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Ugali is a thick porridge that is one of the popular staple foods in East Africa. Traditional methods of ugali preparation, cooking, and consumption are described. Firewood has been used as the primary energy source followed by charcoal. In East Africa, electricity grids have expanded and reached a wider network, which has opened opportunities for electric cooking to domestic consumers, especially in urban that was previously dominated by charcoal, which is in scarce supply due to government regulations on environmental conservation. In this project, the smart ugali cooker was designed and developed to automate the process of cooking ugali in households which is faster, safer, and healthier. The smart Ugali cooker is an automated kitchen appliance designed to boil the mixture of water and maize flour into a dough mixture referred to as ugali. It consists of a driving motor, stirrer, flour dispenser, heat source, a cooking pan, a temperature sensor that measures the temperature of the boiling water in the pan, and the control system (Arduino board). The device has basic units that are a dispenser, stirring unit, electronic control unit, pan, and electric heater. These units were fabricated and integrated to form the complete cooking device. Thereafter, the Arduino board was programmed to control the cooking process. Cooking experiments were conducted, on the cooking duration and the texture of ugali based on water to flour ratio. The results showed that ugali was cooked after ten minutes and the quality was good for consumption. In recommendation, the rightful flour to water ratio must be applied to obtain the desired texture of ugali.

El propósito de este trabajo es esclarecer la visión del / de lo marroquí en la novela Rómpase en caso de incendio del escritor judío-venezolano Isaac Chocrón Serfaty, un descendiente de inmigrantes sefardíes originarios de Marruecos, en el marco de una lectura del orientalismo hispanoamericano caracterizado por el lastre de la apropiación de representaciones discursivas euro-céntricas de Oriente, que se prolonga más allá de la tradición literaria del modernismo.

In recent years, the town of Settat has seen a considerable industrial growth, which has resulted in increased environmental pollution. This includes pollution by household and industrial wastewaters, which are released into the Boumoussa River without any preliminary treatment. The river valley crosses the community of Mzamza 8 km to the north of the town. Years of drought forced members of the community to use this polluted ground water for irrigation and put themselves and the environment at risk.The aim of this study was to determine the physicochemical and metal profile of Settat wastewaters and to assess their impact on the water table. The second objective was to investigate the genotoxic potential of wastewater on human peripheral blood lymphocytes in vitro, using the micronucleus test and cellular proliferation index.This study demonstrated significant pollution of Boumoussa valley groundwater and of the local wells. Sampled water induced a clear increase in the frequency of micronucleated cells and a lower cell proliferation in human peripheral blood lymphocytes in vitro. Nagli industrijski razvoj u gradu Settatu posljednjih je godina rezultirao povećanim one _išćenjem okoliša, osobito putem otpadnih voda iz kućanstava i industrije. Te se otpadne vode bez ikakve prethodne obrade odlažu u dolinu rijeke Boumoussa na podru _ju zajednice Mzamza, 8 km sjeverno od grada. Uzastopne sušne sezone lokalnoj su zajednici nametnule potrebu za uporabom tih voda za navodnjavanje, _ime su i zajednica i okoliš postali izloženi povećanim rizicima od one _išćenja tla i izvora podzemnih voda. Svrha ovog istraživanja bila je provesti fizikalno-kemijsku karakterizaciju i utvrđivanje sadržaja metala u otpadnim vodama grada Settata te procijeniti njihove u _inke na gornji sloj podzemnih voda. Ujedno je istraživan genotoksi _ni potencijal otpadnih voda u uvjetima in vitro na limfocitima periferne krvi _ovjeka primjenom mikronukleusnog testa i proliferacijskog indeksa. Istraživanje je potvrdilo visok stupanj one _išćenja vodâ u dolini Boumoussa, kao i vodâ iz bunara smještenih u neposrednoj blizini. Štetni su u _inci one _išćenja potvrđeni i na osnovi povišene u _estalosti stanica s mikronukleusima te snižene vrijednosti proliferacijskog indeksa u limfocitima periferne krvi u uvjetima in vitro.

Background Water stress is one of the most adverse conditions that may affect growth, and synthesis of essential oils in aromatic and medicinal plants. To overcome these climatic conditions, mycorrhiza is an adaptation strategy developed by plants to help them cope with these adverse conditions. For this purpose, we studied the influence of mycorrhizal fungi ( Glomus intraradices ) and water stress on the growth of basil plants ( Ocimum gratissimum L), the yield of essential oils, and the abundance of glandular hairs. Results The analyses show that AMF increases the yield of oils with a maximum recorded in stressed mycorrhizal plants (0.33%) and the lowest in non-stressed non-mycorrhizal plants (0.22%). The contents of total phenolic compounds increase in non-mycorrhizal plants under stress (104% in leaves and 97% in the roots) unlike the mycorrhiza which did not stimulate the synthesis of these compounds, Moreover, the contents of chlorophyll pigments decrease with the application of stress in non-mycorrhizal plants (53%) and increase in mycorrhizal plants. The proline contents increased significantly with the application of water stress; this increase is more pronounced in non-mycorrhizal plants than mycorrhizal plants. Conclusions Water stress limits the growth and leads to a decrease in morphological parameters, this reduction is accompanied by a synthesis of several molecules in particular proline and phenolic compounds, However, the AMF stimulates growth, and drives the water status in plants at an optimal level, thus confirming the role of mycorrhizal symbiosis in plant defense against biotic and abiotic stress.

