Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evolution de fronts avec vitesse non-locale et équations de Hamilton-Jacobi

Ce memoire presente mes travaux de recherche effectues apres ma these, entre 2002 et 2008. Les themes principaux sont les equations aux derivees partielles non-lineaires et des problemes d'evolutions de fronts ou d'interfaces. Il est organise en trois chapitres. Le premier chapitre concerne l'evolution de fronts avec une vitesse normale prescrite. Pour etudier ce genre de probleme, une premiere approche, dite par lignes de niveaux, consiste arepresenter le front comme une ligne de niveau d'une fonction auxiliaire u. Cette approche ramene l'etude du probleme d'evolution geometrique a un probleme d'EDP puisque u verifie une equation de Hamilton-Jacobi. Quelques resultats dans le cas de vitesses locales comme la courbure moyenne sont presentes mais la majorite des resultats concerne le cas de vitesses non-locales decrivant la dynamique des dislocations dans un cristal ou modelisant l'asymptotique d'un systeme de FitzHugh-Nagumo apparaissant en biologie. Une approche differente, basee sur des solutions de viscosite geometriques, est utilisee pour etudier des problemes de propagation de fronts apparaissant en optimisation de formes. Le but est de trouver un ensemble optimal minimisant une energie du type capacite a volume ou perimetre constant. L'idee est de deformer le bord d'un ensemble donne avec une vitesse normale adequate de maniere a diminuer au plus son energie. La mise en oeuvre de cette idee necessite la construction rigoureuse d'une telle evolution pour tout temps et la preuve de la convergence vers une solution du probleme initial. De plus, la decroissance de l'energie est obtenue le long du flot. Le deuxieme chapitre decrit des resultats d'unicite, d'existence et d'homogeneisation pour des equations de Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman. La majeure partie du travail effectue concerne des equations provenant de problemes de controle stochastique avec des controles non-bornes. Les equations comportent alors des termes quadratiques par rapport au gradient et les solutions etudiees sont elles-memes a croissance quadratique. Des liens entre ces solutions et les fonctions valeurs des problemes de controle correspondants sont etablis. La seconde partie est consacree a un theoreme d'homogeneisation pour un systeme d'equations de Hamilton-Jacobi du premier ordre. Le troisieme et dernier chapitre traite d'un sujet un peu a part, a savoir le lien entre les flots de gradient et l'inegalite de Lojasiewicz. La principale originalite de ce travail est de placer l'etude dans un cadre hilbertien pour des fonctions semiconvexes, ce qui sort du cadre de l'inegalite de Lojasiewicz classique. Le principal theoreme produit des caracterisations de cette inegalite. Les resultats peuvent etre precises dans le cas des fonctions convexes ; en particulier, un contre-exemple de fonction convexe ne verifiant pas l'inegalite de Lojasiewicz est construit. Cette derniere inegalite est reliee a la longueur des trajectoires de gradient. Une borne de cette longueur est obtenue pour les fonctions convexes coercives en dimension deux meme lorsque cette inegalite n'est pas verifiee.
Dynamique hors équilibre d'un condensat de Bose-Einstein dans un réseau dépendant du temps

