Observation of HandiMathKey appropriation phase by disabled students in a middle school

The mathematical input in text editors by disabled students is demanding both at the functional level (motor disorder) and at the cognitive level (attention, visual-spatial, memory) and generates fatigability little productive and effective gain. To reduce these demands, HandiMathKey, a mathematical keyboard software was designed by applying a usercentered method. The aim of paper is to report how different disabled students have appropriated HandiMathKey in a middle school by an observation carried out by a multidisciplinary team. The hypothesis is that HandiMathKey can be learned and used by all students with disabilities

Respiratory cycle as time basis: an improved method for averaging olfactory neural events.

International audienceIn the mammalian olfactory system, neural activity appears largely modulated by respiration. Accurate analysis of respiratory synchronized activity is precluded by the variability of the respiratory frequency from trial to trial. Thus, the use of respiratory cycle as the time basis for measuring cell responses was developed about 20 years ago. Nevertheless, averaging oscillatory component of the activity remains a challenge due to their rhythmic features. In this paper, we present a new respiratory monitoring setup based on the measurement of micropressure changes induced by nasal airflow in front of the nostril. Improvements provided by this new monitoring setup allows automatic processing of respiratory signals in order to extract each respiratory period (expiration and inspiration). The time component of these periods, which can differ from trial to trial, is converted into a phase component defined as [-pi, 0] and [0, pi] for inspiration and expiration, respectively. As opposed to time representation, the phase representation is common to all trials. Thus, this phase representation of the respiratory cycle is used as a normalized time basis permitting to collect results in a standardized data format across different animals and providing new tools to average oscillatory components of the activity

EyeSchool: an educational assistive technology for people with disabilities - Passing from single actors to multiple-actor environment

International audienceSince 2005, public policy in France has strongly been encouraging young people with disabilities inclusion within the regular school system. This has found a direct application through technical innovation, intended to help students being more independent within their learning activities. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to underline the manner in which using assistive information and communication technologies may improve the inclusive education for people with disabilities. The case study we present underlines the complexity of the social world into which the use of a precise assistive tool takes it place

Validation and data characteristics of methane and nitrous oxide profiles observed by MIPAS and processed with Version 4.61 algorithm

The ENVISAT validation programme for the atmospheric instruments MIPAS, SCIAMACHY and GOMOS is based on a number of balloon-borne, aircraft, satellite and ground-based correlative measurements. In particular the activities of validation scientists were coordinated by ESA within the ENVISAT Stratospheric Aircraft and Balloon Campaign or ESABC. As part of a series of similar papers on other species [this issue] and in parallel to the contribution of the individual validation teams, the present paper provides a synthesis of comparisons performed between MIPAS CH4 and N2O profiles produced by the current ESA operational software (Instrument Processing Facility version 4.61 or IPF v4.61, full resolution MIPAS data covering the period 9 July 2002 to 26 March 2004) and correlative measurements obtained from balloon and aircraft experiments as well as from satellite sensors or from ground-based instruments. In the middle stratosphere, no significant bias is observed between MIPAS and correlative measurements, and MIPAS is providing a very consistent and global picture of the distribution of CH4 and N2O in this region. In average, the MIPAS CH4 values show a small positive bias in the lower stratosphere of about 5%. A similar situation is observed for N2O with a positive bias of 4%. In the lower stratosphere/upper troposphere (UT/LS) the individual used MIPAS data version 4.61 still exhibits some unphysical oscillations in individual CH4 and N2O profiles caused by the processing algorithm (with almost no regularization). Taking these problems into account, the MIPAS CH4 and N2O profiles are behaving as expected from the internal error estimation of IPF v4.61 and the estimated errors of the correlative measurements

The sources of volatile and fluid-mobile elements in the Sunda arc: A melt inclusion study from Kawah Ijen and Tambora volcanoes, Indonesia

