Search

This study aims to determine the prevalence of cervical dysplasia and its relationship to biological and demographic characteristics. A transversal observational study is based on 236 conventional smears collected in Algeria. A Pap smear was taken, fixed and then stained using Papanicolaou staining. The interpretation of the results was done using the Bethesda 2014 system. Some of the patients with abnormal smears had colposcopy and, if necessary, a biopsy. Other patients with low-grade lesions were recommended to have their smears resumed 6 months or 1 year later. Cytological analysis was performed for 236 patients. Among those, 94 patients had abnormal smears, 45 cases with ASCUS (19.06 %), LSIL was reported in 36 cases (15.25%), AGC was observed in 6 cases (2.54 %), HSIL in 4 cases (1.69 %), only 1(0.42 %) case observed in SCC and 2 cases in ADK (0.84 %). Also, 34 low-grade patients underwent cytological examination 6 months to 1 year later to determine the persistence, regression or progression of low-grade dysplasia. During follow-up, persistence was observed in 35.29% (n= 12) of cases, progression to high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) was detected in 5.88% (n= 2), while 52.88% (n= 20) of the patients experienced regression. Moreover, the frequency of Pap smear positivity correlated with the duration of OC use, the duration of marriage and parity. In this study, the prevalence of abnormal smear was 39.84 % for cytology. The colposcopy and histology confirmed just 3.33%. Meanwhile, these results highlight the importance of early screening of this pathology.

Ornaments such as beads are among the earliest signs of symbolic behavior among human ancestors. Their appearance signals important developments in both cognition and social relations. This paper describes and presents contextual information for 33 shell beads from Bizmoune Cave (southwest Morocco). Many of the beads come as deposits dating to ≥142 thousand years, making them the oldest shell beads yet recovered. They extend the dates for the first appearance of this behavior into the late Middle Pleistocene. The ages and ubiquity of beads in Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites in North Africa provide further evidence of the potential importance of these artifacts as signals of identity. The early and continued use of Tritia gibbosula and other material culture traits also suggest a remarkable degree of cultural continuity among early MSA Homo sapiens groups across North Africa.

In this work, we considered the concentrations of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides (namely the 40K, 210Pb, 226Ra, 137Cs, 234Th, 228Th and 228Ra) in sediments from Moroccan coast areas by considering estuaries (Sebou and Loukkos) and marine ecosystems (M'diq Bay and three Lagoons: Moulay Bousselham, Sidi Moussa and Oualidia). Sediment samples were analyzed using Gamma spectrometry. The objective was to establish radioactivity levels in Moroccan coastal areas as well as radiological risk assessment by using the ERICA tool. The software allows the estimation of dose rates to biota (a set of reference organisms by default). The highest activity concentrations were found in sediment samples of Sidi Moussa Lagoon, possibly due to the anthropogenic activities, while the lowest levels were reported in Sebou estuary, attributed most probably to a flooding event that occurred in the same year of sampling. Also, 210Pb and 40K have the most significant concentrations, while 137Cs has the lowest concentrations with a great resemblance with similar works. The World Wide Average concentration of 226Ra was exceeded in the three lagoons and that of 40K only exceeded at Sidi Moussa Lagoon. The application of ERICA tool allowed the assessment of total dose rates that are mainly due to internal exposure with strong contribution of 226Ra mainly for phytoplankton in the case of marine ecosystems and insect larvae, mollusc-bivalve, mollusc-gastropod and zooplankton for estuary ecosystems. The total dose rates were far lesser than the admissible dose rate proposed by ERICA tool (10 μGy h-1) and, therefore, unlikely to cause harmful effects to organisms., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Laboratories from 14 countries (with different levels of expertise in radionuclide measurements and 210 Pb dating) participated in an interlaboratory comparison exercise (ILC) related to the application of 210 Pb sediment dating technique within the framework of the IAEA Coordinated Research Project. The laboratories were provided with samples from a composite sediment core and were required to provide massic activities of several radionuclides and an age versus depth model from the obtained results, using the most suitable 210 Pb dating model. Massic concentrations of Zn and Cu were also determined to be used for chronology validation. The ILC results indicated good analytical performances while the dating results didn't demonstrate the same degree of competence in part due to the different experience in dating of the participant laboratories. The ILC exercise enabled evaluation of the difficulties faced by laboratories implementing 210 Pb dating methods and identified some limitations in providing reliable chronologies., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Two sediment cores were collected from the Oualidia lagoon, on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, and analyzed for 210 Pb and 137 Cs activity by gamma spectrometry. The 210 Pb profiles were characterized by high activity at specific depths in each core, which were attributed to substantial increases in atmospheric 210 Pb input to the sediment. A modified CRS model was applied to develop age-depth relations (chronologies) for the cores and calculate sediment accumulation rates, taking into account changing unsupported 210 Pb delivery and specifying the year when the increase began. Calculated 210 Pb inventories (activity/area) and fluxes (activity/area/time) depend strongly on sedimentation rates and were much higher than mean values in similar coastal systems worldwide. We attempted to use 137 Cs as a time marker to support the modified CRS chronologies for both cores. The 137 Cs profiles, however, were affected by post-depositional cesium migration in the sediment which made it difficult to identify the 1963 atmospheric bomb-testing peak, especially in the core with low sedimentation rate. We conclude that the high activities of 210 Pb detected at specific depths in the Oualidia lagoon sediment cores are a consequence of decay of radioactive 222 Rn, which displayed periodic high concentrations in the overlying atmosphere.

The present study evaluates the distribution of metals over the last 100 years in the Oualidia lagoon by examining their concentrations in the sediment cores. The samples were analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Activities of 210 Pb, 226 Ra, and 137 Cs were determined by gamma-ray spectrometry for establishing the age-depth relationships throughout the sediment cores by applying conventional models. The results indicated that the study area is contaminated by As and Cd revealing a detectable anthropogenic input of occurring metals as a consequence of the continuous development of human activities around the lagoon since 1950. The enrichment factor calculated for each layer of the three cores revealed that the studied sediments present no enrichment by Pb, K, and Mn; minor enrichment by Zn, Cr, Co, Cu, V, and Ni; and a moderately to severe enrichment by As and Cd. The pollution load index values increase from the bottom to the top of cores, and ranged from 0.9 to 2.8, which indicates levels of pollutants ranging from background to relatively high concentrations in the investigated sediments.