Simulation of Efficient Real-Time Scheduling and Power Optimisation

International audienceSophisticated applications turn out to be executed upon more than one CPU for practical and economic reasons. Due to advances in circuit technology and performance limitation, multi-core technology has become the mainstream in CPU designs. However, the most serious limitation of these devices is the battery lifetime since battery technology is not keeping up with the rest of the power-hungry processors and peripherals used in today's mobile devices. As a solution, many investigations have turned toward the algorithms of power management combined with some scheduling policies. They can make significant energy saving while preserving the temporal constraints of these embedded systems. Reducing energy, especially, affect not only the battery lifetime, but also aim to reduce the heat generated by real-time embedded controller in various products or even to decrease the conditions of cooling and the costs, in the large scale, of giant multiprocessor computers. To assess the behavior and performance of the strategy of scheduling a flexible multiprocessor scheduling simulation and evaluation platform is needed. This paper puts forth the claim that the STORM simulator improves application quality both in terms of execution time and energy consumption for a high performance mobile computing embedded system design

Heritage and society in present-day tunisia : preservation and development of punic and roman archeological heritage between the 19th and 20th century

Cette thèse analyse et questionne les processus de sauvegarde et de mise en valeur du patrimoine archéologique punique et romain en Tunisie depuis la mise en place de structures administratives vouées à sa gestion et à sa valorisation. Ce travail s’articule autour de trois concepts pivots : identifier, sauvegarder et revaloriser. Il part de l’identification du patrimoine archéologique en question pour dégager d’une part, ses valeurs architecturales, urbaines, esthétiques et historiques, et recenser d’autre part, les actions entreprises pour sa sauvegarde à travers l’étude d’un corpus élargi regroupant l’ensemble des cités antiques puniques et romaines que compte la Tunisie. Ensuite, et afin de cerner la problématique de sauvegarde de ce patrimoine, cette thèse se penche sur la genèse de la politique patrimoniale en Tunisie en évoquant le cadre historique qui a vu naitre une législation de préservation et de gestion du patrimoine archéologique et en analysant les objectifs de la politique nationale actuelle. Enfin, l’aboutissement de ce travail se consacre aux perspectives de revalorisation du patrimoine archéologique en Tunisie tout en l’intégrant dans un processus de développement durable régional et national. Cette requalification de l’objet patrimonial s’opère à travers son partage et sa diffusion pour assurer sa transmission.This thesis analyzes and questions the processes of protection and development of the Punic and Roman archaeological heritage in Tunisia since the setting up of administrative structures dedicated to its management and development. This work is focused on three pivotal concepts: identifying, preserving and developing. It begings with the identification of the archaeological heritage in question to show its architectural, urban, aesthetic and historic values on the one hand, and list on the other hand the actions undertaken to preserve it through the study of an extanded corpus gathering all the ancient Punic and Roman cities Tunisia numbers. Then, and in order to figure out the problem of preserving this heritage, this thesis looks into the way the national heritage policy came into being in Tunisia through recalling the historical framework which gave birth to laws relating to the protection and management of the archaeological heritage and analyzing the objectives of the current national policy. Finally, the outcome of this work is devoted to prospects for the improvement of the archaeological heritage in Tunisia, while integrating it into a regional and national sustainable development process. This redifining of the heritage can be achieved through sharing and disseminating it to secure its passing on

Tuberculose claviculaire révélée par une lacune osseuse

Our study reports the case of a 30 years old woman, Mrs. S.S, with no particular past medical history. The anamnesis revealed an occasional consumption of not pasteurized dairy products. She was examined after the fortuitous discovery of a swelling in her right clavicular region, with no associated general symptoms. Physical exam revealed a mass measuring 4 cm (long axis) of hard consistency, painless, without inflammatory signs and fixed to deep plane. The remaining elements in somatic examination were normal. Biology was without abnormalities. Tuberculin intradermal reaction (IDR) was phlyctenular. Standard radiographic evaluation of the shoulder showed a bone gap of the distal edge of the right clavicle. MRI revealed anterior-superior cortical-medullary osteolysis of the right clavicle with irregular aspect, erosion and thinning of the adjacent cortical bone sparing the acromioclavicular joint and predominantly anterior inflammation of periosseous soft tissues (Figure A). Bone biopsy showed multiple follicular lesions composed of epithelioid cells and giant cells surrounding wide ranges of caseous necrosis. The thoraco-abdominopelvic CT and bone scintigraphy showed no other alterations. The diagnosis of isolated clavicular tuberculosis was retained. The patient underwent quadruple antituberculosis treatment (isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol and pyrazinamide) for two months and then a combination therapy (isoniazid and rifampicin) for a total treatment duration of 9 months. Clinical and radiological outcome was favorable. The patient underwent 18-month follow-up.Pan African Medical Journal 2016; 2

