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The main aim of this study was to investigate the role of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in digestive bleeding in a hospital setting and in a context of social and security instability. Patients and methods: This was a prospective and analytical study that took place in the Hepato-Gastroenterology Department of the Gabriel TOURE University Hospital over a period of two years and included all patients hospitalized for digestive hemorrhage. These patients had benefited from the research of sociodemographic characteristics, the notion of taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (dose and duration), a physical examination and a digestive endoscopy. Results: At the end of this study, 78 cases of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use out of 210 patients hospitalized for digestive hemorrhage were recorded, i.e. a frequency of 37.1%. The mean age of our patients was 47.01±19.3 years with a sex ratio of 2.9. Housewives and farmers represented 28.2% and 20.5% respectively. Hematemesis was the reason for consultation in 71.8%. Digestive hemorrhage and smoking were the most common antecedents. Diclofenac was the most commonly used drug in 53.9% of cases, with bleeding occurring in the first week after taking the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug in 53.9% of cases. Signs of hypovolemic shock were frequently found. The GD ulcer was the cause found in 66.2% of cases. Hemorrhage occurred significantly (p=10-8) in the first week of taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and was significantly associated with NSAID use. There was no statistically significant difference in the occurrence of death between the molecules. Conclusion: NSAID-induced GI bleeding in adults is one of the major GI emergencies and remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality.

Background: The external quality assessment (EQA) or external quality control is an evaluation conducted by a certified external organization to inquire about the quality of the results provided by a laboratory. The primary role of EQA is to verify the accuracy of laboratory results. This is essential in research because research data should be published in international peer-reviewed journals, and laboratory results must be repeatable. In 2007, the University Clinical Research Center (UCRC’s) biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) laboratory joined the EQA program with the College of American Pathologists in acid-fast staining and culture and identification of mycobacteria as per laboratory accreditation preparedness. Thus, after 11 years of participation, the goal of our study was to evaluate the performance of our laboratory during the different interlaboratory surveys. Methods: We conducted a descriptive retrospective study to evaluate the results of UCRC mycobacteriology laboratory from surveys conducted during 2007 and 2017. Results: Of the 22 evaluations, the laboratory had satisfactory (100% of concordance results) in 18 (81.8%) and good (80% of concordance results) in 4 (18.2%). Overall, the laboratory was above the commended/accepted limits of 75%. Conclusion: So far, UCRC’s BSL-3 performed well during the first 11 years of survey participation, and efforts should be deployed to maintain this high quality in the preparedness for laboratory accreditation and support to clinical trials.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer in West Africa where HBV infection is endemic. However, limited information is available on other risk factors such as alcohol use, HCV and HIV infection. A case-control study was conducted in referral hospitals of Abidjan (Cote d'Ivoire), Bamako (Mali) and Lome (Togo). Cases were matched with controls on age, gender and participating site. The diagnosis of HCC relied on the combination of one or more space-occupying lesions suggestive of an HCC on a standardized abdominal ultrasound and an alpha-fetoprotein level >/=400 ng/ml. HIV, HBV and HCV serology were performed. Hazardous alcohol use was assessed using the AUDIT questionnaire. A conditional logistic regression model was used to measure Odds Ratio (OR) with their 95% confidence intervals (CI). A total of 160 cases and 320 controls were included. Cases were predominantly men (80.0%) with a median age of 47 years (IQR 38-57). Hazardous alcohol use (OR=4.5 [CI 1.1-18.5]), HBV infection (OR=62.5 [CI 20.5-190.7]) and HCV infection OR=35.9 [CI 10.0-130.3]) were independently associated with HCC. Combining the effect of HBV infection and alcohol, HBV-infected hazardous drinkers had an OR=149.8 (CI 13.5-1 667.0), HBV mono-infected had an OR=57.4 (CI 18.8-175.3) (ref: HBV-negative). Aside the independent association of Alcohol use, HBV and HCV infection with HCC, a synergic effect between alcohol use and HBV infection was identified. Timely screening and care of HBV infection and hazardous drinking might prevent a significant number of HCC in West Africa. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

A finite element computer code for short-term analysis of steel-concrete composite structures is extended to study long-term effects under service loads, in the present work. Long-term effects are important in engineering design because they influence stress and strain distribution of the structural system and therefore contribute to the increment of deflections in these structures. For creep analysis, a rheological model based on a Kelvin chain, with elements placed in series, was employed. The parameters of the Kelvin chain were obtained using Dirichlet series. Creep and shrinkage models, proposed by the CEB FIP 90, were used. The shear-lag phenomenon that takes place at the concrete slab is usually neglected or not properly taken into account in the formulation of beam-column finite elements. Therefore, in this work, a three-dimensional numerical model based on the assemblage of shell finite elements for representing the steel beam and the concrete slab is used. Stud shear connectors are represented for special beam-column elements to simulate the partial interaction at the slab-beam interface. The two-dimensional representation of the concrete slab permits to capture the non-uniform shear stress distribution in the horizontal plane of the slab due to shear-lag phenomenon. The model is validated with experimental results of two full-scale continuous composite beams previously studied by other authors. Results are given in terms of displacements, bending moments and cracking patterns in order to shown the influence of long-term effects in the structural response and also the potentiality of the present numerical code.