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This paper concerns the Grover algorithm that permits to make amplification of quantum states previously tagged by an Oracle. Grover's algorithm allows searches in an unstructure database of n entries finding a marked element with a quadratic speedup. The algorithm requires a predefined number of runs to succeed with probability close to one.This article provides a description of the amplitude amplification quantum algorithm mechanism in a very short computational way, based on tensor products and provides a geometric presentation of the successive system states. All the basis changes are fully described to provide an alternative to the wide spread Grover description based only on matrices and complex tensor computation. Our experiments encompass numerical evaluations of circuit using the Qiskit library of IBM that meet the theoretical considerations

This paper concerns quantum heuristics based on Mixer Hamiltonians that allow to restrict investigation on a specific subspace. Mixer Hamiltonian based approaches can be included in QAOA algorithm and we can state that Mixer Hamiltonians are mapping functions from the set of qubit-strings to the set of solutions. Mixer Hamiltonian offers an approach very similar to indirect representations commonly used in routing or in scheduling community for decades. After the initial publication of Cheng et al. in 1996 (Cheng et al., 1996), numerous propositions in OR lies on 1-to-n mapping functions, including the split algorithm that transform one TSP solution into a VRP solution. The objective is at first to give a compact and readable presentation of these Mixer Hamiltonians considering the functional analogies that exist between the OR community practices and the quantum field. Our experiments encompass numerical evaluations of circuit using the Qiskit library of IBM meeting the theoretical considerations.

International audience

Quantum heuristics can significantly expand the list of applications for which quantum computers have a significant advantage in the same trend of researches that has crossed the classical operational research community from decades in numerous areas, including but not limited to scheduling and routing. Lately Farhi et al [1] in 2002 introduced a promising Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm which formally defines a quantum alternating operator ansatz (QAOA) supporting a large and potentially useful set of states which create an alternative to the Adiabatic Optimization. In this paper we investigate Adiabatic Optimization for resolution of two classical optimizaton problems., Adiabatic quantum optimization for two classical problems

While academic achievement has been associated with physical activity, the present work questions the potential association between the physical fitness level of adolescents and the type of school they attend, ranging from academic to technical schools. 20,228 young French students from 76 schools (9,196 females), mean age 15.8±1.8 years, performed the Diagnoform© test. This dataset includes two higher education institutions (n=870), 37 general high schools (n=13,125), 18 professional-oriented high schools (n=3,569), 5 agricultural high schools (n=132), 2 vocational training centers (n=202) and 12 rural vocational training centers (n=1,137). In higher education institutions and general high schools, girls showed better performances for all physical tests. A decreasing Quotient of overall Physical fitness Condition (QPC) was observed for both genders from urban higher education schools to rural and technical institutions (p

The evaluation of food intake based on various assessment methods is critical and underreporting is frequent. The aim of the study was to develop an indirect statistical method of the total energy intake estimation based on gender, weight and the number of portions. Energy intake prediction was developed and evaluated for validity using energy expenditure measurements given by the WellBeNet app. A total of 190 volunteers with various BMIs were recruited and assigned either in the train or the test sample. The mean energy provided by a portion was evaluated by linear regression models from the train sample. The absolute values of the error between the energy intake estimation and the energy expenditure measurement were calculated for each volunteer, by subgroup and for the whole group. The performance of the models was determined using the validation dataset. As the number of portions is the only variable used in the model, the error was 30.7% and 26.5% in the train and test sample. After adding body weight in the model, the error in absolute value decreased to 8.8% and 10.8% for the normal-weight women and men, and 11.7% and 12.8% for the overweight female and male volunteers, respectively. The findings of this study indicate that a statistical approach and knowledge of the usual number of portions and body weight is effective and sufficient to obtain a precise evaluation of energy intake (about 10% of error) after a simple and brief enquiry.

International audience

International audience; Cet article vise à modéliser des problèmes d'ordonnancement d'atelier dans lesquels des reconfigurations sont à considérer. Ces reconfigurations peuvent présenter des durées importantes pouvant impacter plusieurs ressources simultanément. Une formalisation linéaire indexée sur le temps et une formalisation de type Programmation par Contrainte sont proposées afin de résoudre ce type de problèmes.

International audience; Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems have been introduced in the mid 1990s as an alternative to classical dedicated or flexibles production systems. They are supposed to be more reactive and capable of evolving depending on unpredictable and high-frequency market changes induced by global market competition. While this concept has received a lot of attention in the literature, mainly at the design and conception phase of the production system, only few works are addressing the operational management of such production systems. One of the key features of reconfigurable manufacturing system is the possibility to use different configurations. The objective is to schedule operations efficiently while considering the different configurations of the system that are available. Switching from one configuration to another requires setup times. However, contrary to classical setup times that can be found in literature on scheduling problems, switching from a configuration i to j may require that some machines are stopped, and then reconfiguration goes beyond classical setups. This paper intends to formalise such a problem in the context of Flow-shop and Job-shop production systems. First results on small case instances are introduced.

