The influence of the frequency of functional markers on repetitive imitation of syntactic constructions in children with specific language impairment, from their own language productions

in Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics (2013), 27(6-7),

Several studies provide considerable insight into the role that frequency plays in language development. However, no study has investigated the direct relationship between frequency and grammatical ... [more ▼]

Several studies provide considerable insight into the role that frequency plays in language development. However, no study has investigated the direct relationship between frequency and grammatical acquisition in children with specific language impairment (SLI). In this study, we focus specifically on the influence of the frequency of functional words on the ability of children with SLI to produce grammatical constructions based on the children's own previous production but containing previously unused functional words. To test our hypothesis, the children were administered an imitative repetition task, tailored to their current level of language development. Results showed that children with SLI performed more poorly than language-matched children with typical language development. The difference between the two groups was more marked when the previously unused functional words were infrequent rather than frequent. Consequently, it would seem that the token frequency of functional words influences grammatical acquisition in children with SLI. The results and their implications for linguistic theories are discussed. [less ▲]

Evaluation of the residual solvent content of counterfeit tablets and capsules

in Journal of Pharmaceutical & Biomedical Analysis (2013), 81-82

A group of counterfeit samples of Viagra® and Cialis® were screened for their residual solvent content and compared to the content of the genuine products. It was observed that all counterfeit samples had ... [more ▼]

A group of counterfeit samples of Viagra® and Cialis® were screened for their residual solvent content and compared to the content of the genuine products. It was observed that all counterfeit samples had higher residual solvent contents compared to the genuine products. A more diverse range of residual solvents was found as well as higher concentrations. In general these concentrations did not exceed the international imposed maximum limits. Only in a few samples the limits were exceeded. A Projection Pursuit analysis revealed clusters of samples with similar residual solvent content, possibly enabling some future perspectives in forensic research. [less ▲]

Minéralogie et propriétés physico-chimiques des smectites de Bana et Sabga (Cameroun). Utilisation dans la décoloration d'une huile végétale alimentaire

Doctoral thesis (2013)

In this study, clay samples were collected in the localities of Bana and Sabga, in the regions of the west and north-west Cameroon, respectively. The purpose of this study was to determine their ... [more ▼]

In this study, clay samples were collected in the localities of Bana and Sabga, in the regions of the west and north-west Cameroon, respectively. The purpose of this study was to determine their mineralogical composition, their physico-chemical properties and to assess their potential use in the bleaching process of palm oil, which is the main edible vegetable oil produced and refined in Cameroon. <br /> The results obtained from the analyses (XRD, FTIR, DTA / TGA and SEM) revealed that montmorillonite is the main clay mineral in these materials. It is associated with kaolinite and mica. Non-clay minerals such as quartz, anatase, cristobalite, K-feldspar and heulandite are also identified in variable quantities. Chemical analyses of the major elements show that the clays from Bana and Sabga consist mainly of the follow oxides such as SiO2, Al2O3 and Fe2O3. Bana clays have a cation exchange capacity (CEC) between 50 and 60 meq/100 g and a specific surface area between 50 and 60 m2/ g. Sabga clays have a lower capacity cation exchange (38- 46 meq/100 g) and a wider range of specific surface area (33-90 m2 / g). The characterization of the natural clays allowed to select of one sample by locality for sulfuric acid treatment. <br />The acid treatment of these materials led to structural, morphological and textural changes. Analysis by X-ray diffraction showed a progressive decrease in the intensity of the (001) reflection of montmorillonite and a shift of its basal d001-value. Treatment with more acid concentration causes an increase in the surface area of the obtained products and a decrease in cation exchange capacity. <br />The assessment of the bleaching power of natural and acid-activated Bana clay in palm oil decolorization shows that the activated clay has a high bleaching capacity (~ 87%) compared to the natural clay (~ 55%). palm oil Bleaching by these clay materials does not deteriorate the bleached oil. These materials can thus be used as bleaching earths in the refining oil process. [less ▲]

