Dynamic hybrid simulation of batch processes driven by a scheduling module

Simulation is now a CAPE tool widely used by practicing engineers for process design and control. In particular, it allows various offline analyses to improve system performance such as productivity, energy efficiency, waste reduction, etc. In this framework, we have developed the dynamic hybrid simulation environment PrODHyS whose particularity is to provide general and reusable object-oriented components dedicated to the modeling of devices and operations found in chemical processes. Unlike continuous processes, the dynamic simulation of batch processes requires the execution of control recipes to achieve a set of production orders. For these reasons, PrODHyS is coupled to a scheduling module (ProSched) based on a MILP mathematical model in order to initialize various operational parameters and to ensure a proper completion of the simulation. This paper focuses on the procedure used to generate the simulation model corresponding to the realization of a scenario described through a particular scheduling

El oppidum bástulo-púnico de la Silla del Papa (Tarifa, Cádiz). Primeros resultados del proyecto arqueológico internacional

National audienceThe investigations engaged since 2007 on the site of La Silla del Papa (Tarifa, province of Cadix, Spain) have revealed an important hill town, the likely birthplace of the bastulo-punic community who, under August, founded the town of Baelo. That oppidum, settled from the Xth to the Ist century B.C., has yielded numerous remains of a peculiar urban planning, partly conditioned by topographical constraints

La Silla del Papa (Tarifa, Cádiz) : bilan de trois années de recherches

International audienceLes recherches engagées depuis 2007 sur le site de la Silla del Papa (Tarifa, province de Cadix, Espagne) ont mis au jour une importante agglomération perchée, probable berceau de la communauté d'origine bastulo-punique qui fonda, sous Auguste, la ville de Baelo. Ce site de hauteur, occupé du Xe au Ier siècle av. J.-C., a livré de nombreux vestiges d'un urbanisme singulier, conditionné en partie par des contraintes topographiques

A bi-TTF with a bipyridine spacer: 4,4′-bis­[(3,6,7-trimethyl­sulfanyltetra­thia­fulvalen-2-yl)sulfanylmeth­yl]-2,2′-bipyridine

The title compound, C30H28N2S16, is a precursor to hybrid magnetic materials. The complete molecule is generated by a crystallographic inversion centre. In the crystal structure, the TTF core is not planar and adopts a chair conformation; the two C3S2 rings are folded around the S⋯S hinges, the dihedral angles being 17.14 (8) and 13.46 (7)°. There is a short S⋯S contact [3.4863  (14) Å] in the crystal structure

The Time-Course of Visual Categorizations: You Spot the Animal Faster than the Bird

Background: Since the pioneering study by Rosch and colleagues in the 70s, it is commonly agreed that basic level perceptual categories (dog, chair…) are accessed faster than superordinate ones (animal, furniture…). Nevertheless, the speed at which objects presented in natural images can be processed in a rapid go/no-go visual superordinate categorization task has challenged this ‘‘basic level advantage’’. Principal Findings: Using the same task, we compared human processing speed when categorizing natural scenes as containing either an animal (superordinate level), or a specific animal (bird or dog, basic level). Human subjects require an additional 40–65 ms to decide whether an animal is a bird or a dog and most errors are induced by non-target animals. Indeed, processing time is tightly linked with the type of non-targets objects. Without any exemplar of the sam

The oppidum bastulo-punic on the site of La Silla del Papa (Tarifa, province of Cadiz, Spain). First results of the international archaeological project

Las investigaciones en curso en el yacimiento de la Silla del Papa (Tarifa, Cádiz) han revelado la existencia de un núcleo urbano de gran entidad, ubicado en la cima de la Sierra de la Plata. Se trata probablemente de la ciudad de origen bástulo-púnico llamada Bailo que se trasladaría hacia la costa durante el reinado de Augusto. Las prospecciones realizadas en 2007-2009 han proporcionado abundantes informaciones sobre el urbanismo de la ciudad de época republicana, cuya área superficial alcanza como mínimo doce hectáreas. Se documentó también una ocupación más antigua que arranca en época arcaica desde el siglo X o IX a.C.The investigations engaged since 2007 on the site of la Silla del Papa (Tarifa, province of Cadiz, Spain) have revealed an important hill town, the likely birthplace of the bastulo-punic community who, under August, founded the town of Baelo. That oppidum, settled from the Xth to the Ist century B.C., has yielded numerous remains of a peculiar urban planning, partly conditioned by topographical constraints.Trabajo inserto en el proyecto de investigación: «La construcción y evolución de las entidades étnicas en Andalucía en la Antigüedad (siglos VII a.C.-II d.C.)» (HUM-3482)

Dexamethasone enhances constitutive androstane receptor expression in human hepatocytes: consequences on cytochrome P450 gene regulation.

