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Service providers provision more and more Internet-of-Things (IoT) services in the cloud for dynamicity and cost-effectiveness purposes. This is made possible thanks to the introduction of edge computing that brings additional computing and resources for analytics close to the data sources and thus enables meeting the low latency requirement. Edge nodes should support (i) the heterogeneity of IoT devices (e.g., sensor, actuator) and (ii) characteristics (e.g., mobility, location awareness). IoT is already integrated to the hybrid cloud/edge environment. However, the ecosystem lacks of automation due to the previously mentioned characteristics. Indeed, edge nodes are often manually selected during deployment time, and most of the regular quality-of-service (QoS) management procedures remain difficult to implement. This paper introduces a comprehensive semantic model called EdgeOnto. It encompasses all concepts related to IoT applied in the context of edge computing. The ultimate goal of EdgeOnto is to automate the several steps that make up the IoT services lifecycle in hybrid cloud/edge environment. On the one hand, semantics enable an automatic discovery of the relevant edge nodes that are suitable to host and execute IoT services considering their requirements. On the other hand, it allows supporting the specific QoS procedures that are related to such setting (e.g., low latency, mobility, jitter). The core ontology was designed with the Protégé open-source tool. A smart strawberry farming use case was implemented and evaluated for illustration purposes. The results validate the accuracy and the precision of the designed semantic matchmaker.

In Tunisia, agriculture is vulnerable to climate change with harmful impacts subsequent warming and drying trends. In these regions, olive industry plays a key role at regional and national level. Therefore, the identification of adapted olive tree genotypes has become an urgent need to develop sustainable agriculture in arid lands. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of climatic variation on the olive growing systems in arid and sub-arid areas of Tunisia. The phenological behavior of Chemlali and Zalmati, main olive cultivars wide spreading in central and southern Tunisia, respectively, were considered to evaluate their capacity to adapt to contrasting climatic conditions. Over the 2005-2019 period, olive cultivars presented variable flowering dates related to local climatic conditions. Zalmati cultivar bloom in Zarzis seems to be earlier than Chemlali cultivar in Sfax region with average flowering dates of DOY-92 (April-3) and DOY-106 (April-17), respectively. A tendency for advancing the growing season was observed with warmer winters, which leads to disruption of pollination, high risk of insect attack, and consequently harmful effects on the production and product quality. This investigation serves as a basis for making recommendations taking into account the production areas as well as for addressing projected climate change.

The Mediterranean region is facing temperature increases due to climate change. More warm conditions across the fruit and nut growing regions are expected to have a great and negative impact in Tunisian arid regions. Chilling trends among the agricultural production areas and their incidence on flowering and fruiting of typical fruit species were investigated. The results showed important declines in winter chill accumulation over the main arid production areas. This lack of chill jeopardizing the flowering and fruiting of fruit species. However, fruit species and cultivars within each fruit species expressed different flowering and fruiting behaviors to warm climate depending on their chilling and heat requirements. Consequently, thermal requirements are a key factor for sustainable fruit trees’ orchards and to select suitable cultivation area. Adoption of appropriate genetic resources could be used to mitigate the harmful effect of global warming in arid regions.

This paper proposes a new robust Discrete-Time Sliding Mode Control ( dt-smc ) scheme for linear discrete-time delay system. The delays, affecting the state and the input, are assumed to be known, time-varying and bounded. The considered system is also subject to time-varying Unknown But norm-Bounded ( ubb ) unmatched uncertainties, that act on the state and the delayed state vectors. The designed controller is based on a novel sliding surface. Using a new Lyapunov functional candidate and by introducing slack variables, a less conservative delay-dependent sufficient condition ensuring the asymptotic stability of the closed loop system is derived in terms of Linear Matrix Inequalities ( lmi s). With respect to that condition a new dt-smc law is synthesized. The proposed control algorithm is applied to an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle ( auv ). The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.

Progamme of the EMA-2023 conference

Background Covid-19 vaccine was associated with several complications such as thromboembolic complications. The exact mechanism is not well established. Since covid 19 virus caused severe endothelial dysfunction, we suspect that the vaccine with a similar immunological response may cause this dysfunction. Aim To study the effect of covid-19 vaccine on endothelial function. Methods We conducted a prospective study. The endothelial function was clinically assessed using a post-occlusive reactive hyperemia protocol with finger thermal monitoring device. Endothelial quality index (EQI) was assessed at inclusion before the first dose of coronavirus vaccine and 30 days later. Results 20 patients were included in our study. Their mean age was 41 years old [23–65]. The sex ratio was 3/2. They were all healthy individuals. The Majority, 75% of our patients, have impaired their endothelial function 30 days after the first dose of covid-19 vaccine. Conclusion The Covid-19 vaccine effect on endothelial function may be responsible for its complications. Key words: Covid-19 vaccine, endothelial dysfunction

