In vitro germination and growth of Argania spinosa of Beni Snassen (Eastern Morocco) at various concentrations of NaCl

Le présent travail se propose d’étudier l’effet du sel (chlorure de sodium) sur la germination et la croissance de l’arganier in vitro en testant différentes concentrations. L’étude a été réalisée dans une chambre de culture à température et à photopériode contrôlées. Les amandes sont mises à germer dans des tubes à essais sur un milieu gélosé (Agar + eau). Aucune différence significative de la germination des amandes entre le témoin et les essais en présence de 1g /l, 3 g/l et 5 g/l de NaCl. Au delà de 5 g/l, une différence significative a été révélée entre le témoin et les amandes à 7 g/l et 9 g/l de NaCl. L’émergence de l’axe de la tige suit la même évolution. En ce qui concerne la croissance, les mesures de la longueur de la racine principale et de l’axe de la tige montrent une différence significative pour les différentes concentrations. L’analyse statistique à 5% montre qu’il y a un effet du sel sur la production des biomasses aérienne et racinaire. Mots clés : Germination - Croissance - NaCl - Arganier - Beni-Snassen - MarocThe present work intends to study, salt effect (sodium chloride) on in vitro germination and growth of Argania spinosa. The test was conducted in a grouth chamber where temperature and photoperiod were controlled. Seeds were put to germinate in tubes test with a gelose middle (Agar + water). Six concentrations of NaCl were tested. Results showed that there is not significant difference of germination between the witness and NaCl concentrations of 1 g/l, 3 g/l and 5 g/l. A significant difference has been found between the witness and the germination of almonds to concentrations of NaCl to 7 g/l and 9 g/l. The emergence of the stem axis follows the same evolution. With regard to the growth, measures of lengths of the main root and the stem axis showed a significant difference for the all concentrations tested. The statistical analysis to 5% showed that there is a significant effect of salt on the production of the aerial and root biomass. Key words : Germination - Growh -NaCl - Arganier - Beni-snassen - Morocc

Evaluation of mechanical properties and durability performance of HDPE-wood composites

The objective of this work is to evaluate the mechanical properties and durability performance of bio-composite materials made from sawdust and thermoplastic polymer (HDPE). For the preparation of the composites, sawdust in different proportions with Maleic Anhydride grafted Polyethylene (MAPE) as the coupling agent was used. The thermal and mechanical properties were successively characterized. The results indicate that adding wood fillers to a polymer matrix increases the degree of crystallinity and improves the tensile strength and ductility of composites. On the contrary, resistance to water absorption decreases as a function of the wood fillers. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to analyze morphological structure alteration when exposed to intense weathering. The biodegradability of bio-composites up to 97 days was also investigated; the results indicate that, by increasing the filler content, the amount of weight loss increased as well. In other words, even though the addition of sawdust to thermoplastic polymer improves the mechanical performance of a composite material, it also accelerates the biodegradation rate of the composite. An optimum amount of filler content might compromise the effect of biodegradation and mechanical properties of composite materials

Preferential binding of a stable G3BP ribonucleoprotein complex to intron-retaining transcripts in mouse brain and modulation of their expression in the cerebellum.

