North-western Region Of Algeria Research Articles

Assessing the impact of anthropogenic activities on land use and land cover changes in the semi-arid and arid regions of Algeria.

Land use and land cover are critical factors that influence the environment and human societies. The dynamics of LULC have been constantly changing over the years, and these changes can be analyzed at different spatial and temporal scales to evaluate their impact on the natural environment. This study employs multitemporal satellite data to investigate the spatial and temporal transformations that occurred in Sidi Bel Abbes province, situated in the northwestern region of Algeria, spanning from the early 1990s to 2020. Notably, this province is marked by semi-arid and arid climates and hosts a wide range of areas susceptible to gravitational hazards, especially concerning alterations in land use and forest fires. The interactive supervised classification tool utilized multiple machine learning algorithms including Random Forest, Support Vector Machine, Classification and Regression Tree, and Naïve Bayes to produce land cover maps with six main classes: forest, shrub, agricultural, pasture, water, and built-up. The findings showed that the LULC in the research area is undergoing continuous change, particularly in the forest and agricultural lands. The forest area has decreased significantly from 10.80% in 1990 to 5.25% in 2020, mainly due to repeated fires. Agricultural land has also undergone fluctuations, with a decrease between 1990 and 2000, followed by a fast increase and near stabilization in 2020. At the same time, pasture lands and built-up areas grew steadily, increasing by 11% and 13% respectively. This research highlights the significant impact of anthropogenic activities on LULC changes in the study area and can provide valuable insights for promoting sustainable land use policies.

Thermophysics Analysis of Office Buildings with a Temperature\u2013Humidity Coupling Strategy Under Hot-Arid Climatic Conditions

This study investigates the determining parameters of thermal comfort of office in an arid hot-arid environment of Bechar, located in the northwestern region of Algeria, in which the vertical walls of the room and the roof are subjected to solar irradiations and the floor is considered to be adiabatic. The solar flux is calculated by the ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) method. The predicted results are validated against the experimental results of the meteorological station of the ENERGARID research laboratory at the University of Bechar (Algeria). The characteristics of the ambient air flow are performed by using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software (Fluent). The flow fields, thermal fields, and humidity are investigated. An elaborated computer program (with Delphi language) is utilized to evaluate the temperature–humidity coupling as the most essential factors of the thermal comfort. A significant impact of dynamic temperatures and humidity on thermal comfort has been observed, especially in this hot-arid environment. Besides, a considerable effect of the flow velocity has been remarked. From the obtained results and to provide the best thermal comfort in such arid regions, the range of air velocity inside the building is recommended to be between 0.2 m·s−1 and 0.3 m·s−1.

Molecular Appreciation of the Native Bacterial Flora of Raw Milk in the North-Western Region of Algeria

Background: The appreciation of microbial milk communities, in order to promote useful flora and inhibit pathogenic one, has become one of the key factors in controlling the quality of cheeses.Methods: In this context, an approach to assess the bacterial flora of raw cow’s milk, was tested in 05 wilayas in north-western Algeria, on the one hand by a preliminary count of total flora and a phenotypic characterization based on morphological criteria and on the other hand by a genotypic identification of selected isolates, by the PCR method and sequencing of the gene encoding for the 16S ARNr.Result: The results of molecular analysis obtained from 72 isolates allowed the identification of 12 bacterial species with a dominance of the lactic microflora, 37% Lactococcus and 29% Enterococcus. This milk-native lactic microflora has become the main vector that preserves the distinctiveness of dairy products, including local cheese.

