An integrated modelling approach for sustainable development of the UNESCO classified ecosystem (Ichkeul Lake, North Africa)

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Lake Ichkeul in northern Tunisia is a Ramsar site, a MAB Biosphere Reserve and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The system is one of the most important coastal wetlands in North Africa, especially as an over-wintering area for migratory birds, particularly Palaearctic waterfowl. The present study was aimed at diagnosing the status of fish species in Lake Ichkeul and documenting their annual and seasonal occurrence within the system. Fish samples were collected monthly at 22 sites from March 2011 to April 2012 using a variety of gears, including a dragnet, gillnet, trammelnet, frynet and beach-seine. Temperature and salinity measurements were taken at each site, while fishes were obtained from only 11 sites, representing mainly lacustrine stations. A total of 18 fish species belonging to 14 genera and 12 families were identified, with Mugilidae dominating with four species, followed by Syngnathidae with three species. This study represents a relative recovery in terms of fish species richness, since only 13 species were recorded here between 2003 and 2007. However, the numbers of fish caught, especially of the commercial taxa, seem to have declined in recent years, and the number of species currently present is much lower than that of several decades ago. Increasing human pressures, particularly reductions in catchment freshwater inputs, a breakdown in ecosystem connectivity, pollution and over-fishing appear to be the principal causes for the decline in fish abundance and diversity.

A new millipede species, Ommatoiulus malleatus n. sp. (Diplopoda, Julidae), is described from the Ichkeul National Park, Tunisia. The gonopod structure of the species indicates the punicus-group which includes Ommatoiulus punicus (Brölemann, 1894), Ommatoiulus seurati (Brolemann, 1925), Ommatoiulus aumalensis (Brolemann, 1925), Ommatoiulus atlanteus Schubart, 1960, Ommatoiulus quadridentatus Schubart, 1960 recorded from North Africa and Ommatoiulus brandti (Berlese, 1885) from Sicily. The new species is, however, well differentiated by a particular “hammer-like structure” on the mesomerite process of the posterior gonopod.

In North Africa seasonal streams called wadi are an unique habitats with serve hydrological and thermal regime. Non-biting midges take an important part of freshwater biodiversity in North Africa. We present new data on the distribution and diversity of Chironomidae in North Tunisia. Larvae, pupal exuviae and adult males of chironomids were collected from a various freshwater ecosystems from May 2005 till April 2006. The aim of this study was to recognize the pattern of midge diversity in North Tunisia to estimate ecological value of running waters in the region. In total, 79 taxa were identified. Nearly all of the taxa were typical representatives of the Palaearctic and Mediterranean complexes. The majority of the investigated sites belonged to the protected areas in North Tunisia, such as the Ichkeul National Park, the Kroumerie Mountains and the El Feija National Park, part of the Intercontinental Reserve of the Mediterranean Biosphere. Altitudinal zonation of the communities composition was found in the lowland (<250 m a.s.l.) and upland zone (>250 m a.s.l.) with maximum of 760 m. Whereas among the data 39 species are recorded from Tunisia for the first time, the species richness of Chironomidae is higher than previously estimated.

A new millipede species, Ommatoiulus malleatus n. sp. (Diplopoda, Julidae), is described from the Ichkeul National Park, Tunisia. The gonopod structure of the species indicates the punicus-group which includes Ommatoiulus punicus (Brölemann, 1894), Ommatoiulus seurati (Brolemann, 1925), Ommatoiulus aumalensis (Brolemann, 1925), Ommatoiulus atlanteus Schubart, 1960, Ommatoiulus quadridentatus Schubart, 1960 recorded from North Africa and Ommatoiulus brandti (Berlese, 1885) from Sicily. The new species is, however, well differentiated by a particular “hammer-like structure” on the mesomerite process of the posterior gonopod.