Background/Objectives: Argania spinosa L. Skeels is a Moroccan endemic plant widely used by the local population as folk medicine. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Argan fruit pulp on lipid metabolism disorders and liver steatosis in hypercaloric diet-fed mice. Methods: Animals were treated with the Argan fruit pulp extract and its fractions for 12 weeks at 100 and 200 mg Kg−1 BW daily. The analysis was conducted on lipid levels in plasma, liver, feces, and bile as well as on glycemia. The liver glutathione, malondialdehyde, and antioxidant enzyme activities were assessed. The hepatic steatosis was evaluated by measuring transaminases and alkaline phosphatase activities and examining histological sections. The polyphenol profiles were determined using HPLC-DAD. Possible underlying mechanisms in the hypolipidemic and hepatoprotective activities were predicted by molecular docking. Results: The crude extract and its aqueous fraction (rich in protocatechuic and gallic acids) significantly restored plasma lipids and glucose levels. Indeed, total cholesterol level (TCHO) was decreased in the liver but increased in bile and feces. The treatment also reduced body weight and liver and adipose tissue mass and prevented liver steatosis. The ethyl acetate fraction exhibited no effect on lipid metabolism but significantly prevented liver oxidative stress. The crude extract and its fractions appear to be nontoxic (LD50 > 5000 mg Kg−1) in mice. The phenolic acids demonstrated strong binding affinity to key targets involved in regulating lipid homeostasis, including ABCA-1, LXR, CYP7A1, HMH-CoA reductase, and PCSK-9. However, the identified flavonoids exhibited high affinities to targets involved in oxidative stress defense (SOD, CAT, and CYP2E1). Conclusions: The Argan fruit pulp, particularly its polyphenols, could be a promising natural approach for preventing cardio-metabolic diseases by improving lipid metabolism and reducing liver oxidative stress.

Background: Loquat fruit is consumed for its flavorful taste and a rich array of health-promoting compounds like phenolics, flavonoids, and carotenoids. This study aimed at the biochemical characterization of fresh juice from the Moroccan Mkarkeb variety of loquat and evaluating its effects on lipid homeostasis and liver steatosis in hyperlipidemic mice. Methods: The biochemical characterization followed AOAC methods. In vivo study involved hyperlipidemic mice fed a high-fat, high-fructose diet for 6 weeks and treated with loquat juice at 3.5 and 7 mL kg−1 or fenofibrate at 4 mg·kg−1. The concentrations of lipids in plasma, liver, adipose tissue, feces, and bile and blood glucose levels were quantified. Liver steatosis was visually examined and confirmed histologically, and liver injury markers (AST, ALT, ALP, LDH, and TB) were measured. Liver oxidative stress was assessed by measuring MDA content and antioxidative enzyme activities. Results: Our findings indicate that fresh loquat juice is poor in fat and protein and contains moderate sugars with a low energy value (40.82 ± 0.25 kcal/100 g). It is also rich in minerals, vitamin C, phenolic acids, flavonoids, and carotenoids. The juice effectively restored lipid metabolism by enhancing reverse cholesterol transport and lowering LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, and the atherogenic index. The studied juice decreases blood glucose and prevents weight gain and lipid accumulation in the liver and adipose tissue. The juice prevents lipotoxicity-induced liver injury, corrects toxicity markers, and improves the liver’s morphological and histological structures. It also reduces oxidative stress by lowering MDA and activating SOD and catalase. Conclusions: The juice holds high nutritional and medicinal value, potentially preventing lipid disorders and cardiovascular issues.

Although monitoring of BCR-ABL1 translocation has become an established practice in the management of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), the detection limit of the BCR-ABL1 transcripts needs more standardization. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical performances of a novel assay for the quantification of BCR-ABL1 fusion transcripts (e13a2 and e14a2) and ABL1 in a single reaction. This assay is based on the real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in multiplex format. In a retrospective comparative clinical study performed in a reference laboratory, RNA was extracted from 48 CML patient blood samples with various BCR-ABL1/ABL1 ratios and RT-qPCR was performed using either MAScIR assay or the RT-qPCR simplex reference assay used in routine clinical testing. The comparative clinical results showed high qualitative and quantitative concordance (correlation coefficient >0.95) between MAScIR and the reference assays. The present study illustrates the utility of MAScIR assay as a sensitive, rapid, and cost-effective quantitative device to monitor the BCR-ABL1 ratios by RT-qPCR on whole blood of diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) leukemia patients. This test could be used as an aid in the assessment of molecular response to available treatments.

Urinary bladder calculi are rarely seen in women and any history of previous pelvic surgery must, therefore, raise suspicion of an iatrogenic etiology. According to the literature, fewer than 2% of all bladder calculi occur in female subjects and, thus, their presence should provoke careful assessment of the etiology. We report one case of a fragment of Foley catheter balloon as a cause of Bladder stone in 28 years old woman. We analyzed the diagnosis, aspect and therapeutic management of this case which is the first described in literature to our knowledge.

Congenital infantile fibrosarcoma (CIFS) is a rare mesenchymal tumor that is primarily developed in the soft tissue of distal extremities and occasionally in unusual locations such as the lung and retroperitoneum. It occurs mainly in children below the age of 5 years. About 200 cases have been reported in the literature so far, very few of them in new-borns. The prognosis of this tumor is relatively good compared to adult forms. We report an unusual case of CIFS occurring in new-born mimicking an hemangioma and causing hemorrhage in the neonatal period. The tumor is located in the left arm and axilla and associated with a hand malformation. A shoulder amputation is performed after chemotherapy failure. The infant is now two-years old with no recurrence.