Search

Moroccan soft power in sub-Saharan Africa stands out after an absence that lasted three decades. Today, this soft power is only the extension of South-South solidarity and win-win cooperation with the aim of strengthening economic, diplomatic and social relations giving Moroccan companies access to a market of 1.2 billion people. Individually the countries of sub-Saharan Africa are small, these countries must work together to be more visible on the international scene. In this article, we are going to try to highlight the different aspects of Moroccan economic diplomacy in sub-Saharan Africa, going through the study of the Moroccan Sahara file and finally by studying a concrete example of the OCP as a leader on the African continent.

McGill Journal of Medicine (MJM) MedTalks is a Podcast series where members of the medical and health science communities from McGill are interviewed on topics related to career, research, advocacy and more. In season 2, we are opening up the conversation to members of the academic community beyond McGill University. The aim of MedTalks is to open a space where experienced professionals and researchers can share information and advice for trainees in healthcare and medical sciences. In this episode, McGill doctoral candidate and MJM Editor and Podcast member, Meryem Talbo, interviews four guest-experts on the topic of do-it-yourself (DIY) automated insulin delivery (AID) systems for people living with type 1 diabetes, with the aim of demystifying this novel and promising technology. The panel includes Kate Farnsworth, a patient-advocate and founder of an online DIY AID community of over 30,000 people; Dr. Ilana Halpern, an endocrinologist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, with over 10 years of experience in the field; Dr. Maha Lebbar, an endocrinologist/diabetologist and current M.Sc. candidate at the University of Montreal with special interests in new technologies for type 1 diabetes; and Dr. Zekai Wu, a physician and current postdoctoral fellow at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM) and McGill University, who introduced the DIY AID system into China and is currently working on new type 1 diabetes technologies. This conversation covers the development of DIY AID technologies, their availability and accessibility to people living with type 1 diabetes, as well as the legality and regulatory frameworks that underlie their use. The show notes include a glossary of terms, links to publications, images, and videos referenced in the episode, and a transcript of Meryem Talbo’s conversation with the guest panel.

Aims: The prevalence and associations of overweight and obesity in Canadian adult people living with type 1 diabetes (PWT1D) are poorly documented. In a cohort of PWT1D patients, this study assesses (i) overweight and obesity frequencies and associated PWT1D clinicodemographic characteristics, (ii) diabetes characteristics, and (iii) the use of noninsulin adjunctive agents. Materials and Methods: Cross‐sectional analysis of self‐reported data from the BETTER registry: 1091 adult PWT1D (aged 44.4 ± 15.0 years; 32% HbA1c<7% [53 mmol/mol]) classified by BMI classes: underweight combined with normal weight, overweight, or obesity. Bivariate analyses were used to identify associations between BMI classes, diabetes characteristics, complications, and treatments. Results: Overweight and obesity affected 34.6% and 19.8% of participants. Compared to underweight + normal weight, PWT1D with overweight/obesity was associated with male sex, higher age, lower education level, longer diabetes duration, and higher total insulin doses and use of cardiorenal therapies (all p < 0.001). Compared to other PWT1D, those living with obesity reported higher HbA1c (p < 0.05), less frequent hypoglycemia (p < 0.05), more cardiovascular diseases (p < 0.003), retinopathy, neuropathy, depression treatment as well as noninsulin adjunctive agent use (all p < 0.001). Logistic regression showed that living with overweight/obesity was associated with male sex, being treated for cardiorenal therapies, depression, diabetes duration, and total daily insulin doses. Conclusions: Overweight or obesity affects over half of adult PWT1D in the Canadian BETTER registry and is associated with higher HbA1c levels, higher total daily insulin doses, more chronic diabetes complications and noninsulin adjunctive agent use, a worse cardiometabolic profile, and lower hypoglycemia frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Infesting nearly 50% of the world's population, Helicobacter pylori are thought to cause peptic ulcers, as well as gastric adenocarcinoma. Several diagnostic methods are available to detect this bacterium; however, at least two must be used together for an accurate diagnosis. This study evaluated the use of rapid urease test for diagnosis of H. pylori infection in a pediatric population. Materials and Methods: Five gastric biopsies were taken from children during a 2-year period for the purpose of histological, molecular, bacteriological culture, and rapid urease testing. Results: Among 83 children, 38 were male, and 45 were female with an age ranging of 2 to 15 years. The infected group represented 31%. The rapid urease test had a sensitivity of 88.5%, a negative predictive value of 94%, a specificity of 84.2%, and a positive predictive value of 72%. Conclusion: A rapid urease test may be appropriate for ruling out H. pylori infection after a negative result. The positive results however, may be confirmed by a second invasive test.

