Stability of Dissipative Optical Solitons in the 2D Complex Swift-Hohenberg Equation

International audienceThis article deals with stationary localized solutions of the (2D) two-dimensional complex Swift-Hohenberg equation (CSHE). Our approach is based on the semi-analytical method of collective coordinate approach. According to the parameters of the equation and a suitable choice of ansatz, the stationary dissipative solitons of the 2D CSHE equation are mapped. This approach allows to describe the influence of the parameters of the equation on the various physical parameters of the pulse and their dynamics. Finally, the major impact of spectral filtering terms on the dynamic of the solitons is demonstrated

Financial Development, Economic Growth and Energy Consumption Nexus in Cote d’Ivoire

This paper examines the relationship between financial development, economic growth and energy consumption in Cote d’Ivoire over the period 1971-2011. To do so, the study first built a synthetic indicator of financial development through the Principal Component Analysis technique (PCA) and used four energy sources such as electric power consumption, electricity production from renewable sources, electricity production from oil sources and electricity production from hydroelectric sources. Then, employing the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration, we find that there is a long run relationship between financial development, economic growth and energy consumption sources. Furthermore, the results of the Vector Error Correction Models (VECM) reveal unidirectional causality running from financial development to energy consumption sources, bidirectional causality between economic growth and energy consumption and unidirectional causality from financial development to economic growth in the long run. The mixed results are due to the use of different proxies for energy consumption. Accordingly, this paper recommends that policy makers should solicit the support of financial sector in order to solve energy problems and further the diversification of the energy consumption sources since financial development has a positive effect on energy consumption in long run. Moreover, government should develop public-private partnership (PPP) to stimulate economic growth, as well as to improve the access to energy and maintain a sustainable development in Cote d’Ivoire

Analysis of the performance of a newly designed fermenter built in local materials for improvement of cocoa fermentation, in Ivory Coast

Objective: Cocoa beans fermentation is a spontaneous chemical process, traditionally done in box or in a heap. Equipment is also important in achieving the final chocolate aroma. This study analyzes the performances of a new-designed cocoa bean fermenter. Methodology and results: In this study, a new type of fermenter, a rotating cylindrical fermenter (RCF) has been designed in order to improve the fermentation of cocoa that remains difficult to control, because of the spontaneous nature of the microbiota. The performances of this fermenter was analyzed and compared to those of the traditional wooden box (TWB) fermenter that is commonly used on farm. During the 6 days of fermentation in both fermenters, the growth of microorganisms such as yeasts, lactic bacteria, acetic bacteria, bacillus and moulds as well as chemical and physical changes of the fermenting cocoa were monitored. The results showed that in the fermenter (RCF) a rapid temperature increase was observed in the course of the fermentation process with a temperature reaching 51°C within 73 h comparatively to the traditional fermenter (48°C within 118 h). This leads to a higher proportion of brown beans, indicator of a good fermentation from RCF fermenter as assessed by the cut test. This proportion was 94.44% for RCF and 85.88% for TWB. Moreover the optimization of heat generated in the RCF fermenter, allowed a normal browning (final gray level was 77 in both fermenters) despite modification of microbiota growth order (early growth of acetic bacteria and stunted growth of yeast in RCF, but not for TWB). Conclusion and application of results: The high proportions of brown beans in RCF suggest that this equipment is liable to contribute to the improvement of standard quality of cocoa beans

Antagonistic mechanisms of fluorescent pseudomonads against Phytophthora capsici in black pepper (Piper nigrum L.)