Neuronal granules play an important role in the localization and transport of translationally silenced messenger ribonucleoproteins (mRNPs) in neurons. Among the factors associated with these granules, the RNA-binding protein G3BP1 (stress-granules assembly factor) is involved in neuronal plasticity and is induced in Alzheimer's disease. We immunopurified a stable complex containing G3BP1 from mouse brain and performed High-Throughput Sequencing and CrossLinking Immunoprecipitation (HITS-CLIP) to identify the associated RNAs. The G3BP-complex contained the deubiquitinating protease USP10, CtBP1 and the RNA binding proteins Caprin-1, G3BP2a and SFPQ (Splicing Factor Proline and Glutamine rich, or PSF). The G3BP-complex binds preferentially to transcripts that retain introns, and to non-coding sequences like 3'UTR and long non-coding RNAs. Specific transcripts with retained introns appear to be enriched in the cerebellum compared to the rest of the brain and G3BP1 depletion decreased this intron retention in the cerebellum of G3BP1 knockout mice. Among the enriched transcripts, we found an overrepresentation of genes involved in synaptic transmission, especially glutamate-related neuronal transmission. Notably, G3BP1 seems to repress the expression of the mature Grm5 (metabotropic glutamate receptor 5) transcript, by promoting the retention of an intron in the immature transcript in the cerebellum. Our results suggest that G3BP is involved in a new functional mechanism to regulate non-coding RNAs including intron-retaining transcripts, and thus have broad implications for neuronal gene regulation, where intron retention is widespread. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Unicentric castleman's disease located in the lower extremity: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Castleman's disease is a rare form of localized lymph node hyperplasia of uncertain etiology. Although the mediastinum is the most common site of involvement, rare cases occurring in lymph node bearing tissue of other localization have been reported, including only a few intramuscular cases. Unicentric and multicentric Castleman's disease are being distinguished, the latter harboring an unfavorable prognosis.</p> <p>Case Presentation</p> <p>Here, we present a case of unicentric Castleman's disease in a 37-year-old woman without associated neoplastic, autoimmune or infectious diseases. The lesion was located in the femoral region of the right lower extremity and surgically resected after radiographic workup and excisional biopsy examinations. The tumor comprised lymphoid tissue with numerous germinal centers with central fibrosis, onion-skinning and rich interfollicular vascularization. CD23-positive follicular dendritic cells were detected in the germinal centers and numerous CD138-positive plasma cells in interfollicular areas. The diagnosis of mixed cellularity type Castleman's disease was established and the patient recovered well.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In conclusion, the differential diagnosis of Castleman's disease should be considered when evaluating a sharply demarcated, hypervascularized lymphatic tumor located in the extremities. However, the developmental etiology of Castleman's disease remains to be further examined.</p

Alu-Alu Recombination Underlying the First Large Genomic Deletion in GlcNAc-Phosphotransferase Alpha/Beta (GNPTAB) Gene in a MLII Alpha/Beta Patient

Mucolipidosis type II α/β is a severe, autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder, caused by a defect in the GNPTAB gene that codes for the α/β subunits of the GlcNAc-phosphotransferase. To date, over 100 different mutations have been identified in MLII α/β patients, but no large deletions have been reported. Here we present the first case of a large homozygous intragenic GNPTAB gene deletion (c.3435-386_3602 + 343del897) encompassing exon 19, identified in a ML II α/β patient. Long-range PCR and sequencing methodologies were used to refine the characterization of this rearrangement, leading to the identification of a 21 bp repetitive motif in introns 18 and 19. Further analysis revealed that both the 5' and 3' breakpoints were located within highly homologous Alu elements (Alu-Sz in intron 18 and Alu-Sq2, in intron 19), suggesting that this deletion has probably resulted from Alu-Alu unequal homologous recombination. RT-PCR methods were used to further evaluate the consequences of the alteration for the processing of the mutant pre mRNA GNPTAB, revealing the production of three abnormal transcripts: one without exon 19 (p.Lys1146_Trp1201del); another with an additional loss of exon 20 (p.Arg1145Serfs*2), and a third in which exon 19 was substituted by a pseudoexon inclusion consisting of a 62 bp fragment from intron 18 (p.Arg1145Serfs*16). Interestingly, this 62 bp fragment corresponds to the Alu-Sz element integrated in intron 18.This represents the first description of a large deletion identified in the GNPTAB gene and contributes to enrich the knowledge on the molecular mechanisms underlying causative mutations in ML II.This work was supported by FCT - project PIC/IC/83252/2007 (http://alfa.fct.mctes.pt/). Coutinho MF and Quental S received grants from the FCT (SFRH/BD/48103/2008; SFRH/BPD/64025/2009)

The Potency of antioxidant perfume of essential oils to reduce free radical content in air

