Existence and numerical approximation of a solution to frictional contact problem for electro-elastic materials

In this paper,a frictional contact problem between an electro-elastic body and an electrically conductive foundation is studied.The contact is modeled by normal compliance with finite penetration and a version of Coulomb’s law of dry friction in which the coefficient of friction depends on the slip.In addition,the effects of the electrical conductivity of the foundation are taken into account.This model leads to a coupled system of the quasi-variational inequality of the elliptic type for the displacement and the nonlinear variational equation for the electric potential.The existence of a weak solution is proved by using an abstract result for elliptic variational inequalities and a fixed point argument.Then,a finite element approximation of the problem is presented.Under some regularity conditions,an optimal order error estimate of the approximate solution is derived.Finally,a successive iteration technique is used to solve the problem numerically and a convergence result is established.

SOLUTIONS AND STABILITY OF A GENERALIZATION OF WILSON'S EQUATION

In this paper we study the solutions and stability of the generalized Wilson＇s functional equation fc f（xty）dtt（t） ＋ fc f（xtσ（y））dtt（t） =2f（x）g（y）, x,y C G, where G is a locally compact group, a is a continuous involution of G and # is an idempotent complex measure with compact support and which is a-invariant. We show that ∫Gg（xty）dp（t） ＋ fcg（xta（y））dp（t） = 2g（x）g（y） if f = 0 and fcf（t.）dp（t） =0, where [fcf（t.）dp（t）]（x） = fc f（tx）dμ（t）. We also study some stability theorems of that equation and we establish the stability on noncommutative groups of the classical Wilson＇s functional equation f（xy） ＋ X（y）f（xa（y）） = 2f（x）g（y） x, y C G, where X is a unitary character of G.

Quantitative Adhesion of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>on Stainless Steel Coated with Milk

The surface energy characteristics of uncoated (clean) and coated stainless steel with UHT milk at various contact time (5 min, 30 min, 1 hours, 3 hours, 6 hours, 24 hours) were determined using contact angle measurement. Whatever the contact time, the clean stainless steel coupons became more hydrophobic and more electron acceptor when they are coated by milk. Inversely, the electron donor character seems to decreasing in this condition. The calculated surface energy component of coated stainless steel was found to vary with contact time. Its hydrophobicity and its electron acceptor were minimal after 3 hours of contact, but its electron donor was minimal after 1 hours of contact. Adhesion experiments of Staphylococcus aureus were carried out on uncoated and coated stainless steels at various contact times. For all contact times, the adhesion results show that milk reduce S. aureus adhesion, and the level of this reduction depend on contact time. This reduction was lower and higher after 1 hours, 5 min and 30 min of contact respectively.

Mapping and Characterization of Agricultural Systems from Time Series of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in the Northeast Area of Tadla, Morocco

Introduction: Agriculture is the focus of sustainable development and food security in Morocco, contributing 14% to the national economy and its socio-economic impact depends on agro-climatic conditions and the availability of water resources. The objective of this work is to demonstrate that agriculture in Morocco, and especially in the Tadla region, is distributed according to the availability of underground water. Method: This work was carried out in the transition zone between the phosphate plateau and the plain of Tadla, a site of more than 124,000 ha. To achieve the objectives set, we used Landsat-8 OLI (Operational Land Imager) data sharpened to 15 m. The Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifications were applied to the 10-period Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) series. Results: It is shown that agriculture in Morocco is highly dependent on irrigation. In the classified map, it can be observed that the southern region, a zone with a semi-arid climate, which generally relies on irrigation, is very developed in agriculture, whereas in the north most of the soil is bared with cereals that mainly depend on rainfall. Conclusion: The possible water shortage in the region puts food availability in Morocco at risk of inadequacy. Food security depends on the availability of water, a natural resource at risk of extinction. Therefore, strategies to reduce the risk of agricultural drought must be at the forefront of Moroccan policies.

Study of Coagulation Process with Lime in Treatment of Landfill Leachate from Fkih Ben Salah City (Morocco)

The leachates are the seat of complex processes which give them a heterogeneous character. Their compositions vary according to several factors: nature of the waste, conditions of their deposition, climatic conditions, their durations of stay, etc. They contain important quantities of organic, mineral matters even of bacteria, which require their treatment in order to safeguard the environment. To do this, several methods are used, such as membrane techniques (reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, etc.), biological techniques (activated sludge, SBR, etc.) and physicochemical techniques (Coagulation-flocculation, adsorption on activated carbon, etc.). Among these techniques, the leachate treatment by coagulation process with the lime showed interesting reduction of the various pollutants: 92.95% of turbidity, 88.23% of suspended matter, 89.89% of COD, 90.83% of BOD5, 78.39% of Fe, 77.78% of Mo, 38.29% of Cd, 48.75% of Al, 50.24% of S2-, 20.57% of K+, 27.24% of phosphorus and 19.53% of Cl-. Based on these results, the coagulation with the lime reveals interesting because it allows to reduce at a lesser cost the pollutants present in leachates.

