Highly Conductive and Soluble Polymer Synthesized by Copolymerization of Thiophene with Para-Methoxybenzaldehyde Using Clay Catalyst

This present research focuses on the synthesis of a new conducting polymer based on the copolymerization of thiophene with para-methoxybenzaldehyde, using a clay as an ecologic catalyst named Maghnite-H+. The catalysis of the reaction by Maghnite-H+ can confer it important benefits, such as the green environment aspect. The reaction was carried out in dichloromethane as a solvent. The new copolymer obtained is a poly (heteroarylene methines) small bandgap polymers precursor. It can be considered as a useful model system for examining the impacts of π-conjugation length on the electronic properties of this type of conjugated polymers. The measurements of the electrical conductivity gave a value of order of 0.0120 W.cm-1, allowing its use in various important applications. The characteristics of the molecular structure and the thermal behavior of the conducting polymer obtained are also discussed using different methods of analysis, such as: proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, ultraviolet/visible spectroscopy, and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Copyright © 2019 BCREC Group. All rights reserve

Crustal shortening and vertical strain partitioning in the Middle Atlas Mountains of Morocco

Copyright 1998, American Geophysical Union. See also: http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/1998/98TC01439.shtml; http://atlas.geo.cornell.edu/morocco/publications/gomez1998.htmThe NE-SW trending Middle Atlas Mountains of Morocco are obliquely oriented within the late Cenozoic regional stress field, resulting in deformation that is partitioned into strike-slip faulting and thrust-related folding. In the central Middle Atlas, thrusting is confined to a 20 km wide fold belt between two relatively rigid crustal blocks that are obliquely converging. We suggest that in addition to strain partitioning observed in plan view, a partitioning of deformation between the upper and lower crust may be necessary to reconcile estimated crustal thickening and horizontal shortening within the fold belt. Cross-section balancing based on field observations demonstrates a relatively modest amount of Cenozoic horizontal shortening (~ 4.7 km) normal to the fold belt producing 800 m of structural relief. Yet, the geophysical data suggest this contraction has not produced a significant crustal root beneath the fold belt; that is, the belt does not appear to be isostatically compensated. Assuming all horizontal shortening was accommodated by crustal thickening beneath the fold belt implies much greater thickening than is suggested by constraints on the preshortened crustal thickness. It thus appears that thickening does not accommodate all of the contraction. We suggest one possible solution: The upper crust shortens by thickening (faulting and folding), whereas the lower crust deforms laterally

Postoperative pain management in children: Guidance from the pain committee of the European Society for Paediatric Anaesthesiology (ESPA Pain Management Ladder Initiative)

The main remit of the European Society for Paediatric Anaesthesiology (ESPA) Pain Committee is to improve the quality of pain management in children. The ESPA Pain Management Ladder is a clinical practice advisory based upon expert consensus to help to ensure a basic standard of perioperative pain management for all children. Further steps are suggested to improve pain management once a basic standard has been achieved. The guidance is grouped by the type of surgical procedure and layered to suggest basic, intermediate, and advanced pain management methods. The committee members are aware that there are marked differences in financial and personal resources in different institutions and countries and also considerable variations in the availability of analgesic drugs across Europe. We recommend that the guidance should be used as a framework to guide best practice

Engineering Melon Plants with Improved Fruit Shelf Life Using the TILLING Approach

Background: Fruit ripening and softening are key traits that have an effect on food supply, fruit nutritional value and consequently, human health. Since ethylene induces ripening of climacteric fruit, it is one of the main targets to control fruit over ripening that leads to fruit softening and deterioration. The characterization of the ethylene pathway in Arabidopsis and tomato identified key genes that control fruit ripening. [br/] Methodology/Principal Findings: To engineer melon fruit with improved shelf-life, we conducted a translational research experiment. We set up a TILLING platform in a monoecious and climacteric melon line, cloned genes that control ethylene production and screened for induced mutations that lead to fruits with enhanced shelf life. Two missense mutations, L124F and G194D, of the ethylene biosynthetic enzyme, ACC oxidase 1, were identified and the mutant plants were characterized with respect to fruit maturation. The L124F mutation is a conservative mutation occurring away from the enzyme active site and thus was predicted to not affect ethylene production and thus fruit ripening. In contrast, G194D modification occurs in a highly conserved amino acid position predicted, by crystallographic analysis, to affect the enzymatic activity. Phenotypic analysis of the G194D mutant fruit showed complete delayed ripening and yellowing with improved shelf life and, as predicted, the L124F mutation did not have an effect. [br/] Conclusions/Significance: We constructed a mutant collection of 4023 melon M2 families. Based on the TILLING of 11 genes, we calculated the overall mutation rate of one mutation every 573 kb and identified 8 alleles per tilled kilobase. We also identified a TILLING mutant with enhanced fruit shelf life. This work demonstrates the effectiveness of TILLING as a reverse genetics tool to improve crop species. As cucurbits are model species in different areas of plant biology, we anticipate that the developed tool will be widely exploited by the scientific community

