Search

Introduction: The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the urology centers in Morocco are unknown with a lack of data on the evaluation of the level of urological activities per-COVID19, hence, the reasons that motivated us to conduct this study. The main objective of our work is to evaluate the repercussion of the COVID 19 pandemic on the medicosurgical activities of the Urology service of the CHU MOHAMED VI of Marrakech. Patients and Methods: This is a retrospective and descriptive study comparing activities one year before COVID-19 and one year amidst COVID-19. Ranging from March 23, 2019 to March 23, 2020 for the pre COVID-19 period and from March 23, 2020 to March 23, 2021 for the year during COVID-19 period. All patients seen during the study period with a diagnosis of urological pathology whether in the emergency department or admitted directly to the department through the consultation. Data collection was done with data sheets filled in from the consultation, hospitalization and operating room registers. We also used the digital information system Hosix of our hospital. Each patient file included in the study was the subject of an exploitation form established on the basis of the objectives of the study. The analysis and writing of the data were done with the software: Word, Excel and SPSS. Results and Discussion: A total of 771 adult urological procedures were performed during the pre-COVID period and 531 during the per-COVID period, representing an overall reduction in activity of 18.44%. The decrease in activity for scheduled procedures was 34% (543 versus 267) for the year during COVID-19 period. The decrease in emergency activity was 21% (221 Pre-COVID versus 148 during COVID period). IRO was the most common diagnosis during the two study periods, followed by spermatic torsion for patients seen in the emergency department, with respective percentages of 65.9% and 47.8% for the pre-COVID period and 52.2% and 44.1% amidst COVID period. The decreases in...

Adams-Oliver syndrome is a polymalformative disease rare whose incidence is estimated at 1/225,000. This is a female newborn, referred by the maternity ward on D0 of life, hospitalized for a polymalformative syndrome. We noted a shallow and non-traumatic parietal ulceration on a background of congenital aplasia of the scalp without bone defect, with peripheral venous ectasia, Cutis Marmorata, Congenital Telangiectatica. Moreover; second and third toe brachydactyly with nail agenesis. We managed the ulcerations with local care and offered regular follow-up to minimize the occurrence of serious complications. Unfortunately the newborn is lost to sight after a few days.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of Xpert® MTB/RIF Ultra (Ultra) on fresh respiratory samples for the diagnosis of pulmonary TB (PTB) in children.METHODS: Between July 2017 and December 2019, children with presumed TB were prospectively enrolled at clinical sites in three African countries. Children were assessed using history, physical examination and chest X-ray. Sputum or gastric aspirate samples were analysed using Ultra and culture. The diagnostic accuracy of Ultra was calculated against culture as the reference standard.RESULTS: In total, 547children were included. The median age was 4.7 years, 77 (14.1%) were HIV infected and 77 (14.1%) had bacteriologically confirmed TB. Ultra detected an additional 20 cases in the group of children with negative culture results. The sensitivity of Ultra was 66.3% (95% CI 47–82), and the specificity was 95.4% (95% CI 89–99) when assessed against culture as the reference standard.CONCLUSION: Despite the improved performance of Ultra as compared to Xpert as was previously reported, its sensitivity remains sub-optimal for the detection of TB in children. Ultra detected additional 20 cases which otherwise could not have been detected by culture alone, suggesting that the latter is an imperfect reference standard.

Biogas upgrading in Africa remains a huge challenge for producers of small installations due to the high cost of acquisition of all-in-one installations designed and used in developed countries. This study brings a clear idea on some purification methods accessible to these small producers while proposing those optimal for decarbonation and desulphurization of biogas. Starting from the analysis over time of the biogas resulting from the anaerobic digestion of cow dung, the system of NaOH filters and steel wool mounted in series is the one proposed for optimality (with purification capacities respective CO2of the order of 95.9063 ± 0.0864 % and H2S of 100 %). Better still, the use of a steel wool filter in series with activated carbon (based on coconut shells or bamboo) makes it possible to increase the desulfurization capacity of the latter up to 100 %. &nbsp

Malnutrition is a major public health problem in Mali, along with the country’s political and security instability. We initiated this work with the objective of determining the frequency as well as the risk factors favoring the occurrence of malnutrition in children aged 6 - 59 months hospitalized in the pediatrics department of the Gabriel Toure University Hospital in Bamako, country reference service to identify potential interventions to plan. A cross-sectional study was carried out over a period of 4 months. A bivariate logistic regression analysis allowed us to identify risk factors with degree of significance if p 0.05. During the study period, 2888 children were hospitalized, including 348 aged 6 to 59 months, or a frequency of 12.04%. One in two children was malnourished, i.e. a frequency of 50%. It more frequently affected infants aged between 6 and 23 months with a frequency of 33.7%, with a hospital frequency of growth retardation which was 23% including 14.7% of severe form. The emaciation was 27% of which 18.7% were severe form. The underweight was 42.2% with 31% in severe form. We found the diet inequality in all malnourished and non-malnourished children. A bivariate analysis showed that children with an out-of-school mother have a 2.4-fold risk of being malnourished (OR = 2.425; CI = 1.9 - 4.2; p 0.03). Also children from households with no stable income (non-salaried father) have twice the risk of children from a household with stable income (OR = 2.120; IC = 1.1 - 4.1; p 0.002). Finally, inappropriate nutrients (early introduction of food and early weaning) have been strongly associated with the occurrence of malnutrition. The prevalence of malnutrition reflects the way children eat. Emphasis should be placed on nutritional education and financial stability in households.

