Multimodal Generic Framework for Multimedia Documents Adaptation

Today, people are increasingly capable of creating and sharing documents (which generally are multimedia oriented) via the internet. These multimedia documents can be accessed at anytime and anywhere (city, home, etc.) on a wide variety of devices, such as laptops, tablets and smartphones. The heterogeneity of devices and user preferences has raised a serious issue for multimedia contents adaptation. Our research focuses on multimedia documents adaptation with a strong focus on interaction with users and exploration of multimodality. We propose a multimodal framework for adapting multimedia documents based on a distributed implementation of W3C’s Multimodal Architecture and Interfaces applied to ubiquitous computing. The core of our proposed architecture is the presence of a smart interaction manager that accepts context related information from sensors in the environment as well as from other sources, including information available on the web and multimodal user inputs. The interaction manager integrates and reasons over this information to predict the user’s situation and service use. A key to realizing this framework is the use of an ontology that undergirds the communication and representation, and the use of the cloud to insure the service continuity on heterogeneous mobile devices. Smart city is assumed as the reference scenario

Smart Emergency Alert System Using Internet of Things and Linked Open Data for Chronic Disease Patients

International audienceNowadays, the widespread deployment of more powerful devices (sensors, smartphones, tablets, etc.) has provided us with great number sources of sensing data that are exploited in several domains namely the healthcare domain. Chronic diseases are the most common causes of death and disability worldwide. These types of diseases require more and more studies to help patients and notify cases of crises that lead to death. Representing knowledge through building an ontology for emergency alert system is important to achieve semantic interoperability among health information, predict the patient real-time context and to better execute decision notification. Linked Open Data services are used in our paper in order to provide with the semantic description of collected data from different sources (wearable sensors, environmental sensors, etc.)

Secondary metabolites of the argan tree (Morocco) may have disease prevention properties

The argan tree (Argania spinosa L. Skeels) is native to Morocco, where after the Holly oak it constitutes the second most common tree in the country. Recent studies suggest that dietary argan oil, an endemic seed oil from argan fruits, may have a relevant role in disease prevention, and its consumption could protect against atherosclerosis and cancer. Unfortunately, in less than a century, more than a third of the forest has disappeared. It is therefore imperative to improve the tree\'s production potential so that it can regain its key position in the agricultural systems of the region. On the basis of ethnobotanical knowledge, researchers are screening metabolites of this rare plant to identify bioactive compounds for the development of new therapeutic agents and food supplements. This includes studies on secondary metabolites with chemopreventive activities. In this review, a complete outline of components (triglycerides, unsaponifiable, phenolic antioxidants and aroma constituents) are described. Finally, a discussion of the biological functions of the polar and non-polar A. spinosa products which have been evaluated using a range of in vitro bioassays are described.African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 4 (5), pp. 381-388, 200

Brexit et la nouvelle charte d’investissements au Maroc : quelles opportunités pour l’attraction des IDE Britanniques ?