تأثيـر شخصية العلامة التجارية على ولاء المستهلک لها بتوسط الاتجاهات نحوها The Impact of a Personal Brand on Consumer Brand Loyalty by Mediate Consumer Attitudes toward Brand

تهدف هذه الدراسة إلى قياس تأثيـر شخصية العلامة التجارية على ولاء المستهلک لها بتوسط اتجاهات المستهلک نحوها، من خلال شراء علامات معينة من الملابس الرياضية، عن طريق أخذ عينة عشوائية بسيطة للمستجوبيـن، تم اختيارهم من المنطقة الشمالية الغربية من الجزائر. وقد تم الحصول على 780 حالة قابلة للاستخدام والتحليل. وکانت نتائج هذه الدراسة باستخدام المعادلة الهيکلية متطابقة مع البحوث السابقة. وقد دعم الأثر الإيجابي لشخصية العلامة التجارية اتجاهات وولاء المستهلک للعلامة من أجل تطويـر استـراتيجية العلامة، وبالتالي تشکيل علامة تجارية ناجحة وقوية، وتکون أيضا ناجحة في تحقيق الولاء للعلامة التجارية لفتـرة أطول، وذلک من أجل زيادة حصتها في السوق، وبالتالي زيادة قيمتها. The purpose of this study is to measure the effect of a personal brand on and consumer brand loyalty by mediate consumer attitudes toward brand. Through the purchase of certain signs of sportswear, by taking a simple random sample of respondents, which were selected from the northwestern region of Algeria. The results of this paper By using structural equation, which are identical with previous research, support the positive impact of a personal brand on consumer attitudes toward brand and consumer brand loyalty, which allows for the development of an efficient brand strategy that can achieve brand loyalty, for a longer period, in order to increase market share, thereby increasing its value.

Cervical Cancer Screening Practice using Smear Test Method in the Northwestern Algeria

Background and objective: Cervical cancer is a major public health burden, in Algeria; it represents the second most common cancer in women. The main factor leading to invasive cervical cancer is the lack of Pap smear practice. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the cervical cancer screening activities by cervical smears in the northwestern region of Algeria. Methods: a retrospective study was performed from 2015 to 2017 in the Wilaya of Sidi-Bel-Abbès, the northwest region of Algeria. A total of 266 cervicovaginal smears were collected during the study period. Results: among the 266 cervical smears performed during the study period; 69.54% were first cervical smears, 22.55% were performed for the second time and 7.89% for the 3rd. The highest rate was recorded in 2017. The most represented age groups for the first cervical smear were [35-39 years], [40-44 years] and [45-49 years]. The cervical smears adequate for the interpretation were the majority whether for the first, the second or the third cervical smears. However, cervical smears not satisfactory for interpretation represented lower rates. Out of all the samples, 17.85% of the cervical smears carried out in 2015, 46.59% in 2016 and 18.40% in 2017 were normal. Moreover, no presence of intra-epithelial lesions has been reported. Epithelial abnormalities of low grade were observed on 3.4% of 1st and 2nd cervical smears done in 2016 and on 0.8% of 1st and 1.6% of 2nd smears performed in 2017. The most frequent recommendations were to redo cervical smears during the 6 months following the previous test; 35.71% in 2015, 47.67% in 2016 and 57.25% in 2017. However, performing a colposcopy or biopsy ware the less frequent as recommendations. Conclusion: Cervical cancer occupies the second position of female cancers in Algeria. Its screening reaches a limited rate of target female population, at a late age, result confirmed by the present retrospective study.

Environmental factors determining regional biodiversity patterns of groundwater fauna in semi-arid aquifers of northwest Algeria

This study investigated the biodiversity and hydrochemistry of seven unconfined aquifers located in two hydrogeological complexes in the north-western region of Algeria. The aim of the study was to: (1) contribute new data on the biodiversity and distribution patterns of groundwater fauna in groundwater bodies in North Africa, (2) assess whether the current biodiversity patterns of groundwater taxa reflect the difference in aquifer type, hydrogeological conditions and hydrochemistry, and (3) evaluate the role of hydrogeological, geographical and physicochemical variables in determining the distribution pattern of groundwater invertebrates. Sixty-three wells were investigated between August 2010 and June 2013. In total, 41,297 specimens belonging to 51 taxa, 10 of which were crustaceans, were collected during the survey. Taxa abundances varied significantly between aquifer types, but not between the two hydrogeological complexes (continental and littoral). The groundwater assemblages collected in seven aquifers in northwest Algeria differed significantly between aquifer types in this region. The distribution of groundwater fauna across the whole study area was primarily affected by distance to streams, the geological period and electrical conductivity. Overall, the assemblages showed a spatial distribution that to some extent mirrored the hydrogeological and hydrochemical conditions of groundwater in the north-western part of Algeria. These findings suggest that groundwater biota, and crustaceans in particular, may play a key role in distinguishing between the typologies of the investigated aquifers. This study contributes to knowledge of current groundwater biodiversity in northwest Algeria and demonstrates that this knowledge is still far from being complete.

