Optimization of coagulant presence in the natural raw water at the Ain Nokbi station in Fez

An optimization study of the coagulation-flocculation chemical treatment process was carried out at the Ain Nokbi station in Fez in order to identify the problems associated with liquid rejects. The purpose of the study involved optimizing three key factors in the coagulation-flocculation process: the pH of the raw water, the coagulant amount (aluminum sulphate) and the flocculent amount (sodium alginate solution or polyelectrolyte at 0.1 mg/l). This demonstrated how acidification can improve treatment performance, particularly in terms of pH. Specifically, reducing the pH to 7 revealed advantages during disinfection, boosting the efficiency of the process. In addition, the optimum dosage of coagulant (aluminum sulphate) has been determined to be around 50 mg/l instead of 60 mg/l, saving 10 mg/l and reducing annual costs by MAD 240,000

Oxidative stress and hepatotoxicity in rats induced by poisonous pufferfish (Lagocephalus lagocephalus) meat

This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of pufferfish (Lagocephalus lagocephalus) meat poisoning on hepatic functions of Wistar rats. For this purpose, groups of rats (Lcr, Lcu+b and Lcu-b) received diet supplemented with 10% of raw or cooked meat, respectively, with or without cooking water of L. lagocephalus while groups Mcr and Mcu+b received diet supplemented with 10% of raw or cooked meat of Liza aurata, which were used as a negative control. In Lcu+b group, ALT, AST and ALP rates (hepatic enzyme markers) decreased after two months of treatment, indicating liver damage. We also observed an increase of 54 and 65% of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in their livers respectively 48 hours and two months after treatment compared to controls. The catalase (CAT) activity in group Lcu+b decreased (p < 0.05) after two periods of treatment, whereas metallothionein (MT) level significantly increased and decreased, respectively after 48 hours and two months. In fact, in the histological analysis of the livers from Lcu+b treated group, we observed an increase in vacuolisation, necrosis, hepatocytes ballooning and sinusoids dilation. These results indicate that L. lagocephalus meat cooked with water produces hepatotoxicity and oxidative damage

Extracted tetrodotoxin from puffer fish Lagocephalus lagocephalus induced hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity to Wistar rats

This study aimed to investigate the toxicity of raw and boiled tissue extracts of Lagocephalus lagocephalus flesh or liver. Five groups of six male Wistar rats each were used. Four groups received a daily intraperitoneal injection of raw or boiled tissue extracts of L. lagocephalus flesh and liver at a dose of 1 ml/100 g (v/w). The fifth group served as a sham and received a daily intraperitoneal injection of saline solution (1 ml/100 g of 0.9% NaCl, v/w). During the experiment, there was a slight decrease in body weight in all treated groups. Our results revealed that the activities of various enzymes like transaminase, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) decreased in serum and increased in liver and kidney tissues, producing hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity in the treated rats. These observations on the toxicity of this Tunisian puffer fish revealing toxicity especially in the flesh, the edible part of fish, clearly indicate the danger of using this fish as food.Key words: Hepatotoxicity, Lagocephalus lagocephalus, nephrotoxicity

Identifying effluents from a food processing industry

The agri-food industry in Morocco generates significant volumes of liquid waste, contributing to environmental challenges that directly impact public health. To address this issue, it is crucial to characterize this wastewater comprehensively, enabling the development of suitable treatment strategies to alleviate pollution and potentially facilitate recycling. This study focuses on the identification of effluents from an olive and caper preservation industry, employing physicochemical and bacteriological analyses on raw, decanted, and filtered effluent samples. The findings reveal that the effluent from the olive and caper preservation industry is characterized by high acidity and an exceptionally elevated mineral load. Notably, the application of decantation and filtration methods demonstrates a limited influence, primarily affecting the reduction of suspended solids. Understanding these physicochemical and bacteriological characteristics is pivotal for devising targeted treatment protocols, ensuring effective pollution reduction, and exploring avenues for potential recycling of this agri-food industry wastewater. This research serves as a foundation for informed decision-making in the development of sustainable and efficient wastewater management practices, balancing environmental preservation with industrial needs

