Alien Registration- Lefevre, Marie May A. (Van Buren, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/33327/thumbnail.jp

The effects of annoyance due to aircraft noise on psychological distress: Results of the DEBATS study in France

European Congress of Epidemiology 2018, LYON, FRANCE, 04-/07/2018 - 06/07/2018Background : Many studies have evidenced adverse effects of exposure to aircraft noise on health, such as annoyance, sleep disturbance, cardiovascular diseases or altered cognitive performance. Mental health has been less investigated. In France, about 18% of the population suffer from mental disorders. The effects of noise annoyance on psychological distress have rarely been evaluated, and no study exists in France. We investigated associations between annoyance due to aircraft noise and psychological distress for people living near airports in France. Methods : The DEBATS longitudinal study included 1,244 residents around three French airports: Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, Toulouse-Blagnac, and Lyon-Saint-Exupéry. Information about psychological distress was assessed by a face-to-face questionnaire, including a single question about the feeling of depression, and the 12-version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Annoyance due to aircraft noise was assessed with the following question 'Thinking about the last 12 months, when you are at home, how much does aircraft noise annoy you?' The five-point verbal scale proposed by the International Commission on the Biological Effects of Noise was used: extremely, very, moderately, slightly or not at all. Associations with psychological distress were investigated using logistic regressions including relevant confounders such as gender, age, country of birth, occupational activity, marital status, alcohol consumption, smoking, sleep duration, number of stressful life events, education, income, and antidepressant use. Results : About 13% of the participants reported depression and 22% were considered to have psychological distress according to the GHQ-12. Significant associations were found between annoyance due to aircraft noise and the feeling of depression, and between annoyance due to aircraft noise and psychological distress evaluated with the GHQ-12. The Odds Ratio (OR) for the feeling of depression ranged from 0.89 (95% CI 0.50-1.59) to 2.61 (95% CI 1.09-6.23). The OR for the GHQ-12 ranged from 1.49 (95% CI 0.94-2.39) to 3.64 (95% CI 1.70-7.78). For the both outcomes, OR reached the maximum estimate for people reporting to be extremely annoyed compared to those who are not at all annoyed. Discussion : The present study found significant associations between annoyance due to aircraft noise and psychological distress assessed both with a single question about the feeling of depression and with the GHQ-12, with gradual ORs according to the different categories of noise annoyance. This result is in line with the findings of a cross-sectional study performed in Minneapolis. However the direction of the association can be questioned. Extremely annoyed people might be more at risk to have psychological disorders, and it is also possible that people with psychological disorders might be more at risk to be annoyed

Experiences of Ex-Offenders Assigned to a Work Release Program

Ex-offenders face many challenges and barriers in obtaining sustainable employment when reentering society. Researchers have demonstrated that participation in a work release program prior to release from prison may be beneficial. However, not all work release reentry programs are alike. Because offenders are the benefactors of these programs, it is essential their experiences are captured. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand and describe unique experiences of male ex-offenders previously assigned to a work release program in an urban setting in an Atlantic East Coast state. Bronfenbrenner\u27s ecological systems theory framed the study. This study gives voice to and provides an understanding of the experiences of 5 individuals recruited utilizing the snowball method who were seeking employment while in the work release program. Data was analyzed using Moustakas\u27 7-step data analysis procedure. Findings may inform program and policy makers of the importance to provide a more robust work release program that includes job readiness support and resources and the need to establish a partnership with local employers. Four themes emerged including: (a) Lack of Resources, (b) Need for Outside Support System, (c) Perception of Lack of Empathy from Correctional Officers and Employers, and (d) Gratitude and Appreciation to Participate in the Work Release Program. Findings further support the importance of collaboration between the criminal justice system, transitional reentry programs and employers in order to achieve positive social change with successful outcomes. These findings may lead to a reinvestment of resources and restructuring of reentry programs to serve its beneficiaries

Model of articulation between elements of a pedagogical assistance

International audienceThe AGATE project proposed the SEPIA system that allows an assistance designer to define assistance systems added in target applications. In Interactive Learning Environments, such assistance systems are useful to promote the acquisition of knowledge. These assistance systems consist of a set of aLDEAS rules. Our study of assistance in existing applications shows that the articulation between the rules of assistance can take many forms. We propose and implement a model of articulation between assistance rules with the five modes of articula-tion that we have identified. This model makes explicit and facilitates the definition of articulation between the rules of an assistance system

