93 research outputs found
Community effectiveness of chloroquine and traditional remedies in the treatment of young children with falciparum malaria in rural Burkina Faso
No full textMueller O, Razum O, Traore C, Kouyate B. Community effectiveness of chloroquine and traditional remedies in the treatment of young children with falciparum malaria in rural Burkina Faso. Malaria Journal. 2004;3(1): 36.Background: There is little information on the effectiveness of modern compared to traditional malaria treatment from the rural areas of Africa. Methods: Follow-up of 402 episodes of clinical malaria among pre-school children in Nouna Health District, northwestern Burkina Faso. The exposure of interest was the type of treatment (chloroquine versus traditional); the outcome was clinical response to treatment. Results: Out of the 402 observed malaria episodes, 87% were treated with chloroquine and 13% with traditional remedies. Overall, community effectiveness was 67% with chloroquine and 54% with traditional treatment. Chloroquine effectiveness was associated with age and ethnicity. An additional interview survey demonstrated wide variations in the dosages of chloroquine given to young children in this community. Conclusions: The effectiveness of chloroquine, when used within the community, was significantly lower in this study than its known efficacy in the study area. This concerns, in particular, the very young children. These findings demonstrate the need for better education of parents about correct dosage of first-line malaria drugs, and for particular attention in the treatment of very young children
Efficacy of pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine in young children with uncomplicated falciparum malaria in rural Burkina Faso
No full textAbstract The efficacy of pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine in the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in young children of a malaria holoendemic area in rural Burkina Faso is reported. Of 28 children treated with a standard single dose of pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine and followed-up over 14 days, only one Late Treatment Failure and four Late Parasitological Failures were observed, all with low-grade parasitaemia. In this area of very restricted use of pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine, the drug appears to be still sufficiently effective in the treatment of malaria. These findings provide further evidence for the justification of continued use of pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine as a second-line treatment for malaria in Burkina Faso.</p
Étude pour la recherche des arguments socio-économiques et juridiques pouvant faciliter la ratification de la Convention-cadre pour la lutte antitabac et favoriser l'appui du public et des décideurs politiques et économiques pour l'application de ses dispositions au Burkina Faso : rapport final
No full textContinuous Authentication using Stylometry
No full textStatic authentication, where user identity is checked once at login time, can be circumvented no matter how strong the authentication mechanism is. Through attacks such as man-in-the-middle and its variants, an authenticated session can be hijacked later after the initial login process has been completed. In the last decade, continuous authentication (CA) using biometrics has emerged as a possible remedy against session hijacking. CA consists of testing the authenticity of the user repeatedly throughout the authenticated session as data becomes available. CA is expected to be carried out unobtrusively, due to its repetitive nature, which means that the authentication information must be collectible without any active involvement of the user and without using any special purpose hardware devices (e.g. biometric readers). Stylometry analysis, which consists of checking whether a target document was written or not by a specific individual, could potentially be used for CA. Although stylometric techniques can achieve high accuracy rates for long documents, it is still challenging to identify an author for short documents, in particular when dealing with large author populations.
In this dissertation, we propose a new framework for continuous authentication using authorship verification based on the writing style. Authorship verification can be checked using stylometric techniques through the analysis of linguistic styles and writing characteristics of the authors. Different from traditional authorship verification that focuses on long texts, we tackle the use of short messages. Shorter authentication delay (i.e. smaller data sample) is essential to reduce the window size of the re-authentication period in CA. We validate our method using different block sizes, including 140, 280, and 500 characters, and investigate shallow and deep learning architectures for machine learning classification. Experimental evaluation of the proposed authorship verification approach based on the Enron emails dataset with 76 authors yields an Equal Error Rate (EER) of 8.21% and Twitter dataset with 100 authors yields an EER of 10.08%. The evaluation of the approach using relatively smaller forgery samples with 10 authors yields an EER of 5.48%.Graduat
The role of Plasmodium falciparum var genes in malaria in pregnancy
No full textSequestration of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes in the placenta is responsible for many of the harmful effects of malaria during pregnancy. Sequestration occurs as a result of parasite adhesion molecules expressed on the surface of infected erythrocytes binding to host receptors in the placenta such as chondroitin sulphate A (CSA). Identification of the parasite ligand(s) responsible for placental adhesion could lead to the development of a vaccine to induce antibodies to prevent placental sequestration. Such a vaccine would reduce the maternal anaemia and infant deaths that are associated with malaria in pregnancy. Current research indicates that the parasite ligands mediating placental adhesion may be members of the P. falciparum variant surface antigen family PfEMP1, encoded by var genes. Two relatively well-conserved subfamilies of var genes have been implicated in placental adhesion, however, their role remains controversial. This review examines the evidence for and against the involvement of var genes in placental adhesion, and considers whether the most appropriate vaccine candidates have yet been identified
From the Theory of the African Origin of Humankind to Modern Social, Legal and Technological Innovations: a Brief Analytical Excursion into Anthroposociogenesis