Multiplicity Results for the p

We investigate the singular Neumann problem involving the p(x)-Laplace operator: Pλ{-Δpxu+|u|px-2u  =1/uδx+fx,u, in  Ω;  u>0,  in  Ω;  ∇upx-2∂u/∂ν=λuqx,  on  ∂Ω}, where Ω⊂RNN≥2 is a bounded domain with C2 boundary, λ is a positive parameter, and px,qx,δx, and fx,u are assumed to satisfy assumptions (H0)–(H5) in the Introduction. Using some variational techniques, we show the existence of a number Λ∈0,∞ such that problem Pλ has two solutions for λ∈0,Λ, one solution for λ=Λ, and no solutions for λ>Λ

Accelerated bone ingrowth by local delivery of Zinc from bioactive glass: oxidative stress status, mechanical property, and microarchitectural characterization in an ovariectomized rat model

Background: Synthetic bone graft substitutes such as bioactive glass (BG) material are developed in order to achieve successful bone regeneration. Zn plays an important role in the proper bone growth, development, and maintenance of healthy bones.Aims: This study aims to evaluate in vivo the performance therapy of zinc-doped bioactive glass (BG-Zn) and its applications in biomedicine.Methods: Female Wistar rats were ovariectomized. BG and BG-Zn were implanted in the femoral condyles of Wistar rats and compared to that of control group. Grafted bone tissues were carefully removed to evaluate the oxidative stress status, histomorphometric profile, mechanical property, and mineral bone distribution by using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry.Results: A significant decrease of thiobarbituric acidreactive substances was observed after BG-Zn implantation. Superoxide dismutase, catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities significantly increased in ovariectomized group implanted with Zinc-doped bioactive glass (OVX-BG-Zn) as compared to ovariectomized group implanted with bioactive glass (OVX-BG). An improved mechanical property was noticed in contact of OVX-BG-Zn (39+6 HV) when compared with that of OVX-BG group (26+9 HV). After 90 days of implantation, the histomorphometric analysis showed that trabecular thickness (Tb.Th) and trabecular number (Tb.N) were significantly increased with 28 and 24%, respectively, in treated rats of OVXBG- Zn group as compared to those of OVX-BG groups. Trabecular separation (Tb.Sp) and trabecular bone pattern factor (TBPf) were significantly decreased in OVX-BG-Zn group with 29.5 and 54% when compared with those of OVX-BG rat groups. On the other hand, a rise in Ca and P ion concentrations in the implanted microenvironment was shown and lead to the formation/deposition of Ca-P phases. The ratio of pyridinoline [Pyr] to dihydroxylysinonorleucine [DHLNL] cross-links was normalized to the control level.Conclusion: Our findings suggested that BG-Zn might have promising  potential applications for osteoporosis therapy.Keywords: zinc metallic ion; bioactive glass; osteoporosis; trabecular bone architecture; mechanical property; oxidative stressResponsible Editor: Amin Bredan, VIB Inflammation Research Center &amp; Ghent University, Belgium

Effect of Phase Contrast and Geometrical Parameters on Bending Behavior of Sandwich Beams with FG Isotropic Face Sheets

