Suisse Romande Research Articles

Write What You Want: Applying Text-to-Video Retrieval to Audiovisual Archives

Audiovisual (AV) archives, as an essential reservoir of our cultural assets, are suffering from the issue of accessibility. The complex nature of the medium itself made processing and interaction an open challenge still in the field of computer vision, multimodal learning, and human-computer interaction, as well as in culture and heritage. In recent years, with the raising of video retrieval tasks, methods in retrieving video content with natural language (text-to-video retrieval) gained quite some attention and have reached a performance level where real-world application is on the horizon. Appealing as it may sound, such methods focus on retrieving videos using plain visual-focused descriptions of what has happened in the video and finding videos such as instructions. It is too early to say such methods would be the new paradigms for accessing and encoding complex video content into high-dimensional data, but they are indeed innovative attempts and foundations to build future exploratory interfaces for AV archives (e.g., allow users to write stories and retrieve related snippets in the archive, or encoding video content at high-level for visualisation). This work filled the application gap by examining such text-to-video retrieval methods from an implementation point of view and proposed and verified a classifier-enhanced workflow to allow better results when dealing with in-situ queries that might have been different from the training dataset. Such a workflow is then applied to the real-world archive from Télévision Suisse Romande (RTS) to create a demo. At last, a human-centred evaluation is conducted to understand whether the text-to-video retrieval methods improve the overall experience of accessing AV archives.

Philosophical Conversations about Music in Simple Language. Pythagoras: the Divine Number and World Musical Harmony

The article is written on the basis of a conversation on the philosophy of music by Professor G.G. Kolomiets, author of the book Value of music: philosophical aspect, with a musician from France, Dmitry Rasul-Kareev, Clarinet solo of Orchestra de la Suisse Romande. The dialogue gives a detailed and simple understanding of the philosophical view of music on the example of the ancient philosopher Pythagoras. His cosmological teaching saw the kinship of music, mathematics and philosophy and stated that the divine perception of the world is contained in the divine Number permeating the entire cosmos and our life. Music is made of numerical proportions and acts as a substance that exists even without a person, yet this unchanging principle of divine harmony, can be felt, experienced and expressed in musical art. Cosmologists believed there is a comprehensive law, according to which objects obey the divine mind, the great Rhythm. Music seemed to be the embodiment of the rhythm of the universe and harmony. The essence of the harmony of the spheres is that the cosmos is a harmoniously arranged and musical-sounding body. The movement of the starry sky creates the music of the cosmic spheres, which is refracted when playing musical instruments, and this lends itself to precise mathematical calculations. The intervals between the cosmic spheres are mathematically correlated with each other like the intervals of tones in music. The Pythagorean understanding of the numerical harmony of the structure of the universe largely determined the path of development of music theory, forming the main musical categories: fret, rhythm, interval, modulation and others. The modern philosophy of music deepens the Pythagorean ideas of harmony of spheres, putting forward the principles of functionality and processivity as properties of music, and allows us to talk about the law of cyclicity on a global scale. For example, following Pythagoras, music outside of the actual musical art is interpreted as a reflection of the vibrations of a complex communicative system: man-society-nature-cosmos.

Jacques-Louis Reverdin - pioneer of transplantology, a surgeon who opened the veil of functional importance of the thyroid gland

Jacques-Louis Reverdin is a famous Swiss surgeon, scientist, and entomologist of the nineteenth century. He made a considerable contribution to the development of transplantology — he was one of the first to publish work on allotransplantation, performing the so — called “skin grafting”, urology — he defended his thesis on urethrotomy, endocrinology- he performed surgical operations for the treatment of goiter, observed and described the symptoms of iatrogenic hypothyroidism, introduced the concept of postoperative myxedema. For thirty-four years, he led an active surgical practice, thanks to which he described a large number of operations (the most famous are operations on the thyroid gland), introduced a surgical suture and needle, which are still used today. During the Franco-Prussian war, he commanded a Swiss ambulance. He was a proponent of Lister’s method of asepsis and antiseptics, and introduced it in hospitals in Geneva. He was engaged in teaching and research, and was nominated for the Nobel prize three times. He received the Amuss prize of the Academy of Medicine, the prize of the Paris Academy of medicine for his work on urethrotomy, founded the Revue Medicale de la Suisse Romande, and was a co-founder and later President of the Association of physicians of Geneva. Honorary member of the entomological societies of Switzerland, France, England and Brazil.

