Epidemiology of Latent Tuberculosis in Moroccan Healthcare Workers: Prevalence Patterns and Predisposing Factors.

Background: Among occupational hazards in healthcare settings, latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) ranks as a major concern, particularly threatening healthcare workers (HCWs) in nations grappling with intermediate to high tuberculosis (TB) rates. Our study was conducted in Morocco, a country characterized by widespread Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination and a moderate TB burden of 93 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2022. We examined both the prevalence of LTBI among Moroccan HCWs and its various risk factors.

Nonlinear chalcogenide optical fiber couplers.

We demonstrate chalcogenide optical fiber couplers with a power-dependent coupling coefficient. The couplers are designed and fabricated using an AsSe fiber and characterized at a wavelength of 1938 nm, leading to a critical power of 126 W, the lowest ever reported for any optical fiber coupler. These nonlinear couplers enable all-optical switching and will be useful for passive mode-locking over a wide wavelength range from the telecommunication band to the mid-infrared.

Raman and ATR-FTIR analyses of medieval wall paintings from al-Qarawiyyin in Fez (Morocco).

A multi-analytical study has been undertaken to characterise wall paintings from the al-Qarawiyyin university in Fez, dating back to the 9th century and still in activity, with the aim of identifying the pigments used and going back to the painting techniques adopted by the Moroccan craftsmen of the time. The investigation crossed Raman and ATR-FTIR structural analyses along with XRF elemental ones, as well as colorimetric measurements. The colours and shades of six representative fragments collected during a recent excavation have been examined.

Mediastinal ectopic parathyroid adenomas: diagnostic and therapeutic challenge.

Introduction: Mediastinal parathyroid adenomas are a rare condition.

Aim: Analysis of epidemiological data, clinical manifestation of mediastinal parathyroid adenoma (MPA), including imaging modalities, and therapeutic approach to this condition.

Material And Methods: A retrospective study of documented cases of mediastinal parathyroid adenoma that were managed at our Department of Thoracic Surgery of the Military Teaching Hospital Mohammed V, between January 2010 and December 2019.

Cervical hibernoma.

Hibernomas, are rare, benign tumors composed of brown fat. They can affect multiple sites, including the head, neck, trunk, and extremities. Their clinical presentation is similar to that of malignant tumors such as liposarcomas, which can lead to mismanagement.

Single-Stage Transthoracic Surgery of Right Pulmonary and Hepatic Hydatid Cysts: A Retrospective Study of Fourteen Patients.

The association of pulmonary and hepatic hydatid cysts is rare. Managing this condition with low mortality and complications is a challenge. The aim of this study is to put forward our experience in managing both sites in single-stage posterolateral thoracotomy.

Clinical and surgical analysis of lobectomy for destroyed lobe of the lung: A series of 47 patients.

Objective: Destroyed lobe of the lung is always secondary to chronic or recurrent lung infections with irreversible damage of pulmonary parenchyma. In this study, we analyzed surgical technique, post-operative complications, mortality, and long-term outcomes of patients undergoing lobectomy of pulmonary lobe destruction.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective study of 47 patients that underwent lobectomy due to a destroyed lung parenchyma between January 2010 and December 2019 were reviewed with an average follow-up period of 39 months.

Colocolic Intussusception in an Adult Patient Secondary to Caecal Adenocarcinoma.

Acute intestinal invagination is the pathology of infants and small children. Its occurrence in adults is rare, and it represents 1 to 5% of intestinal occlusions often leading to the discovery of an organic cause that may be tumor. We report the case of a 72-year-old patient admitted to the emergency room of Ibn Sina Rabat, Morocco, for intestinal occlusion.

Biomechanics of Atlas Cedar Roots in response to the Medium Hydromechanical Characteristics.

The biomechanical root flexibility in response to hydromechanical soil heterogeneity is the most determining factor of the root architecture which plays a paramount role in mycorrhizal infection and allows the seedlings to adapt to the environmental constraint. We examined the impact of five different hydromechanical medium properties (hydroponics, vermiculite, vermiculite-gravel, sawdust, and sand) on the morphology, physiology, and anatomy of seedlings at a controlled growth chamber. The growth of the seedling is strongly stimulated by the hydroponic medium through the stimulation of the aerial part dry weight and the main root length.

