Réutilisation de logiciel: Applications des techniques d’intelligence artificielle

After a brief overview of software reuse techniques and of some applications of artificial intelligence to reusability, two approaches are presented: the Esprit project Knosos to design a knowledge-based environment for software system configuration reusing components, and a study of design reuse. The former is already leading to pre-industrial applications while the latter still involves on-going research.     

Adaptive gain and delay mismatch cancellation for LINC transmitter

Linear amplification with Nonlinear Component (LINC) transmitter architecture is an efficient solution for high efficiency amplification of signals. Nonetheless, this solution suffers both from gain impairment and delay mismatch between the two signal paths. Indeed, a mismatch in propagation time between the paths degrades the quality of the transmit signal but also disrupts the convergence of the gain correction algorithm resulting in a degradation of its performance. In this paper, we present an adaptive algorithm based on a gradient descent formulation for the identification and correction of these delays. We also demonstrate its effectiveness when applied prior to the gain adjustment procedure. The identification approach is preferred here, to ensure monitoring facilities.     

A simple analytical model to study and control azimuthal instabilities in annular combustion chambers

This study describes a simple analytical method to compute the azimuthal modes appearing in annular combustion chambers and help analyzing experimental, acoustic and large eddy simulation (LES) data obtained in these combustion chambers. It is based on a one-dimensional zero Mach number formulation where N burners are connected to a single annular chamber. A manipulation of the corresponding acoustic equations in this configuration leads to a simple dispersion relation which can be solved by hand when the interaction indices of the flame transfer function are small and numerically when they are not. This simple tool is applied to multiple cases: (1) a single burner connected to an annular chamber (N = 1), (2) two burners connected to the chamber (N = 2), and (3) four burners (N = 4). In this case, the tool also allows to study passive control methods where two different types of burners are mixed to control the azimuthal mode. Finally, a complete helicopter chamber (N = 15) is studied. For all cases, the analytical results are compared to the predictions of a full three-dimensional Helmholtz solver and a very good agreement is found. These results show that building very simple analytical tools to study azimuthal modes in annular chambers is an interesting path to control them.     

From linear temporal logic and limit-deterministic Büchi automata to deterministic parity automata

Controller synthesis for general linear temporal logic (LTL) objectives is a challenging task. The standard approach involves translating the LTL objective into a deterministic parity automaton (DPA) by means of the Safra-Piterman construction. One of the challenges is the size of the DPA, which often grows very fast in practice, and can reach double exponential size in the length of the LTL formula. In this paper, we describe a single exponential translation from limit-deterministic Büchi automata (LDBA) to DPA and show that it can be concatenated with a recent efficient translations from LTL to LDBA to yield a double exponential, ‘Safraless’ LTL-to-DPA construction. We also report on an implementation and a comparison with other LTL-to-DPA translations on several sets of formulas from the literature.

     

High nutrient loading and climatic parameters influence the dominance and dissimilarity of toxigenic cyanobacteria in northern bays of Lake Victoria

Eutrophication of Lake Victoria led to changes in its phytoplankton communities. However, different levels of eutrophication exist in the open lake and the bays, and between embayments. This study utilized spatial and temporal sampling of Napoleon Gulf and Murchison Bay, exhibiting different trophic conditions. Over one year, we investigated phytoplankton biomass, richness, diversity and dissimilarity, and related the dynamics of the dominant species to the limnological and climatic conditions. The results confirmed that Napoleon Gulf and Murchison Bay showed large differences in eutrophication status, with lower nutrient concentrations in Napoleon Gulf than in Murchison Bay, where a strong gradient was observed from inshore to offshore areas. These nutrient dynamics resulted in a 4 to 10 fold higher chlorophyll-a in Murchison Bay than in Napoleon Gulf. From the embayments, 135 phytoplankton taxa were recorded with no significant differences in alpha diversity. However, high dissimilarity in community structure was observed in beta diversity, mostly due to a turnover among the dominant toxigenic species. Thus, from a similar species pool, there was a shift in the dominant toxigenic cyanobacteria from Microcystis flos-aquae and M. aeruginosa in Murchison Bay, Dolichospermum circinale and Planktolyngbya circumcreta in Napoleon Gulf to D. circinale in the offshore stations. These cyanobacteria are toxigenic taxa with known health hazards. Using partial least square models, we showed that both climatic variables (e.g. wind, solar radiation) and levels of inorganic dissolved nutrients (e.g. SRP, NO₃^–, and NH₄⁺) are the main drivers of differences and dominance in cyanobacteria communities in northern Lake Victoria.     

