Ecole Supérieure de Technologie de Safi

Abstract A workshop was held in Casablanca, Morocco, in March 2012, to enhance knowledge of climate extremes and their changes in the Arab region. This workshop initiated intensive data compilation activities of daily observational weather station data from the Arab region. After conducting careful control processes to ensure the quality and homogeneity of the data, climate indices for extreme temperatures and precipitation were calculated. This study examines the temporal changes in climate extremes in the Arab region with regard to long‐term trends and natural variability related to ENSO and NAO. We find consistent warming trends since the middle of the 20th Century across the region. This is evident in the increased frequencies of warm days and warm nights, higher extreme temperature values, fewer cold days and cold nights and shorter cold spell durations. The warming trends seem to be particularly strong since the early 1970s. Changes in precipitation are generally less consistent and characterised by a higher spatial and temporal variability; the trends are generally less significant. However, in the western part of the Arab region, there is a tendency towards wetter conditions. In contrast, in the eastern part, there are more drying trends, although, these are of low significance. We also find some relationships between climate extremes in the Arab region and certain prominent modes of variability, in particular El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The relationships of the climate extremes with NAO are stronger, in general, than those with ENSO, and are particularly strong in the western part of the Arab region (closer to the Atlantic Ocean). The relationships with ENSO are found to be more significant towards the eastern part of the area of study. © 2013 Royal Meteorological Society

Titanium dioxide was synthesized by the sol–gel method and titanium pillared purified clay was prepared with two titanium contents: 1.15 and 10.5 mmol of Ti per gram of clay. The composites were synthesized by immobilizing TiO2 onto surfactant-pillared clay via ion exchange reaction between clay with cation surfactant, cetyl-trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTMABr). The composition and texture of the prepared photocatalysts were characterized with X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), FT-IR spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDX). The adsorption performance and photocatalytic activities of the prepared samples were investigated using 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxypropionic acid (2,4-DP) as models of organic pollutants. The results were obtained that these photocatalysts can effectively degrade selected pesticides. The removal efficiency increases with the Ti content in the pillared clay.

Purpose The implementation of lean production in small manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) harbors a great deal of barriers on practical, theoretical, financial and organizational sides. In view of this, the purpose of this paper is to explore and prioritize the solutions to overcome these barriers and pitfalls in order to identify a list of the most feasible and efficient solutions on which SMEs must focus to success their lean journey. Design/methodology/approach First, a review of the published articles along with the interview of some lean experts have allowed to identify 20 barriers grouped into five categories along with 17 solutions proposed to overcome these barriers. Afterwards, an integrated fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process-Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (AHP-TOPSIS) was proposed to evaluate and rank the solutions of lean implementation in SMEs and overcome its barriers. The AHP is used to determine weights of the barriers as criteria, and the fuzzy TOPSIS method is used to determine the final ranking of the solutions of lean adoption in SMEs. Findings The top five barriers of lean implementation in SMEs were found to be: lack of management involvement, lack of adapted methodology of lean implementation, short-term vision, fear and resistance to change and lack of understanding of lean. Moreover, the top five solutions to overcome the barriers of lean adoption in SMEs are as follows: commitment and participation of management, adoption of simple measurement and KPIs, development of organizational learning culture, early deployment of lean culture through training and allocation of sufficient time and resources for change. Originality/value The findings of this study can provide a basis for researchers and practitioners in order to understand the real reasons of lean failure in SMEs and develop improvement plans to increase its success rate. Moreover, it proposes a more reliable, robust and systematic decision support tool for stepwise implementation of the solutions of lean adoption in SMEs since they lack sufficient resources to address all the solutions simultaneously.

Ancient DNA extracts consist of a mixture of endogenous molecules and contaminant DNA templates, often originating from environmental microbes. These two populations of templates exhibit different chemical characteristics, with the former showing depurination and cytosine deamination by-products, resulting from post-mortem DNA damage. Such chemical modifications can interfere with the molecular tools used for building second-generation DNA libraries, and limit our ability to fully characterize the true complexity of ancient DNA extracts. In this study, we first use fresh DNA extracts to demonstrate that library preparation based on adapter ligation at AT-overhangs are biased against DNA templates starting with thymine residues, contrarily to blunt-end adapter ligation. We observe the same bias on fresh DNA extracts sheared on Bioruptor, Covaris and nebulizers. This contradicts previous reports suggesting that this bias could originate from the methods used for shearing DNA. This also suggests that AT-overhang adapter ligation efficiency is affected in a sequence-dependent manner and results in an uneven representation of different genomic contexts. We then show how this bias could affect the base composition of ancient DNA libraries prepared following AT-overhang ligation, mainly by limiting the ability to ligate DNA templates starting with thymines and therefore deaminated cytosines. This results in particular nucleotide misincorporation damage patterns, deviating from the signature generally expected for authenticating ancient sequence data. Consequently, we show that models adequate for estimating post-mortem DNA damage levels must be robust to the molecular tools used for building ancient DNA libraries.