Modeling of Electromagnetic Systems by Coupling of Subproblems – Application to Thin Shell Finite Element Magnetic Models

Doctoral thesis (2013)

The direct application of the finite element method to realistic electromagnetic problems is challenging, especially when modeling structures with thin conductive and/or magnetic parts. This work presents ... [more ▼]

The direct application of the finite element method to realistic electromagnetic problems is challenging, especially when modeling structures with thin conductive and/or magnetic parts. This work presents a subproblem method for correcting the inaccuracies inherent to classical thin shell models, and to efficiently handle geometrical and material variations in parametric studies. [less ▲]

How are we vulnerable? Opening industrial hazards vulnerability analysis to participation

Conference (2013, June 17)

The risk analysis framework has been the dominant theoretical framework used to address the uncertainty of a potential hazard bypassing the system's safeguards and protection. In essence, this involves ... [more ▼]

The risk analysis framework has been the dominant theoretical framework used to address the uncertainty of a potential hazard bypassing the system's safeguards and protection. In essence, this involves the evaluation of the probability and the magnitude of the consequences of the undesired events that can transform the hazard into actual damage. Despite the technical premises, the importance of integrating social aspects into the analysis is now recognized by an increasing number or risk analysis models. Another way to deal with potential consequences of hazards is to analyze the vulnerability of the system considered. This paradigm overcomes the shortcomings of risk analysis in situations when the knowledge about the probabilities and the outcomes is incomplete or insufficient On the one hand, studies in the literature show that socio-economic factors are often integrated in a participative way in vulnerability analysis models especially in the natural hazards research field. On the other hand, it seems that such considerations are rarely integrated in the models aiming at evaluating the vulnerability to an industrial hazard. What can we learn from the analysis of models addressing vulnerability to natural hazards in terms of the participatory integration of social factors? What could be the reasons to apply such participation tools in order to assess the vulnerability to industrial hazards? These are the questions we address in this contribution. To do so, we realized a systematic literature review from scientific journal papers on vulnerability analysis published in the last two decades. From this review, three main arguments can be found arguing for the use of participation for vulnerability analysis. Indeed, participation allows (1) context-based assessments, that may (2) foster the development of adaptative capacities (3) both for short and long-term. Based on those arguments, we identifiy possible paths to foster participation for context-based industrial vulnerability analysis. [less ▲]

Ostraca littéraires profanes de provenance monastique dans l'Égypte byzantine

Conference (2013, June 14)

Documentée par des milliers de papyrus, parchemins, ostraca, tablettes de bois ou cirées, – restes de livres ou de documents dont les plus anciens remontent au IIe siècle de notre ère –, la ... [more ▼]

Documentée par des milliers de papyrus, parchemins, ostraca, tablettes de bois ou cirées, – restes de livres ou de documents dont les plus anciens remontent au IIe siècle de notre ère –, la christianisation de l’Égypte a longtemps été perçue comme un phénomène ayant entraîné la disparition de la culture profane de tradition hellénique (paideia). Il faut cependant nuancer ce propos : nombre d’échanges, d’emprunts entre les deux types de cultures ont existé. La découverte, à côté de quelques papyrus, de 37 ostraca à contenu littéraire profane dans les ruines de monastères égyptiens, tous de la région thébaine, et datant de la fin du Ve siècle au milieu du VIIIe siècle, constitue un petit ensemble de témoins de ce phénomène. Nous fondant sur l'analyse de la forme, de la mise en page et du contenu de ceux-ci, nous montrerons par quels biais la paideia hellénique s'est introduite dans les monastères, milieux chrétiens par excellence. [less ▲]

Sustainable housing in Vietnam: Climate responsive design strategies to optimize thermal comfort

Doctoral thesis (2013)

