Comptabilité marchande et crédit au XVIIIe siècle : étude d'une relation d'affaires de la maison nantaise Chaurand frères

L’analyse d’une relation d’affaires, de plus d’une dizaine d’années, entre deux grandes maisons de négoce de Nantes et de Bordeaux, à partir du compte courant ouvert à la seconde par la première, permet d’appréhender de manière approfondie le rôle joué par la comptabilité dans les pratiques du crédit marchand et dans l’articulation monnaie scripturale – monnaie fiduciaire.La comptabilité est l’un des artefacts essentiels à la mise œuvre du crédit. Inscription du crédit et moyen de preuve de son existence, elle est aussi instrument de crédit et moyen de paiement. Le compte courant ouvert à un partenaire rend compte de façon continue du crédit accordé à (ou par) ce partenaire et des compensations qui s’opèrent au fur et à mesure des livraisons réciproques. Il est de ce fait le siège du règlement scriptural, le jeu d’écritures réalisant le paiement d’une dette par une créance. Mais la comptabilité permet aussi d’assurer le suivi des titres de crédit émis ou reçus : la monnaie fiduciaire ; le tout en liaison avec les diverses opérations réalisées.Cette étude micro-historique en livre une illustration qui, au-delà des caractéristiques propres à cette relation — nature et rythmes des échanges et donc du crédit —, conduit à des observations de portée plus générale relativement au crédit marchand. Elle met également en lumière le rôle de la comptabilité dans la construction et la pérennisation de la relation de crédit : l’artefact comptable n’est pas que le témoin passif de cette relation, il en est acteur par le biais des rituels de redditions de comptes. Née de la pratique du crédit marchand, la comptabilité a directement participé à son expansion

COMPUTATIONAL MODELLING OF HUMAN AESTHETIC PREFERENCES IN THE VISUAL DOMAIN: A BRAIN-INSPIRED APPROACH

Following the rise of neuroaesthetics as a research domain, computational aesthetics has also known a regain in popularity over the past decade with many works using novel computer vision and machine learning techniques to evaluate the aesthetic value of visual information. This thesis presents a new approach where low-level features inspired from the human visual system are extracted from images to train a machine learning-based system to classify visual information depending on its aesthetics, regardless of the type of visual media. Extensive tests are developed to highlight strengths and weaknesses of such low-level features while establishing good practices in the domain of study of computational aesthetics. The aesthetic classification system is not only tested on the most widely used dataset of photographs, called AVA, on which it is trained initially, but also on other photographic datasets to evaluate the robustness of the learnt aesthetic preferences over other rating communities. The system is then assessed in terms of aesthetic classification on other types of visual media to investigate whether the learnt aesthetic preferences represent photography rules or more general aesthetic rules. The skill transfer from aesthetic classification of photos to videos demonstrates a satisfying correct classification rate of videos without any prior training on the test set created by Tzelepis et al. Moreover, the initial photograph classifier can also be used on feature films to investigate the classifier’s learnt visual preferences, due to films providing a large number of frames easily labellable. The study on aesthetic classification of videos concludes with a case study on the work by an online content creator. The classifier recognised a significantly greater percentage of aesthetically high frames in videos filmed in studios than on-the-go. The results obtained across datasets containing videos of diverse natures manifest the extent of the system’s aesthetic knowledge. To conclude, the evolution of low-level visual features is studied in popular culture such as in paintings and brand logos. The work attempts to link aesthetic preferences during contemplation tasks such as aesthetic rating of photographs with preferred low-level visual features in art creation. It questions whether favoured visual features usage varies over the life of a painter, implicitly showing a relationship with artistic expertise. Findings display significant changes in use of universally preferred features over influential vi abstract painters’ careers such an increase in cardinal lines and the colour blue; changes that were not observed in landscape painters. Regarding brand logos, only a few features evolved in a significant manner, most of them being colour-related features. Despite the incredible amount of data available online, phenomena developing over an entire life are still complicated to study. These computational experiments show that simple approaches focusing on the fundamentals instead of high-level measures allow to analyse artists’ visual preferences, as well as extract a community’s visual preferences from photos or videos while limiting impact from cultural and personal experiences

Finite size effects in a model for plasticity of amorphous composites

We discuss the plastic behavior of an amorphous matrix reinforced by hard particles. A mesoscopic depinning-like model accounting for Eshelby elastic interactions is implemented. Only the effect of a plastic disorder is considered. Numerical results show a complex size-dependence of the effective flow stress of the amorphous composite. In particular the departure from the mixing law shows opposite trends associated to the competing effects of the matrix and the reinforcing particles respectively. The reinforcing mechanisms and their effects on localization are discussed. Plastic strain is shown to gradually concentrate on the weakest band of the system. This correlation of the plastic behavior with the material structure is used to design a simple analytical model. The latter nicely captures reinforcement size effects in $-(\log N/N)^{1/2}$ observed numerically. Predictions of the effective flow stress accounting for further logarithmic corrections show a very good agreement with numerical results.Comment: 18 pages, 19 figure

Idéologies et comptabilité: l’exemple français de l’uniformisation des méthodes de calcul de coûts.1927-1947. (Ideologies and Accounting: the French Case of Standardization of Cost Finding Methods. 1927-1947).

