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Cette étude prospective, randomisée et à l’aveugle a évalué la validité, la réactivité et fiabilité de l’échelle de grimaces félines (Feline Grimace Scale; FGS) chez les chatons. Trente-six jeunes chattes en santé (âgées de 10 semaines à 6 mois) étaient filmées avant puis 1 et 2 h après ovariohystérectomie. La procédure a été effectuée avec un protocole d’anesthésie injectable (sans opioïde), avec ou sans analgésie multimodale. Les chatons en douleur étaient également filmés avant et 1h après avoir reçu une analgésie de secours (buprénorphine 0.02 mg/kg IM). Quatre évaluateurs, aveugles aux conditions expérimentales, ont évalué deux fois à cinq semaines d’intervalle les expressions faciales sur 111 images extraites des vidéos. Les cinq unités d’action (action unit; AU) de la FGS ont été évaluées (position des oreilles, serrage orbital, tension du museau, position des moustaches, position de la tête; avec un score possible de 0 à 2 pour chacune). La validité de construit, la réactivité et la fiabilité inter- et intra-évaluateur de la FGS ont été analysées en utilisant un modèle linéaire avec correction Benjamini–Hochberg, un test Wilcoxon signed-rank et un coefficient de corrélation intra-classes unique (ICCsingle), respectivement (P <0.05). Les ratios des scores FGS totaux (médiane [étendue interquartile, EI]) étaient augmentés 1 et 2 h après l’ovariohystérectomie (médiane [EI] : 0.30 [0.20–0.40] et 0.30 [0.20–0.40], respectivement) comparativement à la mesure de base (médiane [EI] : 0.10 [0.00–0.30]) (P <0.001), et inférieurs après l’analgésie (médiane [EI] : 0.40 [0.20–0.50]) qu’avant son administration (médiane [EI] : 0.20 [0.10–0.38]) (P <0.001). Pour la fiabilité inter-évaluateur, les ICCsingle des ratios des scores FGS totaux étaient 0.68 et compris entre 0.35 et 0.70 pour chaque AU, individuellement. Pour la fiabilité intra-évaluateur, les ICCsingle des ratios des scores FGS totaux étaient compris entre 0.77–0.91 et 0.55–1.00 pour chaque AU. La FGS est un outil d’évaluation de la douleur aiguë valide et réactif chez les chatons avec une fiabilité inter-évaluateur modérée et intra-évaluateur bonne à excellente. / This prospective, randomized, blinded study investigated the construct validity, responsiveness and reliability of the Feline Grimace Scale (FGS) in kittens. Thirty-six healthy female kittens (aged 10 weeks to 6 months) were video recorded before, 1 and 2 h after ovariohysterectomy using an opioid-free injectable anesthetic protocol with or without multimodal analgesia. Painful kittens were additionally filmed before and 1 h after administration of rescue analgesia (buprenorphine 0.02 mg/kg IM). One hundred eleven facial images collected from video recordings were randomly scored by 4 observers, blinded to treatment groups and time points, twice with a 5 weeks interval using the FGS. The five action units (AU) of the FGS were scored (ear position, orbital tightening, muzzle tension, whiskers position and head position; 0–2 each). Construct validity, responsiveness, inter- and intra-rater reliability of the FGS were evaluated using linear models with Benjamini–Hochberg correction, Wilcoxon signed-rank test and single intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCsingle), respectively (P <0.05). The FGS total ratio scores were higher 1 and 2 h after ovariohysterectomy (median [interquartile range, IQR]: 0.3 [0.20–0.40], and 0.30 [0.20–0.40], respectively) than at baseline (median [QR]: 0.10 [0.00–0.30]) (P <0.001), and lower after the administration of rescue analgesia (median [QR]: 0.40 [0.20–0.50]) than before (median [QR]: 0.20 [0.10–0.38]) (P <0.001). The inter-rater ICCsingle was 0.68 for the FGS total ratio scores and 0.35–0.70 for AUs considered individually. The intra-rater ICCsingle was 0.77–0.91 for the FGS total ratio scores and 0.55–1.00 for AUs considered individually. The FGS is a valid and responsive acute pain scoring instrument with moderate inter-rater reliability and good to excellent intra-rater reliability in kittens.

