Retraites : à la recherche de solutions miracles...

Malgré la réforme de 2003, l’avenir du système français de retraite n’est pas assuré : l’inquiétude persiste tant sur sa soutenabilité financière que sur l’évolution du niveau des retraites ; son équité est mise en doute en raison des disparités entre public et privé ou entre générations ; le taux d’emploi des seniors n’a guère progressé. L’article analyse deux propositions de réforme. Bozio et Piketty proposent d’introduire un système unifié basé sur des comptes individuels notionnels. Certes, son équilibre financier serait automatiquement réalisé, mais au prix d’une forte baisse du taux de remplacement, baisse qui s’accentuerait avec l’allongement de la durée de vie. Hairault, Langot et Sopraseuth proposent d’introduire de fortes incitations financières (surcote en capital ou cumul emploi-retraite) au report de l’âge de la retraite. Ces propositions prétendent favoriser le libre choix du départ à la retraite et respecter la neutralité actuarielle, mais ne tiennent pas compte des différences d’employabilité et d’espérance de vie des salariés à 60 ans. Elles creuseraient les inégalités entre retraités et ne sont pas compatibles avec le contrat implicite de gestion des carrières. Basant le niveau de la retraite sur des choix individuels, elles dégageraient la société et les entreprises de leurs responsabilités : garantir la parité de niveau de vie entre retraités et salariés, assurer une retraite satisfaisante aux salariés que les entreprises ne veulent plus employer

Trends in the Supreme Court: Mr. Jefferson’s Crumbling Wall-A Comment on Lynch V. Donnelly

This paper presents a novel learning algorithm that finds the linear combination of one set of multi-dimensional variates that is the best predictor, and at the same time finds the linear combination of another set which is the most predictable. This relation is known as the canonical correlation and has the property of being invariant with respect to affine transformations of the two sets of variates. The algorithm successively finds all the canonical correlations beginning with the largest one. It is shown that canonical correlations can be used in computer vision to find feature detectors by giving examples of the desired features. When used on the pixel level, the method finds quadrature filters and when used on a higher level, the method finds combinations of filter output that are less sensitive to noise compared to vector averaging

Requirements and Output Contracts: Quantity Variations Under the UCC

The aim of this chapter is to review different approaches that have been proposed to compute fabric tensors with emphasis on trabecular bone research. Fabric tensors aim at modeling through tensors both anisotropy and orientation of a material with respect to another one. Fabric tensors are widely used in fields such as trabecular bone research, mechanics of materials and geology. These tensors can be seen as semi-global measurements since they are computed in relatively large neighborhoods, which are assumed quasi-homogeneous. Many methods have been proposed to compute fabric tensors. We propose to classify fabric tensors into two categories: mechanics-based and morphology-based. The former computes fabric tensors from mechanical simulations, while the latter computes them by analyzing the morphology of the materials. In addition to pointing out advantages and drawbacks for each method, current trends and challenges in this field are also summarized

Antitrust Issues in the Joint Purchasing of Health Care

This paper presents a novel algorithm that uses CCA and phase analysis to detect the disparity in stereo images. The algorithm adapts filters in each local neighbourhood of the image in a way which maximizes the correlation between the filtered images. The adapted filters are then analysed to find the disparity. This is done by a simple phase analysis of the scalar product of the filters. The algorithm can even handle cases where the images have different scales. The algorithm can also handle depth discontinuities and give multiple depth estimates for semitransparent images

Realism and Functionalism in the Legal Thought of Felix S. Cohen

Purpose: The mean intercept length tensor is the most used technique to estimate microstructure orientation and anisotropy of trabecular bone. This paper proposes an efficient extension of this technique to gray-scale images based on a closed formulation of the mean intercept length tensor and a generalization using different angular convolution kernels. Methods: First, the extended Gaussian image is computed for the binary or gray-scale image. Second, the intercepts are computed for all possible orientations through an angular convolution with the half-cosine function. Finally, the tensor is computed by means of the covariance matrix. The complexity of the method is O(n + m) in contrast with O(nm) of traditional implementations, where n is the number of voxels in the image and m is the number of orientations used in the computations. The method is generalized by applying other angular convolution kernels instead of the half-cosine function. As a result, the anisotropy of the tensor can be controlled while keeping the eigenvectors intact. Results: The proposed extension to gray-scale yields accurate results for reliable computations of the extended Gaussian image and, unlike the traditional methodology, is not affected by artifacts generated by discretizations during the sampling of different orientations. Conclusions: Experiments show that the computations on both binary and gray-scale images are correlated, and that computations in gray-scale are more robust, enabling the use of the mean intercept length tensor to clinical examinations of trabecular bone. The use of kernels based on the von Mises-Fisher distribution is promising as the anisotropy can be adjusted with a parameter in order to improve its power to predict mechanical properties of trabecular bone.funding agencies|Swedish Research Council (VR)|2006-5670|</p

