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Fluorizoline is a cytotoxic trifluorothiazoline that targets the scaffold proteins prohibitins-1 and -2 (PHB1/2) to inhibit the kinase C-RAF and promote the expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 to induce cancer cell death. In melanocytes, fluorizoline also induces the synthesis of melanin. Herein we report the first structural requirement of fluorizoline analogues for these activities. We identified in particular some compounds that display enhanced anti-C-RAF and anti-MEK activities, and a higher cytotoxicity in HeLa cells compared to fluorizoline. These results provide a foundation for further optimization of PHB ligands for the treatment of cancers. We also discovered an analogue of fluorizoline that displays pharmacological effects opposed to those of fluorizoline and that can be used as a chemical tool to explore PHB signaling in cancers and other diseases.

International audience; In this paper we present an energy management approach for an isolated PV-battery hybrid system. The studied system is composed of a lifepo4 battery pack coupled to a BMS, a PV module and an inverter controlled with a load management device. We aim to provide sufficient energy to different loads and decrease the energy deficit and the loss of power supply probability (LPSP) factor. The simulation results were performed with Matlab/Simulink to evaluate the performance of the proposed management algorithm on the PV-Battery hybrid system. A comparative study between the system without and with the management system shows a 40% reduction of the system energy deficit. Furthermore, the LPSP factor was minimized to 4%.

International audience; Hygrothermal mathematical models are commonly used to describe heat and moisture transfer in porous and bio-based building construction materials. This allows to evaluate their thermal insulation capacity, as well as their ability to regulate external climatic conditions and ensure indoor comfort for inhabitants. In this paper, a sensitivity analysis is performed on Kunzel's model, while it is applied to simulate the hygrothermal behavior of a wall structure made of a new bio-based building material (cement composite including date palm fibers). In a first part, the effects of finite variations of material properties/boundary conditions on the model's outcome are investigated. In a second step, specific transfer modes are neglected in the model, in order to study their influence on the numerical predictions. The results of this parametric study show that special attention should be paid to few parameters (heat capacity and density for heat transfer, sorption isotherm and water vapor resistance factors for moisture transfer) at the expense of others. Uncertainties on these influent parameters may result in large error accumulation, especially when modeling the moisture transfer process. Furthermore, initial boundary conditions and sensors position appear to be possible sources of discrepancies in the calculated RH profiles. Finally, the pure conduction model is found to provide good estimation of the temperature profiles compared to the full model, whereas liquid transfer must always be taken into account in the model to ensure accurate RH predictions through a bio-based date palm concrete wall.

International audience; Hygrothermal behavior of a new building material, composed of cement, sand and date palm fibers was investigated in the present work. In a first part, the sorption-desorption isotherms and the hysteresis effect were characterized under static conditions, and collected results revealed a high hydric capacity of this Date Palm Cement (DPC) mortar. In addition, the GAB model (Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer) was successfully applied to describe the experimental sorption isotherm curve. In a second step, the moisture buffer value and the effect of temperature on successive adsorption/desorption cycles were assessed under dynamical conditions. It was found that the sorption process is highly affected by temperature. Finally, this bio-based mortar was classified as hygroscopic and breathable material with excellent moisture buffering capacity.

Melamine has been used as a non-protein nitrogenous additive in food products to artificially increase the apparent “false” protein content. Melamine is known as a dangerous and poisonous substance for human health and it causes diverse diseases. An electrochemical sensor for melamine detection has been developed by modification of a glassy carbon electrode using copolymer poly[DMAEMA-co-styrene], gold nanoparticles, and methylene blue. The characterization of the modified electrode was conducted using several analysis techniques including cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), chronoamperometry (CA), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electrochemical detection of melamine was performed by impedance spectroscopy. Obtained results revealed that the developed sensor has a large detection range from 5.0 × 10−13 to 3.8 × 10−8 M with a low detection limit of 1.8 × 10−12 M (at S/N = 3). Various interfering species such as phenol, hydroquinone, and bisphenol A have been used and their behavior on modified electrode has been studied.

International audience; Systems composed of a fleet of autonomous mobile robots are among the most complex control systems. This control complexity is at a high level especially when those robots navigate in hazardous and dynamic environments such as chemical analysis laboratories. These systems include different dangerous and harmful products (toxic, flammable, explosive...) with different quantity. In order to perform its mission on a regular basis, this multi-robot system can be controlled according to multiple architectures. We propose, firstly, to apply the System Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) on two selected control architectures, namely distributed and hybrid architectures in order to obtain a set of loss scenarios for each kind of architecture. For further assessment, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used to choose the best architecture. The proposed approach provides a risk analysis and a more practical comparison between the two control architectures of a mobile multi-robot system and facilitates decision-making, even in complex situations.