Housing issue in Vietnam is still a big concern as in 2008, 72.2% of the existing housing was semi-permanent or temporary and 89.2% of the poor did not have a permanent shelter. As a response to ... [more ▼]

Housing issue in Vietnam is still a big concern as in 2008, 72.2% of the existing housing was semi-permanent or temporary and 89.2% of the poor did not have a permanent shelter. As a response to sustainability, the global aim of this thesis is to develop design strategies toward comfortable, energy-efficient housing with acceptable building cost. Occupants’ thermal comfort is the key assessment criterion throughout the research. <br />First of all, the thesis develops a thermal comfort model for Vietnamese people living in naturally ventilated buildings through the data from field surveys around South-East Asia. This comfort model is then validated by survey data in Vietnam in 2012. <br />A new simple climate analysis tool is developed, used to analyze the climate of 3 regions in question and to draw preliminary design guidelines. A comprehensive study on climate responsive design strategies of vernacular housing in Vietnam is also carried out. The results to some extend reveal the remaining values of vernacular architecture and provide valuable lessons for modern applications. <br />Three most common housing prototypes in Vietnam are selected. Afterward a comprehensive framework is implemented to derive thermal performances of 3 typical housing types. Various techniques (in situ monitoring, building thermal simulation, CFD and airflow network model, numerical model calibration, parametric simulation method) are employed to improve the thermal performances and natural ventilation of these houses. <br />The sensitivity of building performance to the design variables is outlined by Monte Carlo-based sensitivity analysis. The thermal performances of the reference cases are optimized using the simulation-based optimization method and the most influential design variables. Optimization results show the best combinations of design strategies for each climatic region. The performances of the optimal solutions are compared with the references, providing an insight of the efficiency of this approach in building design. <br />Finally, the different objectives yielded in this thesis are summarized. The possible future extensions of this research are outlined. [less ▲]

Influence of the mode of walk on walking speed in multiple sclerosis: are you walking comfortably?

Poster (2013, June 10)

Introduction : Walking speed (WS) is the most frequent gait variable taken into account when measuring gait dysfunction in neurological diseases. Influences of the mode of walk instructed to the subject ... [more ▼]

Introduction : Walking speed (WS) is the most frequent gait variable taken into account when measuring gait dysfunction in neurological diseases. Influences of the mode of walk instructed to the subject, i.e. « as fast as possible » (AFAP) or « at a comfortable pace » (PrP) have not been well characterized in multiple sclerosis (MS). Objectives : to compare those 2 mode of walk in a population of persons with MS (pMS) and healthy volunteers (HV). Methods: WS was measured with a new automated device along a 25 foot distance (T25FW) as part of a multimodal evaluation of gait in an MS ambulatory department. Results: Baseline demographics between HV and pMS were comparable. Our first results demonstrate that (i) WS is obviously significantly higher in AFAP than in PrP both for pMS and HV (p < 0.001 for all comparisons) and (ii) the relative difference between AFAP and PrP WS is significantly higher in HV than in pMS (p < 0.001). The AFAP-PrP WS correlation is higher in pMS (r = 0.87, p < 0.001) than in HV (r = 0.51, p < 0.001). Finally, the relative difference between AFAP and PrP WS is significantly and negatively correlated with the PrP WS in HV (r = -0.41, p < 0.001) and pMS with mild to moderate disability (EDSS 0-3.5, r = -0.49, p < 0.01) but not in pMS with high disability (EDSS 4-5.5, r = 0.008). Conclusions : these results suggests that heatlhy subjects have access to a higher range of PrP WS than pMS and questions the regulation of PrP WS that might be under psychological or behavioural influences. The demonstration of a lower PrP-AFAP difference in MS suggests that pMS are either adopting a natural WS closer to their maximum WS, or alternatively that they can’t reach their maximum WS because of neurological impairments. Our results also emphasize the importance of the instructed mode of walk in the quantification of gait disorders both for routine clinical practice and clinical trials. [less ▲]

