The paper presents the design and experimental testing of the control system used in a new morphing wing application with a full-scaled portion of a real wing. The morphing actuation system uses four similar miniature brushless DC (BLDC) motors placed inside the wing, which execute a direct actuation of the flexible upper surface of the wing made from composite materials. The control system of each actuator uses three control loops (current, speed and position) characterised by five control gains. To tune the control gains, the Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) method is used. The application of the PSO method supposed the development of a MATLAB/Simulink® software model for the controlled actuator, which worked together with a software sub-routine implementing the PSO algorithm to find the best values for the five control gains that minimise the cost function. Once the best values of the control gains are established, the software model of the controlled actuator is numerically simulated in order to evaluate the quality of the obtained control system. Finally, the designed control system is experimentally validated in bench tests and wind-tunnel tests for all four miniature actuators integrated in the morphing wing experimental model. The wind-tunnel testing treats the system as a whole and includes, besides the evaluation of the controlled actuation system, the testing of the integrated morphing wing experimental model and the evaluation of the aerodynamic benefits brought by the morphing technology on this project. From this last perspective, the airflow on the morphing upper surface of the experimental model is monitored by using various techniques based on pressure data collection with Kulite pressure sensors or on infrared thermography camera visualisations.

L’apparition de vibrations, ou bien des régimes instables, est induite par l’interaction dynamique du processus de coupe avec le système élastique de la machine-outil dans différentes conditions de travail. L’objectif de ce travail est de développer un modèle dynamique appliqué au processus de fraisage pour réaliser la surveillance du processus, l’analyse et l’optimisation des conditions de coupe lors du contact outil/pièce/machine. Pour mettre en place ce protocole et atteindre les connaissances approfondies des phénomènes dynamiques nous effectuons une étude de ceux-ci divisée en deux parties : la machine et le processus de coupe. Une analyse dynamique détaillée de la machine est obligatoire avant de modéliser les phénomènes vibratoires présents lors de la coupe.

The feasibility of infecting laboratory rabbits experimentally with the ovine nematode Nematodirus spathiger was examined. Eight-week-old rabbits were dosed either with 5000 or with 17 000 third-stage larvae and killed on days 10, 21 or 42 post-infection. With the lower dose, 20 to 40% of the inoculum were recovered at necropsy. Similar values were recovered at necropsy. Similar values were observed with the 17 000 dose on days 10 and 21 post-infection, but on day 42 the worm population was residual (0·6%). With both dose levels, during the course of infection, the worm populations were mainly composed of fourth-stage larvae and worm egg excretion was low. N. spathiger mainly inhabited the proximal jejunum. The results were compared with N. spathiger infection in sheep to assess the usefulness of the rabbit as an experimental model for Nematodirus infection.

Echinococcus multilocularis survived, strobilated and matured sexually in the small intestine of 6-week-old male golden hamsters that were either non-treated or treated with prednisolone tertiary-butylacetate (PTBA), following oral administration of 20000 protoscoleces. Non-treated hamsters harboured the adult worms for up to 25 days post-infection (p.i.). Hamsters treated with PTBA from the day of infection (day 0 p.i.) harboured more adults than the non-treated, and their survival periods were extended. Moreover, a remarkable improvement in worm recovery, development and survival periods was observed in hamsters additionally treated with PTBA on days — 14 and — 12 p.i., and the worm development including proglottisation, sexual maturation and egg formation was comparable with that in dogs. With the present results it is suggested that Echinococcus/rodent systems represented by the E. multilocularis/golden hamsters may rejuvenate the current stagnant research on host-parasite interactions of the definitive host-stage and egg-stage of Echinococcus.

Dans le processus de fabrication par enlèvement de matière sur machines-outils, l'apparition des vibrations est inévitable. Dans les situations où l'amplitude dépasse les limites de la précision dimensionnelle, le phénomène vibratoire est préjudiciable. L'étude expérimentale présentée ici permet d'identifier les principaux paramètres relatifs au comportement dynamique du système usinant. La localisation des déplacements de la pointe de l'outil dans un plan est démontrée grâce aux résultats expérimentaux. L'existence de ce plan et les corrélations avec les caractéristiques élastiques du système usinant permettent de simplifier le modèle dynamique 3D. Avec l'approche expérimentale réalisée, un modèle dynamique est proposé en concordance avec les résultats expérimentaux.

Necrotic enteritis is a disease in poultry that can have a high economic and animal welfare cost, and has become increasingly prevalent in the European Union due to factors such as the removal of antibiotic growth promoters and the requirement to exclude animal by-products from diet formulations. Estimates of the prevalence of necrotic enteritis vary widely (1–40%) as does the cost of the disease, and the subclinical form may be the most important manifestation of the disease as this is likely to go undetected and hence untreated. An outbreak of necrotic enteritis is primarily associated with rapid proliferation of the anaerobic bacterium, Clostridium perfringens type A or C, leading to gaseous extension of the small intestine, the production of one or more exotoxins, and enteric toxicosis. The molecular progression of the disease is quite complex and at the bacterial level involves quorum sensing, toxin production and secretion, and interactions of the pathogen with the innate immune system of the chicken. Intestinal cell permeation by the toxin activates a series of intracellular pathways including protein kinase cascades, and ultimately results in cell death. The precise molecular signals that set off this cascade are still unclear. The various predisposing environmental, health and dietary factors that modify the gut environment and promote colonisation with C. perfringens, are discussed. With such a multi-factorial disease, a working and reproducible experimental model with which to study bacterial/host and dietary/host interactions is an essential tool in the search for appropriate control or management strategies for the poultry industry.