This paper presents a comparison between some numerical methods and techniques for solving the nonlinear advection-dispersion equation, which may be used to describe the adsorption of phenol into a granular activated carbon fixed bed under local equilibrium conditions. The adsorption is described by the Langmuir isotherm, which makes the advection-dispersion equation nonlinear. This equation is solved successively by using the approximation and linearization techniques. For each technique, two types of numerical algorithms are used. Concerning the first one, the Implicit and the Runge Kutta schemes are used. As for the second one, the Modified Picard iteration and the Newton Raphson scheme are applied. Simulation results have been compared to each other and to the experimental data as well. Both of the Implicit and the Runge Kutta algorithms have led to superimposed simulated breakthrough curves. Both of the modified Picard and Newton Raphson schemes have given identical results too. However, comparing to the experimental data, the obtained solution, using the approximation technique, has underestimated the retardation of solute and failed in fitting the experimental breakthrough. The Obtained solution, using the linearization technique, has correctly fitted the experimental results under all the conditions of: feed flow rate, activated carbon bed height and the inlet phenol concentration.

In the last years, predictive maintenance has gained a central position in condition-based maintenance tasks planning. Machine learning approaches have been very successful in simplifying the construction of prognostic models for health assessment based on available historical labeled data issued from similar systems or specific physical models. However, if the collected samples suffer from lack of labels (small labeled dataset or not enough samples), the process of generalization of the learning model on the dataset as well as on the newly arrived samples (application) can be very difficult. In an attempt to overcome such drawbacks, a new deep supervised learning approach is introduced in this paper. The proposed approach aims at extracting and learning important patterns even from a small amount of data in order to produce more general health estimator. The algorithm is trained online based on local receptive field theories of extreme learning machines using data issued from a propulsion system simulator. Compared to extreme learning machine variants, the new algorithm shows a higher level of accuracy in terms of approximation and generalization under several training paradigms.

International audience; Granular activated carbon (GAC) was synthesized from Silver berry (Elaeagnus Angustifolia L.) seeds using zinc chloride as the activation agent. To optimize the operating parameters, the effects of the time and temperature of carbonization, impregnation ratio, and heating rate on the iodine number and yield of activated carbon were studied. Optimized parameters were impregnation ratio of 1:1, carbonization temperature of 500 degrees C, carbonization time of 1 hour, and heating rate of 5 degrees C/min. The GAC synthesized under optimized conditions was characterized by Nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, SEM, EDX, XRD, FT-IR, Boehm titration, TG-TGA, and TG-IR. It was found that the synthesized GAC has a microporous structure with a BET surface area of 1109 m(2)/g, a micropores volume of 0.317 cm(3)/g, and an average pore diameter of 2.1 nm. The methylene blue (MB) dye was employed as a molecule model to evaluate the porosity and the adsorption capacity of the synthesized GAC. The results showed that the maximum adsorption capacity of MB and the percent portion of the surface area (S-MB/S-BET) were 120.48 mg/g and 30.62%, respectively. The experimental results reveal that the synthesized GAC can be used as a low-cost adsorbent for the removal of small and large environmental pollutants.

International audience; The systematics of Quercus faginea Lam. (s.l.) (Fagaceae) remains obscure, as it tends to crossbreed with other species and show signs of polymorphism. Four subspecies were identified and currently recognized in the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco. However, the literature to date does not allow the distinction between the taxa present in Algeria. To remedy the lack of required data, a morphological and taxonomic analysis of 13 tree populations has been carried out in the country. In the process, 20 leaves and 20 buds from 10 mature trees were collected at each population to produce a more detailed description of 23 particular morphological traits. MCA (multiple correspondence analysis) and AHC (ascendant hierarchical clustering) were used to analyze the data and to identify homogeneous groups. The results obtained show high intra and inter-population variability, with leaf size diminishing from east to west and from north to south of the country. Though the findings were remarkable, they alone could not be used to differentiate between populations under examination; the traits relating to blade shape and indumentum type on the leaf prove to be more useful. It is clear from this study that the Q. faginea Lam. group in Algeria is represented by two species: Quercus canariensis Willd. and Q. faginea Lam., the latter being represented by two taxa: subsp. faginea and subsp. broteroi.; La systématique de Quercus faginea Lam. (s.l.) (Fagaceae) reste encore indéfinie, d’autant plus qu’elle s’hybride avec d’autres espèces et qu’elle est polymorphe. Quatre sous-espèces ont été identifiées et présentement reconnues en péninsule Ibérique et au Maroc, or, les données disponibles ne permettent pas de trancher entre les taxons présents en Algérie. Pour remédier au manque de données nécessaires, une analyse morphologique et taxonomique de treize populations du complexe dans le pays a été effectuée. Dans chacune, 20 feuilles et 20 bourgeons sur 10 arbres matures ont été prélevés pour une description détaillée de 23 traits morphologiques. L’ACM (analyse des correspondances multiples) et la CAH (classification ascendante hiérarchique) ont été utilisées pour analyser les données et identifier des groupes homogènes. Une variabilité significative intra et inter-populationnelle est remarquable, avec une taille de feuilles qui tend à diminuer en allant de l’est vers l’ouest et du nord au sud du pays. Cette variabilité ne permet pas, à elle seule, de différentier entre les populations étudiées, en revanche, les traits liés à la forme du limbe et aux types du « tomentum » sur la feuille s’avèrent plus utiles. Cette étude confirme que le complexe Q. faginea Lam. est représenté en Algérie par deux espèces : Quercus canariensis Willd. et Q. faginea Lam., elle-même représentée par deux taxons, subsp. faginea et subsp. broteroi.

