Évaluation de la qualité des eaux souterraines pour l’utilisation dans l’eau potable et l’agriculture : plaine de Tadla, Maroc

La plaine de Tadla fait partie du bassin de l’oued Oum Erbia situé au centre du Maroc. Ses ressources en eau souterraine sont développées pour l’approvisionnement en eau potable, industrielle et agricole. Afind'évaluer la qualité des eaux souterraines dans la zone d’ d'étude, 25 échantillons d'eau souterraines ont été prélevés et différents paramètres ont été analysés sur le plan physico-chimique et bactériologique:température, conductivité électrique, pH, TDS, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl-, HCO-3, SO2-4, NO-3, NH+4, FeT, streptocoques fécaux, coliformes fécaux et coliformes totaux. L'indice chimique tel que le coefficient d’absorption du sodium (SAR) et l'indice de perméabilité (IP) ont également été déterminés. Les résultats obtenus montrent que les eaux souterraines du bassin sont généralement dure à très à dure. Les concentrations sont classées comme suit : Na+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+ et Cl- > HCO3- > SO42- > NO-3. Les faciès chimiques trouvés sont le bicarbonaté calcique et le Chloruré sodique avec une prédominance de ce dernier. La qualité des eaux souterraines est liée à la lithologie du secteur. Les valeurs de l'indice de saturation (calculés par le programme PHREEQC) montre que presque tous les échantillons d'eau sont saturés à sous-saturés en carbonate et sous saturés en sulfate. Le rapport d’adsorption du sodium (SAR)nous a permis de qualifier les eaux souterraines destinées à l’irrigation. L’analyse hydrochimique a montré la mauvaise qualité des eaux se traduisant par des valeurs importantes en chlorures, en nitrites et nitrates.Ainsi que la contamination de tous les puits par les germes de la  contamination fécale. Il ressort de cette analyse que les eaux souterraines sont chimiquement non appropriées à la consommation humaine et auxusages agricoles.Mots-clés : plaine de Tadla, hydrochimie, qualité des eaux souterraines, hydrogéologie, type d’eau

Fibrosarcome du larynx - A propos d'un cas

Le fibrosarcome du larynx est une entité histologique rare, qui représente moins de 10% de tous les sarcomes des tissus mous, moins de 2 % des cancers laryngés. Cette localisation pose des problèmes diagnostique, thérapeutique et pronostique. Nous présentons un cas de fibrosarcome laryngé chez un patient de 54 ans. La confirmation histologique etimmunohistologique a été faite sur la pièce d’exérèse chirurgicale et surtout sur une confrontation anatomoclinique. La prise en charge thérapeutique est multidisciplinaire, associant la chirurgie qui doit être la plus complète sans curage ganglionnaire et la radiothérapie. Le pronostic est généralement sévère, dépend essentiellement de degré de différenciation histologique.Mots clés : fibrosarcome ; larynx ; chirurgie ; radiothérapie

Lipase Production in Tray-Bioreactor via Solid State Fermentation under Desired Growth Conditions

Lipase was produced under desired growth conditions in a novel tray bioreactor using the fungus strain of Rhizopus oryzae. Several agricultural residues/products including sugarcane bagasse, wheat bran, corn meal, barely bran and equal mixtures of sugarcane bagasse with agricultural residues were applied as solid substrate. Lipase produced from the pure sugarcane bagasse showed higher activities than other substrates; which resulted enzyme activities of 155.76 and 138.37 U/gds for the top and middle trays respectively. Furthermore, the influence of carbon and nitrogen supplements was investigated. Addition of carbon sources as substrate was found to be ineffective, while lipase activity remarkably increased by supplementation of bagasse with adequate amount of nitrogen source. Among the nitrogen supplements, urea as a suitable nitrogen source was considered; as a result the average lipolytic activity of 229.355 U/gds was achieved. In addition, various concentrations of vegetable oils including canola oil, soybean oil, olive oil and castor oil were applied. The inducing effect of vegetable oil on lipase activity was investigated. Among them, olive oil and canola oil increased lipolytic activity of lipase with an average value of 192.26 and 183.57 U/gds, respectively

Reperfusion therapy in renal dysfunction patients presenting with STEMI: Which is better in the Tunisian context?

