Semi-automatic semantic enrichment of raw sensor data

One of the more recent sources of large volumes of generated data is sensor devices, where dedicated sensing equipment is used to monitor events and happenings in a wide range of domains, including monitoring human biometrics. In recent trials to examine the effects that key moments in movies have on the human body, we fitted fitted with a number of biometric sensor devices and monitored them as they watched a range of dierent movies in groups. The purpose of these experiments was to examine the correlation between humans' highlights in movies as observed from biometric sensors, and highlights in the same movies as identified by our automatic movie analysis techniques. However,the problem with this type of experiment is that both the analysis of the video stream and the sensor data readings are not directly usable in their raw form because of the sheer volume of low-level data values generated both from the sensors and from the movie analysis. This work describes the semi-automated enrichment of both video analysis and sensor data and the mechanism used to query the data in both centralised environments, and in a peer-to-peer architecture when the number of sensor devices grows to large numbers. We present and validate a scalable means of semi-automating the semantic enrichment of sensor data, thereby providing a means of large-scale sensor management

The insect repellent N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET) induces angiogenesis via allosteric modulation of the M3 muscarinic receptor

International audienc

Community-based Conservation in Action: What does it Really Imply in Terms of Investment?

Community-based conservation is generally implemented on public land and aims to empower local people in the management process. Within the Biosphere Reserve of Camargue (Rhone river delta, southern France), a private research centre on Mediterranean wetland conservation has changed this structure and has attempted to implement a community-based conservation project on its private land. The motivation behind this decision is based on the need to improve wetland conservation and the local public acceptance of the wetland research centre. The project methodology has been adapted from the integrated coastal zone management framework, with the aim of balancing conservation, local development, and social adhesion objectives. This article analyses the results of this project and the cost-benefits of such an endeavour from a private landowner′s perspective. This study can help other private landowners or organisations developing future community-based conservation projects on private lands

Visiteurs, sculptures et réalité augmentée : l’expérience Ikonikat 3D au Louvre-Lens

In the field of Museum Studies, the notion of "visitor's experience" invites us to go beyond the ordinary oppositions between phenomenological perspective and pragmatic approach. In order to experiment the fruitfulness of this epistemic overcoming, we have developed the method of "annotation drawing" in situation. The first results already allow us to identify the different social-semiotic registers that unfold in such a situation of museum visit, questioning the museography and provoking a dialogue with the expert knowledge of the art historian. Initially focused on painting, a transposition of our method to sculpture enriches the problematic and accentuates the importance of taking into account the performative dimensions of the visitor's gaze and body. This imperative induces a development in "augmented reality" of our digital device, called "Ikonikat 3D", and an analysis of its effects on the social interaction. We have thus begun a study with this technology on the reception of casts of Louvre antiques, exhibited at the Louvre-Lens Museum. In front of the exhibited artworks, using the camera of a tablet and pointing it towards the sculpture, visitors can draw on the image that appears on their screen. They can turn around a work of art and make a drawing without losing the display of their successive drawings on the work. This interaction between visitors and the sculptures with Ikonikat 3D allows for unprecedented visitor feedback and engagement.Dans le domaine des études muséales, la notion d'"expérience de visite" nous invite à dépasser les oppositions ordinaires entre perspective phénoménologique et approche pragmatique. Afin d'expérimenter la fécondité de ce dépassement épistémique, nous avons développé la méthode du " tracé d'annotation " en situation. Les premiers résultats nous permettent déjà d'identifier les différents registres socio-sémiotiques qui se déploient dans une telle situation de visite muséale, interrogeant la muséographie et provoquant un dialogue avec le savoir expert de l'historien d'art. Initialement centrée sur la peinture, une transposition de notre méthode à la sculpture enrichit la problématique et accentue l'importance de la prise en compte des dimensions performatives du regard et du corps du visiteur. Cet impératif induit un développement en " réalité augmentée " de notre dispositif numérique, appelé " Ikonikat 3D ", et une analyse de ses effets sur l'interaction sociale. Nous avons ainsi entamé une étude avec cette technologie sur la réception de moulages d'antiques du Louvre, exposés au musée du Louvre-Lens. Devant les œuvres exposées, en utilisant la caméra d’une tablette et en l'orientant vers la sculpture, les visiteurs peuvent dessiner sur l'image qui apparaît sur leur écran. Ils peuvent tourner autour d'une œuvre d'art et faire un dessin sans perdre l'affichage de leurs dessins successifs sur l'œuvre. Cette interaction entre les visiteurs et les sculptures avec Ikonikat 3D permet un retour et un engagement inédit des visiteurs

Epigallocatechin Gallate: A Review of Its Beneficial Properties to Prevent Metabolic Syndrome

This article belongs to the Special Issue Diet and Metabolic DysfunctionInternational audienceObesity and being overweight are linked with a cluster of metabolic and vascular disorders that have been termed the metabolic syndrome. This syndrome promotes the incidence of cardiovascular diseases that are an important public health problem because they represent a major cause of death worldwide. Whereas there is not a universally-accepted set of diagnostic criteria, most expert groups agree that this syndrome is defined by an endothelial dysfunction, an impaired insulin sensitivity and hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, abdominal obesity and hypertension. Epidemiological studies suggest that the beneficial cardiovascular health effects of diets rich in green tea are, in part, mediated by their flavonoid content, with particular benefits provided by members of this family such as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Although their bioavailability is discussed, various studies suggest that EGCG modulates cellular and molecular mechanisms of various symptoms leading to metabolic syndrome. Therefore, according to in vitro and in vivo model data, this review attempts to increase our understanding about the beneficial properties of EGCG to prevent metabolic syndrome