The effects of the financial and banking crisis of 2007-2008 on banks behaviors : did these effects change banks behaviors ?

La problématique de la thèse : en quoi les effets de la crise financière et bancaire de 2007-2008 ont influé les comportements de banques et en quoi ces derniers consistent-ils ? Pour ce faire, nous avons montré, d’abord, que le bilan et le compte de résultats sont des outils explicatifs de comportements stratégiques et opérationnels de banques. Vu la responsabilité particulière des banques de grande taille dans cette crise, nous avons exploité les données des 200 premières banques mondiales figurant dans le classement de 2006 (avant crise) et de 2012 (après crise) extraites de la base «The Banker» en utilisant, ensuite, l’analyse factorielle exploratoire pour découvrir les facteurs latents qui influencent leurs comportements dans une logique de statique comparative. Les résultats obtenus montrent que la crise a changé ces comportements. Au plan de comportement stratégique, les banques européennes s’orientent, en 2012, vers le modèle de banque de «détail pur» alors qu’en 2006 elles se répartissaient sur 3 modèles: «détail pur»; «mixtes»; «marché». Pour les banques de l’Amérique du Nord et de l’Asie-Pacifique, déjà spécialisées dans le «détail pur» en 2006, le restent pour 2012. Au plan de comportement opérationnel, les banques européennes passent d’une focalisation sur la rentabilité vers le renforcement de la suffisance de capital. Les banques nord-américaines et de l’Asie–Pacifique, focalisées sur l’activité en 2006, s’orientent sur la rentabilité en 2012. En conclusion, 2 recommandations pour les régulateurs financiers : s’assurer que la tendance vers le modèle de banque de «détail pur» soit de long terme et accorder une attention accrue à la taille du bilanThe thesis problem: how the effects of the financial and banking crisis of 2007-2008 have influenced the behavior of banks and what do they consist of ? To do this, we showed, first, that the balance sheet and income statement are good explanatory tools of strategic and operational behavior of banks. Due to the special responsibility of the large banks in this crisis, we used data of the top 200 global banks listed in the 2006 (pre-crisis) and 2012 (post-crisis) classifications, retrieved from the database "The Banker". We used the exploratory factor analysis to discover the latent factors which influence the banks behaviors, in a comparative static logic. The results show that this crisis has actually changed these behaviors. From the strategic positioning perspective, the trend of the European banks after the crisis is the "retail-funded" banking model. In 2006, the positioning was heterogeneous with a "cocktail" of "retail-funded", "wholesale-funded" and "trading" banks. For the North American and Asia-Pacific banks, which was already specialized in the "retail-funded" in 2006, will remain so for 2012. In terms of operational behavior, European banks pass from a strong focus on profitability, before the crisis, to a reinforcement of capital adequacy, after the crisis. The banks of North America and Asia-Pacific, which were focused on the activity, before the crisis, will give more importance to the profitability after the crisis. In conclusion, two recommendations for the financial regulators : ensure that the trend in matter of strategic positioning of the banks is oriented to the “retail-funded” model and pay special attention to the size of the balance sheet

L'érosion et le ruissellement des sols rouges dans les monts de Zariffet-Algérie : utilisation de simulation de pluies

Red - soil erosion and runoff in Zariffet - Algérie Mountains: utilising rain simulation. Soil is slowly renewable resource and once lost, gives a field that will not be as productive for many years. Over time, even small soil losses accumulate to reduced returns. The results obtained by rain simulation tests show that there are relationships between the solid filler (C) and runoff (Kr) especially when the soil is dry. All the results obtained have shown that the intensity of runoff and erosion is c losely related to the surface states, they even related to land use, slope and rainfall. The interaction of all these parameters is the origin of the genesis of runoff inducing soil loss. In parallel to these factors studied, other factors seem to increase the soil's susceptibility to erosion in the area Zariffet: increasingly extended water deficit, management practices that no longer follow bioclimatic changing environment and especially natural fire frequency. The simulation method, very useful approach, enabled to have significant results on the behavior of the soil and the factors involved on short notic