Tuberculous cold abscess of the chest wall: A clinical and surgical experience. Report of 16 cases(Case series).

Background: Tuberculosis is a public health problem in developing countries. Tuberculosis of the chest wall is rare and often presents as cold abscess (to differentiate from pyogenic abscess) or pseudotumoral mass whose diagnosis is difficult and often requires a surgical biopsy.

Patients And Methods: The medical series of 16 patients with cold chest wall abscess treated with surgery in association to anti-tubercular therapy were analysed retrospectively for the period of 7 years between January 2011 to December 2017 at Mohamed V Military Teaching Hospital - Rabat - Morocco.

(Spirulina) Supplementation on Laying Hens' Performance: Eggs Physical, Chemical, and Sensorial Qualities.

The present study evaluated the effects of dietary supplementation of spirulina on laying hens' performances: Eggs' physical, chemical, and sensorial qualities. A total of 45 Lohman White hens, 44 weeks of age, were randomized into 3 groups of 15 birds. Hens were given 120 g/d of a basal diet containing 0% (control), 1.

A paraduodenal hernia revealed by bowel obstruction: case report and literature review.

Internal hernias are defined as the protrusion of abdominal viscera through an aperture in the intraperitoneal recesses, they are considered as a rare cause of intestinal obstruction. The paraduodenal hernias are the most common type of congenital hernia especially the left-sided ones. We report a case of a 46 year-old man presenting a left paraduodenal hernia with acute small bowel obstruction, which was firstly (preoperatively) assigned to a tumoral cause.

Malignant transformation of a spiradenoma with blaschkoïd pattern.

Eccrine spiradenoma is a benign and rare adnexal tumor originating from cutaneous eccrine sweat glands. It usually presents as a solitary lesion. It can have different presentations, including a blaschkoid arrangement which is rare.

[Basal cell carcinoma: about a historical case].

We here report the case of an 80 year old man, with clear phototype, villager, residing in one of the most isolated places in our kingdom, located at an altitude above 2400 metres. During humanitarian aid, he presented with ulcero-necrotic tumor infiltrating the nasal root and the right orbit with total destruction of the right eye. The patient reported that the lesion had progressed for two and a half years from a small bleeding papule on the nasal root with orbital spread.

[Atypical and revelatory livedo reticularis!?].

Atherosclerosis is a frequent and life-threatening complication in elderly patients with multimorbidity as well as with one or multiple cardiovascular risk factors. It can affect all the arterial trunks of the lower limbs and can cause obliterative arterial disease of the lower limbs. We here report the case of an elderly patient with ecchymotic livedo reticularis of the right thigh revealing ipsilateral obliterative arterial disease of the lower limb with septic loosening of total hip prosthesis.

[A rare and atypical cause of scrotal ulcerations].

Salmonelloses are bacterial infections of the faecal peril; they are endemic in some regions of the world. They can colonize almost any organ hematogenously, hence, severe forms may be observed. We report a case of typhoid fever in a 16-year old young adolescent with no medical history, sexually transmitted diseases or sexual intercourses, presenting with necrotic scrotal ulcerations evolving over the past 3 weeks in a context of fever, diarrhoea, weight loss and alteration of the general state.

Heat waves in Portugal: Current regime, changes in future climate and impacts on extreme wildfires.

Heat waves (HW) can have devastating social, economic and environmental impacts. Together with long-term drought, they are the main factors contributing to wildfires. Surprisingly, the quantitative and objective analysis leading to the identification and characterization of HW in current and future climate conditions as well as its influence on the occurrence of extreme wildfires (EW) has never been performed for Portugal and are the main objectives of this study.

Negligent and intentional fires in Portugal: Spatial distribution characterization.

In the European context, Portugal is the country with the highest number of wildfires and the second with more burnt area. The vast majority of these events are of human origin, whether caused by accident, negligence or arson, reason why it is particularly important to know the regime of these wildfires for forest and wildfire management activities. The study focuses on the most recent years of 2001-2014, when wildfire ignition's coordinates are known, and aims to identify and characterize the wildfire incidence spatial patterns of variability as well as their main drivers.