The publication of Newton's Opera Omnia in Geneva and Lausanne (1739-1761): A chapter in the reception of Newtonianism.

During the eighteenth century, several towns located in what is known today as the Suisse romande were extremely receptive toward scientific culture, and most notably Newtonianism. In this paper I deal with a nine-volume publication of Newton's Opera Omnia that was planned in Geneva and Lausanne during the late 1730s and 1740s. This publication has not received the attention it deserves. To the best of my knowledge, even an awareness of its existence is lacking in the literature devoted to the reception of Newtonianism. This paper examines the circumstances of the publication of a complete set of all of Newton's works known at the time, and the motivations of the editors, mathematicians, and publishers who were involved in this editorial enterprise.

REASONS FOR JOINING A RIGHT-TO-DIE SOCIETY: DIFFERENCES DEPENDING BY ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF MEMBERS

Right-to-die societies are becoming increasingly popular in Switzerland as in other countries. Members are more likely to be female, older, and better educated than the general population. However research has paid limited attention to personal reasons and motivations for joining. This communication reports a survey of the membership of a Swiss right-to-society – EXIT A.D.M.D. Suisse romande. A self-administered questionnaire was sent by mail to a random sample of members aged of 65 years old and more. The answers of approximately 1,200 participants (about 30% response rate) provide insight into reasons that had led to a decision to join. Motives for membership included the concerns related to their own end-of-life (anticipation), the commitment to right-to-die philosophy (ideology), and the past involvement with serious illness or deaths of loved ones (experience). Reasons for joining vary according to the characteristics of the members. For instance, women mention more personal experiences than men (because they are more likely to live critical events and play more often the role of caregiver); people with a high level of education, and the non-religious, have more resort to ideological motivations. The combined analysis of the current age of the members and the length of membership in the society allows identifying different profiles. The early joiners, regardless of their current age, say more often to have adhered for ideological reasons. Among the most recent members, the older (75+) reported mainly concerns related to the end-of-life, while the youngest (65-74) cited more personal experiences.

La fabrique du tales teller. Sur quelques entretiens avec Nicolas Bouvier

This article focuses on the figure of Nicolas Bouvier as a tales teller. The recurring presence of the storytelling figure in Bouvier’s work demonstrates an obvious interest in orality, visible particularly in discussions, cinematographic productions or interviews. This study, which focuses on three of Bouvier’s public performances (Routes et Déroutes, a film portrayal entitled Le Hibou et la Baleine and a series of documents from Radio Télévision Suisse romande) examines the writer-traveller’s position as well the different textual, image and sound representations of his work.

Pierre Viret et la diffusion de la Réforme, ed. Karine Crousaz and Daniela Solfaroli Camillocci

The black walnut tree is well known for being toxic to everything that grows beneath its canopy. Jean Calvin had the same effect on other Protestant reformers within his orbit, overshadowed by his pervasive brilliance, which was in turn reinforced by Geneva’s institutional foundations and sustenance. One of those who suffered this unintentional suffocation was Pierre Viret, the reformer from the francophone Suisse Romande who launched the religious changes at Neuchâtel before being appointed pastor at Lausanne in 1536. He directed the reformation there for twenty-three years before being eventually ousted in 1559 by the authorities in Bern. Retiring briefly to Geneva, he spent the last decade of his life (from 1561 to 1571) in the kingdom of France and the principality of Béarn, in places where the hopes and disappointments of its Protestant reformation were at their strongest. Controversy dogged him wherever he went in that decade. His opponents recognised him for what he was—a Protestant theologian of ability, with a talent for polemic (who had taken up controversial positions on important practical issues), and experience in the institutionalisation of the Protestant reformation. Only in recent years has his substantial published output received the attention it deserves.

