Bilans hydrologiques de la lagune de Bizerte (nord-est de la Tunisie)

Les flux liquides et solides (écoulés à partir des principaux tributaires de la lagune de Bizerte), corrélés positivement, sont influencés par les conditions environnementales et par les aménagements hydrauliques en amont. C’est dans ce contexte que nous présentons cette étude qui consiste à présenter un bilan d’évolution mensuel des flux liquides, solides et en composants azotés et phosphatés dissous dans les eaux des principaux affluents de la lagune de Bizerte au cours de l’année hydrologique (octobre 2004 - septembre 2005). L’utilisation fréquente et intensive par les agriculteurs d’engrais chimiques azotés et phosphatés, d’une part, et le déversement d’eaux usées domestiques et industrielles dans les principaux tributaires de la lagune, d’autre part, participent activement à la pollution des eaux de la lagune. Cette dernière est liée à la garaet Ichkeul par l’intermédiaire de l’oued Tinja. En hiver, les eaux circulent de la garaet Ichkeul vers la lagune de Bizerte, avec des flux liquides et solides respectivement estimés à 418 (± 28) Mm3 et (28 ± 5) x 103 (t). Ainsi, l’oued Tinja représente la principale source d’apports en éléments nutritifs à la lagune de Bizerte (74 (± 15), 954 (± 76), 92 (± 11) et 70 (± 11) (t) respectivement de nitrite, nitrate, ammonium et phosphate), alors que durant la période sèche, cet oued permet aux eaux marines (8  (± 2) Mm3) de pénétrer dans la garaet Ichkeul à travers la lagune de Bizerte.The water and solid fluxes (drained from the principal tributaries of the Bizerte Lagoon) were positively correlated and were influenced by the environmental conditions and by the upstream hydraulic installations. It is within this context that we present this study on the monthly variation of water, solid and dissolved nutrient fluxes associated with the principal tributaries of the Bizerte Lagoon during the October 2004 – September 2005 hydrologic year. The frequent and intensive use of chemical nitrogenous and phosphate fertilizer by farmers, on one hand, and the discharge of domestic sewage and industrial wastewater to the principal tributaries of this lagoon, on the other hand, actively contribute to the pollution of the lagoon waters. The Bizerte Lagoon is linked to the garaet Ichkeul by the Tinja wadi. In winter, waters flow from garaet Ichkeul towards the Bizerte Lagoon, and the water and solid fluxes are estimated to be 418 ± 29 Mm3 and (28 ± 5) x 103 (t), respectively. Thus, the Tinja wadi represents the main nutrient supply to the Bizerte Lagoon: 75 ± 15; 954 ± 76; 92 ± 11; and 70 ± 11 (t) for nitrite, nitrate, ammonium and phosphate, respectively. In contrast, during the dry period, this wadi allows marine waters (84 ± 2.5 Mm3) to penetrate in the garaet Ichkeul through the Bizerte Lagoon

Alzheimer’s Disease Computer-Aided Diagnosis on Positron Emission Tomography Brain Images Using Image Processing Techniques

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a molecular medical imaging modality which is commonly used for neurodegenerative disease diagnosis. Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD), based on medical image analysis, could help with the quantitative evaluation of brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Ranking the effectiveness of brain volume of interest (VOI) to separate healthy or normal control (HC or NC) from AD brain PET images is presented in this book chapter. Brain images are first mapped into anatomical VOIs using an atlas. Different features including statistical, graph, or connectivity-based features are then computed on these VOIs. Top-ranked VOIs are then input into a support vector machine (SVM) classifier. The developed methods are evaluated on a local database image as well as on Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) public database and then compared to known selection feature methods. These new approaches outperformed classification results in the case of a two-group separation

Factors driving the seasonal dynamics of Pseudo-nitzschia species and domoic acid at mussel farming in the SW Mediterranean Sea

