Agriculture in arid and semiarid areas involves the management of water scarcity and salinity – salinization. The project focus on the elaboration and interpretation of data collected in the field. The main objectives are to characterize the impact of agricultural activities on microbial communities and determine a set of indicators for assessing the environmental health in such saline/arid environments. Activities will be performed at the Central Ebro Valley (Spain), Gallocanta and Monegros (RAMSAR protected areas under Birds and Habitats Directives) and at the Ichkeul Lake/Bizerte Lagoon (Tunisia) hydrological complex (RAMSAR and UNESCO protected area). The specific objectives of AQUASALT includes to: 1. Determine the seasonal changes of soil/water salinity distribution in two Mediterranean arid areas. 2. Determine the salinity trends in irrigated lands and the agricultural pollutants inputs following the dynamics of nutrients (N, P) and pesticides in range of agricultural saline and gypsum soils around the waters. 3. Characterize the microbial communities dynamics according to agricultural activities and seasonal variations. 4. Establish relevant indicators including microbial and macrofaunal bio-indicators adapted to the natural occurrence of salinity in arid basins. Such bio-indicators would report on the effects of agricultural activities in natural saline areas, useful information for the management of saline wetlands.

Chronic lung disease is one of the most common causes of death in the world and is particularly high in low income countries. In spite of this there is very little research on the subject and almost none in low income countries that uses adequate quality assurance for the measurements of lung function. The baseline BOLD study measured lung function and collected information on the background, exposures, symptoms, quality of life and treatment of more than 31,000 people in 44 sites in 36 countries. The results of the study so far have shown that many of the assumptions that have been made about chronic lung disease in these countries (and in high income countries also) may be wrong. The prevalence of narrowing of the airways (obstructive spirometry) alone does not explain the high mortality estimated for these diseases in low income settings. A more likely explanation for the high mortality ascribed to chronic lung disease is the smaller size of lungs (restrictive spirometry). This pattern of lung function has largely been ignored for the last half century but a high mortality in those with low lung volumes has been observed in the United States and can explain the higher mortality seen in African Americans who also have smaller lungs on average than white Americans. Although there is no direct evidence for this at the current time, this seems to be the most likely explanation for the high recorded mortality from COPD in South Asia, South-East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Understanding whether this is the case or not is, however, critical for deciding the emphasis of future research and future health policy as obstructive and restrictive diseases have different risk factors and will require different preventive and treatment strategies. This proposal, which will follow up 15,000 people in 20 sites in 15 low or middle income countries, will answer four important questions. First, how far the high mortality from Chronic Respiratory Disease is associated with narrow airways (obstructive disease) or small lungs (restrictive disease). Second how far the low level of lung function found in older people in poorer countries is due to changes in early life that they have never recovered from, or whether their lung function continues to decline more rapidly in later life. Third whether people with poor lung function in low income countries die from respiratory failure or whether the increased risk of death is also due to a higher mortality from heart disease and related problems, as seems to be the case in richer countries. Finally the study will investigate a number of possible risk factors that we believe are important for determining lung health in low income countries focussing particularly on diet and exposure to unregulated industries. Although smoking is by far the most important risk factor for chronic obstruction of the airways there are countries that have been exposed to very little tobacco and yet still have substantial problems with respiratory disease. Other risk factors that have been suggested such as smoke from cooking fires do not seem to explain this discrepancy. By collecting more detailed information in a highly standardised way and by investigating the effects of these and other risk factors on how they influence the rate of decline in lung function over time we will be able to improve considerably our ability to interpret the associations (and sometimes the lack of associations) that we have found in the earlier study. The centres included in this study cover a wide variety of environments and populations in East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. All of the centres have shown that they are able to collect high quality data, and the co-ordinating centre at the National Heart and Lung Institute in London has a long history of managing large international studies of lung disease. An international advisory board will help to optimise dissemination of results.

The ultimate goal of the ANL-MEd is to modernize and vitalize the educational and training system in maintenance engineering and by this to increase the efficiency and competitiveness of Algerian industry. The aim is to provide Algerian industry with a new generation of skilled personnel, especially at mid- and higher levels, along with ensuring flexible and continuing education and training of industry personnel at all levels. In order to handle the current limitations and to remove the barriers hindering the performance improvement of the companies the objectives are:1. To implement curricula in maintenance engineering in Algerian HEIs and to adapt it to the needs and structure of Algerian industrial companies. 2. To create a national organization ANL-ORG with member universities and companies for coordinating the activities regarding maintenance education and training and active collaboration university-industry. 3. To strongly involve the manufacturing companies to development of curricula in maintenance engineering. 4. To develop the ANL-KNOWLEDGE Platform for education and training. 5. Overall improvement of the company climate, perfomance and quality in education and training in maintenance engineering. The main outputs and results of AN-MEd are:1. New curricula (60 ECTS) for maintenance specialization, ANL-EDUC in English and French2. New training programme, ANL-VET for industry personnel in English and French3. Innovative learning methodology – ANL-Project scenarios - for short practical project in cooperation with industrial companies4. ANL-Knowledge Platform with LMS for OER system, and tools for communication and information. The Platform allow for E-learning for education and training.5. ANL-ORG for coordinating the activities for education and training.The main impact is the strengthen of the cooperation academy-industry, provide industry with skilled personnel at all levels and improve the competence of maintenance personnel

"The number of students having access to higher education system in South Mediterranean countries more than doubled in 15 years. This positive step forward involves in parallel important difficulties for universities to handle overcrowding. In STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), one promising solution matching the national priorities in Algeria, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia concerns the development of nationally accredited e-learning trainings (""e-engineering trainings""), e-learning being a very modern and efficient solution to integrate multiple profiles of students.The main originality of the e-LIVES project is to make sure that beneficiary partners will be 100% independent for creating and managing an e-engineering training at the end of the project. e-LIVES will propose innovative e-engineering solutions to deal with a range of administrative, human and material obstacles to HEIs modernisation. These solutions will be identified after providing a critical mapping of e-engineering best practices and will be developed in an innovative way and innovative format (tutorials, technical and summary data sheets, trainee practical exercises, open workshops, etc) on real conditions in each beneficiary partner.E-Lives project pursues the 5 following specific objectives:- Identification of best practices in order to build high-quality e-engineering trainings- Development of reliable remote laboratory solutions with online access to Practical Works 24/24 and 7/7.- Development of practical open staff trainings in South Mediterranean universities- Control and value the pedagogical innovation solutions used- Promote e-engineering within the South Mediterranean countries mainly through National Dissemination Workshops in all the partner countries involved in the project.Know-how sharing and learning by doing approach will ensure ownership of the e-LIVES e-engineering solutions and sustainability of the future developed trainings."