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze the CEO compensation sensitivity to firm performance, termed as the pay-for-performance sensitivity (PPS) in the Tunisian context and to test the robustness of this relationship when corporate governance (CG) mechanisms are considered. Design/methodology/approach The consideration of past executive pay as one of the explanatory variables makes this estimation model a dynamic one. Furthermore, to avoid the problem of endogeneity, this study uses the system-GMM estimator developed by Blundell and Bond (1998). For robustness check, this study aims to use a simultaneous equation approach (three-stage least squares [3SLS]) to estimate the link between performance and CEO pay with a set of CG mechanisms to control for possible simultaneous interdependencies. Findings Using a sample of 336 firm-years from Tunisia over the 2009–2015 periods, this study finds strong evidence that the pay-performance relationship is insignificant and negative, and it becomes more negative or remains insignificant after introducing CG mechanisms consistently with the managerial power approach. The findings are robust to the use of alternative performance measures. This study provides new empirical evidence that CEOs of Tunisian firms abuse extracting rents independently of firm performance. Originality/value This study contributes to the unexamined research on PPS in a frontier market. This study also shows the ineffectiveness of the Tunisian CG structure and thus recommends for the legislator to impose a mandatory CG guide.

Future warming predicted for Tunisia may reduce winter chill and affect the production of tree fruits and nuts, one of the key sectors of the country’s economy. To assess past and future chill availability, we used weather records from 1973 to 2019 to simulate historic and future chill for 20 weather stations (16 from Tunisia, 3 from Algeria and 1 from Libya) by generating 6 past scenarios and 72 future scenarios for 2041–2070 and for 2071–2100, for two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). We selected three future scenarios representing optimistic, intermediate, and pessimistic outlooks. Safe Winter Chill (SWC; in Chill Portions) was calculated using the Dynamic Model based on data for 100 winter seasons produced with a weather generator. SWC was then mapped for the whole country. Chilling requirements for typical Mediterranean fruit species (almond, pistachio, and peach cultivars) were compared with future SWC to select the best adapted fruit species, and cultivars within species, for each region. Our findings revealed severe SWC decline in the recent past. This decline will continue in the course of the twenty-first century. At the end of the century, we expect few of the studied species and cultivars to be able to fulfill their chilling requirements. By that time, only almonds may remain viable, whereas pistachios and peaches may experience alarming chill shortfalls. While our findings paint a grim picture for Tunisia’s orchards, they also allow insights for many other important fruit-growing regions with Mediterranean climate.

Despite the numerous studies on geomaterials in Tunisia, quite a few clay varieties are not yet well defined. In fact no detailed geological, mineralogical, or geochemical characterizations of Tunisian palygorskite deposits have been carried out to date. The purpose of the present work was to study the continental Eocene clay deposit at the southern end of the Tunisian North axis, between Jebel Rheouis and Jebel Boudinar, to determine its potential as a clay reserve. Nine samples were collected from the Cherahil formation representing the lower, middle, and upper levels. The analytical results obtained using several techniques (chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction, specific surface area measurements, Fourier-Transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy) revealed that palygorskite is the dominant clay mineral. Dolomite and quartz are present as associated minerals. Chemical analysis of sample AR9 showed a smaller potassium content compared to other samples. Sample AR9 consists essentially of dolomite associated with palygorskite and quartz. Other samples (AR5, AR6, and AR7) collected from the same Cherahil formation contained palygorskite as the main phyllosilicate mineral (80%). The important reserve of palygorskite was found in the middle of the Cherahil formation. Dolomite and quartz associated with palygorskite reduced the length and crystallinity of the fibrous clay morphology. Analysis by scanning electron microscopy proved that the crystallinity of palygorskite was less in the lower and upper parts of the Cherahil formation. The central palygorskite deposit may be of interest for pharmaceutical (adsorbent drug) and other applications. The two other levels of Cherahil formation are mineralogically heterogeneous and considered economically less important than the middle level, which is rich in palygorskite.

