Tool Support for a Method and a Language Integrating Model Refinements and Project Management

International audienceComplexity of Embedded Systeme (ES) development is increasing due of several cumulative sources. Some of them are directly related to constraints on the ES themselves, like computing power, resource constraints, and multi- or many-core programming, while other are related to the industrial context, like teamwork and parallelisation of concurrent development. In this paper we present CanHOE2, a Model Driven Engineering (MDE) tool that addresses two issues of ES development: expression of parallelism by means of objects and Hierarchical State Machines (HSM), and teamwork synchronisation

Un essai de production et de transformation de lait de dromadaire en Tunisie

Dans le Nord tunisien, cinq dromadaires femelles disposant chacune de 4 kg de son de blé par jour et de paille d'avoine à volonté ont produit en 305 jours de lactation une moyenne de 1 860 l (entre 915 et 3 355 l). Différents fromages ont été fabriqués à partir de ce lait composé de 108 g de matière sèche et de 28 g de matière grasse par litre. Des rendements frais et secs de 11,7 p. 100 et 4,9 p. 100 ont été respectivement obtenus avec un taux de récupération de la matière grasse de 64 p. 100. Ces résultats sont comparés à ceux obtenus avec du lait de vache

Evaluation of European Land Data Assimilation System (ELDAS) products using in site observations

Three land-surface models with land-data assimilation scheme (DA) were evaluated for one growing season using in situ observations obtained across Europe. To avoid drifts in the land-surface state in the models, soil moisture corrections are derived from errors in screen-level atmospheric quantities. With the in situ data it is assessed whether these land-surface schemes produce adequate results regarding the annual range of the soil water content, the monthly mean soil moisture content in the root zone and evaporative fraction (the ratio of evapotranspiration to energy available at the surface). DA considerably reduced bias in net precipitation, while slightly reducing RMSE as well. Evaporative fraction was improved in dry conditions but was hardly affected in moist conditions. The amplitude of soil moisture variations tended to be underestimated. The impact of improved land-surface properties like Leaf Area Index, water holding capacity and rooting depth may be as large as corrections of the DA systems. Because soil moisture memorizes errors in the hydrological cycle of the models, DA will remain necessary in forecast mode. Model improvements should be balanced against improvements of DA per se. Model bias appearing from persistent analysis increments arising from DA systems should be addressed by model improvement

Evaluation ofthe Middle East and North Africa Land Data Assimilation System

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is dominated by dry, warm deserts, areas of dense population, and inefficient use of fresh water resources. Due to the scarcity, high intensity, and short duration of rainfall in the MENA, the region is prone to hydro climatic extremes that are realized by devastating floods and times of drought. However, given its widespread water stress and the considerable demand for water, the MENA remains relatively poorly monitored. This is due in part to the shortage of meteorological observations and the lack of data sharing between nations. As a result, the accurate monitoring of the dynamics of the water cycle in the MENA is difficult. The Land Data Assimilation System for the MENA region (MENA LDAS) has been developed to provide regional, gridded fields of hydrological states and fluxes relevant for water resources assessments. As an extension of the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS), the MENA LDAS was designed to aid in the identification and evaluation of regional hydrological anomalies by synergistically combining the physically-based Catchment Land Surface Model (CLSM) with observations from several independent data products including soil-water storage variations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and irrigation intensity derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). In this fashion, we estimate the mean and seasonal cycle of the water budget components across the MENA

Effect of diet supplementation with live yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on performance of rabbit does and their progenies

