Rapid and robust generation of long-term self-renewing human neural stem cells with the ability to generate mature astroglia

in Scientific Reports (2015), 5

Rapid artificial intelligence solutions in a pandemic—The COVID-19-20 Lung CT Lesion Segmentation Challenge

in Medical Image Analysis (2022)

Artificial intelligence (AI) methods for the automatic detection and quantification of COVID-19 lesions in chest computed tomography (CT) might play an important role in the monitoring and management of ... [more ▼]

Artificial intelligence (AI) methods for the automatic detection and quantification of COVID-19 lesions in chest computed tomography (CT) might play an important role in the monitoring and management of the disease. We organized an international challenge and competition for the development and comparison of AI algorithms for this task, which we supported with public data and state-of-the-art benchmark methods. Board Certified Radiologists annotated 295 public images from two sources (A and B) for algorithms training (n=199, source A), validation (n=50, source A) and testing (n=23, source A; n=23, source B). There were 1,096 registered teams of which 225 and 98 completed the validation and testing phases, respectively. The challenge showed that AI models could be rapidly designed by diverse teams with the potential to measure disease or facilitate timely and patient-specific interventions. This paper provides an overview and the major outcomes of the COVID-19 Lung CT Lesion Segmentation Challenge - 2020. [less ▲]

Rapid Coarsening of Ion Beam Ripple Patterns by Defect Annihilation

in PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS (2009), 102(14),

Ripple patterns formed on Pt(111) through grazing incidence ion beam erosion coarsen rapidly. At and below 450 K coarsening of the patterns is athermal and kinetic, unrelated to diffusion and surface free ... [more ▼]

Ripple patterns formed on Pt(111) through grazing incidence ion beam erosion coarsen rapidly. At and below 450 K coarsening of the patterns is athermal and kinetic, unrelated to diffusion and surface free energy. Similar to the situation for sand dunes, coarsening takes place through annihilation reactions of mobile defects in the pattern. The defect velocity derived on the basis of a simple model agrees quantitatively with the velocity of monatomic steps illuminated by the ion beam. [less ▲]

Rapid identification of measles virus strains by the heteroduplex mobility assay

in Virus Research (1997), 47(2), 472197-203

The continued endemic presence of measles virus (MV), and the large number of isolates which are made in South Africa each year, demanded the use of a rapid and reliable pre-screening technique to select ... [more ▼]

The continued endemic presence of measles virus (MV), and the large number of isolates which are made in South Africa each year, demanded the use of a rapid and reliable pre-screening technique to select isolates for molecular epidemiological studies by sequence analysis. The heteroduplex mobility assay (HMA) was used to genetically characterize 47 MV isolates collected from three different provinces in South Africa, made between 1986 and 1995. The carboxyl-terminal 590 nt of the nucleocapsid (N) gene - the most variable region of the genome - was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and subsequently subjected to HMA analysis for initial genotyping. The results showed three different patterns of heteroduplex formation by gel electrophoresis, representing two distinct wild-type lineages and one group of vaccine-like viruses. Comparison of HMA results with phylogenetic analysis of sequence data for several of the South African MV strains showed a complete correlation of results. The HMA proved to be a useful tool for screening MV isolates for use in molecular epidemiological studies. [less ▲]

Rapid Prototyping Framework for Visual Control of Autonomous Micro Aerial Vehicles

in Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing (2012), 193

Rapid prototyping environments can speed up the research of visual control algorithms. We have designed and implemented a software framework for fast prototyping of visual control algorithms for Micro ... [more ▼]

Rapid prototyping environments can speed up the research of visual control algorithms. We have designed and implemented a software framework for fast prototyping of visual control algorithms for Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAV). We have applied a combination of a proxy-based network communication architecture and a custom Application Programming Interface. This allows multiple experimental configurations, like drone swarms or distributed processing of a drones video stream. Currently, the framework supports a low-cost MAV: the Parrot AR.Drone. Real tests have been performed on this platform and the results show comparatively low figures of the extra communication delay introduced by the framework, while adding new functionalities and flexibility to the selected drone. This implementation is open-source and can be downloaded from www.vision4uav.com/?q=VC4MAV-FW [less ▲]

Rapid stimulation of free glucuronate formation by non-glucuronidable xenobiotics in isolated rat hepatocytes

in Journal of Biological Chemistry (2003), 278(38), 36328-33

Vitamin C synthesis in rat liver is enhanced by several xenobiotics, including aminopyrine and chloretone. The effect of these agents has been linked to induction of enzymes potentially involved in the ... [more ▼]