Titanium dioxide was synthesized by the sol–gel method and platinum supported on titanium dioxide were prepared by a wet impregnation chemical process at different platinum contents. The prepared samples were dried over night at 110 °C and then calcined at 500 °C for 4 h. Structural and morphological characterization has been carried out by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry–thermogravimetric analysis (DSC–TGA), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area measurement (BET) and transmission electron microscopy coupled to the energy dispersive spectroscopy (TEM/EDX). The adsorption performance and photocatalytic activity of the samples were investigated using two chlorophenoxy herbicides: 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy) propionic acid (2,4-DP) as models of organic pollutants in water. The obtained results show that Pt/TiO2 exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than TiO2 particles for the degradation of the two selected herbicides. The photocatalytic activity increases by increasing the platinum yield in the catalyst.

OBJECTIVES: This study compared the microleakage and adaptation of Class V cavity preparations restored with three types of glass-ionomer materials as a function of time. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A total of 144 sound, freshly-extracted human premolars were used for the study. One clinician prepared all the teeth for Class V-type cavities on the buccal surface of each tooth. The preparations measured 3 mm long, 2 mm wide and 1.5 mm deep, with the gingival margin in dentin and the occlusal margin in enamel. All the prepared teeth were randomly divided into three groups of 48 teeth, according to the type of glass-ionomer material used: Group (A): Ketac N100 glass ionomer, Group (B): Vitremer glass ionomer and Group (C): Photac Fil Quick glass ionomer. The restorative materials were used according to their manufacturers' recommendations. The teeth were placed in one increment and photocured for 40 seconds. All of the restored teeth were then stored in artificial saliva. Each group was subdivided into three subgroups according to the testing periods (7, 30, 60 days). Next, they were thermocycled at 5°C–55°C for 100 cycles. The teeth used for the dye penetration test were immersed in 1%methylene blue solution for eight hours. They were then sectioned longitudinally in a bucco-lingual direction. The extent of dye penetration at the occlusal and gingival margins of each restoration was studied under a stereomicroscope at 25× magnification. Randomly selected samples from each group were prepared for scanning electron microscopic evaluation. Dye penetration scores were analyzed using the SAS program, cross tabulation and Chi square test. RESULTS: The difference among the three groups was significant after immersion for 30 days at the occlusal margin. Statistical analysis also revealed significant differences between group (A) and the other groups at the occlusal margin after immersion for 60 days (p<0.05). At the gingival margin, statistical analysis revealed significant differences between group (C) and the other groups at the gingival margin after immersion for 60 days (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The light-curing nanofilled glass ionomer (Ketac N100) showed the least microleakage.

Full factorial experimental design technique was used to study the main effects and the interaction effects between operational parameters in the photocatalytic degradation of oxalic acid in a batch photo-reactor using TiO2 aqueous suspension. The important parameters which affect the removal efficiency of oxalic acid such as agitation, initial concentration, volume of the solution and TiO2 dosage were investigated. The parameters were coded as X1, X2, X3 and X4, consecutively, and were investigated at two levels (−1 and +1). The effects of individual variables and their interaction effects for dependent variables, namely, photocatalytic degradation efficiency (%) were determined. From the statistical analysis, the most effective parameters in the photocatalytic degradation efficiency were initial concentration and volume of solution. The interaction between initial concentration, volume of solution and TiO2 dosage was the most influencing interaction. However, the interaction between agitation, initial concentration and volume of solution was the least influencing parameter.