BackgroundPatients with renal insufficiency experience worse prognosis after STEMI. Current guidelines do not clearly draw specific strategies for renal dysfunction (RD) patients, and most clinical trials exclude them from the study population.Aim of the studyTo compare primary PCI (PPCI) and thrombolysis (using Strepokinase) results as well as in-hospital mortality after successful reperfusion between patients with or without RD.MethodsFrom January 1995 to October 2011, 1388 patients admitted for STEMI were enrolled in the MIRAMI (MonastIR’s Acute Myocardial Infarction) registry. Two reperfusion groups were identified: PPCI (315 patients) and thrombolysis (379 patients). Patients who underwent rescue PCI were excluded. Due to lacking clearance data, we used a serum creatinine level >130μmol/l to define RD patients. We compared in each reperfusion group: (1) The success of revascularization (TIMI III flow restoring with <20% residual stenosis after PPCI, pain relief with ST regression >50% 60min after thrombolysis) and (2) the in-hospital mortality rate after reperfusion success between the RD patients (RD+) and normal renal function patients (RD−).ResultsNinety patients (13%) had RD, 50% of which underwent PPCI, and 50% received thrombolytics. Among RD+ and RD- groups, baseline characteristics were similar between the two reperfusion groups.In the PPCI group, although TIMI flow was similar before angioplasty (p=0.82), TIMI III restoring was significantly lower in the RD+ group (78.6% vs 91.8%, p=0.013). Suboptimal result was also higher in the RD+ group (13.6% vs 2.7%, p<0.001), but ST regression after TIMI III achievement was similar in the 2 groups (p=0.43) reflecting probably no microvascular damage.In the thrombolysis group, successful reperfusion was also significantly lower when RD exists (58% vs 74%, p=0.03).After successful reperfusion, in-hospital mortality is higher among RD+ patients in the PPCI group (33.3% vs 4.3%, p<0.001), whereas it is similar after successful thrombolysis (2.6% vs 0%, p=0.42).ConclusionRD reduces either PPCI or thrombolysis success, with no proven microvascular damage after PPCI. In-hospital prognosis is however worse in RD group only after successful PPCI, but not after successful Streptokinase thrombolysis

Experiments and modelling in N2-H2 capacitively coupled radio-frequency discharges at low pressure

This work uses experiments and simulations to analyze the modifications induced in pure N2 capacitively coupled radio-frequency discharges, running at low pressure (0.6–1.2 mbar) and low power (5–20 W), by the addition of small amounts of H2 (up to 5%). Simulations use a hybrid code coupling a two-dimensional time-dependent fluid module, describing the dynamics of the charged particles, to a zero-dimensional kinetic module, describing the production and destruction of nitrogen and hydrogen neutral species. The discussion is particularly focused on the results obtained for the electron density and the radiative transition intensities with nitrogen species. Model predictions are in qualitative agreement with measurements, for the evolution of these quantities with changes in both the gas pressure and the hydrogen percentage in the gas mixture.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Reversible dilated cardiomyopathy caused by hypothyroidism

The association between lack of thyroid hormones and cardiac dysfunction has been well described. We report two new cases of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), revealing a periphery hypothyroidism and for whom cardiac function significantly improved after L thyroxin substitutive treatment. Our cases highlight the necessity to perform thyroid function testing to investigate the etiology of non ischemic DCM

Epigenetic reprogramming of cancer cells under embryonic microenvironment

The idea of epigenetic reprogramming of cancer cells by an embryonic microenvironment possesses potential interest from the prospect of both basic science and potential therapeutic strategies. Chick embryo extract (CEE) has been used for the successful expansion of many specific stem cells and has demonstrated the ability to facilitate DNA demethylation. The current study was conducted to compare the status of DNA methylation in highly metastatic and less metastatic osteosarcoma cells and to investigate whether CEE may affect the epigenetic regulation of tumor suppressor genes and thus change the metastatic phenotypes of highly metastatic osteosarcoma cells