Ce manuscrit presente le travail realise dans le cadre de ma these dans l’equipe Atomes Froids du laboratoire CAR de l’universite Toulouse III Paul Sabatier. L’un des projets de recherche de cette equipe est l’etude du comportement d’un condensat de Bose Einstein dans un reseau optique module en temps et notamment l’etude de l’impact du chaos a la limite classique sur le comportement quantique d’une particule. L’objectif de mon travail est de developper les outils necessaires a cette etude. La premiere etape a ete de construire l’ensemble du dispositif experimental de l’equipe, qui est operationnel depuis mai 2015. Nous presenterons donc ce dispositif ainsi que les techniques de refroidissement que nous avons mises en place. La suite du manuscrit est consacree a l’etude du comportement d’un condensat de Bose Einstein dans un reseau optique cree par l’interference constructive de deux faisceaux laser contra-propageants. Le potentiel ainsi cree peut etre controle dynamiquement via la puissance et la phase relative des deux faisceaux. Mon travail s’est surtout concentre sur le controle de la phase relative. Nous avons notamment developpe une nouvelle methode de calibration qui repose sur l’analyse de la micro-oscillation d’une chaine de condensats apres un decalage spatial quasi- instantane du reseau. Cette methode presente l’avantage d’etre tres robuste vis-a-vis des interactions, du potentiel de confinement exterieur ainsi que des anharmonicites du potentiel periodique. L’etude du micro-mouvement des atomes a aussi permis de mettre en evidence la presence d’un effet tunnel qui se manifeste au cours de la micro oscillation. La signature de cet effet tunnel dans l’espace des impulsions apres temps de vol nous donne la possibilite de faire une mesure directe du temps de traversee tunnel et d’en etudier les proprietes. La derniere partie du manuscrit est consacree a l’etude preliminaire du comportement d’un condensat de Bose Einstein dans un reseau renormalise par modulation de phase. Suivant le regime de modulation, nous pouvons renormaliser la profondeur ou le taux tunnel entre chaque puits du reseau. Dans ce dernier cas, nous voyons emerger un nouvel etat d’equilibre appele staggered state. La dynamique de formation de cet etat est complexe car le chauffage du a la modulation doit etre pris en compte. Nous presenterons donc les resultats preliminaires de cette etude.
Mobile Technology Applications for Manufacturing, Reduction of Muda (Waste) and the Effect on Manufacturing Economy and Efficiency

Mobile devices in the manufacturing setting offer mobility and information whenever and wherever it is needed; these advantages allow for a more efficient workflow and allow the user to make more informed decisions. Due to these advantages, companies are reducing muda (waste) by using mobile devices (implementing Lean Manufacturing) and therefore saving money. Some of the mobile applications discussed in this paper are the following: Augmented Reality for assembly training, pruefcubing, remotely-monitored shop floors, statistical process control (SPC), and change requests for construction, and the two types of muda (waste) reduced by these mobile applications are “unnecessary / excess motion and defects. ”
Provisionamento automático de recursos como um serviço de IaaS.

O modelo de IaaS proporcionado pelo paradigma de Computacao na Nuvem tem como principais caracteristicas a provisao sob demanda de recursos e a tarifacao do uso de recursos a partir de um modelo pay-as-you-go, que permitem que o custo de utilizacao do servico seja proporcional a quantidade e ao tempo de uso dos recursos. Essas caracteristicas possibilitam a criacao de infraestruturas virtuais elasticas, que podem ser dinamicamente modificadas, em termos da capacidade de recursos, a fim de acomodar as demandas da aplicacao que nela executa. Tal elasticidade e principalmente explorada para o provisionamento de aplicacoes horizontalmente escalaveis, que possuem demandas variaveis no tempo e executam por longos periodos. Idealmente, para aplicacoes desse tipo, a capacidade da infraestrutura de execucao pode ser automaticamente provisionada com base nas demandas da aplicacao, de forma a assegurar a QoS da aplicacao e ao mesmo tempo minimizar os custos de execucao em termos dos recursos adquiridos. Esse cenario de provisionamento automatico pode ser expandido para o desenvolvimento de um servico de provisionamento automatico de recursos em IaaS. Desta forma, o responsavel pela aplicacao pode contratar um servico que assuma a responsabilidade de dinâmica e eficientemente provisionar a sua aplicacao durante a execucao desta. No entanto, por questoes de privacidade e principalmente generalidade em termos das aplicacoes provisionadas, espera-se que um servico desse tipo opere com informacoes nao especificas da aplicacao, tais como utilizacao de CPU, memoria, etc., ou seja, de forma nao intrusiva. Este trabalho visa investigar a tese sobre a viabilidade de construcao de um servico de provisionamento automatico e nao intrusivo para diferentes aplicacoes horizontalmente escalaveis em um ambiente de IaaS. Tal servico deve ser capaz de manter a QoS da aplicacao provisionada em niveis aceitaveis e, havendo variacao de carga de trabalho, minimizar os custos de sua execucao. Em geral, as atuais solucoes de provisionamento automatico fazem uso de abordagens de provisionamento que operam de forma reativa ou proativa. Desta forma, o principal objetivo desse trabalho consiste em analisar como solucoes de provisionamento, reativas e proativas, podem ser empregadas na construcao de um servico de provisionamento em IaaS, destacando eficiencias e limitacoes destas abordagens e apontando diretrizes para a criacao desse servico.
Oscillations of free cytosolic calcium evoked by cholinergic and catecholaminergic agonists in rat parotid acinar cells.