O dictionnaire suisse romand e a lexicografia diferencial

Differential lexicography is little known outside the French-speaking world. This paper seeks to describe the traits of differential lexicography by examining the Dictionnaire Suisse romande (DSR). In line with considerations by Coseriu, Völker and Glessgen, variation is taken here to be an integral part of the system. In lexicography it is a matter of analysing how (diatopic, diachronic, …) variations are associated with a linguistic level termed “unmarked”. The normalised variant of French, so-called standard French, was essentially elaborated by 17th-century grammarians such as Vaugelas and Bouhours. In Francophone lexicography, firmly established by the Richelet (1680) and Furetière (1690) dictionaries, standard French continues to be the frame of reference. In many dictionaries, however, standard French is explained in terms of usage in France, despite its supranational status. This is the context in which the methodology of differential lexicography emerges. The notion of what is differential is manifest in the choice of nomenclature. Only lexemes whose usage differs from that described in general dictionaries of French as a frame of reference (but not as a norm) are registered. In brief, the DSR covers a regional norm, or sub-norm, relating to the peculiarities of Swiss French. Other differential works of reference corroborate this observation: French is seen to consist of a standard form and regional norms described by differential lexicography. This contrasts with the situation that holds for the Portuguese language, for which there is an “educated peninsular Portuguese norm” and an “educated Brazilian norm”.

O dictionnaire suisse romand e a lexicografia diferencial

Differential lexicography is little known outside the French-speaking world. This paper seeks to describe the traits of differential lexicography by examining the Dictionnaire Suisse romande (DSR). In line with considerations by Coseriu, Völker and Glessgen, variation is taken here to be an integral part of the system. In lexicography it is a matter of analysing how (diatopic, diachronic, …) variations are associated with a linguistic level termed “unmarked”. The normalised variant of French, so-called standard French, was essentially elaborated by 17th-century grammarians such as Vaugelas and Bouhours. In Francophone lexicography, firmly established by the Richelet (1680) and Furetière (1690) dictionaries, standard French continues to be the frame of reference. In many dictionaries, however, standard French is explained in terms of usage in France, despite its supranational status. This is the context in which the methodology of differential lexicography emerges. The notion of what is differential is manifest in the choice of nomenclature. Only lexemes whose usage differs from that described in general dictionaries of French as a frame of reference (but not as a norm) are registered. In brief, the DSR covers a regional norm, or sub-norm, relating to the peculiarities of Swiss French. Other differential works of reference corroborate this observation: French is seen to consist of a standard form and regional norms described by differential lexicography. This contrasts with the situation that holds for the Portuguese language, for which there is an “educated peninsular Portuguese norm” and an “educated Brazilian norm”.

Mannerism, modernity and the modernist architect, 1920–1950

Criticized for its artifice and stylization, and loaded with negative connotations as manieroso, the art of the sixteenth century nevertheless became, in the 1920s, a new historical and stylistic periodization and an intensely studied subject. Some aspects of that construction of Mannerism as a distinct category are intimately linked to the contemporary development of modernity, and modernism. Mannerism’s ‘discovery’ was closely related to pioneering developments in art and architecture. Furthermore, while Mannerist art was offering up captivating case studies, research on Mannerism adapted models from psychoanalysis, which was maturing in those same years and was crucial to understanding the structure of the modern self and of modern society. Finally, as we will show, the resulting image of the Mannerist architect was seminal in the styling of the figure of the new, modernist architect.

