Background. Heavy metals contamination threatens groundwater resources in many areas around the world. Various methods to evaluate groundwater quality have been used to characterize sources of cont...

Argan oil (AO) is rich in oleic and linoleic acids, polyphenols, sterols, and tocopherols. This composition gives it numerous beneficial pharmacological effects such as hypolipemiant, hypotensive, and antiproliferative. Oxidative stress is a mechanism of cell death induced by seizures and status epilepticus (SE). This study aims at investigating AO effects on (i) latency to first seizure, seizure severity, weight loss, mortality rate, (ii) lipid peroxidation level, nitrite level, and catalase activity in the hippocampus after SE induced by pilocarpine (PC). Wistar rats (1-month old) were daily administered by oral gavage with AO (1 ml/100 g/day) or with NaCl 0.9% during 2 months before receiving PC (400 mg/kg). After the PC injection, all groups were observed for 24 h. The catalase activity, the lipid peroxidation, and nitrite concentrations were measured using spectrophotometric methods. AO pretreatment increased the latency to first seizures, decreased the weight loss, and reduced mortality rate after SE. AO pretreatment produces significant decrease of the lipid peroxidation and nitrite levels. On the contrary, AO increased the catalase activity in rat hippocampus after seizures. For the first time, our results suggest that AO pretreatment is capable of attenuating seizure severity and oxidative stress in the hippocampus of Wistar rats. This indicates that AO may exhibit a neuroprotection against the temporal lobe epilepsy. Further investigations are in progress to confirm this pharmacological property. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

| Early life stress, represented by maternal deprivation (MD), is associated with numerous behavioral disorders in later life. In young adulthood, a single 24-hour period of MD has been proven to produce behavioral changes such as affective and cognitive disorders in rats. However, the short-term and long-term behavioral consequences of MD have not been examined in detail. Also, the mechanism by which MD causes these disorders is far from fully understood. Therefore, this study was designed to examine the impact of MD on anxiety- and depression-like behaviors and oxidative stress (OS) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of rats across different ages (adolescence, emerging adulthood, and middle adulthood) and the possible existence of sexual dimorphisms. Rat pups were maternally deprived on postnatal day 9 for 24 hours. The rats of both genders were then tested in the open field and the elevated plus-maze tests for anxiety, and in the forced swimming test for depression at different time points. Additionally, we removed the PFC for biochemical analysis, specifically measuring nitric oxide and lipid peroxidation. The results indicate that, in both genders, MD generates an anxiogenic and depressive effect compared to the control group, which are linked to an increased OS in the PFC of rats, with greater impact during adolescence and adulthood. Interestingly, most measures showed sex differences in responses, particularly in the MD group. Our findings suggest that MD causes short-term and long-term changes in anxiety-like and depression-like behaviors and OS. Such effects depend on gender and age.

Background: Difficulties in interacting in and adapting to the social world are the central complaint faced by patients with schizophrenia. These people are often socially isolated, unemployed and may find it difficult to live independently. Aim: This study aims to evaluate the social functioning of schizophrenic patients, and to highlight the various factors associated with the alteration of the social functioning of schizophrenic patients. Methods: We conducted a prospective descriptive and analytical study of a population of 72 patients with schizophrenia. These are patients between 19 and 59 years old, clinically stabilized, diagnosed and followed at the My EL Hassan health center in Kenitra (Morocco). Symptom assessment is measured using a standardized Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and social functioning is assessed using a Social Functioning Questionnaire (SFQ). Results: Statistical analysis shows that of 72 schizophrenic patients, 33.3% had good social functioning, 59.7% had moderate social functioning, while 6.9% of patients had altered social functioning (the average score of all SFQ items less than 2.4). 6.9% with altered social functioning, are patients aged 19 to 49, were male (p < 0.35), come from an urban areas (p < 0.17), without professional activity (p < 0.00), and have a progressive onset of the disease (p < 0.31). 5.5% (n = 4) of them were single (p < 0.12), caught this disease at an age greater than or equal to 20 years, and have the mixed type of symptoms (positive/negative) (p < 0.15). The altered social functioning of our patients is correlated to five factors: professional activity (p < 0.00), family situation (p < 0.03), family care (p < 0.02), family awareness (p < 0.01), and the negative subtype of psychotic symptomatology (p < 0.02). Conclusion: This study underlines the interest of psycho-social treatment as specific care which would complement symptomatic treatment and improve the social functioning of patients with schizophrenia.