International audience; In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), multi-channel communication represents an attractive field due to its advantage in improving throughput and delivery rate. However, the major challenge that faces WSNs is the energy constraint. To overcome the channel assignment problem in an energy-efficient way, reinforcement learning (RL) approach is used. Though, RL requires several iterations to obtain the best solution, creating a communication overhead and time-wasting. In this paper, a heuristically accelerated reinforcement learning approach for channel assignment (HARL CA) in WSNs is proposed to reduce the learning iterations. The proposal considers the selected channel by the neighboring sender nodes as external information, used to accelerate the learning process and to avoid collisions, while the bandwidth of the used channel is regarded as an important factor in the scheduling process to increase the delivery rate. The results of extensive simulation experiments show the effectiveness of our approach in improving the network lifetime and performance.

International audience; The polyhedral model permits to automatically improve data locality and enable parallelism of regular linear algebra kernels. In previous work we have proposed a new data structure, 2d-packed layout, to store only the non-zeros elements of regular sparse (triangular and banded) matrices dynamically allocated for different basic linear algebra operations, and used Pluto to parallelize and optimize them. To our surprise, there were huge discrepancies in our measures of these kernels execution times that were due to the allocation mode: as statically declared arrays or as dynamically allocated arrays of pointers.In this paper we compare the performance of various linear algebra kernels, including some linear algebra kernels from the PolyBench suite, using different array allocation modes. We present our detailed investigation of the possible reasons of the performance variation on two different architectures: a dual 12-cores AMD (Magny-Cours) and a dual 10-cores Intel Xeon (Haswell-EP).We conclude that static or dynamic memory allocation has an impact on performance in many cases, and that the processor architecture and the gcc compiler's decisions can provoke significant and sometimes surprising variations, in favor of one or the other allocation mode.

International audience; Two previously unreported compounds, 4-O-(2′′-O-galloyl-β-d-glucopyranosyl)-3,5-dihydroxyacetophenone (1) and 5-isopropyl-2-oxo-3,6-dihydropyran-4-carboxylic acid (2), along with twenty-nine known compounds (3−31) were isolated from the aerial parts of Euphorbia gaditana Coss. Their structures were elucidated based on extensive spectroscopic analysis 1D and 2D-NMR, mass spectrometry HR-ESI-MS, optical rotation [α]D, acid hydrolysis and the comparison of NMR data with those described in literature. The antioxidant activity-guided study was conducted using DPPH and CUPRAC methods started from the extracts to bioactive isolated molecules. Most of the isolates (1-31) showed a good to excellent antioxidant activity compared to the standards BHT and ascorbic acid. Furthermore, 1 and 2 exhibited a moderate tyrosinase inhibitory activity (IC50 89.78 ± 0.93 and 52.39 ± 0.69 μg/mL, respectively) compared to the standard kojic acid (IC50 25.23 ± 0.78 μg/mL).

International audience; This paper presents a new hardware implementation of a supervision system used in robot manipulators with two degrees of freedom. In addition to the simulation results, the new System Generator tool of Xilinx® is used to ensure self-generation of HDL codes. This code is used to configure field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) devices in the loop, and the supervision system is used mainly to ensure real-time reconfiguration of robots. In the proposed system, we used a new fault detection (FD) method for a viscous friction fault in the supervised robot combined with a fault-tolerance control method. The first module, based on residual analysis, is used to FD and to properly estimate the necessary corrections of the second module. For data transmission between the supervisor and the supervised robots, we used an approach based on the transmission control protocol. The simulation results show that the proposed method adjusts the fault effect using information transferred from the remote supervisor robot. The hardware implementation generated using Xilinx® System Generator is used to validate the proposed contribution and to ensure real-time processing in the case of industrial robots. The simulation results and the response times of both proposed systems are compared and discussed.

The membrane transporter BCRP/ABCG2 has emerged as a privileged biological target for the development of small compounds capable of abolishing multidrug resistance. In this context, the chromone skeleton was found as an excellent scaffold for the design of ABCG2 inhibitors. With the aims of optimizing and developing more potent modulators of the transporter, we herewith propose a multidisciplinary medicinal chemistry approach performed on this promising scaffold. A quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) study on a series of chromone derivatives was first carried out, giving a robust model that was next applied to the design of 13 novel compounds derived from this nucleus. Two of the most active according to the model’s prediction, namely compounds 22 (5-((3,5-dibromobenzyl)oxy)-N-(2-(5-methoxy-1H-indol-3-yl)ethyl)-4-oxo-4H-chromene-2-carboxamide) and 31 (5-((2,4-dibromobenzyl)oxy)-N-(2-(5-methoxy-1H-indol-3-yl)ethyl)-4-oxo-4H-chromene-2-carboxamide), were synthesized and had their biological potency evaluated by experimental assays, confirming their high inhibitory activity against ABCG2 (experimental EC50 below 0.10 μM). A supplementary docking study was then conducted on the newly designed derivatives, proposing possible binding modes of these novel molecules in the putative ligand-binding site of the transporter and explaining why the two aforementioned compounds exerted the best activity according to biological data. Results from this study are recommended as references for further research in hopes of discovering new potent inhibitors of ABCG2.

