42 research outputs found
Health significance and risk factors for childhood intestinal parasitic infections in Guinea, Africa
No full textA cross-sectional study was conducted among children 1 to 18 years of age in Konindou, Guinea. The study investigated the risk factors for childhood intestinal parasitic infections and malnutrition, and the relationship between childhood intestinal parasitic infection and malnutrition. Households were stratified within districts and one child was randomly selected from each household. The study included a total of 293 children, 153 (52.2%) males and 140 (47.8%) females. All children underwent parasitological, anthropometric, laboratory, and clinical examinations and were interviewed regarding demographic factors, sanitation, personal hygiene, housing, socio-economic status and medical history. Five intestinal parasites were detected in children on fecal examination including hookworm (35.7%), Ascaris lumbricoides (18.5%), Trichuris trichiura (12.2%), Trichomonas intestinalis (7.7%), and Strongyloides stercoralis (10.1%). Moreover, Schistosoma mansoni (6.3%) was detected in children. Examination of thick blood films revealed that 52.9% of children were infected with malaria. Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection did not differ by district and sex of children, but the prevalence of A. lumbricoides infection was significantly different between females and males 1 to 5 years of age (\chi\sp2 = 4.59; p = 0.03) and 11 to 18 years of age (\chi\sp2 = 5.57; p = 0.01). After controlling for age, males were found to be at higher risk for A. lumbricoides infection compared with females (odds ratio (OR) = 2.29; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12-4.71). The absence of a barrel latrine in the household was significantly associated with A. lumbricoides infection in children (OR = 2.81; CI 1.35-5.78). A strong association was found between A. lumbricoides infection and pica (OR = 3.36; CI 1.83-6.92). Fifty-six percent of A. lumbricoides infections that occurred in children were attributed to pica (attributable risk (AR) = 0.56; CI 0.31-0.75). Hookworm infection in children was significantly associated with the absence of a barrel latrine in the household (OR = 1.92; CI 1.12-3.25). Children living in homes with a soil floor had a higher risk (OR = 3.07; CI 1.54-6.08) of hookworm infection than children living in homes with a cement floor. Fifty-six percent of hookworm infections that occurred in children were attributed to living in a house with a soil floor (AR = 0.56; CI 0.32-0.72). Anemia was significantly associated (OR = 4.22; CI 2.34-7.62) with hookworm infection. Anemia and eosinophilia were not associated with A. lumbricoides infection. The risk of clinical signs including anemia, anorexia, diarrhea, elevated eosiphils count, nausea, and vomiting increased with an increase in the number of species of intestinal parasites harbored by children. The results of this study indicate that pica has a negative impact on the health of children in Guinea. Moreover, these results indicate that pica, poor sanitation, poor housing conditions, poor hygiene, and a large number of small children in a household are significantly associated with the likelihood of childhood intestinal parasitic infections and the growth of children in Guinea. The importance of these findings for the planning of parasite control measures is discussed
Sensitivity analysis of a model of Japanese encephalitis transmission
No full textJapanese Encephalistis (JE) is an endemic disease in Asia and the most important cause of human encephalitis in several Asian regions and the pacific. The first case of JE was documented in 1870 in Japan and was isolated for the first time in Tokyo in 1934. It is estimated that 3 billion of people are living in countries where the disease is endemic. The annual incidence of JE is estimated between 30000 and 50000 cases with 10,000 to 15,000 deaths annually. Japanese encephalitis virus is a flavivirus of the family of flaviviridae, such as the viruses of the dengue, yellow fever and West Nile. It is an arthropod-borne-virus (arbovirus) transmitted from animal to human by mosquitoes. Wild birds (aigrettes, herons) and domestic birds (ducks, chickens) are the naturals hosts, pigs are the amplifier hosts, humans and horses are accidental hosts, i.e. they can contracted the disease, but they can not transmit the virus to the mosquitoes. We have developed a generic mathematical model of JE transmission and determined the basic reproduction number, R0. R0 is defined as the number of secondary infections caused by a single infection of the same type (vector or host) during its infectious period in an entirely susceptible population. R0 is a threshold value in the model. If R0 1, then the disease can invade the population. Therefore, to