HAL Université de Tours
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Early identification of behavioural traits to predict the risk of later injurious pecking behaviour in laying flocks
No full textInternational audienceInjurious pecking represents a major challenge for the egg industry, leading to poor welfare and productivity loss. We aimed to determine whether specific behavioural traits in pullets could be linked to later injurious pecking behaviour.We tested Lohmann Brown and Lohmann LSL hens (N=90/strain) housed in floor pens in groups of 10, using a battery of tests at two ages (5-10 and 18-23 weeks). The tests measured the birds’ ability to make a detour, social motivation, time spent foraging, fearfulness and proactivity. Between 31 and 38 weeks, the injurious pecking profile of the birds was assessed via direct observations (6.5 hours/bird). For each strain, birds performing the most (P+, N=20) and the least (P-, N=20) injurious pecking were selected for analysis.Results showed that, regardless of the strain, P+ birds performed better in the detour test than P- birds at 5 weeks (P+:167s vs P-:204s; χ²=4.1, p=0.04). P+ birds were also more reluctant to approach the negative stimulus during the cognitive bias test at 21 weeks (P+:111s vs P-:62.4s; χ²=4.4, p=0.03). For Lohmann Brown only, P+ birds spent less time foraging during the multivariate test than P- birds (P+:47s vs P-:74s; t(72.8)=2, p=0.05) and spent more time in the zone close to their conspecifics (P+:222s vs P-:172s; t(72.8)=-2.3, p=0.02) at 20 weeks. Overall, these results suggest that future peckers are more socially motivated and potentially more proactive than non-peckers. However, this varies across tests and implies a complex relationship between early behavioural traits and later injurious pecking
Shoulder Musculoskeletal Disorder Rehabilitation Using a Robotic Device Based on Electromyography (EMG) Biofeedback: A Retrospective Cohort Study
No full textInternational audienceBackground and Objectives: While shoulder injuries represent the musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) most encountered in physical therapy, there is no consensus on their management. In attempts to provide standardized and personalized treatment, a robotic-assisted device combined with EMG biofeedback specifically dedicated to shoulder MSDs was developed. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of an 8-week rehabilitation program (3 sessions a week) using a robotic-assisted device combined with EMG biofeedback (RA-EMG group) in comparison with a conventional program (CONV group) in patients presenting with shoulder MSDs. Materials and Methods: This study is a retrospective cohort study including data from 2010 to 2013 on patients initially involved in a physical rehabilitation program in a private clinic in Chicoutimi (Canada) for shoulder MSDs. Shoulder flexion strength and range of motion were collected before and after the rehabilitation program. Forty-four patients participated in a conventional program using dumbbells (CONV group), while 73 completed a program on a robot-assisted device with EMG and visual biofeedback (RA-EMG group); both programs consisted of two sets of 20 repetitions at 60% of maximal capacity. Results: We showed that the RA-EMG had significantly greater benefits than the CONV group for shoulder flexion strength (4.45 [2.6;6.15] kg vs. 2.3 [0.90;4.775] kg, U = 761, p = 0.013) and for normalized strength (77.5 [51.3;119.1] % vs. 39.1 [16.6;89.2] %, U = 755, p = 0.016). In addition, the RA-EMG group showed a trend to greater absolute gain of ROM than the CONV group (10.0 [0;24.3] degrees vs. 5.5 [0;12.0] degrees, U = 1931, p = 0.067), and a greater benefit in normalized ROM was observed for the RA-EMG (7.4. [0;17.7] %) than the CONV group (4.6 [0;10.8], U = 1907, p = 0.046). Conclusions: The current retrospective cohort study showed that a specific and tailored 8-week rehabilitation program with constant effort by automatic adjustment of the level of resistance by EMG feedback induced greater benefits for shoulder flexion strength and a trend to improve range of motion compared to conventional rehabilitation in patients with shoulder MSDs. Future research should be pursued to determine the added potential of this approach for abduction and external rotation with a randomized controlled design
Représenter la parole. Apports à une dimension fondamentale de la linguistique
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Apports et limites des démarches participatives et de coconception pour améliorer le bien-être de l’animal en élevage
No full textInternational audienceImproving the welfare of farm animals, which is essential for the sustainability of livestock farming, raises questions and sometimes heated debates, in particular among livestock farming professionals, researchers, public authorities and citizens. Participatory and co-design approaches, which aim to bring together a wide range of stakeholders with sometimes divergent positions, to develop knowledge and innovative solutions, are particularly relevant in the field of animal welfare. The emergence of a consensus around a problem, defined and understood by all the stakeholders, and a solution can only be achieved within a framework of trust and mutual listening, for which the facilitator of the process will be the guarantor, and which requires time. Through six illustrative projects, significant benefits have been identified, whether in terms of awareness and open-mindedness or in terms of proposing operational solutions. The challenges lie in assessing the impact of the solutions developed, in terms of real improvements in animal welfare, and in disseminating these solutions in the field, considering the economic and social dimensions in which they are embedded.L’amélioration du bien-être des animaux en élevage, essentielle pour la durabilité de l'élevage, suscite des questionnements et des débats, parfois vifs, notamment parmi les professionnels de l’élevage, la recherche, les pouvoirs publics et les citoyens. Les démarches participatives et de coconception qui visent à faire coopérer de multiples acteurs, aux positions parfois divergentes, permettent l’interconnaissance, interrogent le besoin de nouvelles connaissances et peuvent également permettre la production collective de nouvelles connaissances. Faire émerger des connaissances et des solutions innovantes est particulièrement pertinent dans le domaine du bien-être animal. L’émergence d’un consensus autour d’une problématique, définie et comprise par tous les acteurs, puis d’une solution, nécessite une coopération dans un cadre de confiance et d’écoute mutuelles, dont l’animateur du processus sera le garant et nécessite du temps. Au travers de six projets illustratifs, des bénéfices notables ont été recensés, qu’ils soient de l’ordre de la prise de conscience et de l’ouverture d’esprit ou bien de la proposition de solutions opérationnelles. Les enjeux résident dans l’évaluation des impacts des solutions coconstruites en matière d’amélioration réelle du bien-être des animaux, ainsi que dans la diffusion des solutions sur le terrain, en tenant compte des dimensions économiques et sociales dans lesquelles elles s’inscrivent
Transgenerational response to an endocrine disruptor ingestion: phenotypic, genetic and epigenetic analyses in quail
No full textInternational audienceTypical prediction of an offspring’s phenotype usually focuses on the inheritance of parental alleles. However, variations across generations can also result from the transmission of non-genetic factors. Epigenetic marks such as DNA methylation offer a dynamic molecular signature of an individual’s history, as they can carry the memory of the individual’s environmental past, and probably of its ancestors. In this study, we aim to analyze in quail (Coturnix japonica) the impact of an initial supplementation with an endocrine disruptor, the genistein, on the phenotypes and epigenotypes of subsequent generations. To better disentangle the complex interplay between genetic and epigenetic effects, we designed a “mirror” breeding plan to ensure a balanced genetic structure between the group of animals issued from the treated ancestors (called epiline +) and the control group (epiline -). By recording multiple phenotypes (growth, breeding, production, behaviour) across three generations, and performing Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing on blood samples for 1344 individuals, our goal is to investigate the transgenerational inheritance of an environmental effect through changes in DNA methylation profiles. Here we present the preliminary results obtained from phenotypic analysis (analysed with multiple linear regression and GLMM) and RRBS data (analysed with classical tools: BISCUIT, TrimGalore, DSS). Phenotypic analyses have shown multi and transgenerational effects for several phenotypes of interest including body weight. We are now looking to identify methylated patterns linked to phenotypic changes between generations and between groups.Funding: Région Occitanie, INRAE Animal Genetics Division, GEroNIMO (H2020 GA No 101000236)
Confidence-Driven Deep Learning Framework for Early Detection of Knee Osteoarthritis
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Attitude-behavior gap in sustainable products in the fashion industry
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Linking Dynamic Capabilities to Export Performance in Africa: The Moderating Roles of Institutional Support, Sociopolitical Context, and Perceived Corruption
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Entropy-based burn in time analysis and ranking for (A)MCMC algorithms in high dimension
No full textInternational audienceMany recent and often (Adaptive) Markov Chain Monte Carlo (A)MCMC methods are associated in practice to unknown rates of convergence. We propose a simulation-based methodology to estimate and compare MCMC’s performance in terms of shortest burn in time, using a Kullback divergence criterion requiring an estimate of the entropy of the algorithm densities at each iteration, computed from iid simulated chains. In previous works, we proved some consistency results in MCMC setup for an entropy estimate based on Monte Carlo integration of a kernel density estimate proposed by [18], and we investigate an alternative Nearest Neighbor (NN) entropy estimate from [24]. This estimate has been used mostly in univariate situations until recently when entropy estimation in higher dimensions has been considered in other fields like neuroscience or system biology. Unfortunately, in higher dimensions, both estimators converge slowly with a noticeable bias. The present work goes several steps further, with bias reduction and automatic (A)MCMC burn in time analysis in mind. First, for bias reduction, we apply in our situation a “crossed NN-type” nonparametric estimate of the Kullback divergence between two densities, based on iid samples from each, introduced by [39, 40]. We prove the consistency of these entropy estimates under recent uniform control conditions, for the successive densities of a generic class of MCMC algorithm to which most of the methods proposed in the recent literature belong. Secondly, we propose an original solution based on a PCA for reducing relevant dimension and bias in even higher dimensions whenever PCA is efficient. Our algorithms for MCMC simulation and entropy estimation are progressively added to the R package EntropyMCMC taking advantage of recent advances in high performance (parallel) computing
What Uniqueness for the Holst-Nagy-Tsogtgerel--Maxwell Solutions to the Einstein Conformal Constraint Equations?
No full textInternational audienceThis paper addresses the issue of uniqueness of solutions in the conformal method for solving the constraint equations in general relativity with arbitrary mean curvature as developed initially by Holst, Nagy, Tsogtegerel and Maxwell. We show that the solution they construct is unique amongst those having volume below a certain threshold