The synthesis and characterization of diaquabis[2-(2-hydroxyethyl)pyridine-κ2 N,O)nickel(II) dinitrate, [Ni(C7H9NO)2(H2O)2](NO3)2, under ambient conditions is reported and compared with catena-poly[[bis[2-(2-hydroxyethyl)pyridine-κ2 N,O]copper(II)]-μ-sulfato-κ2 O:O′], [Cu(C7H9NO)2(SO4)] n [Zeghouan et al. (2016). Private communication (refcode 1481676). CCDC, Cambridge, England]. In the two complexes, the 2-(2-hydroxyethyl)pyridine ligands coordinate the metal ions through the N atom of the pyridine ring and the O atom of the hydroxy group, creating a chelate ring. The NiII or CuII ion lies on an inversion centre and exhibits a slightly distorted MO4N2 octahedral coordination geometry, build up by O and N atoms from two 2-(2-hydroxyethyl)pyridine ligands and two water molecules or two O atoms belonging to sulfate anions. The sulfate anion bridges the CuII ions, forming a polymeric chain. The photoluminescence properties of these complexes have been studied on as-synthesized samples and reveal that both compounds display a strong blue-light emission with maxima around 497 nm. From DFT/TDDFT studies, the blue emission appears to be derived from the ligand-to-metal charge-transfer (LMCT) excited state. In addition, the IR spectroscopic properties and thermogravimetric behaviours of both complexes have been investigated.

The kinetics and the mechanism of the reaction of 4-hydroxy-2-pentanone (4H2P) with Cl atom were investigated using quantum theoretical calculations. Density functional theory, CBS-QB3, and G3B3 methods are used to explore the reaction pathways. Rice–Ramsperger–Kassel–Marcus theory is employed to obtain rate constants of the reaction at atmospheric pressure and the temperature range 278–400 K. This study provides the first theoretical and kinetic determination of Cl rate constant for reactions with 4H2P over a large temperature range. The obtained rate constant 1.47 × 10–10 cm3 molecule–1 s–1 at 298 K is in reasonable agreement with those obtained for C4–C5 hydroxyketones both theoretically and experimentally. The results regarding the structure–reactivity relationship and the atmospheric implications are discussed.

International audience; The greenhouse design as well as the cover material properties in particular may strongly impact the greenhouse energy. To study the effect of these parameters, three typical unheated greenhouses equipped with rows of canopy were considered. Experiments were launched to establish the boundary conditions and validate the model. Two parametric studies were carried out: for the nocturnal period when the energy performance of each type of greenhouse was investigated, and for the diurnal period, when the sun path was simulated taking into account the type of the cover, its spectral optical and thermal properties. Results indicate that for the nocturnal period, the ambient air temperature in the tunnel and vertical wall greenhouse was relatively homogenous and warmer compared with the temperature distribution in the Venlo greenhouse. The plastic greenhouse, especially the tunnel one had better performances concerning the homogenization of the climate and the thermal energy storage. Concerning the diurnal period, and for both plastic greenhouses equipped with fully opened side vents, the air located between the rows of canopy and ground surfaces remained very slow, not exceeding 0.2 ms-1; for the Venlo glasshouse, the recirculation loop situated above the crop improved the air mixing and induced a good homogenization. Results indicate that the cover material with highest absorptivity, deteriorated the natural ventilation, increasing the air temperature by convection, and reduced the available Photosynthetically Active Radiation.

International audience; Greenhouse design and cover material properties may strongly impact greenhouse energy. To study the effect of these parameters, three typical unheated agricultural buildings equipped with rows of canopy were considered, and two-dimensional simulations were conducted using the discrete ordinate model for simulating radiative transfers. Experiments were conducted to establish the boundary conditions and to validate the model. Two parametric studies were carried out: one for the nocturnal period when the energy performance of each type of greenhouse was investigated, and one for the diurnal period, when the sun path was simulated taking into account the type of the cover, its spectral optical and thermal properties. Results indicate that for the diurnal period, and for both plastic greenhouses equipped with fully opened side vents, the air located between the rows of canopy and ground surfaces remained very slow, not exceeding 0.2 m/s; for the Venlo glasshouse, the recirculation loop situated above the crop improved the air mixing and induced a good homogenization. Results also indicate that the cover material with the highest absorptivity, deteriorated the natural ventilation, increasing the air temperature by convection, enhancing local air temperature favoring the development of a secondary recirculation, and reduced the available photosynthetically active radiation. Concerning the nocturnal period, the ambient air temperature in the tunnel and in the vertical wall of the greenhouse was relatively homogenous and warmer than the temperature in the Venlo greenhouse. During the nocturnal period, the plastic greenhouse (in particular the one with the tunnel) performed better in regard to the homogenization of the climate and thermal energy storage.

The present work focuses on the crystal structure analysis, vibrational spectroscopy investigation and DFT calculation. Two new charge transfer compounds; bis (creatininium) fumarate fumaric acid (I) and creatininium 3,5-dicarboxybenzoate monohydrate (II), have been synthesized, their Raman and IR modes of vibrations have been assigned and their crystal structures have been studied by means of single crystal X-ray diffraction. Complementary Hirshfeld surface analysis were carried out to investigate and quantify the contributions of the different intermolecular interactions within the crystal. This analysis revels that the main contributions in both compounds are provided by the O⋯H and H⋯H interactions that represent ∼70 (for I) and ∼75% (for II) of the total contributions to the Hirshfeld surface. The results of the theoretically predicted structural parameters and vibrational frequencies are in good agreements with the experimental investigations. These results show that both compounds exhibit similar features, however the energy gap between EHOMO and ELUMO obtained from the molecular orbital analysis indicates that compound (I) is characterized by a molecular structural more favourable for charge transfer.