Characterization of new bacterial glycoside hydrolases isolated from agricultural soils using a functional metagenomic approach

Poster (2013, June 10)

Microorganisms play key roles in soil ecosystem functioning, notably through their ability to degrade plant cell wall polymers. For this, bacteria and fungi produce various enzymes such as cellulases ... [more ▼]

Microorganisms play key roles in soil ecosystem functioning, notably through their ability to degrade plant cell wall polymers. For this, bacteria and fungi produce various enzymes such as cellulases, xylanases, glucosidases, esterases or laccases. Finding new enzymes hydrolyzing cellulose, hemicellulose or lignin is not only interesting for a better understanding of the roles of the soil microflora still largely unknown but these enzymes are also useful for various biotechnological applications such as the production of renewable energy from lignocellulosic material. So here, we used a functional metagenomic approach to isolate new bacterial β-glucosidases, which were then biochemically characterized. The new enzymes were identified by functional analysis of agricultural-soil metagenomic libraries hosted in Escherichia coli and screened on medium containing esculin. After sequence analysis and preliminary estimation of the activity of the new β-glucosidases using p-nitrophenol derivatives on intact bacterial cells, the coding sequences of three of them were cloned into a bacterial expression vector so as to overproduce and purify them by affinity chromatography. The chosen enzymes show only 52-64% sequence identity to known family 3 (GH3) or 1 (GH1) glycoside hydrolases of different phyla (Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria and Proteobacteria). Analysis of the E. coli cells expressing each of them revealed that both GH1 proteins (ASEsc9 and ASEsc10) are thermophilic enzymes more active at mildly acidic to neutral pH while the GH3 enzyme (ASEsc6) is an alkaline, mesophilic, β-glucosidase also displaying xylosidase activity. Their coding sequences have been cloned in fusion with a carboxy-terminal His-tag and placed under the control of the IPTG-inducible promoter of the pET-30b vector. The proteins will be overproduced and purified for further characterization. [less ▲]

Proposition de nouveaux indices de détection de patrons de réponses inappropriés dans le contexte des enquêtes et des épreuves d’évaluation des apprentissages

Conference (2013, June 07)

Il n’est pas rare de voir des étudiants répondre de façon inappropriée à une épreuve d’évaluation comportant des items à réponses choisies. Par exemple, certains individus peuvent tricher alors que ... [more ▼]

Il n’est pas rare de voir des étudiants répondre de façon inappropriée à une épreuve d’évaluation comportant des items à réponses choisies. Par exemple, certains individus peuvent tricher alors que d’autres peuvent tenter de se sous-classer intentionnellement à un examen. Plusieurs approches ont été développées pour faire la détection de ce type d’étudiants. À ce jour, l’approche la plus prometteuse est l’utilisation d’indice de détection de type person‐fit (Meijer et Sijtsma, 2001). L’indice de détection lz (Drasgow, Levine et Williams, 1985) est fort probablement le plus utilisé et le plus connu d’entre tous. Malheureusement, cet indice est fortement affecté par le fait que l’habileté des étudiants est estimée et non pas réelle ; ce qui peut biaiser son calcul (Molenaar et Hoijtink, 1990). Pour pallier ce problème, Snijders (2001) a proposé une correction qui permet de diminuer considérablement le biais associé à la moyenne et à la variance de l’indice lz. Dans le cadre de notre projet doctoral, nous nous inspirerons de la suggestion de Snijders (2001) pour corriger deux autres indices de détection de patrons de réponses inappropriés : l’infit mean square (u) et l’outfit mean square (w). À cette fin, nous utiliserons une approche monte carliste afin d’investiguer plus en détails l’erreur de type 1 et la puissance de ces autres indices. Nos résultats préliminaires, que nous présenterons lors de cette communication, montrent que ces autres indices corrigés semblent eux aussi plus efficaces que leur version traditionnelle sans correction. [less ▲]