Free radical contamination is very dangerous for health. Perfume contains essential oils whose components are potential as antiradical. Antioxidant perfume is a perfume made from essential oil with a certain concentration which is very effective to reduce free radicals in the air. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of essential oils as antiradical compounds using laboratory experiments in the reduction of free radical concentration of DPPH with various concentrations of fruit extract which containing terpenoid component. DPPH concentration changes in the air followed by using electronic nose (E-Nose) equipped with multisensory gas. The experimental results showed that the critical concentration of fruit extract which effectively decreased free radical i.e. apple, orange, grape, melon, and lemon were 7.47%, 6.21%, 15.61%, 7.58%, and 6.22%. The greater concentration of these critical concentrations of fruit extracts is potentially as prooxidants

The electric double layer has a life of its own

Using molecular dynamics simulations with recently developed importance sampling methods, we show that the differential capacitance of a model ionic liquid based double-layer capacitor exhibits an anomalous dependence on the applied electrical potential. Such behavior is qualitatively incompatible with standard mean-field theories of the electrical double layer, but is consistent with observations made in experiment. The anomalous response results from structural changes induced in the interfacial region of the ionic liquid as it develops a charge density to screen the charge induced on the electrode surface. These structural changes are strongly influenced by the out-of-plane layering of the electrolyte and are multifaceted, including an abrupt local ordering of the ions adsorbed in the plane of the electrode surface, reorientation of molecular ions, and the spontaneous exchange of ions between different layers of the electrolyte close to the electrode surface. The local ordering exhibits signatures of a first-order phase transition, which would indicate a singular charge-density transition in a macroscopic limit

Determination of circulating Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains and transmission patterns among pulmonary TB patients in Kawempe municipality, Uganda, using MIRU-VNTR

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units - variable number of tandem repeats (MIRU-VNTR) genotyping is a powerful tool for unraveling clonally complex <it>Mycobacterium tuberculosis </it>(MTB) strains and detection of transmission patterns. Using MIRU-VNTR, MTB genotypes and their transmission patterns among patients with new and active pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in Kawempe municipality in Kampala, Uganda was determined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>MIRU-VNTR genotyping was performed by PCR-amplification of 15 MTB-MIRU loci from 113 cultured specimens from 113 PTB patients (one culture sample per patient). To determine lineages, the genotypes were entered into the MIRU-VNTR<it>plus </it>database [<url>http://www.miru-vntrplus.org/</url>] as numerical codes corresponding to the number of alleles at each locus. Ten different lineages were obtained: Uganda II (40% of specimens), Uganda I (14%), LAM (6%), Delhi/CAS (3%), Haarlem (3%), Beijing (3%), Cameroon (3%), EAI (2%), TUR (2%) and S (1%). Uganda I and Uganda II were the most predominant genotypes. Genotypes for 29 isolates (26%) did not match any strain in the database and were considered unique. There was high diversity of MIRU-VNTR genotypes, with a total of 94 distinct patterns. Thirty four isolates grouped into 15 distinct clusters each with two to four isolates. Eight households had similar MTB strains for both index and contact cases, indicating possible transmission.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>MIRU-VNTR genotyping revealed high MTB strain diversity with low clustering in Kawempe municipality. The technique has a high discriminatory power for genotyping MTB strains in Uganda.</p

Social inequalities and health inequity in Morocco

BACKGROUND: According to the last census, Morocco has a population approaching 30 million people. The country has made good progress in the control of preventable childhood diseases but social inequalities and health inequities remain major problems for the third millennium. Despite the progress achieved during the last decade, the country still ranks at the 125(th )place according to the Human Development Index. This unpleasant position is mainly explained by illiteracy, education and health indicators. METHOD: Our study was based mainly on annual reports and regular publications released by the United Nations (UN), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Health Organisation (WHO), The Moroccan Health Ministry and related papers published in international journals. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: As indicated by the last Arab Human Development Reports (AHDR 2002, AHDR 2003, AHDR 2004) and implicitly confirmed by the "National Initiative for Human Development" (NIHD) launched in May 2005 by the King of Morocco, many districts and shanty towns, urban or peri-urban, and a multitude of rural communes live in situations characterized by difficult access to basic social services of which education and health are examples. CONCLUSION: Recent evidence showed that improved health is more than a consequence of development. It is a central input into economic and social development and poverty reduction. Serious initiatives for human development should consider the reduction of social inequalities and health inequities as a first priority. Otherwise, the eventual development achieved cannot be sustained