Publications by authors named "R Tahar"

Article Synopsis
  • The study examined the contamination of Betoya Bay's surface sediments by potentially toxic elements (PTEs) to determine pollution levels and sources.
  • The results showed that while PTE levels were generally low, specific sites near intense fishing and runoff showed higher concentrations, indicating localized pollution.
  • Health risk assessments revealed that beach sand is safe for adults and children, but children face a moderate to high risk of cancer from PTE exposure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study examines the concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), mercury (Hg) and zinc (Zn) in three fish species (Sardina pilchardus, Engraulis encrasicolus, Trachurus trachurus) from Betoya Bay, collected in winter and summer. Significant variations were observed between tissues (p < 0.05), with the liver being the most contaminated.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Concentrations of toxic metals (Hg, Pb, and Cd) were determined in the muscles of , , and caught from the Moulouya River of Morocco by graphite furnace (for Pb and Cd) and cold vapour (for Hg) atomic absorption spectrometry, after acid digestion. Although the concentration of metals in some species was relatively high, no health risk has been identified in comparison to the maximum limits as set by the European Commission. The order of increasing concentrations was Cd < Hg < Pb.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The human host elicits specific immune responses after exposure to various life stages of the malaria parasite as well as components of mosquito saliva injected into the host during a mosquito bite. This study describes differences in IgG responses against antigens derived from the sporozoite (PfCSP), asexual stage parasite (PfEBA175) and the gametocyte (Pfs230), in addition to an Anopheles gambiae salivary gland antigen (gSG6-P1), in two communities in Ghana with similar blood stage malaria parasite prevalence.

Methods: This study used archived plasma samples collected from an earlier cross-sectional study that enrolled volunteers aged from 6 months to 70 years from Simiw, peri-urban community (N = 347) and Obom, rural community (N = 291).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A study investigated the use of neopterin, a marker for immune activation, to assess its effectiveness in predicting outcomes for children with severe malaria in Benin.
  • While neopterin levels did not significantly differ among various severe malaria types, higher levels were linked to severe malarial anemia and associated with mortality risk.
  • The analysis showed that neopterin levels could serve as a potential biomarker for predicting fatality in patients suffering from severe falciparum malaria, with a promising accuracy indicated by the AUC-ROC value of 0.77.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF