[Archives de la parole]. , Sorbonne 99 : [essais à distance réalisés par un Pathé au studio de la Sorbonne] : fort ; Sorbonne 99 : [essais à distance réalisés par un Pathé au studio de la Sorbonne] : moins fort

Enregistrement : Paris, Université de Paris, La Sorbonne

Optimization of floor cleaning coverage performance of a random path-planning mobile robot

Floor cleaning is a typical robot application. There are several mobile robots aviable in the market for domestic applications most of them with random path-planning algorithms. In this paper we study the cleaning coverage performances of a random path-planning mobile robot and propose an optimized control algorithm, some methods to estimate the are of the room, the evolution of the cleaning and the time needed for complete coverage.

Cryptic diversity among Western Palearctic tree frogs: postglacial range expansion, range limits, and secondary contacts of three European tree frog lineages (Hyla arborea group).

We characterize divergence times, intraspecific diversity and distributions for recently recognized lineages within the Hyla arborea species group, based on mitochondrial and nuclear sequences from 160 localities spanning its whole distribution. Lineages of H. arborea, H. orientalis, H. molleri have at least Pliocene age, supporting species level divergence. The genetically uniform Iberian H. molleri, although largely isolated by the Pyrenees, is parapatric to H. arborea, with evidence for successful hybridization in a small Aquitanian corridor (southwestern France), where the distribution also overlaps with H. meridionalis. The genetically uniform H. arborea, spread from Crete to Brittany, exhibits molecular signatures of a postglacial range expansion. It meets different mtDNA clades of H. orientalis in NE-Greece, along the Carpathians, and in Poland along the Vistula River (there including hybridization). The East-European H. orientalis is strongly structured genetically. Five geographic mitochondrial clades are recognized, with a molecular signature of postglacial range expansions for the clade that reached the most northern latitudes. Hybridization with H. savignyi is suggested in southwestern Turkey. Thus, cryptic diversity in these Pliocene Hyla lineages covers three extremes: a genetically poor, quasi-Iberian endemic (H. molleri), a more uniform species distributed from the Balkans to Western Europe (H. arborea), and a well-structured Asia Minor-Eastern European species (H. orientalis).

Airline Consolidation and the Distribution of Traffic between Primary and Secondary Hubs

Several airline consolidation events have recently been completed both in Europe and in the United States. The model we develop considers two airlines operating hub-and-spoke networks, using different hubs to connect the same spoke airports. We assume the airlines to be vertically differentiated, which allows us to distinguish between primary and secondary hubs. We conclude that this differentiation in air services becomes more accentuated after consolidation, with an increased number of flights being channeled through the primary hub. However, congestion can act as a brake on the concentration of flight frequency in the primary hub following consolidation. Our empirical application involves an analysis of Delta s network following its merger with Northwest. We find evidence consistent with an increase in the importance of Delta s primary hubs at the expense of its secondary airports. We also find some evidence suggesting that the carrier chooses to divert traffic away from those hub airports that were more prone to delays prior to the merger, in particular New York s JFK airport. Keywords: primary hub; secondary hub; airport congestion; airline consolidation; airline networks JEL Classi fication Numbers: D43; L13; L40; L93; R4

Biosciences Path for Development: Economic and Core Competency Analyses, March 2004

Report produced by Iowa Department of Economic Development

Do plants adjust their sex allocation and secondary sexual morphology in response to their neighbours?

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Changes in the sex allocation (i.e. in pollen versus seed production) of hermaphroditic plants often occur in response to the environment. In some homosporous ferns, gametophytes choose their gender in response to chemical cues sent by neighbours, such that spores develop as male gametophytes if they perceive a female or hermaphrodite nearby. Here it is considered whether a similar process might occur in the androdioecious angiosperm species Mercurialis annua, in which males co-occur with hermaphrodites; previous work on a Spanish population of M. annua found that individuals were more likely to develop as males at high density. METHODS: Using a novel approach to treat plants with leachate from pots containing males or hermaphrodites of M. annua, the hypothesis that individuals assess their mating opportunities, and adjust their sex expression accordingly, was tested through an exchange of chemical cues through the soil. KEY RESULTS: For the population under study, from Morocco, no evidence was found for soil-signal-dependent sex expression: neither sex ratios nor sex allocation differed among experimental treatments. CONCLUSIONS: The results imply either that the Moroccan population under study behaves differently from that previously studied in Spain (pointing to potential geographical variation in plasticity for sex expression), or that our method failed to capture the signals used by M. annua for adjustment of sex expression.

Final Report, Secondary Road Fund Distribution Advisory Committee, 2002-2005

This report presents the findings and recommendations of the Secondary Road Fund Distribution Advisory Committee (SRFDAC) established by SF 2192 of the 2002 Iowa Acts.

X-chromosome tiling path array detection of copy number variants in patients with chromosome X-linked mental retardation

Background: Aproximately 5–10% of cases of mental retardation in males are due to copy number variations (CNV) on the X chromosome. Novel technologies, such as array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH), may help to uncover cryptic rearrangements in X-linked mental retardation (XLMR) patients. We have constructed an X-chromosome tiling path array using bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) and validated it using samples with cytogenetically defined copy number changes. We have studied 54 patients with idiopathic mental retardation and 20 controls subjects. Results: Known genomic aberrations were reliably detected on the array and eight novel submicroscopic imbalances, likely causative for the mental retardation (MR) phenotype, were detected. Putatively pathogenic rearrangements included three deletions and five duplications (ranging between 82 kb to one Mb), all but two affecting genes previously known to be responsible for XLMR. Additionally, we describe different CNV regions with significant different frequencies in XLMR and control subjects (44% vs. 20%). Conclusion:This tiling path array of the human X chromosome has proven successful for the detection and characterization of known rearrangements and novel CNVs in XLMR patients.

Ischemic cecal perforation secondary to ESWL of junctional stone in ureterosigmoidostomy (Mainz Pouch II).

We report an unusual case of ischemic cecal perforation after extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy for an impacted stone at the distal end of the right ureter of a ureterosigmoidostomy in a 78-year-old female patient.