation in a small number of genotyped samples when using genomic data and genetic markers to perform genomic evaluations are two major problems. The effect of levels of genetic markers in an F2 population obtained from Two-way crossing of native Iran chicken with low growth rate and Arian meat strain with high growth rate was investigated in this study in order to isolate SNPs with higher effect and use these markers in genomic evaluation as a suitable method of screening SNPs in order to increase the accuracy of the evaluation and reduce genotyping costs. In this study, the prediction accuracy of correction values in five marker groups with various MAFs was studied in addition to demonstrating the superiority of the ssGBLUP approach over the BLUP method from the 5-fold cross-validation (CV) method in the single-step assessment strategy. This group of markers (MAF 0.4 - 0.5) was introduced as the best level of allelic frequency to perform genomic evaluations for the growth trait after the results showed that using SNPs with an allelic frequency of 0.4-0.5 in each of the second to seventh weeks showed higher predictive accuracy than the information of all SNPs. In addition to enforcing a low genotype cost, using SNPs with an allelic frequency of 0.4–0.5 and developing low-density SNP chips with markers with the aforementioned properties can be utilized to reliably evaluate individuals based on genetic merit

Maladie De Forestier Revelee Par Une Dysphagie A Propos De Deux Cas

La maladie de Forestier ou hyperostose ankylosante vertébrale engainante est un désordre musculo-squelettique non inflammatoire responsable d\'une ossification ligamentaire essentiellement du ligament longitudinal antérieur. Elle touche de préférence l\'homme de plus de 50 ans. La dysphagie est un symptôme rarement observé dans l\'évolution de la maladie de Forestier. Nous rapportons deux cas révélés par une dysphagie isolée. Il s\'agit de deux hommes âgés de 50 et 56 ans. Le diagnostic était radiologique. La radiographie standard du rachis a objectivé des ostéophytes du rachis cervical. Le transit oesogastroduodénal a montré une compression modérée de l\'oesophage cervical. Le traitement était médical reposant sur les anti inflammatoires non stéroïdiens et les antalgiques. Le traitement chirurgical est indiqué dans les cas de dysphagie sévère. Keywords: maladie de Forestier, hyperostose vertébrale, dysphagie. Journal Tunisien d\'ORL et de chirurgie cervico-faciale Vol. 18 2007: pp. 55-5

In Vitro Evaluation of a Soluble Leishmania Promastigote Surface Antigen as a Potential Vaccine Candidate against Human Leishmaniasis

International audiencePSA (Promastigote Surface Antigen) belongs to a family of membrane-bound and secreted proteins present in severalLeishmania (L.) species. PSA is recognized by human Th1 cells and provides a high degree of protection in vaccinated mice.We evaluated humoral and cellular immune responses induced by a L. amazonensis PSA protein (LaPSA-38S) produced in aL. tarentolae expression system. This was done in individuals cured of cutaneous leishmaniasis due to L. major (CCLm) or L.braziliensis (CCLb) or visceral leishmaniasis due to L. donovani (CVLd) and in healthy individuals. Healthy individuals weresubdivided into immune (HHR-Lm and HHR-Li: Healthy High Responders living in an endemic area for L. major or L. infantuminfection) or non immune/naive individuals (HLR: Healthy Low Responders), depending on whether they produce high orlow levels of IFN-c in response to Leishmania soluble antigen. Low levels of total IgG antibodies to LaPSA-38S were detectedin sera from the studied groups. Interestingly, LaPSA-38S induced specific and significant levels of IFN-c, granzyme B and IL-10 in CCLm, HHR-Lm and HHR-Li groups, with HHR-Li group producing TNF-a in more. No significant cytokine response wasobserved in individuals immune to L. braziliensis or L. donovani infection. Phenotypic analysis showed a significant increasein CD4+ T cells producing IFN-c after LaPSA-38S stimulation, in CCLm. A high positive correlation was observed between thepercentage of IFN-c-producing CD4+ T cells and the released IFN-c. We showed that the LaPSA-38S protein was able toinduce a mixed Th1 and Th2/Treg cytokine response in individuals with immunity to L. major or L. infantum infectionindicating that it may be exploited as a vaccine candidate. We also showed, to our knowledge for the first time, the capacityof Leishmania PSA protein to induce granzyme B production in humans with immunity to L. major and L. infantum infectio