Subduction zone recycling of volatiles (H₂O, Cl, S, F) is controlled by the nature of subducted materials and the temperature-pressure profile of the downgoing slab. We investigate the variability in volatile and fluid-mobile trace element enrichment in the Sunda arc using melt inclusion data from Kawah Ijen and Tambora volcanoes, together with published data from Galunggung, Indonesia. Combining our results with data from other arcs, we investigate the mobility of these elements during slab dehydration and melting. We observe correlations between Sr, H₂O and Cl contents, indicating coupling of these elements during subduction zone recycling. Sulfur is more variable, and fluorine contents generally remain at background mantle values, suggesting decoupling of these elements from H₂O and Cl. Partial melting and dehydration models constrain the source of Sr and the volatiles and suggest that the altered oceanic crust (AOC) is the main source of the hydrous component that fluxes into the mantle wedge, in agreement with thermo-mechanical models. Sediment melt remains an important component for other elements such as Ba, Pb, Th and the LREE. The Indonesian volcanoes have variable concentrations of volatile and fluid-mobile elements, with Kawah Ijen recording higher AOC-derived fluid fluxes (Sr/Nd and H₂O/Nd) compared to Galunggung and Tambora. Kawah Ijen has H₂O/Ce ratios that are comparable to some of the most volatile-rich magmas from other cold slab subduction zones worldwide, and the highest yet measured in the Sunda arc.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the American Geophysical Union and can be found at: http://www.agu.org/journals/gc/.Keywords: volatile element, fluid-mobile element, H₂O-rich fluid, Sunda arc, subduction zone, melt inclusio

Validation of MIPAS HNO3 operational data

Nitric acid (HNO3) is one of the key products that are operationally retrieved by the European Space Agency (ESA) from the emission spectra measured by the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) onboard ENVISAT. The product version 4.61/4.62 for the observation period between July 2002 and March 2004 is validated by comparisons with a number of independent observations from ground-based stations, aircraft/balloon campaigns, and satellites. Individual HNO3 profiles of the ESA MIPAS level-2 product show good agreement with those of MIPAS-B and MIPAS-STR (the balloon and aircraft version of MIPAS, respectively), and the balloon-borne infrared spectrometers MkIV and SPIRALE, mostly matching the reference data within the combined instrument error bars. In most cases differences between the correlative measurement pairs are less than 1 ppbv (5-10%) throughout the entire altitude range up to about 38 km (similar to 6 hPa), and below 0.5 ppbv (15-20% or more) above 30 km (similar to 17 hPa). However, differences up to 4 ppbv compared to MkIV have been found at high latitudes in December 2002 in the presence of polar stratospheric clouds. The degree of consistency is further largely affected by the temporal and spatial coincidence, and differences of 2 ppbv may be observed between 22 and 26 km (similar to 50 and 30 hPa) at high latitudes near the vortex boundary, due to large horizontal inhomogeneity of HNO3. Similar features are also observed in the mean differences of the MIPAS ESA HNO3 VMRs with respect to the ground-based FTIR measurements at five stations, aircraft-based SAFIRE-A and ASUR, and the balloon campaign IBEX. The mean relative differences between the MIPAS and FTIR HNO3 partial columns are within +/- 2%, comparable to the MIPAS systematic error of similar to 2%. For the vertical profiles, the biases between the MIPAS and FTIR data are generally below 10% in the altitudes of 10 to 30 km. The MIPAS and SAFIRE HNO3 data generally match within their total error bars for the mid and high latitude flights, despite the larger atmospheric inhomogeneities that characterize the measurement scenario at higher latitudes. The MIPAS and ASUR comparison reveals generally good agreements better than 10-13% at 20-34 km. The MIPAS and IBEX measurements agree reasonably well (mean relative differences within +/- 15%) between 17 and 32 km. Statistical comparisons of the MIPAS profiles correlated with those of Odin/SMR, ILAS-II, and ACE-FTS generally show good consistency. The mean differences averaged over individual latitude bands or all bands are within the combined instrument errors, and generally within 1, 0.5, and 0.3 ppbv between 10 and 40 km (similar to 260 and 4.5 hPa) for Odin/SMR, ILAS-II, and ACE-FTS, respectively. The standard deviations of the differences are between 1 to 2 ppbv. The standard deviations for the satellite comparisons and for almost all other comparisons are generally larger than the estimated measurement uncertainty. This is associated with the temporal and spatial coincidence error and the horizontal smoothing error which are not taken into account in our error budget. Both errors become large when the spatial variability of the target molecule is high.Peer reviewe

Tracking the evolution of magmatic volatiles from the mantle to the atmosphere using integrative geochemical and geophysical methods