The present data article is concerned with the hygrothermal performance at the wall scale of a new bio-based building material including date palm fibres. A specific test setup allowed to measure temperature and relative humidity (RH) profiles at three different depths of the bio-based wall subjected to outdoor boundary conditions. Besides, a partial differential equations resolution software was then used to solve two mathematical models (i.e., Kunzel and Mendes models) describing heat and moisture transfer in porous building materials. Both experimental/simulated temperature and RH profiles are provided with this dataset article. The proposed experimental setup can be used for studying the hygrothermal performance of different kinds of bio-based building materials at wall scale, while experimental/numerical data can serve as reference values for the validation of mathematical models intended to describe heat and mass transfer. Keywords: Hygrothermal, Bio-based building materials, Date palm, Heat and moisture transfer, Wall scale, Mathematical models, Simulation

International audience; Clinical indicators such as diarrhoea (DISCO) or anaemia (FAMACHA©) are used as a measure for targeted selective treatments against gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN). Enteric cestodes such as Moniezia may interfere directly with DISCO or indirectly with the FAMACHA© score. We investigated 821 Ouled Djellal rams naturally infected in a steppe environment (GIN alone, cestodes alone, GIN and cestodes) or not. The rams were treated with ivermectin 2 months before being slaughtered to reduce the impact of nematodes on the clinical scores; however, persistent or newly acquired GINs were not related to both scores. Of the non-infected rams (n = 296), 26% identified as needing treatment against GIN using the FAMACHA score, and 34.5% using DISCO would have been thus selected. This implies that the clinical indicators used for the targeted selective treatment of gastrointestinal nematodes are not fully reliable when a low infection is recorded and may well be influenced by confounding factors. As expected, only DISCO was affected by cestode infection, and we suggest that the presence of Moniezia should also be taken into consideration.

International audience; In this paper, we present a new deep learning-based human activity recognition technique. First, we track and extract human body from each frame of the video stream. Next, we abstract human silhouettes and use them to create binary space-time maps (BSTMs) which summarize human activity within a defined time interval. Finally, we use convolutional neural network (CNN) to extract features from BSTMs and classify the activities. To evaluate our approach, we carried out several tests using three public datasets: Weizmann, Keck Gesture and KTH Database. Experimental results show that our technique outperforms conventional state-of-the-art methods in term of recognition accuracy and provides comparable performance against recent deep learning techniques. It’s simple to implement, requires less computing power, and can be used for multi-subject activity recognition.

A new alkaloid pyrroloquinolone A (1), along with fifteen known compounds 2–16 were isolated from the petroleum ether, EtOAc and n-BuOH extracts of the whole plant Atractylis cancellata L. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis including 1D- and 2D-NMR and HR-ESI-MS techniques. This is the first report of alkaloids in the genus Atractylis. Some of the isolated compounds and extracts were evaluated for their antioxidant potential (scavenging activity of DPPH and ABTS radicals, and reducing Fe+3 and Cu+2 power assays) and acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory activities. Compounds 8 and 11 showed good antioxidant capacity compared to ascorbic acid, BHA, and BHT used as standards, whereas compounds 1 and 2 exhibited good anticholinesterase activities compared to galantamine used as standard.

International audience; In the present work, the hygrothermal behavior of a wall structure made of a novel biobased material, i.e. date palm fiber reinforced concrete was investigated. In this context, a specific setup was developed which allows simulating a bi-climatic environment with separate outdoor and indoor environments. This device made it possible to apply various scenarios of static / dynamic hygrothermal loading to the outer side of wall, involving variation/cycling of temperature (T) and /or relative humidity (RH). During these experiments, resulting variations of T and RH across the wall thickness were monitored with in-situ sensors. Outstanding thermo-hygric phenomena were highlighted, such as high coupling effect between heat and moisture transfers, resulting from evaporation-condensation and sorption-desorption processes. Besides, significant thermal and hygric inertia was observed through the Date Palme Concrete (DPC) wall. The response time of this DPC wall to temperature variations remains shorter than in the case of humidity variations. Even so, large damping effect is obtained compared to outdoor boundary conditions, which make this DPC wall a good candidate for mitigating overheating during summertime and reducing interstitial condensation as well.

