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For people with haemophilia (PwH) who live in developing countries, haemophilia continues to be a condition with serious medical and social consequences. In Morocco, the efforts of patient associations and medical teams have led to the creation of a national programme for haemophilia care since the end of 2012, and the country is no longer solely reliant on World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) donations for access to factor products. There is growing recognition of the impact of the pain experienced by PwH. To continue to improve treatment for PwH in Morocco, it is important to ensure that they are also able to manage haemophilia-related pain.

This paper brings out an analysis of the projection iterative algorithm for the numerical solution of the Signorini problem. The very closed connections with the switching method are highlighted. In addition, the relevance of higher-order discretization for Signorini problem is discussed. Thus, a specific iterative solver is developed to address the present fourth and sixth-order compact scheme discretizations. This method is based on a lower-order preconditioning method. Several numerical experiments have been performed to bring light to the accuracy of such method, despite the lack of smoothness at the Signorini boundary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the rooting ability and growth performance in semihardwood cuttings of Argania spinosa under nonmist greenhouse conditions, our experimentation was conducted with three cutting diameters (0.10.3, 0.30.6 and 0.60.9 cm), four leaf retention treatments (leafless, 2, 4 and 8 leaves) and three different rooting substrates (fine sand, peat moss, a 1:1 mixture of fine sand/peat moss). Significant effects of cuttings diameter, leaf retention and rooting substrate on sprouting, rooting and survival ability from A. spinosa semihardwood cuttings were observed. Among all diameters tested, a diameter of (0.30.6 cm) showed maximum rooting and survival capacity, while cuttings with a diameter of 0.60.9 cm resulted in the greatest sprouting ability. Successful vegetative propagation was restricted to leafy stem cuttings. Moreover, it was observed that the highest rooting ability was reached in cuttings planted in finesand substrate. However, the highest sprouting ratio (85.0%) and survival rate (92.5%) were achieved in a mixture of sand and peat moss. Thus, argan trees vegetative propagation could be most effectively achieved using semihardwood cuttings with a 0.4 cm diameter and 4 leaves, planted in a fine sand substrate during the root initiation period and grown in a mixture of fine sand and peat moss for hardening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The AguelmamAzegza lake is located in the Middle Atlas mountain range, this region consists of carbonate rocks of Lias. It is the best-watered and richest region in Morocco in terms of wetlands, especially natural lakes, rivers and fresh springs. The lake’s water supply is ensured by the inflows of water in the form of underwater sources fed by precipitation (rain and snow) following tectonics and the genesis of karstic formations by the dissolution of carbonate rocks. The declining trend in lake levels in recent years results from the decrease in precipitation which decreases during these years.

Investigating habitat selection and ecological factors trade-offs is a major avian ecology topic which is closely implicated for conservation purposes. Studies dealing with the impacts of ecological factors on wintering Spoonbills are overall scarce. Here, we used Principal Component Analyses (PCA) and Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMM) to test the relevance of geographical, environmental and anthropogenic factors in predicting the occupancy and abundance of the Eurasian spoonbills (Platalea leucorodia) during 2008-2011 within 28 Moroccan wetlands. The Eurasian Spoonbill mean annual occurrence was 59.2% (± 1.5% SE; 95%CI: 56.3%-62.1%). Among the occupied wetlands, 15 (83.3%) were regularly occupied. We found that the Eurasian spoonbill occurrence was negatively related to distance to coastline, altitude and human presence, whereas its abundance increased significantly with increasing mudflat areas. These findings highlight the significant effect of human presence in selecting wintering sites, but not in the prediction of abundance. Management strategies should therefore address specific attributes of coastal wetlands and should carefully consider the effects of habitat use especially those related to mudflats. We further suggest guidelines for future studies to understand the dynamic of Eurasian spoonbills wintering in the region.

Tourism merits on natural spaces are not exhausted, namely economic dynamics, development of the local population’s life conditions, species conservation and awareness of environmental protection. However, the damage caused by Coronavirus to natural and rural spaces has impacted such merits negatively, for example, suspension of tourism and recreation activities. Further, the rebirth of ecotourism will be slower and necessitates profound changes in travel design and service delivery. Hence, sustainability, sanitary and regulatory measures will probably help manage ecotourism systems. Nevertheless, these will be affected by the increase in exploring relations between nature and wildlife regarding zoonotic and vector-borne infections and the fragility of biodiversity. Because of his mobility, a tourist appears to be a potential pathogen transmission factor of infections to natural areas, local communities, ecotourism destinations, his country and the crossed ones. New procedures would reduce travel and control traveler’s behavior, and interactions between travelers and wild animals. The slowdown in demand may thus hinder the development of ecotourism. Sensitivity to epidemiological risk and vector-borne diseases will be greater and the need for health-friendly tourism will be further strengthened.