Climate variability through the lens of applied weather index insurance in Senegal-a novel perspective on the implications of decadal variation

Weather-based index insurance is a financial instrument that allows smallholder farmers to protect themselves against climate shocks such as droughts and floods. In many cases, insurance indices are based on one or more earth observation datasets (e.g., rainfall, soil moisture, vegetative health) which are partly covering periods of more than 40 years. While remote sensing products and their associated data have improved over this time, understanding the historical climate variability and trends remains an essential piece in ensuring the development of indexes that best represent farmers’ risks. From a practical perspective, shortening time series to limit the risk of understudied climate variability, such as the Atlantic Multidecadal Variability, sometimes seems to be a quick solution. However, shorter time series jeopardize the overall robustness of the index. Therefore, understanding the links between climate variability, index design, and implications for farmers is key. Weather-based index insurance products in Sahelian West Africa usually face a challenge in robustly quantify underlying climatic decadal variation in seasonal rainfall

Climate variability through the lens of applied weather index insurance in Senegal-a novel perspective on the implications of decadal variation

IntroductionWeather-based index insurance is a financial instrument which allows smallholder farmers to protect themselves against climate shocks such as droughts and floods. In many cases, insurance indices are based on one or more earth observation datasets (e.g., rainfall, soil moisture, vegetative health) which are partly covering periods of more than 40 years. While remote sensing products and their associated data have improved over this time, understanding the historical climate variability and trends remains an essential piece in ensuring the development of indexes that best represent farmers’ risks. From a practical perspective, shortening time series to limit the risk of understudied climate variability, such as the Atlantic Multidecadal Variability, sometimes seems to be a quick solution. However, shorter time series jeopardize the overall robustness of the index. Therefore, understanding the links between climate variability, index design, and implications for farmers is key. Weather-based index insurance products in Sahelian West Africa usually face a challenge in robustly quantify underlying climatic decadal variation in seasonal rainfall.MethodsThis study analyzes the influence of decadal shifts in rainfall patterns in Sahelian West Africa, in particular Senegal, on index insurance calibration and design, concluding with practical recommendations for the next generation of drought risk finance instruments in the region.ResultsOur findings indicate that decadal variability has not led to a clear decrease in payouts in recent years compared to earlier years, despite an overall increase in seasonal rainfall. Rather, we find that interannual variability has increased which may be a more critical factor for assessing farmers’ agricultural risk than the increase in total rainfall.DiscussionFocusing on key moments of the cropping calendar in the design of an index shows that an increase in the total average rainfall per season does not result in fewer payouts

Detecting the existence of gene flow between Spanish and North African goats through a coalescent approach

Human-driven migrations are one of the main processes shaping the genetic diversity and population structure of domestic species. However, their magnitude and direction have been rarely analysed in a statistical framework. We aimed to estimate the impact of migration on the population structure of Spanish and African goats. To achieve this goal, we analysed a dataset of 1,472 individuals typed with 23 microsatellites. Population structure of African and Spanish goats was moderate (mean F ST = 0.07), with the exception of the Canarian and South African breeds that displayed a significant differentiation when compared to goats from North Africa and Nigeria. Measurement of gene flow with Migrate-n and IMa coalescent genealogy samplers supported the existence of a bidirectional gene flow between African and Spanish goats. Moreover, IMa estimates of the effective number of migrants were remarkably lower than those calculated with Migrate-n and classical approaches. Such discrepancies suggest that recent divergence, rather than extensive gene flow, is the main cause of the weak population structure observed in caprine breeds