The seasonal variations in Pseudo-nitzschia species and domoic acid (DA) concentration were investigated, at three shellfish farms in SW coastal Mediterranean. In parallel, the toxicity of mussels was tested. Two distinct groups of species were enumerated according to morphology and size (Pseudo-nizschia delicatissima and P. seriata groups). DA was detected over a nine-week period from July to October 2012 in the Lagoon, with a maximum concentration recorded in July (12.71 ng DA L−1). DA was positively correlated with the presence of P. seriata-group and P. delicatissima-group and was mostly occurred during P limitation period in seawater. No DA was found in mussels that were collected during the period of DA absence in seawater. Our results suggest that temperature, salinity, inorganic and organic nutrients were significant for the seasonal dynamics of P. seriata and P. delicatissima groups, but that the P limitation was the most driving factor for DA production in these areas. The relative influence of environmental factors should be further studied to better understand the recent surfacing of massive blooms of toxigenic Pseudo-nitzschia in SW Mediterranean coast.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION IN AZERBAIJAN AND IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, USA

Authors of this report describe similar characteristics of oil and gas industries of the Azerbaijan Republic and the State of California, USA. Ecological and environmental problems on the territories of exploration are presented as well

Computer-aided diagnosis technique for brain pet images classification in the case of Alzheimer disease (AD)

Dans le cadre de cette thèse, nous nous sommes intéressés à l’étude de l’apport d’une aide assistée par ordinateur au diagnostic de certaines maladies dégénératives du cerveau, en explorant les images de tomographie par émission de positons, par des techniques de traitement d’image et d’analyse statistique.Nous nous sommes intéressés à la représentation corticale des 116 régions anatomiques, en associant à chacune d’elles un vecteur d’attribut issu du calcul des 4 premiers moments des intensités de voxels, et en y incluant par ailleurs l’entropie. Sur la base de l’aire de courbes ROC, nous avons établi qualitativement la pertinence de chacune des régions anatomiques, en fonction du nombre de paramètres du vecteur d’attribut qui lui était associé, pour séparer le groupe des sujets sains de celui des sujets atteints de la maladie d’Alzheimer. Dans notre étude nous avons proposé une nouvelle approche de sélection de régions les plus pertinentes, nommée "combination matrix", en se basant sur un système combinatoire. Chaque région est caractérisée par les différentes combinaisons de son vecteur d’attribut. L’introduction des régions les plus pertinentes(en terme de pouvoir de séparation des sujets) dans le classificateur supervisé SVM nous a permis d’obtenir, malgré la réduction de dimension opérée, un taux de classification meilleur que celui obtenu en utilisant l’ensemble des régions.Our research focuses on presenting a novel computer-aided diagnosis technique for brain Positrons Emission Tomography (PET) images. It processes and analyzes quantitatively these images, in order to better characterize and extract meaningful information for medical diagnosis. Our contribution is to present a new method of classifying brain 18 FDG PET images. Brain images are first segmented into 116 Regions Of Interest (ROI) using an atlas. After computing some statistical features (mean, standarddeviation, skewness, kurtosis and entropy) on these regions’ histogram, we defined a Separation Power Factor (SPF) associated to each region. This factor quantifies the ability of each region to separate neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer disease from Healthy Control (HC) brain images. A novel region-based approach is developed to classify brain 18FDG-PET images. The motivation of this work is to identify the best regional features for separating HC from AD patients, in order to reduce the number of features required to achieve an acceptable classification result while reducing computational time required for the classification task

Brain Region Ranking for 18FDG-PET Computer-Aided Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease

International audienc

From 2D to 3D for a better future : A study on the sustainability benefits the implementation of 3D simulation can contribute to the product development phase in the fashion industry on the Swedish market