1. In single, dissociated, rat parotid acinar cells the muscarinic agonist carbachol evokes a rapid rise in cytosolic free calcium [( Ca2+]i), from near 100 nM to peak levels of up to 1 microM. In the continued presence of the agonist the response decays to a lower, maintained, level. 2. In most cells, at 22 degrees C, oscillations, with a mean frequency of 0.19 Hz, are superimposed upon this elevation of [Ca2+]i. In voltage‐clamped cells oscillations of current occur in phase with the oscillations of [Ca2+]i. 3. The oscillations occur in voltage‐clamped cells, and in the absence of extracellular Ca2+, indicating that neither voltage‐gated processes, or an influx of Ca2+ is involved. 4. Oscillation frequency is independent of carbachol concentration, in the range 100 nM to 250 microM, and furthermore, shows no relationship to the mean level of [Ca2+]i during the oscillations. 5. Stimulation with the alpha‐adrenergic agonist noradrenaline, in the presence of the beta‐blocker propanolol, evokes oscillations having the same frequency as those evoked by carbachol. 6. The oscillations show a strong temperature dependence, the frequency increasing with a Q10 of 2.8. In contrast, the amplitude of the oscillations drops from a mean of 33% of the response amplitude at 22 degrees C, and below, to 6% at 33 degrees C. Above the latter temperature oscillations are not resolvable. 7. The phorbol esters, 12‐O‐tetradecanoyl‐phorbol‐13‐acetate and 12,13‐phorbol dibutyrate (1 microM), do not affect the response to carbachol at 22 degrees C, at which temperature the oscillations are of maximum amplitude. Diacylglycerol is, therefore, unlikely to be involved in oscillation generation in these cells. 8. These observations are consistent with a model in which a negative feed‐back loop links [Ca2+]i to the mechanisms of Ca2+ elevation, possibly to the inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate‐sensitive Ca2+ release mechanism of the endoplasmic reticulum. If the feed‐back path involved an enzymatic step, the slowing of this step at lowered temperatures could give rise to oscillations. At body temperature such a mechanism would act to ensure that [Ca2+]i was elevated in a regulated and dose‐dependent manner.
Listening and note taking.

Be a comprehensive listener! Comprehensive listening has to do with the feedback between speaker and listener. The speaker has an obligation to make his/her words comprehensible to the listener. The listener, in turn, must let the speaker know when he/she does not understand. Both parties must make a conscious effort to accept their individual responsibilities. You may think this is a 50/50 proposition, which in part it is; however, both parties must be willing to give a 100% for effective listening comprehension to be achieved.
On microelectronic self-learning cognitive chip systems

After a brief review of machine learning techniques and applications, this Ph.D. thesis examines several approaches for implementing machine learning architectures and algorithms into hardware within our laboratory. From this interdisciplinary background support, we have motivations for novel approaches that we intend to follow as an objective of innovative hardware implementations of dynamically self-reconfigurable logic for enhanced self-adaptive, self-(re)organizing and eventually self-assembling machine learning systems, while developing this new particular area of research. And after reviewing some relevant background of robotic control methods followed by most recent advanced cognitive controllers, this Ph.D. thesis suggests that amongst many well-known ways of designing operational technologies, the design methodologies of those leading-edge high-tech devices such as cognitive chips that may well lead to intelligent machines exhibiting conscious phenomena should crucially be restricted to extremely well defined constraints. Roboticists also need those as specifications to help decide upfront on otherwise infinitely free hardware/software design details. In addition and most importantly, we propose these specifications as methodological guidelines tightly related to ethics and the nowadays well-identified workings of the human body and of its psyche.
Decrease in CD4+CD25+ and CD8+CD28+ T cells in interstitial pneumonitis associated with rheumatic disease

