Typologie linguistique et histoire du peuplement: le cas des langues gur du Burkina Faso

Ce travaille demanderait a être étendu à toutes les langues gur parlées au Burkina. L'auteur accueillera avec plaisir tout commentaire et toute information supplémentaire. Contact: [email protected] *******************************The present work should be extended to all the gur languages spoken in Burkina. Comments and further information will be welcome. Contact: [email protected] opuscule de 33 pages propose une classification structurale des langues de la famille gur parlées au BF. Dans les ch. I et II, , l'auteur définit et justifie les sept critères typologiques retenus, par ordre de priorité décroissante: l'ordre des termes dans l'énoncé, la relation entre genres et classes nominales, le marquage de l'aspect verbal, la marque d'actualité verbale, celle de l'actualité nominale et enfin quelques traits phonologiques, notamment le rôle de l'harmonie vocalique ATR. Ces critères révèlent trois types de langues gur, qui n'ont jamais été identifiés en tant que tels dans la littérature et dont la répartition géographique ne correspond que très imparfaitement au tryptique "est - centre - ouest" (carte jointe). A partir de là, l'auteur tente de comprendre cette hétérogénéité en tenant compte de l'Histoire, mais aussi des mécanismes généraux du changement linguistique (phénomènes de contacts de langues envisagés du point de vue sociolinguistique et du point de vue psycho-linguistique). Les résultats obtenus ainsi que les hypothèses qui tentent de les expliquer interpellent tous ceux qui s'intéressent à l'histoire du peuplement dans cette partie du monde.*****************************This paper of 33 pages proposes a structural classification of the Gur languages spoken in Burkina Faso. In section I & II, the author defines and justifies the seven typologic criteria he uses, from the more to the less important : word-order in the sentence, the relation gender-class, the expression of verbal aspect, the mark of actuality on verbs and on nouns and finally a few phonological features, in particular the ATR vowel harmony. These criteria reveal three types of Gur languages, which have never been identified as such in the literature and which only poorly correspond to the geographic "east - centre -west" of the aera (one map). So the author tries to understand the how and why those kin languages are so heterogenous, taking into account the historical data, but also the general mechanisms at work in linguistic change (languages in contact, both from a socio-linguistic and a psycho-linguistic angle). The results as well as the hypotheses trying to account for them should appeal to all those interested in the history of population in this part of the world

El acido esteárico: un posible sustituto para los ácidos grasos <i>trans</i> de origen industrial

Los isómeros trans que contienen los aceites parcialmente hidrogenados de origen industrial, han sido cuestionados y la recomendación es reducir su consumo. La industria de alimentos se enfrenta a un dilema, ya que para disminuir los isómeros trans debe reducir los aceites parcialmente hidrogenados y reemplazarlos por grasas ricas en ácidos grasos saturados. La investigación ha demostrado que los ácidos grasos saturados tienen efecto negativo en los lípidos plasmáticos y su consumo se asocia con un alto riesgo cardiovascular, por lo cual la recomendación es reducir el consumo de estos ácidos grasos. Sin embargo, no todos los ácidos grasos saturados se comportan de la misma forma, siendo el ácido esteárico (18:0) la excepción. El ácido esteárico presenta bajo nivel de absorción intestinal y no modifica negativamente los lípidos plasmáticos, por lo cual se considera como “neutro” para la salud cardiovascular. Los niveles plasmáticos de la apoproteína B-100, que determina las concentraciones de las VLDL y LDL (transportadoras de triglicéridos y colesterol, respectivamente) no son modificados por dietas que aportan hasta 7% de la energía como ácido esteárico. Marcadores de riesgo cardiovascular, como la activación de factores de agregación plaquetaria o los niveles de la proteína C reactiva, no son modificados por dietas que aportan ácido esteárico, como ocurre con otros ácidos grasos saturados. La confirmación del efecto “neutro” del ácido esteárico es una perspectiva para el desarrollo de grasas con alto contenido de este ácido graso para reemplazar las grasas hidrogenadas que contienen isómeros trans. Esta revisión discute estos aspectos.Trans isomers, contained in partially hydrogenated oils, which are used in the food industry,have been questioned and nowadays trends are heading towards reducing their consumption. The food industry is facing a dilemma, since in order to remove trans fatty acids, hydrogenated fats shouldbe eliminated and replaced by fats rich in saturated fatty acids. Scientific research has shown that saturated fatty acids have negative effects on the lipid profile and its consumption is associated with a higher cardiovascular risk. Therefore it is recommended to avoid their consumption. Nevertheless, not all fatty acids behave in the same way, with stearic acid (18:0) the exception. Stearic acid has a low level of intestinal absorption and its intake does not negatively modify the lipid profile. For this reason, it is considered a "neutral" fatty acid with regard to cardiovascular health. B-100 apolipoprotein, whose levels determine plasma VLDL and LDL concentration (triglycerides and cholesterol carriers, respectively), is not modified by diets which provide up to 7% ofthe energy as stearic acid. Markers of cardiovascular risk, such as activation of platelet aggregation factors or C-reactive protein levels, are not modified by diets providing stearic acid, as occurs with other saturated fatty acids. The confirmation of the "neutral" effect of stearic acid represents a perspective for the development of fats with high contents of this fatty acid to replace hydrogenated fats containing trans isomers. The present review discusses these aspects.Facultad de Ciencias Médica

