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Objective assessment of covid-19 severity affecting the vocal and respiratory system using a wearable, autonomous sound collar
No full textInternational audienceIntroduction Since the outbreak began in January 2020, Covid-19 has affected more than 161 million people worldwide and resulted in about 3.3 million deaths. Despite efforts to detect human infection with the virus as early as possible, the confirmatory test still requires the analysis of sputum or blood with estimated results available within approximately 30 minutes; this may potentially be followed by clinical referral if the patient shows signs of aggravated pneumonia. This work aims to implement a soft collar as a sound device dedicated to the objective evaluation of the pathophysiological state resulting from dysphonia of laryngeal origin or respiratory failure of inflammatory origin, in particular caused by Covid-19. Methods In this study, we exploit the vibrations of waves generated by the vocal and respiratory system of 30 people. A biocompatible acoustic sensor embedded in a soft collar around the neck collects these waves. The collar is also equipped with thermal sensors and a cross-data analysis module in both the temporal and frequency domains (STFT). The optimal coupling conditions and the electrical and dimensional characteristics of the sensors were defined based on a mathematical approach using a matrix formalism. Results The characteristics of the signals in the time domain combined with the quantities obtained from the STFT offer multidimensional information and a decision support tool for determining a pathophysiological state representative of the symptoms explored. The device, tested on 30 people, was able to differentiate patients with mild symptoms from those who had developed acute signs of respiratory failure on a severity scale of 1 to 10. Conclusion With the health constraints imposed by the effects of Covid-19, the heavy organization to be implemented resulting from the flow of diagnostics, tests and clinical management, it was urgent to develop innovative and safe biomedical technologies. This passive listening technique will contribute to the non-invasive assessment and dynamic observation of lesions. Moreover, it merits further examination to provide support for medical operators to improve clinical management
In-Land Water Body Monitoring using Airborne Gnss-Reflectometry
No full textInternational audienceThis paper focuses on GNSS-R signal processing techniques applied to water body detection using a low altitude airborne carrier. We develop a radar technique for automatic GNSS signal segmentation in order to differentiate water body surfaces in landforms. In the context of this work, we introduce a mixture of on-line/off-line change detection system that takes into account the radar signal characteristics for segmentation. We propose a new GNSS-R sensor with its implementation on a lightweight airborne carrier. We show, along a real flight experimentation, that the proposed radar technique provides high temporal (50 Hz) and spatial (100 to 300 m2 ) resolution observations of the scanned surfaces. We also show that the proposed automatic segmentation technique can detect in-land water body surfaces
Current knowledge on chemistry of Proteaceae family, and biological activities of their bis-5-alkylresorcinol derivatives
No full textInternational audienceThe present review details in a first part the structures of secondary metabolites discovered in Proteaceae up to now. In a second part, biological activities of bis-5-alkylresorcinols, a typical group of metabolites from Proteaceae, and their cyclized analogues are summarized. The scientific data required to make the inventory were exclusively compiled from books and journals. Using the list of plant genus, the bibliographic references were collected from (i) The Dictionary of Natural Products (DNP) and (ii) SciFinder Chemical abstract services. More than 130 references were carefully analyzed to found about 327 secondary metabolites. The most important classes of metabolites in Proteaceae were found as phenol glycosides (31%), derivatives of 5-alkylresorcinols (30%) and tropane alkaloids (11%)
Evaluating the impact of several scrubbing systems on the tar removal efficiency from producer gas
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Folk medicinal applications, phytochemical composition and biological activities of some Lebanese endemic plants
No full textInternational audienceThe Lebanese flora is known for its biodiversity and high rate of endemism. The data found in the literature between January 2010 and October 2021, about the extracts and essential oils of Origanum ehrenbergii Boiss., Origanum syriacum L., Stachys nivea Labill., Stachys ehrenbergii Boiss., Cousinia libanotica DC., Salvia fruticosa Miller and Berberis libanotica C.K. Schneider, were gathered. These plants are considered to be endemic in many countries of the Levantine area. The aim of the present review is to investigate the therapeutic actions, biological activities (in vitro and in vivo) and phytochemical composition of the seven plants. The scientific content and accurate information of this review have been gathered from accessible journals available in many databases such as Medline/Pubmed, Scopus, Sci-finder and Science Direct. The search terms being the scientific name of each plant, around sixty articles were investigated. The chemical profile of the plants revealed the presence of phenolic acids, tannins, vitamins, flavonoids, fatty acids, alkaloids, triterpenes, phytosterols, diterpenes, phenylpropanoid glucosides, acetophenones, phenylethanoid glucosides and polysaccharides. The majority of the plant species are used in folk medicine to treat rheumatism with the exception of S. ehrenbergii and S. nivea. Moreover, they have several pharmacological applications. The O. ehrenbergii dichloromethane extract exhibited a significant antibacterial activity against Listeria monocytogenes (MIC=4 μg/mL). The ethanol extract of O. syriacum showed a high cytotoxic activity against the MCF-7 cell line (IC50=6.4 μg/mL). The S. nivea-dichloromethane extract inhibited the growth of the THP-1 cell line and presented an IC50 of 15.7 μg/mL. Interestingly, the B. libanotica-MeOH extract induced a noticeable discoloration of ß-carotene (IC50=3.1 μg/mL). The S. fruticosa-water extract registered a very interesting anti-hyperglycemic activity (IC50 =167.4 μg/mL). It is important to highlight that some chemical compounds were detected for the first time in plants extracts, which underlines the originality of these plant materials
