Association between chronic airflow obstruction and socio-economic position in Morocco: BOLD results.

Objective. Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COPD) is the third most common cause of death in the world. Other factors than smoking could be involved in the development of COPD such as socio-economic status. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between chronic airflow obstruction and socio-economic status in Morocco. Design. In the BOLD (Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease) study carried out in Fez Morocco, questionnaires and spirometry tests were performed. Socio-economic status was evaluated using a wealth score (0-10) based on household assets. The forced expiratory volume in 1s (FEV1)/ forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio was used to measure airflow obstruction. Results. In total, 760 subjects were included in the analysis. The mean age was 55.3 years (SD=10.2); the wealth score was on average 7.54 (SD=1.63). After controlling for other factors and potential confounders, the FEV1/ FVC increased by 0.4% (95% CI: 0.01, 0.78; p<0.04) per unit increase in wealth score. Aging, tobacco-smoking, underweight, history of tuberculosis and asthma were also independently associated with a higher risk of airflow obstruction. Conclusion. Our findings suggest that airflow obstruction is associated with poverty in Morocco. Further investigations are needed to better understand the mechanisms of this association

La fracture de Hahn Steinthal traitée par vissage d’Herbert : 3 cas

Les fractures du capitulum sont rares. Leur prise en charge initiale doit être précoce et efficace en raison des risques engendrés sur le coude : rigidité, instabilité, arthrose. De nombreux traitements ont été proposés. Notre étude décrit le vissage par vis d'Herbert pratiqué chez trois patientes recensées entre 2012 et 2013. Elles ont été inclues selon les critères de traumatisme du coude avec douleur exquise externe avec un trait de fracture radiologique frontal du condyle huméral externe emportant la joue externe de la trochlée. Le diagnostic a été orienté par l'examen clinique et confirmé à la radiographie de face, de profil et des ¾ internes. Les lésions ont été classées selon Bryan et Morrey. Les patients ont été opérés en urgence par abord postéro-latéral de Kocher, réduction à ciel ouvert puis stabilisation par vis de Herbert enfouies. Le recul moyen a été de un an. La récupération fonctionnelle totale moyenne a été de 3,6 mois.  L'évaluation fonctionnelle a été jugée excellente selon le score MEPI (Mayo Elbow Performance Index) pour les trois patients. Il n'y a pas eu de  démontage de matériel. La consolidation osseuse moyenne a été de 2,6mois

Development of an international scale of socio-economic position based on household assets.

The importance of studying associations between socio-economic position and health has often been highlighted. Previous studies have linked the prevalence and severity of lung disease with national wealth and with socio-economic position within some countries but there has been no systematic evaluation of the association between lung function and poverty at the individual level on a global scale. The BOLD study has collected data on lung function for individuals in a wide range of countries, however a barrier to relating this to personal socio-economic position is the need for a suitable measure to compare individuals within and between countries. In this paper we test a method for assessing socio-economic position based on the scalability of a set of durable assets (Mokken scaling), and compare its usefulness across countries of varying gross national income per capita.Ten out of 15 candidate asset questions included in the questionnaire were found to form a Mokken type scale closely associated with GNI per capita (Spearmans rank rs = 0.91, p = 0.002). The same set of assets conformed to a scale in 7 out of the 8 countries, the remaining country being Saudi Arabia where most respondents owned most of the assets. There was good consistency in the rank ordering of ownership of the assets in the different countries (Cronbachs alpha = 0.96). Scores on the Mokken scale were highly correlated with scores developed using principal component analysis (rs = 0.977).Mokken scaling is a potentially valuable tool for uncovering links between disease and socio-economic position within and between countries. It provides an alternative to currently used methods such as principal component analysis for combining personal asset data to give an indication of individuals relative wealth. Relative strengths of the Mokken scale method were considered to be ease of interpretation, adaptability for comparison with other datasets, and reliability of imputation for even quite large proportions of missing values

Characterization and treatment of effluents loaded with sulphides from two tanneries: Modern and Artisanal

The objective of this work is to characterize and treat wastewater loaded with sulphide ions from two types of modern and artisanal tanneries.  A preliminary diagnosis was made of both types of artisanal and modern tanneries and showed that modern tanneries consume more water and chemicals than traditional tanneries. The most sulphide-laden steps are those of unhairing-liming and lime baths for modern and artisanal tanneries respectively.The physicochemical characterization of the wastewater from the different operating units of the two types of tanneries shows that the unhairing-liming and lime baths steps are the most loaded with sulphides, in addition to their high load of non-biodegradable organic material.However, we note that wastewater from artisan tanneries is less polluting than that from modern tanneries. The treatment of sulphide ions was first carried out on a synthetic solution at different concentrations by precipitating sulphides with ferric chloride at pH adjusted according to the Pourbaix diagram. The results of the treatment of the synthetic solution of concentration 1500 mg.L-1 allowed the reduction of 91% of sulphide to pH = 8.5.The analysis of the precipitate formed by the X-ray diffraction records the presence of gypsum. The treatment of wastewater from the unhairing-liming units of modern and artisanal tanneries by ferric chloride 1.2 and 0.8 mol.L-1 respectively under the optimum conditions raised leads to a reduction of the non-biodegradable organic load of almost 96% and those of sulphide ions of about 90% for both types of tanneries.