Investigating the TEE evaluation by predictive functions using smart-{phone, watch}.Using a personalized MET value in regard of the characteristics of participants.New activities classification model to obtain an TEE estimation.Gap less than 4% on both activities classification and TEE.Free Research application available on Google Play. By combining embedded passive sensing technologies from both smartphone and smartwatch, it is possible to obtain a high quality detection of sedentary activities (sitting, reclining postureź), movements (walkingź) and periods of more intense body movements (runningź). Our research encompasses the definition of an energy-saving function for the total energy expenditure (TEE) estimation using accelerometry data. This topic is clearly at the crossroad of both computer science and medical research. The present contribution proposes an intelligent wearable system, which combines the use of two complementary devices: smartphone and smartwatch to collect accelerometry data. Together they can precisely discriminate real-world human sedentary and active behaviors and their duration and estimate energy expenditure in real time and in free-living conditions. The results of the study are expected to help subjects to handle their daily-living physical activity notably for being compliant with the physical activity international guidelines (150min of moderate intensity activity/week). It is also expected that the physical activity feedbacks using these popular devices can prove the effectiveness of such wearable objects to promote individually-adapted healthy behavioral changes. The performance of the proposed function was evaluated by comparing the energy expenditure given by the smartphone and smartwatch with that produced by Armbandź. The mean error of TEE between the proposed function and Armbandź was less than 4% for an average 6h period of daily-living activities. The main theoretical contribution is the definition of a new predictive mathematical function of energy expenditure, which competes with the non-public function used in dedicated costly devices such as Armbandź. In addition, this work demonstrates the potential of wearable technologies.

Fleury Gérard. Loches. Une maison du XVIe siècle inédite. Observations pendant les travaux de réhabilitation. In: Bulletin Monumental, tome 171, n°1, année 2013. pp. 47-50.

The aim of this paper is to address the Dial-A-Ride Problem with stochastic transportation time between nodes. These transportation times are modeled by a Gaussian distribution. We propose a framework based on an Evolutionary Local Search to find robust solutions which can withstand variations due to the stochasticity. Our method uses a law approach to solve this problem and a simulation part to support the results. The robustness of the best known solutions published for the Deterministic Dial-a-Ride Problem on instances proposed by (Cordeau and Laporte, 2003) is first analyzed. Computational results from the Evolutionary Local Search on the Stochastic Dial-a-Ride Problem are then presented.

Objective Thermal therapies are rapidly gaining importance in oncology as an alternative to radiotherapy and surgery. The possibility to locally deposit thermal energy in a non-invasive way opens a path towards new therapeutic strategies with improved reliability and reduced associated trauma leading to improved efficacy, reduced hospitalisation and costs. Liver and kidney tumors represent a major health problem because not all patients are suitable for curative treatment with surgery. Currently, radiofrequency is the most used method for percutaneous ablation and the development of a completely non-invasive method based on MR-guided high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatments is of particular interest, since the energy source is located outside the body. This project addressed technological challenges for the treatment of liver and kidney, related to their motion and their location within the thoracic cage. Material and methods This project proposed safe and non-invasive methods for MR-guided thermal ablation of malignant tumors of liver and kidney with HIFU. Real-time MRI was used to precisely control heat deposition with HIFU within the targeted pathological area despite the motion of these organs, in order to provide an effective treatment with a reduced duration and an increased level of safety for the patient. New technologies were studied for the development of matrix transducers able to generate high acoustic power. Discussion 3D Real-Time MRI guidance of a HIFU intervention as well as intercostal firing were realized in vivo in pig liver during breathing under real-time MR-thermometry over sustained periods of several minutes. The ability to generate acoustic power as high as up to five time the usual level was demonstrated in vitro thanks to the development of the new transducer technology proposed in this project. Conclusion A fully MR-integrated HIFU treatment platform dedicated to the treatment of cancer in mobile abdominal organs was developed.

