NobleBlocks

Université Sultan Moulay Slimane

UniversityBeni Mellal, Béni Mellal-Khénifra, Morocco

Research output, citation impact, and the most-cited recent papers from Université Sultan Moulay Slimane (Morocco). Aggregated across the NobleBlocks index of 300M+ scholarly works.

Total works
11.2K
Citations
196.3K
h-index
109
i10-index
5.5K
Also known as
Moulay Slimane University Beni MellalSultan Moulay Slimane UniversityUniversity Sultan Moulay SlimaneUniversité Sultan Moulay Slimaneجامعة السلطان مولاي سليمان

Top-cited papers from Université Sultan Moulay Slimane

Cadmium stress in plants: A critical review of the effects, mechanisms, and tolerance strategies
Taoufik El Rasafi, Abdallah Oukarroum, Abdelmajid Haddioui, Hocheol Song +4 more
2020· Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology582doi:10.1080/10643389.2020.1835435

Cadmium accumulation in crops and the possibility of Cd entering the food chain are serious concerns for public health. This review discusses the deleterious effects of Cd in plants and the tolerance and resistance mechanisms that evolved to help mitigate cadmium toxicity. Cadmium reduces seed germination, early seedling growth, and plant biomass. It causes changes in photosynthesis, relative water content, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, and electrolyte leakage. Cadmium activates the reactive oxygen species that induce chromosomal aberrations, gene mutations, and DNA damage that affect the cell cycle and cell division. In response, plants have applied several adaptive strategies to overcome and reduce the toxic effects of Cd. The primary detoxification mechanisms are exclusion and accumulation of Cd in specific plant parts. Plants also adapt to Cd toxicity with the help of signaling pathways that regulate survival and growth under Cd stress. Other mechanisms such as synthesis of plants hormones, activation of the antioxidant system and the production of phytochelatins and proline are extremely helpful in plant tolerance to Cd. Furthermore, soil microorganisms play a crucial role toward the Cd tolerance in plants by decreasing metal phytoavailability and increasing morphological and physiological parameters of plant.

Polyphenols: food sources, properties and applications – a review
Hasna El Gharras
2009· International Journal of Food Science & Technology548doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.2009.02077.x

Summary There is currently much interest in phytochemicals as bioactive compounds of food. The roles of fruit, vegetables and red wine in disease prevention have been attributed, in part, to the antioxidant properties of their constituent polyphenols (vitamins E and C, and the carotenoids). Recent studies have shown that many dietary polyphenolic constituents derived from plants are more effective antioxidants in vitro than vitamins E or C, and thus might contribute significantly to the protective effects in vivo . Polyphenols are abundant micronutrients in our diet, and evidence for their role in the prevention of degenerative diseases is emerging. Dietary polyphenols show a great diversity of structures, ranging from rather simple molecules (monomers and oligomers) to polymers. Higher‐molecular‐weight structures (with molecular weights of ∼500) are usually designated as tannins, which refers to their ability to interact with proteins. Among them, condensed tannins (proanthocyanidins) are particularly important because of their wide distribution in plants and their contributions to major food qualities. This paper focuses on polyphenols; we illustrate their sources from food, properties and their beneficial uses.

New opportunities for agricultural digestate valorization: current situation and perspectives
Florian Monlau, Cécilia Sambusiti, Elena Ficara, A. Aboulkas +2 more
2015· Energy & Environmental Science474doi:10.1039/c5ee01633a

In the agricultural sector of many European countries, biogas production through anaerobic digestion (AD) is becoming a very fast-growing market necessitating to find novel valorizations routes for digestate.

