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Black carbon (BC) is one of the most important climate forcers with severe health effects. Large uncertainties in radiative forcing estimation and health impact assessment arise from the fact that there is no standardized method to measure BC mass concentration. This study presents a 2-year comparison of three state-of-the-art BC measurement techniques at the high-altitude research station Pic du Midi (PDM) located in the French Pyrenees at an altitude of 2877 m above sea level. A recently upgraded Aethalometer AE33, a thermal-optical analyser Sunset and a single-particle soot photometer SP2 were deployed to measure simultaneously the mass concentration of equivalent black carbon (MeBC), elemental carbon (MEC) and refractory black carbon (MrBC), respectively. Significant deviations in the response of the instruments were observed. All techniques responded to seasonal variations in the atmospheric changes in BC levels and exhibited good correlation during the whole study period. This indicates that the different instruments quantified the same particle type despite the fact that they are based on different physical principles. However the slopes and correlation coefficients varied between instrument pairs. The largest biases were observed for the AE33 with MeBC values that were around 2 times greater than MrBC and MEC values. The principal reasons of such large discrepancy were explained by the mass absorption cross section (MAC) that was too low and C values recommended by the AE33 manufacturer and applied to the absorption coefficients measured by the AE33. In addition, the long-range transport of dust particles at PDM in spring caused significant increases in the bias between AE33 and SP2 by up to a factor 8. The Sunset MEC measurements agreed within around 17 % with the SP2 MrBC values. The largest overestimations of MEC were observed when the total carbon concentrations were below 25 µgCcm-2 , which is probably linked to the incorrect determination of the organic carbon (OC)–EC split point. Another cause of the discrepancy between instruments was found to be the limited detection range of the SP2, which did not allow for the total detection of fine rBC particles. The procedure used to estimate the missing mass fraction of rBC not covered by the measurement range of the SP2 was found to be critical. We found that a time-dependent correction based on fitting the observed rBC size distribution with a multimodal lognormal distribution is needed to accurately estimate MrBC over a larger size range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose an approach to tuning systems in which octave doubling ratio is replaced by a suitable algebraic unit τ, and note frequencies are proportional to a subset of the ring $ \mathbb {Z}[\tau ] $ Z [ τ ]. Then it is possible for many difference tones between notes in the tuning to also appear in the tuning. After outlining more general principles, we consider in detail some natural examples based on the golden ratio $ \phi =(1+\sqrt {5})/2 $ ϕ = (1 + 5) / 2 , limited by norm or by the number of digits in the greedy β-expansion. We discuss additive and multiplicative properties, implementation and composition using these tunings. The Online Supplement contains MIDI and websynths files to implement the tuning $ S_\beta ^5(\phi) $ S β 5 (ϕ) (based on β-expansions to $ \phi ^{-5} $ ϕ − 5 ) on websynths.com and a composition Three Places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the integration of music and technology, illustrating their potential to collaboratively push the boundaries of musical exploration. Despite traditionally being viewed as unrelated, the combination of these two fields can significantly contribute to the progress of musical development. This study uses advanced computational methods to build a dataset filled with symbolic musical sequences that belong to a specific genre. This dataset is shown to be highly accurate and provides a detailed analysis of frequencies when examined closely, highlighting its quality and depth. We subject our dataset to comparative analysis with the renowned MAESTRO dataset, employing chromagrams to examine audio signals, rhythms, chords, solos, and note patterns in MIDI format through a variety of methods. This comparison underscores the superior quality of our sequences relative to those in the MAESTRO dataset, emphasizing the meticulousness of our sequence creation process. Moreover, we conduct internal evaluations of our dataset using both three-dimensional and two-dimensional approaches to melody representation, confirming its viability for future scholarly work. This effort seeks to enhance the music field by integrating computer science insights and methodologies, expanding the scope for future music technology research. It highlights the collaborative potential between musical creativity and technological advances in ongoing studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several books, studies and videos are available on the Internet on the importance and role of singing in schools and choral singing, and on effective ways of learning songs and choral works. As a result of technological progress, MIDI recordings and digital choral parts are available to choirs and choir leaders to facilitate the rehearsal and learning process. However, what on the one hand seems modern and innovative (digital pianos, audio and video recordings, easy and fast communication, streaming, virtual choirs) can have a negative impact on the other. At international conferences and symposiums, it is common to see choirmasters making hand gestures to sound one or more parts, as a kind of attraction to show off solfa singing. It is not always clear, however, what the intelligent use of solmization can do beyond the two- (three-)part singing or vocal warm-up. The following chapters will point out why reading music with a relative system of solfa is beneficial, and why learning to sing a part or a choral work with the help of piano is less supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diversity and evolution of the genomes of human bocavirus (HBoV), which causes respiratory diseases, have been scarcely studied. Here, we aimed to obtain and characterize HBoV genomes from patients's nasopharyngeal samples collected between 2017 and 2022 period (5 years and 7 months). Next‐generation sequencing (NGS) used Illumina technology after having implemented using GEMI an in‐house multiplex PCR amplification strategy. Genomes were assembled and analyzed with CLC Genomics, Mafft, BioEdit, MeV, Nextclade, MEGA, and iTol. A total of 213 genomes were obtained. Phylogeny classified them all as of Bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) species. Five HBoV1 genotypic clusters determined by hierarchical clustering analysis of 27 variable genome positions were scattered over the study period although with differences in yearly prevalence. A total of 167 amino acid substitutions were detected. Besides, coinfection was observed for 52% of the samples, rhinoviruses then adenoviruses (HAdVs) being the most common viruses. Principal component analysis showed that HBoV1 genotypic cluster α tended to be correlated with HAdV co‐infection. Subsequent HAdV typing for HBoV1‐positive samples and negative controls demonstrated that HAdVC species predominated but HAdVB was that significantly HBoV1‐associated. Overall, we described here the first HBoV1 genomes sequenced for France. HBoV1 and HAdVB association deserves further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• metronomic rolls for player piano have so far been commonly considered devoid of scientific interest as mere mechanical transpositions of the musical score. • instead, they can be considered valuable witnesses of the executive practice of the early twentieth century. • through a software based on peaks detection applied to the ordered vector of detected Inter Onset Intervals (IOIs) it was possible to identify numerous examples of expressive passages, therefore deviations from the score. • this indicates that computational information retrieval applied to MIDI or audio rendered from the rolls can bring new scientifically significant knowledge. • the techniques used here could be applied directly or adapted to obtain useful information also not related to