Introduction: According to Mali’s National Immunization Center, the Haemophilus influenzae b (Hib) vaccine coverage rate was 90% in 2015. Our work aimed to study invasive bacterial infections due to Haemophilus influenzae type b in children aged 0 - 15 years hospitalized in the pediatrics department of the UH-GT. Method: We carried out a retrospective descriptive study from January 2017 to December 2018 (i.e. 2 years) among children aged 0 - 15 years and hospitalized for Haemophilus influenzae type b infection confirmed by culture (blood culture, Cerebro-spinal Fluid, and pleural and skin fluid). Results: Thirty-three cases of Hib infections were collected giving a frequency of 0.2% and the age group 3 months to 3 years was the most affected (72.73%). Children who received no vaccine accounted for 21.21%. The Cerebro-spinal Fluid culture and other samples (pleural and skin) identified the bacterium in 100% of cases, against 72.72% in the blood culture Meningitis was the most frequent pathology (78.79%) and the lethality was high (21.21%). Conclusion: Despite the introduction of the Hib vaccine in the routine immunization program in Mali, Hib infections remain with a high lethality linked to meningitis.

Objective: Pediatric jaundice is caused by various conditions. Although some data is available on this issue, data from Mali is insufficient. The present retrospective observational study was an attempt to determine the etiology of pediatric jaundice in the pediatric department of Gabriel Toure teaching hospital in Bamako, Mali. Methods: We reviewed all pediatric patients with jaundice who were hospitalized and treated in this department during January 1 to December 31, 2016 (n = 168). Result: Pediatric jaundice patients accounted for 1.88% of the hospitalized patients, with median age of 6 years and male/female ratio being 1.6. Infectious, cholestatic, and hemolytic jaundice accounted for 75%, 11% and 10%, respectively. Malaria and sickle cell disease accounted for 67% and 9%, respectively. Hepatomegaly and splenomegaly were observed in 49 (29%) and 23 (13.7%) patients, respectively. Of 168, 9 patients died. Conclusion: Infectious jaundice, especially jaundice due to malaria, was the most frequent. However, variety of etiologies was observed, of which the practitioners should be aware. The observation presented here may become fundamental data in health-policy making in this area.

Isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) is known to reduce the risk of developing active TB in about 59% in children aged ⩽15 years. We assessed adherence, completion and adverse events among children who were household contacts of a newly diagnosed adult with smear-positive TB in Bamako, Mali.Children aged15 years living in the same house with an adult smear-positive index case were enrolled in the study in the Bamako Region after consent was obtained from the parent or legal guardian. Adherence was assessed based on the number of tablets consumed during 6 months.A total of 260 children aged15 years were identified as household contacts of 207 adult patients with smear-positive TB during the study period. Among all child contacts, 130/260 (50.0%) were aged 0-4 years and were eligible for IPT; 128/130 (98.5%) were started on IPT and 83/128 (64.8%) completed with good adherence at the end of the 6 months, and without any significant adverse events.We successfully implemented IPT with good acceptance, but low completion rate. The Mali National TB Program and partners should expand this strategy to reach more children in Bamako and the whole country and create greater awareness in the population.Le traitement préventif par isoniazide (IPT) réduit le risque de développer une TB active chez environ 59% des enfants ⩽15 ans. Nous avons évalué l’observance, l’achèvement du traitement et les évènements indésirables chez des enfants qui étaient contacts domestiques d’un adulte ayant récemment reçu un diagnostic de TB à microscopie positive à Bamako, Mali.Les enfants âgés15 ans vivant sous le même toit qu’un cas index adulte de TB à microscopie positive ont été inclus dans l’étude dans la région de Bamako, après obtention du consentement des parents ou du tuteur légal. L’observance a été évaluée en fonction du nombre de comprimés consommés au cours d’une période de 6 mois.Au total, 260 enfants âgés15 ans ont été identifiés comme contacts domestiques de 207 patients adultes atteints de TB à microscopie positive pendant la période d’étude. Parmi tous les contacts pédiatriques, 130/260 (50,0%) étaient âgés de 0–4 ans et étaient éligibles à l’IPT ; 128/130 (98,5%) ont été mis sous IPT et 83/128 (64,8%) ont achevé leur traitement avec une bonne observance à la fin de la période de 6 mois, sans évènement indésirable significatif.Nous avons mis en place l’ITP avec succès. L’acceptation était bonne mais le taux d’achèvement du traitement était faible. Le programme national de lutte contre la TB du Mali et ses partenaires devraient élargir cette stratégie afin d’inclure davantage d’enfants de Bamako et du pays, et d’accroître la sensibilisation de la population.