Vitamin C synthesis in rat liver is enhanced by several xenobiotics, including aminopyrine and chloretone. The effect of these agents has been linked to induction of enzymes potentially involved in the formation of glucuronate, a precursor of vitamin C. Using isolated rat hepatocytes as a model, we show that a series of agents (aminopyrine, antipyrine, chloretone, clotrimazole, metyrapone, proadifen, and barbital) induced in a few minutes an up to 15-fold increase in the formation of glucuronate, which was best observed in the presence of sorbinil, an inhibitor of glucuronate reductase. They also caused an approximately 2-fold decrease in the concentration of UDP-glucuronate but little if any change in the concentration of UDP-glucose. Depletion of UDP-glucuronate with resorcinol or d-galactosamine markedly decreased the formation of glucuronate both in the presence and in the absence of aminopyrine, confirming the precursor-product relationship between UDP-glucuronate and free glucuronate. Most of the agents did not induce the formation of detectable amounts of glucuronides, indicating that the formation of glucuronate is not due to a glucuronidation-deglucuronidation cycle. With the exception of barbital (which inhibits glucuronate reductase), all of the above mentioned agents also caused an increase in the concentration of ascorbic acid. They had little effect on glutathione concentration, and their effect on glucuronate and vitamin C formation was not mimicked by glutathione-depleting agents such as diamide and buthionine sulfoximine. It is concluded that the stimulation of vitamin C synthesis exerted by some xenobiotics is mediated through a rapid increase in the conversion of UDP-glucuronate to glucuronate, which does not apparently involve a glucuronidation-deglucuronidation cycle. [less ▲]

A rapid, objective and implicit measure of visual quantity discrimination

in Neuropsychologia (2018), 111

There is evidence that accurate and rapid judgments of visual quantities form an essential component of human mathematical ability. However, explicit behavioural discrimination measures of visual ... [more ▼]

There is evidence that accurate and rapid judgments of visual quantities form an essential component of human mathematical ability. However, explicit behavioural discrimination measures of visual quantities are readily contaminated both by variations in low-level physical parameters and higher order cognitive factors, while implicit measures often lack objectivity and sensitivity at the individual participant level. Here, with electrophysiological frequency tagging, we show discrimination differences between briefly presented visual quantities as low as a ratio of 1.4 (i.e., 14 vs. 10 elements). From this threshold, the neural discrimination response increases with parametrically increasing differences in ratio between visual quantities. Inter-individual variability in magnitude of the EEG response at this population threshold ratio predicts behavioural performance at an independent number comparison task. Overall, these findings indicate that visual quantities are perceptually discriminated automatically and rapidly (i.e., at a glance) within the occipital cortex. Given its high sensitivity, this paradigm could provide an implicit diagnostic neural marker of this process suitable for a wide range of fundamental and clinical applications. [less ▲]

Rappel des critères de l'autorité de la chose jugée

in Recueil Dalloz (2013)

Rapport annuel sur les migrations et l'asile (2017)

Report (2018)

The present report provides an overview of the main developments and debates in relation to migration and asylum in Luxembourg in 2017. The number of people applying for international protection remained ... [more ▼]

