Finger-digit compatibility in Arabic numeral processing

in Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology (2006), 59(9), 1648-63

Finger-digit response compatibility was tested by asking participants to identify Arabic digits by pressing one of ten keys with all ten fingers. The direction of the finger-digit mapping was varied by ... [more ▼]

Finger-digit response compatibility was tested by asking participants to identify Arabic digits by pressing one of ten keys with all ten fingers. The direction of the finger-digit mapping was varied by manipulating the global direction of the hand-digit mapping as well as the direction of the finger-digit mapping within each hand (in each case, from small to large digits, or the reverse). The hypothesis of a left-to-right mental number line predicted that a complete left-to-right mapping should be easier whereas the hypothesis of a representation based on finger counting predicted that a counting-congruent mapping should be easier. The results show that a mapping congruent with the prototypical finger-counting strategy reported by the participants leads to better performance than a mapping congruent with a left-to-right oriented mental number line, and demonstrate that finger-counting strategies clearly influence the way numerical information is mentally represented and processed. [less ▲]

La prise en compte de l’avis des parents d’élèves dans le processus de réforme de l’école luxembourgeoise

Scientific Conference (2006, September)

Filtrage non linéairede diffusions faiblement bruitées dans le cas d'un système avec bruits corrélés

Scientific Conference (2006, August 31)

Statistical Analysis of Piglet Stillbirth

Scientific Conference (2006, August)

Implementation and validation of a simple probabilistic tool for finite element codes

in Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering: Sixth European Conference on Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering (Graz, Austria, 6-8 September 2006) (2006, August)

Both a circular slip surface stability calculation (Bishop or Fellenius) and a FEM calculation (c-phi reduction) produce a safety factor but not a probability of failure or reliability index. The mayor ... [more ▼]

Both a circular slip surface stability calculation (Bishop or Fellenius) and a FEM calculation (c-phi reduction) produce a safety factor but not a probability of failure or reliability index. The mayor problem with the probabilistical calculations is that variable soil parameters create a correlated and therefore also variable failure mechanism. The question is how much the value of the calculated probability of failure is influenced by this correlation. The Monte-Carlo method leads, because of the many slip surface calculations, to the most accurate calculation of the probability of safety. The disadvantage of this method is that it is far too time consuming for daily FEM calculations. The idea is therefore to replace the Monte-Carlo approach by another approach with only a limited amount of calculations. In this paper several methods are discussed and validated. An indication is given about the error, the number of necessary stability calculations and the optimal estimation points for an additional stability calculation. In this way a minimum number of FEM calculations is needed to obtain a certain desired accuracy. [less ▲]

Residue centrality, functionally important residues, and active site shape: analysis of enzyme and non-enzyme families.

in Protein science : a publication of the Protein Society (2006), 15(9), 2120-8

The representation of protein structures as small-world networks facilitates the search for topological determinants, which may relate to functionally important residues. Here, we aimed to investigate the ... [more ▼]

The representation of protein structures as small-world networks facilitates the search for topological determinants, which may relate to functionally important residues. Here, we aimed to investigate the performance of residue centrality, viewed as a family fold characteristic, in identifying functionally important residues in protein families. Our study is based on 46 families, including 29 enzyme and 17 non-enzyme families. A total of 80% of these central positions corresponded to active site residues or residues in direct contact with these sites. For enzyme families, this percentage increased to 91%, while for non-enzyme families the percentage decreased substantially to 48%. A total of 70% of these central positions are located in catalytic sites in the enzyme families, 64% are in hetero-atom binding sites in those families binding hetero-atoms, and only 16% belong to protein-protein interfaces in families with protein-protein interaction data. These differences reflect the active site shape: enzyme active sites locate in surface clefts, hetero-atom binding residues are in deep cavities, while protein-protein interactions involve a more planar configuration. On the other hand, not all surface cavities or clefts are comprised of central residues. Thus, closeness centrality identifies functionally important residues in enzymes. While here we focus on binding sites, we expect to identify key residues for the integration and transmission of the information to the rest of the protein, reflecting the relationship between fold and function. Residue centrality is more conserved than the protein sequence, emphasizing the robustness of protein structures. [less ▲]

Contribution à l'étude de l'utilisabilité dans le contexte des systèmes d'information à usage professionnel: conception d'un laboratoire d'utilisabilité et applications

Doctoral thesis (2006)

Weighted lattice polynomials

in Proc. 11th Int. Conf. on Information Processing and Management of Uncertainty in Knowledge-Based Systems (IPMU 2006), Paris, France, July 2-7, 2006 (2006, July)

We define the concept of weighted lattice polynomials as lattice polynomials constructed from both variables and parameters. We provide equivalent forms of these functions in an arbitrary bounded ... [more ▼]

We define the concept of weighted lattice polynomials as lattice polynomials constructed from both variables and parameters. We provide equivalent forms of these functions in an arbitrary bounded distributive lattice. We also show that these functions include the class of discrete Sugeno integrals and that they are characterized by a remarkable median based decomposition formula. [less ▲]

Environmental proteomics, a new window on microbial community function

Scientific Conference (2006, July)

Self-controlled practice of decision-making skills

in Hoppeler, H.; Reilly, T.; Tsolakidis, E. (Eds.) et al Book of Abstracts (2006, July)