Determination of carbendazim residues in Moroccan tomato samples using local enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and comparison with liquid chromatography

The fungicide carbendazim (CBZ) is not approved for agricultural uses in some countries but is still used by many farmers due to its effectiveness. For this reason, in previous work of the same authors, they developed a competitive enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) using rabbit polyclonal antibodies to detect CBZ. This study aimed to validate this in-house ELISA after extraction with methanol for CBZ analysis in tomato samples, and the results were compared with the conventional high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method after QuEChERS extraction. The results showed that both ELISA and HPLC methods have good repeatability, reproducibility and high precision with a good variation verified by principal components analysis (PCA). ANOVA tested the detection limit (LOD), and quantification limit (LOQ), and the values for ELISA (LOD = 0.026± 0.001 µg/L and LOQ = 0.083 ± 0.003 µg/L) were significantly lower than those obtained by HPLC (LOD = 0.61 ± 0.02 µg/L and LOQ = 1.85 ± 0.07 µg/L). ELISA and HPLC were used for analyzing CBZ in 100 Moroccan tomato samples. These two methods detected the presence of CBZ above the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) level in 9 samples. However, the presence of the  CBZ was detected in the 79 samples by ELISA and quantified in 66 samples. In contrast, the presence of CBZ was detected in 57 and quantified in 35 samples by HPLC. These results showed that the ELISA system coupled with a simple methanol extraction is much more sensitive than HPLC after QuEChERS extraction

Difficulty in managing polypharmacy in the elderly: Case report and review of the literature

AbstractElderly patients with multiple comorbidities are at risk of experiencing adverse drug events. We report a case of skin lesion related to drugs and discuss consequences of polypharmacy in the elderly. An 85-year-old female took the following drugs for a long time: amlodipine, valsartan, hydrochlorothiazide, lysine acetylsalicylate, sinvastatine, and trimetazidine. In June 2013, she presented thoracic pain and received propranolol, tramadol, and paracetamol. One week later, she developed a diffuse skin lesion. In our patient, drugs considered unnecessary were discontinued and corticosteroid was administered orally. Careful monitoring helped improve the outcome. Corticoids were dangerous but necessary to correct the consequence of iatrogeny

Development and biodistrubition modeling of 99mTc-DTPA

Purpose: In this study, the team modeled the biodistribution and the efficiency of two 99m-technetium diethylene triamine penta acetate (99mTc-DTPA) based radiopharmaceuticals.Methods: The first radiopharmaceutical (DTPA-CNESTEN) is developed at the laboratories of the radiopharmaceutical production unit of the National Center for Nuclear Energy, Sciences and Technologies (CNESTEN-Morocco), and the second one is the commercial DTPA (DTPA-ref). Freeze-dried kits were successfully radiolabeled (radiochemical purity >95%) with the 99m Tc. Then drugs were injected to male BALB/c mice. In each 2 min, 5 min, 15 min, 1 h and 2 h time points after injections we evaluate tissue’s distributions characteristics. At the end, an automatic modeling of the data were recorded from thyroid, blood and urinary excretion kinetics and biodistribution in mice using both DTPA kits. The study aimed to extract the parameters of the function used to fit the recorded data. Results and Conclusion: the team concluded that the biodistribution of 99mTc-DTPA can be modeled using a combination of two exponential parts. Moreover, the resultant plots showed that there is strong correlation between the formula found in literature and the one derived on the basis of the fit of data sets in this study. In addition, it was found that the biodistribution behaviors of the developed kit and the commercial one were very close. The obtained results suggest that the developed DTPA has practically the same kinetics as the commercial one

Adipokines: mechanisms of metabolic and behavioral disorders

Current studies show that metabolic and behavioral disorders represent severe health problems. Several questions arise about the molecular relationship of metabolic and behavioral disorders. This review will discuss the relationship of lipid metabolism and fructose consumption accompanied by an increase in weight as well as associated disorders: hypertension, insulin-resistance, oxidative stress and depression. Adipose tissue is considered as an endocrine tissue with intense secretory activities (metabolic and inflammatory). These adipokines are responsible for an alteration of several physiological functions. In this review we will try to understand how lipogenesis that causes dyslipidemia can influence insulin resistance, hypertension, oxidative stress, depression and the relationship between these various disorders

3-[2-(2-Amino-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-1-yl)ethyl]-1,3-oxazolidin-2-one

In the title compound, C12H14N4O2, the benzimidazole ring is almost planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.03 Å), with the fused ring system slightly folded at the shared atoms, with a dihedral angle of 3.4 (1)°. The oxazolidinone ring displays a twisted conformation on the –CH2–CH2– bond and its mean plane makes a dihedral angle of 57.4 (1)° with the benzimidazole ring mean plane. In the crystal, molecules are linked by N—H...O and N—H...N hydrogen bonds, forming chains propagating along the a-axis direction. The chains are linked by C—H...O and C—H...N hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional structure, which is reinforced by C—H...π interactions

Assessment of bioactive compounds, antibacterial potential and acute toxicity of a volatile Origanum compactum extract, an endemic plant of northern Morocco