The present report provides an overview of the main developments and debates in relation to migration and asylum in Luxembourg in 2017. The number of people applying for international protection remained high in 2017 (2.322 applications) compared to the levels registered pre- ‘migration crisis’ (1.091 in 2014). However, the number of registrations remained relatively stable if compared to the two preceding years (2.447 in 2015 and 2.035 in 2016). This relative stability in numbers also reflected on the general public and policy debate in the field of migration and asylum. Since 2016, its focus has continuously shifted from an ‘emergency’ discourse axed on the implementation of reception measures and conditions towards discussions on longer-term integration measures and policies. In this regard, the newly introduced Guided Integration Trail (parcours d’intégration accompagné - PIA) can be considered a flagship project of OLAI, the national agency responsible for the reception and integration of foreigners. This multidisciplinary package of measures aims to empower applicants and beneficiaries of international protection and to support them in developing their life project. The trail, compulsory for all adult applicants for international protection, consists of a linguistic component and a civic component and is split into three phases. Although increasing housing capacities for the reception of applicants for international protection was high on national authorities’ agenda, housing remained a challenging aspect of the asylum system and triggered debate on a national scale. Alongside access to training, problems related to housing were among the issues most frequently raised by applicants for international protection in 2017. The lack of affordable housing on the private market, an increasing number of family reunifications as well as the increasing number of beneficiaries and persons who have been issued a return decision who remain housed in structures of OLAI were all identified as interplaying barriers for finding available accommodation for applicants for international protection. The difficulties with the construction of modular housing structures also persisted in 2017. A certain reticence of the population towards the construction of these so-called ‘container villages, planned in response to the increasing influx that started in August 2015, was visible in the appeals introduced into Luxembourg’s First Instance Administrative Courts to annul the land-use plans related to the projects. Living conditions in the various reception facilities were also one of the subjects of discussion in 2017. This included a debate on the (lack of) kitchen infrastructure in reception facilities and the varying systems for provision of food, the types of food available, as well as the availability of internet. As an answer to the resurgence of an increased influx of applicants of international protection from the Western Balkans in early 2017, a new ‘ultra-accelerated procedure’ was put in place for applicants of international protection stemming from the Western Balkans. According to the state authorities, the ultra-accelerated procedure was set up to take pressure off the reception facilities, but also as a deterrent to avoid creating false hopes for long-term stay. In April 2017, a ‘semi-open return structure’ (Structure d’hébergement d’urgence au Kirchberg – SHUK) was put in place, from which people are transferred to states applying the Dublin regulation. Due to home custody (assignation à résidence), the SHUK is considered to be an alternative to detention by national authorities. The newly created structure as well as the related conditions for assignment, were nevertheless criticised by civil society. The outcry among civil society was equally high during and after the adoption the Law of 8 March 2017, which endorses the extension of the permitted period of detention of adults or families with children from 72 hours to 7 days, in order to improve the organisation of the return and ensures that it is carried out successfully. A commission in charge of determining the best interests of unaccompanied minors applying for international protection was decided at the end of 2017. The commission is in charge of carrying out individual assessments regarding the best interest of the child with the aim of delivering an authorisation of stay or a return decision. Among the elements taken into consideration when the best interest of the child is evaluated in the context of a potential return decision is information provided by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The latter made an agreement with the Directorate of Immigration in 2017 to search for the parents of UAMs in the country of origin. With the focus of debates having slowly shifted towards long-term integration issues, the Council of Government also approved the elaboration of a new multiannual national action plan on integration. The plan will be based on two axes: (1) the reception and follow-up of applicants for international protection and (2) the integration of Luxembourg’s non-Luxembourgish residents. Luxembourg’s National Employment Agency (ADEM) set up a “cellule BPI” (beneficiaries of international protection cell) in its Employer Service in early 2017. This cell provides employers with information regarding job applications and evaluations of the competences of beneficiaries of international protection. A new law on the Luxembourgish nationality entered into force on 1 April 2017. Given the particular demographic situation of Luxembourg characterised by a significant increase in the total population and a decrease in the proportion of Luxembourgers in the total population, the reform intends to promote the societal and political integration of non-Luxembourgish citizens and to strengthen cohesion within the national community. The main changes introduced by the law include a decreased length of residence requirement for naturalisation (from 7 to 5 years), the right of birthplace (jus soli) of the first generation, a simplified way of acquiring Luxembourgish nationality by ‘option’, as well as new scenarios to avoid cases of statelessness. The law maintains previous linguistic requirements but makes some adjustments in order to prevent the language condition from becoming an insurmountable obstacle. Ahead of the local elections held on 8 October 2017, the Ministry of Family, Integration and the Greater Region launched a national information and awareness-raising campaign titled “Je peux voter” (I can vote) in January 2017. This campaign aimed to motivate Luxembourg’s foreign population to register on the electoral roll for the local elections. The government’s intention to legislate face concealment was arguably one of the most debated topics in the field related to community life and integration in the broader sense, both in parliament as well as in the media and public sphere. Bill n°7179 aims to modify article 563 of the Penal Code and to create the prohibition of face concealment in certain public spaces. The bill defines face concealment as the action of covering part of or all of the face in a way of rendering the identification of the person impossible and provides a wide variety of examples, such as the wearing of a motor cycle helmet, a balaclava or a full-face veil. Opposing views among stakeholders, whether political parties, public institutions, civil society or the media, emerged with regard to the necessity to legislate in the matter and if so, on the basis of which grounds and to what extent. The phenomenon of migration has also led to a more heterogeneous population in Luxembourg’s schools. To face this situation, the education authorities continued to diversify Luxembourg’s offer in education and training, creating for instance a bigger offer for youngsters and adults who do not master any of Luxembourg’s vehicular languages, offering more alphabetisation courses or basic instruction courses. The Minister for National Education continued to develop and adapt the school offer to the increased heterogeneity by increasing the international and European school offer, introducing of a new mediation service and putting in place a plurilingual education programme. In the area of legal migration, the most significant changes concerned admission policies of specific categories of third-country nationals. In this respect, bill n°7188 mainly aims to transpose Directive (EU) 2016/801 of the European Parliament and the Council of 11 May 2016 on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of research, studies, training, voluntary service, pupil exchange schemes or educational projects and au pairing. The directive aims to make the European Union a world centre of excellence for studies and training, while favouring contacts between people and favouring their mobility, these two being important elements of the European Union’s external policy. Bill N°7188 intends to facilitate and simplify the procedures for intra-European mobility of TCN researchers and students. Moreover, the proposed changes include incentive mechanisms to retain students and researchers. To this end, it proposes that students and researchers, once they have completed their studies/research, can be issued a residence permit for “private reasons” for a duration of 9 months at most in view of finding employment or creating a business. Finally, bill n°7188 also foresees provisions to regulate the family reunification of a researcher staying in Luxembourg in the context of short- and long-term mobility with his/her nuclear family. The legislator furthermore transposed Directive 2014/36 on seasonal workers and Directive 2014/66 on temporary intragroup transfer into national law, and adapted Luxembourg’s immigration law to the needs to the economy, by introducing, amongst other things, and authorisation of stay for investors. Organising the admission of stay and the issuance of authorisations of stay was also a key component within the agreement between Luxembourg and Cape Verde on the concerted management of migratory flows and solidary development. Other objectives of the agreement include the promotion of the movement of people, detailing readmission procedures, fighting against irregular migration, strengthening the legal establishment and integration of the concerned nationals, as well as the mobilisation of skills and resources of migrants in favour of solidary development. [less ▲]