Basado en un estudio detallado de la literatura técnica de la época, así como en detenidas investigaciones archivísticas, este artículo establece una relación entre las tentativas privadas de normalización de los métodos del cálculo de costes, realizadas en Francia entre las dos guerras mundiales, y algunas ideologías propias de ese período. This paper is based on a detailed study of the technical literature of the day as well as on thorough research in the archives. It aims to identify a relationship between the private standardization attempts of cost finding methods carried out in France between the two world wars and some ideologies of this period.Contabilidad de gestión, corporativismo, secciones homogéneas, tecnocracia. Corporativism, management accounting, sections homogènes, tecnocracy.

The Early Local and Regional Immune Response to Recall Inoculations of Mycobacterium Leprae in the Skin of Rhesus Macaques (Macaca Mulatta).

Epidemiological studies have failed to show any important impact of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and disease on leprosy, in contrast to the well documented increase in incidence and morbidity with other mycobacteria in these patients, notably Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The early events following exposure and repeated exposure to Mycobacterium leprae (ML) have not still been studied. Previous studies of first inoculations of ML in the skin of rhesus monkeys have indicated delayed recruitment of CD4+ cells and delayed interleukin (IL) 2 secretion in skin inoculation sites in simian immunodeficiency (SIV) positive animals. The development of the secondary immune response against a challenge of ML was studied over a period of 2 months in the skin of 9 rhesus macaques, all inoculated previously with ML, 3 of which were SIV positive slow progressors. Cell recruitment and types of cytokine response in the skin and draining lymph nodes (LN) were investigated using flow cytometry (FC), immunohistochemistry, and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction to detect relative levels of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression for IL2, IL4, interferon gamma (IFNgamma) and IL10. Results were analyzed according to SIV status and persistence of ML infection. An early vigorous expression of IL2 and IFNgamma mRNA, indicative of a strong T helper (Th) 1 cytokine profile, was seen in the skin of macaques that cleared ML infection. Animals that developed persistent ML infection (ML+) had delayed, weak Th1 response, and no evidence of early Th2 response in the skin. In contrast, early up regulation of IL4 was only observed in the LN of ML+ macaques. Recruitment of CD4+ lymphocytes into the skin was significantly lower and delayed in ML+ animals. CD4:CD8 ratio were significantly lower in the blood in SIV+ monkeys. However, no significant differences in CD4+ lymphocyte recruitment or expression of cytokine mRNA were observed between SIV- and SIV+ monkeys. Despite evidence of systemic immunodepression, the slow progressing SIV+ rhesus macaques are still capable of mounting an adequate response to ML re-inoculation in the skin. A Th2 response is not generated in the skin early after re-infection in animals which developed progressive infection

Indices of Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in a Bioindicator Species: Point Mutation Detection in the Cotton Rat.

Release of energy-related contaminants occurs ubiquitously in the environment. Cancer induction by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and aromatic amines have been well recognized in the workplace and are also suspected among the general population. Environmental PAHs exposure and effects have been investigated using biomarkers in aquatic and, to a lesser extent, terrestrial animals. Attempts to monitor the presence and effects of PAHs through the detection of point mutations in genes involved in carcinogenesis (p53 and K-ras) would yield interesting clues regarding possible etiologic agents and their potential effect. The identification of a mutation type, known to be G→T transversion predominantly with PAHs and aromatic amines, would be indicative of these families of chemicals, while their presence in a tumor suppressor gene and an oncogene represents additional molecular hits with potential biological significance. Achievement of this goal requires the development of Polymerase Chain Reaction/Restriction Enzyme/Ligase Chain Reaction assays which are able to detect and identify rare mutations in non-neoplastic tissues with sensitivities greater than 10--6 for various genomic sites in humans. Cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) appeared to be a good candidate bioindicator. Inbred Cotton rats were used to assess the sensitivity of this species to the toxic effects of PAHs using benz[a]anthracene (BaA) and 2-aminoanthracene (2AA). Although Cotton rats appeared to have the metabolic capabilities to yield reactive diol epoxide and aromatic nitrenium. intermediates, their response to the toxic effects of BaA was not obvious after two weeks per os exposure as compared to F344 rats based on their food intake. 2AA toxicity and carcinogenicity were also reduced in Cotton rats compared to F344 rats following per os and intraperitoneal exposure as assessed by the absence of decrease in food intake and in weight gain, and the non-occurrence of preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions. However, the adaptation of the mutation detection assay to the selected species did not yield the desired sensitivity secondary to primer misalignment and polymerase fidelity error. These results highlight the risk inherent in extrapolation from one species to another and suggest that Cotton rats may not be a sensitive bioindicator of PAHs exposure