control the spread of JE we must reduce R0 below 1. In some cases, for an infectious disease transmitted between at least two types of hosts, the R0 can be misleading when we want to control the disease. So, we have determined the type-reproduction number T for disease such as JE. T is used to determine the control effort required to eliminate an infectious disease when control is applied to a specific sub population of hosts. In this work, we present three sensitivity analysis. The first one on the parameters of the model, the second one on the basic reproduction number R0 and the third one on the type-reproduction number T. The results of the first sensitivity analysis will be use to identify the parameters we should know with precision and will determine the future field experiments we have to conduct to measure those parameters. The sensitivity analysis on R0 and T will be used to determine the important parameters to control the disease, and how sensitive the spread of the disease can be regarding the control
Chikungunya Outbreak in Kedougou, Southeastern Senegal in 2009–2010
No full textBackground In Senegal, Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), which is an emerging mosquito-borne alphavirus, circulates in a sylvatic and urban/domestic cycle and has caused sporadic human cases and epidemics since 1960s. However, the real impact of the CHIKV sylvatic cycle in humans and mechanisms underlying its emergence still remains unknown. Methodology One thousand four hundred nine suspect cases of CHIKV infection, recruited from 5 health facilities located in Kedougou region, south-eastern Senegal, between May 2009 to March 2010, together with 866 serum samples collected from schoolchildren from 4 elementary schools in May and November 2009 from Kedougou were screened for anti-CHIKV immunoglobulin (Ig)M antibodies and, when appropriate, for viral nucleic acid by real-time polymerase chain reaction (rPCR) and virus isolation. In addition, mosquitoes collected in the same area from May 2009 to January 2010 were tested for CHIKV by rPCR and by virus isolation, and 116 monkeys sera collected from March 2010 to May 2010 were tested for anti-CHIKV IgM and neutralizing antibodies. Results The main clinical manifestations of the CHIKV suspect cases were headache, myalgia, and arthralgia. Evidence for CHIKV infection was observed in 1.4% (20 of 1409) of patients among suspect cases. No significant difference was observed among age or sex groups. In addition, 25 (2.9%) students had evidence of CHIKV infection in November 2009. Chikungunya virus was detected in 42 pools of mosquitoes, mainly from Aedes furcifer, and 83% of monkeys sampled were seropositive. Conclusions Our findings further documented that CHIKV is maintained in a sylvatic transmission cycle among monkeys and Aedes mosquitoes in Kedougou, and humans become infected by exposure to the virus in the forest.Additional co-authors: Kathryn A. Hanley, Anta T Dia, Denis Malvy, Scott C. Weaver, Amadou Alpha Sal
Fonctions de l'investissement religieux (étude sur une population musulmane malienne)
No full textLe Mali est un pays du Sahel dans lequel les Musulmans constituent plus de 90% de la population. L islam est une religion qui y est ancrée dans le quotidien et la mémoire sociale. Cette étude part d observations cliniques sur la pratique de l islam par de jeunes Maliens, suite à un passé de difficultés psychiques. L objectif de la recherche est de déterminer les bénéfices thérapeutiques de l islam pour les Musulmans maliens, et de préciser en quoi ces bénéfices peuvent s appuyer sur une relation d objet avec Allah, le Dieu de l islam. De décembre 2010 à juin 2012, nous avons interrogé des savants islamiques, historiens, et des anthropologues, sur la place de l islam dans les sociétés ouest-africaines. Dans une approche complémentariste, nous sommes partis de constats pluridisciplinaires, pour mener des entretiens cliniques de recherche. Les huit participants rencontrés sont des Maliens, femmes et hommes, entre vingt-trois et vingt-huit ans, dans la fin du processus de construction identitaire adolescent. Ces personnes ont été sélectionnées, car leur pratique de l islam s est récemment renforcée. Il s agissait d analyser les nécessités et bénéfices de leur pratique nouvelle, et ainsi constater ce que l islam et la relation avec Allah ont pu apporter comme fonctions. L islam et son Dieu semblent permettre une réécriture de soi, dans la correspondance avec un sacré transcendant les vicissitudes quotidiennes, et délivrant de l oppression social, ou des insatisfactions que les participants sentent qu ils ne peuvent outrepasser. Cet islam est puisé dans un noyau familial, et historique, dans lequel Dieu trouve une figuration objectale en écho avec des objets de l ontogénèse, et du transgénérationnel, pour colmater les