Near real-time agriculture monitoring at national scale at parcel resolution: Performance assessment of the Sen2-Agri automated system in various cropping systems around the world
Pierre Defourny, Sophie Bontemps, Nicolas Bellemans, Cosmin Cara +4 more
2018· Remote Sensing of Environment421doi:10.1016/j.rse.2018.11.007

The convergence of new EO data flows, new methodological developments and cloud computing infrastructure calls for a paradigm shift in operational agriculture monitoring. The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission providing a systematic 5-day revisit cycle and free data access opens a completely new avenue for near real-time crop specific monitoring at parcel level over large countries. This research investigated the feasibility to propose methods and to develop an open source system able to generate, at national scale, cloud-free composites, dynamic cropland masks, crop type maps and vegetation status indicators suitable for most cropping systems. The so-called Sen2-Agri system automatically ingests and processes Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8 time series in a seamless way to derive these four products, thanks to streamlined processes based on machine learning algorithms and quality controlled in situ data. It embeds a set of key principles proposed to address the new challenges arising from countrywide 10 m resolution agriculture monitoring. The full-scale demonstration of this system for three entire countries (Ukraine, Mali, South Africa) and five local sites distributed across the world was a major challenge met successfully despite the availability of only one Sentinel-2 satellite in orbit. In situ data were collected for calibration and validation in a timely manner allowing the production of the four Sen2-Agri products over all the demonstration sites. The independent validation of the monthly cropland masks provided for most sites overall accuracy values higher than 90%, and already higher than 80% as early as the mid-season. The crop type maps depicting the 5 main crops for the considered study sites were also successfully validated: overall accuracy values higher than 80% and F1 Scores of the different crop type classes were most often higher than 0.65. These respective results pave the way for countrywide crop specific monitoring system at parcel level bridging the gap between parcel visits and national scale assessment. These full-scale demonstration results clearly highlight the operational agriculture monitoring capacity of the Sen2-Agri system to exploit in near real-time the observation acquired by the Sentinel-2 mission over very large areas. Scaling this open source system on cloud computing infrastructure becomes instrumental to support market transparency while building national monitoring capacity as requested by the AMIS and GEOGLAM G-20 initiatives.

A comparative study of decision tree ID3 and C4.5
Badr Hssina, A. Merbouha, Hanane Ezzikouri, Mohammed Erritali
2014· International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications403doi:10.14569/specialissue.2014.040203

Data mining is the useful tool to discovering the knowledge from large data. Different methods & algorithms are available in data mining. Classification is most common method used for finding the mine rule from the large database. Decision tree method generally used for the Classification, because it is the simple hierarchical structure for the user understanding & decision making. Various data mining algorithms available for classification based on Artificial Neural Network, Nearest Neighbour Rule & Baysen classifiers but decision tree mining is simple one. ID3 and C4.5 algorithms have been introduced by J.R Quinlan which produce reasonable decision trees. The objective of this paper is to present these algorithms. At first we present the classical algorithm that is ID3, then highlights of this study we will discuss in more detail C4.5 this one is a natural extension of the ID3 algorithm. And we will make a comparison between these two algorithms and others algorithms such as C5.0 and CART.

How Does Proline Treatment Promote Salt Stress Tolerance During Crop Plant Development?
Ahmed El Moukhtari, Cécile Cabassa, Mohamed Farissi, Arnould Savouré
2020· Frontiers in Plant Science395doi:10.3389/fpls.2020.01127

Soil salinity is one of the major abiotic stresses restricting the use of land for agriculture because it limits the growth and development of most crop plants. Improving productivity under these physiologically stressful conditions is a major scientific challenge, because salinity has different effects at different developmental stages in different crops. When supplied exogenously, proline has improved salt stress tolerance in various plant species. Under high-salt conditions, proline application enhances plant growth with increases in seed germination, biomass, photosynthesis, gas exchange and grain yield. These positive effects are mainly driven by better nutrient acquisition, water uptake and biological nitrogen fixation. Exogenous proline also alleviates salt stress by improving antioxidant activities, and reducing Na+ and Cl- uptake and translocation, while enhancing K+ assimilation by plants. However, which of these mechanisms operate at any one time varies according to the proline concentration, how it is applied, the plant species and the specific stress conditions as well as the developmental stage. To position salt stress tolerance studies in the context of a crop plant growing in the field, here we discuss the beneficial effects of exogenous proline on plants exposed to salt stress through well-known and more recently described examples in more than twenty crop species in order to appreciate both the diversity and commonality of the responses. Proposed mechanisms by which exogenous proline mitigates the detrimental effects of salt stress during crop plant growth are thus highlighted and critically assessed.

