Features modeling with an α-stable distribution: Application to pattern recognition based on continuous belief functions

The aim of this paper is to show the interest in fitting features with an α-stable distribution to classify imperfect data. The supervised pattern recognition is thus based on the theory of continuous belief functions, which is a way to consider imprecision and uncertainty of data. The distributions of features are supposed to be unimodal and estimated by a single Gaussian and α-stable model. Experimental results are first obtained from synthetic data by combining two features of one dimension and by considering a vector of two features. Mass functions are calculated from plausibility functions by using the generalized Bayes theorem. The same study is applied to the automatic classification of three types of sea floor (rock, silt and sand) with features acquired by a mono-beam echo-sounder. We evaluate the quality of the α-stable model and the Gaussian model by analyzing qualitative results, using a Kolmogorov–Smirnov test (K–S test), and quantitative results with classification rates. The performances of the belief classifier are compared with a Bayesian approach.     

LARS: A learning algorithm for rewriting systems

Whereas there is a number of methods and algorithms to learn regular languages, moving up the Chomsky hierarchy is proving to be a challenging task. Indeed, several theoretical barriers make the class of context-free languages hard to learn. To tackle these barriers, we choose to change the way we represent these languages. Among the formalisms that allow the definition of classes of languages, the one of string-rewriting systems (SRS) has outstanding properties. We introduce a new type of SRS’s, called Delimited SRS (DSRS), that are expressive enough to define, in a uniform way, a noteworthy and non trivial class of languages that contains all the regular languages, , , the parenthesis languages of Dyck, the language of Lukasiewicz, and many others. Moreover, DSRS’s constitute an efficient (often linear) parsing device for strings, and are thus promising candidates in forthcoming applications of grammatical inference. In this paper, we pioneer the problem of their learnability. We propose a novel and sound algorithm (called LARS) which identifies a large subclass of them in polynomial time (but not data). We illustrate the execution of our algorithm through several examples, discuss the position of the class in the Chomsky hierarchy and finally raise some open questions and research directions. This work was supported in part by the IST Program of the European Community, under the PASCAL Network of Excellence, IST-2002-506778. This publication only reflects the authors’ views. Editor: Georgios Paliouras and Yasubumi Sakakibara     

Functional segmentation of dynamic nuclear images by cross-psi B-energy operator

We describe a new segmentation method of dynamic nuclear medicine images based on the cross-Psi(B)-energy operator. Psi(B) is a nonlinear measure which quantifies the interaction between two time-signals including their first and second derivatives. Similarity measure, noted SimilB, between the time activity curve (TAC) of each pixel and the mean value of the TACs of a reference region of the scintigraphic image series is calculated. The resulting SimilB map is a functional image representing regions with different temporal dynamics. Some new properties of Psi(B) are presented. Particularly, we show that Psi(B) as a similarity measure is robust to both scale and time shift. The proposed method is applied to nuclear cardiac sequences for visualization and analysis of the ventricular emptying pattern, which may be useful in studying motion or conduction abnormalities. Results of a normal subject and four patients with abnormal ventricular contraction patterns are presented to highlight the suitability of this operator for studying non-stationary TAC series.     

Impact of variable frequency microwave and rapid thermal sintering on microstructure of inkjet-printed silver nanoparticles

The effect of thermal profile on microstructure is studied in the frame of thin films deposited by inkjet-printing technology. The role of sintering temperature and thermal ramp is particularly investigated. Fast heating ramps exhibit coarse grains and pores, especially when a hybrid microwave curing is performed. This enhanced growth is attributed to the quick activation of densifying sintering regimes without undergoing thermal energy loss at low temperature. Microstructural evolution of various sintered inkjet-printed films is correlated with electrical resistivity and with the Young’s modulus determined by nanoindentation. A strong link between those three parameters is highlighted during experiments giving credit to either a surface or a fully volumetric sintering, according to the process. Sintering is then mainly triggered by surface mass transfer or by grain boundary diffusion. Silver thin films with an electrical resistivity 4–5 times higher than the bulk, has been reached in a few minutes with a Young’s modulus of 38?GPa.     

Ester-functionalized poly(3-alkylthiophene) copolymers: Synthesis,physicochemical characterization and performance in bulk heterojunction organic solar cells

The introduction of functional moieties in the donor polymer (side chains) offers a potential pathway toward selective modification of the nanomorphology of conjugated polymer:fullerene active layer blends applied in bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaics, pursuing morphology control and solar cell stability. For this purpose, two types of poly(3-alkylthiophene) random copolymers, incorporating different amounts (10/30/50%) of ester-functionalized side chains, were efficiently synthesized using the Rieke method. The solar cell performance of the functionalized copolymers was evaluated and compared to the pristine P3HT:PCBM system. It was observed that the physicochemical and opto-electronic characteristics of the polythiophene donor material can be modified to a certain extent via copolymerization without (too much) jeopardizing the OPV efficiency, as far as the functionalized side chains are introduced in a moderate ratio (<30%) and that preference is given to side chains with a small molar volume. A range of complementary techniques – UV–Vis spectroscopy, (modulated temperature) differential scanning calorimetry, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis – indicated that variations in polymer crystallinity, while maintaining a high level of regioregularity, are probably the main factor responsible for the observed differences.     