This corpus-based study of the use of expressions of future in English has two aims: to examine how certain expressions of future are used in Present-day English, and to explore how electronic corpora can be exploited for linguistic study. The expressions focused on in this thesis are five auxiliary or semi-auxiliary verb phrases frequently discussed in studies of future reference in English: will, ’ll, shall, going to and gonna. The study examines the patterned ways in which the expressions are used in association with various linguistic and non-linguistic (or extra-linguistic) factors. The linguistic factors investigated are co-occurrence with particular words and co-occurrence with items of particular grammatical classes. The non-linguistic factors examined are medium (written vs. spoken), text category, speaker characteristics (age, sex, social class, etc.), region and time. The data for the study are exclusively drawn from computer-readable corpora of Present-day English. Corpus analyses are performed with automatic and interactive methods, and exploit both quantitative and qualitative analytical techniques. The study finds that the use of these expressions of future varies with a number of factors. Differences between spoken and written language are particularly prominent and usage also varies between different types of text, both within spoken and written corpora. Variation between groups of speakers is also attested. Although the linguistic co-occurrence patterns are similar to some degree, there are nonetheless differences in the collocational patterns in which the expressions are used. Methodological issues related to corpus-based studies in general are discussed in the light of the insights gained from this study of expressions of future.

This thesis explores Web Information Extraction (WIE) and how it has been used in decision making and to support businesses in their daily operations. The research focuses on a WIE system based on Genetic Programming (GP) with an extensible model to enhance the automatic extractor. This uses a human as a teacher to identify and extract relevant information from the semi-structured HTML webpages. Regular expressions, which have been chosen as the pattern matching tool, are automatically generated based on the training data to provide an improved grammar and lexicon. This particularly benefits the GP system which may need to extend its lexicon in the presence of new tokens in the web pages. These tokens allow the GP method to produce new extraction patterns for new requirements.

The purpose of this research was to enhance the methods towards the development of an efficient three dimensional face recognition system. More specifically, one of our aims was to investigate how the use of curvature of the diagonal profiles, extracted from 3D facial geometry models can help the neutral face recognition processes. Another aim was to use a gender classifier employed on 3D facial geometry in order to reduce the search space of the database on which facial recognition is performed. 3D facial geometry with facial expression possesses considerable challenges when it comes face recognition as identified by the communities involved in face recognition research. Thus, one aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the curvature-based method in face recognition under expression variations. Another aim was to develop techniques that can discriminate both expression-sensitive and expression-insensitive regions for ii face recognition based on non-neutral face geometry models. In the case of neutral face recognition, we developed a gender classification method using support vector machines based on the measurements of area and volume of selected regions of the face. This method reduced the search range of a database initially for a given image and hence reduces the computational time. Subsequently, in the characterisation of the face images, a minimum feature set of diagonal profiles, which we call T shape profiles, containing diacritic information were determined and extracted to characterise face models. We then used a method based on computing curvatures of selected facial regions to describe this feature set. In addition to the neutral face recognition, to solve the problem arising from data with facial expressions, initially, the curvature-based T shape profiles were employed and investigated for this purpose. For this purpose, the feature sets of the expression-invariant and expression-variant regions were determined respectively and described by geodesic distances and Euclidean distances. By using regression models the correlations between expressions and neutral feature sets were identified. This enabled us to discriminate expression-variant features and there was a gain in face recognition rate. The results of the study have indicated that our proposed curvature-based recognition, 3D gender classification of facial geometry and analysis of facial expressions, was capable of undertaking face recognition using a minimum set of features improving efficiency and computation.