Extracting Generic Cooking Adaptation Knowledge for the TAAABLE Case-Based Reasoning System

International audienceThis paper addresses the issue of interactive adaptation knowledge acquisition. It shows how the expert's involvement in this process can improve the quality and usefulness of the results. The approach is defended in the context of \taaable, a \cbr system which adapts recipes to user needs. In \taaable, adaptation knowledge takes the form of substitutions. A datamining process allows the discovery of specific substitutions in recipes. A second process, that must be driven by an expert, is needed to generalise these substitutions to make them usable on other recipes. For that, we defend an approach based on closed itemsets (CIs) for extracting generic substitutions starting from specific ones. We focus on a restrictive selection of objects, on a specific filtering on the form of the CIs and on a specific ranking on support and stability of the CIs. Experimentations demonstrate the feasibility of our approach and show some first results

Advanced Simulations of Optical Transition and Diraction Radiation

Charged particle beam diagnostics is a key task in modern and future accelerator installations. The diagnostic tools are practically the “eyes” of the operators. The precision and resolution of the diagnostic equipment are crucial to define the performance of the accelerator. Transition and diffraction radiation (TR and DR) are widely used for electron beam parameter monitoring. However, the precision and resolution of those devices are determined by how well the production, transport and detection of these radiation types are understood. This paper reports on simulations of TR and DR spatial-spectral characteristics using the physical optics propagation (POP) mode of the Zemax advanced optics simulation software. A good consistency with theory is demonstrated. Also, realistic optical system alignment issues are discussed

Deciphering the genetic control of innate and adaptive immune responses in pig: a combined genetic and genomic study

Improving animal robustness and resistance to pathogens by adding health criteria in selection schemes is one of the challenging objectives of the next decade. In order to better understand the genetic control of immunity in French Large White pigs, we have launched a program combining genetic and genomic studies not focussing on any particular pathogen. Animals recorded for production traits were scored for a wide range of immunity parameters three weeks after vaccination against Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae: i) total white blood cells and lymphocyte counts and proportions of various leucocyte subsets including cells harbouring IgM, γδTCR, CD4/CD8, CD16/CD2 and CD16/CD172a/MHCII, ii) innate immune response parameters (phagocytosis and in vitro production of IL1B, IL6, IL8, TNF, IL12 and IFNαafter blood stimulation), iii) adaptive immune response parameters (lymphocyte proliferation, in vitro production of IL2, IL4, IL10 and IFNγ after blood stimulation, total IgG, IgA, IgM and specific IgG levels) and iv) two acute phase proteins (C-reactive protein and haploglobin). Across traits, heritability estimates reached 0.4 on average (se=0.1) and 42 of the 54 measured parameters showed moderate to high heritabilities (≥0.2), confirming that many parameters are under genetic control and could be included in selection protocols. Functional analyses revealed that the blood transcriptome is informative for part of the immunity traits and should provide relevant phenotypic information to better characterize some immunity traits

Apports d'un outil d'intelligence artificielle à l'enseignement-apprentissage des langues

International audienceThe objective of project FRELLO is to build an online platform to teach and learn foreign languages. The learning programs will be based on adaptive learning tools, allowing a more personalized learning experience. This individualization relies on developing artificial intelligence for education. The created adaptive algorithms should help to foresee links between language and cultural competences. The hypothesis is that an accurate personalization will ease the learning processes, increase learners' investment and help teachers adapt their teaching programs.Le projet Apprentissage Adaptatif des Langues par le NUmérique (2ALN) prend la forme d'une plateforme en ligne FRELLO qui vise à proposer des parcours individualisés d'apprentissage des langues. Ces parcours adaptatifs sont assistés par des techniques d'intelligence artificielle. Les algorithmes adaptatifs créés ont pour but de déterminer des liens, de manière prédictive, entre les compétences langagières et culturelles visées. L'hypothèse est qu'une bonne personnalisation facilitera le processus d'apprentissage, augmentera l'investissement des apprenants et pourra être une aide de prise à la décision pour les enseignants qui utilisent la plateforme en hybride