The sound radiation caused by tyre/road noise can be reduced significantly by the use of porous road surfaces. A hybrid analytical/numerical modelling approach has been developed to predict the sound absorption coefficient of such road surfaces. Furthermore, the modelling approach has been used as a design tool to optimise the sound absorption of porous road surfaces in the design phase. Using this design tool, two porous surfaces have been developed and constructed at a special test area. These road surfaces have been measured extensively for both sound absorption and for noise radiation in combination with different tyres. This research is carried out within the project `Silent and Safe Road Traffic'. The goal of this project was to find methods and measures to reduce the noise from tyre/road interaction while ensuring (wet) grip. The developed hybrid analytical/numerical modelling approach is based on the combination of the solutions of two subsystems: an analytically described background sound field and a numerically solved scattered sound field describing the scattering of the sound waves on the (assumed rigid) porous structure. Furthermore, the sound absorption caused by viscothermal effects inside the air-filled pores is included analytically in the modelling approach. Also, the sound absorption coefficient for oblique incidence can be predicted using this modelling approach. This is an important property when considering tyre/road noise, since most traffic noise is received at oblique incidence. Therefore, the sound absorption for oblique incidence should be considered when predicting the noise reduction by porous road surfaces. The main advantage of the developed hybrid modelling approach compared to a full numerical model is the low computation time, because (1) no mesh refinement is needed for the mesh of the structure inside the air-filled pores, since the viscothermal effects inside the pores are included analytically, and (2) the air domain surrounding the structure can be relatively small, since the scattering problem is localised around the porous structure and the background sound field is included analytically. In addition, the developed modelling approach can be applied to predict the sound absorption for any three-dimensional porous structure. The work presented here focuses on structures of tube resonators and on granular structures. Both types of porous structures are used for the validation of the modelling approach. For normal incidence, the modelling approach is validated using the impedance tube technique. The correlation between the measured sound absorption coefficient and the predicted sound absorption coefficient was extremely good for both the tube resonators and structures of stacked glass marbles. To validate the modelling approach for oblique incidence, a large sound hard box filled with glass marbles was measured using a small cubic microphone array. This validation was more complex, since the measurement technique introduced various uncertainties. However, the model results and measurement results showed good correlation. Furthermore, the developed modelling approach was adjusted in such a way that structures made from sound absorbing materials can be modelled as well. To demonstrate this, a structure of coupled tube resonators has been designed and manufactured with the 3D printing technique, an upcoming technique suitable for manufacturing complex sound reducing panels. The measured sound absorption coefficient of this sample showed an influence of the material properties on the sound absorption coefficient, which could be predicted fairly well with the adjusted modelling approach.

It became a bottleneck for the Machine Learning (ML) researchers to select/develop a sustainable model for a particular problem. Hence, there is a need for an approach to prepare a model with all constraints of the software system. The proposed approach is based on Object Constraint Language (OCL) which is a declarative language for writing constraints on software artifacts, it is widely used for effective representation of Functional Requirements (FR’s) and Non-Functional Requirements (NFR’s). In the proposed system, the paddy leaf disease identification system is considered and proposed Leaf Identification Constraints (LIC) and Leaf Disease Identification Constraints (LDIC) based on OCL, for the proposed constraints the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is chosen, as it can handle diverse range of input data and large volume of concurrent requests. To satisfy other constraints of the system, the Auto encoders are used along with CNN and the input data was take in the form of thermal imaging. This system was evaluated with test data and validation data and obtained the accuracy of 90.6%. And 84.8 was attained by earlier researchers before this approach.

Clay embankments used for road, rail, and flood defense infrastructure experience a suite of weather-driven deterioration processes that lead to a progressive loss of hydromechanical performance: micro-scale deformation (e.g., aggregation and desiccation), changes in soil-water retention, loss of strength, and macro-scale deformation. The objective of this study was to develop a numerical modeling approach to simulate the construction and long-term, weather-driven hydromechanical behavior of clay embankments. Subroutines within a numerical modeling package were developed to capture deterioration processes: (1) strength reduction due to wet-dry cycles; (2) bimodality of the near-surface hydraulic behavior; (3) soil-water and soil-gas retentivity functions considering void ratio dependency; and (4) hydraulic and gas conductivity functions considering void ratio dependency. Uniquely, the modeling approach was comprehensively validated using laboratory tests and nine years of field measurements from a full-scale embankment. The modeling approach captured the variation of near-surface soil moisture and matric suction over the monitored period in response to weather cycles. Further, the developed model approach could successfully simulate weather-driven deterioration processes in clay embankments. The model predictions manifested the ability of the modeling approach in capturing deterioration features such as irrecoverable increases in void ratio and hydraulic permeability near surface. The developed and validated numerical modeling approach enables forecasting the long-term performance of clay embankments under a range of projected climate conditions.

A model development approach to ensure identifiability of a simple mass balance model for photosynthesis and respiration in a plant growth chamber

Understanding the operations of a large ‘‘net‐centric system‐of‐systems’’ requires in‐depth knowledge of the interfaces and the interactions among the various systems, subsystems, and components. Architectural modeling can help in reducing the complexity involved in designing large networked systems. This paper demonstrates a modeling approach for network centric systems. An example of such a complex system is the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS)— a system for monitoring and collecting information related to Earth's resources. The GEOSS is an evolving complex network centric system. The modeling of the GEOSS has been demonstrated using the Systems Modeling Language (SysML). In this paper, architecture representation using SysML demonstrates an object‐oriented approach of model development. This paper discusses issues related to architecture description, development, presentation, and integration for the chosen domain. This paper also highlights some of the differences between SysML, which is used to model a wide range of systems, and Unified Modeling Language (UML), which is primarily used to model information systems only. Finally, in order to synthesize an executable model from the static views developed using SysML, Colored Petri‐nets (CP‐nets) have been used. The executable model, constructed using CP nets, is used to validate the architecture against the static model. Overall, this research defines a methodology to model and simulate complex network centric system of systems in order to understand and simulate their behavior using a scenario based approach. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Eng

The enzyme kinetics reaction scheme of single enzyme-sub-strate dynamics, originally proposed by V. Henri, is considered. The system of ODEs induced by the reaction scheme is compared to two approximate models, namely the Michaelis-Menten model and the model of exponential decay. Validity conditions for the Michaelis-Menten model are briefly reviewed. A case specific for ``superefficient enzymes'' is used as a setting for a comparison between the three models via computational experiments. The case study proves the importance of validating the applicability of the approximate model.A novel cell growth model is proposed and analyzed. The approach of model development is to make use of the original Henri enzyme kinetics law in the context of metabolic processes in living cells, namely cell growth. Two approximations corresponding to different cell growth phases are introduced in order to study the model analytically.