Introduction: In Mali, Intensive nutritional recovery and education units have been established throughout the country and the pediatric unit of Gabriel Toure Teaching Hospital started in May 2010. The objective was to analyze the factors influencing the performance indicators at the Intensive nutritional recovery unit in the Pediatric of Gabriel Toure Teaching Hospital. Material and Methods: Cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study, it took place over a period of 6 months (June 1 to November 30, 2016). All severe malnourished children under 5 years of age were included. The parents or caregivers of these children as well as the staff of the Intensive nutritional recovery unit were asked about their opinions. Result: During the study period, 4724 children were hospitalized in the service. There were 259 cases of severe acute malnutrition with a frequency of 5.5%. The 12-23 month age group was the most represented with 44.79%. Sex ratio of 0.90. Patients were exclusively breastfed (76.06%) before 6 months of age and 36.68% had not benefited from supplement foods after 6 months. The most common reason for consultation was anorexia with 66.79% of cases. Muscle wasting was the most found sign on physical examination (66.79%). Marasmus was the most represented form of malnutrition (87.65%). The failure of the appetite test was the main complication of management with 42.86% of cases. The combination of milk F75 + F100 + PPN was used for management in 87.26% of cases. Treated successfully are 54.83%. We recorded 18.53% dropout. There was a statistically significant association between the treaties successfully and the father's occupation (OR = 2.7, p = 0.028). The association between death and complications was statistically significant (OR = 21.345, p = 0.001). There was a statistically significant association between treatment discontinuation and financial problems (OR = 3.037, p = 0.005). The death rate was 23.55%. Conclusion: The financial problems of the parents and the association of the complications (serious pathologies) constitute factors which influence considerably on the indicators of performance.

This paper discusses some of the Islamic virtues, the virtues of Islam and Muslims over other religions, heavenly and non-celestial, in the most important subjects of life, namely the social issues of marriage or marriage and its related matters. The good mind does not live happy without its solution, The women are happy only with the pair, and the creation and good cohabitation, so no sex is dispensed with the other not by participation, there is no proper way to do so except by marriage, and to choose French law as a case very import, because its source of Islamic law, the comparison between them is the most appropriate, and to make the state of Guinea Conakry a study, because it is a subsidiary or colony by French, and on the other side because it is among the Islamic countries, and the research aims to highlight the aesthetics of Islam, and the authenticity of authenticity that the Lord of the world, and French law in accordance with Islamic law in many of social issues, and that the state of Guinea Conakry follows the Islamic Sharia in many provisions of marriage, and the researcher has adopted the method of inductive and analytical and comparative, and the researcher's suggestions that the people of language are interested in translating the laws of the situation; because most or most of the Islamic law, balance and between the good and bad.

Recurrent neural networks are widely used in machine learning systems that process time series data including health monitoring, object tracking in video, and automatic speech recognition (ASR). While much work has been done demonstrating the vulnerability of deep neural networks to socalled adversarial perturbations, the majority of this work has focused on convolutional neural networks that process non-sequential data for tasks like image recognition. We propose that the unique memory and parameter sharing properties of recurrent neural networks make them susceptible to periodic adversarial perturbations that can exploit these unique features. In this paper, we demonstrate a general application of deep reinforcement learning to the generation of periodic adversarial perturbations in a black-box approach to attack recurrent neural networks processing sequential data. We successfully learn an attack policy to generate adversarial perturbations against the DeepSpeech ASR system and further demonstrate that this attack policy generalizes to a set of unseen examples in real time.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the relative importance of climate normals (average long-term temperature and precipitation) in explaining net farm revenue per hectare (NRh) for supplementary irrigated and rainfed cocoa farms in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach NRh was estimated for 280 cocoa farmers sampled across seven Nigerian states. It was regressed on climate, household socio-economic characteristics and other control variables by using a Ricardian analytical framework. Marginal calculations were used to isolate the effects of climate change (CC) on cocoa farm revenues under supplementary irrigated and rainfed conditions. Future impacts of CC were simulated using Six CORDEX regional climate model (RCM) ensemble between 2036-2065 and 2071-2100. Findings Results indicate high sensitivity of NRh to Nigerian climate normals depending on whether farms use supplementary irrigation. Average annual temperature increases and precipitation decreases are associated with NRh losses for rainfed farms and gains for supplementary irrigated cocoa farms. Projections of future CC impacts suggest a wide range of NRh outcomes on supplementary irrigated and rainfed farm revenues, demonstrating the importance of irrigation as an effective adaptation strategy in Nigeria. Originality/value This paper uses novel data sets for simulating future CC impacts on land values in Nigeria. CORDEX data constitute the most comprehensive RCMs projections available for Africa.

International audience; Pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children. The objectives were to evaluate the microbiological agents linked with hypoxemia in hospitalized children with pneumonia from developing countries, to identify predictors of hypoxemia, and to characterize factors associated with in-hospital mortality. A multicenter, observational study was conducted in five hospitals, from India (Lucknow, Vadu), Madagascar (Antananarivo), Mali (Bamako), and Paraguay (San Lorenzo). Children aged 2-60 months with radiologically confirmed pneumonia were enrolled prospectively. Respiratory and whole blood specimens were collected, identifying viruses and bacteria by real-time multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Microbiological agents linked with hypoxemia at admission (oxygen saturation \textless 90%) were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression, and factors associated with 14-day in-hospital mortality were assessed by bivariate Cox regression. Overall, 405 pneumonia cases (3,338 hospitalization days) were analyzed; 13 patients died within 14 days of hospitalization. Hypoxemia prevalence was 17.3%. Detection of human metapneumovirus (hMPV) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in respiratory samples was independently associated with increased risk of hypoxemia (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.4, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 1.0-5.8 and aOR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.1-5.3, respectively). Lower chest indrawing and cyanosis were predictive of hypoxemia (positive likelihood ratios = 2.3 and 2.4, respectively). Predictors of death were Streptococcus pneumoniae detection by blood PCR (crude hazard ratio [cHR] = 4.6, 95% CI = 1.5-14.0), procalcitonin >= 50 ng/mL (cHR = 22.4, 95% CI = 7.3-68.5) and hypoxemia (cHR = 4.8, 95% CI = 1.6-14.4). These findings were consistent on bivariate analysis. hMPV and RSV in respiratory samples were linked with hypoxemia, and S. pneumoniae in blood was associated with increased risk of death among hospitalized children with pneumonia in developing countries.

