The Long-Term Forecast for Weather Bulletin Translation

Machine Translation (MT) is the focus of extensive scientific investigations driven by regular evaluation campaigns, but which are mostly oriented towards a somewhat particular task: translating news articles into English. In this paper, we investigate how well current MT approaches deal with a real-world task. We have rationally reconstructed one of the only MT systems in daily use which produces high-quality translation: the Météo system. We show how a combination of a sentence-based memory approach, a phrase-based statistical engine and a neural-network rescorer can give results comparable to those of the current system. We also explore another possible prospect for MT technology: the translation of weather alerts, which are currently being translated manually by translators at the Canadian Translation Bureau.     

Discrete Surfaces and Frontier Orders

Many applications require the extraction of an object boundary from a discrete image. In most cases, the result of such a process is expected to be, topologically, a surface, and this property might be required in subsequent operations. However, only through careful design can such a guarantee be provided. In the present article we will focus on partially ordered sets and the notion of n-surfaces introduced by Evako et al. to deal with this issue. Partially ordered sets are topological spaces that can represent the topology of a wide range of discrete spaces, including abstract simplicial complexes and regular grids. It will be proved in this article that (in the framework of simplicial complexes) any n-surface is an n-pseudomanifold, and that any n-dimensional combinatorial manifold is an n-surface. Moreover, given a subset of an n-surface (an object), we show how to build a partially ordered set called frontier order, which represents the boundary of this object. Similarly to the continuous case, where the boundary of an n-manifold, if not empty, is an (n−1)-manifold, we prove that the frontier order associated to an object is a union of disjoint (n−1)-surfaces. Thanks to this property, we show how topologically consistent Marching Cubes-like algorithms can be designed using the framework of partially ordered sets.X. Daragon is a Ph.D. student at ESIEE, A2SI laboratory. He received a DEA in computer science from Marne-La-Vallee University in 2000. His research focuses on order theory and its applications to image analysis and computer graphics, mainly in the field of 3D medical imaging (segmentation of the cerebral neo-cortex).Michel Couprie received his Ingénieur’s degree from the École Supérieure d’Ingénieurs en Électrotechnique et Électronique (Paris, France) in 1985 and the Ph.D. degree from the Pierre et Marie Curie University (Paris, France) in 1988. Since 1988 he has been working in ESIEE where he is an Associate Professor. He is a member of the Laboratoire Algorithmique et Architecture des Systèmes Informatiques, ESIEE, Paris, and of the Institut Gaspard Monge, Université de Marne-la-Vallée. His current research interests include image analysis and discrete mathematics.Gilles Bertrand received his Ingénieur’s degree from the École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in 1976. Until 1983 he was with the Thomson-CSF company, where he designed image processing systems for aeronautical applications. He received his Ph.D. from the École Centrale in 1986. He is currently teaching and doing research with the Laboratoire Algorithmique et Architecture des Systèmes Informatiques, ESIEE, Paris, and with the Institut Gaspard Monge, Université de Marne-la-Vallée. His research interests are image analysis, pattern recognition, mathematical morphology and digital topology.     

Minimisation de la consommation d’Énergie dans les réseaux ad hoc

An ad hoc network is a collection of wireless devices forming a temporary network independently of any administration or fixed infrastructure. The main benefits of this new generation of mobile networks are flexibility and their low cost. Wireless devices have maximum utility when they can be used “anywhere at anytime “. However, one of the greatest limitations to that goal is the finite power supplies. Since batteries provide limited power, a general constraint of wireless communication is the short continuous operation time of mobile terminals. This constraint is more important for the ad hoc networks, since every terminal has to perform the functions of a router. Therefore, energy consumption should be a crucial issue while designing new communication protocols and particularly ad hoc routing protocols. We propose, in this paper, some extensions to the most important on-demand routing algorithm,Aodv (Ad hoc On demand Distance Vector). The discovery mechanism in these extensions uses energy as a routing metric. These algorithms improve the network survivability by maintaining the network connectivity, which is the strong requirement for a high-quality communication. They carry out this objective with low message overhead for computing routes and without affecting the other network protocol layers.     

