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Abstract Background Although aging and being of African descent are well-known risk factors for masked uncontrolled hypertension (MUCH), data on MUCH among elderly black sub-Saharan Africans (BSSA) are limited. Furthermore, it is unclear whether the determinants of MUCH in younger individuals differ from those in the elderly. Objective This study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with MUCH in both elderly and younger BSSA individuals. Methods In this study, 168 patients with treated hypertension were assessed for medical history, clinical examination, fundoscopy, echocardiography, and laboratory data. All patients underwent ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring for 24 h. MUCH was diagnosed if the average 24-h mean BP ≥ 130/80 mmHg, the daytime mean BP ≥ 135/85 mmHg, and/or the nighttime mean BP ≥ 120/70 mmHg, despite controlled clinic BP (≤ 140/90 mmHg). Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess independent factors associated with MUCH, including elderly and younger adults separately. P-values

Résumé : Le sens étymologique du terme « séduire » comme étant un acte de détournement du droit chemin n’est qu’un indice d’une résiliation du sens des sémiotiques verbales ou non verbales. Cette extension indicielle n’est pourtant qu’un paradoxe, car le signe séduisant ne fait qu’oblitérer le sens lié à un but pour déclencher un parcours d’évocations libéré de toutes contraintes parce qu’autonymique. Dès lors, de ce point de vue, nous pouvons conclure que la séduction est une transgression d’interdit, un interdit qui assigne à tout signe une fonction utilitaire. Nous illustrerons cette hypothèse de diverses manières. Mots-clés : Poétique, séduction, autonymie, sens, interdit.

Abstract Background Child malnutrition is a major public health challenge, affecting millions of children worldwide, with alarming proportions of children under five in Benin. The complexity of managing this condition is increased by its potential association with opportunistic pathologies. An interesting approach arises from the use of medicinal plants, to address child malnutrition and its associated pathologies. This study aimed to document the knowledge and practices of Beninese mothers and traditional practitioners with regard to the use of medicinal plants to treat child malnutrition and associated diseases. Methods A total of 844 Beninese mothers and 201 traditional healers were surveyed between March 2022 and August 2023 in the communes of Karimama, Bopa and Za-Kpota in Benin. The respondents’ knowledge of child malnutrition and associated pathologies was explored. The ethnobotanical data collected from the subjects concerned the medicinal recipes used to treat child malnutrition, the medicinal plants that make them up and the methods of use. These data were analyzed using ethnobotanical indices such as the Informant Consensus Factor, the frequency of citation of medicinal recipes types and medicinal plants, and the contribution of plants to medicinal recipes. Results All respondents cited a total of 82 plant species used to treat child malnutrition and associated diseases. These plants were grouped into 37 botanical families, the most common of which were Fabaceae, Malvaceae and Annonaceae. The leaves were the most commonly used part of the plant species identified. The mothers shared 122 medicinal recipes, ranging from recipes based on a single plant to more complex compositions involving five plants. The most notable plants were Moringa oleifera Lam, Phyllanthus amarus Schumach & Thonn, Senna siamea (Lam.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby, Carica papaya L. and Ocimum gratissimum L. Traditional healers provided 52 plants in 71 recipes, with Moringa oleifera featuring prominently in both single-plant and multiplant formulations. Conclusion This study made it possible to constitute a rich base of medicinal recipes used against malnutrition and associated pathologies, with the preponderant involvement of certain plant species. It is therefore necessary to deepen research on these different identified species in order to scientifically assess their potential.