A Cubic Spline Method for Solving a Unilateral Obstacle Problem

This paper, we develop a numerical method for solving a unilateral obstacle problem by using the cubic spline collocation method and the generalized Newton method. This method converges quadratically if a relation-ship between the penalty parameter and the discretization parameter h is satisfied. An error estimate between the penalty solution and the discret penalty solution is provided. To validate the theoretical results, some numerical tests on one dimensional obstacle problem are presented.

Developmental Effects of Malathion Exposure on Recognition Memory and Spatial Learning in Males Wistar Rats

Most cognitive effects of Organophosphate Pesticides (OP) are induced after exposure to parathion, chlorpyrifos and diazinon, which the usage has been restricted because of overt signs of their toxicities. In this study, we investigate whether developmental exposure to Malathion could impair spatial learning and recognition memory in male rats. Animals exposed by intragastric route, from in utero to young adult stage, to incremental doses of Malathion dissolved in corn oil;100, 200 and 300 mg/kg of body weight, and one control group are given corn oil. Then, cognitive and behaveioral abilities are assessed using Barnes maze and object recognition memory task. Malathion administration at 300 mg/kg is toxic to pregnant dams, and pups are stillborns. Rats exposed to 200 mg/kg make a significant working memory error, and require more time to find an escape box during the initial training phase of Barnes maze. However, fewer errors are made in rats exposed to 100 mg/kg. For reversal learning task, the high dose group shows great deficits in spatial strategy to locate the new position of the box. With respect to recognition task, both dose 100 and 200 mg/kg impair significant short-term (2 h after habituation phase) object recognition memory, but long-term (24 h after habituation phase) recognition memory is intact in high dose group. The current study also reveals that all treatments induce high significant neocortex acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity inhibition, but 100 mg/kg dose is not sufficient to disrupt great hippocampal activity alteration. These results suggest that developmental exposure to Malathion, despite low toxicity described, may induce late-emerging spatial learning and recognition memorialterations. Moreover, Cortical and hippocampal area that support strongly these behaviors remain sensitive to incremental doses of Malathion.

YIELD AND FRUIT QUALITY OF ALMOND,PEACH AND PLUM UNDER REGULATED DEFICIT IRRIGATION

The effects of regulated deficit irrigation(RDI)on the performance of almond cv.Tuono,peach cv.JH-Hall and plum cv.Stanley were assessed on the Saiss Plain(NW,Morocco)over three consecutive growing seasons(2011–2013).Irrigation treatments consisted of a control,irrigation applied to fully satisfy crop water requirements(100%ETC),and two RDI treatments,irrigation applied to 75%ETC(RDI-75)and 50%ETC(RDI-50).These three treatments were applied during fruitgrowth slowdown periods corresponding to Stages II and III in almond and Stage II in peach and plum.Yield and fruit quality traits were determined.The effect of RDI differed between species.Yield and fruit size were reduced significantly only in peach under RDI-50.Fruit quality improved in this species in the first year of the experiment,with an increase of sugar/acid ratio and polyphenol content.Plum quality also improved but the effects were significant only in the second and third years.Similar results were recorded in almond kernel,but their epidermal grooves were deeper under RDI-50,and this may have affected their commercial value.It is concluded that water can be saved during the fruitgrowth slowdown period by up to 25%in peach and 50%in almond and plum with improvements in fruit quality without affecting total yield.

Water erosion risk mapping using derived parameters from digital elevation model and remotely sensed data

The aim of this study is to map the areas exposed to water erosion risks in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco around the Hassan-I dam.The methodology is based on the analysis of the water power index(WPI)as a hydrological parameter,the vegetation cover,and the litho-logical units.The WPI was derived from a Digital Elevation Model(DEM)and the litho-logical units and vegetation cover were derived from Advanced Land Imager sensor on the Earth Observing-1 satellite platform.The image was corrected from radiometric and atmospheric effects,and geometrically rectified using a DEM and grounds control points.These variables were integrated in a Geographical Information Systems environment,and Multi-Criteria Analyses were used to derive the water erosion risks map pointing out the most exposed areas requiring the implementation of suitable conservation measures.The validation of the obtained results shows the simplicity and the potential of this approach for water erosion risks mapping.