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International audience; In this article, we present ARPM (Augmented Reality-based Preventive Maintenance) system, which aims at offering to the technician of a Cement Factory a virtual assistance in real time using various forms of 3D models, images or even texts, in order to help him to maintain and inspect his equipment. This system not only offers the possibility of reducing costs of the preventive maintenance, but also allows monitoring and even anticipating failures. In order to ensure a reliable maintenance operation, we adapted our system to be compatible with the CMMS system (Computerized Maintenance Management System) already exists in the Cement factory.

k-Set agreement is a central problem of fault-tolerant distributed computing. Considering a set of n processes, where up to t may commit failures, let us assume that each process proposes a value. The problem consists in defining an algorithm such that each non-faulty process decides a value, at most k different values are decided, and the decided values satisfy some context-depending validity condition. Algorithms solving k-set agreement in synchronous message-passing systems have been proposed for different failure models (mainly process crashes, and process Byzantine failures). Differently, k-set agreement cannot be solved in failure-prone asynchronous message-passing systems when t ≥ k . To circumvent this impossibility an asynchronous system must be enriched with additional computational power. Assuming t ≥ k , this paper presents two distributed algorithms that solve k-set agreement in asynchronous message-passing systems where up to t processes may commit crash failures (first algorithm) or more severe Byzantine failures (second algorithm). To circumvent k-set agreement impossibility, this article considers that the underlying system is enriched with the computability power provided by randomization. Interestingly, the algorithm that copes with Byzantine failures is signature-free, and ensures that no value proposed only by Byzantine processes can be decided by a non-faulty process. Both algorithms share basic design principles.

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This paper presents a novel, yet compact texture descriptor for plant species identification based on bark texture images. Termed Statistical Macro Binary Pattern (SMBP), the descriptor is informative, rotation invariant, and it is designed to encode texture information from a large support area. The main novelty of this approach is the use of statistical description to represent the intensity distribution in the large support area, and an LBP-like encoding scheme to derive a statistical macro pattern by thresholding it against its adaptive statistical prototype. We propose to test three neighborhood sampling schemes according to the angular quantization at each level of the macrostructure. The comprehensive experiments on three challenging bark datasets (BarkTex, Trunk12, AFF) show that our descriptor achieves high and more consistent identification rates when compared with LBP-like texture descriptors.

International audience; The evaluation of the thermal performance of a greenhouse requires an understanding of the energy exchanges between its components. In recent years, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) proved to be efficient to predict the microclimate inside greenhouses, but few CFD works analyzed hot and arid climatic conditions. The aim of the present study is to investigate the impact of such specific conditions prevailing in the southern Mediterranean basin considering three different unheated greenhouses equipped with rows of canopy (tunnel, Venlo and plastic vertical wall greenhouse). 2D simulations were conducted in order to estimate the influence of the greenhouse geometry and cover material on the energy balance, focusing in particular on the heat losses. To establish the boundary conditions and validate the model, experiments were launched inside the greenhouses. Simulations were conducted for two contrasted conditions: the nocturnal period when the energy performance of each type of greenhouse was investigated, and the diurnal period for which a solar day was simulated taking account of natural ventilation. A good agreement was found with experiments concerning the temperature profiles and the energy losses. The predicted stable flow patterns slightly differed from one greenhouse to another for each condition: during the night they all disclosed two convective loops sweeping the floor, rising along the middle of the greenhouse, cooling down along the roof and moving down along the sidewalls of the greenhouse, while during the day flow patterns were strongly impacted by the vent openings. The obtained values (temperature and velocity) were coherent with results found in the literature for different greenhouse types and sizes. The developed tool offers potential applications in research on greenhouse climate to assess different cover material performances. It could also be used to investigate the energy consumption and partition for different greenhouse shapes, different crop densities different growth stages.

In this paper we present the complexation, single crystal structure and the third harmonic generation response of the quinoline ligand and its mercury complex. Crystals structure of Bis(quinoline) Mercury (II) dichloride, (C18H14Cl2HgN2) is obtained from aqueous solution and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction at room temperature. This complex crystallizes in centrosymmetric space group. The structure is formed by chains along c axis. These chains are constituted by the quinoline ligand. The electronic contribution χ T H G 3 > is measured using the third harmonic generation technique on thin films at 1064 nm for quinoline ligand and its mercury complex incorporated in PMMA matrices. The first hyperpolarizability (β), the polarizability (α) and the electric dipole moment (μ) were calculated using the density functional B3LYP method with the LANL2DZ basis set. The obtained results for the quinoline ligand and its Hg complex show non zero (β).

Two condensed phthalazine compounds were synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, UV-Vis, NMR spectroscopic studies. Single crystal XRD and molecular orbital calculations. Optimized geometrical structures were computed with RB3LYP method with the 6-31G(p, d) basis set. The geometrical parameters of both compounds obtained from Single Crystal XRD were found to be in accord with the calculated (DFT) values. The electronic contribution $$\chi _{THG}^{ } $$ was measured using the third harmonic generation technique on thin films at 1064 nm for both compounds. Also, the values of dipole moment $$\upmu $$ , the average polarizability $${\bar{\upalpha }}$$ , and the first static hyperpolarizability $$\left( {\beta _0 } \right) $$ were computed. The theoretical and experimental results confirm the NLO behavior of both compounds. SYNOPSIS Two condensed phthalazine compounds were synthesized and characterized by IR, UV-Vis, NMR spectroscopy and Single Crystal XRD. The geometrical parameters of both the compounds obtained from XRD studies are in accordance with the calculated values. Their electronic contributions $$\chi _{THG}^{ } $$ have been measured using the third harmonic generation technique on thin films at 1064 nm.