Impact of climate change on potential distribution of Quercus suber in the conditions of North Africa

Climate change, which is expected to continue in the future, is increasingly becoming a major concern affecting many components of the biodiversity and human society. Understanding its impacts on forest ecosystems is essential for undertaking long-term management and conservation strategies. This study was focused on modeling the potential distribution of Quercus suber in the Maamora Forest, the world’s largest lowland cork oak forest, under actual and future climate conditions and identifying the environmental factors associated with this distribution. Maximum Entropy approach was used to train a Species Distribution Model and future predictions were based on different greenhouse gas emission scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathway RCPs). The results showed that the trained model was highly reliable and reflected the actual and future distributions of Maamora’s cork oak. It showed that the precipitation of the coldest and wettest quarter and the annual temperature range are the environmental factors that provide the most useful information for Q. suber distribution in the study area. The computed results of cork oak’s habitat suitability showed that predicted suitable areas are site-specific and seem to be highly dependent on climate change. The predicted changes are significant and expected to vary (decline of habitat suitability) in the future under the different emissions pathways. It indicates that climate change may reduce the suitable area for Q. suber under all the climate scenarios and the severity of projected impacts is closely linked to the magnitude of the climate change. The percent variation in habitat suitability indicates negative values for all the scenarios, ranging –23% to –100%. These regressions are projected to be more important under pessimist scenario RCP8.5. Given these results, we recommend including the future climate scenarios in the existing management strategies and highlight the usefulness of the produced predictive suitability maps under actual and future climate for the protection of this sensitive forest and its key species – cork oak, as well as for other forest species

Acinos alpinus and Ziziphora hispanica: Phenolic Profile, Antioxidant and Antibacterial Properties of Hydromethanolic Extracts from Aerial Parts

Acinos alpinus and Ziziphora hispanica belonging to the Lamiaceae family are well-known for their biological properties. The phenolic composition was characterized using HPLC coupled to photodiode array and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The antioxidant capacity was assessed by 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical and ferric reducing antioxidant power assays. The antibacterial activity was evaluated by disc-diffusion and broth micro-dilution methods. A total of 53 phenolic compounds were identified in both extracts, with the predominance of caffeoylquinic acid isomers with a content of 2.09 mg/g in A. alpinus extract, while coumarylquinic acid isomers with a content of 17.33 mg/g was determined in Z. hispanica extract. The Acinos alpinus extract displayed the highest radical scavenging activity (IC50 DPPH = 3.226±0.035 mg/mL) and reducing power (EC50 FRAP = 3.792±0.001 mg/mL), followed by Z. hispanica extract with IC50 DPPH value of 7.265±0.209 mg/mL, and EC50 FRAP value of 24.689± 0.106 mg/mL. Furthermore, both A. alpinus and Z. hispanica extracts exhibited a bactericidal effect against six pathogenic bacteria with a MIC value from 4.16 to 33.33 mg/mL. On the basis of the results achieved, the aerial parts of Moroccan Acinos alpinus and Ziziphora hispanica might be used as natural agents in the food and pharmaceutical field

The impact of chronic exposure on the Dokkarat district population of Fez city to endocrine disrupting chemicals

 In Morocco, the industrial revolution and agricultural activities are contributing to the increase of water pollution, leading to possibility to the appearance of serious diseases of endocrine origin. The objective of this study is to focus on the impact of industrial pollution in the Dokkarat district of the Fez city on the appearance of some endocrine diseases in the adjacent population and equally important on the waters upstream from Oued Fez. The results of the diagnosis show that the Dokkarat district includes several modern tanneries and other food industries that use chemicals identified as toxically. The physicochemical and bacteriological characterization of Oued Fez water downstream from the industries diagnosed, displays that they are slightly basic, carring a high bacterial load, a mineral and organic load in the surface water quality standards, a metallic charge at the limit of the standards with the exception of arsenic. The statistical analysis of the survey data recorded the presence of six endocrine diseases (diabetes, neurological disorders, hormonal imbalance, obesity, thyroid and growth disorders) and a strong correlation between age, years of experience, length of exposure and occurrence of endocrine pathological signs.