An Approach for spatial and temporal data analysis: application for mobility modeling of workers in Luxembourg and its bordering areas

In this paper, we propose a general visual analytic approach to synthesis very large spatial data and discover interesting knowledge and unknown patterns from complex data based on Origin-Destination (OD) matrices. The research studies of Tobler constitute a good basis in this topic. This paper is interested in the proposal of 2 methods entitled respectively ?Weighted Linear Directional Mean: WLDM? and ?DS-WLDM?. The latter incorporates the Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence with WLDM. Both of the developed methods are an extension of ?Linear Directional Mean: LDM? for mobility modeling. With classical techniques such as LDM among others, the results of data mapping are not intelligible and easy to interpret. However with both WLDM and DS-WLDM methods it is easy to discover knowledge without losing a lot of information which is one of the interests of this paper. This proposal is generic and it intends to be applied for data mapping such as for geographical presentation of social and demographic information (e.g. mobility of people, goods and information) according to multiple spatial scales (e.g. locality, district, municipality). It could be applied also in transportation field (e.g. traffic flow). For the application, administrative data is used in order to evaluate spatial and temporal aspects of the daily and the residential mobility of workers in Luxembourg and its bordering areas.Mobility modeling; data mapping; spatial mobility; geographic knowledge discovery; location uncertainty; daily and residential mobility

A method and a tool for geocoding and record linkage

For many years, researchers have presented the geocoding of postal addresses as a challenge. Several research works have been devoted to achieve the geocoding process. This paper presents theoretical and technical aspects for geolocalization, geocoding, and record linkage. It shows possibilities and limitations of existing methods and commercial software identifying areas for further research. In particular, we present a methodology and a computing tool allowing the correction and the geo-coding of mailing addresses. The paper presents two main steps of the methodology. The first preliminary step is addresses correction (addresses matching), while the second caries geocoding of identified addresses. Additionally, we present some results from the processing of real data sets. Finally, in the discussion, areas for further research are identified.addresses correction; geocodage; matching; data management; record linkage

Simulation of land use changes using cellular automata and artificial neural network

This paper presents a method integrating artificial neural network (ANN) in cellular automata (CA) to simulate land use changes in Luxembourg and the areas adjacent to its borders. The ANN is used as a base of CA model transition rule. The proposed method shows promising results for prediction of land use over time. The ANN is validated using cross-validation technique and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and compared with logit model and a support vector machine approach. The application described in this paper highlights the interest of integrating ANNs in CA based model for land use dynamic simulation.Artificial neural network; Cellular automata; Modelling; Land use changes; Spatial planning and dynamics

L’ impact de l’audit social sur l’engagement organisationnel des salariés : Cas des entreprises exportatrices de la région Souss Massa (Etude descriptive)

Les recherches en sciences de gestion ont proposé un ensemble de travaux centrés sur la thématique de l’audit social et celle de l’engagement organisationnel. Toutefois, la recherche parait limitée sur l’interaction de ces deux variables. Ce qui nous a ce qui nous pousse à intégrer une troisième variable celle de l’intention de quitter l’entreprise. Les objectifs principaux de notre recherche sont : Comment faire pour fidéliser les salariés, pour qu’ils restent dans l’organisation ? Comment tirer profit de ces éléments tout en leur assurant l’épanouissement et la réalisation de soi ? Quelles pratiques de GRH faut-il appliquer, et créer s’il le faut, pour responsabiliser ces « porteurs du savoir » et les pousser à donner le meilleur d’eux-mêmes ? Autant de questions se posent pour les responsables des ressources humaines. Nous avons opté pour le secteur de l’industrie agroalimentaire (IAA) a la région de Souss Massa comme terrain d’investigation. Ce dernier est considéré parmi les six secteurs émergents appelés à jouer le rôle de locomotive économique du pays. La recherche s’est déroulée en une phase à visée confirmatoire réalisée auprès de 350 entreprises agro-alimentaires (certifiées et non-certifiées) à la région de Souss Massa. &nbsp