Since 2019, Morocco and the United Kingdom have launched a series of economic partnerships that have led to the emergence of a new vision focused on new customers for both countries. Morocco plays a gateway to the African market, and a gateway to Europe, and the United Kingdom, with its Brexit, seeks to create new business alliances in substitution of its historical partners within the European Union. The United Kingdom is now trying to protect itself from the negative scenarios of its exit from the European Union by relying on developing countries. Such a trend has been explored by the Moroccan Government, which is now more able to attract British FDI through its sectoral structural reforms and its new development model. This has given rise to a new investment scheme which is the investment charter that came into force in 2022. This then leads us to explore the possibilities of creating an approach combining both the mechanisms of Brexit towards Morocco and the mechanisms of the investment charter towards FDI. To this end, our research paper attempts to support an optimistic scenario in which economic collaboration between the two countries is based on an arsenal of next-generation incentives and interest from British investors Brexit by sharing the potential of each of the economies of these two countries.   Keywords: Brexit, Investment charter in Morocco, Foreign Direct investment (FDI) JEL Classification:  P11 Paper type: Theoretical researchLe Maroc et le Royaume-Uni ont depuis 2019, entamé une série de partenariats économiques qui a laissé émerger une nouvelle vision redirigée vers de nouvelles opportunités pour les deux pays. Le Maroc joue le rôle de porte d’entrée vers le marché Africain, et une passerelle vers l’Europe, et le Royaume-Uni, cherche à créer de nouvelles alliances commerciales en substitution à ses partenaires historiques de l’enceinte de l’Union-Européenne. Le Royaume-Uni cherche aujourd’hui à se prémunir des retombés négatifs de sa sortie de l’Union-Européenne en tablant sur des pays en cours de développement. Une telle tendance a été explorée par le Gouvernement marocain qui se trouve aujourd’hui plus en capacité de séduire les IDE Britanniques grâce à ses réformes structurelles, sectorielles et son nouveau modèle de développement. Ceci a donné naissance à un nouveau dispositif d’investissement qui est la charte d’investissement entrée en vigueur en 2022. Ceci nous amène alors à explorer les pistes de création d’une approche alliant aussi bien les mécanismes du Brexit envers le Maroc que les mécanismes de la charte d’investissement envers les IDE. C’est à cet objectif qu’essaye de répondre notre article de recherche en vue d’appuyer un scénario optimiste où la collaboration économique entre les deux pays est basée sur un arsenal d’incitations de nouvelle génération et un intérêt de la part des investisseurs Britanniques post-Brexit en faisant profiter les deux rives du potentiel qu’offre chacune des économies de ces deux pays. L’hypothèse positive sur le rôle de ces deux dispositifs dans la dynamique des IDE Britanniques au Maroc a été confirmée puisque les chantiers y afférents sont déjà mis en place, néanmoins l’hypothèse négative reste tributaire de l’évaluation des résultats de ces chantiers à long terme et de la pertinence des choix stratégiques surtout ceux entreprise par le Maroc sur la base d’une analyse intra-gouvernementale et multisectorielle des scénarios de collaboration économique.   Mots clés : Brexit, Charte d’investissement au Maroc, Investissements directs étrangers (IDE). Classification JEL :  P11 Type de papier : Article théoriqu

A New Phytochemical and Anti-oxidant and Anti-inflammatory Activities of Different Lactuca sativa L. var. crispa Extracts

The phytochemical composition of Lactuca sativa L. var. crispa, commonly known as crisphead lettuce, from Morocco has been re-investigated for the presence of oxyprenylated cinnamic acid and coumarin derivatives. In the mean time also the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of extracts from leaves obtained by the use of a Soxhlet apparatus have been assessed. The extracts had a high content of polyphenols with remarkable differences ranging from 0.19 to 0.38 mg gallic acid eq/mg, while the content of flavonoids ranged from 3.75 to 9.64 mg catechin eq/g. The hydroalcoholic extract with a polarity index of 5.8 displayed the best anti-oxidant, radical scavenging, and anti-inflammatory activities. The same extracts were screened by reverse-phase HPLC-UV/V analysis for the presence of biologically active oxyprenylated phenylpropanoids. Only 4'-geranyloxyferulic acid was recorded in detectable amounts. Results described herein enforce the nutraceutical value and depict a potential chemopreventive dietary feeding role for crisphead lettuce

Le new public management au Maroc : une vision via les écoles de pensée du management : Cas des organismes publics de la région Tanger-Tétouan-El-Houceima

After a series of successes in the implementation of management styles in private organizations, the concept of "new public management" was officially introduced in the 1980s. Its main objective is to modernize the style of conduct and management of public administrations and to transpose the key success factors from the private sector and apply them to the public sector. Indeed, the implementation of management styles in public organizations still raises a number of doubts and questions about their ability to improve public performance. Morocco is one of the countries that have applied restoration policies over the past years, with the objective of improving the performance and management of the public sector and defining a mode of governance that leads to the creation of performance and the concretization of the demands of Moroccan citizens.  This work will be focused on the Moroccan public sector, in order to put a focus on the degree of insertion and application of management within the different Moroccan public organizations of different economic and social spheres. Therefore, our present paper aims to have a vision of the press on the managerial aspects of the public sector, it is in this sense that our problematic will crystallize. To do this, this research highlights the need to build an in-depth theoretical study on the authors' view in this context, as well as a practical study that targeted eight Moroccan public organizations whose aim is to highlight the difficulties of management styles that the Moroccan public sector suffers.     JEL Classification : H11 Paper type :  Empirical researchAprès une série de réussite de la mise en place du mode de management au sein des organismes privés, le concept du « nouveau management public » a été apparu officiellement dans les années 1980, son objectif principal est de moderniser le style de conduite et du management des administrations publiques ainsi de transposer les facteurs clés de succès de secteur privé et de les appliquer au niveau de secteur public. En effet, la mise en place des styles de management au sein des organisations publiques suscite toujours un certain nombre de doutes et de questionnements quant à leur capacité à améliorer la performance publique. Le Maroc fait partie des pays qu’ont appliqué des politiques de restauration au fil des années précédentes, dans l‘objectif d’améliorer le rendement et la gestion de secteur public et de définir un mode de gouvernance qui conduit à la création de la performance et de la concrétisation des exigences des citoyens marocains.  Ce travail sera focalisé sur le secteur public marocain, afin de mettre un focus sur le degré d’insertion et d’application du management au sein des différents organismes publics marocains de différente sphère économique et sociale. De ce fait, notre présent papier a pour objectif d’avoir une vision de près sur les aspects managériaux de secteur public, c’est dans ce sens que notre problématique va se cristalliser. Pour ce faire, cette recherche met en évidence la nécessité de construire une étude théorique approfondie sur le regard des auteurs dans ce contexte, ainsi une étude pratique qui a ciblé huit organismes publics marocains, dont le but de mettre l’accent sur les difficultés des styles de management que le secteur public marocain en souffre.     Classification JEL :  H11 Type de l’article : Recherche appliqué

