Since the 1970s, Azilal and Ouarzazat have been the main foci for human cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Morocco. The sandflies along the main roads linking these two foci to Marrakech city, which is considered to be an area at risk of CL, were recently surveyed. Among the 872 sandflies collected, in June 2005, on the Marrakech-Ouarzazat road, Sergentomyia fallax was the most common species (36.1%), followed by Phlebotomus sergenti (21.1%), P. papatasi (14.2%), S. minuta (11.7%), P. longicuspis (5.5%), P. alexandri (5.4%), P. perniciosus (4.1%), P. ariasi (0.9%), S. africana (0.6%) and S. dreyfussi (0.3%). On the Marrakech-Azilal road, however, S. minuta was by far the most prevalent species (63.5% of the 1983 sandflies that were collected in August 2006), followed by S. fallax (12.9%), P. perniciosus (12.4%), P. sergenti (4.0%), P. longicuspis (3.0%), P. papatasi (2.8%), S. dreyfussi (1.1%) and P. alexandri (0.2%). The distribution of potential vectors along the two transects, according to altitude and bioclimate, was explored.

Background. In recent years, the treatment of tuberculosis has been threatened by the increasing number of patients with drug resistance, especially rifampicin resistance, which is the most effective first-line antibiotic against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Methods. We performed a systematic review of the literature by searching the PubMed database for studies of rifampicin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isolates from Moroccan patients, published between 2010 and 2020. The aim of this review was to quantify the frequency of the most common mutations associated with rifampicin resistance, to describe the frequency at which these mutations co-occur. Identified studies were critically appraised according to the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) tool. Results. 6 studies met our inclusion criteria. Results show that 99.36% of MTB isolates had a single-point mutation, and the most commonly mutated codon of rpoB gene is 531 with 70.33% of phenotypically resistant strains. However, 10.38% of MTB strains phenotypically resistant to RIF did not exhibit any mutation in the rpoB gene. Conclusion. Identification of a resistance-associated mutation to rifampicin can be a good marker of drug-resistant TB, but lack of a mutation in the target sequence must be interpreted with caution.

Introduction despite major strides in the prevention, diagnosis and management of tuberculosis, the disease continues to be one of the most pressing global health problems, particularly in developing countries. The purpose of the present study was to describe the epidemiological profile among tuberculosis patients in Laayoune, Morocco. Methods a retrospective study was conducted among tuberculosis patients (having extrapulmonary tuberculosis and pulmonary tuberculosis), registered in the diagnosis of tuberculosis and respiratory diseases reference center of Laayoune, between January 2017 and May 2018. Demographic characteristics, clinical presentation of TB and apparent risk factors of the disease were obtained from the medical case records of all patients. Results during the study period, a total of 211 patients (125 males and 86 females) with tuberculosis were enrolled. The majority of cases (93.40%) were newly diagnosed and the segment with the pulmonary tuberculosis was 63.50%. The highest disease burden was found in the ≥15 year age group (92.40%; p=0.022). Men were more frequently affected by pulmonary tuberculosis (70.90%), while extrapulmonary tuberculosis was more commonly detected in women (61%) (p<0.0001). The most common sites of extrapulmonary disease were lymphatic (32.47%), pleural (16.88%) and spinal tuberculosis (15.58%). HIV infection and smoking seem to be the most important risk factors that affect host defense against TB infection. Conclusion the results obtained in tuberculosis patients in Laayoune, Morocco, showed that active tuberculosis was associated with risk factors such as sex, age and smoking.

Apricot is among the most important fruits in Morocco. This study aimed to determine the main physical, physicochemical, and biochemical quality criteria of three principal apricot cultivars in Morocco, namely, “Maoui,” “Canino,” and “Delpatriarca.” Different physicochemical and biochemical methods have been improved and adapted for the assessment of the apricot’s quality. Fruit of “Canino” has shown a good organoleptic quality due to interesting biometrics, richness of carotenoids (up to 113.67 μg of β-carotene g−1 of fresh weight (FW)), and an important content of soluble solids (SS) that reached 17.20 °Bx. “Delpatriarca” is rich in organic acids (27.35 g/kg FW for total acids) while “Maoui” has high water content (83.77%) and a SS content of 16.03 °Bx. The association of the total acidity and soluble solids determination with the use of the HPLC for determining the organic acids was very practical and effective in determining the organoleptic quality of the fruit. High correlations were detected between several attributes. In addition, an important relationship between total carotenoids concentration and color parameters (L ∗ a ∗ b ∗ ) demonstrated that these parameters are good for apricot quality and ripening indices. The obtained results also revealed the presence of a high variability among the quality criteria of the three apricot cultivars. These characteristics could be useful for promoting the consumption of the “Maoui” as fresh fruits and the use of “Canino” and “Delpatriarca” for industry derivatives products. The results could also be useful for new apricot breeding program among different eco-geographical groups of the Mediterranean region.

