Physical and chemical properties of the acid protease from Onopordum acanthium: Comparison between electrophoresis and HPLC of degradation casein profiles

A protease was extracted by grinding, precipitation and gel filtration from Onopordum acanthium flowers. The physicochemical study of the enzyme showed an optimum pH of 4, a temperature of 40°C and kinetic parameters of 12.25 mM-1 for KM and 1329.6 UmL-1 for Vmax. The inhibition by pepstatin indicated that it is an aspartyl-protease (APs). Zymogram showed that the protease has a monomeric structure and a molecular mass (MM) of 45 kDa. The hydrolysis of α, β and Κ- and whole casein by the protease was evaluated using electrophoresis and HPLC; the profiles showed many similarities between the vegetal protease action and that of industrial chymosin. So, the properties of the protease studied and the quality of its action showed its effectiveness and relevance of its use as a milk clotting enzyme which leads to a better use of extract of flowers O. acanthium as a locally substitute for rennet.Keywords: Aspartic protease, Onopordum acanthium, purification, characterization, casein hydrolysi

Trying to resolve the taxonomic confusion of Paracalanus parvus species complex (Copepoda, Calanoida) in the Mediterranean and Black Seas through a combined analysis of morphology, molecular taxonomy and DNA metabarcoding

Paracalanus parvus is reported as the most abundant representative of the genus and one of the main components of the coastal zooplankton in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. However, the subtle taxonomic differences between P. parvus and the congeneric species P. indicus and P. quasimodo, in combination with the ample morphological variation found in Mediterranean specimens, render problematic the correct identification. A recent molecular study by Cornils and Held (2014) provided evidence of cryptic speciation in the P. parvus complex and indicated that P. parvus s.s. does not have global distribution, but may be restricted to the northeastern Atlantic. In order to clarify the taxonomic status and distribution of this species complex in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, a study was conducted on Paracalanus specimens collected from different locations across the aforementioned marine basins and sequenced for portion of the COI mitochondrial gene. An accurate taxonomic analysis was also carried out to correlate morphological characteristics with the molecular species' assignation. The phylogenetic analysis of the specimens together with the publicly available sequences of P. parvus complex revealed the presence of four molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) in the Mediterranean, which differed in abundance and geographic distribution. The combination of morphological and molecular data revealed great inconsistencies between morphospecies and MOTUs. Moreover, several bulk zooplankton samples were analyzed through DNA metabarcoding in the frame of the “MetaCopepod” project to provide more extensive information on the spatiotemporal distribution and abundance of the target specie

The “MetaCopepod” project: Designing an integrated DNA metabarcoding and image analysis approach to study and monitor the diversity of zooplanktonic copepods and cladocerans in the Mediterranean Sea

The timely and accurate analysis of marine zooplankton diversity is a challenge in ecological and monitoring studies. Morphology-based identification of taxa, which requires taxonomy experts, is time consuming and cannot provide accurate resolution at species level in several cases (e.g. immature stages, cryptic species, broken specimens). The “MetaCopepod” project is aimed at overcoming these limitations by developing a high-throughput and cost effective methodology that integrates DNA metabarcoding and image analysis. Utilizing the accuracy of DNA metabarcoding in species recognition and the quantitative results of image analysis, zooplankton diversity (mainly of copepods and cladocerans) is assessed both qualitatively (species' composition) and quantitatively (abundance, biomass and size-distribution). To achieve this goal, bulk zooplankton samples are first scanned and analyzed with ZooImage and then massively sequenced for a selected fragment of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. Through a bioinformatic pipeline, sequences are compared to a reference genetic database, constructed within the project, and identified at species- level. The methodology was calibrated by using both mock and taxonomically identified samples and demonstrated on samples collected monthly from monitoring stations across the Mediterranean Sea. It is currently optimized for higher integration and accuracy and is expected to become a powerful tool for monitoring zooplankton in the long term and for early warning of bioinvasions and other ecosystem change

Religious discourse in the Arab media : new space of mobilization

Il s’agissait dans cette thèse d’étudier comment le nouveau discours religieux produits par les prédicateurs dans les chaînes satellitaires religieuses peut donner lieu à l’expression d’une nouvelle forme de mobilisation. Cette étude a été menée dans le contexte des révolutions arabes, et plus précisément en Egypte, avec quelques aspects de comparaison avec l’Algérie. Les trois axes sur lesquelles nous avons articulé cette recherche sont le politique, la communication et le retour de l’acteur tel qu’il est identifié par A. Touraine. Prenant l’exemple du discours de Amr Khaled, l’un des prédicateurs les plus influents du monde arabo-musulman, nous avons analysé le discours produit et la réceptions qui en est faite directement auprès du public égyptien et plus largement par un public plus large, via les réseaux sociaux.The objective in this thesis was to study how the new religious discourse produced by the preachers in the religious satellite channels can give rise to the expression of a new form of mobilization. This study was carried out in the context of the Arab revolutions, and more specifically in Egypt, with some aspects of comparison with Algeria.The three axes on which we have articulated this research are the policy, the communication and the return of the actor as identified by A. Touraine.Taking as an example the speech of Amr Khaled, one of the most influential preachers of the Arab-Muslim world, we analyzed the product discourse and receptions made directly by the Egyptian public and more broadly by a wider audience , Via social network

Two level evolutionary algorithm for Capacitated Network Design Problem

Efficient design of networks topologies is challenging, especially with the arrival of the virtualization in these last years. In this paper, we deal with the Capacitated Network Design Problem (CNDP) with modular link capacities to design minimum cost network while satisfying the flow demands. We propose a two levels Genetic Algorithm (GA) based model that can deal with several variations of CNDP. Our proposition defines a new encoding scheme to treat the modular case. Extensive simulation results on Atlanta, France and Germany network instances show that the proposed algorithm is much more efficient than the Iterative Local Search algorithm