Unresectable liver tumors are often treated with interstitial probes that modify tissue temperature, and efficacious treatment relies on image guidance for tissue targeting and assessment. Here, we report the in vivo evaluation of an interstitial applicator with a mechanically oscillating five-element dual-mode transducer. After thoroughly characterizing the transducer, tissue response to high-intensity ultrasound was numerically calculated to select parameters for experimentation in vivo. Using perfused porcine liver, B-mode sector images were formed before and after a 120-s therapy period, and M-mode imaging monitored the therapy axis during therapy. The time-averaged transducer surface intensity was 21 or 27 W/cm (2). Electroacoustic conversion efficiency was maximally 72 +/- 3% and impulse response length was 295 +/- 1.0 ns at -6 dB. The depth of thermal damage measured by gross histology ranged from 10 to 25 mm for 13 insertion sites. For six sites, M-mode data exhibited a reduction in gray-scale intensity that was interpreted as the temporal variation of coagulation necrosis. Contrast ratio analysis indicated that the gray-scale intensity dropped by 7.8 +/- 3.3 dB, and estimated the final lesion depth to an accuracy of 2.3 +/- 2.4 mm. This paper verified that the applicator could induce coagulation necrosis in perfused liver and demonstrated the feasibility of real-time monitoring.

This paper introduces a predictive function for total energy expenditure (TEE) estimation of the current life using the embedded smartphone accelerometer sensor. Our research encompasses definition of an energy-saving function without any hypothesis on its initial relative position. Six 25-year-old highly graduate participants wore a smartphone in a front pants pocket and a valid Armband device for a day of a desk job. The performance of the proposed function is estimated by using our smartphone application and evaluated by comparing TEE given by the function with TEE of Armband device. The mean gap of TEE between our function and Armband was less than 15%. This work is a preliminary step forward definition of a new predictive function well tuned for representative French population. Our work is now directed on validation on a larger population sample.; Cet article présente une nouvelle fonction de prédiction de la dépense énergétique totale (DET) à partir de données collectées par les accéléromètres des smartphones. Notre ambition est de proposer une solution économe en batterie et indépendante de la position initiale du smartphone. Six volontaires âgés de 25 ans en moyenne, hautement diplômés, ont porté un smartphone dans une poche avant du pantalon et un brassard Armband pendant une journée de travail au bureau. La qualité de la fonction a été évaluée en comparant les écarts de dépense énergétique totale entre la fonction et le Armband. En conditions habituelles de vie, l'écart moyen est inférieur à 15%. Le travail réalisé ici est une première étape dans la définition d'une fonction de prédiction qui soit adaptée à l'ensemble de la population Française. Nos travaux portent actuellement sur la généralisation de nos propositions à un échantillon plus large de la population.

While driving off-road vehicles, operators are exposed to whole-body vibration acting in the fore-and-aft direction. Seat manufacturers supply products equipped with fore-and-aft suspension but only a few studies report on their performance. This work proposes a computational approach to design fore-and-aft suspensions for wheel loader seats. Field tests were conducted in a quarry to analyse the nature of vibration to which the driver was exposed. Typical input signals were recorded to be reproduced in the laboratory. Technical specifications are defined for the suspension. In order to evaluate the suspension vibration attenuation performance, a model of a sitting human body was developed and coupled to a seat model. The seat model combines the models of each suspension component. A linear two-degree-of-freedom model is used to describe the dynamic behaviour of the sitting driver. Model parameters are identified by fitting the computed apparent mass frequency response functions to the measured values. Model extensions are proposed to investigate postural effects involving variations in hands and feet positions and interaction of the driver's back with the backrest. Suspension design parameters are firstly optimized by computing the seat/man model response to sinusoidal acceleration. Four criteria including transmissibility, interaction force between the driver's back and the backrest and relative maximal displacement of the suspension are computed. A new suspension design with optimized features is proposed. Its performance is checked from calculations of the response of the seat/man model subjected to acceleration measured on the wheel loader during real work conditions. On the basis of the computed values of the SEAT factors, it is found possible to design a suspension that would increase the attenuation provided by the seat by a factor of two.

In many applications of stochastic calculus, like stochastic dynamical systems, stochastic differential equations are involved, the coefficients of which are not globally, but only locally Lipschitz. For instance, in order to study technics using one trajectory of a process defined by differential equations of oscillators associated to structures submitted to a white noise excitation, such as the random decrement, one need to simulate a trajectory for such a process. Different schemes are proposed to numerically solve such stochastic differential equations: Euler, Milshtein or Newmark schemes for example. In this paper, the almost sure convergence of some of the most important schemes is studied under locally Lipschitz assumptions and a speed of convergence is established.

In this paper, we are concerned with numerical resolution of the dynamical equation of linear oscillators. An answer is given to the following question: can one use widely implemented Newmark's algorithm when the acceleration is a white noise instead of a regular deterministic one? After showing drawbacks of such a practice, a modification of the usual Newmark schemes is introduced, to be used for the numerical resolution of such a stochastic dynamical equation. The modification is only in the stochastic part, so that already implemented softwares can be used, the input only having to be carefully adapted. After that, mathematical analysis of this new scheme is fulfilled. First and second moments, as well as the power spectral density resulting from the use of this scheme are compared with the corresponding quantities resulting from the theoretical process, and also from usual Newmark scheme and Euler schemes. Almost sure convergence of this new scheme is proved.