Individual cell lag time distributions of Cronobacter (Enterobacter sakazakii) and impact of pooling samples on its detection in powdered infant formula

Cells of six strains of Cronobacter were subjected to dry stress and stored for 2.5 months at ambient temperature. The individual cell lag time distributions of recovered cells were characterized at 25 °C and 37 °C in non-selective broth. The individual cell lag times were deduced from the times taken by cultures from individual cells to reach an optical density threshold. In parallel, growth curves for each strain at high contamination levels were determined in the same growth conditions. In general, the extreme value type II distribution with a shape parameter fixed to 5 (EVIIb) was the most effective at describing the 12 observed distributions of individual cell lag times. Recently, a model for characterizing individual cell lag time distribution from population growth parameters was developed for other food-borne pathogenic bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes. We confirmed this model’s applicability to Cronobacter by comparing the mean and the standard deviation of individual cell lag times to populational lag times observed with high initial concentration experiments. We also validated the model in realistic conditions by studying growth in powdered infant formula decimally diluted in Buffered Peptone Water, which represents the first enrichment step of the standard detection method for Cronobacter. Individual lag times and the pooling of samples significantly affect detection performances.     

Lessons from the organization of a proficiency testing program in food microbiology by interlaboratory comparison: analytical methods in use, impact of methods on bacterial counts and measurement uncertainty of bacterial counts

The proficiency testing program in food microbiology RAEMA (Réseau d'Analyses et d'Echanges en Microbiologie des Aliments), created in 1988, currently includes 450 participating laboratories. This interlaboratory comparison establishes proficiency in detection of Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes, as well as enumeration of aerobic micro-organisms, Enterobacteriaceae, coliforms, beta-glucuronidase-positive Escherichia coli, anaerobic sulfito-reducing bacteria, Clostridium perfringens, coagulase-positive staphylococci, and L. monocytogenes. Twice a year, five units samples are sent to participants to assess their precision and trueness for enumeration and detection of micro-organisms. Most of participating laboratories use standard or validated alternative methods, they were 50-70% in 1994 and, for 5 years, they are 95%. An increasing use of alternative methods was also observed. This phenomenon is all the more significant as standard methods are laborious and time consuming; thus, 50% of the laboratories use alternative methods for the detection of Salmonella and L. monocytogenes. More and more laboratories use ready-to-use media and although the percentage is variable according to the microflora, we can consider that, today, 50-60% of the laboratories participating to the proficiency program only use ready-to-use media. The internal quality assurance programs lead also to an increasing use of media quality controls. The impact of analytical methods on bacterial counts was assessed by grouping together the results obtained by participating laboratories during the 10 last testing schemes from 1999 to 2003. The identified significant factors influencing enumeration results are variable from one microflora to another. Some of them significantly influence many microflora: the plating method (spiral plating or not) is influential for aerobic micro-organisms, Enterobacteriaceae, coliforms, and staphylococci, the type of culture medium and the medium manufacturer is influential for aerobic micro-organisms, Enterobacteriaceae, coliforms, E. coli, anaerobic sulfito-reducing bacteria, staphylococci, and L. monocytogenes. Others are specific of some micro-organisms: the resuscitation broth for L. monocytogenes, the mode of medium preparation for staphylococci and the incubation temperature for C. perfringens. These effects lead generally to small differences of about 0.1 log10 cfu g(-1), except for the enumeration of anaerobic sulfito-reducing bacteria, where the difference reaches 0.7 log10 cfu g(-1). These results, although difficult to extrapolate to all actual situations, which associate numerous food constituents and physiological states of bacteria to detect or numerate, allow nevertheless the quantification of interlaboratory variations linked to the methods in use. The analysis of bacterial counts obtained by the laboratories participating to the RAEMA proficiency testing program allowed also to validate a formula to calculate the repeatability of bacterial counts and to estimate the between-laboratory uncertainties for the majority of micro-organisms enumerated in food microbiology. The repeatability uncertainty is only indirectly affected by the method in use but depends essentially on the number of counted colonies. On the other hand, the between-laboratory uncertainty varies with the enumeration method in use, this variability is relatively small for the enumerations calling for methods without colony confirmation, i.e. for the enumeration of aerobic micro-organisms, Enterobacteriaceae, 'total' and thermotolerant coliforms, beta-glucuronidase-positive E. coli and coagulase-positive staphylococci with the technique using the rabbit-plasma fibrinogen agar. For these methods, the average between-laboratory standard deviation is 0.17 log10 cfu g(-1). The between-laboratory uncertainty is, on the contrary, larger for more complex techniques. For the enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci with the Baird-Parker agar, the between-laboratory standard deviation is equal to 0.23 log10 cfu g(-1), it is equal to 0.28 log10 cfu g(-1) for the enumeration of L. monocytogenes, to 0.34 log10 cfu g(-1) for the enumeration of C. perfringens, and to 0.47 log10 cfu g(-1) for the enumeration of anaerobic sulfito-reducing bacteria.     

Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Phenothiazine and Quinoline Derivatives

Application of a dynamic microwave power system in the chemical synthesis of some phenothiazine and quinoline derivatives is described. Heterocyclic ring formation, aromatic nucleophilic substitution and heterocyclic aldehydes/ketones condensation reactions were performed on solid support, or under solvent free reaction conditions. The microwave-assisted Duff formylation of phenothiazine was achieved. Comparison of microwave-assisted synthesis with the conventional synthetic methods demonstrates advantages related to shorter reaction times and in some cases better reaction yields.