International audience; This paper proposes a quality assessment of focusing criteria for imaging in digital off-axis holography. In the literature, several refocus criteria have been proposed in the past to get the best refocus distance in digital holography. As a general rule, the best focusing plane is determined by the reconstruction distance for which the criterion function presents a maximum or a minimum. To evaluate the robustness of these criteria, 13 criteria are compared with application on both amplitude and phase objects from off-axis holographic data. Simulation and experimental results lead to define a general rule and to exhibit the most robust criteria for accurate and rapid refocusing in digital holography.

International audience; Bilayer of nickel and nickel oxide were deposited on glass substrates using RF magnetron sputtering technique. The magnetic properties of the prepared thin films were carried out at room temperature in both parallel and perpendicular magnetic field to the sample. The Preisach model was applied to provide a mathematical model of the magnetic hysteresis loop in the case of parallel geometry, along the easy axis of the bi-layer NiO / Ni. Good agreement was obtained between the theoretical and experimental results.

The first large-scale network of tree-ring chronologies from the western Mediterranean (WM; 32°N–43°N, 10°W–17°E) is described and analyzed to identify the seasonal climatic signal in indices of annual ring width. Correlation and rotated empirical orthogonal function analyses are applied to 85 tree-ring series and corresponding gridded climate data to assess the climate signal embedded in the network. Chronologies range in length from 80 to 1129 years. Monthly correlations and partial correlations show overall positive associations for Pinus halepensis (PIHA) and Cedrus atlantica (CDAT) with winter (December–February) and spring (March–May) precipitation across this network. In both seasons, the precipitation correlation with PIHA is stronger, while CDAT chronologies tend to be longer. A combination of positive correlations between growth and winter–summer precipitation and negative partial correlations with growing season temperatures suggests that chronologies in at least part of the network reflect soil moisture and the integrated effects of precipitation and evapotranspiration signal. The range of climate response observed across this network reflects a combination of both species and geographic influences. Western Moroccan chronologies have the strongest association with the North Atlantic Oscillation.

International audience; The aim of this paper is to study the homogenization of a diffusion process which takes place in a binary structure made by an ambient connected phase surrounding the suspensions (very small particles of diameter of order εδ) distributed in an ε-periodic network. Using the periodic unfolding method introduced in [4], in the critical case, when ε and δ go to 0 we determine the asymptotic behavior of the solution of an evolution problem.

International audience; Tin oxide SnO2 thin films were deposited by sol gel method on glass substrates. The as-deposited thin films were then annealed at 550 °C for different time durations (15, 30, 60 and 120 min). Structural and morphological investigations were carried out on all samples by X-ray diffraction method and atomic force microscopy while optical properties were obtained with UV–Visible spectrophotometer. XRD patterns reveals that the samples possess polycrystalline with rutile structure of SnO2 without any secondary phase. AFM image showed that SnO2 thin films having a smooth surface morphology. The optical properties in the visible range showed that the deposited layers have a high transmission factor. The optical band gap energy varies in the range of 3.61–3.73 eV. Finally, ultraviolet (UV) detection properties of samples as an active layer in UV photodetector devices were investigated. Current-voltage characteristics of the SnO2 thin films are performed under dark and light environment, which show low dark current of 22.9 nA with a linear behavior and high current ration > 104 under 2 V applied voltage and 120 min as annealing time. Whereas, high photocurrent is observed for samples annealing for 30 min. Moreover, the transient photoresponse of the fabricated device is reported under different annealing times.

In this study, six known compounds 1–6 were isolated from the aerial parts of Silene arenarioides Desf. using different chromatographic methods. The structures of these compounds were identified as maltol glycoside (1), soyacerebroside I (2), chrysin (3), apigenin (4), quercetin (5) and stigmasterol glucoside (6). The compounds (1) and (2) are reported for the first time from this genus. The isolated compounds were determined using NMR techniques (1H NMR, 13C NMR, COSY, HSQC and HMBC) and mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS). The antibacterial and antioxidant activities of extracts and of compound (1) have been evaluated. The antioxidant activity was performed by DPPH radical scavenging method, which showed that methanol extract possesses a good antioxidant activity with value of IC50 = 8.064 ± 0.005 μg/mL.

International audience; All living organisms depend on highly complex intercellular signals to coordinate cell-cell comm unnetiwcaotirokns oinf tvhaarti oruesl yp hoynsliyo loogni ccaell fl usnicgtnioanlisn.g A a lraer gcea pnuabmleb eor fo fd meveeclhoapnmisemnts, cporollpeocstievse thbee huasve ioorf, asne lAf-NreNpa-bira saendd G iRmNm munoidtye.l tToh oisr cahbessttrraatcet cveiall -Qceullo rcuomm mSuennsicinagti oann din mtwuolt iccoenlltuelxatrs :o urgnaicneilslmulsa rv oiar gNanoitscmh sciogmnapluintign gp atihs wpayro. pAo sseimd ptloe gdraemscmriabre intshpei reddy fnraommi cm ecmelbl-rlainkee structure.