L’essence plastique

L’ouvrage, qu’on situera volontiers dans le sillage et l’exploration de l’assertion forte, programmatique, qui ouvre la « petite physique », au scolie de la proposition 13 de la seconde partie de l'Éthique, se propose d’explorer les rapports entre aptitudes, changements, et accommodements, afin de découvrir si, de façon larvée ou explicite, la conception spinoziste de l’essence n’aurait pas à (nous) offrir des ressources de plasticité. Celles-ci, pour peu qu’on y porte son attention, pourraient être proportionnelles au nombre des contextes affectifs que la nature exerce sur les individus qui la peuplent, et donc, selon le chapitre 6 de l’appendice de la quatrième partie de l’Éthique, « quasiment infinies ». Tentons alors, à l’aide des textes du philosophe néerlandais, de mesurer l’étendue de ces ressorts

Seasonal variations of contamination and exoskeletal malformations in the white shrimps Palaemon longirostris in the Gironde estuary, France

International audienceSince the end of the 1980s, white shrimps (Palaemon longirostris) from the Gironde estuary have exhibited exoskeletal malformations, mainly involving cephalothorax, rostrum, scaphocerites and uropods. An 8-month study was carried out in 2015. Each month, 200 individuals were sampled and examined for exoskeletal malformations. Temporal variations in malformationfrequency were noted,particularlyduringthebreedingperiod, along withdecreases in the sizeof non-deformedshrimps related to the appearance of juveniles in breeding sites, and high mortality among deformed shrimps. A significant increase in proportions of deformed shrimp was observed, relating particularly to the size (and therefore the age) of individuals. No significant difference was found between shrimp proportions with different numbers of malformations (one to four) for a fixed size class, nor was there any variation in proportions within different size classes for a fixed number of malformations. This would appear toindicate thatthe number ofmalformations isacquiredand new malformations donot seemto appearduringthe lifecycle,exceptforthesmallest(youngest)shrimps.Themalformationspectrumshowednosignificantdifferencesbetweenthe biggest and smallest individuals for the different malformation associations, except for those involving cephalothorax, rostrum and uropods. This would suggest that some malformation associations lead to a higher mortality rate in shrimps subjected to them, due to greater impairment of feeding and/or swimming behaviour. Multiple component analysis of the different types of malformation showed correlations between exoskeletal pieces (rostrum and cephalothorax) and appendixes (scaphocerites and uropods). Regarding metal contamination in shrimp, no significant difference was highlighted between deformed and nondeformed shrimps. Organic pollutants were not measured in tissues. Certain herbicides such as metolachlore and chlortoluron

Pro-Angiogenic Effects of Low Dose Ethoxidine in a Murine Model of Ischemic Hindlimb: Correlation between Ethoxidine Levels and Increased Activation of the Nitric Oxide Pathway

International audienceEthoxidine, a benzo[c]phenanthridine derivative, has been identified as a potent inhibitor of topoisomerase I in cancer cell lines. Our group has reported paradoxical properties of ethoxidine in cellular processes leading to angiogenesis on endothelial cells. Because low concentration ethoxidine is able to favor angiogenesis, the present study aimed to investigate the ability of 10−9 M ethoxidine to modulate neovascularization in a model of mouse hindlimb ischemia. After inducing unilateral hindlimb ischemia, mice were treated for 21 days with glucose 5% or with ethoxidine, to reach plasma concentrations equivalent to 10–9 M. Laser Doppler analysis showed that recovery of blood flow was 1.5 fold higher in ethoxidine-treated mice in comparison with control mice. Furthermore, CD31 staining and angiographic studies confirmed an increase of vascular density in ethoxidine-treated mice. This ethoxidine-induced recovery was associated with an increase of NO production through an enhancement of eNOS phosphorylation on its activator site in skeletal muscle from ischemic hindlimb. Moreover, real-time RT-PCR and western blots have highlighted that ethoxidine has pro-angiogenic properties by inducing a significant enhancement in vegf transcripts and VEGF expression, respectively. These findings suggest that ethoxidine could contribute to favor neovascularization after an ischemic injury by promoting the NO pathway and VEGF expression

Two dechlorinated chlordecone derivatives formed by in situ chemical reduction are devoid of genotoxicity and mutagenicity and have lower proangiogenic properties compared to the parent compound

International audienceChlordecone (CLD) is a chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticide, now classified as a persistent organic pollutant. Several studies have previously reported that chronic exposure to CLD leads to hepatotoxicity, neurotoxicity, raises early child development and pregnancy complications, and increases the risk of liver and prostate cancer. In situ chemical reduction (ISCR) has been identified as a possible way for the remediation of soils contaminated by CLD. In the present study, the objectives were (i) to evaluate the genotoxicity and the mutagenicity of two CLD metabolites formed by ISCR, CLD-5a-hydro, or CLD-5-hydro (5a- or 5- according to CAS nomenclature; CLD-1Cl) and tri-hydroCLD (CLD-3Cl), and (ii) to explore the angiogenic properties of these molecules. Mutagenicity and genotoxicity were investigated using the Ames's technique on Salmonella typhimurium and the in vitro micronucleus micromethod with TK6 human lymphoblastoid cells. The proangiogenic properties were evaluated on the in vitro capillary network formation of human primary endothelial cells. Like CLD, the dechlorinated derivatives of CLD studied were devoid of genotoxic and mutagenic activity. In the assay targeting angiogenic properties, significantly lower microvessel lengths formed by endothelial cells were observed for the CLD-3Cl-treated cells compared to the CLD-treated cells for two of the three tested concentrations. These results suggest that dechlorinated CLD derivatives are devoid of mutagenicity and genotoxicity and have lower proangiogenic properties than CLD