Global excellence in rheumatology: Africa–The contribution of African women rheumatologists

Over the last few decades, the development of Rheumatology on the African continent has made great strides. Alongside an increasing recognition of the prevalence and burden of disease from these conditions, has been a determination to raise awareness of these disorders in Africa together with an appreciation of the associated disease impact on individuals, families and society as a whole. Great improvements have also been made across the continent with regards to the education of medical students, trainee doctors and allied health professionals of these conditions. Furthermore, high quality rheumatological research is now emanating from Africa. Taken together, these actions mean that Africa is making a significant contribution to global excellence in Rheumatology. Although this achievement has been made possible by visionary, hardworking and inspirational men and women, we believe that it is vital to bring to light the extraordinary efforts of African female rheumatologists in this endeavor. Their contribution is all the more remarkable because of the barriers that women still face in medicine in general and in academia in particular. We showcase here, four women of distinction who in their own unique way, have exemplified the contribution of African female rheumatologists to global excellence in Africa. We pay tribute to them and to their ongoing efforts to act as beacons of excellence in rheumatology in Africa to men and especially to other women

Normative values for the bath ankylosing spondylitis functional index in the general population compared with ankylosing spondylitis patients in Morocco

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI) has been commonly used in rheumatology to quantify functional disability in patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). Our aim was to evaluate the discriminating power of BASFI and determine the best cutoff score of this index in the general population compared with AS patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study that included 200 patients suffering from AS and 223 subjects from the general population matched for age and sex was carried-out. The discriminating power of the BASFI by strata of age was evaluated by the area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve and the best cutoff was determined by the Youden index.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean age of the general population was 39 ± 12 years. 76.7% of them were male. The median BASFI of the healthy subjects and patients was 0.2 and 4.5 (P < 0.001) respectively. The best cutoff of BASFI was 1.5 with a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of 90%. In the age group of 18-29 years, the best cutoff of the BASFI was 0.9 with a sensitivity of 93% and a specificity of 94%. In the age group of 30-50 years, the best cutoff of the BASFI was 1.5 with a sensitivity of 84% and a specificity of 88%. For those over 50 years of age, the best cutoff of the BASFI was 2.5 with a sensitivity of 84% and a specificity of 97%.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study suggests that the discriminating power of BASFI is considered good at any age. The best cutoff of this index increased as age increases as functional disability is associated in part with lifestyle choices and increases with age. The cutoff values of the BASFI that we have presented could be used as a reference benchmark for both clinical practice and research.</p

Tentative Pratique du Relation Quantitatives Structure-Activité/Propriété (QSAR/QSPR)

Différentes technique statistiques tel que la régression linéaire, non linéaire, ACP, PLS, et les réseaux de neurones artificiels (ANN) ont été utilisées pour mettre en place des modèles pour la prédiction des activités biologiques. Les descripteurs des modèles ont été sélectionnés dans un jeu étendu de plusieurs descripteurs (topologiques, géométriques et quantiques). La relation quantitative structure-activité/propriété (QSAR/QSPR) modélisation se rapporte à la construction de ces modèles prédictifs d'activités biologiques différentes, en fonction de l'information de structure moléculaire et d'une banque de composés. Cet avis vise à couvrir les concepts et techniques essentielles qui sont pertinents pour la réalisation d'études QSAR / QSPR grâce à l'utilisation d'exemples choisis dans nos travaux précédents

Determinants of health-related quality of life in spondyloarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis: data from the COMOSPA and COMORA studies

© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).Objectives: To assess the hierarchy of outcomes contributing to health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in spondyloarthritis (SpA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: Data from the international cross-sectional COMOSPA and COMORA studies were used. HRQoL was assessed using the EuroQOL 5-dimension 3-level (EQ-5D-3 L). First, multivariable linear regression models were used to identify associations between EQ-5D-3 L (dependent variable) and several demographic and clinical variables (independent variables). Second, a decision tree was built using Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detector, a method of unbiased hierarchical multivariable analysis (dependent variable: EQ-5D-3 L). Results: In total, 3984 patients with SpA and 3920 patients with RA were included. In SpA, HRQoL was associated with BASFI (adjusted B=-0.006; 95%CI=-0.007 to -0.005), ASDAS (-0.052; -0.071 to -0.033), work productivity loss score (-0.002; -0.003 to -0.002), NSAID treatment (-0.052; -0.083 to -0.020), bDMARD treatment (-0.051; -0.082 to -0.021), university education (-0.051; -0.075 to -0.027) and radiographic sacroiliitis (0.035; 0.004 to 0.030). In RA, HRQoL was associated with modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (MHAQ) (-0.220, -0.253 to -0.188), DAS28-CRP-3v (-0.027, -0.036 to -0.018), work productivity loss score (-0.003, -0.003 to -0.002), presence of erosions (-0.042, -0.065 to -0.020), alcohol consumption ≥3 units/day (0.012, 0.001 to 0.024)) and csDMARD treatment (0.034, 0.001 to 0.066). The decision tree revealed BASFI and MHAQ as first variables with the most discriminative power on EQ-5D-3 L, followed by work productivity loss and disease activity, in both SpA and RA cohorts. Conclusion: In SpA and RA, physical function is the main contributor to HRQoL measured by EQ-5D-3 L, followed by disease activity and work productivity loss.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Impact of land use changes on soil resources degradation in southern Rif Central, Morocco