Our work is to study the bending behavior of sandwich beams with functional gradient by constituting an isotropic material whose material properties vary smoothly in the z direction only (FGM), where the central layer presents purely a homogeneous and isotropic ceramic. The mechanical properties of FG sandwich beams are assumed to be progressive in thickness according to a power law (P-FGM). Generally, the principle of virtual works is used to obtain the equilibrium equations, and their solutions are obtained based on Navier's solution technique. The present model is based on a shear deformation theory of 2D and 3D beams which contains four unknowns to extract the equilibrium equations of FG sandwich beams. In addition, analytical solutions for bending are used and numerical models are presented to verify the accuracy of the present theory. All the results obtained show that the stiffness of the FG beam decreases as a function of the increase in the volume fraction index k, leading to an increase in the deflections. However, FG beams become flexible by increasing the proportion of the metal to the ceramic part. Furthermore, the influences of material volume fraction index, layer thickness ratio, side-to-height ratio, and the effect of the phase contrast, on the deflections, normal and shear stress of simply supported sandwich FG beams are taken into investigation and discussed in detail. Finally, all our results obtained are in agreement with other previous theoretical works

Specialist palliative and end-of-life care for patients with cancer and SARS-CoV-2 infection: a European perspective

COVID-19; Cancer; End-of life care (EOLC)COVID-19; Cáncer; Cuidados al final de la vidaCOVID-19; Càncer; Cures al final de la vidaBackground: Specialist palliative care team (SPCT) involvement has been shown to improve symptom control and end-of-life care for patients with cancer, but little is known as to how these have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we report SPCT involvement during the first wave of the pandemic and compare outcomes for patients with cancer who received and did not receive SPCT input from multiple European cancer centres. Methods: From the OnCovid repository (N = 1318), we analysed cancer patients aged ⩾18 diagnosed with COVID-19 between 26 February and 22 June 2020 who had complete specialist palliative care team data (SPCT+ referred; SPCT− not referred). Results: Of 555 eligible patients, 317 were male (57.1%), with a median age of 70 years (IQR 20). At COVID-19 diagnosis, 44.7% were on anti-cancer therapy and 53.3% had ⩾1 co-morbidity. Two hundred and six patients received SPCT input for symptom control (80.1%), psychological support (54.4%) and/or advance care planning (51%). SPCT+ patients had more ‘Do not attempt cardio-pulmonary resuscitation’ orders completed prior to (12.6% versus 3.7%) and during admission (50% versus 22.1%, p < 0.001), with more SPCT+ patients deemed suitable for treatment escalation (50% versus 22.1%, p < 0.001). SPCT involvement was associated with higher discharge rates from hospital for end-of-life care (9.7% versus 0%, p < 0.001). End-of-life anticipatory prescribing was higher in SPCT+ patients, with opioids (96.3% versus 47.1%) and benzodiazepines (82.9% versus 41.2%) being used frequently for symptom control. Conclusion: SPCT referral facilitated symptom control, emergency care and discharge planning, as well as high rates of referral for psychological support than previously reported. Our study highlighted the critical need of SPCTs for patients with cancer during the pandemic and should inform service planning for this population.The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust Strategic Fund [PS3416] awarded to DJP and by direct project funding from the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) awarded to DJP. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. OnCovid was supported in part by funds from the Cancer Treatment and Research Trust (CTRT) awarded to DJP and from the Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro Foundation [14230] awarded to AG

Ordinary and Encased Stone Columns with Two Different Relative Densities

Stone columns technique is most commonly used in increasing bearing capacity, reduces and controls the compressibility and accelerates the rate of consolidation of soft saturated clay. During the last four decades, the technique has been utilized worldwide and proved successful results. Several modifications have been proposed to increase the efficiency of this technique such as addition of additives, use of special patterns of reinforcements, encasing the stone columns with geonet or geogrid to provide extra confinement that enhances the bearing capacity and reduces the settlement drastically without compromising its effect as a drain. The present paper focuses on the behavior of soft saturated clay reinforced with ordinary and geogrid encased stone columns. The investigation was performed both experimentally through small scale models and through numerical techniques. The influence of relative density of the back fill material and the presence of the encasement are the main parameters investigated. Ordinary stone columns revealed an increase of 20% in the carrying capacity when the relative density of the backfill stone aggregates increased from 23% to 71%, furthermore the efficiency of the encasement was more pronounced at lower relative density