Tillage system affects soil organic carbon storage and quality in Central Morocco

Stabilizing or improving soil organic carbon content is essential for sustainable crop production under changing climate conditions. Therefore, soil organic carbon research is gaining momentum in the Mediterranean basin. Our objective is to quantify effects of no tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) on soil organic carbon stock (SOCs) in three soil types (Vertisol, Cambisol, and Luvisol) within Central Morocco. Chemical analyses were used to determine how tillage affected various humic substances. Our results showed that, after 5 years, surface horizon (0–30 cm) SOC stocks varied between tillage systems and with soil type. The SOCs was significantly higher in NT compared to CT (10% more in Vertisol and 8% more in Cambisol), but no significant difference was observed in the Luvisol. Average SOCs within the 0–30 cm depth was 29.35 and 27.36 Mg ha−1 under NT and CT, respectively. The highest SOCs (31.89 Mg ha−1) was found in Vertisols under NT. A comparison of humic substances showed that humic acids and humin were significantly higher under NT compared to CT, but fulvic acid concentrations were significantly lower. These studies confirm that NT does have beneficial effects on SOCs and quality in these soils

Design and Characterization of a Compact Single Layer Modified S-Shaped Tag Antenna for UHF-RFID Applications

In this paper, we report the design of a new compact single layer modified S-shaped tag antenna for UHF-RFID applications. To achieve a compact size of 51×34 mm2 for this tag antenna, the technique of using S shaped strip is applied, and by further adding a pair of equilateral triangular stubs into this structure, good impedance matching can be obtained at 915 MHz, which is the center frequency of the North-American UHF-RFID band (902 to 928 MHz). Besides exhibiting acceptable 5m read range in free space at 915 MHz, the proposed design shows a read range of about 4.5 when mounted on a metallic object (200 ×30 cm2) separated by spacer foam of thickness 1 cm. Furthermore, the proposed design shows a reasonable read ranges when it is mounted on different dielectrics with low permittivity. The proposed design has a simple configuration, low cost, acceptable read range, and can work on various background materials. &nbsp

Salinité et pollution par les nitrates des eaux souterraines de la plaine des Triffa

Les eaux souterraines de la plaine des Triffa (Basse Moulouya) deviennent de plus en plus polluées. Les résultats analytiques montrent que la plupart des puits sont chargés en sels et en nitrates, donc impropres à la consommation humaine et peuvent avoir un effet négatif sur les cultures maraîchères de la région. Dans la zone étudiée, des teneurs de 2,32 à 174,70 mg/l de NO3-, de 134 à 3614 mg/l de Cl- et de 103 à 1518 mg/l de Na+ ne sont pas exceptionnelles. Elles dépassent largement les normes fixées par l’OMS et la CEE (50 mg/l pour les NO3 -, de 250 mg/l pour Cl- et de 175 mg/l pour Na+). L’intensification de l’agriculture dans la plaine, notamment dans les périmètres irrigués, l’épandage excessif des engrais, les applications répétées, et à quantités fortes, de fumiers, l’irrigation, les précipitations et la remontée de la nappe dans certaines régions ont engendré une pollution croissante des ressources en eau

Pathological complete response in advanced gastric stromal tumor after imatinib mesylate therapy: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Gastrointestinal stromal tumors are a rare neoplasm exhibiting, in most cases, mutations of <it>c-kit</it>. Imatinib mesylate is the standard treatment for patients who have advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Although the response rate in patients treated with imatinib mesylate in prospective clinical studies is above 50%, a complete response is very rare. We report the case of a patient with a gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumor who had a pathological complete response after neoadjuvant treatment with imatinib mesylate.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report the case of a 54-year-old Arab woman with a gastrointestinal stromal tumor who had a pathological complete response after neoadjuvant treatment with imatinib mesylate.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The pathological examination of our patient documented a complete pathological response after imatinib therapy. Recently, it has been confirmed that the kinase genotype of <it>KIT </it>and <it>platelet-derived growth factor receptor α </it>can accurately predict a good response to imatinib mesylate therapy. We propose that this patient had a mutation conferring high sensitivity to imatinib mesylate.</p

First draft genome assembly of the Argane tree (Argania spinosa)

Background: The Argane tree (Argania spinosa L. Skeels) is an endemic tree of southwestern Morocco that plays an important socioeconomic and ecologic role for a dense human population in an arid zone. Several studies confirmed the importance of this species as a food and feed source and as a resource for both pharmaceutical and cosmetic compounds. Unfortunately, the argane tree ecosystem is facing significant threats from environmental changes (global warming, over-population) and over-exploitation. Limited research has been conducted, however, on argane tree genetics and genomics, which hinders its conservation and genetic improvement. Methods: Here, we present a draft genome assembly of A. spinosa. A reliable reference genome of A. spinosa was created using a hybrid de novo assembly approach combining short and long sequencing reads. Results: In total, 144 Gb Illumina HiSeq reads and 7.2 Gb PacBio reads were produced and assembled. The final draft genome comprises 75 327 scaffolds totaling 671 Mb with an N50 of 49 916 kb. The draft assembly is close to the genome size estimated by k-mers distribution and covers 89% of complete and 4.3 % of partial Arabidopsis orthologous groups in BUSCO. Conclusion: The A. spinosa genome will be useful for assessing biodiversity leading to efficient conservation of this endangered endemic tree. Furthermore, the genome may enable genome-assisted cultivar breeding, and provide a better understanding of important metabolic pathways and their underlying genes for both cosmetic and pharmacological purposes

First draft genome assembly of the Argane tree (Argania spinosa) [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

BACKGROUND : The Argane tree (Argania spinosa L. Skeels) is an endemic tree of mid-western Morocco that plays an important socioeconomic and ecologic role for a dense human population in an arid zone. Several studies confirmed the importance of this species as a food and feed source and as a resource for both pharmaceutical and cosmetic compounds. Unfortunately, the argane tree ecosystem is facing significant threats from environmental changes (global warming, over-population) and over-exploitation. Limited research has been conducted, however, on argane tree genetics and genomics, which hinders its conservation and genetic improvement. METHODS : Here, we present a draft genome assembly of A. spinosa. A reliable reference genome of A. spinosa was created using a hybrid de novo assembly approach combining short and long sequencing reads. RESULTS : In total, 144 Gb Illumina HiSeq reads and 7.6 Gb PacBio reads were produced and assembled. The final draft genome comprises 75 327 scaffolds totaling 671 Mb with an N50 of 49 916 kb. The draft assembly is close to the genome size estimated by k-mers distribution and covers 89% of complete and 4.3 % of partial Arabidopsis orthologous groups in BUSCO. CONCLUSION : The A. spinosa genome will be useful for assessing biodiversity leading to efficient conservation of this endangered endemic tree. Furthermore, the genome may enable genome-assisted cultivar breeding, and provide a better understanding of important metabolic pathways and their underlying genes for both cosmetic and pharmacological.DATA AVAILABILITY: All of the A. spinosa datasets can be retrieved under BioProject accession number PRJNA294096: http://identifiers.org/ bioproject:PRJNA294096. The raw reads are available at NCBI Sequence Reads Archive under accession number SRP077839: http://identifiers.org/insdc.sra:SRP077839. The complete genome sequence assembly project has been deposited at GenBank under accession number QLOD00000000: http://identifiers. org/ncbigi/GI:1408199612. Data can also be retrieved via the International Argane Genome Consortium (IAGC) website: http://www.arganome.org.https://f1000research.compm2021BiochemistryGeneticsMicrobiology and Plant Patholog