COVID-19 pandemic has had huge impacts on multiple industries and sectors, not just ecotourism and wildlife protection in Morocco. Ecological health and wildlife are a critical resource for the country’s tourism sector recovery. Conservation is considered as one of the industries that are hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the threats facing biodiversity and protected areas have been exacerbated during and following, the outbreak with practices such as poaching, wildlife trafficking, and forest logging activities resumed due to the country lockdown and ecotourism collapse. Conservationists should take emergency actions in the short-term to help rural communities and grassroots organizations and review waysto achieve conservation and sustainability goals in the post-pandemic era.

The population of the African continent is significantly increasing which has given rise to societal, economic and environmental changes. This will generate an increase in demand for food, water and energy. Thus, strategies for sustainable management of natural resources need to be adopted urgently in order to match the future needs and to ensure sustainable development on the continent. The Water Energy Food (WEF) nexus is one the avenues for studying the current and future interactions and interdependencies of the WEF sectors under different scenarios and challenges in the effort towards establishing sustainable use of natural resources. Policies around the nexus approach are few or absent at the continental and countrylevels. This paper is a first review on the adoption of the Nexus in two model African countries, Morocco and South Africa. The review compares the water, energy and food sectors and the related national policies, plans and frameworks. The data related to the WEF Nexus revealed key difficulties of availability in both countries. A comparative analysis of the situation in both countries demonstrated differences in policies relating to the WEF Nexus across the sectors: water, energy, and agriculture. Additionally, the paper explores the relevance of technology-assisted frameworks for the WEF nexus and also analyzed risks to agriculture and food security in the context of the reviewed countries.

Le carcinome à cellules de Merkel (CCM) est une tumeur cutanée neuroendocrinerare d'évolution imprévisible et à grand potentiel métastatique. Ce néoplasme survient habituellement chez le sujet âgé au niveau des zones photo exposées. L'avidité constante du CCM au 18 fluorodésoxyglucose (FDG) justifie l'intérêt de la tomographie par émission de positon (TEP) au cours de cette pathologie. Toutefois, aucun consensus n'est établi à ce jour. Cette étude rapporte le cas d'une patiente de 25 ans suivie pour CCM métastatique, afin d'attirer l'attention sur cette tumeur particulière et d'illustrer l'intérêt de la TEP au 18 FDG dans la prise en charge de cette entité rare.