Calcium hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2, Hap) was synthesized by a simple and rapid co-precipitation method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, FT-IR spectral analysis, and transmission electron microscopy coupled energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (transmission electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer). The synthesized Hap was used as an adsorbent for the cadmium ion removal from aqueous solutions in batch mode. The influence of contact time and initial concentration of metal ion was studied and discussed. The equilibrium uptake increases with an increase in the initial cadmium concentration in solution. Adsorption kinetic data were properly fitted with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The experimental isotherm data were analyzed using Langmuir, Freundlich, Toth, and Tempkin isotherm equations. The best fit was obtained by the Toth model with high correlation coefficients (r 2 > 0.99). The Langmuir model also yielded a good fit to experimental data (r 2 around 0.98–0.99) with a maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of 240.74 mg/g.

Bleomycin is a cytotoxic drug used in the treatment of teratoma of the testis. This drug appears to sensitize the lungs so that acute lung damage occurs with concentrations of oxygen normally considered free from toxic effects. Two anaesthetics administered to the same patient undergoing thoracotomy are reported. No postoperative lung damage was produced on either occasion.

Ce travail porte sur l’étude de l’adsorption du colorant bleu de méthylène, colorant cationique utilisé dans la teinture du coton, du bois et de la soie sur l’argile brute et purifiée de la région de Safi (Maroc). Les essais d’adsorption ont montré que l’équilibre s’établit au bout de 20 minutes. Différents paramètres expérimentaux ont été analysés : pH, masse d’adsorbant et concentration initiale en colorant. Les résultats expérimentaux ont montré que l’adsorption du colorant bleu de méthylène sur l’argile brute et purifiée dépend du pH de la solution et de la concentration initiale en colorant. La capacité d’adsorption a été déterminée en utilisant les isothermes de Langmuir et Freundlich. La capacité maximale d’adsorption de l’argile brute est de 50 mg•g-1, celle de l’argile purifiée est de 68,5 mg•g-1. La cinétique d’adsorption du bleu de méthylène a été étudiée en utilisant les équations du pseudo-premier-ordre et pseudo-second-ordre. L’adsorption du colorant bleu de méthylène sur l’argile brute et purifiée peut être décrite par une cinétique du pseudo-second-ordre. L’effet de la température sur l’adsorption du colorant a été également étudié et les paramètres thermodynamiques ont été déterminés.

Abstract This study aims to enhance the performance of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells by employing a hybrid cooling technique involving a thermoelectric generator (TEG) and heat sink. Three configuration modules are investigated both experimentally and numerically: module 01: PV only (PV), module 02: PV with TEG (PV-TEG), and module 03: PV with TEG and heat sink (PV-TEG-HS). These modules have been examined numerically under various weather conditions, including solar radiation, wind speed, and ambient temperature. The experimental and numerical results indicate that as solar radiation increases from 500 W/m2 to 1000 W/m2, the temperature of the PV back sheet and PV solar cell also increases. Specifically, for module PV, module PV-TEG, and module PV-TEG-HS, the temperature increases by 57.3%, 56.1%, and 32% respectively. Additionally, the percentage output power (Pout) of the PV increases with rising solar radiation for the three modules, reaching 60.5%, 62.0%, and 87.39% respectively. Moreover, the percentage Pout of the TEG also increases with the increasing solar radiation for the three modules, with percentages of 0%, 299.25%, and 311.96% respectively. Furthermore, increasing wind speed leads to a decrease in the temperatures of the back sheet and solar cell, while simultaneously increasing the Pout of the PV for all three modules. However, the Pout of the TEG in module PV-TEG-HS decreases. The impact of increasing ambient temperatures on module PV-TEG-HS is relatively small compared to the other modules.

Agronomic practices may need to be adjusted to maximize yield and quality of sugar beet. Thus agronomic package must be always modified. Nanotechnology is one of the new technologies that entered almost all sides of our lives and were used in agriculture production. Two field experiments will be carried out in the experimental farm of the Etsa region at El- Fayoum governorate, Egypt, during the two successive seasons 2015/16 and 2016/17 to investigate the response of yield and quality of sugar beet cv. Farida to foliar application of nano- microelements mixtures and or urea (Zn, Fe, B, Mn and N). Fourteen treatments were studied. The best results were found when sugar beet plants were treated with nano-microelements 200 mg / L+ urea 1% and ranked as the first favorable treatments for root length and diameter, dry matter per plant as root, top and sugar yields in both seasons, followed by the treatment of nano-microelements 160 mg / L+ urea1% for most traits studied. From the obtained results, it could be concluded that the application of nano-microelements 200 mg/L + urea 1% treatment for producing significantly higher yields with improved quality traits of sugar beet and saving of requirements for plants form micronutrient and nitrogen fertilizer if this fertilizer has been added in the form of nanoparticles.