This thesis characterizes the transfer of magmatic volatiles through the mantle and the crust to the atmosphere through the integration of melt inclusion data for pre-eruptive volatile contents with surface measurements of volcanic degassing (recorded in micro-gravity changes and volcanic fumarole and plume gas compositions) at two contrasting volcanoes: Sierra Negra, Galápagos Islands and Kawah Ijen, Indonesia. In particular, it explores the process of fluid transfer in the mantle, the partitioning of volatile elements during mantle melting and degassing of the magma through the crust, and the effect of near-surface (e.g., interactions with groundwater and hydrothermal fluids), and surface processes (e.g., cooling and mixing with air) on the gas species. The effects of differences in initial volatile content and internal volcano structure on the types of eruptions and emissions recorded at each volcano are also discussed. The comparison of Sierra Negra and Kawah Ijen volcanoes reveals that differences in style of volcanic activity are primarily a function of magmatic plumbing system as opposed to differences in initial volatile content. In both cases, permeability of the crust and degassing style have exerted a dominant control over the recent style of activity (last century). Recent eruptions at Sierra Negra are not necessarily associated with magma recharge into shallow reservoirs but can be caused by subtle changes in the pressure regime of a magma chamber, a process which is closely associated with degassing and system permeability. Large explosive eruptions at Kawah Ijen are currently impeded by the open system (permeable) flow of magma and gas through the plumbing system. Hydrothermal systems play an important role in controlling the permeability of a system and the composition of the gases measured at the surface. The comparison of theoretically modeled gas compositions with actual measured compositions is an effective approach to studying the influence of hydrothermal systems at open vent volcanoes

Influence des modes de présentation et de sélection des listes de prédiction : Étude sur trois systèmes d'aide à la saisie de textes

Garches : Hôpital Raymond PoincarréInternational audienceProblématique de l’expérience : L’objectif de cet article est d’étudier l’utilisabilité des systèmes d’aides à la saisie de textes. Ils reposent sur l’utilisation d’un système de prédiction de mots qui visent à accroître la vitesse et le confort de saisie de personnes ayant des troubles de parole ou moteurs des membres supérieurs. Ces systèmes proposent au sujet, soit une liste de mots, soit une fin de mots (ce processus s’appelle la complétion). L’objet de cette étude est d’analyser le type de présentation le plus efficient pour sélectionner une entité dans une liste, sans que cela n’engendre un surcroît de fatigue motrice et oculaire pour l’utilisateur[2], [3]. Notre étude 1 2 3porte sur trois techniques différentes : Clavicom NG , Dicom et VITIPI [1]. Le clavier virtuel AZERTY de Clavicom NG est commun aux trois techniques. Les mots proposés dans Clavicom NG sont intégrés dans le clavier virtuel sous forme d’une touche unique pour tout mot. En cliquant sur cette touche, le mot s’affiche dans le texte. Pour Dicom, les mots sont affichés verticalement sur une fenêtre séparée du clavier. A chaque mot est affecté à une touche de fonction ( à ). L’appui sur la touche de fonction affiche le mot associé. VITIPI n’affiche pas de liste mais complète les mots dans le texte au fur et à mesure de la saisie dès qu’il n’y a plus d’ambiguïté. A des fins de comparaison, le lexique des systèmes de prédiction est le même pour les trois systèmes. La sélection (touche versus mot) est effectuée par désignation au moyen d’un dispositif de pointage

Les médiateurs médico-éducatifs au centre de la conception : l'interface HMK pour les collégiens et lycéens

TEC - Travaux en CoursInternational audienceChildren with severe motor disabilities experience motor fatigue when inputting mathematica formulas with applications such as Open Office or Microsoft Office. To mitigate this feeling we have implemented a user-centred design method for the design of a virtual keyboard for mathematical input called HMK. The objective of this article is to show how mediators of medico-educational can contribute to the design of HMK for college students and high school students with neuro motor handicaps.Les enfants avec des situations de handicap moteur sévères ressentent de la fatigue motrice lors de la saisie de formules mathématiques avec des applications telles qu'Open Office ou Microsoft Office. Pour pallier ce ressenti, nous avons mis en oeuvre une méthode de conception centrée utilisateur pour la conception d'un clavier virtuel de saisie mathématique nommé HMK. L'objectif de cet article est de montrer comment des médiateurs du médico-éducatif peuvent contribuer à la conception de HMK pour des collégiens et des lycéens atteints de handicaps neuro-moteu

Quels mesurages utiliser pour évaluer l'exposition de la population générale aux pesticides ? Exemple des carbamates

National audienc