Trehalose:A sugar molecule involved in temperature stress management in plants

Trehalose(Tre)is a non-reducing disaccharide found in many species,including bacteria,fungi,invertebrates,yeast,and even plants,where it acts as an osmoprotectant,energy source,or protein/membrane protector.Despite relatively small amounts in plants,Tre concentrations increase following exposure to abiotic stressors.Trehalose-6-phosphate,a precursor of Tre,has regulatory functions in sugar metabolism,crop production,and stress tolerance.Among the various abiotic stresses,temperature extremes(heat or cold stress)are anticipated to impact crop production worldwide due to ongoing climate changes.Applying small amounts of Tre can mitigate negative physiological,metabolic,and molecular responses triggered by temperature stress.Trehalose also interacts with other sugars,osmoprotectants,amino acids,and phytohormones to regulate metabolic reprogramming that underpins temperature stress adaptation.Transformed plants expressing Tre-synthesis genes accumulate Tre and show improved stress tolerance.Genome-wide studies of Tre-encoding genes suggest roles in plant growth,development,and stress tolerance.This review discusses the functions of Tre in mitigating temperature stress—highlighting genetic engineering approaches to modify Tre metabolism,crosstalk,and interactions with other molecules—and in-silico approaches for identifying novel Tre-encoding genes in diverse plant species.We consider how this knowledge can be used to develop temperature-resilient crops essential for sustainable agriculture.

Alcohol, Tobacco and Tramadol Daily Consumption and Road Traffic Crashes among Motorcycle Taxi Drivers in Cotonou (Benin)

Background: In Benin, motorcycle taxi drivers make up a significant portion of road transport. The use of psychoactive substances, a behavior recognized as being at risk of road crashes, is frequent in this group. This study aimed to analyze the association between the consumption of psychoactive substances and the occurrence of road crashes among motorcycle taxi drivers. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 430 motorcycle taxi drivers selected from motorcycle taxi stands in Cotonou (Benin) using a two-stage cluster sampling technique. An interview with a structured questionnaire was used to collect data, which took place in March and April 2019. Alcohol, tramadol, and tobacco were the psychoactive substances considered in this study and their daily use was investigated. A binary logistic regression was used for the analysis. Results: Among the motorcycle taxi drivers surveyed, 27.79% (95% CI = 23.71 - 32.25) were involved in a road crash. The prevalence of psychoactive substances daily use was: 30.41% (95% CI = 26.17 - 35.00) for alcohol, 28.50% (95% CI = 24.37 - 33.02) for tramadol and 4.03% (95% CI = 2.51 - 6.42) for tobacco. Alcohol daily consumption (AOR = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.27 - 3.45, p = 0.004) was associated with a significant risk of road crashes. Conclusion: Interventions aiming to reduce psychoactive substances use should, therefore, be included in road safety policies, especially for this group.

Early Maladaptive Schemas, Working Memory and Academic Performances of Moroccan Students

Our aim is to study the early maladaptive schemas and the memory span abilities and to evaluate the relationship between these schemas and the memory in one side and academic performance in the other side among Moroccan students. A cross-sectional study is conducted among 212 students, randomly selected from different institutions of the IBN TOFAIL University, located in the city of Kenitra (NW of Morocco). Three neurocognitive tests are used: the short version of the Early Maladaptive Schemas Questionnaire to evaluate the early maladaptive schemas (EMS), the sub-test of the Wechsler to evaluate the working memory among these subjects, and a general questionnaire about socio-economic data, nutritional and mental health status and also, academic performances of each student. The obtained results showed some significant negative correlations between forward memory span and activated schema, and significant negative correlations are registered between backward memory span and activated schema. More, thirty-three percent of students passed the exams of the autumn term against 67% who failed it. Moreover, significant negative correlations are registered between the schemas and the number of Units validated in the autumn term. In addition, fifty-three percent of students had a normal forward memory, 47% had an excellent forward memory and no one had pathological one. However, 63% had a pathological backward memory span, 28% had normal memory and 9% had an excellent backward memory. The EMS appeared in connection with the student’s working memory and the academic performance. Deeper investigations are needed to understand this relationship and also to study other possible factors that could affect this important neurocognitive function.

Neurofibromatosis Type 1 in Four Children Cases

Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF-1 or Von Recklinghausen disease) is an autosomal dominant genetic disease, characterized by an extreme variability of its clinical expression which is also found in the same family. Our work focuses on the exploitation of four cases of patients with NF-1 who were enrolled in the paediatric neurology consultation at Rabat Children’s Hospital. They are two infants and two children. Otherwise the diagnosis was made in front of the existence of café au lait and lentiginous spots in two boys, also the existence of café au lait spots and abnormalities in brain imaging in two girls. Thus an evolution was marked by a favorable outcome for three patients and neurological sequelae in one patient.

West Syndrome Secondary to Biotinidase Deficiency about a Case

Biotinidase deficiency is an abnormality of biotin metabolism which is manifested by neurological, cutaneous, ophthalmological and auditory signs. It has been described as a cause of West syndrome, but there are few observations that report an association between these latter two. We report the observation of an 18-month old infant born from a first-degree consanguineous marriage, followed since the age of 2 months and half for West syndrome associated with alopecia, also an eczema and deafness in whom the etiological investigation was in favor of a biotinidase deficiency. Thus treatment with biotin resulted in a marked clinical improvement.