Cette thèse présente un environnement ouvert et souple pour l'acquisition automatique d'expressions multimots (MWE) à partir de corpus textuels monolingues. Cette recherche est motivée par l'importance des MWE pour les applications du TALN. Après avoir brièvement présenté les modules de l'environnement, le mémoire présente des résultats d'évaluation intrinsèque en utilisant deux applications: la lexicographie assistée par ordinateur et la traduction automatique statistique. Ces deux applications peuvent bénéficier de l'acquisition automatique de MWE, et les expressions acquises automatiquement à partir de corpus peuvent à la fois les accélérer et améliorer leur qualité. Les résultats prometteurs de nos expériences nous encouragent à mener des recherches ultérieures sur la façon optimale d'intégrer le traitement des MWE dans ces applications et dans bien d'autres

The classic theorems of Büchi and Kleene state the expressive equivalence of finite automata to monadic second order logic and regular expressions, respectively. These fundamental results enjoy applications in nearly every field of theoretical computer science. Around the same time as Büchi and Kleene, Rabin investigated probabilistic finite automata. This equally well established model has applications ranging from natural language processing to probabilistic model checking. Here, we give probabilistic extensions Büchi\\\'s theorem and Kleene\\\'s theorem to the probabilistic setting. We obtain a probabilistic MSO logic by adding an expected second order quantifier. In the scope of this quantifier, membership is determined by a Bernoulli process. This approach turns out to be universal and is applicable for finite and infinite words as well as for finite trees. In order to prove the expressive equivalence of this probabilistic MSO logic to probabilistic automata, we show a Nivat-theorem, which decomposes a recognisable function into a regular language, homomorphisms, and a probability measure. For regular expressions, we build upon existing work to obtain probabilistic regular expressions on finite and infinite words. We show the expressive equivalence between these expressions and probabilistic Muller-automata. To handle Muller-acceptance conditions, we give a new construction from probabilistic regular expressions to Muller-automata. Concerning finite trees, we define probabilistic regular tree expressions using a new iteration operator, called infinity-iteration. Again, we show that these expressions are expressively equivalent to probabilistic tree automata. On a second track of our research we investigate Constraint LTL over multidimensional data words with data values from the infinite tree. Such LTL formulas are evaluated over infinite words, where every position possesses several data values from the infinite tree. Within Constraint LTL on can compare these values from different positions. We show that the model checking problem for this logic is PSPACE-complete via investigating the emptiness problem of Constraint Büchi automata.

The problem of this study was a descriptive analysis of the process of client-centered play therapy. The purposes of this study were (l) to investigate and describe the patterns of play activities, nonverbal expressions, and verbal comments during the process of client-centered play therapy; (2) to determine whether phases of emotional and/or social development do exist during the process of client-centered play therapy; and, (3) to describe any identified phases of emotional and/or social development that exist during the process of client-centered play therapy.

Psychiatric patients, particularly schizophrenics, tend to be less accurate decoders of facial expressions than normals. The involvement of three basic information processing stages in this deficit was investigated: attention; encoding; and processing. Psychiatric inpatients, classified by diagnosis and severity of pathology, and nonpatient controls were administered seven facial cue decoding tasks. Orientation of attention was assessed through rate of diversion of gaze from the stimuli. Encoding was assessed using simple tasks, requiring one contrast of two facial stimuli and selection from two response alternatives. Processing was assessed using a more complex task, requiring several contrasts between stimulus faces and selection from numerous response alternatives. Residualized error scores were used to statistically control for effects of attention on task performance. Processing task performance was evaluated using ANCOVA to control for effects of encoding. Schizophrenics were characterized by generalized information processing deficit while affective disorder subjects evidenced impairment only in attending. Attention impairments in both groups were related to severity of psychopathology. Problems in encoding and processing were related only to a schizophrenic diagnosis. Their decoding deficits appeared attributable to general visuospatial discrimination impairment rather than repression-sensitization defenses or the affective connotation of cues. Adequacy of interpersonal functioning was associated with measures of attending and processing but not encoding. The measures of encoding, however, may have lacked adequate discriminating power due to low difficulty.

Thèse diffusée initialement dans le cadre d'un projet pilote des Presses de l'Université de Montréal/Centre d'édition numérique UdeM (1997-2008) avec l'autorisation de l'auteur.