Effect of diet supplementation on growth and reproduction in camels under arid range conditions

Eighteen pregnant dromedary females (Camelus dromedarius) were used to determine the effect of concentrate supplement on growth and reproductive performances in peri-partum period. The females were divided into supplemented (n = 9; S) and unsupplemented (n = 9; C) experimental groups. All animals grazed, with one mature male, 7 to 8 hours per day on salty pasture rangelands. During night, they were kept in pen, where each female of group S received 4 kg per day of concentrate supplement during the last 3 months of gestation and 5 kg per day during the first 3 months post-partum. During the last 90 days of gestation daily body weight gain (DBG) was at least tenfold more important in group S than in group C (775 g vs. 72 g respectively). Supplementation affected birth weight of offspring (30.3 kg vs. 23.4 kg) and its DBG (806 g vs. 430 g) in group S and group C respectively. During the post-partum period, females in group S gained in weight (116 g per day) whereas females in group C lost more than 200 g per day. The mean post-partum interval to the first heat and the percentage of females in heat were 29.5 day and 44.4/ vs. 41.2 day and 71.4/ for the C and S groups, respectively. We conclude that under range conditions, dietary supplementation of dromedary during late pregnancy stage and post-partum period improves productive and reproductive parameters

Power Flow Calculations by Deterministic Methods and Artificial Intelligence Method

In this paper, we will present different methods for Power Flow Calculations. First, we will describe the deterministic methods; which are Gauss-Seidel (GS) and Newton-Raphson (NR) methods, in addition to that, we will use also a Newton based method Fast Decoupled Load Flow (FDLF). Second, we have the Artificial intelligence method Neural Network (NN). Matlab programs were developed for solving Power Flow problem using GS and NR methods and regarding the ANN, we established and trained artificial neural networks models for computing voltage magnitudes and voltage phase angles. We used these methods to solve the Power Flow problem of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 14 bus system. The results that we obtained were presented in graphs at the end of the paper

A general wavelet-based profile decomposition in the critical embedding of function spaces

We characterize the lack of compactness in the critical embedding of functions spaces $X\subset Y$ having similar scaling properties in the following terms : a sequence $(u_n)_{n\geq 0}$ bounded in $X$ has a subsequence that can be expressed as a finite sum of translations and dilations of functions $(\phi_l)_{l>0}$ such that the remainder converges to zero in $Y$ as the number of functions in the sum and $n$ tend to $+\infty$. Such a decomposition was established by G\'erard for the embedding of the homogeneous Sobolev space $X=\dot H^s$ into the $Y=L^p$ in $d$ dimensions with $0<s=d/2-d/p$, and then generalized by Jaffard to the case where $X$ is a Riesz potential space, using wavelet expansions. In this paper, we revisit the wavelet-based profile decomposition, in order to treat a larger range of examples of critical embedding in a hopefully simplified way. In particular we identify two generic properties on the spaces $X$ and $Y$ that are of key use in building the profile decomposition. These properties may then easily be checked for typical choices of $X$ and $Y$ satisfying critical embedding properties. These includes Sobolev, Besov, Triebel-Lizorkin, Lorentz, H\"older and BMO spaces.Comment: 24 page

Hydatid Cyst of the Heart: Six Clinical Cases

Hydatidosis is a cosmopolitan disease due to Echinococcus granulosus. The hydatid cyst of the heart (HCH) occurs in 0.5 to 2% of all hydatid locations. We report of six cases of HCH surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass, done in cardiovascular surgery department at Hassan II university teaching hospital in Fez, Morocco to analyze their diagnostic and therapeutic aspects. This is a retrospective study done, from January 2012 to April 2015. Six cases of hydatid cyst of the heart were collected among 760 cardiac surgery patients, with a frequency of 0.8%. The average age was 29 years, a sex ratio of 1.5 in favour of women. The hydatid cysts (HC) were in the wall and the inter septum of the right atrium in 2 cases and in the wall of the left ventricle in 4 cases. The association with other locations were noted with three patients with lung HC, one patient with liver HC, and the other one with a brain and peritoneal location.Cardiac hydatid disease is mainly characterized by its clinical polymorphism, latency and severity of complications that are often indicative of the condition and can immediately be life-threatening. Advances in medical imaging has significantly contributed to improving its diagnosis, and echocardiography is one of the key tests for specifying the location. The CT scan, MRI contribute to the staging the disease. Hydatid serology is an important test and is necessary both for diagnostic purposes and for monitoring. Curative treatment of HCH is primarily surgical, which must be done as soon as the diagnosis is made and before the complications occur

Effect of pressure variation on the efficiency of supercritical fluid extraction of wild carrot (Daucus carota subsp. maritimus) extracts

The present study was conducted to check the comparative qualities of essential oils prepared by hydrodistillation (HD) and supercritical fluid techniques. It constitutes the first attempt to investigate the chemical composition of Daucus carota subsp. maritimus extracts using supercritical fluid technology (SFE) as an environmentally clean innovative method of extraction. The effect of pressure on the nature of extractable substances from wild carrot has been performed at a constant temperature of 50 °C and two different pressures (100 and 300 bar). The experimental results showed that pressure had a significant enhancing effect on the fluid transport properties and therefore on yield values. The extraction yield increases from 1.167 to 2.986% while increasing pressure. The chemical compositions of the essential oils prepared by HD and SFE were analyzed on the basis of gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC–MS). Thus, we noticed that all analyzed samples were enriched in geranyl acetate and β‑bisabolene, and that the quantities of different identified substances were extremely sensitive to the extraction method and to the pressure variation in case of SFE