In Guinea, family planning (FP) uptake remains low. The objective of this study was to compare the impact of two types of antenatal counseling on modern FP uptake in the postpartum in rural Guinea. This was a two-group non-equivalent study comparing the impact of a reinforced antenatal counseling (intervention) to the routine antenatal counseling (control). The study included 404 pregnant women at five rural health centres in Forécariah district, Western Guinea. Each woman was followed up until the ninth month postpartum. The study was conducted from October 12, 2013 to December 30, 2014. Findings showed that at the ninth month postpartum, use of modern FP was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group (5.7% and 1.1%, respectively; p=0.024). However, 67.6% and 65.7% of women in the intervention group and the control group, respectively, abstained from sexual intercourse at the sixth month postpartum and had the intention to do so until the child walks. At the ninth month postpartum such women represented 70.5% and 59.5%, respectively. Therefore, a longer study period is recommended to assess the effect of antenatal counseling on use of modern FP in the postpartum in Guinea.

Purpose: Studies have shown the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) increasing worldwide, and currently the literature is limited on the impact of IDA on outcomes following revision total hip arthroplasty (RTHA). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether IDA patients undergoing RTHA have longer: 1) in-hospital lengths of stay (LOS); 2) medical complications; and 3) costs of care. Materials and Methods: A retrospective query of a nationwide administrative claims database was performed. Using Boolean command operations, the study group consisted of all patients in the database undergoing RTHA with IDA; whereas, patients without IDA served as controls. To reduce the effects of confounding, study group patients were matched to controls in a 1:5 ratio by age, sex, and medical comorbidities yielding 92,948 patients with (n=15,508) and without (n=77,440) IDA undergoing revision THA. A P-value less than 0.001 was considered statistically significant. Results: IDA patients were found to have significantly longer in-hospital LOS (5 days vs. 4 days, P

International audience; In this study, a surface acoustic wave (SAW) biosensor has been investigated to quantify the affinity and to estimate the binding kinetic between tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and its inhibitor: SPD-304. To the best of our knowledge this is first ever report on real time and label free monitoring of TNF-α/ SPD-304 affinity. Effects of the SPD-304 solvent and DMSO cosolvent on TNFα/SPD-304 interaction have been investigated. Gravimetric results indicate that the limit of detection (LOD) of the developed biosensor was of order of 10 nM and that DMSO cosolvent influences the kinetic of interaction, the saturation value, and thus the value of the dissociation constant (Kd) of the TNF-α / SPD-304 system.

Introduction : Les infections respiratoires aiguës (IRA) constituent l'une des principales causes de morbidité et de mortalité infantile au Mali. L'objectif de ce travail était de décrire les aspects épidémiologiques, cliniques et thérapeutiques de la bronchiolite aiguë du nourrisson au service de pédiatrie du CHU Gabriel Touré. Méthodologie: Il s'agit d'une étude rétrospective portant sur 112 nourrissons âgés de 1 à 24 mois hospitalisés dans le service de pédiatrie générale pour bronchiolite aiguë. L'étude s'étalait sur une période d'un an (du 1er janvier au 31 décembre 2012). Résultats: Les nourrissons âgés de 1 à 6 mois étaient majoritaires (69%). L'âge moyen des patients était de 6 mois avec des extrêmes de 1 et 24 mois. Le sexe masculin était prédominant (63%) avec un sex-ratio de 1,73. Le principal motif de consultation était la difficulté respiratoire (87%). Le pic d'hospitalisation était au mois de novembre (33%). Les principaux signes cliniques en plus des sibilants étaient la toux, la rhinorrhée et la détresse respiratoire (97%). La fièvre était présente dans 38% des cas et la cyanose chez 4% des patients. La saturation en oxygène était inférieure à 94% chez 50% des patients. La kinésithérapie respiratoire a été faite chez un tiers des malades. Tous les malades avaient reçu une corticothérapie et une nébulisation avec du salbutamol et sérum physiologique. Une antibiothérapie a été faite chez 85% des patients. La durée moyenne d'hospitalisation était de 6 jours avec des extrêmes de 1 et 30 jours. Le taux de guérison était de 98 %. Conclusion : La bronchiolite est une pathologie bénigne et fréquente chez le nourrisson de 1 à 6 mois qui évolue favorablement dans la majorité des cas.

