Intégration des TICE dans l’enseignement des Sciences de l’Ingénieur dans la filière Sciences Technologies Mécaniques aux lycées du Maroc : Réalité et Obstacles

Information and communication technology (ICT) in education has currently become an unavoidable pedagogical tool in any educational system of high standards. Its integration signifies a change in the learning processes and knowledge transmission and acquisition. In this article, we present the results of an exploratory research that we led with engineering science teachers of the Mechanical Science and Technology stream in high schools belonging to two regional Moroccan academies (Grand Casablanca, Settat and the Oriental). Our study focuses on the identification of the unknown current state of affairs and related to the integration of ICT in this subject of secondary education of the Mechanical Science and Technology stream in Moroccan high schools. The results have shown that 95% of the interrogated teachers displayed a big interest towards the usage of ICT in their teaching practices whilst only 22.5% of them already integrate it regularly in the classroom. This paradox is chiefly due to a shortage of equipment within the institution, the lack of software and applications suitable for E.S as well as teachers’ qualification and training. We also estimate that this research’s results could prove useful to other streams while the integration of ICT in the training of future teachers and in the practices of the classroom still remains problematic

2-Amino-5-chloro­pyridinium cis-diaqua­dioxalatochromate(III) sesquihydrate

In the crystal structure of the title compound, (C5H6ClN2)[Cr(C2O4)2(H2O)2]·1.5H2O, the CrIII atom adopts a distorted octa­hedral geometry being coordinated by two O atoms of two cis water mol­ecules and four O atoms from two chelating oxalate dianions. The cis-diaqua­dioxalatochromate(III) anions, 2-amino-5-chloro­pyridinium cations and uncoordinated water mol­ecules are linked into a three-dimensional supra­molecular array by O—H⋯O and N—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter­actions. One of the two independent lattice water molecules is situated on a twofold rotation axis

On the Controllability of a Class of Discrete Distributed Systems

We consider a class of linear discrete-time systems controlled by a continuous time input. Given a desired final state x d , we investigate the optimal control which steers the system, with a minimal cost, from an initial state x0 to x d . We consider both discrete distributed systems and finite dimensional ones. We use a method similar to the Hilbert Uniqueness Method (HUM) to determine the control and the Galerkin method to approximate it, we also give an example to illustrate our approach

Epididymal Leiomyosarcoma: One Case Report

Epididymal leiomyosarcoma is very uncommon. Only 16 cases have been reported in the literature. There has never been a reported case of a patient with an African origin with this tumor. We report the medical history of a 70-year-old man who presented an enormous mass located in his epididymis. A tricut biopsy was performed which allowed histological confirmation of epididymal leiomyosarcoma after which the patient underwent excision of the mass. The patient died after the first round of chemotherapy

Léiomyosarcome gastrique simulant une tumeur du hile splénique: à propos d’un cas

Depuis la découverte de leur phénotype particulier, les tumeurs stromales gastro-intestinales représentent les tumeurs mésenchymateuses les plus fréquentes du tractus digestif et ne sont plus confondues avec les vrais léiomyosarcomes gastriques devenant ainsi exceptionnellement rencontrés dans la pratique médicale. Nous rapportons le cas d'une jeune femme de 32 ans admise pour une masse douloureuse de l'hypochondre gauche  et chez qui le bilan radiologique objectivait une volumineuse tumeur occupant le hile splénique. Une résection monobloc emportant la masse, la rate, le grand épiploon et une collerette de la paroi gastrique a été effectuée et l'examen histologique a confirmé le diagnostic d'un léiomyosarcome gastrique. Il est extrêmement  important de différencier les autres tumeurs mésenchymateuses du tractus digestif des léiomyosarcomes gastriques dont l'exérèse chirurgicale complète reste, jusqu'à présent, le seul traitement à visée curative.Key words: Léiomyosarcome, estomac, masse abdominal

Glial Activation Markers in CSF and Serum From Patients With Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis: Potential of Serum GFAP as Disease Severity Marker?

Background: In progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), glial activation is thought to be a relevant mechanism of disability progression. Therefore, in vivo assessment of the glial cell activity is, in the emerging treatment era of primary progressive MS (PPMS), more important than ever. Objectives: To test the association of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum markers of glial activation in PPMS patients;including glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1), soluble variant of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (sTREM2), and marker of neuroaxonal damage (Neurofilament light chain, NfL) as well as clinical severity. Methods: CSF and serum samples from PPMS patients were collected in the MS-centers at Universities of Freiburg (n = 49), Ulm (n = 27), Muenster (n = 11), and Rostock (n = 6). sTREM2 and CHI3L1 levels were measured using the previously reported ELISA assays, while NfL and GFAP were measured using SIMOA assays. Clinical data included age, gender, disease duration, treatment status, and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). Results: 93 CSF samples and 71 matching serum samples were analyzed. The median age of patients was 49 years and disease duration 4.5 years. GFAP(serum) correlated with EDSS after correction for age (beta = 0.3, p = 0.001). Furthermore, EDSS was higher in patients with a GFAP(serum) level >= 151.7 pg/ml compared to patients with GFAP(serum) below this cut-off (5.5 vs. 4.0, p = 0.009). Other markers did not correlate with the clinical severity. Moreover, we found a correlation between NfL(CSF) and GFAP(CSF), sTREM2 and CHI3L1 (rho = 0.4 for GFAP(CSF) and sTREM2, rho = 0.3 for CHI3L1, p < 0.01 for sTREM2 and CHI3L1 and <0.001 for GFAP(CSF)). CHI3L1 did not correlate with GFAP(CSF) but with sTREM2 (rho = 0.4, p < 0.01). Discussion: The correlation between the glial activation markers in CSF with the markers of neuroaxonal demise supports the notion of the glial involvement in PPMS. The positive correlation between GFAP(CSF) with disease duration and GFAP(serum) with the clinical severity of the disease may highlight a particular role of the astrocytes in PPMS and mark the potential of GFAPserum as a disease severity marker

