Giving to computers the ability to talk and understand a natural language conversation is a major field of research. We have developed the HALPIN (Hyperdialogue avec un Agent en Langage Proche de l’Interaction Naturelle) system to implement our multimodal conversational model for information retrieval. This dialogue-oriented interface allows the access to the INRIA's database (Institut National...

Standard general relativity fails to take into account the changes in coordinates induced by the variation of metric in the Hilbert action principle. We propose to include such changes by introducing a fundamental compensating tensor field uniquely associated with any given coordinatization procedure.

This paper considers the backward error analysis of stochastic differential equations (SDEs), a technique that has been of great success in interpreting numerical methods for ODEs. It is possible to fit an ODE (the so called modified equation) to a numerical method to very high order accuracy. Backward error analysis has been particularly valuable for Hamiltonian systems, where symplectic numer...

This paper is concerned with a class of functional differential equations whose argument transforms are involutions. In contrast to the earlier works in this area, which have used only involutions with a fixed point, we also admit involutions without a fixed point. In the first case, an initial value problem for a differential equation with involution is reduced to an initial value problem for ...

Designing computers with the ability to talk and understand a natural language (NL) conversation is a major field of research. We have developed the HALPIN system to implement our multimodal conversational model for information retrieval in a digital library via the World Wide Web. This dialogue-oriented interface allows access to INRIA's database, on the Internet, in a natural language mode. T...

Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are performed to provide evidence to support treatment decisions. Based on the nature of those studies and the need to avoid confounding factors, it has been argued that the population selected in RCTs only partially represents the real-life population. This assumption casts doubts on the applicability of the results provided by RCTs in the management of indivi...

A collocation method with the modified equilibrium on line method (ELM) forimposition of Neumann and Robin boundary conditions is presented for solving the two-dimensionalacoustical problems. In the modified ELM, the governing equations are integrated over the lines onthe Neumann (Robin) boundary instead of the Neumann (Robin) boundary condition equations. Inother words, integration domains are...