Genetic Susceptibility to Type 2 Diabetes: A Global Meta-Analysis Studying the Genetic Differences in Tunisian Populations

The present study is the first meta-analysis to evaluate type 2 diabetes (T2D)– associated polymorphisms in cohorts originated from several Tunisian regions. In fact, we evaluated the effect of seven polymorphisms in the following genes—PPARg (Pro12Ala), TNF° (-308A/G), ENPP1(K121Q), TCF7L2(rs7903146°C/T), MTHFR(C677T), ACE(I/D), and CAPN10(3R/2R)—on T2D risk, through a meta-analysis combining data of previous studies performed on Tunisian populations originating from the north, center, or south of the country. R statistics version 2.12.1 software was used to estimate the heterogeneity between studies. Pooled odds ratios were computed by the fixed-effects method of Mantel-Haenszel if no heterogeneity between studies exists. Despite the similarities founded in a number of loci, the Woolf test reported that the contributions of ENPP1 and ACE loci in T2D risk are dependent on the geographic origin of concerned groups, and this heterogeneity could be attributed not only to the variable contribution of the variant in T2D risk but also to diversities of genetic background between tested groups. Interestingly, observed heterogeneity highlighted founding concerning Y chromosome and the mitochondrial DNA about the genetic structure of Tunisian population and proves once again that Tunisians, like the north-Africans, are a mosaic of subpopulations, with significant differences in genetic structure. In homogeneous groups, we replicated the association of single-nucleotide polymorphisms of TCF7L2, MTHFR, CAPN 10, TNF°, and ACE genes with a T2D risk in the Tunisian population with OR ranging from 1.43 to 6.72. However, we reported an absence of the association of PPARg with T2D in the Tunisian population

Towards Hybrid Energy-Efficient Power Management in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are prone to highly constrained resources, as a result ensuring the proper functioning of the network is a requirement. Therefore, an effective WSN management system has to be integrated for the network efficiency. Our objective is to model, design, and propose a homogeneous WSN hybrid architecture. This work features a dedicated power utilization optimization strategy specifically for WSNs application. It is entitled Hybrid Energy-Efficient Power manager Scheduling (HEEPS). The pillars of this strategy are based on the one hand on time-out Dynamic Power Management (DPM) Intertask and on the other hand on Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS). All tasks are scheduled under Global Earliest Deadline First (GEDF) with new scheduling tests to overcome the Dhall effect. To minimize the energy consumption, the HEEPS predicts, defines and models the behavior adapted to each sensor node, as well as the associated energy management mechanism. HEEPS’s performance evaluation and analysis are performed using the STORM simulator. A comparison to the results obtained with the various state of the art approaches is presented. Results show that the power manager proposed effectively schedules tasks to use dynamically the available energy estimated gain up to 50%

Antioxidant, antibacterial, and antileishmanial potential of Micromeria nervosa extracts and molecular mechanism of action of the bioactive compound

Aims: This study aimed to determine the antibacterial and antileishmanial potential of Micromeria nervosa extracts. The identification of the antileishmanial compound and the study of its molecular mechanism of action have also been undertaken. Methods and results: Ethanol extract showed high polyphenol content and diethyl ether extract exhibited high DPPH scavenging and low beta-carotene bleaching activity (IC50 = 13.04 ± 0.99 and 200.18 ± 3.32 μg mL−1 , respectively). However, diethyl ether extract displayed high antibacterial activity against Gram-positive strains including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MIC = 31.25 μg mL−1 ), Staph. aureus ATCC6538 (MIC = 62.5 μg mL−1 ), and Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19115 (MIC = 125 μg mL−1 ), as well as high antileishmanial activity against the promastigote forms of L. infantum and L. major (IC50 = 11.45 and 14.53 μg mL−1 , respectively). The active compound was purified using bioassay-guided fractionation and thin layer chromatography, and identified as ursolic acid using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a photodiode array and mass spectrometry. The purified compound was strongly inhibitory against the promastigote and amastigote forms of L. infantum and L. major (IC50 = 5.87 and 6.95 μg mL−1 versus 9.56 and 10. 68 μg mL−1 , respectively) without overt cytotoxicity against Raw 264.7 macrophage cells (SI = 13.53 and 11.43, respectively). The commercial compound (ursolic acid) showed similar activity against amastigotes and promastigotes forms of L. infantum and L. major. Moreover, its molecular mode of action against leishmaniasis seems to involve the expression of the ODC and SPS genes involved in thiol pathway. Conclusion: Extracts of M. nervosa can be considered as a potential alternative to antimicrobial and antileishmanial drugs

