SUSTAINING MOROCCAN OASIS AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM through SMALL MECHANIZATION INPUTS

Saharan oases are a highly artificial ecosystem that has proved to be economicallyviable for centuries, despiteits’fragile equilibrium. The pillar of this ecosystem is the good management of the palm grove, which allows the establishment of a three-layer structure and of a microclimate favourable for agriculture. Nowadays oases ecosystem is at risk, endangered by climate changes and economic and social factors and the poor management of the palm grove,caused by lack of human and material resources,is the main cause of its’ collapsing. The introduction of small mechanization can provide tools to invigorate this farming system and attract young people in the agricultural sector

POROUS NETWORK STRUCTURE AND TOTAL POROSITY OF ROCKS USED IN HISTORICAL MONUMENT CHELLAH

International audienceThe aim of this work is to determine the physical and mineralogical characteristics of the building stones used in the archeological Roman site named Chellah in the Rabat city (Morocco). For that, many experimental measurements, based on the mercury intrusion porosimetry and Scanning Eelectron Microscopy were carried out on samples extracted from different areas of the building. The SEM analysis shows a net change in the internal structure of the altered stone according to the depth. The porosity is essentially localized between the primary particles and can be completely sealed by secondary precipitations. The mercury porosimetry measurements allow obtaining several parameters and show the presence of three types of porosity domains :i) a macroporosity domain in which the access ray is greater than 2 µm), ii) a microporosity domain in which the access ray is smaller than 0.2 µm and iii) no porosity variation (0.2 < access ray < 2 µm), which evolves to a class of mesoporosity during the alteration of the material. The increase in the microporosity and macroporosity is caused by a partial dissolution of cements. The analysis of altered and unaltered samples of various orientations shows a difference between the pore volumes for samples perpendicular and parallel to the bedding plane. This result confirms that Calcarenite stones are anisotropic materials in which the porous network connectivity is characteristic of the petrophysical properties anisotropy

Des sources du savoir aux médicaments du futur

L'origine des pharmacopées traditionnelles L'élaboration des pharmacopées Les médicaments du XXIe siècle Comment les connaissances des savoirs thérapeutiques se sont-elles transmises au travers des différentes cultures ? Cet ouvrage innovant, qui réunit les travaux présentés au 4e Congrès européen d'ethnopharmacologie, fait remonter à la préhistoire les sources des connaissances thérapeutiques. Si les pharmacopées écrites jalonnent l'histoire des grandes médecines savantes, d'autres modes d'accès à la connaissance semblent exister dans l'univers chamanique des sociétés de tradition orale ainsi que dans la façon dont les animaux malades se soignent par les plantes. L'évaluation des propriétés pharmaco-toxicologiques et chimiques des plantes d'usage traditionnel devrait par ailleurs favoriser le développement futur des médicaments à base de plantes, l'un des thèmes porteurs abordés dans cet ouvrage. Mais l'objectif de ce livre est aussi de susciter, partout dans le monde, de nouvelles thématiques de recherche dans le domaine de la préhistoire du médicament et de la compréhension de l'acquisition et de la transmission du savoir. Le développement du phytomédicament non toxique destiné à l'homme et à l'animal figure également parmi les enjeux majeurs de demain.The origin of traditional pharmacopoeias The development of pharmacopoeias The medicines of the XXIth century How have the traditional Therapeutical knowledges been transmited to the différent cultures? This innovating book containing the proceedings of the 4th European Congress of Ethnopharmacology return to prehistory the sources of fherapeutical knowledge and asks how the animals cure themselves with plants. If the printing pharmacopoeias ponctuate the history of learning medicines other way of accessibility to the knowledge seems exist in the world of shaman in society with oral tradition. Ethnopharmacological evaluation of traditional médicinal plant should favour the development of phytomedicine. The purpose of this publication is also to provide dues to scientists in the whole world and help them identify new avenues for research in the field of the prehistory of drugs, for a better understanding of the way knowledge is acquired and then transmitted, and for the development of non-toxic herbal medicines for administration to human and animal beings