Twenty-five women were investigated on the day after lower abdominal surgery in a single-blind non-cross-over trial to assess and compare the haemodynamic effects of intravenous injections of buprenorphine 0.3 mg and morphine 7.5 mg. Arterial blood pressure was measured by sphygmomanometry and cardiac output by thoracic impedance cardiography. Arterial blood pressure was significantly reduced following both drugs (p < 0.05), although the mean decrease in systolic arterial pressure was less than 8 mmHg. However, in one patient in each group the decrease was more than 20 mmHg. Cardiac output decreased but the mean reduction was less than 5%. The greatest individual decreases were 21% after buprenorphine and 30% after morphine. Myocardial contractility, assessed by systolic time indices, did not appear to change. There were no consistent differences in the haemodynamic effects of the two drugs.

Smart technologies have dramatically improved environmental risk perception and altered the way organizations share knowledge and communicate. As a result of the increasing amount of data, there is a need for using business intelligence and data mining (DM) approaches to supply chain risk management. This paper proposes a novel environmental supply chain risk management (ESCRM) framework for Industry 4.0, supported by data mining (DM), to identify, assess, and mitigate environmental risks. Through a systematic literature review, this paper conceptualizes Industry 4.0 ESCRM using a DM framework by providing taxonomies for environmental risks, levels, consequences, and strategies to address them. This study proposes a comprehensive guide to systematically identify, gather, monitor, and assess environmental risk data from various sources. The DM framework helps identify environmental risk indicators, develop risk data warehouses, and elaborate a specific module for assessing environmental risks, all of which can generate useful insights for academics and practitioners.

The control of supply chains passes often by identification of various constraints and optimization of the different links and parameters associated to the functioning of the supply chain. To attain these goals, it is vital to get the best knowing and understanding of the supply chain diversity and complexity also to anticipate its behavior, which requires, a pertinent modeling that will offer the necessary information to evaluate the supply chain performance. The present paper focuses on modeling and simulation of a case study of a supply chain using SIMAN ARENA Rockwell software, mainly transport and different operations in this chain. The purpose is creating the simulation models and how to use in a case study to diagnose and master the operation and functioning of this supply chain. The objective is creating simulation models to determine the performance of the supply chain by calculating the transportation time in each travel, number of travels, number of transported fertilizers and sulfur wagons and unloaded acid talks and finally the waiting times in train station, in order to optimize this performance indicators.

INTRODUCTION: The abrupt disruption of in-person instruction in health care during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the rapid adoption of distance simulation as an immediate alternative to providing in-person simulation-based education. This massive instructional shift, combined with the lack of educator training in this domain, led to challenges for both learners and educators. This study aimed to disseminate the first set of competencies required of and unique to effective distance simulation educators. METHODS: This was a multiphasic and iterative modified Delphi study validating the content of carefully and rigorously synthesized literature. Experts were invited from around the globe to participate in this study with mandatory attendance at an annual health care simulation conference to openly discuss the guidelines presented as competencies in this document. We divided each competency into "Basic" and "Advanced" levels, and agreement was sought for these levels individually. The experts provided their opinion by choosing the options of "Keep, Modify, or Delete." A free-marginal kappa of 0.60 was chosen a priori. RESULTS: At the conclusion of the Delphi process, the number of competencies changed from 66 to 59, basic subcompetencies from 216 to 196, and advanced subcompetencies from 179 to 182. CONCLUSIONS: This article provides the first set of consensus guidelines to distance simulation educators in health care, and paved the way for further research in distance simulation as a modality.

Rapid urbanization, coupled with income growth, will inevitably cause the residential energy consumption in the North Africa region to continue to increase, with adverse effects on the climate, human health, and the economy. In these regards, this paper explores the relationship between residential carbon dioxide emissions (RCO2), urbanization, economic growth, and residential energy use in four North African countries (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Egypt) over the period 1990–2016. To do this, we used the bounds cointegration and the Toda–Yamamoto Granger causality test. The existence of cointegration relationships was confirmed for the four countries. In the long run, the environment Kuznets curve relationship between increased income per capita and RCO2 emissions was verified for only Morocco and Tunisia. The causality analysis also reveals a combination of neutral, unidirectional, and bidirectional relationships for all countries. The RCO2 emissions have not proved to be a limiting factor in any country’s economic growth. The findings of this study certainly contribute to advancing the existing literature by emphasizing the income–pollution nexus in African countries. Policy makers and government regulators should implement the necessary policies that accelerate the development of renewable technologies to drive sustainable cooling and heating as well as water management.

Inflammatory cytokines exert different effects on hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), lead to the development of various cell lineages in bone marrow (BM) and are thus a differentiation axis for HSCs. The content used in this article has been obtained by searching PubMed database and Google Scholar search engine of English-language articles (1995-2020) using "Hematopoietic stem cell," "Inflammatory cytokine," "Homeostasis," and "Myelopoiesis." Inflammatory cytokines are involved in the differentiation and proliferation of hematopoietic progenitors to compensate for cellular death due to inflammation. Since each of these cytokines differentiates HSCs into a specific cell line, the difference in the effect of these cytokines on the fate of HSC progenitors can be predicted. Inhibitors of these cytokines can also control the inflammatory process as well as the cells involved in leukemic conditions. In general, inflammatory signaling can specify the dominant cell line in BM to counteract inflammation and leukemic condition via stimulating or inhibiting hematopoietic progenitors. Therefore, detection of the effects of inflammatory cytokines on the differentiation of HSCs can be an appropriate approach to check inflammatory and leukemic conditions and the suppression of these cytokines by their inhibitors allows for control of homeostasis in stressful conditions.

Three-phase induction motors are the “workhorses” of industry; they are the most widely used electrical machine; because of its simple structure and high reliability. This paper proposes a new technique to model the stator winding of the induction motor in Matlab Simulink® software. This simulation of the induction motor would have the thermal behavior of its stator winding; to study the induction motor temperature estimation using motor parameter-based method. The modified model is used to validate a remote and Sensorless stator winding temperature estimation technique; therefore a thermal protection is obtained for soft-starter-connected to induction motors. The soft-starter is used to inject a DC signal in the induction motor terminal voltage and current. The stator winding resistance/temperature is estimated from DC signal injection by changing the gate drive signals of the Thyristor in the soft starter. The level of the injected DC signal is adjusted by the value of the delay angle. The accuracy of stator winding temperature estimation increased with the increase of DC signal level; however the pulsation of the output torque increased also. The thermal behavior is simulated utilizing a thermal resistor block from the Matlab Simscape™ software. It is used to replace the fixed resistor value of the induction motor model in the Matlab Simulink. The thermal monitoring scheme has been validated from the simulation results of a 7.5 kW induction motor under various loading conditions.

Recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) pose unique challenges in microbial community management since they rely on a stable community with key target groups, both in the RAS environment and in the host (in this case,Solea senegalensis). Our goal was to determine how much of the sole microbiome is inherited from the egg stage, and how much is acquired during the remainder of the sole life cycle in an aquaculture production batch, especially regarding potentially probiotic and pathogenic groups. Our work comprises sole tissue samples from 2 days before hatching and up to 146 days after hatching (−2 to 146 DAH), encompassing the egg, larval, weaning, and pre-ongrowing stages. Total DNA was isolated from the different sole tissues, as well as from live feed introduced in the first stages, and 16S rRNA gene was sequenced (V6-V8 region) using the Illumina MiSeq platform. The output was analysed with the DADA2 pipeline, and taxonomic attribution with SILVAngs version 138.1. Using the Bray–Curtis dissimilarity index, both age and life cycle stage appeared to be drivers of bacterial community dissimilarity. To try to distinguish the inherited (present since the egg stage) from the acquired community (detected at later stages), different tissues were analysed at 49, 119 and 146 DAH (gill, intestine, fin and mucus). Only a few genera were inherited, but those that were inherited accompany the sole microbiome throughout the life cycle. Two genera of potentially probiotic bacteria (BacillusandEnterococcus) were already present in the eggs, while others were acquired later, in particularly, forty days after live feed was introduced. The potentially pathogenic generaTenacibaculumandVibriowere inherited from the eggs, whilePhotobacteriumandMycobacteriumseemed to be acquired at 49 and 119 DAH, respectively. Significant co-occurrence was found betweenTenacibaculumand bothPhotobacteriumandVibrio. On the other hand, significantly negative correlations were detected betweenVibrioandStreptococcus,Bacillus,LimosilactobacillusandGardnerella. Our work reinforces the importance of life cycle studies, which can contribute to improve production husbandry strategies. However, we still need more information on this topic as repetition of patterns in different settings is essential to confirm our findings.