expressiveness. Between the last years of the nineteenth century and the first two decades of the twentieth century, the production and use of rolls for player piano became widespread. These were strips of perforated paper wrapped around a cylinder, capable of activating in the instrument a pneumatic mechanism for the automatic operation of the piano keys. The metronomic-type rolls were produced manually, by transposing the piece's score into the paper's perforation. In this contribution, we propose a solution based on the automatic identification of peaks in the distribution of the Inter-Onset-Intervals (IOIs) of the notes for the detection, within metronomic rolls, of timing-related expressive areas, i.e. of musical passages in which deviations in the length of the holes with respect to what is prescribed in the score are operated intentionally to add expressiveness. The identified algorithm, applied to a dataset of approximately 700 rolls converted into MIDI format, showed good sensitivity, and made it possible to identify in a relatively short time numerous examples of intentional expressiveness in the analyzed repertoire, commonly and erroneously considered a mere mechanical transposition of the score. In the conclusions, some reflections on the relevance of this research in the musicological field are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To attain a direct MIDI output from an electric guitar, we devised and implemented a sophisticated laser sensor system capable of measuring finger positions. This sensor operates on the principle of optical triangulation, employing six lasers and seven position-sensing detectors that are time-multiplexed. The speed and precision of this sensor system meet the necessary criteria for creating an electric guitar with a direct digital output, perfectly satisfying the application's requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has begun measuring auditory working memory with a continuous adjustment task in which listeners adjust attributes of a sound to match a stimulus presented earlier. This approach captures auditory memory's continuous nature better than standard change detection paradigms that collect binary ("same or different") memory measurements. In two experiments, we assessed the impact of different interference stimuli (multitone complexes vs. white noise vs. silence) on the precision and accuracy of participants' reproductions of pitch from memory. Participants were presented with a target multitone complex stimulus followed by eight successive interference signals. Across trials, these signals alternated between additional multitone complexes, randomly generated white noise samples, or (in Experiment 2) silence. This was followed by a response period where participants adjusted the pitch of a response stimulus using a MIDI touchpad to match the target. Experiment 1 found a significant effect of interference type on performance, with tone interference signals producing the greatest impairments to participants' accuracy and precision compared to white noise. Interestingly, it also found a compression in the participants' responses, with overestimations of low-frequency targets and underestimations for high-frequency targets. Experiment 2 replicated results from Experiment 1, with an additional silence condition showing the best performance, suggesting that non-tonal signals also generate interference. In general, results support a shared resource model of working memory with a limited capacity that can be flexibly allocated to hold items in memory with varying levels of fidelity. Interference does not appear to knock items out of a fixed precision slot, but rather robs a portion of capacity from stored items. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mistral is a northerly gap‐wind regime blowing through the Rhone Valley in Southern France. It is held responsible for the sea‐surface cooling necessary to produce deep convection in the Gulf of Lion through turbulent ocean heat loss. The mistral is tightly connected to lee‐cyclogenesis in the Gulf of Genoa, where topography forces substantial downward motion. Dry intrusions (DIs) are airstreams forming the descending branch of extratropical cyclones. Known to induce cold and dry surface anomalies, DIs are potential contributors to enhanced surface evaporation during mistral. In this study, a climatological database (ERA‐INTERIM, 1981–2016) of mistral–DI co‐occurrence is constructed, allowing quantification of the impact of DIs on the mistral evaporative hot spot for the first time. We find that, on average, mistral–DI evaporation rates are doubled, compared to mistral without DIs. Moreover, cluster‐composite analysis reveals amplifications exceeding 300% between dynamically similar mistral events, with response to DIs. Daily latent heat‐flux anomalies in the Gulf of Lion are decomposed into contributions from the various parameters to analyse the mistral evaporation response to DIs. Mistral–DI events are shown to produce extreme evaporation rates through increased mistral wind speeds. The results highlight the downward momentum flux delivered by DIs to the mistral at the Gulf of Lion as the primary driver of the evaporation amplification mechanism. We further explore the variability between different mistral–DI events and conclude that extreme mistral–DI evaporation events are linked to descending air trajectories entering the Gulf of Lion at an early stage of their lifetimes. These DIs charge the mistral with maximum vertical momentum fluxes, which act to intensify surface winds and hence evaporation rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic accelerated the adoption and expansion of telemedicine worldwide, little is known about the transition to home-based care for children. This study aims to investigate the facilitators and barriers to the transition from outpatient clinic visits to home-based check-ups (HBCU), for children being treated with growth hormone. A mixed-methods study was performed at Amalia Children's Hospital (Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen), consisting of questionnaires and semi-structured and focus group interviews. For the quantitative part, the Measurement Instrument for Determinants of Innovation (MIDI) was utilised to investigate the facilitators and barriers for the 81 participants regarding the transition to HBCU. The MIDI questionnaire is comprised of four domains: the innovation-, user-, organisation-, and the socio-political scale. Descriptive statistics were performed for analysing the questionnaires. For the qualitative part, interviews with 10 participants derived from the questionnaire and the two focus group interviews were conducted, to gain more in-depth information about the research topic, until data saturation was reached. The interviews were analysed by using the reflective thematic approach, starting with deductive coding and followed by inductive coding. Several facilitators were recognised in our study: procedural clarity, self-efficacy, convenience, patient-centred care, increased accuracy in height measurements, social support, client/patient satisfaction/cooperation, patient-centred care, the flexibility and adaptivity of HBCU, physical start-up period of HBCU, and a potential decrease in healthcare costs. However, several barriers were also noted in our study: poor compatibility with current practice, lack of consultation within the team, feeling of being less controlled by physicians, unsettledness of the organisation, an increased workload for the staff, and insufficient information communication technology (ICT) facilities. Conclusion: This study revealed that HBCU have considerable benefits for both patients and healthcare professionals, from the standpoint of innovation, user, and socio-political points of view. The identified facilitators and barriers to HBCU should be taken into account when further steps of implementing HBCU are considered. What is Known: • The Corona-Virus-Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had an immense impact on health care worldwide. A substantial amount of the outpatient clinic visits for children treated with growth hormone was, as a result of the pandemic, transferred to online consultation. Transitioning paediatric growth hormone treatment to the home setting may be favorable for children and their