PolyMAX,a Mobile WiMAX module for the ns-2 simulator with QoS and AMC support

In this paper, we present the PolyMAX module which enhances network simulator 2 (ns-2), the most popular network simulator used in academia, to provide one of the most complete simulation tools to evaluate the performance of Mobile WiMAX networks. PolyMAX is based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) module and our specific contributions consist on the design and implementation of the Quality of Service (QoS) classes and QoS management messages, the uplink access grant-request mechanisms, Adaptive Modulation and Coding, and a scheduler handling all five WiMAX QoS classes. We also present validation results for the different components of our module and typical WiMAX simulation scenarios illustrating its flexibility and some of its features. The PolyMAX module represents an important tool enabling researchers to easily implement their Mobile WiMAX scheduling and Adaptive Modulation and Coding (AMC) algorithms and accurately evaluate their performance for realistic scenarios.     

Modelling mechanical properties of spruce and Douglas fir timber by means of X-ray and grain angle measurements for strength grading purpose

This study proposes a model using data from a scanner (X-ray and grain angle measurements) to perform strength grading. The research also includes global measurements of modulus of elasticity (obtained by vibrations and ultrasound methods), static bending stiffness and bending strength of 805 boards of Douglas fir and 437 boards of spruce. This model can be used in an industrial context since it requires low computational time. The results of this study show that the developed model gives better results than the global non-destructive measurements of the elastic modulus commonly used in the industry. It also shows that this improvement is particularly higher in the case of Douglas fir than for spruce. The comparison has been made on both the quality of the mechanical properties assessment and on the improvement of the grading process according to the European standards by using different index.     

Estimates of fracture density and uncertainties from well data

This paper aims at building a method to estimate the probability law governing the 3D fracture density of a fractured rock conditioned to the number of traces observed on a borehole image when the spatial distribution of fracture centers is assumed to follow a Poisson process. A closed-form expression of this law, allowing to calculate its mean value as well as a confidence interval, is derived in both cases of a lineic well (scanline) and a cylindrical well. The latter is better adapted to the situation of fracture size of the same order of magnitude as the well radius, which enables the presence of partial traces. In particular, the method takes into account the bias in the density estimate due to the fact that a fracture may cut the well along two distinct traces according to the considered fracture size. Monte Carlo simulations finally show a good agreement with the theoretical results of mean density and confidence interval.     

The effect of coupling in a compact handset receiver

This paper deals with the performance of a compact dual diversity receiver. For this study we assume that the channel is characterized by a flat Rayleigh fading and that the incoming waves can be described by a Gaussian angular power distribution. The performance of a maximal-ratio-combiner in a correlated Rayleigh fading is given. These expressions are simplified and studied for the case of a dual diversity receiver. The influence of the mutual coupling between the sensors is taken into account using a simplified model. The results are compared with results obtained from realistic antenna simulations.     

Exposure of several Belgian consumer groups to pesticide residues through fresh fruit and vegetable consumption

The output of a pesticide surveillance program (detection frequency and number of exceeding measures) can lead to unnecessary concern among consumers since they lack information concerning the actual exposure. In this study, the exposure to pesticide residues through fruit and vegetable consumption is evaluated based on the 2008 surveillance data of the Belgian Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC).Results (deterministic and probabilistic approach) demonstrate that the chronic exposure of the adult population (>15 years) is generally under control, even at high or frequent consumption of fruit and vegetables. For most of the pesticide residues studied, the exposure is one hundred times lower than the ‘acceptable daily intake’ or ADI. With regard to children (2–5 years) who consume regularly or large amounts of fruit and vegetables, there are however, indications that for some pesticides the ADI can be exceeded. Nevertheless, due to the large uncertainty in these calculations, a more detailed study is required for this vulnerable group of consumers. In addition, it was demonstrated that washing and peeling of fruit and vegetables result in an exposure that is probably five to six times lower.