Jaques-Louis Reverdin (1842-1929): el cirujano y la aguja

With the development and rise of abdominal laparoscopic techniques, the old Reverdin needle has had a revival, because it proved to be useful for the endoscopic closure of laparoscopic access ports, in order to lower the incidence of incisional hernias. Several new modifications of the Reverdin needle, with different names, are in the market now. This new use of an old instrument, prompted a review of the life and work of Jaques-Louis Reverdin, the Swiss surgeon trained in Paris and founder of the modern Swiss surgery.Biographical and bibliographical review of Jaques-MLouis Reverdin and his contributions to surgeryJaques-Louis Reverdin (1842-1929), born in Geneva, completed his medical studies in Paris, where he practised in several well-known hospitals such as La Pitié (with Goselin), Saint Louis (with Guérin), Lariboisiére, and Necker (with Guyon). In 1869 he published and presented in several meetings, a pioneering experience of successful free skin graft procedure, that is still performed in some cases and constitutes the first organ transplantation. In 1870 he presented his doctoral thesis "Etude sur l'uréthrotomie interne" with the expeience of his master Guyon (63 operations), gaining the Civiale prize and the bronze medal of the Paris Faculty of Medicine. He returned back to Geneva in 1872 to begin a long surgical practice and Faculty teaching, and he made seminal contributions to the knowledge of thyroid diseases, in particular on the clinical presentation of function deficiency following exeresis of the thyroid gland ( postoperative myxoedema). His contributions paralleled that made by Theodor Kocher in Bern, the surgeon that received in solitary the Nobel prize for these studies in 1909. With Jean6hyphen;Louis Prevost and Constant Picot, they founded the "Revue medicale de la Suisse romande", the most important Swiss medical journal of the 20th century. He is remembered in the field of Urology for a special needle designed to pass through a suture in a time were catgut and silk were the most employed sutures to control organ pedicles.Reverdin, that pertains to the glorious epoch were surgery -performed under anaesthesia and with the antisepsis postulates of Lister and Pasteur-, reached most of his goals, is remembered for the first human transplant (skin grafting), and, fortunately, one of the several surgical instrument he designed, the Reverdin needle, had a revival in current laparoscopic surgery.

MPEG‐7 in practice: Analysis of a television news retrieval application

AbstractThis article provides an overview of our experiments in using MPEG‐7 in a television news retrieval application. Our study is based on a survey of professional users in the Télévision Suisse Romande (TSR) television news production environment. We present here two main issues. First, we describe the way the generic and voluminous MPEG‐7 Schema can be exploited in the context of a specific application domain. Second, we discuss the problem of how to search MPEG‐7 descriptions, which are detailed and complex by nature, via a high‐level user‐oriented retrieval model.

Transport Activity of MCT1 Expressed in Xenopus Oocytes Is Increased by Interaction with Carbonic Anhydrase

Injection of carbonic anhydrase isoform II (CA) into Xenopus frog oocytes increased the rate of H+ flux via the rat monocarboxylate transporter isoform 1 (MCT1) expressed in the oocytes. MCT1 activity was assessed by changes of intracellular H+ concentration measured by pH-selective microelectrodes during application of lactate. CA-induced augmentation of the rate of H+ flux mediated by MCT1 was not inhibited by ethoxyzolamide (10 microM) and did not depend on the presence of added CO2/HCO3- but was suppressed by injection of an antibody against CA. Deleting the C terminus of the MCT1 greatly reduced its transport rate and removed transport facilitation by CA. Injected CA accelerated the CO2/HCO3(-)-induced acidification severalfold, which was blocked by ethoxyzolamide and was independent of MCT1 expression. Mass spectrometry confirmed activity of CA as injected into the frog oocytes. With pulldown assays we demonstrated a specific binding of CA to MCT1 that was not attributed to the C terminus of MCT1. Our results suggest that CA enhances MCT1 transport activity, independent of its enzymatic reaction center, presumably by binding to MCT1.

Ursula Gaillard (review)