[EN] A study was conducted to determine the effect of live yeast supplementation in the diet of rabbit does on their mortality and reproductive performance and the performance of their progeny. A total of 52 cross-bred rabbit does (New Zealand×Californian) were divided into 2 groups differing in diet offered during 2 reproductive cycles and containing (group S; n=26) or not (group C; n=26) 1 g of yeast (Actisaf Sc 47, S.I. LESAFFRE, France)/kg of feed. Natural mating was performed 11 d after kindling and kits were weaned at 28 d of age. Body weight of litters was measured at birth, 21 d and at 28 d of age (weaning). Mortality of kits and rabbit does was monitored daily, and fertility of rabbit does and viability rate of kits at birth were also determined. Weight and litter size at birth and at weaning, litter weight gain during lactation and length of gestation were similar between the 2 groups during the 2 cycles. The mortality of does during the experiment was higher in group C than in group S (27 vs. 4%; P<0.05). Fertility rate of rabbits does and viability rate of kits at birth were higher (P<0.05) in rabbits fed with the supplemented diet than those with the control diet during the second lactation. In the first cycle, kit mortality was lower in S group (15.5%) than the C group (24.7%) during the first 21 d (P<0.05). However, no difference was observed during the second lactation. In conclusion, our results suggest that the inclusion of yeast in the diet of rabbit does could trigger positive effects on the fertility and mortality of rabbit does, as well as on the viability rate of kits at birth.Belhassen, T.; Simon, E.; Potel, A.; Auclair, E.; Bergaoui, R. (2016). Effect of diet supplementation with live yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on performance of rabbit does and their progenies. World Rabbit Science. 24(1):77-82. doi:10.4995/wrs.2016.3917.SWORD7782241Bontempo, V., Di Giancamillo, A., Savoini, G., Dell’Orto, V., & Domeneghini, C. (2006). Live yeast dietary supplementation acts upon intestinal morpho-functional aspects and growth in weanling piglets. Animal Feed Science and Technology, 129(3-4), 224-236. doi:10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2005.12.015Combes, S., Fortun-Lamothe, L., Cauquil, L., & Gidenne, T. (2013). Engineering the rabbit digestive ecosystem to improve digestive health and efficacy. animal, 7(9), 1429-1439. doi:10.1017/s1751731113001079El-Hindawy M.M., Yamani K.A., Tawfeek M.I. 1993. Effect of probiotic (Lacto-Sacc) in diets with different protein levels on growth performance, digestibility and some carcass aspects of growing rabbits. Egypt. J. Rabbit Sci., 3: 13-28.Kalmus, P., Orro, T., Waldmann, A., Lindjärv, R., & Kask, K. (2009). Effect of yeast culture on milk production and metabolic and reproductive performance of early lactation dairy cows. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, 51(1). doi:10.1186/1751-0147-51-32Kimsé M., Bayourthe C. Monteils V., Fortun-Lamothe L., Cauquil L., Combes S., Gidenne T. 2012. Live yeast stability in rabbit digestive tract: Consequences on the caecal ecosystem, Maertens L., De Groote G. 1992. Effect of dietary supplementation of live yeast on the zootechnical performances does and weanling rabbits. J. Appl. Rabbit Res., 15: 1079-1086.Monroy-Salazar H.G., Perez-Sotelo L., Gonzalez-Hernandez Y., Vaughan G., Lagunas-Bernabe S., Cuaron-Ibarguengoytia J., Montano-Hirose J.A., Alonso-Fresan M.U., Pradal-Rosa P., Vazquez-Chagoyan J.C. 2012. Effects of live yeast dietary supplement on fecal coliform counts and on peripheral blood CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocyte subpopulations in nursery pigs. J. Swine Health Prod., 20: 276-282.Stamati S., Alexopoulos C., Siochu A., Saoulidis K., Kyriakis S.C. 2006. Probiosis in sows by administration of bacillus toyoi spores during late pregnancy and lactation: effect on their health status/performance and on litter characteristics. International Journal of Probiotics and Prebiotics, 1: 33-40.Vanderpool C., Yan F., Polk D.B. 2008. Mechanisms of probiotic action: Implications for therapeutic applications in inflammatory bowel diseases. Inflamm. Bowel Dis., 14: 1585-Van Heugten E., Funderburke D.W., Dorton K.L. 2003. Growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and fecal microflora in weanling pigs fed live yeast. J. Anim. Sci. 81: 1004-1012

A review of the features and applications of ZIF-8 and its derivatives for separating CO2 and isomers of C3- and C4- hydrocarbons

Metal organic framework (MOF) membranes have gained more attentions due to their abilities in various applications in gas and liquid separations. The majority of works are related to Zeolite imidazolate frameworks-8 (ZIF-8). This is often attributed to its high stability, easy synthesis, and good gas separation. They have gained a significant interest of scientists and have the aptitude to be utilized in other gas separations and applications. Indeed, the investigation of the literatures revealed that ZIF-8 and its derivatives have a substantial attention due to of its good properties as its large specific surface area, “gate opening” mechanism, etc …, which makes them special in adsorption/membrane separations and other associated aspects. The applications of ZIF-8 based materials for carbon dioxide (CO2) gas adsorption and the C3- and C4- isomers’ (propane, propylene, n-butane and isobutane) gas separation also are discussed. Statistical physics approach was applied throughout this review as a perfect tool to discuss and understand properties of ZIF-8, especially the “gate opening pressure”. Subsequently, this review points to present highlights and applications of ZIF-8 and its derivatives for the purpose of carbon dioxide and hydrocarbon separations. Additionally, this study considers recent advancements of ZIF-8 synthesis and prospects for its use in gas separation. This study can help to better understand effective features of a sorbent and methods for gas separation process. As theoretical discussions are referred to as a crucial issue, this is the first study on Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework (ZIF) membrane application, which provides the use of statistical physics theoretical approach and considers the effect of nanogate opening pressures.Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library.Scopus2-s2.0-8511739324

Analysis of Simulated Output Characteristics of Gas Sensor Based on Graphene Nanoribbon

This work presents simulated output characteristics of gas sensor transistors based on graphene nanoribbon (GNRFET). The device studied in this work is a new generation of gas sensing devices, which are easy to use, ultracompact, ultrasensitive, and highly selective. We will explain how the exposure to the gas changes the conductivity of graphene nanoribbon. The equations of the GNRFET gas sensor model include the Poisson equation in the weak nonlocality approximation with proposed sensing parameters. As we have developed this model as a platform for a gas detection sensor, we will analyze the current-voltage characteristics after exposure of the GNRFET nanosensor device to NH3 gas. A sensitivity of nearly 2.7% was indicated in our sensor device after exposure of 1 ppm of NH3. The given results make GNRFET the right candidate for use in gas sensing/measuring appliances. Thus, we will investigate the effect of the channel length on the ON- and OFF-current