Efficiency of Optimized Dynamic Test Flows for ADCs: Sensitivity to Specifications

The long and complex procedure to test ADCs constitutes an important issue in the context of mixed-signal testing. To lower the testing costs, we propose shorter but less selective test flows solely based on spectral analysis. This paper investigates the efficiency that can be achieved using this approach and studies the influence of the ADC specifications on the efficiency of the proposed dynamic-only test flows.Florence Azaïs received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Montpellier, France in 1996. She is currently working in the Microelectronics department of the Laboratory of Computer Science, Robotics and Microelectronics of Montpellier (LIRMM) as a researcher of the National Council of Scientific Research (CNRS). Since 1993, she has been interested in the general domain of test and reliability of integrated circuits and systems. Her main research interests include fault modeling, analog and mixed-signal circuit testing, MEMS testing, reliability and failure analysis of integrated systems. She has authored or co-authored over 80 international papers on these topics. She also served as a member of the Program Committee of several international conferences (DATE, ICCD, ETS, IMSTW, LATW).Serge Bernard received the M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Paris XI, France in 1998 and the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Montpellier, France in 2001. He is a researcher of the National Council of Scientific Research (CNRS) in the Microelectronics Department of the Laboratory of Computer Science, Robotics and Microelectronics of Montpellier (LIRMM). His main research interests include Test, Design-For-Testability and Built-In-Self-Test for mixed-signal circuits and Design-For-Reliability for medical application ICs.Yves Bertrand is a Professor at the University of Montpellier (France). He works at the Microelectronics Department of the Laboratoire dAutomatique, Robotique et Microélectronique de Montpellier (LIRMM). Previously, Yves Bertrand worked in the field of solid-state physics and published several papers, especially on the photoemission of the semiconductors under synchrotron radiation. He joins the LIRMM in 1988. His research interests are principally, Fault Modeling, Design-For-Test and Built-In Self-Test for digital and mixed-signal analog/digital Integrated Circuits. He is author or co-author of about 200 papers in the field of solid-state physics and microelectronics. He is presently responsible for the CRTC (Centre de Ressources de Test du CNFM), which is the Common Test Resources Center for the French and European Universities.Mariane Comte took her Master of Engineering and Master of Sciences degrees in microelectronics engineering at INPG, (Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, National Engineering University Institution of Grenoble), France, in 2000. She carried out her Ph.D. studies at LIRMM (Laboratoire dInformatique, de Robotique et de Microélectronique de Montpellier, Computer Sciences, Robotics and Microelectronics Laboratory of Montpellier), France, working on Analog-to-Digital Converter testing, and received Ph.D. degree in microelectronics from the University of Montpellier, France, in 2003. After a post-doctoral fellow position at the Computer Design and Test Laboratory of NAIST (Nara Institute of Science and Technology), Japan, where she investigated on the detection of Gate-Oxide Shorts in Domino Logic cells, she is currently working as an assistant professor at the University of Montpellier. Her fields of interest spread from analog and mixed-signal testing to defect modeling.Michel Renovell is head of the Microelectronics Department at LIRMM (Laboratory of Computer Science, Automation and Microelectronics of Montpellier). His research interests include: Fault modeling, Analog testing and FPGA testing. He is Vice-Chair of the IEEE TTTC (Test Technology Technical Committee). He is a member of the editorial board of JETTA and the editorial board of IEEE Design & Test. Michel has been General Chair of the International Mixed Signal Testing Workshop IMSTW2000, the Field Programmable Logic Conference FPL2002 and the European Test Symposium ETS2004.     

A New Access Control Solution for a Multi-Provider Wireless Environment

The fundamental goal in future 4G mobile multi-service networks is to provide an efficient mobile computing environment. We presume that future terminals will be equipped with multiple heterogeneous wireless interfaces. We want to enable each user to seamlessly move between different providers networks. Besides seamless roaming, a key consideration is also devoted to quality-of-service provision. In this article, we propose a model and an architectural framework for supporting quality of service in the context of interconnected multi-provider wireless systems. The proposed integrated COPS-based management and RADIUS-based access control architecture will allow providers to offer multimedia services while optimizing the use of the underlying network resources. We suggest new concepts and protocols to provide solutions to these challenges and describe the French national research project named MMQoS aiming on building such future networks.     

On the motion of mechanical networks

This paper develops the differential equations governing the motion of spatial networks to which mechanical features such as masses, stiffness coefficients, tensions and bending moments have been associated. These networks generalize the concept of particle systems introduced for the simulation of flexible bodies and extend their application to elastic models. The network deformation is shown to be related to the internal tensions and moments by a set of vectors, the directors of the network. A numerical example describing a rotating flexible beam is presented.     

