LA MÉDERSA TACHFINIYA DE TLEMCEN : UN LIEU DE SAVOIR, OU UN PALAIS DÉDIÉ AU SAVOIR ?

Les médersas n’apparaissent en Algérie que sous les sultans abd al-wadides zianides de Tlemcen. L’exemple le plus élaboré construit durant cette dynastie est celui de la médersa Tachfinya. Elle est à la fois témoin et aboutissement d’un apogée artistique et architectural du savoir musulman. En effet, tous les historiens s’accordent à dire qu’elle représentait un joyau de l’art mauresque, ceci en dépit de tous les remaniements qu’elle a subi et qui maladroitement se sont soldés par sa démolition sous l’occupation française.Aujourd’hui, de cette médersa, il ne nous reste que des relevés, un certain nombre de collections muséales et quelques photographies. C’est à partir de ces sources limitées que nous nous efforcerons de démontrer que le grand intérêt de cet édifice résidait dans sa singularité par rapport aux lieux de savoir et d’enseignement qui lui sont contemporain, non seulement par sa haute esthétique ornementale qui rivalisait avec les plus beaux palais médiévaux, mais aussi par son organisation spatiale typique des demeures princières andalouses

Priority-based Event Management using Fuzzy Logic for an IoT-BPM Architecture

International audienceInternet of things (IoT) world is growing at a breathtaking pace. This new paradigm shift affects all the enterprise architecture layers from infrastructure to business. Organizations are nowadays faced with new challenges to keep their quality of service and competitive advantage over other rival organizations. Business Process Management (BPM) is a field among others that will be affected by this new technology. Both IoT and BPM communicate through events, and effective and efficient management of those events ensures a better communication channel between the IoT physical layer and the Business layer. However, the huge amount of those IoT generated events and sometimes the subtle difference between their criticality level, generate uncertainty regarding their priority level determination. In this paper, we propose a fuzzy logic-based event management approach to estimate the criticality level of the incoming IoT events using two fuzzy inference systems (FIS) and to manage the priority of business process instances triggered by those events. A case study is presented and the obtained results from our simulations demonstrate the benefit of our approach and allowed us to confirm the efficiency of our assumptions

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Is a dense city a healthy city? A preliminary study on the interplay between urban density and air quality in Oran, Algeria