Muscle stem cells (MuSCs) enable muscle growth and regeneration after exercise or injury, but how metabolism controls their regenerative potential is poorly understood. We describe that primary metabolic changes can determine murine MuSC fate decisions. We found that glutamine anaplerosis into the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle decreases during MuSC differentiation and coincides with decreased expression of the mitochondrial glutamate deaminase GLUD1. Deletion of Glud1 in proliferating MuSCs resulted in precocious differentiation and fusion, combined with loss of self-renewal in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, deleting Glud1 caused mitochondrial glutamate accumulation and inhibited the malate-aspartate shuttle (MAS). The resulting defect in transporting NADH-reducing equivalents into the mitochondria induced compartment-specific NAD + /NADH ratio shifts. MAS activity restoration or directly altering NAD + /NADH ratios normalized myogenesis. In conclusion, GLUD1 prevents deleterious mitochondrial glutamate accumulation and inactivation of the MAS in proliferating MuSCs. It thereby acts as a compartment-specific metabolic brake on MuSC differentiation., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction and Importance: Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is a rare cause of acute coronary syndromes not related to atherosclerosis. It involves the sudden tearing of the coronary artery wall, separating the inner intimal lining from the outer vessel wall, typically affecting a single coronary vessel. In 20% of cases, the cause of spontaneous coronary artery dissection is unknown. The other cases often occur in pregnant or postpartum women or in individuals with conditions such as connective tissue disorders or vasculitis., Case Presentation: Here, we describe a case of a 69-year-old African female presenting with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. Coronary angiography revealed an unusual triple-vessel spontaneous coronary artery dissection affecting peripheral segments, with further investigations suggesting polyarteritis nodosa., Conclusion: While triple-vessel spontaneous coronary artery dissection and polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) are individually rare, their coexistence is exceptionally uncommon and presents diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Clinicians should be alert to vasculitic causes in patients with spontaneous coronary artery dissection, especially with atypical clinical features., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Bone marrow aplasia is a rare and serious hematologic disorder. Although benign, it is a hematologic disorder whose prognosis can be poor and whose spontaneous development can be fatal. Treatment is long, difficult and costly. In developing countries, the mortality rate is high due to the difficulties of therapeutic management, both supportive and specific. We conducted a retrospective study of 92 cases of AM identified in the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Department of the 20 Août University Hospital in Casablanca over a 10-year period (January 2010-January 2020). In this work, we present an overview of the situation and highlight the difficulties encountered in the management of AM in the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Department of the University Hospital of Casablanca. In our study, the mean age was 19 years, ranging from 3 months to 29 years, with a peak in the 15-20 age group. The sex ratio (M/F) was 2.06, with a male predominance of 67%. In our series, only 35% of patients had complete bone marrow failure. An anemic syndrome was present in 92% of patients, and hemorrhagic and infectious syndromes were present in 70% and 41% of patients, respectively. The median time from diagnosis to treatment was 82 days. According to the Camitta score, 31% of our patients had mild AM, 41% had severe AM, and 28% had very severe AM. After etiologic evaluation, we concluded that 90% of the patients had idiopathic bone marrow aplasia, 2% had constitutional bone marrow aplasia, and 8% of the patients were suspected to have secondary bone marrow aplasia: post-hepatitis (3 cases), toxic (2 cases), drug-induced (1 case), and aplastic PNH (1 case). Mortality in the first three months after diagnosis was 21%. Sixty-nine percent of our patients received specific treatment: 28 were treated with cyclosporin (CIS) alone as first-line therapy, 20 received a combination of antilymphocyte serum (ALS) and cyclosporin, 2 received hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), while 3 were treated with androgens alone. The overall response rate was 30% with CIS, 42% with ALS+CIS and 100% with HSCT. In our study, the overall death rate was 44%, while the one-year survival rate was 40%. It is important to note that septic shock was the leading cause of death (53% of deaths), followed by hemorrhagic shock (24%). This highlights the lack of hemodynamic resuscitation and symptomatic treatment. Our multivariate study defined the following risk factors as predictive of worse survival: age greater than 16 years (RR: 3.28; CI: 1.29-8.33; P=0.012), PNN less than 200 or very severe bone marrow aplasia (RR: 3.01; 1.1-8.08; P=0.028), and failure to receive any specific treatment (RR: 4.07; 1.77-9.35; P=0.0003). The high overall mortality in our series was due to several factors: inaccessibility to effective therapies, delayed diagnosis, failure to initiate specific treatment, inadequate symptomatic treatment, and geographical and financial inaccessibility., (Copyright © 2024 Société Française du Cancer. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Phase-shift contrast agents consist of a liquid perfluorocarbon core that can be vaporized by ultrasound to generate echogenic contrast with excellent spatiotemporal control. The purpose of the present work was to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo behavior of condensed lipid-shelled nanodroplets (NDs) using different analytical procedures., Methods: Perfluorobutane NDs were prepared by condensation of precursor fluorescently labeled lipid-shelled microbubbles (MBs) and were characterized in terms of size distribution, gas core content and in vitro stability in blood, as well as for their acoustic vaporization behavior using a custom-made setup. In particular, the in vivo behavior of the NDs was thoroughly investigated after intravenous bolus injection in rats. To this end, we report, for the first time, the efficient use of three complementary detection procedures to assess the in vivo persistence of NDs: (i) ultrasound contrast imaging of vaporized NDs, (ii) gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to determine the perfluorobutane core content and (iii) fluorescence intensity measurement in the collected blood samples., Results: The Coulter Counter Multisizer results confirmed the size distribution shift post-condensation. Furthermore, similar PFB concentrations from MB and ND suspensions were obtained, indicating an exceptionally low rate of MB breakage and spontaneous nanodroplet vaporization. As expected, these nanoscale droplets have longer circulation times compared with clinically approved MBs, and only slight variations in half-life were observed between the three monitoring procedures. Finally, echogenic signal observed in focal areas of the liver and spleen after vaporization was confirmed by accumulation of fluorescent nanodroplets in these organs., Conclusion: These results further contribute to our understanding of both the in vitro and in vivo behavior of sono-responsive nanodroplets, which is key to enabling efficient clinical translation., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)