Forme et Malléabilité_Topologie des Opérations Enonciatives

172 pagesL'auteur applique et adapte les concepts élaborés par A. Culioli et ses disciples, en appréhendant la diversité des langues à travers une " topologie du langage naturel ". Les ch. 1-2-3 sont consacrés au problème de la représentation des phénomènes linguistiques, aux opérations de repérage et à la topologie du domaine notionnel. Le point de vue de " l'énonciateur " est un complexe défini à la fois par l'articulation de plusieurs paramètres (qualitatif, spatio-temporel et inter-sujets) et par l'articulation de plusieurs instances (conception, prédication, origine et coénonciation). Les ch. 4-5-6 appliquent ces principes à l'étude systématique des personnes grammaticales, des circonstants déictiques, de l'assertion et du mode. Le ch.7 traite de la " lexis " et du " format notionnel " défini en termes de discret / dense / compact. Le ch. 8 propose un cadre théorique permettant d'appréhender l'aspect et le temps, ainsi que leurs valeurs modales, dans des langues aussi diverses que le russe, le français et l'anglais et le dagara. Les derniers chapitres sont consacrés à la syntaxe et développent un formalisme original qui montre avec précision comment un énoncé se construit par une " cascade " d'opérations articulant les divers paramètres et des différentes instances énonciatives. Au niveau prédicatif (ch.9), l'ordre des mots est étudié à travers une théorie de l'auxiliaire. Le concept de " sujet " (ch. 10-11) est défini comme repère prédicatif et distingué du concept de " thème " ou repère énonciatif ; distinction maintenue même pour des langues comme le basque, le japonais, le chinois et le dagara. L'étude systématique de la voix et de la diathèse (ch. 12) est illustrée par le français, le turc, le russe et le dagara. Les ch. 13-14 sont consacrés à la focalisation et à la topicalisation, forme et valeur, avec application au français, au dagara et à l'allemand, mais aussi au russe, langue où ces phénomènes font intervenir à la fois l'ordre des mots et l'intonation. En fin d'ouvrage (172 p.) , figurent un tableau méthodologique de récapitulation et un index des langues citées et des termes techniques utilisés

Proposition and evaluation of a software Change Impact Analysis model

International audienc

Beyond Conventional Event-related Brain Potential (ERP): Exploring the Time-course of Visual Emotion Processing Using Topographic and Principal Component Analyses

Recent technological advances with the scalp EEG methodology allow researchers to record electric fields generated in the human brain using a large number of electrodes or sensors (e.g. 64-256) distributed over the head surface (multi-channel recording). As a consequence, such high-density ERP mapping yields fairly dense ERP data sets that are often hard to analyze comprehensively or to relate straightforwardly to specific cognitive or emotional processes, because of the richness of the recorded signal in both the temporal (millisecond time-resolution) and spatial (multidimensional topographic information) domains. Principal component analyses (PCA) and topographic analyses (combined with distributed source localization algorithms) have been developed and successfully used to deal with this complexity, now offering powerful alternative strategies for data-driven analyses in complement to more traditional ERP analyses based on waveforms and peak measures. In this paper, we first briefly review the basic principles of these approaches, and then describe recent ERP studies that illustrate how they can inform about the precise spatio-temporal dynamic of emotion processing. These studies show that the perception of emotional visual stimuli may produce both quantitative and qualitative changes in the electric field configuration recorded at the scalp level, which are not apparent when using conventional ERP analyses. Additional information gained from these approaches include the identification of a sequence of successive processing stages that may not fully be reflected in ERP waveforms only, and the segregation of multiple or partly overlapping neural events that may be blended within a single ERP waveform. These findings highlight the added value of such alternative analyses when exploring the electrophysiological manifestations of complex and distributed mental functions, as for instance during emotion processin