516 Reviews Mariage de raison: Romandset Alemaniques, une histoiresuisse. By Christophe Buchi. Trans. by Ursula Gaillard. Carouge-Geneve: Editions Zoe. 2001. 335 pp. SWF36. ISBN 2-88182-441-2. Though by a journalist, this is the work of a historian. Historian of what? Not so much of the languages of Switzerland (there is very little about the languages them? selves, except the relative place of dialect versus the standard form), as of the political relations between the language groups. Almost certainly, as a journalist, Christophe Biichi is principally concerned with the present. In order to explain it, pushing the causal chain furtherand furtherback, he reaches the almost mythical foundation ofthe Swiss Confederation in 1291. Whom will this interest?Well, anybody who knows what rostigrabenis foropeners; all those who have a historical, political, or literary interest either in Switzerland or other multilingual countries (Canada would be an obvious point of comparison, and most of the foreign works listed in the ample bibliography are from Canada/Quebec). There is no unseemly rush for the present, however: the post-First World War period is not reached until page 233 (out of 305 pages of text), and whereas the development and spread ofthe Confederation are dealt with in some detail, as the present draws near, the subsections become shorter and more allusive. Since my own approach to Switzerland has been mainly literary,and it is eminently possible to have a scholarly interest in one of the cultures of Switzerland without much reference to the remainder, I found this book salutary. It did, however, reveal a glaring gap in my knowledge: geography. I am finewith islands (the UK and Ireland are no problem?and even Italy fairlyeasy to steer my way around), but landlocked countries like Hungary, Austria, and .. . Switzerland are a black spot. Until now, I had relied on the banks of the lake to guide me from Geneva to Montreux, and mostly that was enough. Sadly, this book is not abundantly supplied with maps to help the foreign reader: there is one small map showing the current linguistic situation in shades so uncontrasted as to be confusing. Maps showing the growth ofthe Confederation, and tables giving historic populations, forexample, and French-style tableaux de synthese would have been very welcome. There is a certain amount of honest revisionism. The period 1798-1848, often seen as a black period in Swiss history, is also that in which the French-speaking cantons (apart from Fribourg) came into the Confederation as full members, and hence needs some re-evaluation ifits heritage is to be seen as a good thing. Part of the book's aim is to dispel the popular international view of Switzerland as a quiet haven of peace, tolerance, and order. It does not entirely succeed. Never? theless, in recent years the clockwork order of Switzerland has been threatened by a number of referendums in which a clear cleavage between differentlanguage commu? nities can be seen. This is not just a confrontation between the older-language cantons and la Suisse romande but between the Alemanic part of the country and all of the 'Latin' speakers?French, ltalian, and Rhaeto-Romance. The long historical intro? duction leads up to a fairlyspeedy review ofthe results ofthese referendums, revealing, as they predictably do, a greater readiness forinternational engagement in Romandie. The conclusion raises reasons for concern for Switzerland's future. Will Switzerland be Balkanized through a resurgence of ethno-nationalism? Seemingly, and for those of us who love it, not. It is worth recalling that this is a translation of Rostigraben: Das Verhdltniszwischen deutscher und franz osischerSchweiz. Geschichte und Perspektiven (Zurich: NZZ, 2000)?the lumbering German titlegives a hint ofthe underlying problem?and itis a moot point as to whether those who have German would do better with the original; those who are at ease in French might do well to read this version. In any event, it does not 'read translated', and Ursula Gailland's French is a pure delight. Trinity College Dublin David Parris ...

Strokes and holes and headaches: are they a package deal?

The relation between patent foramen ovale (PFO) and systemic embolisation, especially transient ischaemic attack or stroke, has attracted considerable interest over the past decades 1 Holmes Jr, DR Cohen H Katz WE Reeder GS Patent Foramen Ovale, Systemic Embolization and Closure. Curr Probl Cardiol. 2004; 29: 49-96 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (26) Google Scholar because of the increasingly widespread application of diagnostic echocardiography and now transcranial doppler ultrasound. The possibility that a young woman had a clot pass through a PFO and cause a fatal stroke was suggested in 1877. 2 Cohnheim J Thrombose und Embolie: Vorlesung Uber allgemeine. in: Pathologie. 134. Hirschwald, Berlin, Germany1877 Google Scholar In 1881, Zahn reported systemic embolisation through a PFO in a woman with uterine thrombi; 3 Zahn FW Thrombose de plusieurs branches, de la veine cave inferieure avec embolies consecutives das les arteres pulmonair, splenique, renale et iliaque droite. Rev med Suisse Romande. 1881; 1: 227-237 Google Scholar he added “paradoxical embolism” to the medical lexicon. The use of echocardiography, and agitated saline to document right-to-left shunt, has increased the medical community's awareness of the issue. The process of paradoxical embolism has also been captured on images. 4 Fabricius AM Kruger M Hanke M Mohr FW Caught in the act: impending paradoxical embolism. Asian Cardiovasc Thorac Ann. 2002; 10: 342-343 Crossref PubMed Scopus (10) Google Scholar

Prevention and health promotion in school and community settings: a commentary on the international perspective