Genetic and Modifiable Risk Factors Contributing to Cisplatin-Induced Toxicities

Effective administration of traditional cytotoxic chemotherapy is often limited by off-target toxicities. This clinical dilemma is epitomized by cisplatin, a platinating agent that has potent antineoplastic activity due to its affinity for DNA and other intracellular nucleophiles. Despite its efficacy against many adult-onset and pediatric malignancies, cisplatin elicits multiple off-target toxicities that can not only severely impact a patient’s quality of life, but also lead to dose reductions or the selection of alternative therapies that can ultimately affect outcomes. Without an effective therapeutic measure by which to successfully mitigate many of these symptoms, there have been attempts to identify a priori those individuals who are more susceptible to developing these sequelae through studies of genetic and nongenetic risk factors. Older age is associated with cisplatin induced ototoxicity, neurotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. Traditional genome-wide association studies have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms in ACYP2 and WFS1 associated with cisplatin-induced hearing loss. However, validating associations between specific genotypes and cisplatin-induced toxicities with enough stringency to warrant clinical application remains challenging. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge with regard to specific adverse sequelae following cisplatin-based therapy with a focus on ototoxicity, neurotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, myelosuppression and nausea/emesis. We discuss variables (genetic and nongenetic) contributing to these detrimental toxicities, and currently available means to prevent or treat their occurrence

L’ impact de l’audit social sur l’engagement organisationnel des salariés : Cas des entreprises exportatrices de la région Souss Massa (Etude empirique)

La recherche en sciences de gestion a proposé une série de travaux, centrés sur les thèmes de l'audit social et de l'engagement organisationnel. Cependant, la recherche semble se limiter à l'interaction entre ces deux variables. Cela nous a incité à intégrer la troisième variable, l'intention de quitter l'entreprise. Notre recherche a pour objectif principal de définir comment faire pour fidéliser les salariés, pour qu’ils restent dans l’organisation ? Comment tirer profit de ces éléments tout en leur assurant l’épanouissement et la réalisation de soi ? Quelles pratiques de GRH faut-il appliquer, et créer s’il le faut, pour responsabiliser ces « porteurs du savoir » et les pousser à donner le meilleur d’eux-mêmes ? Le concept de l’audit social apparaît pertinent car il interroge le fonctionnement organisationnel et le rôle de la gestion des ressources humaines (GRH). Nous avons opté pour le secteur de l’industrie agroalimentaire (IAA) a la région de Souss Massa comme terrain d’investigation. Ce dernier est considéré parmi les six secteurs émergents appelés à jouer le rôle de locomotive économique du pays. La recherche s’est déroulée en une phase à visée confirmatoire réalisée auprès de 350 entreprises agro-alimentaires (certifiées et non-certifiées) à la région de Souss Massa

La Responsabilité Sociale des entreprises au Maroc: Cas d’une entreprise exportatrice certifiée GLOBALG.A.P. Risk- Assessment on Social Practice (GRASP)

Le Maroc étant un pays exportateur, se doit d’appliquer des normes internationales vis-à-vis des clients étrangers, qui exigent le respect des lois internationales en vigueurs, en matière de responsabilité sociale, à travers l’adoption d’une panoplie de normes a fort essence et ultimatum social. Parmi lesdites normes a fort caractère social nous allons citer la norme GLOBALG.A. P (GRASP), qui aborde les aspects spécifiques de la santé, de la sécurité et du bien-être des travailleurs. Ce travail a pour objectif d’étudier l’application des exigences de la norme GRASP dans une entreprise exportatrice de la région Souss Massa, et plus précisément les trois principes suivants : Les représentants du personnel, l’existence des contrats de travail des salariés et finalement, si l’entreprises dispose d’un système d’enregistrement du temps de travail de ces derniers. Cette étude de nature qualitative démontre que l’application des normes sociales représentent en soit une contrainte qui engendre d’une part, pour les dirigeants des entreprises exportatrices plus de charges, mais d’autre part un sentiment d’appartenance et de sécurité pour les salariés ainsi qu’une opportunité pour s’ouvrir sur une multitude de marchés internationaux

