A semantic language for querying anonymous web sources

A great deal of work has been carried out in recent years to facilitate access to data and information available on the Web. Proposals converge in two additional areas which consist in providing the sources with semantic annotations and in designing languages and tools that are capable of using these annotations. However, a large number of sources have not yet been annotated suitably. Besides, languages and existing tools do not allow the user to formulate "blind" queries without knowing the sources. To overcome these two limitations, in this paper we propose a flexible query language which allows a user to query sources in an anonymous way without knowing their existence and their structure. Queries can be solved by a system which in advance discovers potential sources and memorizes their schemas. We clarify how such a system can function

Atelier "Systèmes d'Information et de Décision pour l'Environnement" (SIDE 2009)

National audienceLes Systèmes d'Information et les Systèmes d'Aide à la Décision représentent des solutions de plus en plus performantes pour relever les récents challenges concernant la gestion et l'analyse des données environnementales. Souvent, le recueil ou l'acquisition des données environnementales restent dans le domaine environnemental un vrai challenge car les techniques mises en oeuvre (ex : enquêtes) ou l'instrumentation déployée (ex : satellite) sont lourdes et onéreuses. Or cette activité de recueil et d'acquisition est essentielle car sans information pertinente et de qualité les Systèmes d'Information ou d'Aide à la Décision deviennent rapidement inopérants. L'objectif de l'atelier est de présenter les dernières avancées dans le domaine des Systèmes d'Information mais aussi de présenter des outils et des méthodes permettant d'acquérir ou d'extraire de l'information d'une part et de mettre en forme cette information pour alimenter un système d'information d'autre part. L'atelier est ouvert aussi bien à la présentation de travaux déjà appliqués au contexte de l'environnement, qu'à des réflexions plus prospectives sur les possibilités d'utilisation d'un produit de la recherche en informatique pour une application environnementale. La journée d'atelier a été découpée en trois sessions. La première présente des méthodes et des outils permettant de mettre en forme des données sur l'eau, la seconde s'intéresse aux systèmes et méthodes pour la gestion des territoires et la troisième concerne les systèmes d'aide à la décision. Un premier article présente un système informatique pour la collaboration interdisciplinaire basée sur une théorie sociologique appliquée à des problématiques liées à l'eau. Un autre travail propose l'intégration d'outils d'analyse multicritères dans un S.I.G couplé à des modèles pour l'évaluation du potentiel aquifère des bassins versants. D'autres travaux portent sur une méthodologie de traitement d'images pour répondre à des besoins de modélisation hydrologique à différentes échelles. Les techniques multicritères et de statistiques spatiales sont au centre de deux autres articles, l'un pour la valorisation des continuums écologiques et l'autre pour l'analyse du développement urbain. La gestion des risques environnementaux est abordée par des recherches sur une infrastructure logicielle d'intégration à base d'agents ; une application est faite à l'évolution de la carte du risque d'incendie de forêt. Un papier présente une nouvelle architecture d'un système d'information pour la géolocalisation des animaux pour la prévention des risques sanitaires. Un article traite de l'écoulement des eaux et des polluants à l'échelle du bassin versant et introduit une méthode incrémentale et interactive d'apprentissage. Un dernier article décrit un outil d'extraction de connaissances pour l'aide à la qualification de l'état des milieux aquatiques. La qualité des travaux laisse présager une journée d'atelier particulièrement enrichissante. Nous remercions par ailleurs tous les membres du comité de programme pour leur excellent travail ainsi que les auteurs des articles

A New Relational Spatial OLAP Approach For Multi-resolution and Spatio-multidimensional Analysis of Incomplete Field Data

International audienceIntegrating continuous spatial data into SOLAP systems is a new research challenge. Moreover, representation of field data at different scales or resolutions is often mandatory for an effective analysis. Thus, in this paper, we propose a logical model to integrate spatial dimensions representing incomplete field data at different resolutions in a classical SOLAP architecture

Evaluating Differences of Erosion Patterns in Natural and Anthropogenic Basins through Scenario Testing: A Case Study of the Claise, France and Nahr Ibrahim, Lebanon

This study assessed soil erosion risks of two basins representing different geographical, topographical, climatological and land occupation/management settings. A comparison and an evaluation of site-specific factors influencing erosion in the French Claise and the Lebanese Nahr Ibrahim basins were performed. The Claise corresponds to a natural park with a flat area and an oceanic climate, and is characterized by the presence of 2179 waterbodies (mostly ponds) considered as hydro-sedimentary alternating structures, while Nahr Ibrahim represents an orographic Mediterranean basin characterized by a random unequal land occupation distribution. The Claise was found to be under 12.48% no erosion (attributed to the dense pond network), 65.66% low, 21.68% moderate and 0.18% high erosion risks; while Nahr Ibrahim was found to be under 4, 39.5 and 56.4%, low, moderate and high erosion risks, along with 66% land degradation determined from the intersection of land capability and land occupation maps. Under the alternative scenario for the Claise where ponds were considered dried, erosion risks became 1.12, 0.52, 76.8 and 21.56%, no erosion, low, moderate and high risks, respectively. For Nahr Ibrahim, and following the Land Degradation Neutrality intervention, high erosion risks decreased by 13.9%, while low and moderate risks increased by 3 and 10.8%

Contribution de l'ingénierie dirigée par les modèles à la conception de modèles grande culture