ABSTRACT The barbiturate phenobarbital induces the transcription of cytochromes P450 (CYPs) 2B through the constitutive androstane receptor (CAR; NR1I3). CAR is a member of the nuclear receptor family (NR1) mostly expressed in the liver, which heterodimerizes with retinoid X receptor (RXR) and was shown to transactivate both the phenobarbital responsive element module of the human CYP2B6 gene and the CYP3A4 xenobiotic response element. Because previous studies in rodent hepatocyte cultures have shown that the phenobarbital-mediated induction of CYP2B genes is potentiated by glucocorticoids, we examined the role of activated glucocorticoid receptor in this process. We show that submicromolar concentrations of dexamethasone enhance phenobarbital-mediated induction of CYP3A4, CYP2B6, and CYP2C8 mRNA in cultured human hepatocytes. In parallel, we observed that glucocorticoid agonists, such as dexamethasone, prednisolone, or hydrocortisone, specifically increase human car (hCAR) mRNA expression. Accumulation of hCAR mRNA parallels that of tyrosine aminotransferase: both mRNAs reach a maximum at a concentration of 100 nM dexamethasone and are downregulated by concomitant treatment with the glucocorticoid antagonist RU486. Moreover, the effect of dexamethasone on hCAR mRNA accumulation appears to be of transcriptional origin because the addition of protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide has no effect, and dexamethasone does not affect the degradation of hCAR mRNA. Furthermore, dexamethasone increases both basal and phenobarbital-mediated nuclear translocation of CAR immunoreactive protein in human hepatocytes. The up-regulation of CAR mRNA and protein in response to dexamethasone explains the synergistic effect of this glucocorticoid on phenobarbital-mediated induction of CYP2B genes and the controversial role of the glucocorticoid receptor on phenobarbital-mediated CYP gene inductions

La Silla del Papa (Tarifa, Cádiz) : aux origines de Baelo Claudia

International audienceCompte rendu de la campagne de fouille de 2007 à La Silla del Papa (Tarifa, Cádiz

Risk of cancer in the vicinity of municipal solid waste incinerators: importance of using a flexible modelling strategy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We conducted an ecological study in four French administrative departments and highlighted an excess risk in cancer morbidity for residents around municipal solid waste incinerators. The aim of this paper is to show how important are advanced tools and statistical techniques to better assess weak associations between the risk of cancer and past environmental exposures.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The steps to evaluate the association between the risk of cancer and the exposure to incinerators, from the assessment of exposure to the definition of the confounding variables and the statistical analysis carried out are detailed and discussed. Dispersion modelling was used to assess exposure to sixteen incinerators. A geographical information system was developed to define an index of exposure at the IRIS level that is the geographical unit we considered.</p> <p>Population density, rural/urban status, socio-economic deprivation, exposure to air pollution from traffic and from other industries were considered as potential confounding factors and defined at the IRIS level. Generalized additive models and Bayesian hierarchical models were used to estimate the association between the risk of cancer and the index of exposure to incinerators accounting for the confounding factors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Modelling to assess the exposure to municipal solid waste incinerators allowed accounting for factors known to influence the exposure (meteorological data, point source characteristics, topography). The statistical models defined allowed modelling extra-Poisson variability and also non-linear relationships between the risk of cancer and the exposure to incinerators and the confounders.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In most epidemiological studies distance is still used as a proxy for exposure. This can lead to significant exposure misclassification. Additionally, in geographical correlation studies the non-linear relationships are usually not accounted for in the statistical analysis. In studies of weak associations it is important to use advanced methods to better assess dose-response relationships with disease risk.</p