ObjectiveNon-respiratory long-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms are mainly related to a long-lasting endothelial dysfunction and microcirculation impairment. We hypothesized that Sulodexide, a purified glycosaminoglycan mixture with a beneficial endothelial effect in arterial and venous peripheral diseases, may be effective in a subset of patients with long COVID-19.Approach and ResultsWe conducted a multicenter prospective quasi-experimental study. A total of 290 patients from the TUN-EndCOV study with long-COVID-19 symptoms and endothelial dysfunction were included. The endothelial function was clinically assessed using a post-occlusive reactive hyperemia protocol with finger thermal monitoring device. Endothelial quality index (EQI) was assessed at inclusion and at 21 days later. The study population was assigned to a sulodexide group (144 patients) or a no-medical treatment group (146 patients). Clinical characteristics were similar at inclusion in the two groups. Fatigue, shortness of breath, and chest pain were the most common symptoms, respectively, 54.5, 53.8, and 28.3%. At 21 days, the sulodexide group improved significantly better than the no-medical treatment group in chest pain (83.7 vs. 43.6%, p < 10−3), palpitations (85.2 vs. 52.9%, p = 0.009), and endothelial function [median delta-EQI 0.66 (0.6) vs. 0.18 (0.3); p < 10−3]. Endothelial function improvement was significantly correlated with chest pain and palpitations recovery (AUC, i.e., area under the curve = 0.66, CI [0.57– 0.75], p = 0.001 and AUC = 0.60, CI [0.51– 0.69], p = 0.03, respectively).ConclusionSulodexide significantly improves long-lasting post-COVID-19 endothelial dysfunction and alleviates chest pain and palpitations.

The peach (Prunus persica L.) is one of Tunisia’s major commercial fruit crops and is considered one of the biggest water consumers of all crops. In warm and arid areas of southern Tunisia, irrigation is necessary to ensure orchard longevity and high yield and fruit quality. Nevertheless, under water-scarcity conditions and low water quality, water management should rely on efficient deficit irrigation strategies. In this study, sustained deficit irrigation (DI) and partial root-zone drying (PRD50) at 50% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) were evaluated for their impact on the primary and secondary metabolites of the peach fruit of early cultivar Flordastar grown in the Tataouine region. A full irrigation (FI) treatment at 100%, etc., was used as a control treatment. Color, dry-matter content, firmness, organic acids, sugars, phenolic compounds, vitamin C, β-carotene and minerals were assessed on harvested mature fruits. Dry-matter content and firmness increased significantly under DI and PRD50 (13% and 15.5%). DI fruit had the highest soluble-solid content (SSC), reaching Brix values of 14.3°. Fruit sorbitol and sucrose contents were not affected by Di and PRD50. Higher glucose in fruit juice was observed in PRD50 (23%) and DI (21.5%) compared to FI, which had the highest malic acid content (33.5–37%). Quinic and citric acids decreased with DI and PRD50, while almost all individual phenolic compounds increased with deficit irrigation. Hydroxycinnamates and anthocyanins were significantly higher in fruits harvested from DI and PRD50 treatments. Proanthocyanidins (catechin and epicatechin) were only improved by DI, while flavone compounds and vitamin C were not affected by irrigation restrictions. β-carotene was higher in fruits yielded under FI (0.71 mg/100 g DM) than DI and PRD50 (0.21–0.43 mg/100 g DM). Macro- and micronutrients significantly increased in DI and PRD50 fruit. A significant difference between DI and PRD50 fruits was observed for Zn and Fe concentrations. This research highlights the positive impact of reduced irrigation on bioactive-fruit quality attributes and the suitability of PRD50 and DI as tools for irrigation management in arid areas of southern Tunisia, contributing to water-saving in orchards and the improvement of fruit commercial value.

Uterine inversion is a rare but serious pathology that can be life-threatening to the mother in the postpartum period. It is an obstetric emergency whose diagnosis is clinical. Treatment must be early and rapid before the formation of the cervical necking ring. Through the study of 2 cases and a review of the literature, we will show the value of early diagnosis which allows a simple and effective treatment. Any delay in diagnosis involves the maternal prognosis.

Temperate trees require low temperatures during winter and subsequent warm conditions in early spring to flower and eventually bear fruit. Many parts of the Mediterranean region feature winters with low and sometimes marginal chill accumulation. To assess historic and future agroclimatic conditions for cultivating temperate trees (including almonds, pistachios, apricots, sweet cherries and apples), we mapped winter chill throughout this important growing region. We used on-site weather records (1974–2020) to calibrate a weather generator and produced data for historic and future scenarios. To broaden our analysis, we spatially interpolated chill for the whole Mediterranean basin. We supplemented our simulation outcomes by collecting expert knowledge (from farmers and researchers) regarding observed climate change impacts on temperate orchards as well as future risks and concerns generated by climate change. Results showed that northern African growing regions have experienced major chill losses, a likely cause of the irregular and delayed bloom highlighted by experts. The same regions, together with southern Europe, may lose up to 30 Chill Portions by 2050 under a moderate warming scenario. For the future, experts foresee increasing risk of spring frost in early-blooming cultivars, exacerbated bloom-related problems and increasing occurrence of heat waves. Our results provide evidence of likely climate change impacts on temperate orchards. Expert knowledge proved instrumental in interpreting the simulation results as well as in orienting climate change adaptation strategies. The results we present are useful for farmers and orchard managers planning new plantings, as well as for researchers and policy makers developing strategies to adapt fruit orchards to the impacts of climate change.