Although somehow different in scale and scope the main public health problems adolescents currently face around the world are quite similar in nature. Therefore international comparisons in the field of health and preventive interventions are quite important. This article outlines some basic concepts used in the international field of adolescent health prevention and promotion with emphases on youth participation process evaluation and analyses of trends of behavior as means to assess both the impact of preventive activities and the influence of the norms and values of the surrounding society. Using examples in the areas of school health substance use and adolescent sexuality this article highlights the usefulness of research and intervention approaches that go beyond the traditional quantitative measures of efficiency and effectiveness. (excerpt)

La diversité au fondement des activités réflexives

Language diversity, a base for reflexive activities. Jean-François de Pietro, Institut de recherche et de documentation pédagogique (IRDP), Neuchâtel / Délégation à la langue française de la Suisse romande. «Language awareness, it helps to open up the world of languages ...» (Melissa, 10) Language awareness processes which first appeared in Great Britain in the eighties are now developing in a lot of countries. These processes suggest a new way of considering the reflexive part in the language activities set up in the classroom (how languages work, the links between oral speech and written language, the history of languages and the relationships existing between them, etc...) by introducing into them ail the languages listed as «present » in the classroom : the teaching language, the other languages taught (as school topics) and the language brought in by immigrants. Being no longer regarded as an obstacle, linguistic diversity finds itself legitimized and it becomes a special subject in the classwork, the base for the building up by pupils of acquisitions on languages, of a wider culture, the development of their metalinguistic capacities of great use in their learning and the questionning of commonly observed stereotypes and prejudices about «foreign » languages. After some remarks on the current situation in teaching, the author puts forward the possible contributions of such processes in the field of grammar by discussing mainly, as an example, questions related to the notion of gender and by presenting some activities which can be set up with pupils of different grades of compulsory school. As a conclusion, he emphasizes the contribution of such processes for a «wider » conception of grammar with an interlinguistic view - point and the construction of a multilanguage culture, while at the same time he points out the necessary complementarity of activities set up in that perspective and the ones which are more directly turned towards the mastery of oral and written expression.

Francophones face aux cas de l’allemand: un cas désespéré?

It is a well-known fact that learning to use the correct cases in German represents a major problem for speakers of French. The main difficulty resides in the fact that, when constructing an utterance in German as a foreign language, learners have to deal simultaneously, so to speak, with both syntactical and morphological constraints. The former concern the choice of the correct case or preposition, depending on the valency of the verb in question; the latter concern the concrete marking of case in the noun phrase which depends on various factors. The present study is based on a corpus of oral language production from pupils at lycées (upper-secondary schools) in the Suisse Romande. It deals with the main types of errors occurring in the area of verb complementation, the most frequent of which are categorized and illustrated with typical examples. In attempting to account for these errors, we find that mother-tongue interference proves to be an important but by no means the only source. The paper concludes with some concrete suggestions for both learners and teachers of German as a foreign language.

Francophones face aux cas de l’allemand: un cas désespéré?

It is a well-known fact that learning to use the correct cases in German represents a major problem for speakers of French. The main difficulty resides in the fact that, when constructing an utterance in German as a foreign language, learners have to deal simultaneously, so to speak, with both syntactical and morphological constraints. The former concern the choice of the correct case or preposition, depending on the valency of the verb in question; the latter concern the concrete marking of case in the noun phrase which depends on various factors. The present study is based on a corpus of oral language production from pupils at lycées (upper-secondary schools) in the Suisse Romande. It deals with the main types of errors occurring in the area of verb complementation, the most frequent of which are categorized and illustrated with typical examples. In attempting to account for these errors, we find that mother-tongue interference proves to be an important but by no means the only source. The paper concludes with some concrete suggestions for both learners and teachers of German as a foreign language.

The theory of CMB anisotropies

This is a review of the theory of CMB anisotropies, an updated version of a course given at the troisieme cycle de la Suisse Romande. An introduction to gauge invariant cosmological perturbation theory is given and the theory CMB anisotropies is develiped in this context. Simple analytical approximations for the acoustic peak positions for adiabatic and isocurvature perturbations are derived. Silk damping is discussed by an analytic approximation. A short description of the present status of observations and parameter estimation followed by a critical discussion terminate the review. The full system of differential equations for CMB anisotropies and polarization needed in a numerical treatment is also developed and given in an appendix.