Burden of 375 diseases and injuries, risk-attributable burden of 88 risk factors, and healthy life expectancy in 204 countries and territories, including 660 subnational locations, 1990–2023: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023
Masayuki Teramoto, Kanyin Liane Ong, Damian Santomauro, A Bhoomadevi +4 more
2025· The Lancet379doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(25)01637-x

BACKGROUND: For more than three decades, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) has provided a framework to quantify health loss due to diseases, injuries, and associated risk factors. This paper presents GBD 2023 findings on disease and injury burden and risk-attributable health loss, offering a global audit of the state of world health to inform public health priorities. This work captures the evolving landscape of health metrics across age groups, sexes, and locations, while reflecting on the remaining post-COVID-19 challenges to achieving our collective global health ambitions. METHODS: The GBD 2023 combined analysis estimated years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 375 diseases and injuries, and risk-attributable burden associated with 88 modifiable risk factors. Of the more than 310 000 total data sources used for all GBD 2023 (about 30% of which were new to this estimation round), more than 120 000 sources were used for estimation of disease and injury burden and 59 000 for risk factor estimation, and included vital registration systems, surveys, disease registries, and published scientific literature. Data were analysed using previously established modelling approaches, such as disease modelling meta-regression version 2.1 (DisMod-MR 2.1) and comparative risk assessment methods. Diseases and injuries were categorised into four levels on the basis of the established GBD cause hierarchy, as were risk factors using the GBD risk hierarchy. Estimates stratified by age, sex, location, and year from 1990 to 2023 were focused on disease-specific time trends over the 2010-23 period and presented as counts (to three significant figures) and age-standardised rates per 100 000 person-years (to one decimal place). For each measure, 95% uncertainty intervals [UIs] were calculated with the 2·5th and 97·5th percentile ordered values from a 250-draw distribution. FINDINGS: Total numbers of global DALYs grew 6·1% (95% UI 4·0-8·1), from 2·64 billion (2·46-2·86) in 2010 to 2·80 billion (2·57-3·08) in 2023, but age-standardised DALY rates, which account for population growth and ageing, decreased by 12·6% (11·0-14·1), revealing large long-term health improvements. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) contributed 1·45 billion (1·31-1·61) global DALYs in 2010, increasing to 1·80 billion (1·63-2·03) in 2023, alongside a concurrent 4·1% (1·9-6·3) reduction in age-standardised rates. Based on DALY counts, the leading level 3 NCDs in 2023 were ischaemic heart disease (193 million [176-209] DALYs), stroke (157 million [141-172]), and diabetes (90·2 million [75·2-107]), with the largest increases in age-standardised rates since 2010 occurring for anxiety disorders (62·8% [34·0-107·5]), depressive disorders (26·3% [11·6-42·9]), and diabetes (14·9% [7·5-25·6]). Remarkable health gains were made for communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional (CMNN) diseases, with DALYs falling from 874 million (837-917) in 2010 to 681 million (642-736) in 2023, and a 25·8% (22·6-28·7) reduction in age-standardised DALY rates. During the COVID-19 pandemic, DALYs due to CMNN diseases rose but returned to pre-pandemic levels by 2023. From 2010 to 2023, decreases in age-standardised rates for CMNN diseases were led by rate decreases of 49·1% (32·7-61·0) for diarrhoeal diseases, 42·9% (38·0-48·0) for HIV/AIDS, and 42·2% (23·6-56·6) for tuberculosis. Neonatal disorders and lower respiratory infections remained the leading level 3 CMNN causes globally in 2023, although both showed notable rate decreases from 2010, declining by 16·5% (10·6-22·0) and 24·8% (7·4-36·7), respectively. Injury-related age-standardised