Extraction of cocoa proanthocyanidins and their fractionation by sequential centrifugal partition chromatography and gel permeation chromatography

Erworben im Rahmen der Schweizer Nationallizenzen (http://www.nationallizenzen.ch)Cocoa beans contain secondary metabolites ranging from simple alkaloids to complex polyphenols with most of them believed to possess significant health benefits. The increasing interest in these health effects has prompted the need to develop techniques for their extraction, fractionation, separation, and analysis. This work provides an update on analytical procedures with a focus on establishing a gentle extraction technique. Cocoa beans were finely ground to an average particle size of <100 μm, defatted at 20°C using n-hexane, and extracted three times with 50 % aqueous acetone at 50°C. Determination of the total phenolic content was done using the Folin-Ciocalteu assay, the concentration of individual polyphenols was analyzed by electrospray ionization high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (ESI-HPLC/MS). Fractions of bioactive compounds were separated by combining sequential centrifugal partition chromatography (SCPC) and gel permeation column chromatography using Sephadex LH-20. For SCPC, a two-phase solvent system consisting of ethyl acetate/n-butanol/water (4:1:5, v/v/v) was successfully applied for the separation of theobromine, caffeine, and representatives of the two main phenolic compound classes flavan-3-ols and flavonols. Gel permeation chromatography on Sephadex LH-20 using a stepwise elution sequence with aqueous acetone has been shown for effectively separating individual flavan-3-ols. Separation was obtained for (-)-epicatechin, proanthocyanidin dimer B2, trimer C1, and tetramer cinnamtannin A2. The purity of alkaloids and phenolic compounds was determined by HPLC analysis and their chemical identity was confirmed by mass spectrometry

Working with argan cake: a new etiology for hypersensitivity pneumonitis

International audienceAbstractBackgroundArgan is now used worldwide in numerous cosmetic products. Nine workers from a cosmetic factory were examined in our occupational medicine department, following the diagnosis of a case of hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) related to handling of argan cakes.MethodsOperators were exposed to three forms of argan (crude granulates, powder or liquid) depending on the step of the process. All workers systematically completed standardized questionnaires on occupational and medical history, followed by medical investigations, comprising, in particular, physical examination and chest X-rays, total IgE and a systematic screening for specific serum antibodies directed against the usual microbial agents of domestic and farmer’s HP and antigens derived from microbiological culture and extracts of various argan products. Subjects with episodes of flu-like syndrome several hours after handling argan cakes, were submitted to a one-hour challenge to argan cakes followed by physical examination, determination of Carbon Monoxide Diffusing Capacity (DLCO) and chest CT-scan on day 2, and, when necessary, bronchoalveolar lavage on day 4.ResultsSix of the nine workers experienced flu-like symptoms within 8 hours after argan handling. After challenge, two subjects presented a significant decrease of DLCO and alveolitis with mild lymphocytosis, and one presented ground glass opacities. These two patients and another patient presented significant arcs to both granulates and non-sterile powder. No reactivity was observed to sterile argan finished product, antigens derived from argan cultures (various species of Bacillus) and Streptomyces marokkonensis (reported in the literature to contaminate argan roots).ConclusionsWe report the first evidence of hypersensitivity pneumonitis related to argan powder in two patients. This implies preventive measures to reduce their exposure and clinical survey to diagnose early symptoms. As exposure routes are different and antibodies were observed against argan powder and not the sterile form, consumers using argan-based cosmetics should not be concerned