Dagens modeindustri behöver förändras drastiskt eftersom den är ansvarig för skadliga utsläpp. För att förbättra modeindustrin är hållbara förändringar nödvändiga. Denna studie undersöker övergången från 2D- till 3D-design inom modeindustrin och dess inverkan på ekonomisk och ekologisk hållbarhet. Genom kvalitativa intervjuer med relevanta respondenter från svenska modeföretag analyserar studien fördelar och utmaningar kopplade till hållbarhet av 3D-design i produktutvecklingsprocessen. Resultatet visar att både ledtider och materialanvändning kan gynnas av implementeringen av 3D-teknik. Dessutom förbättrar förmågan att visualisera och testa design digitalt produktkvaliteten och minskar behovet av dyra och tidskrävande fysiska prototyper. I diskussionen ställer författarna frågor om fenomenet greenwashing och om de påstådda hållbarhetsvinsterna verkligen är vad de framställs för att vara. Det väcks också frågor om de ekologiska och ekonomiska fördelarna motsvarar förväntningarna, och om den ökade försäljningen verkligen är en indikation på hållbarhet. Today's fashion industry needs to drastically change as it is responsible for harmful pollutants. To improve the fashion industry, sustainable changes are necessary. This study examines the transition from 2D to 3D design in the fashion industry and its impact on economic and ecological sustainability. Through qualitative interviews with relevant respondents from Swedish fashion companies, the study analyzes the benefits and challenges linked with sustainability of 3D design in the product development process. The result demonstrates that both lead times and material consumption can benefit with the implementation of 3D technology. Moreover, the ability to visualize and test designs digitally enhances product quality and reduces the need for costly and time consuming physical prototypes. In the discussion, the authors raise questions about the phenomenon of greenwashing and whether the claimed sustainability gains are really what they are made out to be. There are questions about whether the ecological and economic benefits meet expectations, and whether the increased sales are really an indication of sustainability.

From 2D to 3D for a better future : A study on the sustainability benefits the implementation of 3D simulation can contribute to the product development phase in the fashion industry on the Swedish market

Dagens modeindustri behöver förändras drastiskt eftersom den är ansvarig för skadliga utsläpp. För att förbättra modeindustrin är hållbara förändringar nödvändiga. Denna studie undersöker övergången från 2D- till 3D-design inom modeindustrin och dess inverkan på ekonomisk och ekologisk hållbarhet. Genom kvalitativa intervjuer med relevanta respondenter från svenska modeföretag analyserar studien fördelar och utmaningar kopplade till hållbarhet av 3D-design i produktutvecklingsprocessen. Resultatet visar att både ledtider och materialanvändning kan gynnas av implementeringen av 3D-teknik. Dessutom förbättrar förmågan att visualisera och testa design digitalt produktkvaliteten och minskar behovet av dyra och tidskrävande fysiska prototyper. I diskussionen ställer författarna frågor om fenomenet greenwashing och om de påstådda hållbarhetsvinsterna verkligen är vad de framställs för att vara. Det väcks också frågor om de ekologiska och ekonomiska fördelarna motsvarar förväntningarna, och om den ökade försäljningen verkligen är en indikation på hållbarhet. Today's fashion industry needs to drastically change as it is responsible for harmful pollutants. To improve the fashion industry, sustainable changes are necessary. This study examines the transition from 2D to 3D design in the fashion industry and its impact on economic and ecological sustainability. Through qualitative interviews with relevant respondents from Swedish fashion companies, the study analyzes the benefits and challenges linked with sustainability of 3D design in the product development process. The result demonstrates that both lead times and material consumption can benefit with the implementation of 3D technology. Moreover, the ability to visualize and test designs digitally enhances product quality and reduces the need for costly and time consuming physical prototypes. In the discussion, the authors raise questions about the phenomenon of greenwashing and whether the claimed sustainability gains are really what they are made out to be. There are questions about whether the ecological and economic benefits meet expectations, and whether the increased sales are really an indication of sustainability.

The Determinants of International Financial Integration in the MENA Area

AbstractThe degree of International financial integration has considerably increased over the last two decades and has become a topical area of research. This study aims to offer some insight into understanding this phenomen in the MENA area. Several explanations are considered and discussed such as trade openness, the level of development, the financial market development, the inflation rate, fluctuations in the exchange rate, the financial crisis of 2008 and the tax policy. Overall, the results provide strong evidence in support of our choice of drivers of international financial integration