Search

Objective: Review compliance with preventive measures to limit the spread of covid-19 during the containment period in Morocco. Method: An online questionnaire consisting of questions covering several areas: demographic data, knowledge of Covid-19, ports of contamination and precautionary measures. Results: A total of 352 participants responded to the survey, of which 69.3% were male, 48.6% were between 20 and 30 years of age and 37.2% were students. The Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region had the highest turnout with 59.9%. 20.98% of participants cover their mouths when coughing, 90.52% use liquid soap to wash their hands, 58.09% still wear face masks and 64.27% were satisfied with the prevention measures initiated by the Moroccan health authorities. Conclusion: Based on the results obtained and in the absence of treatment for this contagious disease, the best method of protection for you and your loved ones is to respect the measures and barrier gestures.

In this study, native microalgae cultivated in the batch mode were used to purify secondary municipal wastewater (MW) from Azilal (Morocco) at different concentrations; the treatment of the MW under laboratory conditions and natural conditions was compared. The biomass produced was harvested by coagulation–flocculation–sedimentation. The results showed that the maximum biomass was obtained in outdoor cultures by 1.11 vs. 0.79 g·L–1 in indoor cultures. Ammonium removal reached 99.8% in indoor cultures and 97.5% in outdoor cultures. The highest chemical oxygen demand removal percentage was 60.3% in indoor cultures and 68.9% in outdoor cultures. Regarding biomass harvesting, 140 mg·L–1 of ferric chloride resulted in 97.4% of the biomass recovered in 20 min of sedimentation and improved the final effluent quality. Finally, these native microalgae showed a promising alternative for MW treatment combined with valuable biomass production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional method of Moroccan paprika processing consists in manual harvesting the fruit in full ripe stage, sun drying, crushing in traditional processing units and oiling (removing the peduncle and seeds is optional). The details about the paprika processing operations are reported. In a second part, a comparative study of the quality of paprika from three spice-producing regions in Morocco was undertaken by analyzing their physicochemical, nutritional and bioactive constituents and their antioxidant activity. The paprika of the three provenances showed values of ASTA which varied from 104 to 144 Units. The main fatty acids components of paprika are linoleic acid, palmitic acid and oleic acid. In terms of mineral composition, paprika from the three regions is rich in potassium, magnesium and relatively poor in sodium. El Kalâa des Sraghna paprika showed the highest total capsaicinoid values (184.97 mg/kg DW). The best antioxidant capacity was obtained by Tadla paprika (IC50= 260 µg/ml for the DPPH test and 43.03 µg/ml for the ABTS test). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has been strongly dealt with in the literature on the economy in recent decades. In many semi-arid regions of the world, issues related to climate change including the scarcity of water resources are crucial for consideration in overcoming obstacles to development. The value of water increases and presents itself as a quantitative and qualitative constraint to its domestic, industrial and, particularly, agricultural use. Given the multi-dimensional and multi-scalar nature of climate change, this research proposes an integrated agronomic, economic and hydrologic modelling for the Tadla sub-basin in Morocco to assess the potential economic impacts of climate change on agricultural water management in this region. This tool permits to predict inter-annual variations of selected socio-economic water management indicators from 2014 to 2050. The simulated climate scenarios include the RCP (Representative Concentration Pathway) 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenario, taking into account the main crops, water resources and the socio-economic context of the study area. The results show that climate change can have an impact in reducing the total agricultural profit calculated across the Tadla sub-basin (by about -0.34% and -0.44% each year according to RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 climate scenarios, respectively) and in increasing irrigation water shadow price progressively. Overall, this research helps to improve understanding of the potential economic impact of climate change and to guide stakeholders in their choices in terms of future adaptation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Juices of nine prickly pears cultivars (Opuntia ficus-indica L.) were characterized in terms of phenolics and betalains pigment content. The antioxidant activity of juice was tested by means of two different methods: the 2,2-diphenyl-1 picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) methods, and the 2,2- azinobis(3-ethyl-benzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) methods. Juices contained total phenolics ranging from 354.37 to 643.66 µg gallic acid eq/g, betaxanthins (15.84 to 51.33 mg indicaxanthin/l), betacyanins (52.04 mg betanin/l for red juice) and antioxidant capacity (DPPH) ranging from 52.48 to 135.96µg/ml respectively. The total phenolic contents were highly correlated with ABTS (R² = 0.868) and DPPH (R² = 0.959) values. The phenolics compounds contribute more significantly to the total antioxidant capacity than betalain pigments. Therefore, the total phenolic contents can serve as a useful indicator for the antioxidant activities of prickly pear juices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]