The expression of CD25 or CD28 on T cells was examined in patients with rheumatic diseases associated with interstitial pneumonitis (IP), in order to investigate the conditions of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells and CD8+CD28− suppressor T cells. Fifty-five patients with various rheumatic diseases and 23 normal controls were enrolled. CD4+CD25+ T cells of patients with IP were significantly decreased in comparison with non-IP patients, and the ratio of CD8+CD28− T cells in patients with IP was significantly higher than that in non-IP patients or normal controls. These results for CD8+CD28− T cells were in accord with the decrease in CD8+CD28+ T cells, and may be related to activation-induced CD8+CD28+ T-cell death. Thus, the abnormality of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells may be related to the pathogenesis of IP, and the survival and activation of CD8+ T cells.
Surface coil cardiac tagging and 31P spectroscopic localization with B1‐insensitive adiabatic pulses

A technique is presented for MRI tagging in the presence of inhomogeneous B1 fields. A rectangular tagging grid is produced with B1‐insensitive adiabatic pulses in a magnetization preparation period that precedes image acquisition. Phantom results demonstrate that the method is well‐suited to surface coil experiments. The technique is applied to a canine model of myocardial ischemia to track the spatially dependent wall motion of the left ventricle during the cardiac cycle. Transmural 31P spectra are acquired from the same double‐tuned surface coil, with tagging and spectroscopy performed for the first time, during normal, ischemic, and recovery conditions for the same animal.
The relationship between the spleen colony-forming cell and the haemopoietic stem cell.

Several experimental findings that are inconsistent with the view that the spleen colony-forming cell (CFU-S) is the primary haemopoietic stem cell are reviewed. Recovery of CFU-S, both quantitatively and qualitatively, can proceed differently depending upon the cytotoxic agent or regime used to bring about the depletion. The virtual immortality of the stem cell population is at variance with evidence that the CFU-S population has an 'age-structure' which has been invoked by several workers to explain experimental and clinical observations. To account for these inconsistencies, a hypothesis is proposed in which the stem cell is seen in association with other cells which determine its behaviour. It becomes essentially a fixed tissue cell. Its maturation is prevented and, as a result, its continued proliferation as a stem cell is assured. Its progeny, unless they can occupy a similar stem cell 'niche', are first generation colony-forming cells, which proliferate and mature to acquire a high probability of differentiation, i.e., they have an age-structure. Some of the experimental situations reviewed are discussed in relation to the proposed hypothesis.
Persistent Homology meets Statistical Inference - A Case Study: Detecting Modes of One-Dimensional Signals

We investigate the problem of estimating persistent homology of noisy one dimensional signals. We relate this to the problem of estimating the number of modes (i.e., local maxima) ‐ a well known question in statistical inference ‐ and we show how to do so without presmoothing the data. To this end, we extend the ideas of persistent homology by working with norms di erent from the (classical) supremum norm. As a particular case we investigate the so called Kolmogorov norm. We argue that this extension has certain statistical advantages. We o er confidence bands for the attendant Kolmogorov signatures, thereby allowing for the selection of relevant signatures with a statistically controllable error. As a result of independent interest, we show that so-called taut strings minimize the number of critical points for a very general class of functions. We illustrate our results by several numerical examples.
Clinical significance of in vitro replication-enhancing mutations of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) replicon in patients with chronic HCV infection.

BACKGROUND Mutations in nonstructural (NS) hepatitis C virus (HCV) proteins enhance replication in HCV-1a/b replicons. The prevalence of such mutations and their clinical significance in vivo are unknown. METHODS Parts of HCV NS3 and NS4B-NS5B genes that included 31 in vitro replication-enhancing sites were sequenced for 26 patients with chronic HCV genotype 1 infection. RESULTS Five patients showed specific mutations within NS3 at sites enhancing replication in the replicon. Those mutations were associated with a slower decrease in HCV RNA concentration during interferon (IFN)- alpha -based therapy (P = .007). Neither specific nor other mutations within NS3 and NS4B-NS5B were associated with baseline HCV RNA concentrations. Within NS5A, fewer mutations in the major HCV strain (P = .001) and increased quasi-species complexity (P = .02) and diversity (P = .02) correlated with increasing baseline HCV RNA concentrations. In silico analyses of NS3 protein structures suggested that the majority of observed mutations did not lead to major conformational changes. CONCLUSIONS Specific mutations leading to enhanced replication in the replicon system were detected in 5 of 26 patients in vivo and were not associated with baseline HCV RNA concentrations but were associated with a slower decrease in HCV RNA concentration during IFN- alpha -based therapy. Quasi-species heterogeneity of NS5A correlated with baseline HCV RNA concentrations.
A graphite calorimeter for absolute measurements of absorbed dose to water: application in medium-energy x-ray filtered beams

