Temporal Dynamics and Impact of Climate Factors on the Incidence of Zoonotic Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Central Tunisia

Old world cutaneous leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease occurring in rural areas of developing countries. The main reservoirs are the rodents Psammomys obesus and Meriones shawi. Zoonotic Leishmania transmission cycle is maintained in the burrows of rodents where the sand fly Phlebotomus papatasi finds the ideal environment and source of blood meals. In the present study we showed seasonality of the incidence of disease during the same cycle with an inter-epidemic period ranging from 4 to 7 years. We evaluated the impact of climate variables (rainfall, humidity and temperature) on the incidence of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniais in central Tunisia. We confirmed that the risk of disease is mainly influenced by the humidity related to the months of July to September during the same season and mean rainfall lagged by 12 to 14 months

Atmospheric Plasma Spraying Evolution Since the Sixties Through Modeling, Measurements and Sensors

International audienceThis paper presents, through examples, the evolutions of atmospheric plasma spraying since the sixties. The drastic improvement of the spray conditions and coatings reproducibility during more than 50 years was linked both to researches in laboratories and developments of spray equipment’s (plasma torches, computerized control panels, robots to spray coatings on complex parts, sensors working in the harsh environment of spray booths…). This evolution is illustrated through the following topics: (1) plasma forming gas thermodynamic and transport properties either at local thermodynamic equilibrium or more recently at two temperatures; (2) evolution of plasma spray torches since the nineties; (3) plasma jet and in-flight particle measurements with laboratory equipment’s and then sensors in spray booths; (4) plasma jets and torches modeling as well as heat and momentum transfer to particles; (5) splats formation and layering