Acetylations of Ftz-F1 and histone H4K5 are required for the fine-tuning of ecdysone biosynthesis during Drosophila metamorphosis

The molting during Drosophila development is tightly regulated by the ecdysone hormone. Several steps of the ecdysone biosynthesis have been already identified but the regulation of the entire process has not been clarified yet. We have previously reported that dATAC histone acetyltransferase complex is necessary for the steroid hormone biosynthesis process. To reveal possible mechanisms controlled by dATAC we made assumptions that either dATAC may influence directly the transcription of Halloween genes involved in steroid hormone biosynthesis or it may exert an indirect effect on it by acetylating the Ftz-F1 transcription factor which regulates the transcription of steroid converting genes. Here we show that the lack of dATAC complex results in increased mRNA level and decreased protein level of Ftz-F1. In this context, decreased mRNA and increased protein levels of Ftz-F1 were detected upon treatment of Drosophila S2 cells with histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A. We showed that Ftz-F1, the transcriptional activator of Halloween genes, is acetylated in S2 cells. In addition, we found that ecdysone biosynthetic Halloween genes are transcribed in S2 cells and their expression can be influenced by deacetylase inhibitors. Furthermore, we could detect H4K5 acetylation at the regulatory regions of disembodied and shade Halloween genes, while H3K9 acetylation is absent on these genes. Based on our findings we conclude that the dATAC HAT complex might play a dual regulatory role in Drosophila steroid hormone biosynthesis through the acetylation of Ftz-F1 protein and the regulation of the H4K5 acetylation at the promoters of Halloween genes

A Suggested Seminar in Student Rights

The decade now passing away from us has bubbled with significant change in law school curricula, especially from the heat of recent developments in constitutional law

Unexpected Fat Distribution in Adolescents With Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy type 1 is a chronic sleep disorder with significantly higher BMI reported in more than 50% of adolescent patients, putting them at a higher risk for metabolic syndrome in adulthood. Although well-documented, the body fat distribution and mechanisms behind weight gain in narcolepsy are still not fully understood but may be related to the loss of orexin associated with the disease. Orexin has been linked to the regulation of brown adipose tissue (BAT), a metabolically active fat involved in energy homeostasis. Previous studies have used BMI and waist circumference to characterize adipose tissue increases in narcolepsy but none have investigated its specific distribution. Here, we examine adipose tissue distribution in 19 adolescent patients with narcolepsy type 1 and compare them to 17 of their healthy peers using full body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In line with previous findings we saw that the narcolepsy patients had more overall fat than the healthy controls, but contrary to our expectations there were no group differences in supraclavicular BAT, suggesting that orexin may have no effect at all on BAT, at least under thermoneutral conditions. Also, in line with previous reports, we observed that patients had more total abdominal adipose tissue (TAAT), however, we found that they had a lower ratio between visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and TAAT indicating a relative increase of subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (ASAT). This relationship between VAT and ASAT has been associated with a lower risk for metabolic disease. We conclude that while weight gain in adolescents with narcolepsy matches that of central obesity, the lower VAT ratio may suggest a lower risk of developing metabolic disease

The Fourteenth Amendment, the “Right” to Vote, and the Understanding of the Thirty-Ninth Congress

If that history does not prove what I think it does, we are at least entitled to be told why

Feasibility of MR-Based Body Composition Analysis in Large Scale Population Studies

Introduction Quantitative and accurate measurements of fat and muscle in the body are important for prevention and diagnosis of diseases related to obesity and muscle degeneration. Manually segmenting muscle and fat compartments in MR body-images is laborious and time-consuming, hindering implementation in large cohorts. In the present study, the feasibility and success-rate of a Dixon-based MR scan followed by an intensity-normalised, non-rigid, multi-atlas based segmentation was investigated in a cohort of 3,000 subjects. Materials and Methods 3,000 participants in the in-depth phenotyping arm of the UK Biobank imaging study underwent a comprehensive MR examination. All subjects were scanned using a 1.5 T MR-scanner with the dual-echo Dixon Vibe protocol, covering neck to knees. Subjects were scanned with six slabs in supine position, without localizer. Automated body composition analysis was performed using the AMRA Profiler™ system, to segment and quantify visceral adipose tissue (VAT), abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT) and thigh muscles. Technical quality assurance was performed and a standard set of acceptance/rejection criteria was established. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all volume measurements and quality assurance metrics. Results Of the 3,000 subjects, 2,995 (99.83%) were analysable for body fat, 2,828 (94.27%) were analysable when body fat and one thigh was included, and 2,775 (92.50%) were fully analysable for body fat and both thigh muscles. Reasons for not being able to analyse datasets were mainly due to missing slabs in the acquisition, or patient positioned so that large parts of the volume was outside of the field-of-view. Discussion and Conclusions In conclusion, this study showed that the rapid UK Biobank MR-protocol was well tolerated by most subjects and sufficiently robust to achieve very high success-rate for body composition analysis. This research has been conducted using the UK Biobank Resource