The Italian National Institute of Ionizing Radiation Metrology (ENEA-INMRI) has designed and built a graphite calorimeter that, in a water phantom, has allowed the determination of the absorbed dose to water in medium-energy x-rays with generating voltages from 180 to 250 kV. The new standard is a miniaturized three-bodies calorimeter, with a disc-shaped core of 21 mm diameter and 2 mm thickness weighing 1.134 g, sealed in a PMMA waterproof envelope with air-evacuated gaps. The measured absorbed dose to graphite is converted into absorbed dose to water by means of an energy-dependent conversion factor obtained from Monte Carlo simulations. Heat-transfer correction factors were determined by FEM calculations. At a source-to-detector distance of 100 cm, a depth in water of 2 g cm−2, and at a dose rate of about 0.15 Gy min−1, results of calorimetric measurements of absorbed dose to water, Dw, were compared to experimental determinations, DwK, obtained via an ionization chamber calibrated in terms of air kerma, according to established dosimetry protocols. The combined standard uncertainty of Dw and DwK were estimated as 1.9% and 1.7%, respectively. The two absorbed dose to water determinations were in agreement within 1%, well below the stated measurement uncertainties. Advancements are in progress to extend the measurement capability of the new in-water-phantom graphite calorimeter to other filtered medium-energy x-ray qualities and to reduce the Dw uncertainty to around 1%. The new calorimeter represents the first implementation of in-water-phantom graphite calorimetry in the kilovoltage range and, allowing independent determinations of Dw, it will contribute to establish a robust system of absorbed dose to water primary standards for medium-energy x-ray beams.
The Relationship between Manufacturing and Service Provision in Operations Management

Operations management is a large segment which is concerned with the existence of any organization. Every organization has an operations function to produce some type of products and/or services. It is well-known that manufacturing differs from service provision in many aspects. The main difference between products and services would be tangibility. While the outputs of manufacturing are tangible, the outputs of service provision are intangible. Some industries are the mixture of both manufacturing and service provision, which provide both products and services. Likewise, the operations managements which different industries apply are also very different. This article is concerning these differences in different areas, providing some industries and some companies for the analysis.
Appropriate Use Criteria for Hyaluronic Acid in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis in the United States

Objective: A workgroup of clinical experts has developed an Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) for the use of hyaluronic acid (HA) in the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. The increasingly broad and varied use of HA injections, lack of published clinical guidance, and limited coverage for their use has created the imperative to establish appropriateness criteria. Methods: The experts of this workgroup represent rheumatology, orthopedic surgery, physiatry, sports medicine, and nursing clinicians with substantive knowledge of intra-articular HA therapy. This workgroup utilized the results of a systematic review of evidence, expert clinical opinion, and current evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to develop appropriateness criteria for the use of intra-articular HA for knee OA in 17 real-world clinical scenarios. Results: The workgroup scored the appropriateness of treatment of each patient scenario using a 9-point scale to designate a treatment as appropriate (7-9), uncertain (4-6), or inappropriate (1-3). Six scenarios were scored as appropriate, 10 scenarios were scored as uncertain, and 1 scenario was scored as inappropriate. Conclusion: This article can assist clinicians in shared decision-making by providing best practices in considering HA injections for knee OA treatment. Moreover, this AUC article can aid payers and policy makers in determining reimbursement and preauthorization policies and more appropriately managing health care resources. It is clear that further research is still necessary—particularly in patient populations differentiated by OA severity—that may benefit the greatest from the use of HA injections for the treatment of knee OA.