Dans le Rif central au nord du Maroc, les écosystèmes forestiers ont subi une régression très forte au profit des zones agricoles. L’installation de la culture du cannabis au détriment de la forêt illustre les rôles importants des forêts sur le plan environnemental, économique et social. L’objectif de ce travail consiste à évaluer et à quantifier l’impact de l’évolution de l’utilisation des terres sur la dégradation des sols dans le Rif Central méridional. La perte de fertilité des sols défrichés a été évaluée à l'aide d'analyses physico-chimiques après 2, 6, 10 et 22 ans de mise en culture. Une simulation manuelle de précipitation a été utilisée pour évaluer l'impact du défrichement suivi de la mise en culture sur le comportement hydrodynamique du sol. Les résultats obtenus montent que la conversion des forêts en zones agricoles ont des conséquences multiples sur le milieu naturel. Le sol devient instable sous les effets des labours successifs qui conduisent à une réduction importante des réserves du sol ; au bout de 22 ans de mise en culture, la matière organique a diminué de 73% de sa teneur initiale et le taux de l’azote s’est réduit de -60%, l’acidité a augmenté d’une unité. Les pertes en sols par l'érosion hydrique ont été évaluées à 3,2 t/ha pour une séquence de précipitation de 80 mm h-1 pendant 45 minutes. Cette dégradation entrave la productivité agricole, ce qui amène les agriculteurs à abandonner ces terres et à chercher de nouvelles parcelles au détriment des forêts pour satisfaire leurs besoins en terres agricoles. Mots clés: Utilisation des terres, Réserves de sol, Érosion hydrique, Rif central, MarocIn the Central Rif in the north of Morocco, forest ecosystems have suffered a very sharp decline in favor of crops. The installation of agriculture at the expense of forests illustrates the important roles of forests on the environmental, economic and social levels. The objective of this work is to assess and quantify the impact of land-use change on land degradation in the southern Central Rif. The loss of fertility of cleared soils was assessed using physico-chemical analyses after 2, 6, 10 and 22 years of cultivation. A manual rainfall simulation was used to assess the impact of clearing followed by cultivation on the hydrodynamic behavior of the soil. The results show that the conversion of forests into agricultural areas has multiple consequences on the natural system. The soil becomes unstable under the effects of successive ploughing which leads to a significant reduction in soil reserves; organic matter decreased by 73% of its initial content and the nitrogen rate decreased by -62.5%, acidity increased by one unit after 22 years of cultivation. Soil losses were estimated at 1126,8 g m-2 h-1 for a precipitation sequence of 80 mm h-1 for 45 minutes. This degradation hinders agricultural productivity, leading farmers to abandon the land and seek new plots at the expense of forests to meet their agricultural land needs. Keywords: Land use, Soil reserves, Water erosion, Central Rif, Morocc

Whipple&#039;s disease diagnosed during biological treatment for joint disease

Objectives Increased susceptibility to infections is among the main safety concerns raised by biological agents. We describe five cases of Whipple\u27s disease diagnosed during treatment with biological agents. Methods We retrospectively identified five cases of Whipple\u27s disease diagnosed between 2003 and 2009 in patients treated with TNFα antagonists in five French hospitals. Results Five patients (four male; mean age: 50.4 years; range: 38–67) underwent biological therapy according to prior diagnoses of rheumatoid arthritis (n = 2), ankylosing spondylitis (n = 2), or spondyloarthropathy (n = 1). Biological therapy failed to control the disease, which responded to appropriate antibiotics for Whipple\u27s disease. Retrospectively, clinical symptoms before biological therapy were consistent with Whipple\u27s disease. All five patients had favorable outcomes (mean follow-up, 29 months [13–71]). Conclusions Biological therapy probably worsened preexisting Whipple\u27s disease, triggering the visceral disorders. Whipple\u27s disease must be ruled out in patients with joint disease, as patients with this spontaneously fatal condition should not receive immunosuppressive agents

Antifungal Activity of Essential Oils from Several Medicinal Plants against Four Postharvest Citrus Pathogens

Antifungal activity of 25 essential oils, distilled from Moroccan medicinal plants, against Penicillium digitatum, Phytophthora citrophthora, Geotrichum citri-aurantii and Botrytis cinerea is reported. Essential oil from Chrysanthemum viscidehirtum at a concentration of 150 ppm (v:v) strongly inhibited in vitro growth of all four fungi. The other 24 oils reduced fungal development less than 69% at a concentration of 250 ppm. C. viscidehirtum essential oil was further tested on citrus fruits (Citrus reticulata cv. Nules) inoculated with P. digitatum, G. citri-aurantii and P. citrophthora (105 conidia ml-1). The antifungal activity of this oil was weak at 250 ppm, but at 2000 ppm the percentage of decayed fruits was very low. The inhibition data were compared to treatments with the synthetic fungicides procymidone, thiabendazole (TBZ), guazatine and propamocarbe HCL at 1000 ppm. GC-Mass spectrum analysis indicated that C. viscidehirtum essential oil contains ß-farnesene, limonene and many oxygenated sesquiterpenes