Olive mill wastewaters (OMWW) are a significant source of potential or existing environmental pollution in the Mediterranean countries. Treatment and reuse of OMWW present significant challenges, both due to the nature of olive oil production (seasonal and concentration in a small scale) and due to the characteristics of the wastewater (high chemical oxygen demand (COD) and high phenolic content). In the present work, experiments of different pretreatment methods were undertaken and compared in order to select the most adequate process to be applied before biological treatment of OMWW. In fact, three different pretreatments were tested and compared: two different coagulants (alginate and Kim2120) and electrocoagulation (EC) process. At the second stage, biological treatment (using whiterot fungus) was investigated. Tests were conducted with raw OMWW and with OMWW diluted in 50% tap water and adjusted to a neutral pH with lime. The raw effluent presents high COD (178 g O 2 l À1 ), about 6.4 g l À1 of total suspended solids (TSS), a high conductivity (29 mS cm À1 ), acidic pH 4.8, and turbidity of 90 NTU. Results show that after 90 min of EC process, using 15 V/m 2 voltage, a maximum of 49% of organic matter removals was achieved. The optimum removals of COD and turbidity obtained were 39 and 75%, respectively when 20 mg l À1 dose of alginate is used, especially at pH 7. Coagulation using Kim2120 at 10 mg l À1 applied on diluted OMWW showed reduction reaching 52.3% of COD and 85% of turbidity. The maximum removal of total polyphenols, tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol obtained were 60.1, 23.1, and 59.1% with lime/alginate and 64.2, 67.8, and 76.3% with lime/kim2120, respectively. Only 57% of polyphenols was removed by EC. The pretreated effluents by different physicochemical processes tested showed that the best yields were obtained with lime/kim2120. The pretreated olive mill wastewater was then treated *Corresponding author.

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Currently, research focuses on the application of newer biocoagulants products in wastewater treatment. In this study, the performance of Cactus juice to clarify Olive Mill Wastewater (OMW) was investigated by using Jar-test experimentation and assessed by physicochemical analysis of obtained supernatant: Turbidity, Total Suspended Solids (TSS), (λ465; λ395) absorbance, polyphenols (pp), Chemical Oxygen demand (COD) and Fourier-Transform-Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) on lyophilized sludge. A series of experiments were conducted to estimate the influence of various experimental parameters, such as the amounts of biocoagulants used, time, stirring speed, and pH. The study showed the optimal coagulation conditions were as follows: sample pH10; Cactus juice dose, 10% (v/v); rapid mixing time, 30 s at a speed of 150 rp/min. Under these conditions, the overall removals of 74% for COD, 93% for Turbidity and 51% for polyphenols were achieved. As referring to the FTIR analysis, the cactus juice of Opuntia spp. operates predominantly through an adsorption interparticle bridging coagulation mechanism. These results are encouraging in the context of developing a low-cost technology and eco-friendly approach for the effective management of OMW.

Olive mill wastewaters (OMWW) cause a recurrent environmental pollution problem. Treatment and reuse of olive mill wastewater (OMWW) presents significant challenges both due to the nature of olive oil production (seasonal and small scale) and due to the characteristics of the wastewater (high chemical oxygen demand (COD) and high phenolic content in the organic fraction of OMWW principally responsible for the phytotoxicity and microbial growth inhibitory effects of the effluent). In the present work the combined pretreatment of actual olive mill wastewaters by electrocoagulation and coagulation with natural organic coagulant, such as TNN and Kim 2212, and the biological purification, was investigated. Tests were conducted with raw OMWW and diluted with tap water at pH neuter adjusted by adding lime coagulant with chemical oxygen demand (COD) contents of 178 g d'O2.l-1, total suspended solids (TSS) of 6,4 g/L, Conductivity (mS.cm-1) of 29, pH of 4,8 and turbidity of 50 NTK. The optimum removal of COD, turbidity and total polyphenolic was respectively 38,39 % , 74,45 % and 60%. This results was obtained with TNN coagulation at pH (7) and 20 mg/l of the coagulant . The maximum organic matter removals by electrocoagulation (56.76%) processes was achieved after 90 min, by using 15V/m² voltage kept constant for each run at initial pH of the OMWW (4,4). Olive mill wastewater (OMWW) was then treated aerobically with fungi. The results show that the fungus is capable of reducing chemical oxygen demand 68% and 75% for the diluted OMWW at 50 % treated by lime and lime/KIM 2120 respectively, after only 5 days of growth. Neutral pH seems supported aerobic treatment.