parents/caregivers) as well for healthcare professionals. • Insights regarding facilitators and barriers is vital for the successful implementation and adoption of home-care technologies. What is New: • To our knowledge, we are first to report on and explicit the facilitators and barriers of the transition to home-based check-ups, via online consultation for children being treated with growth hormone. • Both children and healthcare professionals reported major facilitators and some minor barriers to the transition to home-based check-ups, illustrating their potential value. These facilitators and barriers should be considered while working towards implementation of home-based check-ups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios de Diseño y Comunicación is the property of Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios de Diseno y Comunicacion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the Marseille region in France, ancient Greek has been taught in pre-school and primary school for more than 20 years. The 'Nausicaa' Association was created in 1996 with an express purpose in mind. As Nausicaa was Odysseus' guide and helped him regain his dignity as a man and a king, so our association supports children in becoming more complete and richer humans, or so we hope. Nausicaa has grown enormously in the past 20 years, and currently operates in various schools in the South of France, in particular in Marseille and Aix-en-Provence. Around ten volunteers (teachers working in middle school, high school or retired) teach ancient Greek to pupils from pre-school to the end of primary school. All activities are done at school during class teaching time and in the school setting. This paper presents an outline of the activities of the Nausicaa Association and how it benefits pupils of all abilities in learning about the ancient Greeks and their language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium isotope ratios (δ7Li) of rivers are increasingly serving as a diagnostic of the balance between chemical and physical weathering contributions to overall landscape denudation rates. Here, we show that intermediate weathering intensities and highly enriched stream δ7Li values typically associated with lowland floodplains can also describe small upland watersheds subject to cool, wet climates. This behavior is revealed by stream δ7Li between +22.4 and +23.5‰ within a Critical Zone observatory located in the Cévennes region of southern France, where dilute stream solute concentrations and significant atmospheric deposition otherwise mask evidence of incongruence. The water‐rock reaction pathways underlying this behavior are quantified through a multicomponent, isotope‐enabled reactive transport model. Using geochemical characterization of soil profiles, bedrock, and long‐term stream samples as constraints, we evolve the simulation from an initially unweathered granite to a steady state weathering profile which reflects the balance between (a) fluid infiltration and drainage and (b) bedrock uplift and soil erosion. Enriched stream δ7Li occurs because Li is strongly incorporated into actively precipitating secondary clay phases beyond what prior laboratory experiments have suggested. Chemical weathering incongruence is maintained despite relatively slow reaction rates and moderate clay accumulation due to a combination of two factors. First, reactive primary mineral phases persist across the weathering profile and effectively "shield" the secondary clays from resolubilization due to their greater solubility. Second, the clays accumulating in the near‐surface profile are relatively mature weathering byproducts. These factors promote characteristically low total dissolved solute export from the catchment despite significant input of exogenous dust. Plain Language Summary: Chemical weathering of silicate minerals by meteoric water serves as a long‐term regulator of atmospheric CO2. The extent to which these reactions produce secondary minerals dictates the chemical composition of soils and rivers. The isotope composition of metals is a potent tracer of this chemical weathering and significant progress has been gained in application of lithium stable isotopes for this purpose. Here, we demonstrate that water draining a mountainous landscape subject to a wet, temperate climate in Southern France produces isotopically heavy lithium in stream water. These signatures suggest an environment in which chemical weathering rates keep pace with the rates of soil erosion. To reveal the underlying causes of this behavior, we develop a numerical model that simulates the flow of water and its interaction with rock in the subsurface using measured data from the field site, including soil, bedrock, and water chemistry. We show that new minerals formed in the subsurface resist dissolution and effectively retain lithium. This work leverages the sensitivity of lithium isotopes to analyze weathering conditions that typify upland watersheds subject to cool, wet climates. Key Points: Small, upland watersheds under Mediterranean climate display characteristically high lithium stable isotope ratios (δ7Li)In a watershed in southern France subject to strong atmospheric inputs, weathering incongruence leads to high stream δ7Li valuesIsotope‐enabled reactive transport modeling indicates that at this site soil clays retain lithium and are resilient to (re‐)solubilization [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In southern France, the analysis of fossil dung layers from caves and shelters occupied by the first Neolithic farmers has provided a wealth of information about the lives of shepherds and their flocks, and thus on pastoral systems. Since the early 1980s, the development of sedimentological, archaeozoological and archaeobotanical studies has made possible to collect a large amount of data. More recently, the implementation of a whole range of innovative approaches allows a more detailed approach to pastoralism. This paper proposes a synthetic approach of 40 years of bioarchaeological analysis on Neolithic sheepfold caves (grottes-bergeries). Their interpretation focuses on understanding the early agropastoral system: pastoral use of wild and cultivated plant resources (fodder, litter, care and health of livestock), mobility systems, seasonality, practices and appropriation of territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a system to build music in an intuitive and accessible way, with Lego bricks, is presented. The system makes use of the new powerful and cheap possibilities that technology offers for making old things in a new way. The Raspberry Pi is used to control the system and run the necessary algorithms, customized Lego bricks are used for building melodies, custom electronic designs, software pieces and 3D printed parts complete the items employed. The system designed is modular, it allows creating melodies with chords and percussion or just melodies or perform as a beatbox or a melody box. The main interaction with the system is made using Lego-type building blocks. Tests have demonstrated its versatility and ease of use, as well as its usefulness in music learning for both children and adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Montpellier snake Malpolon monspessulanus (Hermann, 1804) skin sheds were collected over four years from an olive grove (0.21 ha) in southeast France. Examination of the cephalic scales allowed us to identify the individuals that frequented the site and the regularity of their visits for shedding. Reconstruction of the life histories of the individuals by capture-mark-recapture modelling showed that they visited the site during four consecutive years to shed. This site fidelity could be linked to mating opportunities or egg laying and foraging, or to the distinctive nature of the site, which is a sunny clearing within a dense woodland not very suitable for this thermophilic species. The concentration of the population in a very small area at certain times of the year risks making it vulnerable to predators as well as to changes that the site may undergo in the future, particularly if its agricultural use is abandoned and the woodland encroaches the open field area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study of previously collected fossils and of new data on Cambrian mollusks from the Bayangol Formation of Western Mongolia (Zavkhan structural-facies zone) revealed a significant similarity in the taxonomic composition of the mollusk assemblages of Western Mongolia and Southern France (Heraultia Limestone, Marcou Formation, Montagne Noire). In addition to the previously reported four common species (Latouchella korobkovi (Vostokova, 1962), Protoconus orolgainicus (Zhegallo, 1996), Purella tenuis Zhegallo, 1996, and Watsonella crosbyi Grabau, 1900), we have identified ten more common species for these regions including Auricullina auriculata (Vassiljeva, 1990); Bemella jacutica (Missarzhevsky, 1966); "Calbyella" multicostata Missarzhevsky, 1995; Cambroscutum concameratum Kerber, 1988; Helcionella sp.; Merismoconcha tommotica (Zhegallo, 1996); Obtusoconus amplus (Zhegallo, 1982); Prosinuites tripartitus Kerber, 1988; Purella layracensis (Kerber, 1988); and Securiconus sp. We have to reconsider the existing reconstruction of faunal relations of paleobasins on the western framework of Gondwana in terms of substantiating a close faunal exchange with the Zavkhan terrane, which was during the Early Cambrian a part of the chain of microcontinents located at low latitudes between the Siberian Platform in the west and Gondwana in the east. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

FAME Analysis is a simple and rapid technique based on Gas Chromatography analysis of bacterial cell membrane. Biochemical lipid profiling of bacterial cell membrane helps to identify bacterial isolates using MIDI Sherlock system. The main objective of present study is rapid and accurate identification of multidrug resistant Enterococcal isolates and to study their clinical profile for complicated nosocomial infection from the clinical samples collected at tertiary care center in Chandrapur region. It is essential to identify the causative organism for proper diagnosis and treatment of diseases as enterococcus is fastly emerging pathogen responsible for life threating nosocomial infection and other health hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generating gamakas on an electronic music keyboard has historically been considered a challenging task. Fortunately, we can now benefit from the capabilities of computers and other technological advancements that facilitate the recreation of traditional Indian gamakas using Western instrument keyboards. This article offers a wealth of insights into the process of producing traditional Indian gamakas using music software, specifically Digital Audio Workstations (DAW), in conjunction with MIDI keyboards. It not only enhances the enjoyment and engagement for the next generation but also embodies a modern paradigm in the teaching of traditional music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collagen type VI-related dystrophies (COL6-RD) are rare diseases with a wide phenotypic spectrum ranging from severe Ullrich’s congenital muscular dystrophy Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy to much milder Bethlem myopathy Both dominant and recessive forms of COL6-RD are caused by pathogenic variants in three collagen VI genes (COL6A1, COL6A2 and COL6A3). The prognosis of these diseases is variable and difficult to predict during early disease stages, especially since the genotype-phenotype correlation is not always clear. For this reason, studies with long-term follow-up of patients with genetically confirmed COL6-RD are still needed. In this study, we present phenotypic and genetic data from 25 patients (22 families) diagnosed with COL6-RD and followed at a single French center, in both adult and pediatric neurology departments. We describe three novel pathogenic variants and identify COL6A2:c.1970-9G>A as the most frequent variant in our series (29%). We also observe an accelerated progression of the disease in a subgroup of patients. This large series of rare disease patients provides essential information on phenotypic variability of COL6-RD patients as well as on frequency of pathogenic COL6A gene variants in Southern France, thus contributing to the phenotypic and genetic description of Collagen type VI-related dystrophies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Musical score rearrangement is an emerging area in symbolic music processing, which aims to transform a musical score into a different style. This study focuses on the task of changing the playing difficulty of piano scores, addressing two challenges in musical score rearrangement. First, we address the challenge of handling musical notation on scores. While symbolic music research often relies on note-level (MIDI-equivalent) information, musical scores contain notation that cannot be adequately represented at the note level. We propose an end-to-end framework that utilizes tokenized representations of notation to directly rearrange musical scores at the notation level. We also propose the ST+ representation, which includes a novel structure and token types for better score rearrangement. Second, we address the challenge of rearranging musical scores across multiple difficulty levels. We introduce a difficulty conditioning scheme to train a single sequence model capable of handling various difficulty levels, while leveraging scores from various levels in model training. We collect commercial-quality pop piano scores at four difficulty levels and train a MEGA model (with 0.3M parameters) to rearrange between these levels. Objective evaluation shows that our method successfully rearranges piano scores into other three difficulty levels, achieving comparable difficulty to human-made scores. Additionally, our method successfully generates musical notation including articulations. Subjective evaluation (by score experts and musicians) also reveals that our generated scores generally surpass the quality of previous rule-based or note-level methods on several criteria. Our framework enables novel notation-to-notation processing of scores and can be applied to various score rearrangement tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores Max as a digital platform for performing noise music through a practice-led research method. The practice-led research method was used to explore the possibilities of building Max patches, while content analysis method was used to analyse the outcome of the patches. Several Max patches were created to explore the potential of Max as an alternative approach for performing noise music. Findings show that Max can replicate the audio processing methods used in conventional performance. Due to Max capabilities, some of these methods could be automated and arranged prior to the performance. In addition, Max patches featured changing sound, random pitches, mixture of pre-recorded audio source and live instrument, and drone sound combined with automatic constant real-time audio self-processing and automatic audio panning, a feature that seldom appears in the local noise music scene. In conclusion, this research argues that Max has much potential for creating a variety of digital sounds that are harsh and dissonant to the ears, therefore contributing to the musical diversity in noise music performance. These sounds are the results of the features of audio self-processing, random pitches, automatic audio panning object and self-changing pitched drone audio signals relying on random MIDI values that appeared in Max. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Musicality Assessment Test is a notation-based examination covering three concepts: ear training, listening, and reading. Due to the incorporation of these three conceptual domains, the musicality test can only be effectively conducted when the test questions are presented in audio format. The aim of this study was to innovate the testing process as a means of assessing music learning outcomes through an audio-based format. This study employed qualitative descriptive method, and utilized Sibelius and Cubase software as technological tools. The design phase began with the preparation of the structured test instrument, followed by the recording process using Sibelius software. This involved recording questions related to rhythmic, pitch, interval, melodic, scale, and harmonic notation, which were then transformed into MIDI format. Cubase software was employed for combining human voice with MIDI in the recording process. The testing instrument was meticulously crafted as an innovative product, ready for trial to measure the musicality abilities of test takers. The test tool was designed as an innovative product, poised for use in assessing the musicality skills of test takers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of R.A.R.E - Association Roussillonnaise d'Entomologie is the property of Association Roussillonnaise d Entomologie and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Exanthematic typhus was highly frequent in the early 19th century among military troops and prisoners and at hospitals. Methods: Based on old reports, we describe an outbreak in a village, in Southern France, in 1810. Results: Twenty-eight cases were identified, over a period of 10 days following the death of the index case, in a soldier. Symptoms included notably persistent constant fever, myalgia and headaches, gastro-intestinal symptoms, prostration and stupor. Three patients suffered delirium and nine died (31.0%). Overall, symptoms persisted for 13–14 days. A total of 16 cases were secondary to contacts with the index case, and 10 cases were in house-hold contacts of secondary cases. Five familial clusters were described. Conclusion: This data suggest that exanthematic typhus outbreaks among civilian populations also occurred outside the context of hospitals, in link with introduction of the disease by prisoners or soldiers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional methods of drought monitoring have high precision on the meteorological station scale, which needs to arrange numerous stations. Although the single-factor drought remote sensing index contains one or two parameters based on a single indicator can realize real-time and dynamic monitoring, which cannot accurately reflect drought information. Combining meteorological station data with remote sensing data and using machine learning to establish drought monitoring models has high data accuracy and spatiotemporal advantages. In this study, standardized indices of precipitation (P), land surface temperature (LST), evapotranspiration (ET), potential evapotranspiration (PET), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), soil moisture (SM), sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) and digital elevation model (DEM) are applied as independent variables, the one-month standardized precipitation index (SPI_1) as the dependent variable, a Multi-source Integrated Drought Index (MIDI) was constructed by Random Forest (RF), Back Propagation Neural Network (BP), and Support Vector Machine (SVM). MIDI was employed to monitor drought conditions in the North China Plain. Moreover, MIDI was utilized for monitoring the typical drought event in southwest China to verify its migration ability. The results showed that the correlation coefficients between each standardized indices and SPI_1 were all higher than the standardized evapotranspiration index (SPEI_1) except for surface temperature and potential evapotranspiration. Therefore, SPI_1 was selected as the dependent variable to construct MIDI. MIDI established by RF had higher accuracy in monitoring drought (R2 = 0.789, RMSE = 0.454, and MAE = 0.348) than BP and SVM. The correlation coefficient between MIDI and SPEI_1 was greater than 0.8 (P < 0.01) under various vegetation types, indicating that MIDI was suitable for drought monitoring in the North China Plain. The migration experiment shows that MIDI can also accurately monitor the beginning, course, and end of drought events during 2009–2010 in Southwest China. This study indicated that MIDI has good migration ability and high accuracy for drought monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Statistical learning is thought to be linked to brain development. For example, statistical learning of language and music starts at an early age and is shown to play a significant role in acquiring the delta-band rhythm that is essential for language and music learning. However, it remains unclear how auditory cultural differences affect the statistical learning process and the resulting probabilistic and acoustic knowledge acquired through it. This study examined how children's songs are acquired through statistical learning. This study used a Hierarchical Bayesian statistical learning (HBSL) model, mimicking the statistical learning processes of the brain. Using this model, I conducted a simulation experiment to visualize the temporal dynamics of perception and production processes through statistical learning among different cultures. The model learned from a corpus of children's songs in MIDI format, which consists of English, German, Spanish, Japanese, and Korean songs as the training data. In this study, I investigated how the probability distribution of the model is transformed over 15 trials of learning in each song. Furthermore, using the probability distribution of each model over 15 trials of learning each song, new songs were probabilistically generated. The results suggested that, in learning processes, chunking and hierarchical knowledge increased gradually through 15 rounds of statistical learning for each piece of children's songs. In production processes, statistical learning led to the gradual increase of delta-band rhythm (1–3 Hz). Furthermore, by combining the acquired chunks and hierarchy through statistical learning, statistically novel music was generated gradually in comparison to the original songs (i.e. the training songs). These findings were observed consistently, in multiple cultures. The present study indicated that the statistical learning capacity of the brain, in multiple cultures, contributes to the acquisition and generation of delta-band rhythm, which is critical for acquiring language and music. It is suggested that cultural differences may not significantly modulate the statistical learning effects since statistical learning and slower rhythm processing are both essential functions in the human brain across cultures. Furthermore, statistical learning of children's songs leads to the acquisition of hierarchical knowledge and the ability to generate novel music. This study may provide a novel perspective on the developmental origins of creativity and the importance of statistical learning through early development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years, research on automatic music transcription has made significant progress as deep learning techniques have been validated to demonstrate strong performance in complex data applications. Although the existing work is exciting, they all rely on specific domain knowledge to enable the design of model architectures and training modes for different tasks. At the same time, the noise generated in the process of automatic music transcription data collection cannot be ignored, which makes the existing work unsatisfactory. To address the issues highlighted above, we propose an end-to-end framework based on Transformer. Through the encoder-decoder structure, we realize the direct conversion of the spectrogram of the collected piano audio to MIDI output. Further, to remove the impression of environmental noise on transcription quality, we design a training mechanism mixed with white noise to improve the robustness of our proposed model. Our experiments on the classic piano transcription datasets show that the proposed method can greatly improve the quality of automatic music transcription. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Question: Although leaf biomechanical properties have been identified as critical traits for plant‐herbivore interactions, their responses to grazing pressure have been poorly investigated. Intensification of rangeland management, associated with fertilization and an increase in grazing pressure, has been shown to favour fast‐growing species that can compensate for biomass losses due to grazing. According to the postulated trade‐off between resource acquisition and defence, it is often expected that acquisitive traits should be associated with low leaf mechanical resistance. Here we investigated the responses of two leaf biomechanical traits, and their underlying traits, to management intensification. Location: We used a long‐term experiment in a rangeland located in the Mediterranean region of Southern France, in which three treatments corresponding to different fertilizer inputs and sheep grazing pressures were established. Methods: We sampled 24 abundant graminoid and forb species. The responses of work to shear and force to tear to the treatments were tested together with those of growth‐related leaf traits (leaf mass per area, dry matter content). To better understand the observed patterns, we tested whether the difference between species' leaf biomechanics could be explained by morpho‐anatomical characteristics such as leaf thickness and density. Results: Consistent with the acquisition–defence trade‐off hypothesis, we found that graminoids from fertilized and intensely grazed areas had lower leaf resistance than those in ungrazed areas. However, no difference in leaf biomechanics was found in forbs despite a significant decrease in leaf mass per area and leaf dry matter content with management intensification. Consistent with this, we found no significant effect of morpho‐anatomical traits on either biomechanical trait in forbs. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the observed responses in graminoids result from phenotypic constraints between resource acquisition and biomechanical defence. However, these phenotypic constraints appeared to be released in forbs, questioning the idea of a universal relationship between these two functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 vaccines have significantly decreased the number of severe cases of the disease, but the virus circulation remains important, and questions about the need of new vaccination campaigns remain unanswered. The individual's protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection is most commonly measured by the level and the neutralizing capacity of antibodies produced against SARS-CoV-2. T cell response is a major contributor in viral infection, and several studies have shown that cellular T cell response is crucial in fighting off SARS-CoV-2 infection. Actually, no threshold of protective immune response against SARS-CoV2 infection has been identified. To better understand SARS-CoV-2-mediated immunity, we assessed both B cell (measuring anti-Spike IgG titer and neutralization capacity) and T cell (measuring IFNγ release assay after specific SARS-CoV2 stimulation) responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination with or without virus encounter in a cohort of 367 working volunteers. Vaccinated individuals who had previously been infected had a stronger and more lasting immunity in comparison to vaccinated individuals naive to infection whose immunity started to decline 3 months after vaccination. IFNγ release ≥ 0.285 IU/mL and anti-Spike IgG antibodies ≥ 244 BAU/mL were associated with a sufficient immune response following vaccination preventing future infections. Individuals with comorbidities had a lower chance of reaching the protective thresholds of T cell and B cell responses as identified in multivariate analysis. A combined B cell and T cell analysis of immune responses to determine protective thresholds after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination will allow us to identify individuals in need of a booster vaccine dose, particularly in comorbid subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, diagnosing and stratifying dry eye disease (DED) require multiple tests, motivating interest in a single definitive test. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential for using tear fluid extracellular vesicle (EV)-RNA in DED diagnostics. With a role in intercellular communication, nanosized EVs facilitate the protected transport of diverse bioactive molecules in biofluids, including tears. Schirmer strips were used to collect tears from 10 patients presenting with dry eye-related symptoms at the Norwegian Dry Eye Clinic. The samples comprised two groups, five from patients with a tear film break-up time (TBUT) of 2 s and five from patients with a TBUT of 10 s. Tear fluid EV-RNA was isolated using a Qiagen exoRNeasy Midi Kit, and the RNA was characterized using Affymetrix ClariomTM D microarrays. The mean signal values of the two groups were compared using a one-way ANOVA. A total of 26,639 different RNA transcripts were identified, comprising both mRNA and ncRNA subtypes. Approximately 6% of transcripts showed statistically significant differential abundance between the two groups. The mRNA sodium channel modifier 1 (SCNM1) was detected at a level 3.8 times lower, and the immature microRNA-130b was detected at a level 1.5 times higher in the group with TBUT 2 s compared to the group with TBUT 10 s. This study demonstrates the potential for using tear fluid EV-RNA in DED diagnostics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sjögren's syndrome is an autoimmune rheumatic disease characterized by inflammation of the salivary and lacrimal glands, often manifesting as dry mouth and dry eyes. To simplify diagnostics of primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS), a non-invasive marker is needed. The aim of the study was to compare the RNA content of salivary extracellular vesicles (EVs) between patients with pSS and healthy controls using microarray technology. Stimulated whole saliva was collected from 11 pSS patients and 11 age-matched controls. EV-RNA was isolated from the saliva samples using a Qiagen exoRNeasy Midi Kit and analyzed using Affymetrix Clariom D™ microarrays. A one-way ANOVA test was used to compare the mean signal values of each transcript between the two groups. A total of 9307 transcripts, coding and non-coding RNA, were detected in all samples. Of these transcripts, 1475 showed statistically significant differential abundance between the pSS and the control groups, generating two distinct EV-RNA patterns. In particular, tRNAs were downregulated in pSS patients, with the transcript tRNA-Ile-AAT-2-1 showing a 2-fold difference, and a promise as a potential biomarker candidate. This study therein demonstrates the potential for using salivary EV-RNA in pSS diagnostics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces and discusses Occitan sociolinguistics as it evolved from the 1970s onward as a theory of language contact as conflict. It was developed in conjunction with its Catalan counterpart and as a reaction to Joshua Fishman's allocational model of diglossia, and came as a response to conditions of swift social and linguistic change in Southern France after the Second World War. This model, proposed mainly at first by Robèrt Lafont in Montpelhièr, is strongly materialist in that it focuses on the material conditions of language production and replaces the language movement among other social struggles. This paper first explores the roots of the contemporary Occitan movement and its links with the birth of Occitan sociolinguistics. It then analyzes key concepts in Occitan sociolinguistics such as diglossic ideology as essential to understand processes of minoritization, linguistic alienation, and social domination. Finally, it looks at how this approach conceptualizes language revitalization not as a linguistic issue but as a social one and suggests that Occitan sociolinguistics provides an alternative to models of language loss and revival rooted in cultural and identity politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Categorizing music pieces by composer is a challenging task in digital music processing due to their highly flexible structures, introducing subjective interpretation by individuals. This research utilized musical data from the MIDI and audio edited for synchronous tracks and organization dataset of virtuosic piano pieces. In this work, pitch and duration were the musical features of interest. The goal was to innovate an approach to representing a musical piece using SentencePiece and Word2vec, which are natural language processing-based techniques. We attempted to find correlated melodies that are likely to be formed by single interpretable units of music via co-occurring notes, and represented them as a musical word/subword vector. Composer classification was performed in order to ensure the efficiency of this musical data representation scheme. Among classification machine learning algorithms, k-nearest neighbors, random forest classifier, logistic regression, support vector machines, and multilayer perceptron were employed to compare performances. In the experiment, the feature extraction methods, classification