An ethnopharmacological study of Salvia Argentea used by the local people of Saida in northwestern Algeria

This ethnopharmacological survey is a first study to assess the traditional uses of Salvia argentea by the local people of Saida, located in the north-western region of Algeria. This plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family, orig-inating from North Africa, is still relatively little studied in Algeria and has no application in conventional medicine. Out of a total of 500 people from the local population interviewed individually, 405 people, including 304 women and 101 men, reported using S. argentea, aged 20 to 90 years, 34.57% of whom are illiterate. Thus, the survey showed that S. argentea is generally used in the treatment of respiratory diseases (93.33%). The leaves are the most commonly used part (87.41%), prepared mainly in powder form (71.60%) and administered exclusively orally (99.51%). The survey collected very valuable information on the traditional therapeutic uses of S. argentea by the study population and for the national pharmacopoeia. This collected information can be considered as a starting point for modern scientific re-search in order to discover new natural molecules with therapeutic interests.

Determining the efficiency of the Imatinib mesylate and monitoring of relapse and emergence of IM resistance in Algerian adult patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia

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POTENTIAL PROBIOTIC EVALUATION ON IN VITRO OF LEUCONOSTOC MESENTEROIDES ISOLATED FROM ALGERIAN RAW GOAT MILK

Ponte Academic JournalSep 2019, Volume 75, Issue 9 POTENTIAL PROBIOTIC EVALUATION ON IN VITRO OF LEUCONOSTOC MESENTEROIDES ISOLATED FROM ALGERIAN RAW GOAT MILKAuthor(s): Hansal Nabila ,Benmchernene Zineb, Kihal MebroukJ. Ponte - Sep 2019 - Volume 75 - Issue 9 doi: 10.21506/j.ponte.2019.9.7 Abstract:This paper investigates the probiotic potential of 4 strains of Leuconostoc mesenteroides (W9, W10, LY36 and LN31) identified phenotypically and with the MALDI-TOF technique. The strains were isolated from raw goat�s milk samples collected in the north western region of Algeria. The effects of probiotic tests on the strains demonstrated that strains indicate resistance to 33, 33% of the 15 antibiotics used, while none of the isolates showed hemolytic activity. Similarly, they were able to survive under conditions of acid, bile salt, pepsin and the stomach-stimulus test for 4 h at 37 �C. Whereas for the percentage of hydrophobicity the highest value was (94.68%) for the LN31 strain whereas the low value was (78.92%) for the W9 strain. Auto-aggregation time of these four Leuconostoc mesenteroides strains was between 15 minutes with W9 and 75 minutes with LY36. While the co-aggregation of the strains tested for Leuconostoc mesenteroides with the Salmonella thyphi pathogen strain ranged between (47.55% for W10) and (68.94% for LN31). However, all strains tested have adherence to epithelial cells of the chicken colon with varying degrees of each other. These results suggest that strains isolate from Algerian raw goat�s milk have very good potential to be used as probiotics. Download full text:Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution Username Password

Physico-Chemical Complex of Matorral Soils of the North Western Region of Algeria