Les infections sont responsables d'une part importante de la morbidite et de la mortalite chez l'enfant drepanocytaire. Notre objectif etait d’etudier le profil clinique et bacteriologique des infections bacteriennes de l’enfant drepanocytaire dans le service de pediatrie du CHU Gabriel Toure. Materiel et methodes: Nous avons realise une etude retrospective sur 25 dossiers d’hospitalisation d’enfants drepanocytaires febriles ayant beneficie d’une hemoculture sur une periode de 5 ans (2005-2010). Nous avons analyse les caracteristiques cliniques et bacteriologiques des enfants ayant une hemoculture positive. Resultats: Dix des 25 hemocultures realisees etaient positives. La tranche d’âge de 0-5 ans etait la plus touchee (60%). Le suivi etait irregulier pour 7 enfants et 6/10 n'avaient pas recu le vaccin anti pneumococcique. Sur le plan clinique, 5 cas de sepsis, une infection pulmonaire et 4 cas infections osteo articulaires ont ete diagnostiquees. La goutte epaisse etait positive pour 4 patients . Les germes retrouves ont ete : Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi (4 fois), Streptococcus pneumoniae (4 fois), Staphylococcus aureus (1fois), Enterobacter cloacae (1fois) ont ete isoles. Salmonella enterica serotypeTyphia ete isole dans 3 cas d'infections osteo-articulaires et un cas de sepsis, Streptococcus pneumoniae etait en cause dans l'infection pulmonaire et dans un cas de sepsis. L'antibiotherapie probabiliste dans la majorite des cas etait basee sur les cephalosporines de troisieme generation. L’evolution a ete favorable dans 80% des cas. Conclusion : Les complications infectieuses de la drepanocytose peuvent etre graves. La disponibilite de l'hemoculture doit nous permettre de caracteriser le profil bacteriologique dans notre contexte.

The 9th meeting of the African Society of Human Genetics, in partnership with the Senegalese Cancer Research and Study Group and the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) Consortium, was held in Dakar, Senegal. The theme wasStrengthening Human Genetics Research in Africa.The 210 delegates came from 21 African countries and from France, Switzerland, UK, UAE, Canada and the USA. The goal was to highlight genetic and genomic science across the African continent with the ultimate goal of improving the health of Africans and those across the globe, and to promote the careers of young African scientists in the field. A session on the sustainability of genomic research in Africa brought to light innovative and practical approaches to supporting research in resource-limited settings and the importance of promoting genetics in academic, research funding, governmental and private sectors. This meeting led to the formation of the Senegalese Society for Human Genetics.

Objectif : Ce travail visait a etudier la morbidite et la mortalite chez les enfants âges de 01 a 59 mois hospitalises dans le service de pediatrie generale du CHU Gabriel Toure. Materiels et Methodes : Il s’agissait d’une etude retrospective, descriptive, sur une periode de 12 mois allant du 1 er janvier au 31 decembre 2013. Resultats : Nous avons inclus 1625 enfants âges de 01 a 59 mois soit 58% des patients hospitalises. Le tiers des patients avait moins d’un an. Les garcons representaient 57 % de notre echantillon avec un sex ratio de 1,33. La majorite des patients (83%) etait issu de milieu social defavorise. Les principaux diagnostics retrouves etaient le paludisme (45%), les infections respiratoires aigues (20,30%), et la malnutrition aigue severe (20,06%). Les patients gueris representaient 82,3% et le taux de mortalite etait estime a 3,3%. La majorite des patients decedes etait des filles (51%). Les deces etaient plus frequents en juillet et aout. Les trois principales causes de deces etaient la malnutrition (47%), le paludisme (32%) et les infections respiratoires aigues (19%). Nous avons enregistre 48 sorties contre avis medical (3%) et 81 cas d’evasion (5%). Conclusion : La morbidite et la mortalite en pediatrie restent preoccupantes dans notre pratique. Elles sont liees a des affections pour la plupart evitables par l’information, l’education et la communication. Mots cles : morbidite, mortalite, enfants, pediatrie, Bamako.

The prediction of solar potential is an important step toward the evaluation of PV plant production for the best energy planning. In this study, the discrete Kalman filter model was implemented for short-term solar resource forecasting one the Dakar site in Senegal. The model input parameters are constituted at a time t of the air temperature, the relative humidity and the global solar radiation. The expected output at time t+T is the global solar radiation. The model performance is evaluated with the square root of the normalized mean squared error (NRMSE), the absolute mean of the normalized error (NMAE), the average bias error (NMBE). The model Validation is carried out by means of the data measured within the Polytechnic Higher School of Dakar for one year. The simulation results following the 20 minute horizon show a good correlation between the prediction and the measurement with an NRMSE of 4.8%, an NMAE of 0.27% and an NMBE of 0.04%. This model could contribute to help photovoltaic based energy providers to better plan the production of solar photovoltaic plants in Sahelian environments.

We compiled the first taxonomic inventory of rodents inhabiting the region from northwestern Guinea to coastal Guinea and this enabled an improved understanding of the rodent fauna of this unexplored region at the western margin of the guineo‐congolese forest block. Through standard cytogenetic and morphological analyses we described the presence of two sibling species of the genus Mastomys in West Africa. We report here the first records for Guinea of Arvicanthis ansorgei and M. mattheyi. Our data indicated an extension of the known distribution of Lemniscomys striatus to include the western region of the range of Lophuromys cf. sikapusi. A comparison between southern Senegal, southern Mali, Ivory Coast and eastern Guinea assemblages shows some differences in the rodents between eastern and western Guinea as well as with the surrounding countries. It appears that coastal Guinea could correspond to a transition zone between forest and savanna but this region appears to be ecologically highly degraded in t...