Histiocytose langerhansienne multiviscerale avec atteinte auriculaire bilaterale a propos d’une observation

L’histiocytose langerhansienne multi-viscérale est une prolifération clonale des cellules de Langerhans, touchant plusieurs organes. Cette entité se voit surtout chez l’enfant. Dans ce travail, nous rappelons les aspects cliniques avec la fréquence d’atteinte oto-rhino-laryngologique, ainsi que les moyens de diagnostic et le traitement de cette affection rare. Nous présentons le cas d’un enfant âgé de 2 ans qui a été hospitalisé pour une pneumopathie interstitielle, associée à une otorrhée bilatérale. L’examen a montré un comblement des 2 conduits auditifs externes et des lésions cutanées squameuses. La biopsie a conclu à une histiocytose langerhansienne. Malgré la chimiothérapie, l’enfant est décédé après 11 mois.Mots-clés : Histiocytose langerhansienne, atteinte auriculaire

Healthcare-associated infections in a tunisian university hospital: From analysis to action

Introduction: our study was conducted, in university hospital center (UHC) Farhat Hached of Sousse (city in Tunisian center-east), within healthcare-associated infections (HAI) epidemiological surveillance (ES) program,  based, among others, on HAI regular prevalence surveys. Our objectives are to resituate HAI prevalence rate and to identify their risk factors (RF) in order to adjust, in our hospital, prevention programs.Methods: it is a transversal descriptive study, including all patients who had been hospitalized for at least 48 hours, measuring prevalence of HAI a “given day”, with only one passage by service. Risk factors were  determined using Epiinfo 6.0, by uni-varied analysis, then, logistic  regression stepwise descending for the variables whose pResults: the study focused on 312 patients. Infected patients prevalence was 12.5% and that of HAI was 14.5 %. Infections on peripheral venous catheter (PVC)  dominated (42.2%) among all HAI identified. HAI significant RF were neutropenia (p&lt;10-4) for intrinsic factors, and PVC for extrinsic factors (p=0,003). Conclusion: predominance of infections on PVC should be subject of specific prevention actions, including retro-information strategy, prospective ES, professional practices evaluation and finally training and increasing awareness of health personnel with hygiene measures. Finally,  development of a patient safety culture with personnel ensures best adherence to hygiene measures and HAI prevention

Simultaneous determination of isoniazid and pyrazinamide in plasma by high performance liquid chromatography

Purpose: To develop and validate a new high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for the simultaneous determination of isoniazid (INH) and pyrazinamide (PZA) in plasma.Methods: A 150 μL aliquot of plasma was mixed with 75 μL of 10 % trichloroacetic acid containing 100 mg/L of acetanilide as the internal standard (IS). After vortex mixing and centrifugation, 100 μL of the supernatant was reacted with 20 μL of 0.1 % trans-cinnamaldehyde for 10 min, and then 40 μL of 1M ammonium acetate was added. Finally, 20 μL was injected into the HPLC system. HPLC analysis was performed on reversed phase C18 column. The initial composition of the mobile phase was 4 % acetonitrile, and 96 % of 20 mM 1-hexane sulfonic acid (PH 2.7) delivered at a flow rate 1 mL/min.Results: All calibration curves were linear (r2 &gt; 0.997). The method was accurate, and relative error (RE) was &lt; 4.5 % for both drugs. Intra-day and inter-day precision was good for both drugs, with the highest relative standard deviation (RSD) being 8.51 %. The lower limit of quantification was 0.60 mg/L for isoniazid and 3.00 mg/L for pyrazinamide.Conclusion: The method proposed here is precise, accurate, fast, simple and suitable for therapeutic drug monitoring of INH and PZA simultaneously.Keywords: HPLC, Isoniazid, Pyrazinamide, Plasma, Simultaneous analysi