Mohammed V University of Rabat

In this work, a novel antioxidant, antibacterial, and biodegradable food packaging film was elaborated, by incorporating natural kaolin clay (KC) and Ficus carica mediated silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) into Chitosan (Cht). A comparison of the physico-chemical and functional characteristics of the Cht/KC/AgNPs film was performed with those of Cht, Cht/KC, and Cht/AgNPs. SEM analysis showed a rough surface in the composite films containing KC particles because of their large diameter (50 – 120 μm) compared to AgNPs (20 – 80 nm). The FTIR analysis suggested that the interactions between Cht and AgNPs were stronger than those between Cht and KC. The tensile strength of Cht film increased from 16 MPa to ∼24 MPa in Cht/KC/AgNPs film. The introduction of KC and/or AgNPs considerably improved the light and moisture barrier capacity of the Cht film. The UV light transmittance decreased by 50% for Cht film when incorporated by KC and AgNPs. Moreover, Cht/AgNPs was better in terms of antioxidant, antibacterial, and mechanical compared to Cht/KC, which was superior in biodegradability and water vapor barrier capacity. In particular, the Cht/KC/AgNPs film presented good barrier, antioxidants, antibacterial, mechanical, and biodegradable properties, owing to the synergistic effect between KC and AgNPs. For the packaging properties, all the films were tested for their ability to keep the freshness of apple slices as wrapping material. The films exhibited good results, and the Cht/KC/AgNPs showed promising performance regarding the moisture loss, browning index, total phenolic compound, and antioxidant activity of the apple slices. Moreover, the Cht/KC/AgNPs film exhibited a migration of silver meeting the standards set by EFSA and ECHA, which makes this film safe for food packaging.

The dimensional and geometrical specifications control of a mechanical part is commonly done using a coordinate measuring machine. Collecting and processing measurement data through a probe, it allows measuring the conformity of the part according to specific tolerances. An accurate estimation of the uncertainty of measurement is critical; it is within this framework that our study is oriented; we aim to estimate the measurement uncertainty of parallelism error using the Guide to the Expression of Measurement Uncertainty (GUM), then we will proceed to a Monte Carlo simulation to compare the obtained uncertainty, we will then proceed to an inter-laboratory comparison to validate our model. Our contribution is based on a more detailed and precise estimation of the uncertainties of the measurement process taking into accounts the calibration of the machine and the propagation of uncertainties.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (H. rosa-sinensis) has been largely used in traditional medicine. This study aims to review the pharmacological and phytochemical properties of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L and also summarize the pharmacological, photochemical, and toxicological characteristics of H. rosa-sinensis. The current review focuses on the distribution, chemical content, and main uses of H. rosa-sinensis. Various scientific databases, including ScienceDirect, Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, etc., were used. Correct plant names were verified from plantlist.org. The results were interpreted, analyzed, and documented based on bibliographic information. This plant has been frequently used in conventional medicine due to its high concentration of phytochemicals. All its parts contain numerous chemical compounds, such as flavonoids, tannins, terpenoids, anthocyanins, saponins, cyclopeptide alkaloids, and vitamins. More interestingly, the roots of this plant contain glycosides, tannins, phytosterols, fixed oils, fats, flavonoids, saponins, gums, and mucilages. The leaves contain alkaloids, glycosides, reducing sugars, fat, resin, and sterols. The stem contains other chemical compounds, such as ß-sitosterol, teraxeryl acetate, cyclic sterculic, and malvalic acids. Finally, the flowers contain riboflavin, thiamine, apigenidine, oxalic acid, citric acid, quercetin, niacin, pelargonidine, and ascorbic acid. This species has a wide variety of pharmacological applications, such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, antifertility, antifungal, anticancer, hair growth-promoting, antihyperlipidemic, reproductive, neurobehavioral, antidepressant, and antipyretic activities. Finally, toxicological studies have shown that higher doses of extracts from the plant are safe.