DALY rates decreased by 15·6% (10·7-19·8) over the same period. Differences in burden due to NCDs, CMNN diseases, and injuries persisted across age, sex, time, and location. Based on our risk analysis, nearly 50% (1·27 billion [1·18-1·38]) of the roughly 2·80 billion total global DALYs in 2023 were attributable to the 88 risk factors analysed in GBD. Globally, the five level 3 risk factors contributing the highest proportion of risk-attributable DALYs were high systolic blood pressure (SBP), particulate matter pollution, high fasting plasma glucose (FPG), smoking, and low birthweight and short gestation-with high SBP accounting for 8·4% (6·9-10·0) of total DALYs. Of the three overarching level 1 GBD risk factor categories-behavioural, metabolic, and environmental and occupational-risk-attributable DALYs rose between 2010 and 2023 only for metabolic risks, increasing by 30·7% (24·8-37·3); however, age-standardised DALY rates attributable to metabolic risks decreased by 6·7% (2·0-11·0) over the same period. For all but three of the 25 leading level 3 risk factors, age-standardised rates dropped between 2010 and 2023-eg, declining by 54·4% (38·7-65·3) for unsafe sanitation, 50·5% (33·3-63·1) for unsafe water source, and 45·2% (25·6-72·0) for no access to handwashing facility, and by 44·9% (37·3-53·5) for child growth failure. The three leading level 3 risk factors for which age-standardised attributable DALY rates rose were high BMI (10·5% [0·1 to 20·9]), drug use (8·4% [2·6 to 15·3]), and high FPG (6·2% [-2·7 to 15·6]; non-significant). INTERPRETATION: Our findings underscore the complex and dynamic nature of global health challenges. Since 2010, there have been large decreases in burden due to CMNN diseases and many environmental and behavioural risk factors, juxtaposed with sizeable increases in DALYs attributable to metabolic risk factors and NCDs in growing and ageing populations. This long-observed consequence of the global epidemiological transition was only temporarily interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The substantially decreasing CMNN disease burden, despite the 2008 global financial crisis and pandemic-related disruptions, is one of the greatest collective public health successes known. However, these achievements are at risk of being reversed due to major cuts to development assistance for health globally, the effects of which will hit low-income countries with high burden the hardest. Without sustained investment in evidence-based interventions and policies, progress could stall or reverse, leading to widespread human costs and geopolitical instability. Moreover, the rising NCD burden necessitates intensified efforts to mitigate exposure to leading risk factors-eg, air pollution, smoking, and metabolic risks, such as high SBP, BMI, and FPG-including policies that promote food security, healthier diets, physical activity, and equitable and expanded access to potential treatments, such as GLP-1 receptor agonists. Decisive, coordinated action is needed to address long-standing yet growing health challenges, including depressive and anxiety disorders. Yet this can be only part of the solution. Our response to the NCD syndemic-the complex interaction of multiple health risks, social determinants, and systemic challenges-will define the future landscape of global health. To ensure human wellbeing, economic stability, and social equity, global action to sustain and advance health gains must prioritise reducing disparities by addressing socioeconomic and demographic determinants, ensuring equitable health-care access, tackling malnutrition, strengthening health systems, and improving vaccination coverage. We live in times of great opportunity. FUNDING: Gates Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Assessment of spatial and seasonal water quality variation of Oum Er Rbia River (Morocco) using multivariate statistical techniques
Ahmed Barakat, Mohamed El Baghdadi, Jamila Rais, Brahim Aghezzaf +1 more
2016· International Soil and Water Conservation Research378doi:10.1016/j.iswcr.2016.11.002