Cette thèse, à caractère industriel, vise à répondre à une problématique de production de l entreprise ITK. Par la mise en oeuvre des techniques de l ingénierie dirigée par les modèles, nous proposons un environnement de modélisation et de simulation pour la croissance des plantes. Outre sa facilité d utilisation pour les agronomes, le prototype obtenu permet la génération automatique de code Java des modèles à intégrer dans des outils d aide à la décision exécutés sur une plateforme Java Enterprise Edition.This PhD thesis has an industrial purpose. It is motivated by a software production issue met within the ITK company. Using the techniques provided by model-driven engineering, we propose a modeling and simulation environment dedicated to plant growth. The prototype achieved proves to be easy to use for crop modelers. It is also enhanced with a Java code generation feature. The models obtained from this code generation are designed to be integrated into decision support systems running on a Java Entreprise Edition platform.CLERMONT FD-Bib.électronique (631139902) / SudocSudocFranceF

A new information system for tracing geolocations of bovine cattle

National audienceThe present paper describes the main idea of a new information system architecture dedicated to the animal geolocation acquisitions. It is applied to traceability of beefs in Brazil. In case of sanitary alerts, the system should be able to determine the animals which have been in contact with a diseased animal. This proposal is issued from studies undertaken in the project OTAG supported by the European Union. OTAG focuses on improving methods and geotechnologies for recording reliable and accurate data on beef production. OTAG develops an operational geo-decisional system to track and trace the mobility, provenance, and state of beef cattle. The presented method enables the acquisition of animal geolocations at a large scale. It minimizes the quantity of devices equipped on animals, and consequently the global economical and energetic costs of the system

Tentoxin has at least two binding sites on CF1 and ϵ-depleted CF1 ATPases isolated from spinach chloroplast

AbstractA new procedure for synthesis of 14C-labeled tentoxin [14C-MePhe[(Z)Δ]3-tentoxin], with a high specific activity, is described. Binding experiments with CF1 or CF1-ϵ isolated from spinach chloroplast have been carried out using equilibrium dialysis technique. The results show the presence of two classes of binding sites. The association constants of the two major binding sites were derived from non-linear fitting of the binding curves. At 4°C, the first binding site has a value of Ka1 = 8.2 × 105 M−1 in CF1 and 8.7 × 105 M−1 in CF1-ϵ, while the second binding site has lower affinity with Ka2 = 1.5 × 104 M−1 in CF1 and 2.3 × 103 M−1 in CF1-ϵ

Guaranteeing the quality of multidimensional analysis in data warehouses of simulation results: application to pesticide transfer data produced by the MACRO Model

International audienceCurrently, the vital impact of environmental pollution on economic, social and health dimensions has been recognized. The need for theoretical and implementation frameworks for the acquisition, modeling and analysis of environmental data as well as tools to conceive and validate scenarios is becoming increasingly important. For these reasons, different environmental simulation models have been developed. Researchers and stakeholders need efficient tools to store, display, compare and analyze data that are produced by simulation models. One common way to manage simulation results is to use text files; however, text files make it difficult to explore the data. Spreadsheet tools (e.g., OpenOffice, MS Excel) can help to display and analyze model results, but they are not suitable for very large volumes of information. Recently, some studies have shown the feasibility of using Data Warehouse (DW) and On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) technologies to store model results and to facilitate model visualization, analysis and comparisons. These technologies allow model users to easily produce graphical reports and charts. In this paper, we address the analysis of pesticide transfer simulation results by warehousing and OLAPing data, for which the data results from the MACRO simulation model. This model simulates hydrological transfers of pesticides at the plot scale. We demonstrate how the simulation results can be managed using DW technologies. We also demonstrate how the use of integrity constraints can improve OLAP analysis. These constraints are used to maintain the quality of the warehoused data as well as to maintain the aggregations and queries, which will lead to better analysis, conclusions and decisions

Precise design of environmental data warehouses

People use data warehouses to help them make decisions. For example, public policy decision-makers can improve their decisions by using this technology to analyze the environmental effects of human activity. In production systems, data warehouses provide structures for extracting the knowledge required to optimize systems. Designing data warehouses is a complex task; designers need flexible and precise methods to help them create data warehouses and adapt their analysis criteria to developments in the decision-making process. In this paper, we introduce a flexible method based on UML (Unified Modeling Language). We introduce a UML profile for building multi-dimensional models and for choosing different criteria according to analysis requirements. This profile makes it possible to specify integrity constraints in OCL (Object Constraint Language). We apply our method to the construction of an environmental system for analyzing the use of certain agricultural fertilizers. We integrate various data sources into a multi-dimensional model showing several categories of analysis, and the consistency of data can be checked with OCL constraints

A complete collection of single-gene deletion mutants of Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1

We have constructed a collection of single-gene deletion mutants for all dispensable genes of the soil bacterium Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1. A total of 2594 deletion mutants were obtained, whereas 499 (16%) were not, and are therefore candidate essential genes for life on minimal medium. This essentiality data set is 88% consistent with the Escherichia coli data set inferred from the Keio mutant collection profiled for growth on minimal medium, while 80% of the orthologous genes described as essential in Pseudomonas aeruginosa are also essential in ADP1. Several strategies were undertaken to investigate ADP1 metabolism by (1) searching for discrepancies between our essentiality data and current metabolic knowledge, (2) comparing this essentiality data set to those from other organisms, (3) systematic phenotyping of the mutant collection on a variety of carbon sources (quinate, 2-3 butanediol, glucose, etc.). This collection provides a new resource for the study of gene function by forward and reverse genetic approaches and constitutes a robust experimental data source for systems biology approaches