No full textObjective: to trace the evolution of humanity and to identify the role of various social institutions in order to understand the existential role of laws aimed at ensuring the coexistence of society in the context of technological innovations.Methods: the author used general scientific and special methods of cognition, which allowed tracing the dialectical development of humanity, social transformations and technological innovations.Results: looking back at the history of humanity, which originated on the African continent (the theory of African descent), the author notes the most important changes in the human way of life and environment, which led to the need to build organized societies and regulate social behavior with the help of legislative norms. Law is seen as part of the evolutionary process that was to emerge in the course of human evolution. The critical importance of law in overcoming the global challenges and existential questions of humanity’s continued coexistence arising in the course of evolution is emphasized. In this regard, the historical significance of the Kurukan Fuga Charter of the Malian Empire is emphasized as one of the oldest constitutions in the world, recognized internationally as an important source of legal and political norms for modern societies, regulating the structure of state power and social behaviour, although preserved largely in oral form. It is argued that social and technological change often served as the impetus for the development of new laws. Humanity has many times intervened in its own biological evolution with the help of technology; now it is an important moment from the viewpoint of law and ethics when technology may interfere in further human evolution. The greatest concern in this regard is the era of rapid development of artificial intelligence, which makes new demands on a human being.Scientific novelty: the article shows the role of the African continent in the origin and development of humanity and socio-legal institutions in the light of modern transformations and the construction of a new social reality.Practical significance: the conducted research creates prerequisites for further development of the theory of anthroposociogenesis and in-depth conceptual historical and legal study of the role of the African continent in the development of humanity and its social institutions
A well-conserved Plasmodium falciparum var gene shows an unusual stage-specific transcript pattern
No full textThe var multicopy gene family encodes Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) variant antigens, which, through their ability to adhere to a variety of host receptors, are thought to be important virulence factors. The predominant expression of a single cytoadherent PfEMP1 type on an infected red blood cell, and the switching between different PfEMP1 types to evade host protective antibody responses, are processes thought to be controlled at the transcriptional level. Contradictory data have been published on the timing of var gene transcription. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) data suggested that transcription of the predominant var gene occurs in the later (pigmented trophozoite) stages, whereas Northern blot data indicated such transcripts only in early (ring) stages. We investigated this discrepancy by Northern blot, with probes covering a diverse var gene repertoire. We confirm that almost all var transcript types were detected only in ring stages. However, one type, the well-conserved varCSA transcript, was present constitutively in different laboratory parasites and does not appear to undergo antigenic variation. Although varCSA has been shown to encode a chondroitin sulphate A (CSA)-binding PfEMP1, we find that the presence of full-length varCSA transcripts does not correlate with the CSA-binding phenotype
Heme Adventures: Roles In Catalysis and Structural Insights
No full textThe full text of this item is not available at this time because the author has placed this item under an embargo until May 15, 2030.Heme enzymes represent a vast class of biological catalysts that enable diverse oxidative transformations essential to life. This dissertation explores the roles of heme in catalysis through detailed biochemical, structural, and mechanistic studies of four distinct enzymes. Beginning with a comprehensive analysis of charge maintenance in non-heme iron oxygenases, the work highlights how ligand scaffolds and substrate interactions govern reaction outcomes. This is followed by subsequent investigations into tyrosine hydroxylase which reveal a novel free radical pathway, providing new insight into substrate oxidation. Structural and functional characterization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis catalase-peroxidase (KatG) identifies a unique indole-N-linked hydroperoxyl adduct that modulates enzymatic activity. The study of RufO, a heme enzyme implicated in rufomycin biosynthesis, suggests that tyrosine is not the native substrate, supported by spectroscopic, crystallographic, docking analyses. Finally, structural and spectroscopic studies of the streptococcal heme-binding protein HupZ demonstrate an unusual mode of heme coordination influenced by C-terminal tagging. Together, these studies underscore the diverse catalytic strategies enabled by heme and iron cofactors and offer broader implications for the design of biomimetic catalysts and therapeutic targets.Chemistr
Toponymie et histoire dans l’Ouest du Burkina Faso
No full textDans l’Ouest du Burkina Faso, au moins une vingtaine d’ethnies s’interpénètrent à tel point que certaines localités présentent deux ou trois groupes de populations appartenant à des ethnies différentes. Aujourd’hui, avec l’arrivée de nouveaux immigrants, attirés par la culture du coton et un climat moins rude que chez eux, ce chevauchement atteint jusqu’à dix ethnies différentes dans les gros villages des zones cotonnières. Pourtant, cet arc-en-ciel ethnique contraste avec une certaine homogénéité « julaïsante » de la toponymie. L'auteur tente d'expliquer cette toponymie à la lumière de l’histoire et de montrer les enjeux qu’elle présente aujourd’hui..In Western Burkina-Faso, some twenty ethnic groups intertwine in such a way that in some villages two or three ethnic groups can be found together. Nowadays, with the arrival of new migrants in cotton growing areas, more than ten different ethnic groups can be found in big villages. However, in spite of this ethnic rainbow, toponomy demonstrates a strong jula influence. The author tries to explain this toponymy through historical factors
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