Today, with the extension of learning management systems (LMSs) and the diversity of learners’ needs for online learning, instructors have to be assisted to adapt their syllabus to meet learners' needs. Therefore, it is necessary to tailor course instruction to meet individual needs and determine how well they serve the learners using these online platforms. In this case, technological advances are used to enhance e-learning by personalizing the learners' learning styles. For instance, gathering traces of systemic and contextual knowledge about learners and their learning preferences contribute to the design of a meaningful learning experience for learners. Our study, based on a questionnaire and learning traces, focuses on predicting learners' styles. The Felder Silverman Learning Style Model (FSLSM), among the best models in technology-enhanced learning, was applied to run an unsupervised clustering technique to cluster learners by preference degree in terms of profile and context for sequential/global dimension of the FSLSM. This paper presents the attributes of the learning contextual data-driven model which can be auto-populated and the appropriate data source determined to fill this model. To reach our aim, the data gathered from three agronomy courses taught in winter 2018, 2019, and 2020 in an LMS at the Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine was analyzed. This paper concludes with the results achieved during the application of the proposed method in which most learners expressed their preferences as strong, balanced, or moderate for global and sequential learning styles in a predefined learning context.

Quantum teleportation is one of the most important techniques for quantum information secure transmission. Using preshared entanglement, quantum teleportation is designed as a basic key in many quantum information tasks and features prominently in quantum technologies, especially in quantum communication. In this work, we provide a new probabilistic teleportation scheme for arbitrary superposed coherent states by employing the multipartite even and odd j-spin coherent states as the entangled resource connecting Alice (sender) and Bob (receiver). Here, Alice possesses both even and odd spin coherent states and makes repeated GHZ states measurements (GHZSMs) on the pair of spins, consisting of (1) the unknown spin state and (2) one of the two coherent spin states, taken alternately, until reaching a quantum teleportation with maximal average fidelity. We provide the relationship between the entanglement amount of the shared state, quantified by the concurrence, with the teleportation fidelity and the success probability of the teleported target state up to the nth\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$n\textrm{th}$$\end{document} repeated attempt. In this scheme, we show that the perfect quantum teleportation can be done even with a non-maximally entangled state. Furthermore, this repeated GHZSMs attempt process significantly increases both the average fidelity of the teleported state and the probability of a successful run of the probabilistic protocol. Also on our results, we show that the j-spin number, the target state parameter and the overlap between coherent states provide important additional control parameters that can be adjusted to maximize the teleportation efficiency.

Recent geopolitical events have led to a worldwide resurgence in nationalism which entails political togetherness and invokes the spirit of patriotism. In various contexts, language has been a central point of departure for many nationalist movements. In particular, English is increasingly discussed with regards to its sociopolitical and sociocul-tural implications for the expanding-circle spaces. This research is a critical qualitative study that examines how neo-nationalist policies are potentially transforming TESOL classes in Morocco. By focusing on TESOL teachers' reactions, we seek to reveal the range of impacts that recent nationalist policies have had on English teaching in Morocco and discuss pedagogical possibilities that can balance inter-nationalist and nationalist desires in the country. In addition, we attempt to investigate how understandings of the nation are actual-ized in classrooms and how English language teaching practices and policies account for the ideas about the Moroccan nation. The study highlights how English language teachers make sense of debates surrounding English as a threat to national languages and how they can be agentive in realizing change through critical pedagogical interventions with nationalism and the concept of nation.