Juger d’après les apparences : le cas du français

En français, l’idée d’apparence peut s’exprimer de diverses manières, notamment avec « sembler, avoir l’air, ressembler, faire ». J’ai essayé de rendre compte des différences de sens et d’usage de ces verbes dans la perspective de la Théorie des Opérations Prédicatives et Énonciatives. J’ai proposé de représenter chacun de ces verbes par un schéma de lexis spécifique, à partir duquel on peut calculer toutes les propriétés distributionnelles de chacun. Plus précisément, chaque schéma correspond à une pondération spécifique entre les paramètres de l’énonciation. C’est ainsi que le domaine notionnel de l’énoncé global peut être caractérisé, en termes topologiques, comme discret / dense / compact.In French, the idea of appearance can be expressed in various ways, in particular with “sembler, avoir l’air, ressembler, faire”. I have tried to account for the semantic and syntactic differences between these verbs in the perspective of the “Théorie des Opérations Prédicatives et Énonciatives”. I have proposed to represent each of these verbs through a specific lexis pattern, from which all the distributional proprieties can be calculated. More precisely, each pattern corresponds to a specific ponderation between the parameters of enunciation. Thus, the notional domain of the whole sentence can be characterized in terms of discreet / dense / compact topology

A contribution in nanoinformatics to facilitate the collection of structured data for Quality-by-Design in nanomedicine

International audienceBackground. The complexity of nanomaterials, their physico-chemical properties and their interactions with biological and environmental systems, leads to uncertainty in the applicability of experimental data for regulatory purposes that demand sound scientific answers [1]. A major challenge is the establishment of common languages, standards and harmonised infrastructures with applicability to the needs of the different stakeholders. Nanoinformatics is the science and practice of determining which information is relevant to compare characterization of nanomaterials and to design optimized and safe nanodevices. Objectives. Our goal is to bring a new contribution in nanoinformatics by proposing a text mining solution for the quasi-automatic collection of nanomaterials descriptors suited to the preparation of Quality-by-Design studies [2]. Methods. The first step relies on the construction of a non-structured database composed of selected scientific articles in PDF format. Secondly, the Quality-by-Design (ICH Q8-Q11) terminology is used to represent the main descriptors of nanomaterials with three main categories: (i) Critical Quality Attributes to describe the key physical, chemical and biological properties, (ii) Critical Material Attributes and (iii) Critical Process Parameters to characterize both design and manufacturing key variables. In a third step, a text mining algorithm, implemented in the Python language, is used to automatically detect CQA, CMA and CPP in articles and to build up a SQL database. A data curation step is then performed to complete and clean up the QbD database. The proposed approach was applied to a set of 30 scientific articles in Nanomedicine and performances in terms of sensitivity and specificity were finally assessed.Results. In total, 1740 words were automatically analyzed, and we obtained an average response of 83,9% (1459/1740) correct identifications, decomposed as follows: 82,2% (235/286) of accuracy for the CQA descriptors, 92,9% (604/648) for CPP and 76,9% (620/806) for CMA.Conclusion. The proposed nanoinformatic solution has shown promising performances and allows to automate a very time-consuming task related to the collection and analysis of relevant scientific data for risk assessment in Quality-by-Design studies. Short-term perspectives will be focused to the automatic extraction of more complex descriptors

Design and Benchmark Testing for Open Architecture Reconfigurable Mobile Spirometer and Exhaled Breath Monitor with GPS and Data Telemetry.

Portable and wearable medical instruments are poised to play an increasingly important role in health monitoring. Mobile spirometers are available commercially, and are used to monitor patients with advanced lung disease. However, these commercial monitors have a fixed product architecture determined by the manufacturer, and researchers cannot easily experiment with new configurations or add additional novel sensors over time. Spirometry combined with exhaled breath metabolite monitoring has the potential to transform healthcare and improve clinical management strategies. This research provides an updated design and benchmark testing for a flexible, portable, open access architecture to measure lung function, using common Arduino/Android microcontroller technologies. To demonstrate the feasibility and the proof-of-concept of this easily-adaptable platform technology, we had 43 subjects (healthy, and those with lung diseases) perform three spirometry maneuvers using our reconfigurable device and an office-based commercial spirometer. We found that our system compared favorably with the traditional spirometer, with high accuracy and agreement for forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC), and gas measurements were feasible. This provides an adaptable/reconfigurable open access "personalized medicine" platform for researchers and patients, and new chemical sensors and other modular instrumentation can extend the flexibility of the device in the future