Embryonic paratesticular rhabdomyosarcoma: a case report

INTRODUCTION: An embryonic paratesticular rhabdomyosarcoma is a very rare mesenchymal tumor. It is an intrascrotal tumor that is localized in paratesticular structures such as the epididymis or spermatic cord. Rhabdomyosarcoma is most often observed in children and adolescents, presenting as a painless scrotal mass. CASE PRESENTATION: Our patient was an 18-year-old Moroccan man who presented with a painless left scrotal mass that had evolved over four months. An inguinal orchiectomy was performed. A histological examination of the excised tissue revealed an embryonic rhabdomyosarcoma. Our patient had three sessions of chemotherapy with vincristine, actinomycin C and cyclophosphamide. Each chemotherapy session was conducted over five days, with a cycle of 21 days. Our patient was assessed two months after the last chemotherapy session and demonstrated good clinical improvement. CONCLUSION: Paratesticular rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare aggressive tumor manifesting in children and very young adults. Localized forms have a good prognosis whereas metastatic tumors show very poor results. A well-defined treatment based on surgery and chemotherapy yields good results

Glial Activation Markers in CSF and Serum From Patients With Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis: Potential of Serum GFAP as Disease Severity Marker?

Background: In progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), glial activation is thought to be a relevant mechanism of disability progression. Therefore, in vivo assessment of the glial cell activity is, in the emerging treatment era of primary progressive MS (PPMS), more important than ever.Objectives: To test the association of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum markers of glial activation in PPMS patients; including glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1), soluble variant of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (sTREM2), and marker of neuroaxonal damage (Neurofilament light chain, NfL) as well as clinical severity.Methods: CSF and serum samples from PPMS patients were collected in the MS-centers at Universities of Freiburg (n = 49), Ulm (n = 27), Muenster (n = 11), and Rostock (n = 6). sTREM2 and CHI3L1 levels were measured using the previously reported ELISA assays, while NfL and GFAP were measured using SIMOA assays. Clinical data included age, gender, disease duration, treatment status, and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS).Results: 93 CSF samples and 71 matching serum samples were analyzed. The median age of patients was 49 years and disease duration 4.5 years. GFAPserum correlated with EDSS after correction for age (β = 0.3, p = 0.001). Furthermore, EDSS was higher in patients with a GFAPserum level ≥ 151.7 pg/ml compared to patients with GFAPserum below this cut-off (5.5 vs. 4.0, p = 0.009). Other markers did not correlate with the clinical severity. Moreover, we found a correlation between NfLCSF and GFAPCSF, sTREM2 and CHI3L1 (ρ = 0.4 for GFAPCSF and sTREM2, ρ = 0.3 for CHI3L1, p &lt; 0.01 for sTREM2 and CHI3L1 and &lt;0.001 for GFAPCSF). CHI3L1 did not correlate with GFAPCSF but with sTREM2 (ρ = 0.4, p &lt; 0.01).Discussion: The correlation between the glial activation markers in CSF with the markers of neuroaxonal demise supports the notion of the glial involvement in PPMS. The positive correlation between GFAPCSF with disease duration and GFAPserum with the clinical severity of the disease may highlight a particular role of the astrocytes in PPMS and mark the potential of GFAPserum as a disease severity marker

SuSpect: a Fortran Code for the Supersymmetric and Higgs Particle Spectrum in the MSSM

We present the Fortran code SuSpect version 2.3, which calculates the Supersymmetric and Higgs particle spectrum in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The calculation can be performed in constrained models with universal boundary conditions at high scales such as the gravity (mSUGRA), anomaly (AMSB) or gauge (GMSB) mediated breaking models, but also in the non-universal MSSM case with R-parity and CP conservation. Care has been taken to treat important features such as the renormalization group evolution of parameters between low and high energy scales, the consistent implementation of radiative electroweak symmetry breaking and the calculation of the physical masses of the Higgs bosons and supersymmetric particles taking into account the dominant radiative corrections. Some checks of important theoretical and experimental features, such as the absence of non desired minima, large fine-tuning in the electroweak symmetry breaking condition, as well as agreement with precision measurements can be performed. The program is user friendly, simple to use, self-contained and can easily be linked with other codes; it is rather fast and flexible, thus allowing scans of the parameter space with several possible options and choices for model assumptions and approximations.Comment: 44 pages, 1 figure. Program updated and text shortened. The program can be found at http://www.lpta.univ-montp2.fr/~kneur/Suspec