The aim of this study is to assess the spatial and temporal water quality variation and to determine the main contamination sources in the Oum Er Rbia River and its main tributary, El Abid River. The water quality data were collected during 2000–2012 from fourteen sampling stations distributed along the river. The water quality indicators used were TEMP, pH, EC, turbidity, TSS, DO, NH4+, NH3–, TP, BOD5, COD and F. coli. The water quality data was analyzed using multivariate statistical methods including Pearson's correlation, PCA, and CA. The results showed that in some stations the water quality parameters were over Moroccan water standards. PCA applied to compare the compositional patterns among the analyzed water samples, identified and four factors accounting for almost 63% of the total variation in the data. This suggests that the variations in water compounds’ concentration are mainly related to point source contamination (domestic and industrial wastewater), non-point source contamination (agriculture activities), as well as natural processes (weathering of soil and rock). CA showed relatively spatial and seasonal changes in surface water quality, which are usually indicators of contamination with rainfalls or other sources. Overall, this study showed that the water was potentially hazardous to health of the consumers and highlighted the need to treat industrial and municipal wastewater and to encourage sustainable agricultural practices to prevent adverse health effects. We therefore suggest wise management of anthropogenic activities in the catchment of Oum Er Bia River and their tributaries.

Moroccan Medicinal plants as inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2 main protease: Computational investigations
Ilham Aanouz, Assia Belhassan, K. El-Khatabi, Tahar Lakhlifi +2 more
2020· Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics347doi:10.1080/07391102.2020.1758790

activity against SARS-Cov-2 could be interesting.

Moroccan Groundwater Resources and Evolution with Global Climate Changes
Mohammed Hssaisoune, Lhoussaine Bouchaou, Abdelfettah Sifeddine, Ilham Bouimetarhan +1 more
2020· Geosciences304doi:10.3390/geosciences10020081

In semi-arid areas, many ecosystems and activities depend essentially on water availability. In Morocco, the increase of water demands combined to climate change induced decrease of precipitation put a lot of pressure on groundwater. This paper reports the results of updating and evaluation of groundwater datasets with regards to climate scenarios and institutional choices. The continuous imbalance between groundwater extraction and recharge caused a dramatic decline in groundwater levels (20 to 65 m in the past 30 years). Additionally, Morocco suffers from the degradation in groundwater quality due to seawater intrusion, nitrate pollution and natural salinity changes. Climate data analysis and scenarios predict that temperatures will increase by 2 to 4 °C and precipitation will decrease by 53% in all catchments over this century. Consequently, surface water availability will drastically decrease, which will lead to more extensive use of groundwater. Without appropriate measures, this situation will jeopardize water security in Morocco. In this paper, we zoom on the case the Souss-Massa basin, where management plans (artificial recharge, seawater desalination, and wastewater reuse) have been adopted to restore groundwater imbalance or, at least, mitigate the recorded deficits. These plans may save water for future generations and sustain crop production.

GIS-multicriteria evaluation using AHP for landslide susceptibility mapping in Oum Er Rbia high basin (Morocco)
Aafaf El Jazouli, Ahmed Barakat, Rida Khellouk
2019· Geoenvironmental Disasters257doi:10.1186/s40677-019-0119-7

High basin of Oum Er Rbia River, which is located in Middle Atlas Mountain region, is prone to landslide problems due to the geological features combined with the climate change and human activities. The present work including inventory mapping was conducted to establish landslide susceptibility map using GIS-based spatial multicriteria approach. Eight landslide-related factors, including land cover, lithology, distance to road, distance to fault, distance to drainage network, elevation, aspect and slope gradient, were selected for the present assessment. Weight for each factor is assigned using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) depending on its influence on the landslide occurrence. The landslide susceptibility map was derived using weighted overlay method and categorized into five susceptible classes namely, very low (VL), low (L), moderate (M), high (H). The results revealed that 30.16% of the study area is at very low risk, 12.66% at low risk, 25.75% of moderate risk, 22.59% of high risk and 9.11% of very high risk area coverage. The very high landslide vulnerability zones are more common within the river valleys on steep side slopes. Most landslides also involve rocks belonging to the Triassic weathered marl and clay-rich formation. Moreover, human activities namely the construction and the expansion of agricultural lands into forests intervene in inducing landslides through altering the slope stability along the river banks. Lastly, effectiveness of these results was checked by computing the area under ROC curve (AUC) that showed a satisfactory result of 76.7%. The landslide susceptibility map of the Oum Er Rbia high basin provides valuable information about present and future landslides, which makes it viable. Such map may be helpful for planners and decision makers for land-use planning and slope management.

Global burden of 292 causes of death in 204 countries and territories and 660 subnational locations, 1990–2023: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023
Masayuki Teramoto, Hmwe Hmwe Kyu, A Bhoomadevi, Mohammad Amin Aalipour +4 more
2025· The Lancet253doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(25)01917-8

