Cadeaux

Dans le monde entier, l’échange de cadeaux (don et contre-don) est un élément essentiel du ciment social. Chez les Berbères, comme chez tous les Maghrébins, offrir un présent n’est pas seulement un moyen de manifester ses bonnes intentions ou son désir de faire plaisir, c’est aussi un moyen contraignant qui fait de l’obligé un débiteur en puissance. On a retenu trois exemples régionaux présentant chacun une certaine spécificité : l’échange de cadeaux en Kabylie, en Tunisie du Nord et chez les..

Cadeaux

Dans le monde entier, l’échange de cadeaux (don et contre-don) est un élément essentiel du ciment social. Chez les Berbères, comme chez tous les Maghrébins, offrir un présent n’est pas seulement un moyen de manifester ses bonnes intentions ou son désir de faire plaisir, c’est aussi un moyen contraignant qui fait de l’obligé un débiteur en puissance. On a retenu trois exemples régionaux présentant chacun une certaine spécificité : l’échange de cadeaux en Kabylie, en Tunisie du Nord et chez les..

In Vivo Retinal Pigment Epithelium Imaging using Transscleral Optical Imaging in Healthy Eyes.

To image healthy retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells in vivo using Transscleral OPtical Imaging (TOPI) and to analyze statistics of RPE cell features as a function of age, axial length (AL), and eccentricity. Single-center, exploratory, prospective, and descriptive clinical study. Forty-nine eyes (AL: 24.03 ± 0.93 mm; range: 21.9-26.7 mm) from 29 participants aged 21 to 70 years (37.1 ± 13.3 years; 19 men, 10 women). Retinal images, including fundus photography and spectral-domain OCT, AL, and refractive error measurements were collected at baseline. For each eye, 6 high-resolution RPE images were acquired using TOPI at different locations, one of them being imaged 5 times to evaluate the repeatability of the method. Follow-up ophthalmic examination was repeated 1 to 3 weeks after TOPI to assess safety. Retinal pigment epithelial images were analyzed with a custom automated software to extract cell parameters. Statistical analysis of the selected high-contrast images included calculation of coefficient of variation (CoV) for each feature at each repetition and Spearman and Mann-Whitney tests to investigate the relationship between cell features and eye and subject characteristics. Retinal pigment epithelial cell features: density, area, center-to-center spacing, number of neighbors, circularity, elongation, solidity, and border distance CoV. Macular RPE cell features were extracted from TOPI images at an eccentricity of 1.6° to 16.3° from the fovea. For each feature, the mean CoV was < 4%. Spearman test showed correlation within RPE cell features. In the perifovea, the region in which images were selected for all participants, longer AL significantly correlated with decreased RPE cell density (R Spearman, Rs = -0.746; P < 0.0001) and increased cell area (Rs = 0.668; P < 0.0001), without morphologic changes. Aging was also significantly correlated with decreased RPE density (Rs = -0.391; P = 0.036) and increased cell area (Rs = 0.454; P = 0.013). Lower circular, less symmetric, more elongated, and larger cells were observed in those > 50 years. The TOPI technology imaged RPE cells in vivo with a repeatability of < 4% for the CoV and was used to analyze the influence of physiologic factors on RPE cell morphometry in the perifovea of healthy volunteers. Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found after the references

RFID together with multi-agent systems to control global value chains

Nowadays, the cooperative intelligent transport systems are part of a largest system. Transportations are modal operations integrated in logistics and, logistics is the main process of the supply chain management. The supply chain strategic management as a simultaneous local and global value chain is a collaborative/cooperative organization of stakeholders, many times in co-opetition, to perform a service to the customers respecting the time, place, price and quality levels. The transportation, like other logistics operations must add value, which is achieved in this case through compression lead times and order fulfillments. The complex supplier's network and the distribution channels must be efficient and the integral visibility (monitoring and tracing) of supply chain is a significant source of competitive advantage. Nowadays, the competition is not discussed between companies but among supply chains. This paper aims to evidence the current and emerging manufacturing and logistics system challenges as a new field of opportunities for the automation and control systems research community. Furthermore, the paper forecasts the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies integrated into an information and communication technologies (ICT) framework based on distributed artificial intelligence (DAI) supported by a multi-agent system (MAS), as the most value advantage of supply chain management (SCM) in a cooperative intelligent logistics systems. Logistical platforms (production or distribution) as nodes of added value of supplying and distribution networks are proposed as critical points of the visibility of the inventory, where these technological needs are more evident

TEMPUS Spulenerprobung auf KC-135. TEMPUS HF-Spulen: Verifikation unter reduzierter Schwerkraft durch Parabelfluege Schlussbericht

The objective of the project 'TEMPUS coil tests on KC-135' was the test of the optimized TEMPUS coil systems under microgravity conditions as well as a preliminary selection of the flight coil system for the MSL-1 mission. In previous projects the coil design was optimized for strong positioner forces at minimized heat input into the sample and for a homogeneous heater field. Prior to the KC135 campaign 3 coil systems of types E2, E3 and E4 were available. In order to test the performance of each coil, the KC135 facility was set up in Houston. During the flight campaign each of the 3 coil systems was tested during one flight. The tests comprised positioning tests with solid samples as well as melting tests with standard samples. On the fourth flight the coil system E2 which had previously shown the best results was retested. Based on these results the coil system E2 was selected as the baseline for further development. (orig.)Available from TIB Hannover: F98B305+a / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEBundesministerium fuer Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie, Bonn (Germany); Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA) GmbH, Bonn (Germany)DEGerman

Reverifikation Spulensystem TEMPUS auf Parabelfluegen mittels Modellprobensystemen Schlussbericht

The objective of the project 'Reverification of TEMPUS Coil System on Parabolic Flights' was the demonstration of the capability of the optimized TEMPUS coil system to stably position liquid samples under microgravity conditions as well as a final selection of the flight coil system for the MSL-1 mission. In previous projects the coil design was optimized for strong positioner forces at minimized heat input into the sample and for a homogeneous heater field which exerts only very small forces and torques on the samples. Furthermore, the permanent magnet system was optimized for damping of sample rotations. Prior to the KC135 campaign 3 similar coil systems of the E2 type were available. In order to test the performance of each coil, the KC135 facility was set up in Houston, and coupling tests with MSL-1 type samples were performed on the ground. During the flight campaign each of the 3 coil system was tested during one flight day. The tests comprised positioning tests with solid samples as well as melting and undercooling tests with liquid samples. On the fourth flight day the coil system E2a3 which had previously shown the best results was reflown. On that day test samples were routinely processed, melted and undercooled up to 200 C despite very strong microgravity disturbances. Based on these results the coil system E2a3 was selected as the flight coil system for the MSL-1 flight of the TEMPUS facility. In addition, prototype sample holders for the Spacelab flight were manufactured and tested for thermal shock resistance. The principal design of the flight sample holders was defined based on the requirements of the principal investigators. (orig.)SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: DtF QN1(57,12) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekBundesministerium fuer Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie, Bonn (Germany); Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA) GmbH, Bonn (Germany)DEGerman