International audience

Adaptation to local resource availability depends on responses in growth rate and nutrient acquisition. The growth rate hypothesis (GRH) suggests that growing fast should impair competitive abilities for phosphorus and nitrogen due to high demand for biosynthesis. However, in microorganisms, size influences both growth and uptake rates, which may mask trade-offs and instead generate a positive relationship between these traits (size hypothesis, SH). Here, we evolved a gradient of maximum growth rate (μmax) from a single bacterium ancestor to test the relationship amongμmax, competitive ability for nutrients and cell size, while controlling for evolutionary history. We found a strong positive correlation betweenμmaxand competitive ability for phosphorus, associated with a trade-off betweenμmaxand cell size: strains selected for highμmaxwere smaller and better competitors for phosphorus. Our results strongly support the SH, while the trade-offs expected under GRH were not apparent. Beyond plasticity, unicellular populations can respond rapidly to selection pressure through joint evolution of their size and maximum growth rate. Our study stresses that physiological links between these traits tightly shape the evolution of competitive strategies.

This paper presents two kinds of observers: first order sliding mode and triangular form, applied to a dynamic model of a vehicle in order to estimate the dynamic state of the vehicle and contact forces. The vehicle model is based on Lagrange formalism, which takes into account the evolution of each subsystem under normal operation when there is a possible presence of defects. Within this work, the obtained results are represented with an illustration of the absolute errors between the two methods compared to the simulation results.

International audience; In this paper, we present a simple new human activity recognition method using discrete cosine transform (DCT). The scheme uses the DCT coefficients extracted from silhouettes as descriptors (features) and performs frame-by-frame recognition, which make it simple and suitable for real time applications. We carried out several tests using radial basis neural network (RBF) for classification, a comparative study against stat-of-the-art methods shows that our technique is faster, simple and gives higher accuracy performance comparing to discrete transform based techniques and other methods proposed in literature.

It is pointed out that the ground state of n neutrons and n protons in a single-j shell, interacting through an isoscalar (T=0) pairing force, is not paired, J=0, but rather spin-aligned, J=n. This observation is explained in the context of a model of isoscalar P (J=1) pairs, which is mapped onto a system of p bosons, leading to an approximate analytic solution of the isoscalar-pairing limit in jj coupling., 7 pages, 3 figures, 1 table

Gold nanoparticles have been used in various applications covering both electronics, biosensors, in vivo biomedical imaging and in vitro biomedical diagnosis. As a general requirement, gold nanoparticles should be prepared in large scale, easy to be functionalized by chemical compound of by specific ligands or biomolecules. In this study, gold nanoparticles were prepared by using different concentrations of reducing agent (NaBH 4 ) in various formulations and their effect on the particle size, size distribution and morphology was investigated. Moreover, special attention has been dedicated to comparison of particles size measured by various techniques, such as, light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, UV spectrum using standard curve and particles size calculated by using Mie theory and UV spectrum of gold nanoparticles dispersion. Particle size determined by various techniques can be correlated for monodispersed particles and excess of reducing agent leads to increase in the particle size.

International audience

International audience; _______________________________________________________________________ In this study, we present new experimental data of vapor-liquid equilibrium for the binary system trifluoromethane (R23) + 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (R1234yf), measured at 254.10, 273.43, 293.24, 303.17, 318.08, 332.97, and 348.40 K and at pressure ranging from 0.1568 to 4.3553 MPa. A " static-analytic "-type apparatus is used to do the measurements, with sampling of the equilibrium phases via capillary sampler (ROLSI TM). We used two different methods to model the obtained isothermal P-x-y data: 1) the Peng-Robinson cubic equation of state, incorporating the Mathias-Copeman alpha function, combined with the NRTL excess free energy model and Wong-Sandler mixing rules, and 2) the PC-SAFT equation of state. Both models show a very good agreement with the experimental data. ________________________________________________________________________

International audience; The column leaching behavior of lead and zinc is studied on a soil sample from the Amizour-Bejaia mining region, which is one of Algeria's largest natural reserves for Pb and Zn ores. The maximum amount of metal bound to the soil sample after column leaching by a mono-metal solution at pH 7 is 7.0 and 11.3 g/kg for Zn and Pb, respectively. These values exceed the maximum loading capacities derived from previous batch experiments conducted under similar conditions. The studied soil sample displays a stronger affinity for Pb than Zn under the study conditions. These two metals are associated with various chemical fractions of the mine soil sample, as revealed by a five-step, operationally-defined sequential chemical extraction procedure (with fractions categorized as: exchangeable, acid extractable, reducible, oxidizable, and residual) following column leaching. After metal addition and sorption, carbonates (i.e. the extractable fraction) and Fe- and/or Mn- (oxy)(hydr)oxide phases (reducible fraction) in the soil sample dominate for both Pb and Zn. The extractable fraction is mainly reserved for the purpose of zinc retention; moreover, the stabilization with Fe-Mn (oxy)(hydr)oxide phases serves as a major carrier for Pb.

International audience; Single crystal Silicon (Si) layers have been deposited by molecular beam epitaxy on double-layer porous silicon (PSi). We show that a top thin layer with a low porosity is used as a seed layer for epitaxial growth. While, the underlying higher porosity layer is used as an easily detectable etch stop layer. The morphology and structure of epitaxial Si layer grown on the double-layer PSi are investigated by high resolution X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The results show that, an epitaxial Si layer with a low defect density can be grown. Epitaxial growth of thin crystalline layers on double-layer PSi can provide opportunities for silicon-on-insulator applications and Si-based solar cells provided that the epitaxial layer has a sufficient crystallographic quality.