Uncommon mimics of appendicitis: Giant mucocele

Appendiceal mucocele is an infrequent but well recognized entity that can present with a variety of clinical syndromes or can be asymptomatic and discovered incidentally. A 55 years old patient was admitted in the emergency department for acute right lower quadrant pain. A diagnosis of appendicitis was made. At operation an appendiceal mucocele was found. An appendectomy was performed. The diagnosis of appendiceal mucocele is an important one in that it can be associated with malignancies and other serious gastrointestinal, ovarian, and urological complications

Chirurgie de l’aorte ascendante : à propos de 20 cas opérés

Objectifs : Nous rapportant dans cette étude, l’expérience de notre service en matière de la chirurgie de l’aorte ascendante (CAA), les différentes techniques chirurgicales ainsi que nos résultats comparés à ceux de la littérature.Méthode et patients : Il s’agissait d’une étude rétrospective et descriptive sur la CAA, entre septembre 2010 et février 2020. Elle concernait tous les patients ayant été opérés pour dissection ou anévrysme de l’aorte ascendante.Résultats : 12 dissections et 8 anévrysmes de l’aorte ont été colligés avec une fréquence de 0,02%. le sex-ratio :1.5, l’âge moyen : 52.6 ans. Une douleur thoracique et un souffle d’insuffisance aortique étaient retrouvés chez tous les patients. L’ETT a objectivé une FE moyenne du VG à 48,7%. L’angioscanner thoracique a révélé dans 12 cas une DAA de type A et dans 8 cas un AAA. 16 patients ont bénéficié d’une intervention de Bentall modifié. Dans 2 cas, la cure a consisté au remplacement de l’aorte ascendante par un tube de Dacron sus-coronaire préservant ainsi le sinus de Valsalva et la valve aortique. Dans 2 cas, un remplacement de la valve aortique et de l’aorte ascendante a été réalisé en préservant le sinus de Valsalva.Conclusion :Compte tenu de nos résultats qui restent acceptables comparés à ceux de la littérature, nous restons partisans du traitement de la pathologie chirurgicale de l’aorte ascendante par Bentall modifié ou par mise en place d’un tube sus coronaire lorsque le sinus de Valsalva et les sigmoïdes aortiques sont intactes.

Acinos alpinus and Ziziphora hispanica: Phenolic Profile, Antioxidant and Antibacterial Properties of Hydromethanolic Extracts from Aerial Parts

Acinos alpinus and Ziziphora hispanica belonging to the Lamiaceae family are well-known for their biological properties. The phenolic composition was characterized using HPLC coupled to photodiode array and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The antioxidant capacity was assessed by 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical and ferric reducing antioxidant power assays. The antibacterial activity was evaluated by disc-diffusion and broth micro-dilution methods. A total of 53 phenolic compounds were identified in both extracts, with the predominance of caffeoylquinic acid isomers with a content of 2.09 mg/g in A. alpinus extract, while coumarylquinic acid isomers with a content of 17.33 mg/g was determined in Z. hispanica extract. The Acinos alpinus extract displayed the highest radical scavenging activity (IC50 DPPH = 3.226±0.035 mg/mL) and reducing power (EC50 FRAP = 3.792±0.001 mg/mL), followed by Z. hispanica extract with IC50 DPPH value of 7.265±0.209 mg/mL, and EC50 FRAP value of 24.689± 0.106 mg/mL. Furthermore, both A. alpinus and Z. hispanica extracts exhibited a bactericidal effect against six pathogenic bacteria with a MIC value from 4.16 to 33.33 mg/mL. On the basis of the results achieved, the aerial parts of Moroccan Acinos alpinus and Ziziphora hispanica might be used as natural agents in the food and pharmaceutical field

Evaluation of Meskat System Functionality as Water Harvesting at Wadi Hamdoun Watershed (Sousse, Tunisia) Using the Geographic Information System

In the Sahel of Tunisia, areas were characterized by complex landforms like hills and depression with active and alternation of the geographical processes between bare hilly limestones and fertile soils. These landforms consist of the Meskat system. It represents the commonly used micro-catchment of water harvesting for olive tree groves as traditional soil and water conservation technique. However, in recent years, this system seems to be increasingly neglected. The present study aims to determine the current functionality of the Meskat system in the watershed of Wadi Hamdoun through the use of a geographic information system (GIS) as well as field’s investigation. Results reveal the presence of areas that do not respect the standards corresponding to the Meskat system implementation, and which most likely are the principal cause of its decreasing performance degree. For instance, the main reasons for the system dysfunction due to the urban area expansion, the densification of the roads network, and the planting of impluvium. The urbanization is manifested in the sub-basins of Wadi Ed Diq (WD) and Wadi Haj Abid (WHA), with affected areas reaching 1.86 and 1.05 km2 respectively. In addition, satellite images show that the impluvium of Borjin Sub-catchment and Bellani Wadi Sub-basin are being used for growing olives, with planted area of around 0.81 and 0.56 km2 respectively. Moreover, the destruction of Mankaas is most felt in Hmadet El Borijin and Wadi Bin Shahed sub-basins, with coverage area of 0.77 and 0.66 km2, respectively