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‘Translated out of Ronsard’'? A misattributed translation of Petrarch’s RVF 48 by Sir John Borough
No full textInternational audienc
Deciphering anti-infectious compounds from Peruvian medicinal Cordoncillos extract library through multiplexed assays and chemical profiling
No full textInternational audienceHigh prevalence of parasitic or bacterial infectious diseases in some world areas is due to multiple reasons, including a lack of an appropriate health policy, challenging logistics and poverty. The support to research and development of new medicines to fight infectious diseases is one of the sustainable development goals promoted by World Health Organization (WHO). In this sense, the traditional medicinal knowledge substantiated by ethnopharmacology is a valuable starting point for drug discovery. This work aims at the scientific validation of the traditional use of Piper species (“Cordoncillos”) as firsthand anti-infectious medicines. For this purpose, we adapted a computational statistical model to correlate the LCMS chemical profiles of 54 extracts from 19 Piper species to their corresponding anti-infectious assay results based on 37 microbial or parasites strains. We mainly identified two groups of bioactive compounds (called features as they are considered at the analytical level and are not formally isolated). Group 1 is composed of 11 features being highly correlated to an inhibiting activity on 21 bacteria (principally Gram-positive strains), one fungus (C. albicans), and one parasite (Trypanosoma brucei gambiense). The group 2 is composed of 9 features having a clear selectivity on Leishmania (all strains, both axenic and intramacrophagic). Bioactive features in group 1 were identified principally in the extracts of Piper strigosum and P. xanthostachyum. In group 2, bioactive features were distributed in the extracts of 14 Piper species. This multiplexed approach provided a broad picture of the metabolome as well as a map of compounds putatively associated to bioactivity. To our knowledge, the implementation of this type of metabolomics tools aimed at identifying bioactive compounds has not been used so far
Masur-Veech volumes and intersection theory: the principal strata of quadratic differentials
No full textInternational audienceWe describe a conjectural formula via intersection numbers for the Masur-Veech volumes of strata of quadratic differentials with prescribed zero orders, and we prove the formula for the case when the zero orders are odd. For the principal strata of quadratic differentials with simple zeros, the formula reduces to compute the top Segre class of the quadratic Hodge bundle, which can be further simplified to certain linear Hodge integrals. An appendix proves that the intersection of this class with -classes can be computed by Eynard-Orantin topological recursion. As applications, we analyze numerical properties of Masur-Veech volumes, area Siegel-Veech constants and sums of Lyapunov exponents of the principal strata for fixed genus and varying number of zeros, which settles the corresponding conjectures due to Grivaux-Hubert, Fougeron, and elaborated in [the7]. We also describe conjectural formulas for area Siegel-Veech constants and sums of Lyapunov exponents for arbitrary affine invariant submanifolds, and verify them for the principal strata
Minimal quantum walk simulation of Dirac fermions in curved space-times
No full textInternational audienceThe problem of simulating through quantum walks Dirac fermions in arbitrary curved space-times and coordinates is revisited, taking (1 + 1)D space-times as an example. A new shift or translation operator on the grid is introduced, to take into account arbitrary geometries. The new, generalised quantum walks built with this operator can simulate Dirac fermions in arbitrary curved space-times and coordinates, and their wave functions have exactly the same number of components as standard Dirac spinors, and not twice that number, as previously believed. In particular, in D space-times, only one qubit is needed at each lattice point, which makes it easier to perform quantum simulations of the Dirac dynamics on current NISQs quantum devices. Numerical simulations of the Dirac dynamics in the post Newtonian, so-called Gravitoelectromagnetism regime are presented as an illustration
Myanmar im Widerstand – Ein Rückblick in Bildern
No full textAuch nach annähernd drei Jahren setzt sich die Bevölkerung Myanmars weiterhin gegen das Militär zur Wehr und fordert eine Rückkehr zu einem selbstbestimmten Leben. Anhand einer Reihe von Bildern des Fotografen Mauk Kham Wah zeichnet die Aktivistin Nyein Chan May die Entwicklung dieses Widerstands nach
Telemedicine in Pakistan: On and under the Surface
No full textThis research project examines how technology-based practices may shape human lives in general, and healthcare in particular. Telemedicine is a relatively new development in which doctors and patients can interact despite being physically apart, by using information and communication technologies. This way of giving medical care is often seen as beneficial for countries such as Pakistan, where healthcare is distributed unevenly, and parts of the population have no or little access to sufficient care.
My research question is: How do telemedicine and inherent practices shape interactions between doctors and patients? The thesis is based on one month of fieldwork in Pakistan, where I conducted unstructured interviews with healthcare professionals and people working with telemedicine. The fieldwork findings are analysed in a heuristic way, by using four different philosophical and anthropological concepts regarding a specific aspect, namely surfaces.
Surfaces shape the way that we are in and interact with our surroundings. They influence the way in which we perceive and are perceived. Thus, surfaces have an impact on knowledge and knowledge generation. I use surfaces as spaces and textures to think with, and to show multiple layers of telemedicine.
The fieldwork findings illustrate that there is not one singular kind of telemedicine, but many and often incompatible ways in which telemedicine is practised. Through surfaces it becomes clear how these practices are connected while at the same time being mutually exclusive. First, I discuss aspects of telemedicine which are obvious and immediately visible, e.g. that certain types of medical care rely on technology. Second, I show that there are sides to telemedicine which remain hidden. Drawing on actor-network theory, healthcare can be conceptualized as a network. This network is complicated by adding technology, due to uncontrollable and invisible components. Third, I explain how telemedicine, by neglecting some human senses, fosters separation and disconnection between doctors and patients. This may make human relationships and interactions more difficult. Furthermore, telemedicine shapes the way in which human bodies are enacted and treated, highlighting concepts of fragmentation into individual parts. Fourth, telemedicine, also provides the means to connect doctors and patients, offering new styles of perceiving and communicating.
With the help of the concept of surfaces, I show that telemedical practices are ambivalent and ought to be examined in detail before being incorporated into human lives and routines
Co-rotating vortices with N fold symmetry for the inviscid surface quasi-geostrophic equation
No full textInternational audienceWe provide a variational construction of special solutions to the generalized surface quasi-geostrophic equations. These solutions take the form of N vortex patches with N-fold symmetry , which are steady in a uniformly rotating frame. Moreover, we investigate their asymptotic properties when the size of the corresponding patches vanishes. In this limit, we prove these solutions to be a desingularization of N Dirac masses with the same intensity, located on the N vertices of a regular polygon rotating at a constant angular velocity
Efficient and consistent model selection procedures for time series
No full textInternational audienceThis paper studies the problem of model selection in a large class of causal time series models that includes ARMA or AR () processes as well as GARCH or ARCH (), APARCH, ARMA-GARCH - and many other processes. First, we study the asymptotic behavior of the ideal penalty that minimizes the risk defined from a quasi-likelihood estimation among a finite family of models containing the true model. We then establish general conditions on the penalty term to obtain properties of consistency and efficiency. In particular, we prove that consistent model selection criteria outperform the classical AIC criterion in terms of efficiency. Finally, we derive the usual BIC criterion from a Bayesian approach and, retaining all second-order terms of the Laplace approximation, a data-driven criterion, which we call KC'. Monte Carlo experiments illustrate the asymptotic results obtained and show that the KC' criterion performs better than the AIC and BIC criteria in terms of consistency and efficiency
Deconstructing pān: Betel quid’s journey from a medically beneficial snack to a cancerous drug
No full textBetel quid (pān) chewing has prevailed in South Asian and South East Asian countries since ancient times as a sociocultural tradition for promoting health, strengthening relationships and personal beautification. Today over 600 million people worldwide are estimated to chew betel quid on a daily basis and it is recognized as a public health concern. Biomedical research links the growing cases of head and neck cancers in the subcontinent with the consumption of the highly addictive betel quid ingredients, areca nut and tobacco. An anthropological approach towards betel quid chewing practices suggests the biomedical perspective ignores the heterogeneity of the quid and the context wherein the consumers’ subjective and objective experiences are driven by personal, social and cultural motivations. This thesis explores the contemporary habits of betel quid consumers in Karachi and Lahore in Pakistan to find out what social and cultural factors influence initiation, continuation or discontinuation of pān chewing; what risk/benefit factors are associated with it; and how public health hazard warnings affect the behavior of consumers and traders
Healthcare accessibility In Singapore: The experience and health-seeking behaviour among low-skilled migrant workers in Singapore
No full textIncreasing economic globalisation creates a supply of migrant workers from less developed countries, which will engage in low-skilled jobs in developed countries in pursuit of a better income to support their family back home. The rapid development of Singapore has also contributed to the influx of migrant workers. In 2017, Singapore had a population of about 5.6 million, among which the migrant workforce accounted for up to 1.3 million, 24.4 percent of the total population (Data.gov.sg 2018a). In Singapore, low-skilled migrant workers often take up jobs in hazardous industries. Due to the hazardous nature of these jobs, it is crucial for these migrant workers to have knowledge of and access to healthcare services in Singapore. This thesis studies the healthcare accessibility and the possible health inequalities experienced by low-skilled migrant workers, holding the Work Permit for Foreign Worker pass, in The Republic of Singapore. It aims to answer the following research question: “What is the level of access to and use of healthcare services among low-skilled migrant workers in Singapore?” To achieve this, a two-month fieldwork was conducted in Singapore with a Non-Profit Organisation (NGO) known as the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME). Data for this research were collected through the use of participant observation and focus group discussions, in order to capture the individual experiences and a group perspective of the migrant workers’ experiences and challenges faced in accessing and using healthcare services in Singapore. For this research, the detailed experiences of two injured migrant workers and the group perspective of 17 migrant workers, will be narrated and analysed