Premarital screening is a worldwide activity that aims to diagnose and treat unrecognized disorders and reduce the transmission of diseases to couples and children. This study was aimed at assessing the perception and acceptance of premarital fertility screening among final year students of the college of health sciences, University of Ilorin, Kwara state.

The COVID-19 disease is a multisystem disease due in part to the vascular endothelium injury. Lasting effects and long-term sequelae could persist after the infection and may be due to persistent endothelial dysfunction. Our study focused on the evaluation of endothelial quality index (EQI) by finger thermal monitoring with E4 diagnosis Polymath in a large cohort of long COVID-19 patients to determine whether long-covid 19 symptoms are associated with endothelial dysfunction. This is a cross-sectional multicenter observational study with prospective recruitment of patients. A total of 798 patients were included in this study. A total of 618 patients (77.4%) had long COVID-19 symptoms. The mean EQI was 2.02 ± 0.99 IC95% [1.95–2.08]. A total of 397 (49.7%) patients had impaired EQI. Fatigue, chest pain, and neuro-cognitive difficulties were significantly associated with endothelium dysfunction with an EQI

The present study aimed to investigate the preventive effects of methanol fraction from Cassia angustifolia leaf extract (MECA), associated with its phytochemical content, on CCl4-induced hepatic toxicity in adult rats. In the controls, CCl4 induced an increase of serum biochemical parameters and triggered oxidative stress in the liver. MECA caused significant reductions in CCl4-elevated levels of hepatic markers, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein and increased the level of high-density lipoprotein compared to the CCl4 group. Moreover, pretreatment with the MECA produced significant reductions in lipid peroxidation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) and protein carbonyl level in liver tissues as compared with the untreated group. The formation of pathological hepatic lesions was strongly prevented by MECA. Overall, this study suggests that administration of MECA has a high potential to quench free radicals and alleviate CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in rats.

The inner bark of cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) is widely used as a spice. Cinnamon plants are also a valuable source of essential oil used for medicinal purposes. The present study aimed to investigate the composition and in vitro antioxidant activity of essential oil of C. verum bark (CvEO) and its protective effects in vivo on CCl4-induced hepatic and renal toxicity in rats. Groups of animals were pretreated for 7 days with CvEO (70 or 100 mg/kg body weight) or received no treatment and on day 7 a single dose of CCl4 was used to induce oxidative stress. Twenty-four hours after CCl4 administration, the animals were euthanized. In the untreated group, CCl4 induced an increase in serum biochemical parameters and triggered oxidative stress in both liver and kidneys. CvEO (100 mg/kg) caused significant reductions in CCl4-elevated levels of alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, γ-glutamyl transferase, lactate dehydrogenase, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, urea, and creatinine and increased the level of high-density lipoprotein compared with the untreated group. Moreover, pretreatment with CvEO at doses of 70 and 100 mg/kg before administration of CCl4 produced significant reductions in thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and protein carbonyl levels in liver and kidney tissues compared with the untreated group. The formation of pathological hepatic and kidney lesions induced by the administration of CCl4 was strongly prevented by CvEO at a dose of 100 mg/kg. Overall, this study suggests that administration of CvEO has high potential to quench free radicals and alleviate CCl4-induced hepatorenal toxicity in rats.

Effects of drought and salinity on water status, growth and physiological activity of olive can be temporary or permanent and may impact olive production sustainability, especially in southern Mediterranean areas. Tunisia has a Mediterranean climate with high temperatures and low summer rainfall. Thus water stress problems are likely to be more severe for cultivated olive trees. In addition, the reduction in the availability of good quality irrigation water will increase the use of saline water. Olive trees are able to tolerate low soil water availability and quality and develop physiological adaptations to cope with water and salt stress. However, these adaptation strategies are limited and permanent damages can be observed. The permanent effects caused to olive leaves due to drought, and the capacity of irrigation with saline water to avoid these impacts is not well known. The aim of this work was to compare olive leaves performance after a severe drought with, and without, irrigation and to assess recovering capacities after a rainy period. Moreover, irrigation water quality effects were also evaluated. The results showed that, photosynthetic rate was very low for rainfed plants, during drought, as compared to irrigated ones. After re-watering, rainfed trees photosynthetic rate was only 55% of that of trees irrigated with fresh water. Irrigation with saline water (EC = 7.5 dS m−1) reduced drought impact by increasing photosynthesis by 55% but remained lower than that of fresh water by 23%. Thus olive leaves were unable to recover their whole photosynthetic capacity after being exposed to severe water or salt stress. Furthermore, young leaves had the same photosynthetic capacity at the beginning. This indicated that olive leaves lost permanently half of their photosynthetic activity during to drought without irrigation. The use of saline water reduced this gap to 23% as compared to fresh water.

Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) is a popular tactical planning process widely used in the industry. It consists of aligning different business actors on a shared plan expressed at product family level by negotiating a balance between aggregate demand and supply capabilities. In the mass customisation (MC) context, this alignment is threatened by the high variety of the products that extends the gap between the aggregate expressions of demand and capacity leading to unfeasible plans or unnecessary adjustments. To establish a common negotiation ground, this thesis proposes a methodology, based on a quantitative modelling approach, to define an appropriate S&OP data aggregation level to serve as a reference for data expression and supply review in MC context. The proposed solution guarantees better data quality and improves the alignment between the different process actors.; La planification des ventes et des opérations, ou S&OP, est un processus tactique largement diffusé dans l’industrie. Il consiste en l’alignement cyclique des principales fonctions de l’entreprise sur un seul et même plan de vente et de fabrication. Ce plan est le résultat d’un consensus permettant de concilier les objectifs commerciaux, exprimés en volumes de ventes par familles de produits, et les capacités à tous les niveaux de la chaîne logistique. Dans un contexte de personnalisation de masse, la grande diversité des produits compromet l’alignement des acteurs en raison du décalage qui peut exister entre la granularité des contraintes capacitaires et celle de la demande. Pour établir une maille de négociation commune aux principaux acteurs impliqués dans le processus S&OP, cette thèse propose une méthodologie, basée sur une approche de modélisation quantitative, permettant d’identifier un niveau d’agrégation adapté à l’expression de la demande et à l’analyses des principales contraintes capacitaires dans un contexte de personnalisation de masse.

This paper focuses on the problem of fractional controller P I stabilization for a first-order time-delay systems. For this reason, we utilize the Hermite–Biehler and Pontryagin theorems to compute the complete set of the stabilizing P I λ parameters. The widespread industrial utilization of PID controllers and the potentiality of their noninteger order representation justify a timely interest in P I λ tuning techniques. Step responses are calculated through K p , K i , l a m b d a parameters inside and outside stability region to prove the method efficiency.

Activated carbon (AC) is being developed as a treatment for decontaminating polluted water. In this study, the activated carbon prepared by physical activation of Pinus halepensis cone wastes was applied for iron removal from groundwater. The adsorption process was performed in two steps: batch and fixed-bed column adsorption. The minimum time to reach the adsorption equilibrium was 60 min with maximum of Fe2+ removal equal to 7.35 mg/g. The isotherm models were used to fit the experimental data and the results showed good correlations, with the Langmuir isotherm with good linear correlation coefficients. The effective retention volume of the fixed-bed column is 360 BV for AC. The prepared AC showed promising results, which makes it convenient to serve an effective adsorbent for the removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater.

Rosmarinus officinalis biowaste (ROB) is obtained as a by-product from local extraction industries of essential oils. It contains a high percentage of lignin and cellulose. Therefore, in this study, the use of ROB in the removal of heavy metal ions from electroplating wastewater was investigated. The biosorption experiments were carried out batch-wise where the influence of physicochemical key parameters such as initial pH solution, contact time, initial adsorbate concentration, amount of biosorbent, and biosorbent particle size were evaluated. The results of the study indicated that with the increased adsorbent doses the adsorption capacity values decreased while the removal percentage of adsorbate increased, whereas, no influence of particles’ size was evidenced. Heavy metal biosorption is highly pH-dependent, and the maximum biosorption occurred at pH 5. An application study using industrial waste for heavy metal removal was also carried out at pH 7. It was concluded that ROB can be used as a cost-effective and efficient adsorbent for the removal of heavy metals and cationic dyes from contaminated waters.