Summary: Background: Research in healthy young adults shows that characteristic patterns of brain activity define individual “brain-fingerprints” that are unique to each person. However, variability in these brain-fingerprints increases in individuals with neurological conditions, challenging the clinical relevance and potential impact of the approach. Our study shows that brain-fingerprints derived from neurophysiological brain activity are associated with pathophysiological and clinical traits of individual patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Methods: We created brain-fingerprints from task-free brain activity recorded through magnetoencephalography in 79 PD patients and compared them with those from two independent samples of age-matched healthy controls (N = 424 total). We decomposed brain activity into arrhythmic and rhythmic components, defining distinct brain-fingerprints for each type from recording durations of up to 4 min and as short as 30 s. Findings: The arrhythmic spectral components of cortical activity in patients with Parkinson’s disease are more variable over short periods, challenging the definition of a reliable brain-fingerprint. However, by isolating the rhythmic components of cortical activity, we derived brain-fingerprints that distinguished between patients and healthy controls with about 90% accuracy. The most prominent cortical features of the resulting Parkinson’s brain-fingerprint are mapped to polyrhythmic activity in unimodal sensorimotor regions. Leveraging these features, we also demonstrate that Parkinson’s symptom laterality can be decoded directly from cortical neurophysiological activity. Furthermore, our study reveals that the cortical topography of the Parkinson’s brain-fingerprint aligns with that of neurotransmitter systems affected by the disease’s pathophysiology. Interpretation: The increased moment-to-moment variability of arrhythmic brain-fingerprints challenges patient differentiation and explains previously published results. We outline patient-specific rhythmic brain signaling features that provide insights into both the neurophysiological signature and symptom laterality of Parkinson’s disease. Thus, the proposed definition of a rhythmic brain-fingerprint of Parkinson’s disease may contribute to novel, refined approaches to patient stratification. Symmetrically, we discuss how rhythmic brain-fingerprints may contribute to the improved identification and testing of therapeutic neurostimulation targets. Funding: Data collection and sharing for this project was provided by the Quebec Parkinson Network (QPN), the Pre-symptomatic Evaluation of Novel or Experimental Treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease (PREVENT-AD; release 6.0) program, the Cambridge Centre for Aging Neuroscience (Cam-CAN), and the Open MEG Archives (OMEGA). The QPN is funded by a grant from Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Santé (FRQS). PREVENT-AD was launched in 2011 as a $13.5 million, 7-year public-private partnership using funds provided by McGill University, the FRQS, an unrestricted research grant from Pfizer Canada, the Levesque Foundation, the Douglas Hospital Research Centre and Foundation, the Government of Canada, and the Canada Fund for Innovation. The Brainstorm project is supported by funding to SB from the NIH (R01-EB026299-05). Further funding to SB for this study included a Discovery grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada of Canada (436355-13), and the CIHR Canada research Chair in Neural Dynamics of Brain Systems (CRC-2017-00311).

This article introduces a novel multiple-cycle generation system for efficient heat recovery at high and low temperatures. The system is modeled and optimized using the M2EP analysis method (mass, energy, exergy, and performance) and the particle swarm optimization algorithm. The multigeneration system produces electricity, cold, domestic hot water, and biogas by utilizing Kalina cycles, diffusion–absorption refrigeration machines, and high-performance heat exchangers by harnessing waste heat from cement kiln exhaust gases. The Kalina cycle is employed for electricity generation, wherein the H2O+NH3 mixture, heated by hot water, circulates through heat exchangers. Downstream of the Kalina cycle, the refrigeration machine generates cold by evaporating the strong solution of the H2O+NH3 mixture. Hydrogen circulates in the diffusion–absorption refrigerator (DAR) circuit, facilitating the exchange between the evaporator and the absorber. The domestic hot water and biogas production systems operate at lower temperatures (around 45 °C). The simulation results for the Kalina cycle indicate an electrical energy production of 2565.03 kW, with a release of usable energy (residual gases) estimated at 7368.20 kW and a thermal efficiency of 22.15%. Exergy destruction is highest at heat exchanger 1, accounting for 26% of the total. A coefficient of performance of 0.268 and an evaporator temperature of 10.57 °C were obtained for the DAR cycle. The absorber contributes the most to energy exchanges, comprising 37% of the entire circuit. Summarizing the potential for valorizing waste heat from cement kilns, this article lays the foundation for future research.

Hepatic diseases represent a public health problem. Among the approaches to their management is the use of traditional treatments based on the use of medicinal plants. In Benin, several recipes based on Cochlospermum tinctorium are used in the treatment of hepatitis without a real scientific basis. This study aimed to evaluate the hepatoprotective effects and acute oral toxicity of 10 of these recipes. The variables studied were the variety of C. tinctorium (wild form vs. cultivated form), the species associated with C. tinctorium (Combretum micranthum vs. Chromolaena odorata), and the proportion of C. tinctorium in the recipe (1; 4/5; 1/2). The hepatoprotective effect of these extracts at doses of 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg/bw was evaluated in Wistar rats subjected to hepatotoxicity induction through the administration of 5 g/kg of paracetamol. Acute oral toxicity was assessed following the OECD 423 protocol. The results revealed an absence of acute oral toxicity for the 10 recipes. The hepatoprotective tests conducted indicated that the hepatoprotective effect of C. tinctorium is dose dependent. The wild variety of C. tinctorium had a better hepatoprotective effect than the cultivated one. The association with C. micranthum enhances the hepatoprotective effect of C. tinctorium, unlike that with C. odorata. This study emphasizes that the combination of C. tinctorium with C. micranthum in the treatment of hepatitis is scientifically justified and it exhibits a dose-dependent hepatoprotective effect.