The objective of this study is to determine the influence of soil physico-chemical factors on the spatial distribution of matorrals in the plain from Remchi to Beni-Saf located in the western region of Algeria. This study informs us of the relationships that soil can have on the diversity of matorrals. On the bioclimatic level, the region is characterized by semi-aridity accentuating the phenomena of therophysation. Soil analyzes carried out using known methods (Stokes Particle Size Method, Electrometric Method for pH, 1/5 Extract Method for Electrical Conductivity, Bernard Calcium Method for CaCO3, Anne Method for Organic Carbon). The results show a textural diversity; sandy-muddy “Remchi”, sandy “Rachgoun 1 and Rechgoun 2”, not far from Beni-Saf. The low clay content (Remchi: Profile 1: Horizon 1: Clays 10%, Profile 2: Horizon 1: Clays 16%, Profile 3: Horizon 1: Clays 5%, Rechgoun: Profile 1: Horizon 1: Clays 3%, Profile 3: Horizon 1: 2% Clays and Horizon 2: 3% Clays) leads to poor structural stability leading to degradation of the soil surface through erosion. The latter is revealed by the presence of small erosion claws visible on these rough slopes or almost.

Associations Between Dietary Antioxidant Intake and Markers of Atherosclerosis in Middle-Aged Women From North-Western Algeria.

Background: The role of several dietary antioxidants in preventing the development and the progression of atherosclerosis has recently aroused considerable interest. Although they are not yet conclusive, most of the existing suggestions support this hypothesis.Objective: The aim of the present work was to investigate the intake of dietary antioxidant nutrients in relation to atherogenic indices in a group of Algerian middle aged women with and without type 2 diabetes.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a group of middle-aged women from the north western region of Algeria. Anthropometric and biochemical parameters were measured. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated 3-days food record. Atherogenic indices -total cholesterol-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (TC/HDL) and apolipoprotein (apo) B-to-apo A1 ratio, were calculated. Associations between antioxidants dietary intake and atherogenic indices were examined using logistic regressions.Results: 95 women with type 2 diabetes were compared to 93 non-diabetic ones. Statistical differences (p < 0.05) were revealed for body weight, height, body mass index (BMI), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and total cholesterol levels. Furthermore, significant differences were noted for vitamin C, E and copper dietary intakes. The TC/HDL ratio was significantly associated to the highest quartiles of vitamin C in all patients; 3.519[2.405–4.408], p = 0.009 and in non-diabetic women; 3.984[1.775–7.412], p = 0.020, respectively. The odd ratios of vitamin E intakes were about 2.425[2.017–5.715], p = 0.012 in all patients and 1.843[1.877–2.731], p = 0.019 in non-diabetic group, respectively. However, the Apo B/Apo A1 ratio was more correlated to the highest quartiles of zinc and copper in non-diabetic group; OR = 0.059[0.006–0.572], p = 0.015 and 0.192[0.048–0.766], p = 0.019, respectively.Conclusion: The estimated risk of atherosclerosis measured through the TC/HDL ratio was correlated to vitamins antioxidant intake, while the probable risk assessed by the Apo B/Apo A1 ratio was more associated to the mineral profile.

Epidemiological profile of gastric cancer in the northwestern region of Algeria: about 116 cases.

Gastric cancer (GC) remains a public health issue despite the global incidence decrease over the last decades. GC is the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide and stills of poor prognosis due to its late detection. The overall objective of our study was to describe the epidemiological, clinical, and histopathological aspects of stomach cancer. However, the specific purpose was to determine the gastric precancerous lesions among patients with histologically confirmed GC admitted at the gastroenterology department of the University Hospital of Sidi-Bel-Abbes city, Algeria. We retrospectively analyzed the patients' medical records admitted from 2010 to 2015. Intended for the statistical analysis of the enrolled data, we executed Student t-test and Chi-squared test, significance level was set at 5%. Histologic evidence objectified the biopsies performed during endoscopy; Hematoxylin and Eosin staining as well as the slides interpretation were executed at the level of the pathology department as a routine examination. 116 cases of GC were recorded. The mean age of the whole studied cohort was 58.96±14.75 years. We reported a sex ratio of 1.36 with a peak frequency observed in male gender (57.76%). Gastric precancerous lesions, as well as tumor histology, and topography were revealed. In our context, adenocarcinoma was significantly higher among male patients and linitis plastica was expressively related to female gender (P=0.01). Management of gastric precancerous lesions additionally to early diagnosis represent effective preventive and therapeutic methods of GC.