Pinus halepensis cone waste (PHCW) was collected from local seeds—Pinus halepensis processing industry. This study investigated the PHCW use as an adsorbent for wastewater treatment. The synthesis of activated carbon from PHCW was performed as a function of temperature under CO2 and N2 flow. The characterization was performed by adsorption–desorption N2 isotherms, FTIR, the point of zero charge, and SEM. Functional acid or basic groups were detected on the surface of activated carbon. For both physical activation and pyrolysis, the maximum value of surface area was obtained at 800 °C. The adsorption–desorption N2 isotherms of activated carbon under CO2 and N2 flow showed very similar trend characteristics of a mesoporous framework. The present results suggest that PHCW is a potential source for the synthesis of carbon materials with potential novel applications.

Tesi en modalitat de cotutela: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya i Université libre de Bruxelles Over the last decade, we have witnessed the emergence of networks in a wide spectrum of application domains, ranging from social and information networks to biological and transportation networks. Graphs provide a solid theoretical foundation for modeling complex networks, and revealing valuable insights from both the network structure and the data embedded within its entities. As the business and social environments are getting increasingly complex and interconnected, graphs became a widespread abstraction at the core of the information infrastructure supporting those environments. Modern information systems consist of a large number of sophisticated and interacting business entities that naturally form graphs. In particular, integrating graphs into data warehouse systems received a lot of interest from both academia and industry. Indeed, data warehouses are the central enterprise's information repository, and are critical for proper decision support and future planning. Graph warehousing is emerging as the field that extends current information systems with graph management and analytics capabilities. Many approaches were proposed to address the graph data warehousing challenge. These efforts laid the foundation for multidimensional modeling and analysis of graphs. However, most of the proposed approaches partially tackle the graph warehousing problem by being restricted to simple abstractions such as homogeneous graphs or ignoring important topics such as multidimensional integrity constraints and dimension hierarchies. In this dissertation, we conduct a systematic study of the graph data warehousing topic, and address the key challenges of database and multidimensional modeling of graphs. We first propose GRAD, a new graph database model specifically tuned for warehousing and OLAP analytics. GRAD aims to provide analysts with a set of simple, well-defined, and adaptable conceptual components to support rich semantics and perform complex analysis on graphs. Then, we define the multidimensional concepts for heterogeneous attributed graphs and highlight the new types of measures that could be derived. We project this multidimensional model on property graphs and explore how to extract the candidate multidimensional concepts and build graph cubes. Then, we extend the multidimensional model by integrating GRAD and show how graph modeling based on GRAD facilitates multidimensional modeling, and enables supporting dimension hierarchies and building new types of OLAP cubes on graphs. Afterwards, we present TopoGraph, a graph data warehousing framework that extends current graph warehousing models with new types of cubes and queries combining graph-oriented and OLAP querying. TopoGraph goes beyond traditional OLAP cubes, which process value-based grouping of tables, by considering in addition the topological properties of the graph elements. And it goes beyond current graph warehousing models by proposing new types of graph cubes. These cubes embed a rich repertoire of measures that could be represented with numerical values, with entire graphs, or as a combination of them. Finally, we propose an architecture of the graph data warehouse and describe its main building blocks and the remaining gaps. The various components of the graph warehousing framework can be effectively leveraged as a foundation for designing and building industry-grade graph data warehouses. We believe that our research in this thesis brings us a step closer towards a better understanding of graph warehousing. Yet, the models and framework we proposed are the tip of the iceberg. The marriage of graph and warehousing technologies will bring many exciting research opportunities, which we briefly discuss at the end of the thesis. Durant l’última dècada, hem estat testimonis de l’aparició de xarxes en un ampli espectre de dominis d’aplicació, que van de les xarxes socials i d’informació a xarxes biològiques i de transport. Els grafs proporcionen un fonament teòric sòlid per a modelar xarxes complexes i revelen informació valuosa tant de l'estructura de la xarxa com de les dades integrades a les seves entitats. A mesura que els entorns empresarials i socials són cada cop més complexos i interconnectats, els grafs es van convertir en una abstracció generalitzada en el nucli de la infraestructura d'informació que dona suport a aquests entorns. Els sistemes d'informació moderns consisteixen en un gran nombre d'entitats empresarials i la seva interacció, que formen grafs de forma natural. En particular, la integració de grafs en sistemes de magatzem de dades va rebre molt d’interès tant de l’àmbit acadèmic com de la indústria. De fet, els magatzems de dades són el repositori central d'informació de l'empresa i són fonamentals per a un suport adequat a la presa de decisions i una planificació futura. Els magatzems de dades en graf (graph data warehousing) és un camp emergent que estén els sistemes d’informació tradicionals amb capacitats d’administració i d’anàlisi de dades en format grafs. Fins ara, s'han proposat molts enfocaments per afrontar el repte de l'emmagatzematge de dades en graf. Aquests esforços van posar els fonaments pel modelatge i l'anàlisi de grafs d'una perspectiva multidimensional. Tanmateix, la majoria dels plantejaments proposats aborden parcialment el problema de l'emmagatzematge de grafs restringint-se a abstraccions simples com ara grafs homogenis o ignorant temes importants com ara restriccions d’integritat multidimensionals i jerarquies de dimensió. En aquesta tesi realitzem un estudi sistemàtic del tema d'emmagatzematge de dades en graf i tractem els reptes clau de la base de dades i el modelatge multidimensional de grafs. Primer proposem GRAD, un nou model de base de dades de grafs específicament ajustat per a emmagatzematge i analítica OLAP. GRAD pretén proporcionar als analistes un conjunt de components conceptuals simples, ben definits i adaptables per donar suport a elements semàntics complexos i realitzar anàlisis complexos sobre grafs. A continuació, definim els conceptes multidimensionals per a grafs heterogenis amb atributs i ressaltem els nous tipus de mesures que es poden derivar. Projectem aquest model multidimensional en property graphs i explorem com extreure conceptes multidimensionals candidats i construir cubs de grafs. A continuació, ampliem el model multidimensional integrant GRAD i mostrem com el modelatge de grafs basat en GRAD facilita el modelatge multidimensional i permet suportar jerarquies de dimensions i crear nous tipus de cubs OLAP en grafs. Després, presentem TopoGraph, un marc d’emmagatzematge de dades en graf que amplia els models d’emmagatzematge de grafs actuals amb nous tipus de cubs i consultes que combinen la consulta orientada a grafs i OLAP. TopoGraph va més enllà dels cubs tradicionals OLAP, que processen l'agrupació de taules basada en el valor, considerant a més les propietats topològiques dels grafs. I va més enllà dels models d’emmagatzematge en graf actuals proposant nous tipus de cubs de grafs. Aquests cubs incorporen un ric repertori de mesures que es podrien representar amb valors numèrics, amb grafs sencers o com a combinació d’aquests. Finalment, proposem una arquitectura per al magatzem de dades en graf i descrivim els blocs de construcció principals i els buits restants. Els diversos components del marc d'emmagatzematge de grafs es poden aprofitar eficaçment com a base per dissenyar i construir magatzems de dades de grafs a nivell industrial. Creiem que la nostra recerca en aquesta tesi ens apropa un pas més cap a una millor comprensió de graph warehousing.

