Modelling the Influence of Landscape Management Practices on the Hydrology of a Small Agricultural Catchment

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchiv

Utilisation de jeux sérieux pour enseigner les fondamentaux de la programmation

Le jeu sérieux est une nouvelle technologie utilisée pour atteindre des objectifs variés tels que la communication, l'enseignement, le recrutement ou la formation. Dans un contexte d'enseignement, une des principales difficultés consiste à intégrer le savoir à enseigner dans la situation de jeu sans en dénaturer la composante ludique. Pour aborder ce problème, la recherche dans le domaine des jeux sérieux est transdisciplinaire et mobilise les connaissances de différentes approches scientifiques (informatique, didactique, pédagogie, psychologie, etc.). Dans cette optique, nous présentons un travail mené de concert entre informaticiens et didacticiens. Cet article présente donc quelques résultats liés à la conception de deux jeux sérieux pour l'apprentissage de la programmation (aspect informatique) et à leur évaluation en situation écologique (aspect didactique)

Une ingénierie pour jeux sérieux

International audienceLes jeux vidéo font partie de la culture au même titre que les films, la musique ou les livres. Les jeux vidéo conçus avec un objectif autre que le simple divertissement sont appelés : jeux sérieux. Ils sont présents dans de nombreux secteurs d'activité comme l'éducation, la santé, la défense, l'industrie, la sécurité civile et les sciences. Cet article présente le jeu sérieux Prog&Play destiné à l'apprentissage de la programmation informatique. À partir de cette expérience et d'une ingénierie didactique, nous tentons de généraliser notre approche pour la construction de jeux sérieux à l'université en répondant aux questions suivantes : quelle est la pertinence de développer un jeu sérieux pour un apprentissage donné, quel jeu choisir pour quel savoir à enseigner et comment évaluer les apprentissages

Évaluation d'un jeu sérieux pour l'apprentissage de la programmation

National audienceVideo games are part of our culture like TV, movies and books. Video games with other goals than entertainment are called: Serious Games. We believe this kind of software can be used to increase students' interest in computer science. This paper presents a study around a serious game dedicated to strengthening programming skills. Real-Time Strategy game, which is a popular game genre, seems to be the most suitable kind of game to support such a serious game. From programming teaching features to video game characteristics, we describe the serious game and its evaluation.Les jeux vidéo font partie de notre culture au même titre que la télévision, les films ou les livres. Les jeux vidéo ayant un but autre que le simple divertissement sont appelés jeux sérieux. Nous émettons l'hypothèse que ce type de jeu constitue un excellent moyen pour motiver les étudiants à programmer. Cet article présente la conception et l'évaluation d'un jeu sérieux destiné à renforcer les compétences des étudiants dans le domaine de la programmation. Ce jeu sérieux est basé sur un type de jeu populaire et apprécié de nos étudiants : un jeu de stratégie temps réel. Suite à l'analyse des compétences requises pour l'apprentissage de la programmation et des caractéristiques des jeux de stratégie temps réel, nous présentons le jeu sérieux et son évaluation

Towards a Serious Game to Help Students Learn Computer Programming

International audienceVideo games are part of our culture like TV, movies, and books. We believe that this kind of software can be used to increase students' interest in computer science. Video games with other goals than entertainment, serious games, are present, today, in several fields such as education, government, health, defence, industry, civil security, and science. This paper presents a study around a serious game dedicated to strengthening programming skills. Real-Time Strategy, which is a popular game genre, seems to be the most suitable kind of game to support such a serious game. From programming teaching features to video game characteristics, we define a teaching organisation to experiment if a serious game can be adapted to learn programming

Apprentissage de la programmation à l'aide d'un jeu sérieux

International audienceCe document présente un prototype de jeu sérieux dont l'objectif est d'inciter le joueur à programmer à l'aide d'un jeu de stratégie temps réel (STR). Dans ce type de jeu, le joueur donne des ordres à ses unités pour réaliser des opérations (se déplacer, construire un bâtiment…). Actuellement, ces instructions sont données à l'aide de la souris en cliquant sur une carte. L'objectif est d'encourager le joueur à donner ces ordres par la programmation. Ce jeu est à destination des étudiants en informatique et peut être utilisé dans le parcours universitaire ou professionnel. Le joueur utilise le C ou le C++ comme langage de programmatio

The use of distributed hydrological models for the Gard 2002 flash flood event: Analysis of associated hydrological processes

Summary This paper presents a detailed analysis of the September 8-9, 2002 flash flood event in the Gard region (southern France) using two distributed hydrological models: CVN built within the LIQUID® hydrological platform and MARINE. The models differ in terms of spatial discretization, infiltration and water redistribution representation, and river flow transfer. MARINE can also account for subsurface lateral flow. Both models are set up using the same available information, namely a DEM and a pedology map. They are forced with high resolution radar rainfall data over a set of 18 sub-catchments ranging from 2.5 to 99 km2 and are run without calibration. To begin with, models simulations are assessed against post field estimates of the time of peak and the maximum peak discharge showing a fair agreement for both models. The results are then discussed in terms of flow dynamics, runoff coefficients and soil saturation dynamics. The contribution of the subsurface lateral flow is also quantified using the MARINE model. This analysis highlights that rainfall remains the first controlling factor of flash flood dynamics. High rainfall peak intensities are very influential of the maximum peak discharge for both models, but especially for the CVN model which has a simplified overland flow transfer. The river bed roughness also influences the peak intensity and time. Soil spatial representation is shown to have a significant role on runoff coefficients and on the spatial variability of saturation dynamics. Simulated soil saturation is found to be strongly related with soil depth and initial storage deficit maps, due to a full saturation of most of the area at the end of the event. When activated, the signature of subsurface lateral flow is also visible in the spatial patterns of soil saturation with higher values concentrating along the river network. However, the data currently available do not allow the assessment of both patterns. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for enhancing field observations in order to progress in process understanding and gather a larger set of data to improve the realism of distributed models

Repetitive Behaviours in Patients with Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome: Tics, Compulsions, or Both?