Objective: The emergence of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) is a major concern that is increasingly reported worldwide. Our study aimed at investigating the resistance of CPE isolates in a Moroccan teaching hospital using phenotypic and genotypic methods. Methods: Enterobacterales strains from March to June 2018 were collected from different clinical samples. The Enterobacterales isolates resistant to third-generation cephalosporins (3GC) and/or carbapenems were subjected to the Carba NP test and an immunochromatographic test for phenotypic detection. Detection of extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) was also performed following standards. Molecular screening of carbapenemases genes (OXA-48, NDM, blaKPC, blaIMP, blaVIM, and blaOXA-24, blaOXA-23, OXA-51, OXA-58) using conventional multiplex PCR assays was also performed on 143 isolates. Results: Enterobacterales represented 52.7% with a proportion of 21.8% of bacteria resistant to 3GC and/or carbapenems. Within 143 isolates MDR to 3GC, K. pneumoniae, E. coli, and E. cloacae represent 53.1%, 40.6%, and 6.3%, respectively. These strains were isolated mainly from urinary samples (74.8%) in patients admitted to emergency and surgical units. 81.1% of strains are producing ESBL and 29% are carbapenemase producers as confirmed by the Carba NP test, immunochromatographic test, and molecular testing. OXA-48 carriers represent 83.3% of these strains, followed by NDM with 16.7%. blaKPC, blaIMP, blaVIM, and blaOXA-24, blaOXA-23, OXA-51, OXA-58 were not detected in any of these bacteria. Conclusions: A high rate of CPE carrying OXA-48 among Enterobacterales resistant to 3GC and/or carbapenems isolates was found. Strict observance of hospital hygiene measures and more rational use of antibiotics are mandatory. Implantation of carbapenemases detection should be encouraged in our hospital settings to estimate the true burden of the CPE.

Introduction: Osteosarcoma is the most common malignant bone tumor in children, most often occurring in the lower extremity of the femur, and is known to be particularly aggressive, with a high risk of metastasis. The most frequent secondary localizations are pulmonary and bone metastases; peritoneal metastases are extremely rare and have a poor prognosis. Case Report: We report the case of a 14-year-old child with a history of a treated right femoral osteosarcoma, which presented with peritoneal and pulmonary metastases. Conclusion: Imaging plays a very important role in the management of patients with osteosarcoma, it allows an early detection of metastases through a rigorous clinicoradiological surveillance, metastases usually have the same radiological appearance as the primary tumor and the diagnosis of certainty is essentially based on anatomopathological study.

Three bacterial strains, 1AS11 T , 1AS12 and 1AS13, members of the new symbiovar salignae and isolated from root nodules of Acacia saligna grown in Tunisia, were characterized using a polyphasic approach. All three strains were assigned to the Rhizobium leguminosarum complex on the basis of rrs gene analysis. Phylogenetic analysis based on 1734 nucleotides of four concatenated housekeeping genes (recA, atpD, glnII and gyrB) showed that the three strains were distinct from known rhizobia species of the R. leguminosarum complex and clustered as a separate clade within this complex. Phylogenomic analysis of 92 up-to-date bacterial core genes confirmed the unique clade. The digital DNA-DNA hybridization and blast-based average nucleotide identity values for the three strains and phylogenetically related Rhizobium species ranged from 35.9 to 60.0% and 87.16 to 94.58 %, which were lower than the 70 and 96% species delineation thresholds, respectively. The G+C contents of the strains were 60.82-60.92 mol% and the major fatty acids (>4 %) were summed feature 8 (57.81 %; C 18 : 1 ω7c) and C 18 : 1 ω7c 11-methyl (13.24%). Strains 1AS11 T , 1AS12 and 1AS13 could also be differentiated from their closest described species (Rhizobium indicum, Rhizobium laguerreae and Rhizobium changzhiense) by phenotypic and physiological properties as well as fatty acid content. Based on the phylogenetic, genomic, physiological, genotypic and chemotaxonomic data presented in this study, strains 1AS11 T , 1AS12 and 1AS13 represent a new species within the genus Rhizobium and we propose the name Rhizobium acaciae sp. nov. The type strain is 1AS11 T (=DSM 113913 T =ACCC 62388 T).

Patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis (MS) often present complications such as atrial fibrillation and thrombus formation with significant morbi-mortality. Rarely, a free-f loating 'ball thrombus' is found with possible catastrophic outcomes. We describe three cases of documented left atrial 'ping-pong' shaped 'thrombus ball' within MS: a 51 year old presented with acute heart failure with a fatal outcome due to the huge round thrombus closing the tight mitral valve, a 67-year-old and a 68-year-old male who were both urgently rushed to the operating room after accidental finding. The surgery was successful and consisted on mitral valve repair and thrombectomy. Our aim is to show that gigantic unattached thrombus ball within neglected rheumatism MS is a rare life-threatening entity, thus highlighting the importance of early diagnosis of such conditions present in endemic countries. A prompt surgery should be considered to avoid an eventual embolization and sudden death.

Motivated by solar energy activities, we investigate X2 ZnGeS4 (X = Ba, Mg, Sr) semi-conductors using the density functional theory (DFT) calculations implemented in WIEN2K package and Boltzmann theory with the BoltzTraP code. Precisely, we study the electronic, the optical and the thermoelectric properties of such a family of materials using the generalized gradient approximation corrected by the Tran Balaha modified Becke-Johnson exchange potential (GGA+ TB-mBJ) scenarios. We first approach the electronic band structure which shows that the proposed materials involve an indirect band gap. Then, we discus the associated optical aspect by computing the relevant quantities including the absorption coefficient in terms of the energy function. By the help of the BoltzTraP code via the Boltzmann theory, we examine the thermoelectric properties. More precisely, we investigate the Seebeck coefficient, the thermal conductivity, the electrical conductivity, the thermoelectric power factor, and the figure of merit as functions of the chemical potential at different temperatures. Among others, we find a high absorption spectra and a good figure of merit (ZT) suggesting that such materials could be exploited for photovoltaic and thermoelectric applications.

Using density functional theory (DFT), we have investigated the structural, stability, and electronic properties of the isolated antimonene, SnTe monolayers, and the structural, stability, and optoelectronic properties of the SnTe/Sb vdW heterostructure. The results show that the atoms in these monolayers have strong cohesion and that the SnTe/Sb vdW heterostructure is stable. The indirect bandgap energies are calculated to be 1.17[Formula: see text]eV (PBE) (2.28[Formula: see text]eV (HSE)), 1.89[Formula: see text]eV (PBE) (2.93[Formula: see text]eV (HSE)), and 0.32[Formula: see text]eV (PBE) (0.89[Formula: see text]eV (HSE)), respectively. However, these physical properties can be modulated by applying biaxial strain, when the compressive and tensile biaxial strain reached more than 4%, the heterostructure turned into metal, and the electronic bandgap decreased as the tensile and compressive biaxial strain increased from 0 to 8%. The phonon dispersion exhibits imaginary modes, notably above the 6% compressive strain, exhibiting its dynamic instability. The formation energy is negative under all biaxial strain, indicating that the heterostructure is still relatively stable during biaxial strain. An enhancement of optical absorption is observed, especially near the UV-visible regions, when the biaxial strain is incorporated, especially for compressive strains of 4% and 2%, which increases the absorption capacity. Therefore, the application of the biaxial strain can improve the stability, optical, and electronic properties of the SnTe/Sb vdW heterostructure, suggesting its potential for photovoltaic and optoelectronic applications.

