Enhancing Big Data Warehousing and Analytics for Spatio-Temporal Massive Data

The increasing amount of data generated by earth observation missions like Copernicus, NASA Earth Data, and climate stations is overwhelming. Every day, terabytes of data are collected from these resources for different environment applications. Thus, this massive amount of data should be effectively managed and processed to support decision-makers. In this paper, we propose an information system-based on a low latency spatio-temporal data warehouse which aims to improve drought monitoring analytics and to support the decision-making process. The proposed framework consists of 4 main modules: (1) data collection, (2) data preprocessing, (3) data loading and storage, and (4) the visualization and interpretation module. The used data are multi-source and heterogeneous collected from various sources like remote sensing sensors, biophysical sensors, and climate sensors. Hence, this allows us to study drought in different dimensions. Experiments were carried out on a real case of drought monitoring in China between 2000 and 2020

Effect of coating thickness on the friction properties of rubber-sphere on rubber-coated-plane contacts

Nous présentons une étude expérimentale du frottement d'un contact entre une sphère caoutchouteuse et une lame de verre revêtue d'un film de caoutchouc d'épaisseur variable. Nous montrons que le dépôt joue un rôle clé dans les propriétés de rupture de l'interface de contact : des variations d'un facteur trois du coefficient de frottement statique sont observées lorsque l'épaisseur est modifiée. Certaines interprétations sont discutées pour expliquer le phénomène impliquant notamment le rôle de la viscoélasticité du caoutchouc

L’effet de l’extubation precoce apres chirurgie cardiaque pour la rehabilitation post opératoire

Introduction: La réhabilitation post opératoire en chirurgie cardiaque est basée sur une prise en charge médico-chirurgicale visant à diminuer la durée de séjour hospitalier et les coûts de soins de cette chirurgie à haut risque. L’extubation trachéale précoce, définie par une extubation avant la sixième heure, constitue la pierre angulaire du Fast-tracking. L’objectif de notre étude est d’évaluer dans notre institution la pratique du fasttrack et notamment de l’extubation trachéale précoce en chirurgie cardiaque adulte programmée. Méthodes: Nous avons conduit une étude descriptive incluant tous les patients âgés de plus 18 ans opérés consécutivement d’une chirurgie cardiaque programmée et qui ont été pris en charge en post-opératoire dans l’unité de réanimation post-opératoire du Service de chirurgie thoracique et cardiovasculaire du CHU HABIB BOURGUIBA de SFAX. Les critères d’inclusion des malades: âgés de 18 ans et plus, opérés d’une chirurgie cardiaque programmée, dont la prise en charge post-opératoire s’est faite dans l’unité de réanimation post-opératoire du service de chirurgie cardio-vasculaire et thoracique. Notre protocole d’anesthésie a été standardisé pour tous les patients: Propofol, Rémifentanil, Cisatracrium. Nous avons noté le délai d’extubation en post opératoire et les facteurs qui allongent ce délai d’extubation. Résultats: Nous avons colligé 200 observations de malades consécutifs qui ont bénéficié d’une chirurgie cardiaque programmée. Parmi ces malades 115 étaient opérés pour pontage aorto-coronaire, 79 pour chirurgie valvulaire et 6 pour chirurgie combinée ou autre. Les caractéristiques démographiques sont comparables. En post-opératoire, nous avons pu extuber 152 soit 76% de nos malades avant la sixième heure. Quarante-huit patients n’ont pas pu être extubés avant la sixième heure. Les principales causes de l’échec de l’extubation précoce sont : fortes doses de catécholamines, saignement, arythmie et les troubles neurologiques. Conclusion: Nous avons pu démontrer que la réalisation de la réhabilitation post opératoire était possible dans notre institution et tous les patients bénéficiant d’une chirurgie cardiaque réglée devraient être candidats à l’extubation précoce

Estimation of the economic impact of a bluetongue serotype 4 outbreak in Tunisia

IntroductionSince 1999, Tunisia has experienced multiple occurrences of Bluetongue (BT) outbreaks, leading to numerous reported cases of infection and mortality in flocks. The re-emergence of the disease in 2020 caused substantial economic losses in cattle, attributed to the incursion of serotype BTV-4.MethodsTo evaluate the economic impact of the recent BT episode, we conducted a retrospective study on outbreaks that occurred in Tunisia between August and November 2020, focusing on the impact at the owner’s level and its effects on both small ruminants and cattle. A total of 234 ruminant farms (sheep, cattle, and mixed) were randomly selected across Tunisian governorates and included in the study to estimate both the direct and indirect costs of these outbreaks.ResultsTotal costs were calculated as the sum of losses and expenditures resulting from the BT outbreaks. At the animal level, total losses were estimated to range between 116.280 and 207.086 TND for one infected ewe (€33.721 and 60.055). For one lactating cow, costs varied between 2,590.724 and 3,171.107 TND (€751.310 and 919.621). In cattle, exposure to BTV led to a daily unit milk yield decrease of 12.50 to 14.66 L over an average period of 5 months. Diseased sheep experienced weight loss ranging between 4 and 10 kg during the BT outbreaks. The total mean cost of the 2020 BT outbreak in Tunisian investigated farms was estimated at 1,935 million TND (million €561.15) (range: 1,489 and 2,474 million TND; 431.81 and million €717.46). The most influential costs of the total BT outbreaks were the decrease in milk yield, mortality, and veterinary treatment.DiscussionThis study gives valuable insights on the economic impact of the incursion of a new serotype of BT in a naive population in Tunisia. Considering the substantial costs incurred, it is imperative that this disease receives increased attention from stakeholders, including animal owners, veterinary services, practitioners, and decision-makers

