A controlled vaccination trial for Newcastle disease under village conditions

All the poultry in each of four distinct Moroccan villages were vaccinated against Newcastle disease using Hitchner B1 and inactivated vaccines. Poultry in a fifth village were monitored as controls. Mortality in the poultry was followed for 20 weeks after the first vaccination and blood samples were taken every 4 weeks from chickens for estimation of antibodies against Newcastle disease virus. Sixty-three percent of the chicken population and 60% of the turkey population in the control village died during the 20 weeks of observation. Necropsied birds showed lesions consistent with Newcastle disease. Mortality did not exceed 22% in the vaccinated villages.     

Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analysis comparing diverse effects of detomidine,medetomidine, and dexmedetomidine in the horse: a population analysis

The present study characterizes the pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) relationships of the α₂‐adrenergic receptor agonists detomidine (DET), medetomidine (MED) and dexmedetomidine (DEX) in parallel groups of horses from in vivo data after single bolus doses. Head height (HH), heart rate (HR), and blood glucose concentrations were measured over 6 h. Compartmental PK and minimal physiologically based PK (mPBPK) models were applied and incorporated into basic and extended indirect response models (IRM). Population PK/PD analysis was conducted using the Monolix software implementing the stochastic approximation expectation maximization algorithm. Marked reductions in HH and HR were found. The drug concentrations required to obtain inhibition at half‐maximal effect (IC₅₀) were approximately four times larger for DET than MED and DEX for both HH and HR. These effects were not gender dependent. Medetomidine had a greater influence on the increase in glucose concentration than DEX. The developed models demonstrate the use of mechanistic and mPBPK/PD models for the analysis of clinically obtainable in vivo data.     

Determination of odor active aroma compounds in freshly cut leek (Allium ampeloprasum Var. bulga) and in long-term stored frozen unblanched and blanched leek slices by gas chromatography olfactometry analysis

The odor active compounds in freshly cut leek slices and in blanched and unblanched leek slices stored for 12 months were investigated by a detection frequency method. Fifteen judges were evaluating the three samples randomized. The most important aroma compounds in the freshly cut leek slices were dipropyl disulfide, methyl propenyl disulfide, pentanal, decanal, and propyl propenyl disulfide in order of priority. When stored frozen and unblanched for 12 months, the aroma composition changed and the most important compounds became pentanal, decanal, 2,5-dimethyl furan, unknown compound I, and dipropyl disulfide. Blanching before freezing prevented to some degree these changes but also reduced the perceived intensity of the aroma compounds. The most important aroma compounds in the blanched sample were dipropyl disulfide, unknown compound I, pentanal, 2,5-dimethyl furan, and propyl propenyl disulfide.     

Impact of blanching and packaging atmosphere on the formation of aroma compounds during long-term frozen storage of leek (Allium ampeloprasum Var. Bulga) slices.

The content of aroma compounds and the catalytic activity of lipoxygenase (LOX), alliinase, hydroperoxide lyase (HPL), and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) were analyzed in unblanched and blanched 15-mm leek slices packed in atmospheric air (21% O2) or 100% nitrogen (0% O2) three times during 12 months of frozen storage (12 M). The total amount of sulfur compounds and the total amount of aldehydes were greatly influenced by storage time, atmosphere, and blanching [concentration of sulfur compounds in fresh unblanched (UNB) slices = 1.35 mg/L, fresh blanched (B) slices = 1.09 mg/L, UNB 21% O2 12 M = 0.656 mg/L, UNB 0% O2 12 M = 2.11 mg/L, B 21% O2 12 M = 1.14 mg/L, B 0% O2 12 M = 1.59 mg/L]. B 0% O2 was closest to the original ratio between sulfur compounds and aldehydes after 12 months. The activities of HPL and alliinase were totally lost after 12 months, and ADH showed minimal activity, whereas LOX (UNB 0% O2) showed approximately 25% of the original activity. LOX was the most and HPL the least heat labile enzyme investigated.     

Impact of blanching and packaging atmosphere on the formation of aroma compounds during long-term frozen storage of leek (Allium ampeloprasum Var. Bulga) slices.

The content of aroma compounds and the catalytic activity of lipoxygenase (LOX), alliinase, hydroperoxide lyase (HPL), and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) were analyzed in unblanched and blanched 15-mm leek slices packed in atmospheric air (21% O2) or 100% nitrogen (0% O2) three times during 12 months of frozen storage (12 M). The total amount of sulfur compounds and the total amount of aldehydes were greatly influenced by storage time, atmosphere, and blanching [concentration of sulfur compounds in fresh unblanched (UNB) slices = 1.35 mg/L, fresh blanched (B) slices = 1.09 mg/L, UNB 21% O2 12 M = 0.656 mg/L, UNB 0% O2 12 M = 2.11 mg/L, B 21% O2 12 M = 1.14 mg/L, B 0% O2 12 M = 1.59 mg/L]. B 0% O2 was closest to the original ratio between sulfur compounds and aldehydes after 12 months. The activities of HPL and alliinase were totally lost after 12 months, and ADH showed minimal activity, whereas LOX (UNB 0% O2) showed approximately 25% of the original activity. LOX was the most and HPL the least heat labile enzyme investigated.     