Background: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation status is of a major clinical significance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) management, as it guides therapeutic decision making to target patients for a better response to therapy. This implicates the introduction of EGFR mutation analysis as the standard of care for Moroccan NSCLC patients, which in itself entails the implementation of targeted methods for routine EGFR mutation analysis in our laboratories. In this study, we aimed to present 2 targeted methods for EGFR mutation identification and to determine the prevalence and spectrum of EGFR mutations in NSCLC Moroccan patients. Methods: A retrospective investigation of a cohort of 340 patients was undertaken to analyze somatic EGFR mutations in exons 18 to 21 using pyrosequencing and the IdyllaTM system. Results: Of the enrolled patients, 70.9% were males and 29.1% were females. Predominately, 92% of cases had adenocarcinoma, and 53.7% of patients self-reported a history of smoking. Overall, 73 patients (21.7%) harbored an EGFR mutation, the most prevalent of which were the exon 19 deletions (53.4%) followed by exon 21 substitutions (31%). Exon 18 mutations and exon 20 alterations occurred in 8.1% and 6.7% of the positive EGFR mutation cases, respectively. Of the analyzed cases, all of the EGFR-mutated patients had adenocarcinoma. EGFR mutation prevalence was significantly higher in females (females vs males: 38.4% vs 14.5%, P < .001) and non-smokers (non-smokers vs non-smokers: 36% vs 10.3%, P < .001). The featured pyrosequencing and the IdyllaTM system are targeted methods endowed with high sensitivity and specificity as well as other compelling characteristics which make them great options for routine EGFR mutation testing for advanced NSCLC patients. Conclusion: These findings underline the imperious need for implementing quick and efficient targeted methods for routine EGFR mutation testing among NSCLC patients, which is particularly useful in determining patients who are more likely to benefit from targeted therapy.

The type of relationship that can link energy with economic growth plays a major role in determining the macroeconomic policy of a country. Therefore, several studies have been carried out to derive econometric models to link energy consumption with gross domestic product (GDP). However, in these studies the energy consumption has been used in its global term, while this consumption includes all the economic sectors that use energy (residential, industry, transport, agriculture). Therefore, the objective of this work is to examine this relationship between the gross domestic product (GDP) and energy consumption but disaggregated by sector (residential, transport and industrial). And to validate our model we have taken the case of Morocco during the period 1997-2019, in order to draw the impact of each sector on economic growth. In order to test this causality, a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) is applied instead of a Vector Autoregressive Model (VAR), using the Johansen cointegration technique. The results obtained showed that in the long run energy consumption by the transportation and residential sectors has a positive impact on GDP, while that of households has a negative impact.

Spinal epidermoid cysts are rare benign tumors. The etiology can be acquired or congenital. We present a rare case of an 18-month-old girl presented 4 months ago with spontaneous intergluteal swelling fistulized to the skin and lower limbs weakness. Magnetic resonance imaging of the spine demonstrated an intradural tumor from L3 to L5 levels, isointense on T1, hyperintense on T2-weighted images with contrast enhancement after gadolinium injection without any coexistent spinal dysraphism suggested the diagnosis of the dermal sinus. The patient underwent triple-level laminectomy for biopsy and tumor resection. A pearly white tumor was encountered, with a subsequent biopsy confirming it to be an epidermoid tumor. At 6-month follow-up, the neurologic deficit was improved. Spinal epidermoid cysts are rare tumors that evolve slowly. Complete total removal is the treatment of choice.

Objectives To describe the sociodemographic, occupational and health factors that influence nurses’ recognition at work and to examine a recognition pathway model to assess the relationship between recognition at work and health-related quality of life (HRQOL), job satisfaction, anxiety and depression. Design This is a cross-sectional observational study with prospective data collection based on a self-report questionnaire. Setting University hospital centre in Morocco. Participants The study included 223 nurses with at least 1 year of practice at the bedside in care units. Measures We included the sociodemographic, occupational and health characteristics of each participant. The Fall Amar instrument was used to measure job recognition. HRQOL was measured using the Medical Outcome Study Short Form 12. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to assess anxiety and depression. Job satisfaction was measured using a rating scale (ranging from 0 to 10). Path analysis was used to examine the nurse recognition pathway model to assess the relationship between nurse recognition at work and key variables. Results The participation rate in this study was 79.3%. Institutional recognition was significantly correlated with gender, midwifery specialty and normal work schedule: β=−5.10 (−8.06, −2.14), β=−5.13 (−8.66, −1.60) and β=−4.28 (−6.85, −1.71), respectively. Significant correlations were found between recognition from superiors and gender, mental health specialisation and normal work schedule: β=−5.71 (−9.39, −2.03), β=−5.96 (−11.17, −0.75) and β=−4.04(−7.23, −0.85), respectively. Recognition from coworkers was significantly associated with mental health specialisation: β=−5.09 (−9.16, −1.01). The trajectory analysis model found that supervisor recognition had the best impact on anxiety, job satisfaction and HRQOL. Conclusions Recognition from superiors is important in maintaining nurses’ psychological health, HRQOL and job satisfaction. Therefore, managers in hospitals should address the issue of recognition at work as a potential personal, professional and organisational lever.

