Phytosanitary practices of apple growers in the Ifrane province of the Middle Atlas of Morocco and perspectives of improvement.

This study consisted of a survey of the phytosanitary practices of apple growers in the Ifrane province of the Middle Atlas of Morocco during the 2014-2015 growing season, in order to improve them to protect the human health and preserve the environment. The results of the survey showed that farmers do not have clear and defined strategies to control the pests and diseases, with only 52% of the cases contending with following weather forecasts on media before deciding to apply pesticides. The remaining 48% have no surveillance plan and engage in pesticide sprays after they observe pests and diseases in their orchards. Furthermore, the spraying equipment shares not properly calibrated in about half of the cases, which could lead to more pesticide input in orchards. Pesticide applications varied from a minimum of 8 treatments in the least treated fram to a maximum of 25 in the most treated farm, thus bringing pesticide input from 25 kg of active ingredients/ha in the less treated orchard to over 70 kg a.i./ha in heavily treated orchards. This stresses the importance of farmer education to a more rational use of pesticides to preserve human health and the environement. Concerning pest resistance, 74% of the interviewed farmers declared alternating active ingredients to avoid pest resistance, the remaining 26 % contended with alternating commercial products. The majority of apple growers (78%) declared respecting the safety period separating the last pesticide application from fruit harvest, while 22% remain ignorant of this safety standard

Long-Term Implications of Atrial Fibrillation in Patients With Degenerative Mitral Regurgitation

Background: Scientific guidelines consider atrial fibrillation (AF) complicating degenerative mitral regurgitation (DMR) a debated indication for surgery. Objectives: This study analyzed the prognostic/therapeutic implications of AF at DMR diagnosis and long-term. Methods: Patients were enrolled in the MIDA (Mitral Regurgitation International Database) registry, which reported the consecutive, multicenter, international experience with DMR due to flail leaflets echocardiographically diagnosed. Results: Among 2,425 patients (age 67 \ub1 13 years; 71% male, 67% asymptomatic, ejection fraction 64 \ub1 10%), 1,646 presented at diagnosis with sinus rhythm (SR), 317 with paroxysmal AD, and 462 with persistent AF. Underlying clinical/instrumental characteristics progressively worsened from SR to paroxysmal to persistent AF. During follow-up, paroxysmal and persistent AF were associated with excess mortality (10-year survival in SR and in paroxysmal and persistent AF was 74 \ub1 1%, 59 \ub1 3%, and 46 \ub1 2%, respectively; p < 0.0001), that persisted 20 years post-diagnosis and independently of all baseline characteristics (p values <0.0001). Surgery (n = 1,889, repair 88%) was associated with better survival versus medical management, regardless of all baseline characteristics and rhythm (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.26; 95% confidence interval: 0.23 to 0.30; p < 0.0001) but post-surgical outcome remained affected by AF (10-year post-surgical survival in SR and in paroxysmal and persistent AF was 82 \ub1 1%, 70 \ub1 4%, and 57 \ub1 3%, respectively; p < 0.0001). Conclusions: AF is a frequent occurrence at DMR diagnosis. Although AF is associated with older age and more severe presentation of DMR, it is independently associated with excess mortality long-term after diagnosis. Surgery is followed by improved survival in each cardiac rhythm subset, but persistence of excess risk is observed for each type of AF. Our study indicates that detection of AF, even paroxysmal, should trigger prompt consideration for surgery

Optimization of Anaerobic Digestion of Cattle Manure. Effect of its Association with the Aquatic Weed Pistia (Pistia stratiotes)

This study investigates the improvement of performance of anaerobic fermentation of cattle manure mixed with the water lettuce Pistia stratiotes, a macrophyte plant growing in the effluent of an anaerobic digestor. The experiments used a series of continuous fermentors, using mixtures of cattle manure and water lettuce in the following proportions : 12.5 %, 16.6 %, 25 % and 50 % of Pistia stratiotes. The best biogas yields were achieved with a proportion of 50 % of water lettuce in the mixture giving a biogas yield of 0.62 m3/(m3. d.) with a methane content of 76.8 % over a 15-days hydraulic retention time, at a constant temperature of 35° C. The kinetic study based on batch fermentation shows that the process is well represented by the Monod Model. These performances are better than those obtained in anaerobic digestion of cattle manure used alone

Methane Fermentation of Cattle Manure : Effects of Hydraulic Retention Time. Temperature and Substrate Concentration

This study has been undertaken in order to improve yield of methane production by anaerobic fermentation of cattle manure. Optimization of hydraulic retention time and organic concentration substrate were evaluated at 37°C and 55°C. The study of cattle manure fermentation process as well as that of methane production yield showed that methanogenic fermentation of these organic wastes may be conducted at low hydraulic retention time without stressing the fermentary process : 8 days at 37°C and 5 days at 55°C for a dry matter concentration of 43 g/1. The biogas yield increased, reaching 0.46 m3/(m3. d) at 37°C and 0.68m3/(m3. d) at 55°C with a methane content of 56 %> and 51 %> respectively. The best biogas yields occurred for dry matter concentrations between 7 and 9 %>. Kinetic models of Chen and Hashimoto (7) and of Monod (19) described well substrate depletion and methane production

Solving Manufacturing Cell Design Problems using Constraint Programming

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