Etude de l'oasis traditionnelle Ghenini Gabès dans le Sud-Est de la Tunisie

Study of the Traditional Oasis Chenini Gabès in the South East of Tunisia. This research was carried out in the oasis of Chenini Gabès, located in the South East of Tunisia. The objective is to characterize its physical, agronomic and socio-economic environments and to consider the advisability of installing there a composting unit to recycle waste. A field prospection and a population's investigation were carried out. Three charts were elaborated: that of the soils, the soils' occupations and the socio-economic dynamics of the populations. The point was put on the problems of salinity, bad drainage, infertility of the soils and the unbalance of the socio-economic dynamics inside the oasis. The zones North and North- East were identified as the most prosperous, the South as having the most problems of high salinity, the increased parcelling out of the exploitations, and the low profitability of the agricultural activity resulting in abandonment of farms in many cases. The soils' organic matter contents are very low (≤ 0,5%), whereas more than 5,700 tons of organic waste are lost annually by the oasis. The installation of a composting unit adapted to the context of the oasis could contribute to increase the soil fertility in the respect of a sustainable agriculture

Development of Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) Markers and Their Use to Assess Genetic Diversity in Apomictic Guineagrass (\u3cem\u3ePanicum Maximum\u3c/em\u3e Jacq.)

Guineagrass is an important and widely grown tropical forage grass. Despite its importance and increasing popularity, only little is known about its genetic diversity (Ebina et al., 2001). Such information is useful for the selection of diverse parents in breeding programmes. Moreover, no simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers have been reported in any apomixis species. In this study SSR markers were developed and used to investigate genetic diversity in germplasm of apomictic guineagrass

Long term evolution of the surface refractivity for arctic regions

YesIn this paper, local meteorological data for a period of 35 years (from 1979 to 2013) from Kuujuaq station have been used to calculate the surface refractivity, N and to estimate the vertical refractivity gradient, dN1, in the lowest atmospheric layer above the ground. Monthly and yearly variations of the mean of N and dN1 are provided. The values obtained are compared with the corresponding values from the ITU maps. The long-term trend of the surface refractivity is also investigated. The data demonstrate that the indices N and dN1 are subject to an evolution which may have significance in the context of climate change (CC). Monthly means of N show an increasing departure from ITU-R values since 1990. Yearly mean values of the dN1 show a progressive decrease over the period of study. Seasonal means of dN1 show a decrease over time, especially for summer. Such a trend may increase the occurrence of super-refraction. However, currently available ITU-R recommendations for microwave link design assume a stationary climate, so there is a need for a new modelling approach

Macroecology of ground beetles : Species richness, range size and body size show different geographical patterns across a climatically heterogeneous area

Aim Ecogeographical patterns have been widely studied in endothermic vertebrates, but relatively few studies have simultaneously examined patterns and causes of gradients in species richness, range size and body size in ectothermic insects. We examined patterns in species richness, mean range size and mean body size of ground beetle assemblages across the biogeographical provinces of Northern Europe, a region that was mostly covered by ice sheets during the latest Ice Age and that presents strong contemporary climatic gradients. Location Northern Europe. Methods We used literature information on the occurrence of ground beetles, and analysed patterns in species richness, mean range size and mean body size across the provinces using generalized linear models and boosted regression tree (BRT) analysis. Results We found a strongly decreasing gradient in species richness with increasing latitude, a strongly unimodal range size-latitude relationship, and a weak unimodal body size-latitude relationship in entire ground beetle assemblages. These gradients also varied among four major genera, suggesting that the overall patterns result from the nuances of smaller clades of ground beetles. The relative importance of contemporary environmental drivers also varied between species richness, mean range size and mean body size in BRT analysis. While species richness increased with mean annual temperature, mean range size showed an opposite relationship. Mean body size was most clearly associated with the precipitation of the driest month. Main Conclusions Our findings showed that the latitudinal species richness gradient was strong, and it was closely related to concomitant variation in temperature, whereas variations in mean range size and mean body size were more complex. These findings suggest that the causes for range size and body size variation in insects may be complex, requiring additional insights from studies conducted at local, regional and continental scales