BACKGROUND: Timely and comprehensive analyses of causes of death stratified by age, sex, and location are essential for shaping effective health policies aimed at reducing global mortality. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2023 provides cause-specific mortality estimates measured in counts, rates, and years of life lost (YLLs). GBD 2023 aimed to enhance our understanding of the relationship between age and cause of death by quantifying the probability of dying before age 70 years (70q0) and the mean age at death by cause and sex. This study enables comparisons of the impact of causes of death over time, offering a deeper understanding of how these causes affect global populations. METHODS: GBD 2023 produced estimates for 292 causes of death disaggregated by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 660 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2023. We used a modelling tool developed for GBD, the Cause of Death Ensemble model (CODEm), to estimate cause-specific death rates for most causes. We computed YLLs as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. Probability of death was calculated as the chance of dying from a given cause in a specific age period, for a specific population. Mean age at death was calculated by first assigning the midpoint age of each age group for every death, followed by computing the mean of all midpoint ages across all deaths attributed to a given cause. We used GBD death estimates to calculate the observed mean age at death and to model the expected mean age across causes, sexes, years, and locations. The expected mean age reflects the expected mean age at death for individuals within a population, based on global mortality rates and the population's age structure. Comparatively, the observed mean age represents the actual mean age at death, influenced by all factors unique to a location-specific population, including its age structure. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 250-draw distribution for each metric. Findings are reported as counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2023 include a correction for the misclassification of deaths due to COVID-19, updates to the method used to estimate COVID-19, and updates to the CODEm modelling framework. This analysis used 55 761 data sources, including vital registration and verbal autopsy data as well as data from surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. For GBD 2023, there were 312 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 3 country-years of surveillance data, 51 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 144 country-years of other data types that were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS: The initial years of the COVID-19 pandemic caused shifts in long-standing rankings of the leading causes of global deaths: it ranked as the number one age-standardised cause of death at Level 3 of the GBD cause classification hierarchy in 2021. By 2023, COVID-19 dropped to the 20th place among the leading global causes, returning the rankings of the leading two causes to those typical across the time series (ie, ischaemic heart disease and stroke). While ischaemic heart disease and stroke persist as leading causes of death, there has been progress in reducing their age-standardised mortality rates globally. Four other leading causes have also shown large declines in global age-standardised mortality rates across the study period: diarrhoeal diseases, tuberculosis, stomach cancer, and measles. Other causes of death showed disparate patterns between sexes, notably for deaths from conflict and terrorism in some locations. A large reduction in age-standardised rates of YLLs occurred for neonatal disorders. Despite this, neonatal disorders remained the leading cause of global YLLs over the period studied, except in 2021, when COVID-19 was temporarily the leading cause. Compared to 1990, there has been a considerable reduction in total YLLs in many vaccine-preventable diseases, most notably diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and measles. In addition, this study quantified the mean age at death for all-cause mortality and cause-specific mortality and found noticeable variation by sex and location. The global all-cause mean age at death increased from 46·8 years (95% UI 46·6-47·0) in 1990 to 63·4 years (63·1-63·7) in 2023. For males, mean age increased from 45·4 years (45·1-45·7) to 61·2 years (60·7-61·6), and for females it increased from 48·5 years (48·1-48·8) to 65·9 years (65·5-66·3), from 1990 to 2023. The highest all-cause mean age at death in 2023 was found in the high-income super-region, where the mean age for females reached 80·9 years (80·9-81·0) and for males 74·8 years (74·8-74·9). By comparison, the lowest all-cause mean age at death occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, where it was 38·0 years (37·5-38·4) for females and 35·6 years (35·2-35·9) for males in 2023. Lastly, our study found that all-cause 70q0 decreased across each GBD super-region and region from 2000 to 2023, although with large variability between them. For females, we found that 70q0 notably increased from drug use disorders and conflict and terrorism. Leading causes that increased 70q0 for males also included drug use disorders, as well as diabetes. In sub-Saharan Africa, there was an increase in 70q0 for many non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Additionally, the mean age at death from NCDs was lower than the expected mean age at death for this super-region. By comparison, there was an increase in 70q0 for drug use disorders in the high-income super-region, which also had an observed mean age at death lower than the expected value. INTERPRETATION: We examined global mortality patterns over the past three decades, highlighting-with enhanced estimation methods-the impacts of major events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to broader trends such as increasing NCDs in low-income regions that reflect ongoing shifts in the global epidemiological transition. This study also delves into premature mortality patterns, exploring the interplay between age and causes of death and deepening our understanding of where targeted resources could be applied to further reduce preventable sources of mortality. We provide essential insights into global and regional health disparities, identifying locations in need of targeted interventions to address both communicable and non-communicable diseases. There is an ever-present need for strengthened health-care systems that are resilient to future pandemics and the shifting burden of disease, particularly among ageing populations in regions with high mortality rates. Robust estimates of causes of death are increasingly essential to inform health priorities and guide efforts toward achieving global health equity. The need for global collaboration to reduce preventable mortality is more important than ever, as shifting burdens of disease are affecting all nations, albeit at different paces and scales. FUNDING: Gates Foundation.