A novel reconfigurable slotted leaky-wave antenna (LWA) based on a substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) with a fixed-frequency beam-steering capability is presented in this paper. For improved compactness, the structure is based on a SIW technology with rectangular slots fed by associated coupling with plated-through holes (PTH).This represents a new feeding method for etched slots in SIW antennas. Each via is loaded with a pin diode on both sides frontend of the waveguide. The pin diodes are tunable by adjusting the DC bias voltage, which results in beam scanning at a fixed frequency of around 27 GHz. Thus an electronically controlled steerable SIW antenna has been designed and experimentally verified that the radiation angle varies from -33° to +33°.

Many rodents, including most populations of arctic lemmings (genus Dicrostonyx and Lemmus), have cyclic population dynamics. Among the numerous hypotheses which have been proposed and tested to explain this typical characteristic of some terrestrial vertebrate communities, trophic interactions have often been presented as the most likely drivers of these periodic fluctuations. The possible role of parasites has, however, only seldom been assessed. In this study, we genetically measured the prevalence of two endoparasite taxa, eimerians and cestodes, in 372 faecal samples from collared lemmings, over a five year period and across three distant sites in Northeast Greenland. Prevalence of cestodes was low (2.7% over all sites and years) and this taxon was only found at one site (although in 4 out of 5 years) in adult hosts. By contrast, we found high prevalence for eimerians (77.7% over all sites and years), which occurred at all sites, in every year, for both age classes (at the Hochstetter Forland site where both adult and juvenile faeces were collected) and regardless of reproductive and social status inferred from the characteristics of the lemming nests where the samples had been collected. Prevalence of eimerians significantly varied among years (not among sites) and was higher for juvenile than for adult lemmings at the Hochstetter Forland site. However, higher prevalence of eimerians (Pt) was only associated with lower lemming density (Nt) at one of the three sites and we found no delayed density dependence between Nt and Pt+1 to support the parasite hypothesis. Our results show that there is no clear relation between lemming density and eimerian faecal prevalence in Northeast Greenland and hence no evidence that eimerians could be driving the cyclic population dynamics of collared lemmings in this region. Keywords: Eimerians, Cestodes, Population dynamics, Faecal prevalence, Greenland, Rodent-parasites interactions

Stimulation of plant defenses by elicitors is an alternative strategy to reduce pesticide use. In this study, we examined the elicitor properties of a by-product of the industrial extraction of agar from the red alga Gelidium sesquipedale. Agar extraction process leads to the formation of an alkaline residue which is poorly valorized. This by-product has been analyzed for its chemical composition. It contains 44% minerals and, among the organic compounds, sugars are the most represented and encompass 12.5% of the dry matter. When sprayed on tomato plants, this by-product enhanced the levels of defense markers such as peroxidase or phenylalanine ammonia lyase activities. Furthermore, this treatment increased the expression levels of the pathogenesis-related gene, PR9 encoding peroxidase. A field trial conducted on grapevine revealed that spraying treatment with this by-product resulted in a reduction of the macroscopic disease symptoms induced by Plasmospora viticola, with 40 to 60% efficacy. These results indicate that this agar extraction by-product could be used as a plant defense stimulator.