The general consensus is that dense cities are more sustainable. However, high urban density or compact urban form may affect the health of city dwellers, more particularly when compactness is not associated with the provision of mass transit systems. This paper analyses the correlation between urban density indicators and air pollution in Oran (Algeria), a city that suffers a lack of public transport. It assesses the density of green space needed to reduce airborne pollutants in cities. The paper also examines the impacts of exposure to air pollution on respiratory mortality using a quantitative health impact assessment methodology. Findings show that population density and building density strongly correlates with air pollution, due to motorized transport and other human activities (e.g. industries, residential heating or lacking green space). Results indicate that for population density greater than 12100 inhabitants/ha with associated values exceeding 100 for building density and green space density, air pollution levels become higher than 40µg/m3 , exceeding the recommended limit at international level by WHO. In addition, 588 annual premature deaths (95% CI: 529-643), i.e. 0,2% of the total population of the eighteen districts and 3,7% of the total number of deaths, were directly or indirectly related to NOx concentration. This paper concludes that despite the conventional wisdom that more dense cities are more sustainable and healthier, higher density urban areas tend to be associated with poor air quality when there are no mass transit systems.Il est communément admis est que les villes denses sont plus durables. Cependant, une densité urbaine élevée ou une forme urbaine compacte peuvent affecter la santé des citadins, plus particulièrement lorsque la compacité n’est pas associée à un système de transport en commun. Cet article analyse la corrélation entre les indicateurs de densité urbaine et la pollution atmosphérique à Oran (Algérie), une ville qui souffre encore d’un manque de transports en commun. Il évalue la densité des espaces verts nécessaires pour réduire les polluants atmosphériques générés dans les villes et examine les impacts de l’exposition aux valeurs limites de la pollution atmosphérique sur la mortalité respiratoire, en utilisant une méthodologie d’évaluation quantitative de l’impact sur la santé. Les résultats montrent que la densité de la population et du cadre bâties fortement corrélée à la pollution atmosphérique en raison du transport motorisé et d’autres activités humaines comme les industries, le chauffage résidentiel et le manque d’espaces verts. Les résultats indiquent que pour une densité de population supérieure à 12 100 habitants/ha et des valeurs excédant 100 pour la densité du bâti et des espaces verts, les niveaux de pollution de l’air deviennent supérieurs à la limite d’exposition recommandée au niveau international par l’OMS. En outre, 588 décès prématurés annuels, soit 0,2 % de la population totale des dix-huit districts et 3,7 % du nombre total de décès, étaient directement ou indirectement liés à la concentration de NOx. Cet article conclut qu’en dépit du consensus conventionnel selon lequel les villes plus denses sont plus durables et plus saines, les zones urbaines à forte densité tendent à être associées à une mauvaise qualité de l’air lorsqu’elles ne bénéficient pas d’un système de transport en commun.Existe en general un consenso que las ciudades con mayor densidad son más sostenibles. Sin embargo, una alta densidad urbana o forma compacta pueden afectar la salud de los habitantes de esta, particularmente cuando la compacidad no está asociada con sistemas de transporte público robustos. En tal contexto el análisis integral de los efectos de la densidad urbana, áreas verdes, contaminación del aire y la mortalidad respiratoria relacionada a esta, no es totalmente abordada en la literatura. En este sentido, este artículo analiza la correlación entre indicadores de densidad urbana y contaminación del aire en dieciocho distritos de la ciudad de Orán, la cual carece de un transporte público robusto. Así, se evalúa la densidad de espacios verdes necesaria para reducir los contaminantes atmosféricos generados por la densidad urbana, examinando también los impactos de la exposición a valores límites de contaminación del aire en la mortalidad respiratoria a partir de una metodología de evaluación cuantitativa del impacto en la salud. Los resultados muestran que la densidad de la población seguida de la densidad de construcción se correlacionan fuertemente con la contaminación del aire debido al transporte motorizado y otras como presencia de industrias, calefacción residencial y falta de espacios verdes. En efecto, se observa que valores superiores a 12100 habitantes/ha para la densidad de población y sobre 100 para los espacios verdes y superficie construida, los niveles de contaminación del aire superan los 40 µg/m3 y, por lo tanto, se posicionan sobre el límite de exposición internacional recomendado. En tal contexto 588 fallecimientos prematuros anuales (IC 95%: 529-643), es decir, el 0,2% de la población total de los dieciocho distritos y el 3,7% del total de decesos, estuvieron directa o indirectamente vinculados con la concentración de NOx. Se concluye que, a pesar del consenso que las ciudades más densas son más sostenibles y saludables, las áreas urbanas de mayor densidad tienden a presentar una mala calidad del aire cuando no existe un sistema de transporte público robusto

Tlemcen and the notion of “Islamic city”: Between reference texts and effective model

On the question of the archetypal model of the Islamic city, several oriental researchers and orientalists tried to give some answers, each considering on his part on a specific aspect to the originality of these cities. Some even expressed great skepticism toward the concept of “Islamic city” as an urban ideal of the Muslim world. The purpose of this study is to confront various visions having a theoretical interest on this issue in order to trace the characteristics of the case study. As such, the medina of Tlemcen, capital of central Maghreb for nearly three centuries, is a privileged analysis field to study the type organization of Arab-Muslim cities. Thus, the hypothesis put forth is that this Medina had, in medieval and Ottoman period, a spatial configuration fully aligned with the model of “Islamic cities”; corroborating the idea of the existing common features shared by the historic cities of the Islamic world

Priority-based Event Management using Fuzzy Logic for an IoT-BPM Architecture

International audienceInternet of things (IoT) world is growing at a breathtaking pace. This new paradigm shift affects all the enterprise architecture layers from infrastructure to business. Organizations are nowadays faced with new challenges to keep their quality of service and competitive advantage over other rival organizations. Business Process Management (BPM) is a field among others that will be affected by this new technology. Both IoT and BPM communicate through events, and effective and efficient management of those events ensures a better communication channel between the IoT physical layer and the Business layer. However, the huge amount of those IoT generated events and sometimes the subtle difference between their criticality level, generate uncertainty regarding their priority level determination. In this paper, we propose a fuzzy logic-based event management approach to estimate the criticality level of the incoming IoT events using two fuzzy inference systems (FIS) and to manage the priority of business process instances triggered by those events. A case study is presented and the obtained results from our simulations demonstrate the benefit of our approach and allowed us to confirm the efficiency of our assumptions

Death, end-stage renal disease and renal function decline in patients with diabetic nephropathy in French cohorts of type 1 and type 2 diabetes

International audienc