Rapport annuel sur les migrations et l'asile Luxembourg 2018

Report (2019)

Le présent rapport fait la synthèse des principaux débats et des évolutions majeures concernant les migrations et l’asile au Luxembourg en 2018. L’année 2018 a été marquée par les élections législatives ... [more ▼]

Le présent rapport fait la synthèse des principaux débats et des évolutions majeures concernant les migrations et l’asile au Luxembourg en 2018. L’année 2018 a été marquée par les élections législatives d’octobre 2018 qui ont débouché sur la reconduction de l’ancienne coalition gouvernementale. L’accord de coalition prévoit un certain nombre de mesures relatives aux politiques migratoires. Le Luxembourg reste un pays d’immigration important. Les mouvements migratoires expliquent en grande partie la croissance de la population. Les migrations pour raisons familiales et économiques demeurent à un niveau élevé. Si certaines nationalités stagnent ou reculent tandis que d’autres progressent, cela est avant tout dû à la conjonction de deux phénomènes : d’une part, le ralentissement des flux migratoires et d’autre part, la naturalisation. Le nombre de titres de séjour délivrés pour des raisons économiques a augmenté de plus de 23% par rapport à 2017, confirmant ainsi la nette tendance à la hausse observée depuis ces dernières années. Cette progression est notamment due à l’augmentation de titres de séjour accordés aux catégories « travailleur salarié », « carte bleue européenne » et « travailleur transféré intragroupe » pour experts et cadres. La loi du 1er août 2018 qui transpose la directive n° 2016/801/UE a introduit des modifications significatives dans la politique d’admission des étudiants et des chercheurs internationaux au Luxembourg. Cette loi permet aux étudiants et aux chercheurs de séjourner au Luxembourg pendant neuf mois s’ils ont terminé leurs études de master ou de doctorat et s’ils disposent de ressources suffisantes. Le Gouvernement issu des élections législatives d’octobre 2018 entend organiser l’immigration légale en tenant compte des besoins de l’économie. L’agenda politique de l’année 2018 a également été marqué par le débat autour de la signature du Luxembourg au Pacte mondial pour une migration sûre, ordonnée et régulière (PMM). Ce débat, tant au Luxembourg qu’à l’international, a suscité un certain nombre de réactions de suspicion et de rejet, en particulier dans les milieux nationalistes de certains pays européens. Toutefois, la majorité de la classe politique luxembourgeoise ainsi que le Gouvernement ont défendu le Pacte. Le nombre de personnes demandant une protection internationale est resté élevé en 2018 et demeure relativement stable par rapport aux deux années précédentes. Le taux de reconnaissance des demandes a continué à progresser. De nombreux BPI restent hébergés dans les structures d’accueil prévues pour les DPI en raison de leurs difficultés à trouver un logement sur le marché privé ou un logement social, ce qui augmente la pression exercée sur les structures d’hébergement. Cette question problématique figure parmi les priorités des autorités nationales, comme en témoigne l’accord de coalition. Les conditions d’accueil et d’hébergement ont suscité un certain nombre de débats et de réflexions au sein de la société civile. Elles ont été abordées dans la plupart des programmes des partis politiques dans le cadre des élections législatives de 2018 et occupent une place centrale dans le nouveau plan d’action national pluriannuel d’intégration 2018 (PAN), l’accueil et l’encadrement des DPI constituant l’un des deux grands domaines d’action de ce plan. Une évolution institutionnelle majeure a eu lieu à la suite des élections législatives de 2018 : il s’agit de l’extension des compétences du ministère des Affaires étrangères et européennes qui reprend le volet « Accueil des demandeurs de protection internationale », qui relevait jusque-là du ministère de la Famille et de l’Intégration. Enfin, sur le plan européen, le nouveau gouvernement confirme son engagement en faveur du Régime d’Asile Européen Commun qui tient notamment compte de la solidarité europenne. Les mineurs non accompagnés (MNA) ont été un autre sujet de préoccupation au cours de l’année 2018 comme en témoignent le projet de loi qui vise à instaurer une équipe pluridisciplinaire pour évaluer l’intérêt supérieur de l’enfant dans le contexte d’une procédure de retour, le débat largement médiatisé autour de la pratique des examens pour la détermination de l’âge des MNA DPI, ou encore l’accent particulier que le nouveau gouvernement entend donner au renforcement de la prise en charge de ces personnes. Dans le domaine de l’intégration, il convient de souligner l’établissement d’un plan d’action national pluriannuel d’intégration 2018 (ou PAN Intégration). Ce document est le résultat d’un large processus de consultation mené par les autorités avec les différentes parties prenantes impliquées dans l'accueil et l'intégration des ressortissants non luxembourgeois. Le PAN Intégration fournit un cadre général, stratégique et durable en vue de développer des programmes et outils en faveur de l’intégration de tous les non-Luxembouregois résidant sur le territoire et de la cohésion sociale entre Luxembourgeois et non-Luxembourgeois. La loi du 8 mars 2017 sur la nationalité luxembourgeoise a généré des conséquences sur le nombre d’acquisitions de nationalité et explique la stagnation, voire le léger recul de la population étrangère au Luxembourg (et en particulier de certaines nationalités) ainsi que l’augmentation du corps électoral au Grand-Duché de Luxembourg. Les deux organes consultatifs chargés de la défense des intérets des résidents étrangers au Luxembourg ont commencé à fonctionner avec, au niveau national, le Conseil national pour étrangers (CNE) et, au niveau communal, les Commissions consultatives communales d’Intégration (CCCI), renouvelées à la suite des élections communales de 2017. Le nouveau gouvernement entend valoriser ces deux organes. Il propose d’offrir le Contrat d’accueil et d’intégration (CAI) de façon décentralisée et soutenir les communes au niveau de leur travail d’intégration locale. Le système éducatif reste confronté à des défis majeurs résultant de l’hétérogénéité de la population scolaire. Le deuxième rapport national sur l’éducation a permis de mettre en évidence les inégalités du système éducatif dues aux facteurs sociaux et au contexte migratoire des élèves. Pour faire face à cette situtaion, les autorités ont développé plusieurs mesures telles que l’élargissement de l’offre scolaire internationale et européenne, le développement de classes spécifiques pour jeunes migrants, l’établissement d’un service de médiateur au maintien, à l’inclusion et à l’intégration scolaire ainsi que l’introduction du programme d’éducation plurilingue au niveau des mini-crèches. La question de la langue luxembourgeoise, en tant que facteur d’intégration, a également fait l’objet de débats tout au long de l’année. La loi du 20 juillet 2018 relative à la promotion de la langue luxembourgeoise a introduit un certain nombre de mesures visant à renforcer l’importance de la langue luxembourgeoise, à soutenir son utilisation, son étude et son apprentissage. Plusieurs organes ont été institués afin de mettre en œuvre ce plan d’action de promotion de la langue et de la culture luxembourgeoises. La question linguistique fut également omniprésente lors de la campagne électorale. La plupart des partis politiques ont souligné dans leurs programmes électoraux l’importance de la langue luxembourgeoise comme facteur d’intégration tout en mettant en évidence l’atout du multilinguisme pour le pays. Enfin, quelques évolutions sont à signaler au niveau de la politique de retour, en particulier deux propositions de modification de la loi sur l’immigration : l’une autorisant la police à pénétrer dans des locaux d’habitation afin de procéder plus facilement à l’exécution d’une décision d’éloignement en cas de retour forcé ; l’autre prévoyant un contrôle systématique par les juridictions d’une rétention prolongée au-delà de la durée de 4 mois. Le nouveau gouvernement s’engage à compléter le dispositif actuel de rétention à travers la création d’une structure spécifique de rétention pour femmes, familles et personnes vulnérables. [less ▲]