Phytochemical Screening of Non Woody Terminal Branches of Tetraclinis articulata from the North-western Region of Algeria

In order to contribute to the development of the Algerian flora and to identify new substances potentially interesting in the biological and therapeutic plans, we studied the phytochemical screening of Tetraclinis articulata leaves essential oil from the north-western region of Algeria. The study by GC-MS and GC-ID of the T. articulata essential oil leaves had identified forty compounds, representing 89.7 % of the total chemical composition of this oil. Camphor (19.6 %), bornyl acetate (18.7 %), germacrene D (7.6 %) and borneol (6.3 %) were the major constituents. Others were made present but in small quantities. And the phytochemical screening allowed us to report the presence of two chemicals families that are respectively: hydrocarbons terpenes represent 23.6 % of the essential oil and oxygenated terpenes representing 28.3 % of the essential oil.

On the Use of Wind Energy at Tlemcen, North-Western Region of Algeria

In this work, ten years of wind data from Tlemcen meteorological station have been used to evaluate the potential of wind power on the North occidental region of Algeria. The WAsP program was used to analyse the wind Atlas of the region to find the windiest areas. The study proposes to assess the wind energy produced and the cost per kWh of electricity produced by a wind farm of 18.4 MW rated capacity installed at the southern part of Tlemcen. Despite a relatively low potential assessed at the meteorological station, it was possible to delineate a favourable zone for the use of wind energy. Thus, the investigation at 10 m above ground at the location of the airport shows a low wind potential, with an annual mean wind speed equal to 2.42 m/s and an annual mean power density of 49W/m2 while, the temporal study gives the hottest months as the windiest. However, the windiest area received 23 wind turbines of 800kW rated capacity and gives an annual energy production equal to 25.3 GWh. Concerning the economic analysis, it gives 0.0587 $ per kWh produced for a wind farm expected to cost about 30 million $ (US Dollar) for 20 years.

Study of propagation and floods routing in north-western region of Algeria

The watershed of the studied region, part of the large basin of Macta situated in the north-west of Algeria, is submitted to flash floods and is particularly dangerous. Facing to the recurring of those catastrophic events, the understanding of hydrologic process constitutes a strategic axis of prevention against floods. Functioning indicators of the basin have been searched for by modelling of the flow on different floods observed at level of the stations established along Mekkera wadi. Among hydrologic models, the Muskingum model has been chosen for floods propagation study and estimations of flows, and the QdF model is used to evaluate the extreme quintiles and build the hydrographs of different return periods. The floods episodes observed at level of stations of Sidi Ali Benyoub and of Sidi Bel Abbes are characterised by importance of damages caused. The town of Sidi Bel Abbes built in the major bed of Mekkera and so the communes situated in the plains are the most exposed to these sudden floods.

Correlation Between Dietary Fat Intake and Atherogenic Indices in Normal, Overweight and Obese Adults with or Without Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract Background and aims: We investigated the association of dietary intake, particularly fat and its constituent fatty acids, with atherogenic indices in adult patients with overweight, obesity and/or type 2 diabetes (T2D). Material and Methods: Two hundred eighty-five outpatients were selected in two cities located in the Northwestern region of Algeria. Anthropometric measurements for body weight, height, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were performed. Relationships between dietary intakes, estimated by a 3- days food record, and fasting blood atherogenic indices - total cholesterol-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (TC/HDL-c) and apolipoprotein (apo) B-to-apo A1 ratio, were analysed. Results: Study group included 58.59% overweight/obese T2D patients, 24.91% normal weight T2D patients and 16.49 % overweight/obese patients without diabetes. Higher dietary consumption (p= 0.003) of total fat, saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), was recorded in the group of overweight/obese T2D patients. Significant positive correlations were observed between apo B/apo A1 and total fat (p= 0.035), total SFAs (p= 0.042) and palmitic acid (p= 0.042) in the group of overweight/obese T2D patients and with ω6 fatty acid (p= 0.030) in the group of overweight/obese patients without diabetes. In the two groups of T2D patients, whether normal weight, overweight/obese, numerous positive correlations with TC/HDL-c were disclosed for PUFAs, ω6 and fatty acids ratios, namely, ω6/ω3, monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA)/SFAs and (MUFAs+PUFAs)/SFAs. Conclusion: Most adults, whom are either affected by an excess weight or T2D or both together, are prone to cardiovascular risk. Dietary intakes, particularly in fat and its constituent fatty acids, have an important effect on blood lipid atherogenic indices (TC/HDL-c and apo B/apo A1 ratios).