Ethnopharmacological relevance The recent outbreak of Ebola virus infections has mostly remained confined to the West African countries Guinea-Conakry, Sierra-Leone and Liberia. Due to intense national and international mobilizations, a significant reduction in Ebola virus transmission has been recorded. While international efforts focus on new vaccines, medicines and diagnostics, no coherent national or international approach exists to integrate the potential of the traditional health practitioners (THPs) in the management of infectious diseases epidemics. Nevertheless, the first contact of most of the Ebola infected patients is with the THPs since the symptoms are similar to those of common traditionally treated diseases or symptoms such as malaria, hemorrhagic syndrome, typhoid or other gastrointestinal diseases, fever and vomiting. Materials and methods In an ethnomedical survey conducted in the 4 main Guinean regions contacts were established with a total of 113 THPs. The socio-demographic characteristics, the professional status and the traditional perception of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) were recorded. Results The traditional treatment of the main symptoms was based on 47 vegetal recipes which were focused on the treatment of diarrhea (22 recipes), fever (22 recipes), vomiting (2 recipes), external antiseptic (2 recipes), hemorrhagic syndrome (2 recipes), convulsion and dysentery (one recipe each). An ethnobotanical survey led to the collection of 54 plant species from which 44 identified belonging to 26 families. The most represented families were Euphorbiaceae, Caesalpiniaceae and Rubiaceae. Literature data on the twelve most cited plant species tends to corroborate their traditional use and to highlight their pharmacological potential. Conclusions It is worth to document all available knowledge on the traditional management of EVD-like symptoms in order to evaluate systematically the anti-Ebola potential of Guinean plant species.

Dans le present article, nous faisons etat de la variabilite selon le captureur de l'efficacite de repulsifs a base d'huiles vegetales appliquees sur la peau contre les piqures de Simulium damnosum s. l. Les experimentations ont ete effectuees en zones de savane (Chaussee-Niaka) et de foret (Soubre) de Cote d'Ivoire. Les formulations (lotions, cremes] testees lors de ces travaux ont ete obtenues a partir d'huiles d'amande de palme (Elaeis guineensis ), de coco (Cocos nucifera ) et de gobi (Carapa procera ). La technique classique de capture sur homme a l'aide de tubes a hemolyse en matiere plastique a ete utilisee. Pour chaque journee d'experimentation, un captureur non traite (jambes non enduites de repulsif) servait de temoin. Les resultats indiquent qu'en savane, quels que soient le repulsif et le captureur, la densite simulidienne se situait de 1 a 4, 1 a 6 et de 2 a 10 simulies par homme et par jour lorsque le captureur etait respectivement protege avec le coco, le palmiste et le gobi. Avec les memes repulsifs, en zone de foret, l'agressivite simulidienne variait de 9 a 16, de 2 a 30 et de 8 a 49 piqures par jour. En comparaison, le temoin recevait de 67 a 90 et de 310 a 533 piqures par jour, respectivement en zones de savane et de foret. Malgre les variations importantes dans le nombre de simulies capturees en fonction du captureur choisi, nos resultats montrent que quels que soient le repulsif et l'espece simulidienne, une protection similaire est conferee a tous les captureurs. Ils indiquent egalement que le recours a des substances naturelles locales, utilisees comme repulsifs en application dermique, est l'une des meilleures methodes de protection personnelle contre les simulies.

Fondation Mérieux. Centre Internationale Recherche en Infectiologie (CIRI). Emerging Pathogens Laboratory. Lyon, France. Hospices Civils de Lyon. Edouard Herriot Hospital. Infection Control and Epidemiology Unit. Lyon, Grance / Universit of Lyon 1, Epidemiology and Public Health Unit. Lyon, France. Fondation Mérieux. Centre Internationale Recherche en Infectiologie (CIRI). Emerging Pathogens Laboratory. Lyon, France. Fondation Mérieux. Centre Internationale Recherche en Infectiologie (CIRI). Emerging Pathogens Laboratory. Lyon, France. University of Health Sciences. Faculty of Pharmacy. Phnom Penh, Cambodia. National Pediatric Hospital. Department of Pneumology. Phnom Penh, Cambodia. MOH Key Laboratory of Systems Biology of Pathogens. Dr. Christophe Mérieux Laboratory. Fondation Mérieux. Institute of Pathogen Biology (IPB), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) & Peking Union Medical College. Beijing, China. Capital Medical University. Key Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children. National Key Discipline of Pediatrics. Ministry of Education. Beijing Pediatric Research Institute. Beijing Children’s Hospital. Capital Medical University, Beijing, China. GHESKIO (Groupe Haïtien d’Etude du Sarcome de Kaposi et des Infections Opportunistes) Centers. Port au Prince, Haiti. GHESKIO (Groupe Haïtien d’Etude du Sarcome de Kaposi et des Infections Opportunistes) Centers. Port au Prince, Haiti. Chatrapati Shahuji Maharaj University. Lucknow, India. Chatrapati Shahuji Maharaj University. Lucknow, India. KEM Hospital Research Center. Pune, India. KEM Hospital Research Center. Pune, India. Hôpital Femme-Mère-Enfant. Antananarivo, Madagascar. Fondation Mérieux. Centre d’Infectiologie Charles Mérieux (CICM); Antananarivo, Madagascar. Fondation Mérieux. Centre d’Infectiologie Charles Mérieux (CICM); Antananarivo, Madagascar. Gabriel Touré Hospital. Bamako, Mali. Centre d`Infectiologie Charles Mérieux (CICM). Bamako, Mali. Mongolian Academy of Medical Sciences. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Bayanzurkh District General Hospital. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Research Institute of health. Asuncion, Paraguay. Hospital Pediátrico ! Niños de Acosta ¨Nu". San Lorenzo, Paraguay. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Vírus Respiratórios e Sarampo. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Vírus Respiratórios e Sarampo. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. Fondation Mérieux. Centre Internationale Recherche en Infectiologie (CIRI). Emerging Pathogens Laboratory. Lyon, France. Fondation Mérieux. Centre Internationale Recherche en Infectiologie (CIRI). Emerging Pathogens Laboratory. Lyon, France. Fondation Mérieux. Centre Internationale Recherche en Infectiologie (CIRI). Emerging Pathogens Laboratory. Lyon, France. Hospices Civils de Lyon. Edouard Herriot Hospital. Infection Control and Epidemiology Unit. Lyon, Grance / Universit of Lyon 1, Epidemiology and Public Health Unit. Lyon, France. Fondation Mérieux. Centre Internationale Recherche en Infectiologie (CIRI). Emerging Pathogens Laboratory. Lyon, France. Background: Data on the etiologies of pneumonia among children are inadequate, especially in developing countries. The principal objective is to undertake a multicenter incident case–control study of