Molecular and serological prevalence of Anaplasma marginale in cattle of North Central Morocco

A cross sectional study was conducted to investigate the epidemiological distribution of Anaplasma marginale in North Central Morocco. Blood samples from five provinces of Morocco were collected from apparently healthy cattle (n=668) and simultaneously analyzed by a nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) assay and competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA). The overall prevalence of A. marginale was 21.9% by nPCR and 16.5% by cELISA. The Kappa coefficient between nPCR and cELISA indicated a modest level of agreement (0.54). The prevalence of A. marginale varied significantly according to the province and the month of sampling. However age, gender and breed did not have a significant effect on the prevalence of this pathogen. The highest prevalence of A. marginale was found in the Gharb, a sub-humid area while the lowest was reported in the Saiss, a semi-arid area. These results indicate that an A. marginale infection are widespread in the country and suggests that either or both techniques are excellent tools for epidemiological studies and control programs.     

Growth of Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) in Composts of Olive Oil Mill Waste with Organic Household Refuse

This study highlights the effects of composts of olive mill wastes and organic household refuse with a pH range of 7 to 7.98 and a C/N ratio between 14.9 and 22, to improve the growth and the mineral nutrition of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.). After 7 months of cultivation, plants amended with composts showed higher biomass production than the controls. Compost C1, i.e., the basic compost with no additives phosphate, at 100% and 45% doubled the production of dry matter in comparison with control plants. The rise of root biomass was considerably greater for plants grown with compost C1 without phosphate. In contrast, the shoot biomass was highly significant for composts C2 and C3 enriched with phosphate. The control plants, grown without amendment, showed significantly higher specific root length (SRL) and specific leaf length (SLL). The efficiency of compost application was reflected by the biomass rise, the number of emerged leaves (2.6–4), and the rise in leaf area (3.3 to 6.7 cm²) by improving the mineral nutrition of the date palm. The composts of olive mill waste and organic household refuse supplemented with natural rock phosphate, or not, generated a notable agronomic added value.     

Evaluation of variability in argan oil content through different environments and preselection of elite genotypes

This investigation was carried out to determine the variability in oil content with the aim to identify genotypes of argan tree expressing high oil yield. The 150 argan trees were collected from five provenances in south west of Morocco over 3 years (2008–2010) and were screened from their oil content using Soxhlet method based on the 840 samples. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to study the genetic variation between and within provenances. According to the results on the mean of the 3 years, the oil content was ranged from 38.45 to 62.54 %. The genotypes from Aoulouz and Had Dra expressing high oil yield. Variance components for fruit, seed, kernel traits and oil content showed significant differences (P < 0.01) among years, provenances, genotypes and their interaction. Principal component analysis proved that fruit, seed, kernel, weight traits are correlated with oil content and are discriminate characters between the genotypes. The results of the cluster analysis support the results of the principal component analysis, showing no correlation between oil content with geographical localization parameters. For all the promising genotypes, at least 25 % were found to be better and exceed the oil mean of the provenance for 3 years. So, 31 promising elite genotypes were preselected, and open new ways for future comparative test of them in diverse environments.     

Phenotypic biodiversity of an endemic wild pear, Pyrus mamorensis Trab., in North-Western Morocco using morphological descriptors

In this paper, we report on morphological diversity, ecology and flowering phenological records of an endangered and an endemic species of Morocco Pyrus mamorensis Trab. For this study, a survey was undertaken in North-Western Morocco (Mamora forest and Zaër region) whereby 67 accessions of P. mamorensis were sampled. A set of 33 genotypes of Pyrus spp. from the international collection INRA-Angers (France) of the genus Pyrus were also analyzed. The variability of the total of 100 accessions was assessed by twenty-six characters including fourteen qualitative and twelve quantitative traits. The results demonstrated high levels of morphological variation in the sampled accessions of P. mamorensis and established the relationships among the local germplasm using the UPGMA cluster analysis and the factorial discriminant analysis. Furthermore, we were able to distinguish three types of flowering in the Mamora forest: early, intermediate and late flowering type. Otherwise, the UPGMA classification comparing local accessions of P. mamorensis to the international collection led to the formation of four major groups showing the closest correspondence to their geographical origins: (1) The North African species represented by P. mamorensis, (2) The East Asian pea species, (3) The West Asian species and (4) The European species. These findings suggest the importance of implementing a conservation strategy preserving the genetic resources of wild pear in North-Western Morocco.