Mutational analysis of the RB1 gene in Moroccan patients with retinoblastoma

PURPOSE: Retinoblastoma (RB), the most common intraocular tumor occurring in infancy and early childhood, is most often related to mutations in the RB1 gene. In this study, we screened the RB1 germline mutations in 41 unrelated Moroccan patients with retinoblastoma, 25 heritable cases, and 16 sporadic unilateral cases. METHODS: After complete ophthalmic examinations were performed and consent obtained, DNA was extracted from peripheral blood, and screening of RB1 mutations was performed with PCR direct sequencing of the promoter and the 27 coding exons of the RB1 gene. RESULTS: We identified ten germline mutations in 10/41 (24.39%) unrelated patients, among which three had not been previously reported. The mutation detection rate was 40% (10/25) in the heritable cases and 0% (0/16) in the sporadic unilateral cases. Of these mutations, six were nonsense, and three were frameshifts, all associated with severe phenotypes resulting in bilateral and multifocal tumors. One splice site mutation was found in a familial case associated with a low expressivity phenotype resulting in unilateral and unifocal tumors. Moreover, eight intronic variants were identified, three of which were novel. CONCLUSIONS: This first report of RB1 gene screening in Moroccan patients with retinoblastoma shows a comparable mutational spectrum to those reported previously, which has evident importance for managing patients with retinoblastoma and their families

Clinical and Genetic Risk Factors for Adverse Metabolic Outcomes in North American Testicular Cancer Survivors

Background: Testicular cancer survivors (TCS) are at significantly increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), with metabolic syndrome (MetS) an established risk factor. No study has addressed clinical and genetic MetS risk factors in North American TCS. Patients and Methods: TCS were aged <55 years at diagnosis and received first-line chemotherapy. Patients underwent physical examination, and had lipid panels, testosterone, and soluble cell adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) evaluated. A single nucleotide polymorphism in rs523349 (5-α-reductase gene, SRD5A2), recently implicated in MetS risk, was genotyped. Using standard criteria, MetS was defined as ≥3 of the following: hypertension, abdominal obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, decreased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level, and diabetes. Matched controls were derived from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Results: We evaluated 486 TCS (median age, 38.1 years). TCS had a higher prevalence of hypertension versus controls (43.2% vs 30.7%; P<.001) but were less likely to have decreased HDL levels (23.7% vs 34.8%; P<.001) or abdominal obesity (28.2% vs 40.1%; P<.001). Overall MetS frequency was similar in TCS and controls (21.0% vs 22.4%; P=.59), did not differ by treatment (P=.20), and was not related to rs523349 (P=.61). For other CVD risk factors, TCS were significantly more likely to have elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels (17.7% vs 9.3%; P<.001), total cholesterol levels (26.3% vs 11.1%; P<.001), and body mass index ≥25 kg/m2 (75.1% vs 69.1%; P=.04). On multivariate analysis, age at evaluation (P<.001), testosterone level ≤3.0 ng/mL (odds ratio [OR], 2.06; P=.005), and elevated sICAM-1 level (ORhighest vs lowest quartile, 3.58; P=.001) were significantly associated with MetS. Conclusions and Recommendations: Metabolic abnormalities in TCS are characterized by hypertension and increased LDL and total cholesterol levels but lower rates of decreased HDL levels and abdominal obesity, signifying possible shifts in fat distribution and fat metabolism. These changes are accompanied by hypogonadism and inflammation. TCS have a high prevalence of CVD risk factors that may not be entirely captured by standard MetS criteria. Cancer treatment–associated MetS requires further characterization