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A smartphone use for physical activity evaluation in free living conditions.The smartphone algorithm competes with sensors for energy expenditure.The algorithm takes advantages of the smartphone accelerometers without extra sensors.The performance does not require knowing the initial phone position.Evaluation and monitoring of physical activity in large and distant populations. This paper introduces a function dedicated to the estimation of total energy expenditure (TEE) of daily activities based on data from accelerometers integrated into smartphones. The use of mass-market sensors such as accelerometers offers a promising solution for the general public due to the growing smartphone market over the last decade. The TEE estimation function quality was evaluated using data from intensive numerical experiments based, first, on 12 volunteers equipped with a smartphone and two research sensors (Armband and Actiheart) in controlled conditions (CC) and, then, on 30 other volunteers in free-living conditions (FLC). The TEE given by these two sensors in both conditions and estimated from the metabolic equivalent tasks (MET) in CC served as references during the creation and evaluation of the function. The TEE mean gap in absolute value between the function and the three references was 7.0%, 16.4% and 2.7% in CC, and 17.0% and 23.7% according to Armband and Actiheart, respectively, in FLC. This is the first step in the definition of a new feedback mechanism that promotes self-management and daily-efficiency evaluation of physical activity as part of an information system dedicated to the prevention of chronic diseases.

Fleury Gérard. Tours. Restauration de l’ancienne chapelle Saint-Libert. In: Bulletin Monumental, tome 172, n°4, année 2014. pp. 327-331.

Experts look for solutions to increase production delivery, but industrial systems are generally disturbed by random events. In many cases, there is a lack of information about random events consequences on the production time and quality of the manufactured products. Surface treatment lines are robotic cells with time window constraints and so random events can have important consequences on production management. Products could be damaged by constraint violations and rejected by the control quality department. Moreover, owing to the structure of these systems, variations in transportation times can induce unrecoverable situations (deadlock occurrences, for example). Therefore, experts look for schedules to prevent random events consequences. One of the most difficult operational problems in surface treatment lines is the proper coordination of the material-handling resources management and job input scheduling. Previous related research works concern the makespan minimization problem and do not take int...

Therapeutic ultrasound (US) has been of increasing interest during the past few years. However, the development of this technique depends on the availability of high-performance transducers. These transducers have to be optimised for focusing and steering high-power ultrasonic energy within the target volume. Recently developed high-power 1-3 piezocomposite materials bring to therapeutic US the exceptional electroacoustical properties of piezocomposite technology: these are high efficiency, large bandwidth, predictable beam pattern, more flexibility in terms of shaping and definition of sampling in annular arrays, linear arrays or matrix arrays. The construction and evaluation of several prototypes illustrates the benefit of this new approach that opens the way to further progress in therapeutic US.

We propose a method to solve industrial problems and to take into account random events. It is called the triple coupling. It is based on stochastic algorithms, a simulation model and the multi-agents model of artificial intelligence. The method we propose is easy to use and allows us to take into account most of the constraints found in manufacturing systems. Experts look for solutions to increasing the capacity of production. But the production can be disturbed by random events experienced by the system. Industrial experts need schedules which prevent the consequences of random events. Minimizing such consequences is very important to increasing system delivery. Capital investment is often very high in factories and the cost of the investment goes on regardless of whether the resources are running or not. The multi-agent approach is used to determine schedules for which the consequences of random events are low, and a stochastic algorithm is proposed which permits us to optimize a random variable. We prove that this algorithm finds, with probability one, the schedule of the production for which the consequences of random events are the lowest. We propose to measure the consequences of random events using an influence ratio. Our approach has been used to study the consequences of random events in Peugeot sand foundries of Sept-Fons (France). A benchmark test is presented to prove the efficiency of our solution. For the Peugeot sand foundry of Sept-Fond, random events increase the production time by about 20% compared with the production time without any random events occurring. We have determined schedules of production for which the consequences of random events are about 0.5%.

We evaluate in this paper the qualities of stochastic algorithms, mainly genetic and simulated annealing-type algorithms, against heuristic methods, in the scheduling of workshops. We are particularly interested in flow-shops (minimizing makespan) and one machine schedules (minimizing total tardiness, or minimizing total flow time). Many numerical results for various samples are given, and our conclusions are supported by statistical tests. When the initial population is randomly generated, genetic algorithms are shown to be statistically less efficient than annealing-type algorithms, and better than heuristic methods. But, as soon as at least one good item (e.g.,heuristicallyfound) belongs to the initial population, genetic algorithms become as good, or better than annealing-type algorithms. The resolution methods we propose are evaluated and can be used for when scheduling more complicated real workshops.