Background Repetitive behaviours (RB) in patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) are frequent. However, a controversy persists whether they are manifestations of obssessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or correspond to complex tics. Methods 166 consecutive patients with GTS aged 15–68 years were recruited and submitted to extensive neurological, psychiatric and psychological evaluations. RB were evaluated by the YBOCS symptom checklist and Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I), and classified on the basis of a semi-directive psychiatric interview as compulsions or tics. Results RB were present in 64.4% of patients with GTS (107/166) and categorised into 3 major groups: a ‘tic-like’ group (24.3%–40/166) characterised by RB such as touching, counting, ‘just right’ and symmetry searching; an ‘OCD-like’ group (20.5%–34/166) with washing and checking rituals; and a ‘mixed’ group (13.2%–22/166) with both ‘tics-like’ and ‘OCD-like’ types of RB present in the same patient. In 6.3% of patients, RB could not be classified into any of these groups and were thus considered ‘undetermined’. Conclusions The results confirm the phenomenological heterogeneity of RB in GTS patients and allows to distinguish two types: tic-like behaviours which are very likely an integral part of GTS; and OCD-like behaviours, which can be considered as a comorbid condition of GTS and were correlated with higher score of complex tics, neuroleptic and SSRIs treatment frequency and less successful socio-professional adaptation. We suggest that a meticulous semiological analysis of RB in GTS patients will help to tailor treatment and allow to better classify patients for future pathophysiologic studies. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT0016935

Natalizumab treatment shows low cumulative probabilities of confirmed disability worsening to EDSS milestones in the long-term setting.

Abstract Background Though the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) is commonly used to assess disability level in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), the criteria defining disability progression are used for patients with a wide range of baseline levels of disability in relatively short-term trials. As a result, not all EDSS changes carry the same weight in terms of future disability, and treatment benefits such as decreased risk of reaching particular disability milestones may not be reliably captured. The objectives of this analysis are to assess the probability of confirmed disability worsening to specific EDSS milestones (i.e., EDSS scores ≥3.0, ≥4.0, or ≥6.0) at 288 weeks in the Tysabri Observational Program (TOP) and to examine the impact of relapses occurring during natalizumab therapy in TOP patients who had received natalizumab for ≥24 months. Methods TOP is an ongoing, open-label, observational, prospective study of patients with RRMS in clinical practice. Enrolled patients were naive to natalizumab at treatment initiation or had received ≤3 doses at the time of enrollment. Intravenous natalizumab (300 mg) infusions were given every 4 weeks, and the EDSS was assessed at baseline and every 24 weeks during treatment. Results Of the 4161 patients enrolled in TOP with follow-up of at least 24 months, 3253 patients with available baseline EDSS scores had continued natalizumab treatment and 908 had discontinued (5.4% due to a reported lack of efficacy and 16.4% for other reasons) at the 24-month time point. Those who discontinued due to lack of efficacy had higher baseline EDSS scores (median 4.5 vs. 3.5), higher on-treatment relapse rates (0.82 vs. 0.23), and higher cumulative probabilities of EDSS worsening (16% vs. 9%) at 24 months than those completing therapy. Among 24-month completers, after approximately 5.5 years of natalizumab treatment, the cumulative probabilities of confirmed EDSS worsening by 1.0 and 2.0 points were 18.5% and 7.9%, respectively (24-week confirmation), and 13.5% and 5.3%, respectively (48-week confirmation). The risks of 24- and 48-week confirmed EDSS worsening were significantly higher in patients with on-treatment relapses than in those without relapses. An analysis of time to specific EDSS milestones showed that the probabilities of 48-week confirmed transition from EDSS scores of 0.0–2.0 to ≥3.0, 2.0–3.0 to ≥4.0, and 4.0–5.0 to ≥6.0 at week 288 in TOP were 11.1%, 11.8%, and 9.5%, respectively, with lower probabilities observed among patients without on-treatment relapses (8.1%, 8.4%, and 5.7%, respectively). Conclusions In TOP patients with a median (range) baseline EDSS score of 3.5 (0.0–9.5) who completed 24 months of natalizumab treatment, the rate of 48-week confirmed disability worsening events was below 15%; after approximately 5.5 years of natalizumab treatment, 86.5% and 94.7% of patients did not have EDSS score increases of ≥1.0 or ≥2.0 points, respectively. The presence of relapses was associated with higher rates of overall disability worsening. These results were confirmed by assessing transition to EDSS milestones. Lower rates of overall 48-week confirmed EDSS worsening and of transitioning from EDSS score 4.0–5.0 to ≥6.0 in the absence of relapses suggest that relapses remain a significant driver of disability worsening and that on-treatment relapses in natalizumab-treated patients are of prognostic importance