algorithms, and music window sizes were varied. The results were that classification performance was sensitive to feature extraction methods. Musical word/subword vector standard deviation was the most effective feature, resulting in classification with a high F1-score, attaining 1.00. No significant difference was observed among model classification performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Respiratory syncytial virus is among the most common causes of respiratory infections. Typically, this viral infection has a seasonality during the cold months but with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic this has been considerably modified. Here, we studied the epidemiology of this virus in university hospitals of Marseille, South of France, over the period 2020 to 2023. We tested in our laboratory from July 2020 to October 2021 16,516 nasopharyngeal swabs from 16,468 patients for RSV infection using different qPCR assays. We then analyzed data from previous and subsequent winters (from 2018 to 2023) and previous summers (from 2015 to 2021). A total of 676 patients were RSV-positive; their mean age was 3 years and 91 were under 5 years of age. We observed a delay of 4 months of the RSV epidemic's onset compared to other years with an epidemic that peaked in March 2021. We had significantly more RSV-positive cases during summer 2021 compared to previous summers, whereas the incidence of RSV infections was not significantly higher during winter 2022 versus previous winters. Moreover, 494 patients were diagnosed as RSV-positive in the emergency unit and 181 were subsequently hospitalized, and 34 patients were diagnosed RSV-positive while already in the intensive care unit. Over all the study periods, 38 patients diagnosed as RSV-positive died, the majority of whom (23/28) were over 65 years of age. These data show an atypical evolution of the incidence of RSV infections in our city and is another example of the unpredictability of infectious disease epidemiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, many French commentators doubted that France had the strength to withstand the trials of war. Yet the national mobilisation for war was an indisputable success that surprised military planners and political leaders alike. Despite inauspicious beginnings and the unprecedented material and human costs of war, France held out, and the Republican nation-state emerged victorious and to a large extent reinforced by the war. However, the subsequent failure to mobilise successfully in 1939–40 begs the question of the nature and transformation of French patriotism in the First World War. Interestingly, in a field characterised by its vibrant, sophisticated and highly contentious debates, French historians appear to have skirted around the problem of patriotic mobilisation. This article reconsiders this question by investigating social mobilisation in the country's southern periphery, focusing on the town of Béziers. It underlines the need to locate patriotism by considering its valence in the particular social and geographic contexts that determined the war experience at the front or at home. It also suggests the necessity to re-politicise the idea of national sentiment while maintaining the necessary distinction between patriotism and nationalism. Finally, it argues that the analysis of wartime mobilisation in France must be part of a larger reflection on the mobilisation of space and place in the era of the Great War. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19-related national lockdowns worldwide have had repercussions on people's well-being and have led to increased substance use. Mindfulness has previously been associated with reduced psychological distress and benefits in terms of addictive behaviors. We aimed to assess whether dispositional mindfulness protected against increased tobacco and alcohol use in hospital workers after France's first lockdown started. All workers in two French hospitals were contacted by email to participate in an online survey. Three hundred eighty-five workers answered. We ran two separate logistic regression models to test for associations between the level of dispositional mindfulness and both increased tobacco and alcohol use, after adjusting for affect deterioration. Dispositional mindfulness was associated with a lower likelihood of increased tobacco (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) [95% CI] 0.71 [0.51; 0.99], p = 0.046) and alcohol (0.66 [0.50; 0.87], p = 0.004) use. The effect of mindfulness on tobacco use was partially mediated by affect deterioration. Dispositional mindfulness appeared to be a protective factor against lockdown-related tobacco and alcohol use increases in French hospital workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early childhood caries (ECC) is an illness defined as the presence of one or more decayed, missing after caries, or filled tooth surfaces in any primary tooth in a child under the age of 6 years. It has a negative impact on the physical and the psychological development of children. General medical practitioners (GPs) and pediatricians, the first professionals involved in the follow-up of young children, are on the frontline of detecting and referring patients with caries or individual high-risk of carious lesions. The aims of this study were (1) to assess the current state of knowledge of pediatricians and GPs in the south of France regarding ECC detection and prevention, and (2) to understand whether there are difficulties in referring young patients for the early detection of carious lesions. A semi-structured questionnaire was circulated to GPs and pediatricians working in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region (France). The questionnaire was divided into three parts related to the characteristics of the participants, to the current skill and knowledge of practitioners in detecting ECC (using clinical vignettes) and advising preventive measures, and to the dental examination and any difficulties in referring patients. There were 97 participants in the study. Many oral hygiene measures were known but only just over half of the dietary risk factors were recognized. Participants seemed to be involved in detecting ECC, the majority very often examined teeth during their consultations. Practitioners recognized a carious lesion in only one of two cases. The lack of knowledge of the recommended age for the first consultation could be a barrier in referring patients to a dentist, for which pain remains the main reason for referral. GPs and pediatricians should play a key role in the detection and prevention of ECC. Participants showed great interest in the topic of oral health. For better management, it would be beneficial to provide training resources with quick and efficient access to information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Roquemaillère site on the southeastern margin of the French Massif Central is one of the rare localities along the Northern Gondwana margin from which Silurian odontopleurid trilobites have been recovered. Revision of M.-C. Chaubet's collections from this site, presented in her monograph (1937), together with additional new records revealed the presence of Kettneraspis Prantl & Přibyl, 1949 with 5 species [K. acanthifrons sp. nov., K. cf. juengeri Santel, 2001, K. rojanensis sp. nov., K. anteflexa sp. nov., K. aff. parkini (Siveter, 1989)], Eoleonaspis Sheng, 1974 with E. maeander sp. nov., Radiaspis Richter & Richter, 1917 with Radiaspis sp., Laethoprusia Ramsköld, 1991 with L. augur sp. nov., and Ceratocephalina Whittington, 1956 with C. angustifurcata sp. nov. Evidence from associated graptolites, brachiopods, bivalves and conodonts assigns the trilobites to the late Wenlock Homerian stage. The diverse fauna is dominated, both in specific diversity and number of individuals by Kettneraspis. The absence of the closely related Leonaspis regarded as characterising Gondwana-related terranes from the late Silurian onwards, confirms the pre-Ludlow age of the Roquemaillère fauna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: In the face of ongoing climate warming, we wanted to quantify impacts on vegetation at one of the major climatic and biogeographical boundaries of Europe, the limit between the Mediterranean and Eurosiberian biogeographical regions. We analyse