Characterization of Kbot21 Reveals Novel Side Chain Interactions of Scorpion Toxins Inhibiting Voltage-Gated Potassium Channels.

Scorpion toxins are important pharmacological tools for probing the physiological roles of ion channels which are involved in many physiological processes and as such have significant therapeutic potential. The discovery of new scorpion toxins with different specificities and affinities is needed to further characterize the physiology of ion channels. In this regard, a new short polypeptide called Kbot21 has been purified to homogeneity from the venom of Buthus occitanus tunetanus scorpion. Kbot21 is structurally related to BmBKTx1 from the venom of the Asian scorpion Buthus martensii Karsch. These two toxins differ by only two residues at position 13 (R /V) and 24 (D/N).Despite their very similar sequences, Kbot21 and BmBKTx1 differ in their electrophysiological activities. Kbot21 targets KV channel subtypes whereas BmBKTx1 is active on both big conductance (BK) and small conductance (SK) Ca2+-activated K+ channel subtypes, but has no effects on Kv channel subtypes. The docking model of Kbot21 with the Kv1.2 channel shows that the D24 and R13 side-chain of Kbot21 are critical for its interaction with KV channels

Purification and Characterization of Bot33: A Non-Toxic Peptide from the Venom of Buthus occitanus tunetanus Scorpion

Scorpion venom is a rich source of promising therapeutic compounds, such as highly selective ion channel ligands with potent pharmacological effects. Bot33 is a new short polypeptide of 38 amino acid residues with six cysteines purified from the venom of the Buthus occitanus tunetanus scorpion. Bot33 has revealed less than 40% identity with other known alpha-KTx families. This peptide displayed a neutral amino acid (Leucine), in the position equivalent to lysine 27, described as essential for the interaction with Kv channels. Bot33 did not show any toxicity following i.c.v. injection until 2 µg/kg mouse body weight. Due to its very low venom concentration (0.24%), Bot33 was chemically synthesized. Unexpectedly, this peptide has been subjected to a screening on ion channels expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes, and it was found that Bot33 has no effect on seven Kv channel subtypes. Interestingly, an in silico molecular docking study shows that the Leu27 prevents the interaction of Bot33 with the Kv1.3 channel. All our results indicate that Bot33 may have a different mode of action from other scorpion toxins, which will be interesting to elucidate

Purification and Characterization of Bot33: A Non-Toxic Peptide from the Venom of Buthus occitanus tunetanus Scorpion

Scorpion venom is a rich source of promising therapeutic compounds, such as highly selective ion channel ligands with potent pharmacological effects. Bot33 is a new short polypeptide of 38 amino acid residues with six cysteines purified from the venom of the Buthus occitanus tunetanus scorpion. Bot33 has revealed less than 40% identity with other known alpha-KTx families. This peptide displayed a neutral amino acid (Leucine), in the position equivalent to lysine 27, described as essential for the interaction with Kv channels. Bot33 did not show any toxicity following i.c.v. injection until 2 µg/kg mouse body weight. Due to its very low venom concentration (0.24%), Bot33 was chemically synthesized. Unexpectedly, this peptide has been subjected to a screening on ion channels expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes, and it was found that Bot33 has no effect on seven Kv channel subtypes. Interestingly, an in silico molecular docking study shows that the Leu27 prevents the interaction of Bot33 with the Kv1.3 channel. All our results indicate that Bot33 may have a different mode of action from other scorpion toxins, which will be interesting to elucidate