Natural Hydrogel-Based Bio-Inks for 3D Bioprinting in Tissue Engineering: A Review
Ahmed Fatimi, Oseweuba Valentine Okoro, Daria Podstawczyk, Julia Simińska‐Stanny +1 more
2022· Gels252doi:10.3390/gels8030179

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is well acknowledged to constitute an important technology in tissue engineering, largely due to the increasing global demand for organ replacement and tissue regeneration. In 3D bioprinting, which is a step ahead of 3D biomaterial printing, the ink employed is impregnated with cells, without compromising ink printability. This allows for immediate scaffold cellularization and generation of complex structures. The use of cell-laden inks or bio-inks provides the opportunity for enhanced cell differentiation for organ fabrication and regeneration. Recognizing the importance of such bio-inks, the current study comprehensively explores the state of the art of the utilization of bio-inks based on natural polymers (biopolymers), such as cellulose, agarose, alginate, decellularized matrix, in 3D bioprinting. Discussions regarding progress in bioprinting, techniques and approaches employed in the bioprinting of natural polymers, and limitations and prospects concerning future trends in human-scale tissue and organ fabrication are also presented.

Soil erosion modeled with USLE, GIS, and remote sensing: a case study of Ikkour watershed in Middle Atlas (Morocco)
Aafaf El Jazouli, Ahmed Barakat, Abdessamad Ghafiri, Saida El Moutaki +2 more
2017· Geoscience Letters168doi:10.1186/s40562-017-0091-6

The Ikkour watershed located in the Middle Atlas Mountain (Morocco) has been a subject of serious soil erosion problems. This study aimed to assess the soil erosion susceptibility in this mountainous watershed using Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and spectral indices integrated with Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. The USLE model required the integration of thematic factors’ maps which are rainfall aggressiveness, length and steepness of the slope, vegetation cover, soil erodibility, and erosion control practices. These factors were calculated using remote sensing data and GIS. The USLE-based assessment showed that the estimated total annual potential soil loss was about 70.66 ton ha−1 year−1. This soil loss is favored by the steep slopes and degraded vegetation cover. The spectral index method, offering a qualitative evaluation of water erosion, showed different degrees of soil degradation in the study watershed according to FI, BI, CI, and NDVI. The results of this study displayed an agreement between the USLE model and spectral index approach, and indicated that the predicted soil erosion rate can be due to the most rugged land topography and an increase in agricultural areas. Indeed, these results can further assist the decision makers in implementation of suitable conservation program to reduce soil erosion.

Comparative study of phenolic compounds and their antioxidant attributes of eighteen pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cultivars grown in Morocco
Ilham Hmid, Driss Elothmani, Hafida Hanine, Ahmed Oukabli +1 more
2013· Arabian Journal of Chemistry157doi:10.1016/j.arabjc.2013.10.011

International audience

STUDY OF THE KINETICS AND MECHANISMS OF THERMAL DECOMPOSITION OF MOROCCAN TARFAYA OIL SHALE AND ITS KEROGEN; pp. 426–443
A. Aboulkas, K. El harfi
2008· Oil Shale142doi:10.3176/oil.2008.4.04

In this research, thermal characteristics and kinetic parameters of Tarfaya oil shale and its kerogen samples were determined by thermogravimetry (TG/DTG) under non-isothermal heating conditions. The pyrolysis experi­ments were performed increasing the temperature up to 1273 K at heating rates of 2, 10, 20 and 50 K/min in an inert atmosphere of nitrogen. The mass loss curve showed that pyrolysis of kerogen took place mainly in the range of 433–873 K. At higher temperatures there was a significant mass loss due to decomposition of mineral matter. It has been found that for oil shale and its kerogen analysed using the TG/DTG, the increase in the heating rate shifts the maximum rate loss to a higher temperature. Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose, Friedman, Flynn-Wall-Ozawa and Coats–Redfern methods were used to determine the apparent activation energies of materials' degradation. The analyses of the process mechanism by the methods of Criado et al. and Coats-Redfern showed that the most probable model for the pyrolysis process of organic matter of oil shale agrees with the diffusion model (D4 mechanism), and the thermal degradation process of isolated kerogen cor­responds to a mechanism involving a simple n-order model (F1 mechanism). The apparent activation energies for the organic matter of oil shale and isolated kerogen were 80–87 and 69–76 kJ/mol, respectively. A single kinetic expression is valid over the temperature range of kerogen pyrolysis between 433 and 873 K. In addition, the results indicate that the removal of mineral matter affected the kinetics and mechanism established for kerogen in oil shale.