Product-Service Systems are characterized by the integration of technical products and services along their lifecycle. To generate principle solutions of a PSS that meet customer-specific requirements, it is important to consider interdependencies between products and services already at an early phase of development. Thus, a suitable model-based approach for conceptual PSS development has been developed. Due to the complexity of this modelling approach, deficiencies regarding its practical usability could be revealed. This contribution aims at presenting initial requirements and optimization objectives concerning the practical usability of the modelling approach. Therefore, two PSS scenarios with practical relevance have been analyzed.

Learning assessment is conducted using Google App, which is included in the school's e-learning at the time of school assessment and technical assessment. Still, the Google App has yet to be able to reduce the processing time of questions, and its appearance needs to be more attractive. Therefore, there is a need for a diverse and practical assessment tool to measure students' Arabic language learning skills. This study aims to determine the feasibility and practicality of developing Arabic language learning assessment tools using an app in high school. The research method used is the instrumental development model's research and development approach. The data analysis techniques used are quantitative descriptive analysis and qualitative descriptive analysis. The results of the research and development of learning assessment tools using testing apps in Arabic language subjects in grade 8 in this Tasnawiya school show that the development of learning assessment tools using an app produces very interesting and diverse assessment tools. This assessment tool utilizes several questions, including multiple-choice, matching, reordering, and others.

Many software reliability growth models (SRGMs) based on a non-homogenous Poisson process (NHPP) have been developed with the assumption of a constant fault detection rate (FDR) and a fault detection process dependent only on the residual fault content. In this paper we develop a SRGM based on NHPP using a different approach for model development. Here, the fault detection process is dependent not only on the residual fault content, but also on the testing time. It incorporates a realistic situation encountered in software development where the fault detection rate is not constant over the entire testing process, but changes due to variations in resource allocation, defect density, running environment and testing strategy (called the change-point). Here, the FDR is defined as a function of testing time. The proposed model also incorporates the testing effort with the change-point concept which is useful in solving the problems of runaway software projects and provides the testing effort control technique and flexibility to project managers to obtain the desired reliability level. It utilizes failure data collected from software development projects to show its applicability and effectiveness. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) based on the least-squares method has been used to estimate unknown parameters. The mean squared error (MSE), relative predictive error (RPE), average mean squared error (AMSE) and the average relative predictive error (ARPE) have been used to validate the model. It is observed that the proposed model results are accurate, highly predictive and incorporate industrial software project concepts.

The chemistry underlying liquid-phase oxidation of organic compounds, the main cause of their aging, is characterized by a free-radical chain reaction mechanism. The rigorous simulation of these phenomena requires the use of detailed kinetic models that contain thousands of species and reactions. The development of such models for the liquid phase remains a challenge as solvent-dependent thermokinetic parameters have to be provided for all the species and reactions of the model. Therefore, accurate and high-throughput methods to generate these data are required. In this work, we propose new methods to generate these data, and we apply them for the development of a detailed chemical kinetic model for n-butane autoxidation, which is then validated against literature data. Our approach for model development is based on the work of Jalan et al. [J. Phys. Chem. B 2013, 117, 2955-2970] who used Gibbs free energies of solvation [ΔsolvG(T)] to correct the data of the gas-phase kinetic model. In our approach, an equation of state (EoS) is used to compute ΔsolvG as a function of temperature for all the chemical species in the mechanism. Currently, ΔsolvG(T) of free radicals cannot be computed with an EoS and it was calculated for their parent molecule (H-atom added on the radical site). Theoretical calculations with the implicit solvent model were performed to quantify the impact of this assumption and showed that it is acceptable for radicals in n-butane and probably in all n-alkanes. New rate rules were proposed for the most important reactions of the model, based on theoretical calculations and the literature data. The developed detailed kinetic model for n-butane autoxidation is the first proposed model in the literature and was validated against the experimental data from the literature. Simulations showed that the main autoxidation products, sec-butyl hydroperoxides and 2-butanol, are produced from H-abstractions from n-butane by sec-C4H9OO radicals and the C4H9OO + C4H9OO reaction, respectively. The uncertainty of the product ratio ("butanone + 2-butanol"/"2-butoxy + 2-butoxy") of the latter reaction remains high in the literature, and our simulations suggest a 1:1 ratio in n-butane solvent.