Spatio-temporal distribution patterns of Chironomidae communities in the wadis of Northern Tunisia

In Northern Tunisia, seasonal streams, called wadi, are characterized by extreme hydrological and thermal conditions. These freshwater systems have very particular features as a result of their strong irregularity of flow due to limited precipitation runoff regime, leading to strong seasonal hydrologic fluctuations. The current study focused on the spatio-temporal distribution of chironomids in 28 sampling sites spread across the Northern Tunisia. By emplying PERMANOVA, the results indicated a significant spatio-temporal variation along various environmental gradients. The main abiotic factors responsible for noted differences in the spatial distribution of chironomids in wadi were the conductivity and temperature, closely followed by altitude, pH, salinity, talweg slope and dissolved oxygen, identified as such by employing distance-based linear models’ procedure. The Distance-based redundancy analysis ordination showed two main groups: the first clustered the Bizerte sites, which were characterized by high water conductivity, sodium concentration and salinity. The second main group comprised sites from the Tell zone and was characterized by low temperatures, neutral pH, low conductivity and nutrients content. The subfamily TANYPODIINAE (e.g., Prochladius sp., Prochladius choerus (Meigen, 1804) and Macropelopia sp.) was the dominant group at Tell zone, whereas species such as Diamesa starmachi (Kownacki et Kownacha, 1970) and Potthastia gaedii (Meigen, 1838) were found only in Tell Wadis. In contrast, chironomid species such as Diamesa starmachi (Kownacki et Kownacha, 1970), Potthastia gaedii (Meigen, 1838), Procladius choreus (Meigen, 1804) were specific for Tell Mountain. Cap Bon wadis region was dominated by genus Cladotanytarsus sp. The results of this survey liked the taxonomic composition of chironomid assemblages to the variation of hydromorphological and physic-chemical gradients across the northern Tunisia wadis.

Phylogeography and phylogeny of Rhinoviruses collected from Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) cases over successive epidemic periods in Tunisia

Rhinoviruses (RV) are a major cause of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) in children, with high genotypic diversity in different regions. However, RV type diversity remains unknown in several regions of the world. In this study, the genetic variability of the frequently circulating RV types in Northern Tunisia was investigated, using phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses with a specific focus on the most frequent RV types: RV-A101 and RV-C45. This study concerned 13 RV types frequently circulating in Northern Tunisia. They were obtained from respiratory samples collected in 271 pediatric SARI cases, between September 2015 and November 2017. A total of 37 RV VP4-VP2 sequences, selected among a total of 49 generated sequences, was compared to 359 sequences from different regions of the world. Evolutionary analysis of RV-A101 and RV-C45 showed high genetic relationship between different Tunisian strains and Malaysian strains. RV-A101 and C45 progenitor viruses’ dates were estimated in 1981 and 1995, respectively. Since the early 2000s, the two types had a wide spread throughout the world. Phylogenetic analyses of other frequently circulating strains showed significant homology of Tunisian strains from the same epidemic period, in contrast with earlier strains. The genetic relatedness of RV-A101 and RV-C45 might result from an introduction of viruses from different clades followed by local dissemination rather than a local persistence of an endemic clades along seasons. International traffic may play a key role in the spread of RV-A101, RV-C45, and other RVs.

Estimation of dry events duration in Northern Tunisia – Analysis of extremes trends

Modeling of extremes dry spells in Northern Tunisia, in order to detect the severity of the phenomenon, is carried out. Dry events are considered as a sequence of dry days (below a threshold) separated by rainfall events from each other. The maximum dry event duration follows the Generalized Extreme Value distribution. The data series adherence to the probability distribution was verified by the Anderson-Darling test. The positive trend and non-stationarity of dry spells was verified respectively by the Mann–Kendall test and Dickey–Fuller and augmented Dickey–Fuller tests. The irregular distribution of rainfall in the growing season for Sidi Abdelbasset station has increased the number of dry spells. The increase of rainy days in Ghézala dam and Sidi Salem gauge stations resulted in a decrease of dry spells in this area. Regarding the return period of one year (wet season), dry events occurred from 14 to 27 d in this region constitute an agricultural potential risk. The Southern region was the most vulnerable.

Child homicide in northern Tunisia: a retrospective study of forensic autopsy cases

Background As far as we know, no previous research has investigated child homicide in Tunisia. In this context, our study was carried out to analyze the epidemiological and medico-legal characteristics of child homicide occurring in northern Tunisia over a 17-year period. Results Eighty-seven cases were collected, with a male-to-female ratio of 2.4. The mean age of the victims was 12.6 years for both sexes. We found that 56.3% of the cases were aged between 15 and 18 years. The majority of deaths under 15 years of age occurred at home as a result of intrafamilial homicide. Victims aged more than 15 years were more likely to be assaulted outside the home by a non-family member. The most frequent method of homicide was sharp force (39%) affecting mostly the heart and the lung, followed by blunt trauma (25%), which affected mainly the head. Sexual assault was diagnosed at autopsy in six victims (6.9%). Conclusions The study offers available data concerning the patterns of child homicide in northern Tunisia and may help to implement preventive measures against this kind of crime.

Comprehensive study of the wet and dry spells and their extremes in the Mediterranean climate basin Northern Tunisia

Abstract In agriculture, the characterization of dry spells is essential whether it is to calibrate the water needs of crops or the flow rates of rivers. This study seeks to develop a discretization of dry and wet spells on a monthly scale while evaluating the risk of extremes using the renewal wet-dry spell model. This model consists of defining the wet spell according a negligible precipitation threshold. The structure of the model is that all parameters of the climate cycle, including its length, are random variables. To study the trend of the parameters we use the Mann–Kendall test, while the magnitude is evaluated by the Sen’s estimation method. The approach is applied to Ichkeul Lake basin in northern Tunisia to demonstrate its capacity. This region is of great agricultural and water importance, although it holds six large dams. The results show that the duration of the dry and wet spells reach’s, respectively, 49 days and 17 days. The maximum dry spell was 49 days in 1982. The Mann–Kendall test revealed three stations with significant positive trend of the monthly extreme dry spell length (at March) located in south and east of the basin. The trend analysis of the seasonal rainfall number showed one station with significant negative trend in east and one station with significant negative trend in the center of the basin. Results indicated that no significant changes in the start and end of rainy season have occurred over the past years. But a great relation with a subsequent length exists. The results of this research assist farmers and managers in establishing drought management plans. It allow, among other things, to calibrate simulation models for a more realistic management of water reservoirs. It also makes it possible to plan irrigations on a more different basis from that of observations made at regular time intervals. Highlights We analyze the trends of the drought in Ichkeul lake basin, Northern Tunisia, characterized from the daily rainfall data of five stations. The alternating wet-dry spell model and a precipitation threshold value are used to define the rainfall/dry event. The Mann–Kendall test and the Sen’s estimation method were used to analyze the possible trends and the magnitude of variables analyzed, respectively. The results show an increasing trend of maximum monthly dry spells. No significant changes in the start and end of rainy season have occurred over the past years. These analyses provide useful information for science and society and make it possible to minimize unexpected damage due to long dry spells and to have effective and efficient planning for various stakeholders.