Background and Objectives. The chest computed tomography (chest CT) has played an important role in the management of COVID-19. Few data on its use in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are reported. The objectives of this study conducted in Kinshasa, DR Congo, were to describe the lung lesions on day 1 of hospitalization in patients admitted for suspected COVID-19 and to identify those that were most associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection/RT-PCR and the determinants of chest CT associated with death. Methods. We included all patients with respiratory symptoms (dyspnea, fever, and cough) and/or respiratory failure admitted to the SOS Médecins de nuit SARL hospital, DR Congo, during the 2nd and 3rd waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was established based on RT-PCR anti-SARS-CoV-2 tests (G1 (RT-PCR positive) vs. G2 (RT-PCR negative)), and all patients had a chest CT on the day of admission. We retrieved the digital files of patients, precisely the clinical, biological, and chest CT parameters of the day of admission as well as the vital outcome (survival or death). Chest CT were read by a very high-definition console using Advantage Windows software and exported to the hospital network using the RadiAnt DICOM viewer. To determine the threshold for the percentage of lung lesions associated with all-cause mortality, we used ROC curves. Factors associated with death, including chest CT parameters, were investigated using logistic regression analysis. Results. The study included 200 patients (average age 56.2±15.2 years; 19% diabetics and 4.5% obese), and COVID-19 was confirmed among 56% of them (G1). Chest CT showed that ground glass (72.3 vs. 39.8%), crazy paving (69.6 vs. 17.0%), and consolidation (83.9 vs. 22.7%), with bilateral and peripheral locations (68.8 vs. 30.7%), were more frequent in G1 vs. G2 (p

La surexploitation des nappes génère un coût économique et environnemental qui se traduit par la diminution de la disponibilité de l’eau et l’augmentation de son coût de pompage. Les études portant sur la distribution de ces coûts à travers les types d’exploitations et leur impact sur l’équité d’accès aux eaux souterraines demeurent limitées en Tunisie. À travers l’élaboration d’indicateurs par le modèle de programmation mathématique appliqué à des exploitations types, ce travail a montré que les coûts résultant de la surexploitation des nappes sont inégalement répartis. Les petites exploitations, disposant de moins de 3 ha, sont les plus affectées. Elles encourent des coûts de pompage de 1,25 à 1,5 fois plus élevés que les exploitations disposant d’une superficie beaucoup plus large. Le ratio bénéfice-coût de l’irrigation est également le plus faible dans cette catégorie, suggérant la non-rentabilité de l’irrigation dans un futur proche. Ce travail a révélé que l’accès économique à l’eau souterraine est désormais tributaire de la dotation de deux facteurs clés : le capital foncier et le capital financier. Les exploitations disposant de moyens fonciers et financiers vont continuer à profiter des eaux souterraines, tandis que les petites exploitations risquent d’en perdre rapidement l’accès, se trouvant ainsi exclues de leur part de cette ressource collective. Afin de préserver l’égalité d’accès pour toutes les catégories d’exploitations, et de prévenir une accentuation de la dégradation de la nappe, une politique robuste de gouvernance devrait être mise en place, avec une implication plus forte des usagers locaux et de l’administration agricole régionale.

Declines in bumble bee species range and abundances are documented across multiple continents and have prompted the need for research to aid species recovery and conservation. The rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) is the first federally listed bumble bee species in North America. We conducted a range-wide population genetics study of B. affinis from across all extant conservation units to inform conservation efforts. To understand the species' vulnerability and help establish recovery targets, we examined population structure, patterns of genetic diversity, and population differentiation. Additionally, we conducted a site-level analysis of colony abundance to inform prioritizing areas for conservation, translocation, and other recovery actions. We find substantial evidence of population structuring along an east-to-west gradient. Putative populations show evidence of isolation by distance, high inbreeding coefficients, and a range-wide male diploidy rate of ~15%. Our results suggest the Appalachians represent a genetically distinct cluster with high levels of private alleles and substantial differentiation from the rest of the extant range. Site-level analyses suggest low colony abundance estimates for B. affinis compared to similar datasets of stable, co-occurring species. These results lend genetic support to trends from observational studies, suggesting that B. affinis has undergone a recent decline and exhibit substantial spatial structure. The low colony abundances observed here suggest caution in overinterpreting the stability of populations even where B. affinis is reliably detected interannually. These results help delineate informed management units, provide context for the potential risks of translocation programs, and help set clear recovery targets for this and other threatened bumble bee species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microfinance shows a tendency to seek profitability by increasingly neglecting its social objective. This paper seeks to enrich the debate on the explanation of such a duality by analyzing the determinants of deposit volatility taking Gabon as a field of investigation whose microfinance sector is particularly dominated by short-term deposits. Using the 2014–2020 period from a fully modified least squares model, we find that deposit volatility is influenced in the short term by inflation and in the long term by the business cycle and governance. These results have important implications in terms of poverty reduction in Gabon where microfinance can play a crucial role. [Display omitted] • We investigate the determinants of short-term deposits in Gabon's microfinance sector. • We use a FMOLS model to study long- and short-term effects. • Business cycle, socio-economic conditions and inflation affect significantly deposits volatility. • Microfinance institutions must increase the level of term deposit to promote real inclusive finance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]