Solving the Capacitated Network Design Problem in Two Steps

In this paper, we propose a two steps-based algorithm to solve the modular link version of the Capacitated Network Design Problem (CNDP) which consists to determine the optimal network that guarantees the routing of a set of commodities. In our proposition, CNDP is divided into two sub-problems: Network Design problem (NDP) and Network Loading Problem (NLP). In the first step, we solved NDP by using the genetic algorithms which select sets of network topologies. In the second step, NLP is solved with the use of Linear programming to evaluate and validate the best network topologies. Simulation results on three real network instances (Atlanta, France and Germany) show that the proposed algorithm is better and more efficient than the Iterative Local Search algorithm

Paracalanus Boeck, 1864

Species of the genus Paracalanus Boeck, 1864 have been reported as abundant and often dominant in coastal to oceanic waters from temperate and tropical regions. They inhabit mainly the epipelagic zone (0–200m) and as small filter feeders (Benedetti et al., 2018) they represent an important link in marine food webs. Total length of the species ranges from 0.5 to 1.5 mm. In the ICES region, seven of the twelve Paracalanus accepted species are recorded: P. aculeatus, P. denudatus, P. indicus, P. nanus, P. parvus, P. pygmaeus and P. quasimodo. A taxonomic key of the Paracalanidae family is presented, allowing Paracalanus genus distinction.  ICES Identification Leaflet for Plankton No. 35 (Farran, revised by Vervoort, 1951) provided information on and description of three Paracalanus species. This new leaflet is an update and revision of the original, based on the following:  a) recent molecular studies (Cornils and Held, 2014; Hidaka et al., 2016; Kasapidis et al., 2018); b) books by Bradford-Grieve (1994), Bradford-Grieve et al. (1999), Vives and Shmeleva (2007), and Soh et al. (2013); and c) information provided by the website on marine planktonic copepods by Razouls et al.(2005–2022). The leaflet presents the geographical distribution and a key to differentiate the twelve Paracalanus species. Possible confusions during identification are also discussed.</p

Genetic algorithm based model for capacitated network design problem

Efficient design of networks topologies is challenging, especially with the arrival of the virtualization in these last years. In this paper, we deal with the Capacitated Network Design Problem (CNDP) with modular link capacities to design minimum cost network while satisfying the flow demands. We propose a two levels Genetic Algorithm (GA) based model that can deal with several variations of CNDP. Our proposition defines a new encoding scheme to treat the modular case. Extensive simulation results on Atlanta, France and Germany network instances show that the proposed algorithm is much more efficient than the Iterative Local Search algorithm

Trying to resolve the taxonomic confusion of Paracalanus parvus species complex (Copepoda, Calanoida) in the Mediterranean and Black Seas through a combined analysis of morphology, molecular taxonomy and DNA metabarcoding

Paracalanus parvus is reported as the most abundant representative of the genus and one of the main components of the coastal zooplankton in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. However, the subtle taxonomic differences between P. parvus and the congeneric species P. indicus and P. quasimodo, in combination with the ample morphological variation found in Mediterranean specimens, render problematic the correct identification. A recent molecular study by Cornils and Held (2014) provided evidence of cryptic speciation in the P. parvus complex and indicated that P. parvus s.s. does not have global distribution, but may be restricted to the northeastern Atlantic. In order to clarify the taxonomic status and distribution of this species complex in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, a study was conducted on Paracalanus specimens collected from different locations across the aforementioned marine basins and sequenced for portion of the COI mitochondrial gene. An accurate taxonomic analysis was also carried out to correlate morphological characteristics with the molecular species' assignation. The phylogenetic analysis of the specimens together with the publicly available sequences of P. parvus complex revealed the presence of four molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) in the Mediterranean, which differed in abundance and geographic distribution. The combination of morphological and molecular data revealed great inconsistencies between morphospecies and MOTUs. Moreover, several bulk zooplankton samples were analyzed through DNA metabarcoding in the frame of the “MetaCopepod” project to provide more extensive information on the spatiotemporal distribution and abundance of the target specie

The “MetaCopepod” project: Designing an integrated DNA metabarcoding and image analysis approach to study and monitor the diversity of zooplanktonic copepods and cladocerans in the Mediterranean Sea

The timely and accurate analysis of marine zooplankton diversity is a challenge in ecological and monitoring studies. Morphology-based identification of taxa, which requires taxonomy experts, is time consuming and cannot provide accurate resolution at species level in several cases (e.g. immature stages, cryptic species, broken specimens). The “MetaCopepod” project is aimed at overcoming these limitations by developing a high-throughput and cost effective methodology that integrates DNA metabarcoding and image analysis. Utilizing the accuracy of DNA metabarcoding in species recognition and the quantitative results of image analysis, zooplankton diversity (mainly of copepods and cladocerans) is assessed both qualitatively (species' composition) and quantitatively (abundance, biomass and size-distribution). To achieve this goal, bulk zooplankton samples are first scanned and analyzed with ZooImage and then massively sequenced for a selected fragment of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. Through a bioinformatic pipeline, sequences are compared to a reference genetic database, constructed within the project, and identified at species- level. The methodology was calibrated by using both mock and taxonomically identified samples and demonstrated on samples collected monthly from monitoring stations across the Mediterranean Sea. It is currently optimized for higher integration and accuracy and is expected to become a powerful tool for monitoring zooplankton in the long term and for early warning of bioinvasions and other ecosystem change