A novel method for life estimation of power transformers using fuzzy logic systems: An intelligent predictive maintenance approach

Power transformers are a fundamental component of the modern power distribution network. The fault-free operation of step-up and step-down transformers is of prime importance to the continuous supply of electrical energy to the consumers. To ensure such efficient operation, power distribution companies carry out routine maintenance of distribution transformers through preplanned schedules. The efficacy of such maintenance depends on a proper understanding of the transformer and its components and efficient prediction of faults in these components. There are several components whose condition can be studied to predict transformer failures and therefore the overall health of a transformer. These include transformer windings, insulations, transformer oil, core insulations, and ferromagnetic cores. This work develops a new, simplified fuzzy logic-based method to predict the health of a transformer by taking into account the state of several individual components. Case studies are used to demonstrate the efficacy of the developed method

Priorities for Mediterranean marine turtle conservation and management in the face of climate change

As climate-related impacts threaten marine biodiversity globally, it is important to adjust conservation efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change. Translating scientific knowledge into practical management, however, is often complicated due to resource, economic and policy constraints, generating a knowledge-action gap. To develop potential solutions for marine turtle conservation, we explored the perceptions of key actors across 18 countries in the Mediterranean. These actors evaluated their perceived relative importance of 19 adaptation and mitigation measures that could safeguard marine turtles from climate change. Of importance, despite differences in expertise, experience and focal country, the perceptions of researchers and management practitioners largely converged with respect to prioritizing adaptation and mitigation measures. Climate change was considered to have the greatest impacts on offspring sex ratios and suitable nesting sites. The most viable adaptation/mitigation measures were considered to be reducing other pressures that act in parallel to climate change. Ecological effectiveness represented a key determinant for implementing proposed measures, followed by practical applicability, financial cost, and societal cost. This convergence in opinions across actors likely reflects long-standing initiatives in the Mediterranean region towards supporting knowledge exchange in marine turtle conservation. Our results provide important guidance on how to prioritize measures that incorporate climate change in decision-making processes related to the current and future management and protection of marine turtles at the ocean-basin scale, and could be used to guide decisions in other regions globally. Importantly, this study demonstrates a successful example of how interactive processes can be used to fill the knowledge-action gap between research and management.This work was conducted under FutureMares EU project that received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 869300. The Mediterranean Marine Turtle Working Group was established in 2017 and is continuously supported by MedPAN and the National Marine Park of Zakynthos. The work of AC was supported by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.) under the “First Call for H.F.R.I. Research Projects to support Faculty members and Researchers and the procurement of high-cost research equipment grant” (Project Number: 2340).Peer reviewe

Cohort Profile: Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study

The Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study was established to assess the prevalence of chronic airflow obstruction, a key characteristic of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and its risk factors in adults (≥40 years) from general populations across the world. The baseline study was conducted between 2003 and 2016, in 41 sites across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, the Caribbean and Oceania, and collected high-quality pre- and post-bronchodilator spirometry from 28 828 participants. The follow-up study was conducted between 2019 and 2021, in 18 sites across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean. At baseline, there were in these sites 12 502 participants with high-quality spirometry. A total of 6452 were followed up, with 5936 completing the study core questionnaire. Of these, 4044 also provided high-quality pre- and post-bronchodilator spirometry. On both occasions, the core questionnaire covered information on respiratory symptoms, doctor diagnoses, health care use, medication use and ealth status, as well as potential risk factors. Information on occupation, environmental exposures and diet was also collected

A year of genomic surveillance reveals how the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic unfolded in Africa.

The progression of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in Africa has so far been heterogeneous, and the full impact is not yet well understood. In this study, we describe the genomic epidemiology using a dataset of 8746 genomes from 33 African countries and two overseas territories. We show that the epidemics in most countries were initiated by importations predominantly from Europe, which diminished after the early introduction of international travel restrictions. As the pandemic progressed, ongoing transmission in many countries and increasing mobility led to the emergence and spread within the continent of many variants of concern and interest, such as B.1.351, B.1.525, A.23.1, and C.1.1. Although distorted by low sampling numbers and blind spots, the findings highlight that Africa must not be left behind in the global pandemic response, otherwise it could become a source for new variants