The search for a natural alternative against the resistance of bacterial strains pathogenic to antibiotics remains a necessity to prevent human diseases. In this work the identification of the chemical composition of essential oil by GC/ MS revealed the presence of three major compounds; Carvacrol (72.97%), r-Cymene (14.5%), and g- Terpinene (6.01%). The evaluation of the antibacterial activity of the essential oil of Origanum compactum and two synthetic antibiotics (Piperacillin (PRL), Ampicillin (AMP)) was carried out by diffusion techniques on agar and micro-Dilution on agar medium for the determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration , against strains of clinical origin; Escherichia coli, salmonella sp, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, streptococcus sp, Staphylococcus aureus. The toxicity assessment was conducted in accordance with OECD Protocol 423 (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). The results showed a strong antibacterial effect of the volatile extract compared to the two antibiotics used. The essential oil is classified in category 5 GHS (harmonized classification system) with LD50 greater than 5000 mg/kg. These results suggest the use of this natural product in the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria

Acute and subacute toxicity study of the methanolic extract of

Olea europea.L (olive tree) is a plant widely used in the world. Its leaves have an extensive use in traditional herbal medicine to prevent and/or treat several diseases especially in Mediterranean regions. Despite this, research into the study of its toxicity is very limited in the literature. For this, this study aims to study the acute and subacute toxicity of methanolic extract olive leaves in Wistar rats. To study acute toxicity, four dose levels (50,300,2000 and 5000 mg/kg body weight) were tested by single oral administration to Wistar rats. The subacute toxicity for 28 days was conducted by daily oral administration of methanolic extract of olive leaves at doses 1000,2000 and 3000 mg/kg in rats Wistar. After fourteen days of the administration of escalating doses, no deaths were recorded in the animals and no clinically detectable signs were observed. The results of subacute toxicity showed that the body weight of rats was not significantly changed by administration of methanolic extract of olive leaves. Monitoring of the behavior of the rats during the study showed the appearance of some manifestations of tremor, agitation and diarrhea in rats treated with the dose of 3000mg/kg. Grosse examination of the kidneys and liver revealed no changes in those organs and histopathological examination showed congestion and inflammation of the fat in rats treated with the dose of 3000mg/kg. the hematological profile showed no significant changes of the measured hematological parameters. Olive leaves should be used with care and caution since its methanolic extract caused some signs of toxicity and may affect the liver at repeated dose. however, more studies are needed to verify and clarify the toxic aspect of olea europea.L leaves

The evaluation of the social functioning of schizophrenia patients followed up in the health center My El Hassan of Kenitra, Morocco

Abstract Background Difficulties in interacting in and adapting to the social world are the central complaint faced by patients with schizophrenia. These people are often socially isolated, unemployed and may find it difficult to live independently. Aim This study aims to evaluate the social functioning of schizophrenic patients, and to highlight the various factors associated with the alteration of the social functioning of schizophrenic patients. Methods We conducted a prospective descriptive and analytical study of a population of 72 patients with schizophrenia. These are patients between 19 and 59 years old, clinically stabilized, diagnosed and followed at the My EL Hassan health center in Kenitra (Morocco). Symptom assessment is measured using a standardized Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and social functioning is assessed using a Social Functioning Questionnaire (SFQ). Results Statistical analysis shows that of 72 schizophrenic patients, 33.3% had good social functioning, 59.7% had moderate social functioning, while 6.9% of patients had altered social functioning (the average score of all SFQ items less than 2.4). 6.9% with altered social functioning, are patients aged 19 to 49, were male (p < 0.35), come from an urban areas (p < 0.17), without professional activity (p < 0.00), and have a progressive onset of the disease (p < 0.31). 5.5% (n = 4) of them were single (p < 0.12), caught this disease at an age greater than or equal to 20 years, and have the mixed type of symptoms (positive/negative) (p < 0.15). The altered social functioning of our patients is correlated to five factors: professional activity (p < 0.00), family situation (p < 0.03), family care (p < 0.02), family awareness (p < 0.01), and the negative subtype of psychotic symptomatology (p < 0.02). Conclusion This study underlines the interest of psycho-social treatment as specific care which would complement symptomatic treatment and improve the social functioning of patients with schizophrenia

Development and biodistrubition modeling of 99mTc-DTPA

Purpose: In this study, the team modeled the biodistribution and the efficiency of two 99m-technetium diethylene triamine penta acetate (99mTc-DTPA) based radiopharmaceuticals.Methods: The first radiopharmaceutical (DTPA-CNESTEN) is developed at the laboratories of the radiopharmaceutical production unit of the National Center for Nuclear Energy, Sciences and Technologies (CNESTEN-Morocco), and the second one is the commercial DTPA (DTPA-ref). Freeze-dried kits were successfully radiolabeled (radiochemical purity &gt;95%) with the 99m Tc. Then drugs were injected to male BALB/c mice. In each 2 min, 5 min, 15 min, 1 h and 2 h time points after injections we evaluate tissue’s distributions characteristics. At the end, an automatic modeling of the data were recorded from thyroid, blood and urinary excretion kinetics and biodistribution in mice using both DTPA kits. The study aimed to extract the parameters of the function used to fit the recorded data. Results and Conclusion: the team concluded that the biodistribution of 99mTc-DTPA can be modeled using a combination of two exponential parts. Moreover, the resultant plots showed that there is strong correlation between the formula found in literature and the one derived on the basis of the fit of data sets in this study. In addition, it was found that the biodistribution behaviors of the developed kit and the commercial one were very close. The obtained results suggest that the developed DTPA has practically the same kinetics as the commercial one.</p