Design of unknown input fuzzy observer for vehicle dynamics estimation with road geometry consideration

methodology for estimating vehicle dynamics whith road geometry consideration is presented in this paper. Vehicle sideslip and roll parameters are estimated in the presence of the road bank angle and the road curvature as unknown inputs. The unknown inputs are then estimated using the observer results. This information about the road geometry and vehicle parameters is needed in the driver assistance systems to be able to calculate the risk index of a rollover or a lane departure crashes. Taking into account the unmeasured variables, an unknown inputs (TS) observer is then designed on the basis of the measure of the roll rate, the steering angle and the lateral offset given by the distance between the road centerline and the vehicle axe at a look-ahead distance. Synthesis conditions of the proposed fuzzy observer are formulated in terms of Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMI) using Lyapunov method. Simulation results show good efficiency of the proposed method to estimate both vehicle dynamics and road geometry

L’histoire éruptive du volcan monogénique quaternaire de Timahdite (Moyen Atlas, Maroc)

Le volcan de Timahdite fait partie de la province volcanique alcaline quaternaire du Moyen Atlas et se compose d’un maar à cratère grossièrement elliptique entouré d’un anneau de tufs, au sein duquel se niche un cône strombolien. Les travaux de cartographie, pétrographie, morphoscopie et granulométrie réalisés sur les dépôts volcaniques de cet appareil montrent que son édification s’est déroulée en quatre phases éruptives qui se relayent dans le temps : (I) une phase phréatomagmatique, (II) une première phase effusive à l’origine du lac de lave, (III) une phase strombolienne et (IV) la phase effusive terminale. La phase phréatomagmatique, engendrée par l’interaction magma-eau, est constituée par des déferlantes basales de plus en plus sèches et entrecoupées de niveaux de retombées. La première phase effusive est représentée par un lac de lave basaltique qui colmate le cratère du maar et déborde vers l’est pour se canaliser dans le lit de l’Oued Guigou. La phase strombolienne se met en place à la suite d’une courte pause représentée par une discordance angulaire synchrone de la mise en place du lac de lave. Cette troisième phase est matérialisée par un cône de scories avec une séquence pyroclastique dominée par des retombées stromboliennes auxquels sont associées des bombes fusiformes et en bouse de vache. La phase effusive terminale correspond à la mise en place de la coulée basaltique terminale et sa brèche qui nappent le sommet et le flanc sud-est du cône. Outre les causes volcanologiques et tectoniques, la variabilité du bilan hydrique de l’Oued Guigou a pu jouer un rôle majeur dans la dynamique de construction du volcan de Timahdite, influençant largement les dynamismes éruptifs et les modalités de dépôts.The Timahdite volcano is part of the Middle Atlas quaternary alkaline volcanic province and consists of a roughly elliptical crater maar surrounded by a tuff ring within which is edified a Strombolian cone. The cartography, petrography, morphoscopy and granulometry work carried out on the volcanic deposits of this edifice show that its construction took place in four eruptive phases which are relayed in time: (I) a phreatomagmatic phase, (II) a first effusive phase at the origin of the lava lake, (III) a Strombolian phase and (IV) the second effusive phase. The phreatomagmatic phase, generated by the magma-water interaction, consists of increasingly dry base surge interstratified with fallout levels. The first effusive phase is represented by a basalt lava lake which overflows the crater of the maar and pours out to the east and channeled into the Oued Guigou valley. The Strombolian phase is set up following a short pause represented by an angular unconformity. This third phase is materialized by a scoria cone with a pyroclastic sequence dominated by Strombolian fallout with ellipsoidal and cow pie bombs. The second effusive phase corresponds to the setup of the second basalt flow and its breccia which cover the top and the south-east flank of the cone. Besides the volcanological and tectonic causes, the variability of the water balance of Oued Guigou could play a major role in the dynamics of construction of the Timahdite volcano, largely influencing the eruptive dynamics and the deposits modalities

An improved fuzzy alpha-beta filter for tracking a highly maneuvering target

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