Le gisement de phosphate de chaux de Taiba (Senegal) se presente comme une couche mineralisee de 7 m de puissance en moyenne, surmontee par un recouvrement sterile epais de plus de 40 m. Ce dernier est constitue, dans les panneaux de Ndomor Diop et Keur Mor Fall exploites jusqu’ici, de terrains durs (sables consolides, gres, etc.) sur lesquels repose une puissante couche sableuse meuble (environ 35 m). Par contre, dans le futur panneau d’exploitation de Tobene, les sondages de reconnaissance ont revele la presence dans le recouvrement de frequents niveaux indures constitues essentiellement de facies sablo-argileux plus ou moins consolides. Devant l’inadaptation des methodes traditionnelles de decapage du recouvrement par roue-pelle au contexte de Tobene, il est apparu necessaire, pour les besoins de l’ingenierie du projet d’exploitation, de proceder a un reperage systematique et a l’evaluation des differentes formes d’induration.

Si la sous-presence des femmes est un phenomene qui touche tous les domaines de la sphere politique francaise, c’est au Senat qu’elle est la plus flagrante. Certes, la part des femmes elues deputees est proche de celle des femmes elues senatrices puisqu’en 1958, elles representaient 1,6 % des elus a l’Assemblee nationale et 1,9 % au Senat. Trente ans plus tard, 5,9 % des elus a l’Hemicycle en 1993 sont des femmes, contre 5 % aux elections senatoriales de 1992. Pourtant, il existe une differen...

Background As access to antiretroviral drugs increases in developing countries, it will become increasingly important to monitor the emergence of resistance and to define the molecular pathways involved to identify optimal therapeutic regimens. Methods We performed genotypic resistance testing on plasma obtained from 101 HIV-infected treatment-naive individuals from Mali. Genotyping was carried out using the Virco protocols and HXB2 was used as the reference strain. Results CRF02_AG was the most common subtype, present in 71.3% of our patient population. Other subtypes included B, C, G, CRF06_CPX, CRF09_CPX, CRF01_AE, A2/CRF16_A2D, A1 and CRF13_CPX. A total of 9.9% [95% confidence interval (CI) 6.9–12.9%] of patients had at least one resistance mutation. The prevalences of mutations conferring resistance to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) and protease inhibitors (PIs) were 5% (95% CI 0.7–9.2%), 6% (95% CI 1.3–10.6%) and 0%, respectively. The most frequent mutations were T215A/Y for NRTIs and K103N/T for NNRTIs. One patient harboured three NRTI resistance mutations and one NNRTI mutation. This is the first reported case of multi-drug-resistant viral transmission in Mali. Polymorphisms at protease codons 10I/V and 33F potentially associated with resistance were observed in 18.8% and 1% of patients, respectively. Several polymorphisms in the C-terminal domain of reverse transcriptase were observed: A371V (in 63.4% of patients), G335D (76.2%), E399D (10.9%) and G333E (1%). Conclusion Primary resistance was seen in 9.9% of subjects, which is higher than previously reported in Mali. Taking into consideration other polymorphisms in protease such as L10I/V and 33F, primary resistance could reach 28.7% (95% CI 19.9–37.5%). Our study reflects the need to monitor the evolution of resistance on a regular basis and trends of transmitted resistance.