Effect of Gender and Body Weight on Postprandial Glucose and Lipid Metabolism in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes

The magnitude of the healthcare problem of type-2-diabetes increases according to its association with several risk factors for cardiovascular diseases such as obesity and dyslipidemia. This study took place in the north-western region of Algeria. We aimed to assess the effect of body weight and gender on postprandial lipid and glucose in type-2-diabetes patients. 93 diabetic patients (age 55.65±13.81 years) were studied. Anthropometric parameters and body mass index (BMI) were measured. Fasting and postprandial (PP) glucose and lipid (total cholesterol, HDLcholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, apo A-I and apo B) profiles were evaluated. There were a positive correlation between postprandial glucose and BMI in women (r2 = 0.041). Negative correlation with BMI was noticed for PP TG in both males (r2 = 0.011) and females (r2 = 0.021). A significant difference (p= 0.019) was observed for PP HDL-c in women (0.39 ± 0.10 g/L vs. men 0.33 ± 0.12 g/L) and also for PP apo A-I (women: 1.33 ± 0.27 g/L vs. men: 1.09 ± 0.34 g/L; p= 0.0003). According to gender and weight groups, our results indicated that female gender and overweight are associated with elevated PP HDL-c and PP apo A-I levels. However, obesity in women is related to high concentration of PP TG. The present study suggests that gender difference and weight classes are important factors that contribute to determining the postprandial responses, both for glucose and lipids, in type 2 diabetic patients.

Traffic safety prediction model for identifying spatial degrees of exposure to the risk of road accidents based on fuzzy logic approach

This article, we propose a traffic accident prediction system based on fuzzy logic which allows to identify ‘the degree of exposure to road accidents’ risk’ and to analyse the level of complexity of the factors involved. We focus our study on the possible influence of a series of local criteria observed and selected for each kilometre per segment of the road network studied. The study was conducted on a road network within the rural area of the Wilaya of Mascara in the north-western region of Algeria. A Geographic Information System was integrated into the analysis process to enable a spatial visualization of the degrees of exposure to road accidents’ risk, providing a cartographically measurable solution to establish and attenuate accident risk. Results show that the developed system can be effectively applied as an useful Road Safety tool capable of identifying risk factors related to the characteristics of the road.

Lack ofTEKGene Mutation in Patients with Cutaneomucosal Venous Malformations from the North-Western Region of Algeria

Background. Venous malformations (VM) result from an error in vascular morphogenesis. The first gene suspected in their development is the TEK gene (tyrosine kinase, endothelial). Mutations of this gene have been identified in several Belgian families with a dominant form of the disease. Therefore, we investigated whether mutations in this TEK gene could explain the MV development in patients of families from Tlemcen region (north-western Algeria). Methods. Genomic DNA was extracted from leucocytes of ten patients. The search for mutations in all the 23 exons and in the 5′ and 3′ intronic sequences flanking the TEK gene was performed using PCR amplification and direct sequencing of amplified genomic DNA. Additionally, a search for somatic mutations of the gene TEK was performed on a biopsy of the venous malformation from one of the ten eligible patients. Results. The sequencing of the 23 exons of the TEK gene revealed neither germinal mutation in our ten patients nor somatic mutation in the tissue of the biopsy. Conclusion. The absence of mutation in the TEK gene in the population studied suggests that the TEK gene is not necessarily involved in the onset of VM; its association with these malformations may differ from one population to another.

Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in 8 to 15 Year-Old Children in Sidi-Bel-Abbes, Algeria

Introduction: The prevalence of childhood obesity has been dramatically increasing worldwide. This study was performed to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in school children age 8 to 15 years in Sidi-Bel-Abbes (north-western region of Algeria).