fragilités individuelles. Les frustrations liées à la pratique religieuse sont pensées comme des évènements sacrés, dans un Jihad, une lutte sainte, vers l épanouissement. L islam et ses pratiques offrent un contexte de contenance.Mali is a country of the Sahel where Muslims amount to over 90% of the population. Islam is a religion that is rooted in everyday life and social memory. This study stems from clinical observations regarding the practice of Islam by Malian youths, following prior psychic hardships. The aim of the research is to determine the therapeutics benefits of Islam for the Muslim Malians, and to precise how such benefits grow from an object relationship with Allah, the God of Islam. From December 2010 to June 2012, we have met Islamic scholars, historians, and anthropologists, inquiring about the place of Islam in West African societies. With a complementary approach, we drove our reflection with multidisciplinary acknowledgments, to lead clinical research interviews. The eight participants we met are Malians, women and men, aged twenty-one to twenty-eight, ending the identity construction process of adolescence. These persons were selected because their practice of Islam recently intensified. We purported to analyze the necessity and the benefits of their new practice, and thus note what functions Islam and the relationship with Allah brought forth.Islam and its God seem to allow a rewriting of oneself, in correspondence with a sacredness transcending everyday tribulations, and delivering from social oppression or dissatisfaction the participants felt they could not overcome. This Islam is tapped from family and social cores, in which God is represented as an object, echoing other objects of the ontogenesis, and the transgenerational legacy, so as to amend individual fragilities. Frustrations linked to the religious practice are thought of as sacred events, in a Jihad, a holy war, to self-fulfillment. Islam and its practices offer a context of holding.PARIS5-Bibliotheque electronique (751069902) / SudocSudocFranceF
Improved LNA probe-based assay for the detection of African and South American yellow fever virus strains
No full textBackground: Real-time assays for Yellow fever virus (YFV) would help to improve acute diagnostics in outbreak investigations. Objectives: To develop a real-time assay for YFV able to detect African and South American strains. Study design:Three short probe (14-18 nt) formats were compared and a plasmid-transcribed RNA standard was used to test the performance of the assays. Additionally the new TaqM1 enzyme was tested. Results: A locked nucleotide probe (LNA probe) performed best with an analytical sensitivity of 10 RNA molecules detected. 44 African and 10 South American strains were detectable. One South American strain from 1984 had a one-nucleotide deviation in the hybridisation sequence for which the LNA probe had to be adapted. Comparison of enzymes revealed that not all enzymes are suitable for LNA probes. Conclusion: The developed LNA probe based YFV real-time PCR performed best in an enzyme mix and less efficient using multifunctional enzymes
Experimental Research on T-Shaped Beam-Column Joints at Top Floor with Mechanically Anchored Reinforcement
No full textTowards a more consistent, application-focused method for the assessment of hazard profil of ionic liquids
No full textInternational audienceIonic liquids belong to a sub-category of salts being liquids below 100°C. They are currently raising fast increasing interest as multipurpose chemicals for applications in a variety of key industrial sectors. One great expectation lies with their potential use in the emerging bio-based economy (e.g. where they may be used as reactants, solvents or can be used as catalysts or for the production of advanced catalysts). Erroneously considered for a while as green chemicals per se, while referring to potentially millions of Ionic Liquids, more consideration must be paid to their true and uncommon properties. Indeed, to support their sustainable use, more proactive consideration of their potential hazards is highly desirable, beyond conventional rating of chemical hazards as demanded by the CLP or REACh regulations. We recently showed that actual properties of ionic liquids justify a dedicated approach for phys-chem hazard assessment. In order to reveal genuine hazards, they must be evaluated in the context of their intended use, for an appropriate risk-based approach. As a matter of facts, pool fire burning mode of ionic liquids considerably differs from conventional diffusion flames from hydrocarbon liquid fires, as illustrated at figure 1. This presentation focuses on such a topic, based on a recent thesis work performed in collaboration by INERIS, UTC/ESCOM, and two well known ionic liquids providers BASF and CYTEC, with further assistance of URCA, UDRI (USA), and U-Lyon1. Examples provided to illustrate our views cover hazards of phys-chem nature as well as those addressing the potential impact on the environment, from data obtained and processed essentially on imidazolium and phosphonium based ionic liquids. This work constitutes partial contribution to the PIVERT (http://www.institut-pivert.com/sas-p-i-v-e-r-t/) and the ECORBIO on-going projects
