THE EFFECT OF THE FLORAL APPLICATION OF GIBBERELLIC ACID ON UNPOLLINATED INFLORESCENCES OF THE DATE PALM CULTIVAR ASSIANE (Phoenix dactylifera L.): A CASE STUDY OF FIGUIG OASIS, MOROCCO

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of Gibberellic Acid in mitigate the phenomenon of parthenocarpy and improve the fruit set in the date palm cultivar Assiane at Figuig Oasis in Morocco. For this, four different concentrations of Gibberellic Acid (GA3) viz., 5, 50, 100, and 200 ppm were applied on unpollinated inflorescences in two phases. The first dose of GA3 is applied at the time of spadices burst while the second one is applied after the seven days of the first one. The results obtained from the study showed that the application of gibberellic acid on unpollinated female inflorescences had a significant effect on the removal of parthenocarpy which resulting in the higher normal-looking fruits with normal seed and by promoting the maturity of parthenocarpic fruits. In the case of rate of thinning, the application of GA3 @ 5-100 ppm enhanced the flower drop, while the application at higher concentration i.e. 200 ppm promotes the retention and development of flowers. Further, the analysis of the ripe fruits sugars content by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) suggests that the application of GA3 did not have any significant effect on the sugar content and these treatments are not significantly different from the fruits of pollinated flowers

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

The Use of the HEC-HMS Model to Improve Regionalized Hydrological Modeling and Its Application to the Cheliff Basin, Algeria

Hydrological modeling is an effective tool for predicting the hydrological response of watersheds in order to develop appropriate water resource management strategies. Various modeling techniques are available to simulate rainfall-runoff processes in ungauged basins, including regionalization of hydrologic model parameters. Regionalization by spatial proximity (SP) and physical similarity (PS) were chosen for this study to be used with Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS), which is semi-distributed hydrological model, to evaluate the performance of the model in simulating sub-basin flows as well as the applicability of averaging methods in the case of ungauged sub-basins.Eight sub-basins belonging to the large Cheliff watershed were selected using available data from the period 2007 to 2012. In order to perform a controlled regionalization, one of the eight sub-basins (Wadi Tikzal) was assumed to be ungauged, and five sub-basins were selected to be donors by the (SP) regionalization method and five others by the (PS) regionalization. The results were compared to the original gauged sub-basin series. The performance analysis was carried out through the Nash-Sutclife Efficiency (NSE), the coefficient of determination (R2) and the root mean squared error (RMSE). The results of the simulation are generally satisfactory for wadi Tikzal sub-basin. The model adequately simulated the flows in the other sub-basins, during both calibration and validation phases. The results obtained showed that the regionalization methods used in this study, with the arithmetic mean and the inverse distance weighting (IDW), yielded good results with NSE and R2values exceeding 0.75 and RMSE values were close to 0.20. The arithmetic mean gave higher results compared to the IDW method, the mean of NSE between the two methods is 0.68 for the arithmetic mean and 0.65 for IDW, and R2of 0.69 for the arithmetic mean and 0.65 for IDW. The obtained results demonstrate that the regionalization by spatial proximity and physical similarity, using the HEC-HMS hydrological model can be effectively used to predict streamflow in ungauged watersheds, leading to effective water resources management, which enriches the literature regarding the flowsregionalization, averaging methodsand HEC-HMS performance,in ungauged sub-basins and especially in the northern Algerian region

Cutaneous plasmacytosis: Report of a Moroccan case!!

Cutaneous plasmacytosis is a rare entity that has been reported almost exclusively in Asian countries and is usually seen in adult males. Primary cutaneous plasmacytosis clinically is characterized by multiple red-brown plaques and nodules typically located on the trunk. We report a case of a Moroccan 65-year-old man presented multiple infiltrated red plaques on the extremities and the trunk, the diagnosis of cutaneous plasmacytosis was retained without systemic involvement. To our knowledge, this is the first case of this type reported in a Moroccan adult man

Von Zumbusch’s pustular psoriasis associated with oral terbinafine

Adverse skin reactions have been reported in 2.7% of patients receiving oral terbinafine. Less common but life-threatening reactions include acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP), Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, exacerbation or induction of psoriasis. We report a case of a 28 year-old woman with no history of psoriasis, the patient presented generalized pustular eruption, erythroderma, prolonged fever and altered general conditions, associated with initiation of oral terbinafine. The histological analysis of the cutaneous biopsy was compatible with pustular psoriasis. The intake of terbinafine was discontinued and treatment by acitretin 25 mg/day associated with emollient cream was started. The evolution was marked by resolution of skin eruption and disappearance of the fever in a few days. The complete remission was reached 2 months later. The diagnosis of severe generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP), type Von Zumbusch associated with initiation of oral terbinafine was made. The present case indicates that terbinafine is a drug that may be associated with the development of psoriasis de novo or its exacerbation

Efficient Multicomponent Catalyst-Free Synthesis of Substituted 2-Aminopyridines

2-aminopyridines scaffolds are an important class of nitrogen heterocyclic compounds with a wide range of biological activities. Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) are useful methods for the construction of nitrogen heterocyclic compounds. In this context, syntheses of 2-aminopyridines derivatives via MCRs have attracted considerable attention in recent years. We present, in this work, a rapid and efficient synthesis of 2-aminopyridine derivatives, via the catalyst-free four-component method. This protocol provides a simple and practical approach to functionalized 2-aminopyridnes from readily available substrates under solvent-free conditions