Fluorescent pseudomonads were selectively isolated from black pepper (Piper nigrum) roots and screened for volatile and non-volatile metabolite production and inhibition in growth of Phytophthora capsici, the causal organism of foot rot disease. Among the isolates tested, the inhibition of P. capsici varied from 36.3% to 70.0% by non-volatile metabolites and from 2% to 23% by volatile-metabolites. Isolate IISR-51 caused maximum inhibition of P. capsici by production of non-volatile and volatile metabolites. Many of the isolates produced hydrogen cyanide, which limited the growth of P. capsici. The study indicated the involvement of siderophore-mediated antagonism in fluorescent pseudomonads. The fluorescent pseudomonads could systemically invade black pepper cuttings upon root bacterization. &nbsp

The Parmodulin NRD-21 is an Allosteric Inhibitor of PAR1 Gq Signaling with Improved Anti-Inflammatory Activity and Stability

Novel analogs of the allosteric, biased PAR1 ligand ML161 (parmodulin 2, PM2) were prepared in order to identify potential anti-thrombotic and anti-inflammatory compounds of the parmodulin class with improved properties. Investigations of structure-activity relationships of the western portion of the 1,3-diaminobenzene scaffold were performed using an intracellular calcium mobilization assay with endothelial cells, and several heterocycles were identified that inhibited PAR1 at sub-micromolar concentrations. The oxazole NRD-21 was profiled in additional detail, and it was confirmed to act as a selective, reversible, negative allosteric modulator of PAR1. In addition to inhibiting human platelet aggregation, it showed superior anti-inflammatory activity to ML161 in a qPCR assay measuring the expression of tissue factor in response to the cytokine TNF-alpha in endothelial cells. Additionally, NRD-21 is much more plasma stable than ML161, and is a promising lead compound for the parmodulin class for anti-thrombotic and anti-inflammatory indications

Use of sensory and physico-chemical parameters to understand consumer perception of attiéké, a fermented cassava product

Background: Cassava breeding research programs focused initially on agronomic performance but in recent years they have con-sidered the processability and the organoleptic properties of the final product, to increase the adoption of new varieties. One important cassava foodstuff is attiéké, a fermented and granular product, so it is necessary to determine criteria used by attiéké processors to select raw cassava and the characteristics leading consumers to like this product. This study assessed the attiéké pro-duction process, the criteria associated with the quality of attiéké, the sensory drivers of consumer acceptance, and their thresholds. Results: The total processing yield of attiéké varied according to the cassava variety and depended primarily on the fermentation-pressing yield. However, it was not correlated either with the peeling yield or with morphological characteristics of cassava roots. The production of a ton of attiéké required about 150 h. Dry matter, organic acids, soluble sugars, total pectin, and the pH of raw material and attiéké varied depending on the cassava variety. Ten discriminating sensory attributes of attiéké were identified. Consumer testing showed that overall liking for attiéké was associated with sourness, texture, and brightness. Acceptable sensory score thresholds were 1.67–2.18 for sour odor, 4.75 to 6.3 for cohesiveness, and 5.4 to 6.3 for ‘mouth feel sensation’. Attiéké dry matter correlated positively with cohesiveness and moldability. Conclusions: Several potential solutions are discussed to improve the adoption of cassava varieties for attiéké production. How-ever, further studies need to be carried out to translate the sensory thresholds of texture attributes into robust instrumental methods because texture is an important attribute of attiéké in addition to sourness

The challenge of improving soil fertility in yam cropping systems of West Africa

Published online: 21 Nov 2017Yam (Dioscorea spp.) is a tuber crop grown for food security, income generation, and traditional medicine. This crop has a high cultural value for some of the groups growing it. Most of the production comes from West Africa where the increased demand has been covered by enlarging cultivated surfaces while the mean yield remained around 10 t tuber ha−1. In West Africa, yam is traditionally cultivated without input as the first crop after a long-term fallow as it is considered to require a high soil fertility. African soils, however, are being more and more degraded. The aims of this review were to show the importance of soil fertility for yam, discuss barriers that might limit the adoption of integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) in yam-based systems in West Africa, present the concept of innovation platforms (IPs) as a tool to foster collaboration between actors for designing innovations in yam-based systems and provide recommendations for future research. This review shows that the development of sustainable, feasible, and acceptable soil management innovations for yam requires research to be conducted in interdisciplinary teams including natural and social sciences and in a transdisciplinary manner involving relevant actors from the problem definition, to the co-design of soil management innovations, the evaluation of research results, their communication and their implementation. Finally, this research should be conducted in diverse biophysical and socio-economic settings to develop generic rules on soil/plant relationships in yam as affected by soil management and on how to adjust the innovation supply to specific contexts