Living donor liver transplantation using sensitized lymphocytotoxic crossmatch positive graft

We describe a successful living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) using a lymphocytotoxic crossmatch highly positive graft. A 41-year-old woman with alcoholic liver cirrhosis was referred as a potential candidate for LDLT, and her husband was willing to donate his partial liver. As the T-lymphocytotoxic crossmatch titer was over 10,000×, the patient was first infused with rituximab for preoperative desensitization, and then five rounds of plasmapheresis were performed. After the third plasmapheresis, the lymphocytotoxic crossmatch test was negative. A left liver graft including the caudate lobe was implanted, and anti-CD25 antibody (basiliximab) was administered on postoperative days 1 and 4. The postoperative course was uneventful except for an episode of mild acute cellular rejection on postoperative day 27. Although the impact of a lymphocytotoxic crossmatch-positive liver graft on acute cellular rejection and graft survival in LDLT remains controversial, perioperative desensitization may provide benefits when using a highly sensitized liver graft

Influence of ultra-low dose Aprotinin on thoracic surgical operations: a prospective randomized trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The blood saving effect of aprotinin has been well documented in cardiac surgery. In thoracic surgery, very few recent studies, using rather high doses of aprotinin, have shown a similar result. In a randomized prospective trial, we have tested the influence of aprotinin using an ultra-low dose drug regime.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fifty-nine patients, mean age 58 ± 13.25 years (mean ± SD) undergoing general thoracic procedures were randomized into placebo (Group A) and treatment group (Group B). The group B (n = 29) received 500.000 IU of aprotinin after induction to anesthesia and a repeat dose immediately after chest closure. A detailed protocol with several laboratory parameters was recorded. Patients were transfused when perioperative Ht was less than 26%.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The two groups were similar in terms of age, gender, diagnosis, pathology, co-morbidity and operations performed. The mean drainage of the first and second postoperative day in group B was significantly reduced (412.6 ± 199.2 vs. 764.3 ± 213.9 ml, p < 0.000, and 248.3 ± 178.5 vs. 455.0 ± 274.6, p < 0.001). Similarly, the need for fresh frozen plasma transfusion was lower in group B, p < 0.035. Both the operation time and the hospital stay were also less for group B but without reaching statistical significance (84.6 ± 35.2 vs 101.2 ± 52.45 min. and 5.8 ± 1.6 vs 7.2 ± 3.6 days respectively, p < 0.064). The overall transfusion rate did not differ significantly. No side effects of aprotinin were noted.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The perioperative ultra-low dose aprotinin administration was associated with a reduction of total blood losses and blood product requirements. We therefore consider the use of aprotinin safe and effective in major thoracic surgery.</p

Commissioning Test Results of Variable Temperature Helium Refrigerator/Liquefier for NIFS Superconducting Magnet Test Facility

The superconducting magnet test facility in the National Institute for Fusion Science has been upgraded for excitation tests at a wide temperature range and a higher magnetic field of 13 T. As part of the upgrade, the helium refrigerator/liquefier that operated for 24 years was replaced with a variable-temperature helium refrigerator/liquefier. The required liquefaction rate is 250 L/h, and the required refrigeration capacity is 600 W at 4.5 K, same as the previous one. In addition, it has a new feature that can supply helium gas of a wide temperature range. The typical design cooling capacity is 1 kW under the condition of 20-K supply/30-K return and 1.5 kW under the condition of 40-K supply/50-K return. After the replacement, a series of commissioning tests were performed under the various operational conditions. From the results, the satisfactory thermodynamic performance was confirmed. In the future, it is expected that the substantial progress will be made in the development of large-scale superconducting magnets with advanced superconductors such as high-temperature superconductors and MgB2. The design of the variable-temperature helium refrigerator/liquefier and the results of the commissioning tests are reported in detail