Background Cystic echinococcosis (CE) has a worldwide distribution and is especially prevalent in North African countries. With a mean annual surgical incidence (ASI) of CE of 12.7 per 100,000 inhabitants, Tunisia is one of the most CE endemic countries in the Mediterranean area. Tataouine governorate is considered to be the most CE hypoendemic region in Tunisia (ASI = 0.92) despite favourable socioeconomic conditions that enable maintenance of the Echinococcus granulosussensu lato (s.l.) life-cycle and a significant environmental contamination with E. granulosuss.l. eggs. The aim of this study was to assess human CE seroprevalence, prevalence of CE in food animals and environmental contamination by E. granulosus s.l. eggs in different districts of Tataouine governorate. Methods This study was conducted from January to December 2018. A total of 374 human sera samples were tested for the presence of immunoglobulin G antibodies against E. granulosus using a commercial ELISA kit. Specimens were also collected from animals slaughtered at the Tataouine abattoir (n = 8609) and examined for the presence of hydatid cysts; 111 hydatid cysts were genotyped. Eggs of E. granulosuss.l. were identified by PCR and DNA sequencing from dog faecal samples (n = 288). Results Serological tests showed that 8.5% of the sera samples tested were positive for E. granulosus-specific antibodies. The average prevalence of hydatidosis in livestock was 1.6%, and CE infection was more prevalent in cattle than in sheep, goats and dromedaries. The contamination rate of dog faeces by E. granulosus sensu stricto eggs varied significantly from 0 to 23.5% depending on the collection area. Molecular analyses only revealed the presence of the G1 genotype for cysts and eggs. Conclusions Based on our findings, CE is likely to be more endemic in the Tataouine governorate than previously described. Thus, to implement an effective control programme against CE, a national survey should be carried out to determine human CE prevalence in the different Tunisian governorates. Graphical Abstract

OBJECTIVES: In 2017, the incidence of human brucellosis in Tunisia was 9.8 per 100,000 population. In the Douz district, 2 cases were reported in March 2018. Prior to that date, the last indigenous cases to be reported in Douz had been in 2015. This study aimed to identify the source of this new contamination and recommend control interventions.METHODS: This case-control study included residents of Douz who presented with clinical symptoms of brucellosis and had a subsequent Wright test antibody titer ≥ 1/160. The controls were neighbors of the infected cases who had a negative Rose Bengal test. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to estimate the odds ratios of risk factors. Goats belonging to the cases and controls were actively screened.RESULTS: Twenty-five infected cases and 52 uninfected controls were enrolled. All infected cases had consumed goat milk and 92% had purchased it from the same breeder. Consumption of goat milk from this breeder (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 30.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 6.47 to 235.91) and overall consumption of raw goat milk (aOR, 14.84; 95% CI, 2.04 to 310.44) were independent risk factors for brucellosis. The breeder had 18 goats, 5 of which were smuggled from a neighboring country. Three of those goats were diagnosed with brucellosis.CONCLUSIONS: Consumption of raw milk from smuggled sick goats was the main risk factor in this outbreak. The sick goats were slaughtered and an education campaign was conducted. Vaccination, control of cross-border animal movements, and control of goat milk sales must be strengthened to prevent the spread of brucellosis in southwestern Tunisia.

We report the study of sandfly Leishmania infection in an area of low incidence of visceral leishmaniasis in Tunisia. Sandflies were collected monthly using CDC light-traps set in houses and animal shelters during May–November 2016 and 2017. All males were identified at the species level. A sample of 878 females including all gravid specimens was subjected to kDNA qPCR for Leishmania detection and parasite load estimation. Leishmania species were determined by ITS1 PCR sequencing, and species identification of infected sandflies was performed by DNA barcoding. Phlebotomus perfiliewi and P. perniciosus were the dominant species during the two-year period. However, comparison of their relative abundances showed that P. perniciosus was more abundant during peaks of 2017 with longer activity duration. Real-time kDNA PCR did not detect Leishmania infection in 2016, although it identified four positive specimens (0.7%) in 2017. All four infected specimens were identified as P. perniciosus. ITS1 PCR sequencing allowed L. infantum identification in one kDNA qPCR-positive specimen. This was a P. perniciosus gravid female with a high parasite load caught during the long-lasting peak of 2017. This work highlights the usefulness of multi-seasonal studies of sandfly dynamics and kDNA qPCR in screening Leishmania infection and determining L. infantum vectors in hypo-endemic foci of human leishmaniasis.

The present study aimed to evaluate the performance effect of aqueous extract of Rosmarinus officinalis (AERO) against the kidney toxicity induced by CCl4 in mice. The results showed that the renal...

Temperate deciduous trees can only be productive where winters are cold enough to meet their chilling needs. In the Mediterranean region, chill has traditionally been sufficient for many species, but this may change as temperatures increase. We explored the region's present and future suitability for temperate trees by quantifying chill for the Sfax region in central Tunisia, one of the warmest regions where temperate nuts are commercially grown. We assessed climatic risk by calculating historic chill (since 1973) and using a weather generator calibrated with local weather data (1973-2015) to produce 101 years of chill estimates (computed with the Dynamic Model) and 3 past and 72 future scenarios (for 2041-2070 and 2071-2100, using two representative concentration pathways: RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). For almonds and pistachios, we compared available chill during the chilling period with the species' estimated chilling requirements, and we computed the date by which sufficient chill was expected to have accumulated. Our findings indicated severe chill losses for all future scenarios. For all species, the current chill period is no longer expected to be sufficient for meeting chilling requirements in the future. Chill needs may still be fulfilled later in the year, especially for low-chill almonds, but this would result in delayed phenology, with possible adverse effects on productivity. Temperate nut production is thus unlikely to remain viable at this site, highlighting an urgent need to identify locally appropriate adaptation options. This challenge is likely shared by other warm production regions of temperate fruits and nuts around the world.

The present paper reports an automated approach for the characterization and analysis of the behavioral of sand flies; the method used is based on Gaussian mixture model and Kalman filter for the detection and tracking of sand flies, and then the extraction of an optimized set of features from the trajectory of flight is performed for the classification process. So, we propose here two optimized sets of features; the first one is used to identify sand flies among other insects, and the second is employed for the characterization of the behavioral change in the sand flies in the presence of a repulsive odor. These features are tested on three different classifiers; artificial neural network, support vector machine and K-nearest neighbor (KNN), and the results show an important improvement in the classification accuracy and confirm the effectiveness of our approach; the accuracy rate of the proposed method reached 88.6% for the identification of sand flies and 93.4% for the detection of their behavior change. Instead of the excessive use of pesticides over wide areas, the presented investigation is a key pillar of the development of an ecological way for a statistical information gathering about sand flies in order to fight against disease carried by those insects especially leishmaniosis and pappataci fever.