The unusual association of multiple myeloma and visceral leishmaniasis has been poorly documented in the medical literature, and the presented case constitutes the first occurrence reported in Morocco. The patient, a 49-year-old man, was diagnosed with both conditions simultaneously. This rare coexistence raises intriguing questions about the underlying immunological mechanisms and interactions between the two diseases. In this particular case, the implementation of a therapeutic protocol combining specific antiparasitic treatment and chemotherapy for multiple myeloma led to promising results. The patient's progress was marked by a notable improvement in his health, highlighting the importance of an integrated approach to treating these competing conditions. This clinical case also highlights the importance of awareness and vigilance in detecting combinations of rare pathologies, paving the way for a better understanding of the complexity of concomitant diseases and more targeted treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a rare case of a patient who developed hypertriglyceridemia rarely observed in the literature, with a level of 150 g/L, identified during metabolic monitoring of her diabetes. The clinical and biological investigation made it possible to direct the diagnosis towards two main forms of hypertrigliceridemia or hyperchylomicronemia which are Familial Chylomicronemia Syndrome (FCS) and multifactorial chylomicronemia (MCM) without however being able to confirm the diagnosis given that the patient was lost to follow-up. Through this case, we explored multifactorial chylomicronemia by highlighting its distinctive characteristics compared to familial chylomicronemia, its diagnostic process, as well as the link between major hyperchylomicronemia and diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amniotic embolism is a serious complication. The symptoms associated with amniotic embolism (EA) result from the passage into the maternal circulation of fetal and amniotic material, most often during labor or in immediate postpartum. His prognosis remains gloomy. His diagnosis is difficult and his treatment is just symptomatic. We reviewed 12 files of patients with probable or autopsy-confirmed amniotic embolism.

The use of medical devices (MDs) in the field of medical imaging has always been governed by rigorous regulations, in particular the authorizations and compliance of radiological installations and premises in view of the risks generated by the ionizing radiation produced by these MDs. The regulatory bases that deal with equipment emitting ionizing radiation are diversified between those specific to the protection of the public and users of ionizing radiation and those relating to medical devices. In addition, radio-diagnostic equipment must provide all the guarantees in terms of the balance between benefits and risks. Although radiation protection is essential, materiovigilance is one of the key elements of technological monitoring and surveillance of the risks that may result from the use of these medical devices after they have been placed on the market. The Moroccan legislation has a legal arsenal in accordance with the model of the World Health Organization’s global regulatory framework for medical devices. It outlines regulations and adheres to international guidelines in the field of vigilance against ionizing radiation. However, it is necessary to move on to the specification of procedures in order to remove any ambiguity.

Given the importance of medical devices in improving health, a system of monitoring their use is necessary to ensure an acceptable benefit/risk ratio. The present study focuses on the post-marketing monitoring system, of which the aimis to develop, a national strategy for the establishment of a multidimensional vigilance system to monitor medical devices in Morocco. Methods : The study is based on a systemic review selected by the PRISMA method for the period between [2011-2021] and on the Scopus, Pubmed, Science direct and Web of science databases. Results: A preliminary analysis of the data identified some challenges such as under-reporting and lack of standardization of adverse reaction coding, standard nomenclature problem for international trade, lack of clarity of requirements for manufacturers, and insufficient regulation and significant incentives for the use of unique device identifiers. Recommendations for a more effective national system are put for ward which address the regulation and computerization of the system for the development of medical devices monitoring mechanisms.

Simulation-based metamodels or surrogate models are simplified models that capture the relationship between inputs and outputs of the simulation model. The analytical expression of metamodels is defined using a sample of input/output points obtained from the simulation model. This analytical expression is then embedded in an optimization process that usually provides solutions much faster than other simulation-based optimization techniques such as metaheuristics or mathematical modeling. The goal of this paper is to describe the simulation-based metamodeling approach and to provide a thorough review of the literature on its applications to emergency healthcare systems. For this purpose, we examine the recent literature (journals and conference proceedings) published in the last 15 years (2008–2022). Finally, we identify findings and avenues of research in simulation-based metamodeling that deserve special attention from the scientific community and allow the potential of this approach to be used for better decision-making in emergency healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The target of this study is to find an appropriate research framework on the basis of the main published works designed to resolve the scheduling issues with energy aspect consideration. Relatively, the major part of work is placed in the context when modeling scheduling is subject only to one constraint and criteria, which in reality is not constantly the case. This study is handled in the framework where job transactions are interrupted at the similar time by set of technological, environmental and especially energetic constraints that has been previously little discussed in the literature. As soon as the objective functions, constraints, models, approaches and the scheduling environments that are defined as the fundamental elements of scheduling problems resolution are determined, a literature review of the present state of the art is introduced. Then, an analysis is carried out to highlight the fundamental ideas leading to fix a future research area that still require a huge deal of attention.