Towards a more consistent, application-focused method for the assessment of hazard profil of ionic liquids
No full textInternational audienceIonic liquids belong to a sub-category of salts being liquids below 100°C. They are currently raising fast increasing interest as multipurpose chemicals for applications in a variety of key industrial sectors. One great expectation lies with their potential use in the emerging bio-based economy (e.g. where they may be used as reactants, solvents or can be used as catalysts or for the production of advanced catalysts). Erroneously considered for a while as green chemicals per se, while referring to potentially millions of Ionic Liquids, more consideration must be paid to their true and uncommon properties. Indeed, to support their sustainable use, more proactive consideration of their potential hazards is highly desirable, beyond conventional rating of chemical hazards as demanded by the CLP or REACh regulations. We recently showed that actual properties of ionic liquids justify a dedicated approach for phys-chem hazard assessment. In order to reveal genuine hazards, they must be evaluated in the context of their intended use, for an appropriate risk-based approach. As a matter of facts, pool fire burning mode of ionic liquids considerably differs from conventional diffusion flames from hydrocarbon liquid fires, as illustrated at figure 1. This presentation focuses on such a topic, based on a recent thesis work performed in collaboration by INERIS, UTC/ESCOM, and two well known ionic liquids providers BASF and CYTEC, with further assistance of URCA, UDRI (USA), and U-Lyon1. Examples provided to illustrate our views cover hazards of phys-chem nature as well as those addressing the potential impact on the environment, from data obtained and processed essentially on imidazolium and phosphonium based ionic liquids. This work constitutes partial contribution to the PIVERT (http://www.institut-pivert.com/sas-p-i-v-e-r-t/) and the ECORBIO on-going projects
Multicultural Validation of the Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire Shortened Form (ZKA-PQ/SF) Across 18 Countries
No full textThe aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire shortened form (ZKA-PQ/SF) in 18 cultures and 13 languages of different African, American, Asian, and European cultures and languages. The results showed that the five-factor structure with 20 facets replicated well across cultures with a total congruence coefficient of.97. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) resulted in adequate fit indices for the five factors based on the comparative fit index (CFI), Tucker–Lewis index (TLI; >.90), and RMSEA (.031-.081). A series of CFA to assess measurement invariance across cultures resulted in adequate CFIs and TLIs for configural and metric invariance. However, factors did not show scalar invariance. Alpha internal consistencies of five factors ranged between.77 (Sensation Seeking) and.86 (Neuroticism). The average alpha of the 20 facets was.64 with a range from.43 (SS4) to.75 (AG1). Nevertheless, alpha reliabilities were lower in some facets and cultures, especially for Senegal and Togo. The average percentage of the variance explained based on the adjusted R2 was 2.9%, 1.7%, and 5.1% for age, sex, and, cultures, respectively. Finally, multidimensional scaling suggested that geographically or culturally close cultures share mean profile similarities. © The Author(s) 2019.Universidad Autónoma de Chil
Implementation of the WHO hand hygiene strategy in Faranah regional hospital, Guinea
No full textHealthcare-associated infections are the most frequent adverse events in healthcare worldwide, withlimited available evidence suggesting highest burden in resource-limited settings. Recent Ebola epidemicsemphasize the disastrous impact that spread of infectious agents within healthcare facilities can have, accentuatingthe need for improvement of infection control practices. Hand hygiene (HH) measures are considered to be themost effective tool to prevent healthcare-associated infections. However, HH knowledge and compliance are low,especially in vulnerable settings such as Guinea.The aim of PASQUALE (Partnership to Improve Patient Safety and Quality of Care) was to assess knowledge andcompliance with HH and improve HH by incorporating the WHO HH Strategy within the Faranah Regional Hospital(FRH), Guinea.Methods: In aPeer Reviewe