Different morphologic and density classes of sickle cells (SS) may play distinct roles in the generation of vasoocclusion, explaining the complexity of this phenomena. The densest SS red blood cells (RBCs) (SS4) can induce vasoocculsion in ex vivo microcirculatory preparations as well as in an intact animal model. Previous studies of the interaction of SS deformable discocytes with endothelial monolayers or the rat ex vivo mesocecum preparation have shown adhesion that is desmopressin (dDAVP)-stimulated, von Willebrand factor (vWF)-mediated, and limited to the small venules. However, in vivo adhesion of SS RBCs to the endothelium has neither been demonstrated nor characterized; and, in particular, the relation of adhesion to vasoocclusion is unknown. Using an intact animal model that involves injecting saline- washed, density-defined SS RBCs into the femoral artery of a rat, we find that: (1) Quantitative studies of RBCs retained in the rat thigh using 99mTc-labeled RBCs and gamma camera imaging showed that dDAVP induces a threefold increase in retention of normal (AA) cells and deformable SS discocytes (SS2). (2) electron microscopy and Microfil injection show that the retention of SS2 cells is due to adhesion to the vascular endothelium with no evidence of obstruction. (3) H-1 magnetic resonance imaging showed that retention of SS4 cells induced a dose-dependent increase in tissue edema (presumable secondary to tissue hypoxia), while retention of AA or SS2 cells produced no change. We conclude that endothelial adhesion of deformable SS discocytes can be demonstrated in an in vivo animal model, that this adhesion is enhanced by dDAVP (presumably related to, but not necessarily limited to the release of vWF), and that this phenomenon per se does not lead to vasoocclusion. Nevertheless, adhesion of deformable SS discocytes may have consequences. We hypothesize that adhesion of SS discocytes could narrow the lumen of postcapillary venules and facilitate secondary trapping of SS4 cells and lead to subsequent vasoocclusion.

The geometries and the static dipole (hyper)polarizabilities (alpha, beta, gamma) of a series of aromatic anions were investigated at the ab initio (HF, MP2, and MP4) and density functional theory DFT (B3LYP) levels of theory. The anions chosen for the present study are the benzenethiolate (Ph-S-), benzenecarboxylate (Ph-CO2-), benzenesulfinate (Ph-SO2-), benzenesulfonate (Ph-SO3-), and 1,3-benzenedicarboxylate (1,3-Ph-(CO2)2(2-)). For benzenethiolate anion, additional alpha, beta, and gamma calculations were performed at the coupled cluster CCSD level with MP2 optimized geometries. The standard diffuse and polarized 6-31+G(d,p) basis set was employed in conjunction to the ab initio and DFT methods. Additional HF calculations were performed with the 6-311++G(3d,3p) basis set for all the anions. The correlated electric properties were evaluated numerically within the formalism of finite field. The optimized geometries were analyzed in terms of the few reports about the phenolate and sulfonate ions. The results show that electron correlation effects on the polarizabilities are very important in all the anion series. Was found that Ph-SO2- is highly polarizable in terms of alpha and beta, and the Ph-S- is the highest second hyperpolarizable in the series. The results of alpha were rationalized in terms of the analysis of the polarization of charge based in Mulliken atomic population and the structural features of the optimized geometries of anions, whereas the large differences in the beta and gamma values in the series were respectively interpreted in terms of the bond length alternation BLA and the separation of charge in the aromatic ring by effects of the substitution. These results allowed us to suggest the benzenesulfinate and benzenethiolate anions as promising candidates that should be incorporated in ionic materials for second and third-order nonlinear optical devices.

Repellents in the form of dermal pomades are recommended as a protection against awakening and bedtime mosquito bites. If synthesis repellents are available, they are nevertheless not common and the prices remain out of reach for the communities concerned. The people therefore have to resort more and more to traditional concoctions, some of which have been shown to be effective. After demonstrating that oil-based formulations (lotions, creams, pomades) of Cocos nucifera (coconut), Elaeis guineensis (oil palm) and Carapa procera (gobi) were effective against mosquitoes, it became necessary to study the impact of the two excipients used in their manufacture, on the effectiveness of the repellents. Experiments were carried with Anopheles gambiae and Aedes aegypti under lobaratory conditions and any other mosquitoes collected under field conditions in Ivory Coast. The laboratory results indicate that the average protection times obtained with formulations with karite nut butter as excipient (54.8 +/- 37.0 mn and 74.6 +/- 26.4 mn respectively on An. gambiae and Ae. aegypti) are higher than those recorded with vaseline as excipient (respectively 42.7 +/- 30.0 mn and 60.8 +/- 33.9 mn). On the other hand, under field conditions, the biting rate percentage reduction obtained with the products with karite nut butter and vaseline excipient were similar (respectively 29.8% and 35.9% for all mosquitoes collected and 45.7% and 47.4% against An. gambiae). Nevertheless, the use of karite nut butter on repellent products should be encouraged because its sale price is very lower (10 time less) than the vaseline's.

In Ivory Coast, treatments against black flies larva are interrupted since December 1998 and these flies are back everywhere in abundance. They are now a severe source of discomfort, so it is therefore very important to propose to rural populations a personal protection method against their bites. This article is about the individual attraction of fly boys on the efficiency of lotions and creams of the different repellents (coconut, palm nut, gobi). Our works were carried out in savanna zone (Niakaramandougou) and in forest zone (Soubré) in Ivory Coast. The methodology consisted in capturing black flies on volunteers whose legs were rubbed with repellent. Coconut, palm nut and gobi formulas (lotions and creams) were tested on Simulium damnosum s.l. During each session, which lasted from 07:00 am to 12:00 and from 03:00 pm to 06:00 pm, one person without repellent was used as a control person. The results show that the least efficient repellent (gobi) ensures nonetheless a reduction of 90% of the number of bites that an individual would have received if he was not protected by the repellent. Experimentations allows to say that for a given repellent and formulas (lotion and cream), there is no significant difference between the number of Simulium damnosum s. l. bites received by fly boys.