Phenolic profile and anti-inflammatory activity of four Moroccan date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) seed varieties
Eimad Dine Tariq Bouhlali, Abdelbassat Hmidani, Bouchra Bourkhis, Tarik Khouya +3 more
2020· Heliyon135doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03436

Date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) seeds are seen as good drug to cure rheumatoid arthritis and asthma in Moroccan traditional medicine. The present research aimed to study the anti-inflammatory effect, of methanol extract of different date seed varieties using membrane stabilizing effect, nitric oxide radical scavenging activity, inhibition of protein denaturation, carrageenan-induced paw edema and croton oil induced ear edema. The polyphenolic profile was examined using HPLC-DAD. Rutin, quercetin, p-coumaric and caffeic acids were the main among the analysed phenolic compounds. Concerning the anti-inflammatory activity, the analysed date seed were significantly effective in scavenging nitric oxide free radical, in stabilisation of erythrocyte membrane and possessed a high anti denaturation effect. In agreement with this finding, date seed exhibited a profound ability to reduce paw and ear swelling induced by carrageenan and croton oil respectively. The biochemical parameters showed that date seed are able to reduce the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ERS) and C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration in rats used in Carrageenan-induced paw edema model. The predominant phenolic compounds are the potential candidates that drive these activities and the differences observed among varieties are related to their chemical composition. These data suggest that date seeds can be explored as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Machine Learning and Semantic Sentiment Analysis based Algorithms for Suicide Sentiment Prediction in Social Networks
Marouane Birjali, Abderrahim Beni‐Hssane, Mohammed Erritali
2017· Procedia Computer Science134doi:10.1016/j.procs.2017.08.290

Sentiment analysis is one of the new challenges appeared in automatic language processing with the advent of social networks. Taking advantage of the amount of information is now available, research and industry have sought ways to automatically analyze sentiments and user opinions expressed in social networks. In this paper, we place ourselves in a difficult context, on the sentiments that could thinking of suicide. In particular, we propose to address the lack of terminological resources related to suicide by a method of constructing a vocabulary associated with suicide. We then propose, for a better analysis, to investigate Weka as a tool of data mining based on machine learning algorithms that can extract useful information from Twitter data collected by Twitter4J. Therefore, an algorithm of computing semantic analysis between tweets in training set and tweets in data set based on WordNet is proposed. Experimental results demonstrate that our method based on machine learning algorithms and semantic sentiment analysis can extract predictions of suicidal ideation using Twitter Data. In addition, this work verify the effectiveness of performance in term of accuracy and precision on semantic sentiment analysis that could thinking of suicide.

A comparison of chitosan properties after extraction from shrimp shells by diluted and concentrated acids
Mohammed Eddya, Bouazza Tbib, Khalil El-Hami
2020· Heliyon133doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03486

). All our chitosan particles are ultrafine nanoscale between 8 and 34 nm.

On heat properties of AdS black holes in higher dimensions
A. Belhaj, M. Chabab, H. El Moumni, K. Masmar +2 more
2015· Journal of High Energy Physics130doi:10.1007/jhep05(2015)149

We investigate the heat properties of AdS Black Holes in higher dimensions. We consider the study of the corresponding thermodynamical properties including the heat capacity explored in the determination of the black hole stability. In particular, we compute the heat latent. To overcome the instability problem, the Maxwell construction, in the (T, S)-plane, is elaborated. This method is used to modify the the Hawking-Page phase structure by removing the negative heat capacity regions. Then, we discuss the thermodynamic cycle and the heat engines using the way based on the extraction of the work from a black hole solution.