Effect of red cell clustering and anisotropy on ultrasound blood backscatter: a Monte Carlo study

When flowing at a low shear rate, blood appears hyperechogenic on ultrasound B-scans. The formation of red blood cell (RBC) aggregates that also alters blood viscosity is the microscopic mechanism explaining this acoustical phenomenon. In this study, Monte Carlo simulations were performed to predict how RBC clustering increases ultrasound scattering by blood. A bidimensional Gibbs-Markov random point process parameterized by the adhesion energy epsilon and an anisotropy index nu was used to describe RBC positions for a hematocrit H = 40%. The frequency dependence of the backscattering coefficient chi(f) was computed using Born approximation. The backscattering coefficient chi0 at 5 MHz and the spectral slopes n(x) and n(y) (chi alpha f(nx) or f(ny)) measured, respectively, when the insonification is parallel and perpendicular with the RBC cluster axis were then extracted. Under isotropic conditions, chi0 increased up to 7 dB with epsilon and n(x) = n(y) decreased from 4.2 to 3.4. Under anisotropic conditions, the backscattering was stronger perpendicularly to aggregate axis, resulting in n(x) < n(y). The anisotropy in scattering appeared more pronounced when epsilon or nu increased. These two dimensional results generally predict that low-frequency blood backscatter is related to cluster dimension, and higher-frequency properties are affected by finer morphological features as anisotropy. This numerically establishes that ultrasound backscatter spectroscopy on a large frequency range is pertinent to characterize in situ hemorheology.     

MBCP® biphasic calcium phosphate granules and tissucol® fibrin sealant in rabbit femoral defects: The effect of fibrin on bone ingrowth

An ageing population implies an increase in bone and dental diseases, which are in turn a source of numerous handicaps. These pathologies are an expensive burden for the European health system. As no specific bioactive materials are efficient enough to cope with this burden, we have to develop an injectable, mouldable, self-hardening bone substitute to support bone tissue reconstruction and augmentation.New, highly bioactive and suitable biomaterials have been developed to replace bone grafts in orthopedic revision and maxillofacial surgery for bone augmentation. These mouldable, self-hardening materials are based on the association of MBCP® Biphasic Calcium Phosphate Granules and Tissucol® Fibrin Sealant. The in vivo evaluation of ingrowth in relation to the composite was made in an experiment on rabbits. The results indicate that in the presence of fibrin sealant, newly-formed bone developed at a small distance from the surface of the calcium phosphate ceramic. Two different bone apposition processes were identified. Without the fibrin component (MBCP group), bone rested directly on the surface of the granules. This observation is commonly described as osteoconduction in calcium phosphate materials. On the contrary, the presence of the fibrinogen component seemed to modify this standard osteoconduction phenomenon: the newly-formed bone essentially grew at a distance from the surface of the granules, on the fibrillar network, and could be considered as an inductive phenomenon for osteogenic cell differentiation from mesenchymal stem cells.     

Analysing and modelling train driver performance

Arguments for the importance of contextual factors in understanding human performance have been made extremely persuasively in the context of the process control industries. This paper puts these arguments into the context of the train driving task, drawing on an extensive analysis of driver performance with the Automatic Warning System (AWS). The paper summarises a number of constructs from applied psychological research thought to be important in understanding train driver performance. A ‘situational model’ is offered as a framework for investigating driver performance. The model emphasises the importance of understanding the state of driver cognition at a specific time (‘Now’) in a specific situation and a specific context.     

Rheological characterization of interfacial reaction in reactive polymer blends

Summary An original method has been developped which allows to study the influence of chain diffusion on the reaction kinetics in reactive polymer blends. Blends with controlled multilayer morphologies were directly prepared in a rotational rheometer and time-dependent dynamic mechanical measurements allowed to follow the progress of the reaction. Model miscible copolymers with different acrylic monomers were prepared for this study by controlling the composition, molecular weight and average number of reactive groups per chain. Reduced variables for the modulus and the reaction time were introduced to compare the results obtained for different concentrations of reactive groups. In comparison to homogeneous blends, the normalized results for the multilayered structures show that the extent of the reaction depends directly on the chain length and is thus controlled by chain diffusion.