temperature and moisture requirements of plants along altitudinal gradients at regional scale in the period 1980–2020 and we explore if changes coincide with observed changes in the same regions in terms of measured climatic data. Location: Southern France. Time period: 1980–2020. Taxa: Vascular plants. Methods: We calculated shifts in plants' temperature and moisture requirements for a large floristic database from south‐eastern France (SIMETHIS) during the period 1980–2020 along altitudinal gradients by using ecological indicator values (EIV). Additionally, we analysed standardized weather station data from the same area and period, to investigate whether floristic changes are synchronized with climate changes. Results: Vegetation data suggest a linear increase in temperature requirements of plant communities from 1980 to 2020 with a greater change at low altitudes. Upward shifts in temperature requirements coincided with observed climate change although warming did not show a general trend towards greater increases at low altitudes. Data on vegetation and climate suggest an upward shift of respectively 150 and 300 m for the boundary between Mediterranean and temperate belts. Moisture requirements of vegetation indicate an increase of the frequency of dry adapted species at low altitudes but an increase towards higher moisture requirements at high altitudes. Comparing vegetation responses with climate data suggests that responses are faster at low altitudes. Main conclusions: Our analyses show that strong general changes in vegetation are underway and highlight faster responses of vegetation to warming in low altitudes compared to high altitudes and demonstrate the need for reliable data on vegetation and climate changes, especially on water balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme event attribution aims at evaluating the impact of climate change on specific extreme events. In this work, we present an attribution methodology for severe extratropical cyclones, and test it on storm Alex. Alex was an explosive extratropical cyclone that affected Southern France and Northern Italy at the beginning of October 2020. The methodology exploits mathematical properties of circulation analogues, and identifies changes in physical and statistical properties. We first divide 6-hourly ERA5 data into two periods: a counterfactual period (1950–1984) and a factual period (1986–2021). We then identify the 30 cyclones in each period whose sea-level pressure maps are closest to Alex's map by selecting those with the lowest Euclidean distance from Alex. We term these "analogues" of Alex. We find that analogues in the factual period are more persistent than in the counterfactual period, which may favour severe impacts resulting from persistent strong winds and heavy precipitation, as was the case for Alex. This effect is compounded by the doubling in accumulated daily precipitation detected in Northern Italy between the counterfactual and factual analogues. In the factual period, the analogues display an increase in the eddy kinetic energy in their growth phase, with poleward-shifted backward tracks. We also identify a seasonal shift of the analogues, from spring to autumn. Finally, the analogues in the factual period are closer to Alex than in the counterfactual period. These changes collectively point to high-impact storms like Alex having become more common in a changing climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern retail businesses in Indonesia are growing rapidly thanks to open market opportunities, manufacturing businesses that support product supply, and government support for economic growth through retail development. The purpose of this study is to determine the intrinsic value of shares of companies engaged in the food and staples retail sub-sector which in this case is represented by PT. Sumber Alfaria Trijaya, Tbk. (AMRT), PT. Diamond Food Indonesia, Tbk. (DMND), PT. Midi Utama Indonesia, Tbk. (MIDI), PT. Enseval Putera Megatrading, Tbk. (EPMT), and PT. Millenium Pharmacon Internatioanl, Tbk. (SDPC) listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). This research uses historical data for 2018-2022 which will be used as the basis for projections for 2023-2027. The results showed that by using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) method, specifically the Free Cash Flow to Firm (FCFF) approach, under an optimistic scenario, the intrinsic values of AMRT, SDPC, and DMND were undervalued. EPMT and MIDI stocks are overvalued. In the moderate scenario, the intrinsic values of AMRT, MIDI, EPMT, and DMND are overvalued, while SDPC is undervalued. Calculations on a pessimistic scenario, all companies studied are overvalued. In this study, the valuation of stocks was also conducted using the Relative Valuation (RV) method with the Price to Earnings Ratio (PER) and Price to Book Value (PBV) approaches. In an optimistic scenario, the stocks of AMRT, MIDI, and SDPC are considered expensive, while EPMT and DMND are seen cheap. In a moderat scenario, the stocks AMRT, EPMT, and SDPC are considered undervalued, while MIDI and DMND are seen expensive. In a pessimistic scenario, it is observed that AMRT, EPMT, and SDPC are undervalued, whereas MIDI and DMND are considered overvalued. This research aims to provide an objective assessment of the company, which investors can use to consider investments and by companies to enhance corporate value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to propose an accurate and cost-effective analytical approach for the delineation of fruit trees in orchards, vineyards, and olive groves in Southern France, considering two locations. A classification based on phenology metrics (PM) derived from the Sentinel-2 time series was developed to perform the classification. The PM were computed by fitting a double logistic model on temporal profiles of vegetation indices to delineate orchard and vineyard classes. The generated PM were introduced into a random forest (RF) algorithm for classification. The method was tested on different vegetation indices, with the best results obtained with the leaf area index. To delineate the olive class, the temporal features of the green chlorophyll vegetation index were found to be the most appropriate. Obtained overall accuracies ranged from 89–96% and a Kappa of 0.86–0.95 (2016–2021), respectively. These accuracies are much better than applying the RF algorithm to the LAI time series, which led to a Kappa ranging between 0.3 and 0.52 and demonstrates the interest in using phenological traits rather than the raw time series of the remote sensing data. The method can be well reproduced from one year to another. This is an interesting feature to reduce the burden of collecting ground-truth information. If the method is generic, it needs to be calibrated in given areas as soon as a phenology shift is expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioindication of ecological variables such as humidity, temperature or pH by ecological indicator values of plants is a powerful tool for research in plant ecology, e.g. to detect early vegetation changes. Here, we provide a data set of ecological indicator values including niche width for an entire regional flora. We used an extensive data-base with floristic relevés from Southern France to recalibrate indicator values for light (L), temperature (T), continentality (K), air humidity (A), soil moisture (F), pH (R), productivity (N), soil texture (G), soil organic matter content (O) and salinity (S). Values were recalibrated using average values from co-occurring plants, enabling to develop indicator values for species not yet evaluated previously. Recalibrated values are on a continuous scale and we add standard deviation, median, first and third quartile for each indicator value. Linear regression of average indicator values against measured factors showed higher correlation with recalibrated values compared to original indicator values for temperature, pH and nitrogen, and comparable R2 for moisture. Individual indicator systems performed better than a combination and applying different weighting procedures demonstrated the usefulness of inverse variance. We further illustrate graphically how recalibrated values and niche width increase ecological knowledge on plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]