Occurrence of Free and Conjugated Mycotoxins in Aromatic and Medicinal Plants and Dietary Exposure Assessment in the Moroccan Population

Aromatic and medicinal plants (AMPs), as herbal material, are subjected to contamination by various mycotoxin-producing fungi, either free and conjugated. Such a problem is associated with poor storage practices, and lack of adopting good agricultural practices and good harvesting practices. Nevertheless, AMPs are poorly investigated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the co-occurrence of 15 mycotoxins (four aflatoxins (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, and AFG2), ochratoxin A (OTA), beauvericin (BEA), four enniatins (ENA, ENA1, ENB, and ENB1), zearalenone (ZEN), alternariol (AOH), tentoxin (TENT), T-2, and HT-2 toxins) in 40 samples of AMPs frequently consumed in Morocco by using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Evaluation of conjugated mycotoxins and their identification using liquid chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry with ion mass exact was also carried out. Results showed that 90% of the analyzed samples presented at least one mycotoxin, and 52% presented co-occurrence of them. Mycotoxins detected were: AOH (85%), ZEN (27.5%), β-ZEL (22%), AFG1 (17.5%), TENT (17.5%), ENB (10%), AFG2 (7.5%), α-ZEL (5%), ENA1 (2.5%), and HT-2 (2.5%), while the conjugated mycotoxins were ZEN-14-Glc (11%) and ZEN-14-Sulf (9%). The highest observed level was for AOH, with 309 ng/g. Ten samples exceeded the recommended levels set by the European Pharmacopoeia for AF mycotoxins in plant material (4 ng/g), and three samples exceeded the maximum limits for AFs (10 ng/g) in species established by the European Commission. Although the co-occurrence of several mycotoxins in AMP samples was observed, the dietary exposure assessment showed that the intake of mycotoxins through the consumption of AMP beverages does not represent a risk for the population.     

Increased epicardial adipose tissue thickness correlates with endothelial dysfunction in spondyloarthritis

Clinical Rheumatology - We aimed to investigate the relationship between epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) thickness, flow-mediated dilation (FMD), and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) in...     

Place of the precocious surgical treatment in facial hemangioma

Infantile cutaneous hemangioma is a benign vascular tumour present at 10% of the infants. It forms part of the group of the vascular tumours in the classification of international society for vascular anomalies (ISSVA). Usual surgical attitude is abstention and surgery is proposed only in order to treat sequelae. But some particular situations require early surgery to avoid functional impairment, deformation or growth delay due to the lesion's development. Using our observations, we recall the epidemiology, the physiopathology, the clinical aspects, the particularities of the facial localizations and their treatments. In these localizations the time intervenes like a fourth dimension that is going to modify, to improve or to aggravate the prognosis. Treatment requires a strategy and precocious surgery. We insist on the fact that the dogma of the therapeutic abstention remained true for a majority of children with small size hemangioma and that a precocious surgery must be proposed for some localizations in the face.     

Eosinopenia is a reliable marker of sepsis on admission to medical intensive care units

Introduction

Eosinopenia is a cheap and forgotten marker of acute infection that has not been evaluated previously in intensive care units (ICUs). The aim of the present study was to test the value of eosinopenia in the diagnosis of sepsis in patients admitted to ICUs.

Methods

A prospective study of consecutive adult patients admitted to a 12-bed medical ICU was performed. Eosinophils were measured at ICU admission. Two intensivists blinded to the eosinophils classified patients as negative or with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), sepsis, severe sepsis, or septic shock.

Results

A total of 177 patients were enrolled. In discriminating noninfected (negative + SIRS) and infected (sepsis + severe sepsis + septic shock) groups, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.89 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.83 to 0.94). Eosinophils at <50 cells/mm³ yielded a sensitivity of 80% (95% CI, 71% to 86%), a specificity of 91% (95% CI, 79% to 96%), a positive likelihood ratio of 9.12 (95% CI, 3.9 to 21), and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.21(95% CI, 0.15 to 0.31). In discriminating SIRS and infected groups, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.84 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.94). Eosinophils at <40 cells/mm³ yielded a sensitivity of 80% (95% CI, 71% to 86%), a specificity of 80% (95% CI, 55% to 93%), a positive likelihood ratio of 4 (95% CI, 1.65 to 9.65), and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.25 (95% CI, 0.17 to 0.36).

Conclusion

Eosinopenia is a good diagnostic marker in distinguishing between noninfection and infection, but is a moderate marker in discriminating between SIRS and infection in newly admitted critically ill patients. Eosinopenia may become a helpful clinical tool in ICU practices.     

Megaloblastic anemia in North Africa

We prospectively studied 478 patients with megaloblastic anemia living in Tunisia. Overall, 98% of patients had vitamin B12 deficiency. Pernicious anemia accounted for most of these cases, and median age at presentation was 45 years. Megaloblastic anemia occurred in 19 subjects under 15 years of age, and of these, nine had the Immerslund-Graesbeck syndrome.     

Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oil of Pulicaria odora L

The chemical composition of the volatile oil constituent from Pulicaria odora L. roots has been analyzed by GC/MS. Twenty-seven components were identified, being thymol (47.83%) and its derivative isobutyrate (30.05%) the main constituents in the oil. Furthermore, the oil was tested against seven bacteria at different concentrations. Results showed that the oil exhibited a significant antibacterial activity.     

Nandrolone decanoate treatment affects sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) ATPase function in skinned rat slow- and fast-twitch fibres

The effects of anabolic-androgenic steroid administration on the function of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) pump were investigated in chemically skinned fibres from the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and soleus muscles of sedentary rats. Twenty male rats were divided into two groups, one group received an intramuscular injection of nandrolone decanoate (15 mg kg^–1) weekly for 8 weeks, the second received similar weekly doses of vehicle (sterile peanut oil). Compared with control muscles, nandrolone decanoate treatment reduced SR Ca²⁺ loading in EDL and soleus fibres by 49% and 29%, respectively. In control and treated muscles, the rate of Ca²⁺ leakage depended on the quantity of Ca²⁺ loaded. Furthermore, for similar SR Ca²⁺ contents, the Ca²⁺ leakage rate was not significantly modified by nandrolone decanoate treatment. Nandrolone decanoate treatment thus affects Ca ²⁺ uptake by the SR in a fibre-type dependent manner.