First Molecular Detection of Pathogens Leptospira in Common Rodent Captured in North Algeria Urban Areas
No full textInternational audienceLeptospirosis is an anthropozoonosis disease of worldwide distribution caused by mobile spirochetes of the genus Leptospira and rodents, mainly rats, are described as its primary reservoir. In Algeria, there is limited data about the prevalence of Leptospira spp. in humans and animals, as well as Leptospira carriage in wild rodents. The study aimed to highlight the importance of rodents as a reservoir of Leptospira bacterium in Blida city in Algeria by detecting and identifying circulating Leptospira species in the rodent population. A total of 101 rodents, 95 Rattus Norvegicus, 5 Rattus Rattus, and 1 Mus Musculus were captured and tested for pathogenic Leptospira spp. byreal-time PCR targeting the Leptospira 16S rRNA (rrs) gene, revealing a total prevalence of 40.6%, 95% IC [30.9–50.8%]. Positive samples were subjected to species-specific real-time PCR assays targeting L. interrogans, L. noguchii, L. borgpetersenii, and L. kirschneri for species identification. However, positive samples for which Leptospira-species could not be determined were subjected to conventional PCR targeting the partial 16S rRNA (rrs) gene, and amplified DNA was subjected to sequencing. Leptospira spp. was detected in 36 kidney, 16 urine, and three lung specimens. L. interrogans was identified in 39 rodents and L. borpetersenii in one rodent; however, one rodent with renal carriage could not be typed due to poor DNA quality. This study provides the first description of pathogenic Leptospira spp. in wild rodents in Algeria. These findings suggest a high potential risk of leptospirosis transmission from rodents to humans and animals in Algeria and therefore imply the adoption of prophylactic measures. In addition, further studies, including different animals and rodent species, should be conducted to clarify the epidemiology of this disease in Algeria
Evaluation of the impact of freezing technique on pore-structure characteristics of highly decomposed peat using X-ray micro-computed tomography
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A national study through a ‘Farm‐to‐fork’ Approach to determine Salmonella dissemination along with the Lebanese poultry production chain
No full textInternational audienceThis cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Salmonella at different stages of the broiler production chain and layer flocks in addition to their antibiotic resistance profile and molecular patterns. Over a period of 3 years, different sample matrices were collected from Lebanese farms, slaughterhouses and retail markets. Out of 672 Salmonella serotyped, 514 were analysed for antimicrobial resistance and 214 for clonality using Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The results highlighted an important prevalence of Salmonella, 30% in farms, 35.8% in slaughterhouses and 22.4% at retail level. A large diversity of serotypes was identified with predominance among Salmonella Infantis (32.9%), Salmonella Enteritidis (28.4%) and Salmonella Kentucky (21.4%). High resistance to nalidixic acid was revealed in all the isolates. The most prominent resistance was exhibited in S. Kentucky and S. Infantis. The latter was resistant to tetracycline (99%), streptomycin (88.2%) and remarkable multi-drug resistance (MDR) (89.7%). All S. Kentucky isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin, MDR (62.4%) and 6% were resistant to extended-spectrum cephalosporin (ESCs). One persistent clone of S. Enteritidis was found common between poultry and humans. Similar genomic profiles were detected between farms, slaughterhouses and retail suggesting the dissemination of identical clones throughout the food chain possibly due to weak barriers preventing such transmission
Adaptative Workflows for Process Management
No full textIn industry, modeling and simulation are used to enhance productivity, facilitate analysis, and increase profitability. Modeling is used to represent the workflow activities of a prescribed business process operation. But what happens if an unexpected event occurs? This might lead to a deviation of prescribed business operation. In related approaches all solutions are predefined in a way or in another where in other words, most events must be predicted in advance and the others are not caught. This study will introduce a new approach to consider unexpected events occurring in workflow execution. Then, after characterizing the situation, the proposed approach will search a library for compatible solutions to repair the model. Next, the best solution is selected (automatically or manually) and injected in the workflow with respect to an objective function set by experts. Moreover, the library of models can be open to external contribution and benefits from collaborative works
Short- and Long-Term Effect of Cochlear Implantation on Disabling Tinnitus in Single-Sided Deafness Patients: A Systematic Review
No full textInternational audiencePatients with single-sided deafness can experience an ipsilateral disabling tinnitus that has a major impact on individuals' social communication and quality of life. Cochlear implants appear to be superior to conventional treatments to alleviate tinnitus in single-sided deafness. We conducted a systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness of cochlear implants in single-sided deafness with disabling tinnitus when conventional treatments fail to alleviate tinnitus (PROSPERO ID: CRD42022353292). All published studies in PubMed/MEDLINE and SCOPUS databases until December 2021 were included. A total of 474 records were retrieved, 31 studies were included and were divided into two categories according to whether tinnitus was assessed as a primary complaint or not. In all studies, cochlear implantation, evaluated using subjective validated tools, succeeded in reducing tinnitus significantly. Objective evaluation tools were less likely to be used but showed similar results. A short-(3 months) and long-(up to 72 months) term tinnitus suppression was reported. When the cochlear implant is disactivated, complete residual tinnitus inhibition was reported to persist up to 24 h. The results followed a similar pattern in studies where tinnitus was assesed as a primary complaint or not. In conclusion, the present review confirmed the effectiveness of cochlear implantation in sustainably reducing disabling tinnitus in single-sided deafness patients