Double-layered LaBiCaMn2O7 perovskites were synthesized using solid-state reaction. The critical exponents were explored around its Curie temperature. The magnetic transition nature from ferromagnetic to paramagnetic states was found to be a second-order. Several methods, including the modified Arrott plot technique (MAP), the Widom scaling relation (WSR), the critical isotherm analysis (CIA), and the Kouvel-Fisher (KF), were used to examine the critical exponents. A different investigation of the critical behaviour by the use of the magnetocaloric effect was also presented. We demonstrate that it is in accordance with the investigation of the magnetization data. The values of the critical exponents (CEs) computed were consistent with those predicted by the mean field approach. On the basis of these results, one may be able to conclude that the ferromagnetic exchange interaction is a long-range order.

Background The therapeutic decision toward patients with schizophrenia is very different from one psychiatrist to another when faced with potentially similar clinical symptoms. It depends on many factors that are related to the patient’s and the doctor’s profiles, and the drug’s characteristics. To date, no study has been conducted in Morocco on the prescribing habits of psychiatrists toward patients with schizophrenia. The objectives of our survey are to identify the molecules most prescribed by psychiatrists in Morocco for patients with schizophrenia and to determine the most common therapeutic strategies. Results Our survey recruited 72 Moroccan psychiatrists. The median age was 36.5 years. 72.2% were women, and 37.5% had between 5 and 10 years of practice. More than two-thirds were practicing in the public sector in big cities. Olanzapine was an antipsychotic prescribed as first-line treatment for a patient with schizophrenia. For the majority, the most frequent combination was atypical antipsychotics with conventional neuroleptics. On the one hand, most psychiatrists reported prescribing neuroleptics long-acting injectable (neuroleptic LAIs). In the other hand, almost half of the participants had never prescribed second-generation antipsychotic long-acting injectables (SGA-LAIs). The high cost (77.8%), lack of availability of the product in certain sectors (33.3%), lack of therapeutic choice (26.4%), and lack of patient profile that could use the drug (23.6%), were among the strong reasons given for not prescribing SGA-LAIs. Conclusions The treatment decision for patients with schizophrenia differs from one clinician to the other. It depends on various factors that may be related to the psychiatrist, the patient, and to the drug.

Controlled quantum teleportation schemes require the existence of a third party acting as a teleportation controller, so that without its cooperation, quantum information of the unknown state cannot be transmitted. Here, we propose a new controlled quantum teleportation scheme to perfectly transmit an arbitrary entangled three-qubit state. In this scheme, quantum information of unknown three-qubit arbitrary state is transmitted from Alice, the sender to Bob, the remote receiver via a quantum channel consisting of two GHZ entangled states and a Bell entangled state under the supervision of Charlie, the controller. Bob can then recover the desired three-qubit arbitrary state by performing appropriate unitary Pauli transformations, and we find that our protocol works perfectly. This scheme could be quite easily extended to accurately teleport an unknown N-qubit state from Alice to Bob under Charlie’s control, using (N − 1) GHZ entangled states and a Bell entangled state.

In this work, we consider the regional averaged controllability (RAC) problem governed by a class of semilinear hyperbolic systems. We start by giving the definitions of the exact and approximate RAC systems. After that, we state the problem of RAC for semilinear systems. We propose two methods of solution: using a condition of the analytical operator to the nonlinear part of the system to characterize the optimal control via the fixed point theorem and the Hilbert Uniqueness Method (HUM) with an asymptotic condition on the nonlinear part to find the optimal control of the considered problem. Finally, we present a numerical example to show the effectiveness of the main results.