Qualité microbiologique des tranches de mangues (Mangifera indica L.) vendues à Dakar (Sénégal)

La mangue, principal fruit du Sénégal, est transformée en tranches et vendue en sachets dans les rues de Dakar. Ce produit est sensible aux altérations microbiennes faute de technologies de conservation adaptées au contexte local. Ce travail propose une évaluation de la qualité  microbiologique du produit et de son impact sur la santé des  consommateurs. Pour cette étude, 3 répétitions d’échantillons par vendeur ont été prélevées chez quatorze vendeurs de cinq quartiers (Médina, Fann, Habitats Loyers Modernes ou HLM, Grand Yoff et Guédiawaye). Ensuite, des analyses ont été menées pour la recherche de la flore mésophile aérobie totale, de coliformes, d’entérobactéries et d’Escherichia coli présomptifs. Les résultats montrent une forte pollution des échantillons en flore totale sauf pour l’échantillon V3 (vendeur 3) des HLM et une charge élevée en coliformes et en Escherichia coli (> 103 UFC/g). D’autres entérobactéries comme Enterobacter agglomerans, Enterobacter amnigenus, Serrati  rubidaea et Klebsiella pneumoniae sont retrouvées respectivement dans les échantillons V2 de Médina, V1 de Fann, V1 et V2 Guédiawaye. Ces bactéries ne présentent pas de risques sur la santé publique mais rendent le produit impropre à la consommation. Cette étude nécessite une expansion aux autres quartiers pour mieux veiller sur la santé des consommateurs.Mots clés: Evaluation, qualité, microbiologie, mangues, santé des consommateurs, Dakar

Paleoflooding reconstruction from Holocene levee deposits in the Lower Meuse valley, the Netherlands

This study investigates the Holocene levee deposits and paleoflooding history of the Lower Meuse in the Netherlands based on archeological investigations and sedimentary analyses (grain size, end-member modelling, magnetic susceptibility and thermogravimetric analyses). The levee on the left bank in the study area near Ooijen contains a continuous sedimentary record in the NW downstream part. The archeological evidence and sedimentary results, including a grain size based flood energy index (LFEI), indicate that the Lower Meuse experienced a quiescent flooding period and low sedimentation rates during the mid-late Mesolithic when the levee was low and human influence was minor. Deposition during the Mesolithic shows a fining-upward trend and a highly-developed soil containing abundant artefacts. During the Neolithic and Bronze Age, the flooding intensity was low but gradually increased to a moderate level probably because of deforestation and increased runoff. Limited Bronze Age findings may reflect decreased human activity because of the increased flooding. Starting from the Iron Age, the Meuse experienced a generally enhanced flooding regime, which is reflected by erosion and coarsened sedimentation in the Iron Age and Roman Period. The high peak discharges during the Iron Age may have re-opened a low-lying paleochannel near to the levee during the intensified floods. This general increasing trend is interrupted by the lower flooding phase in the early Middle Ages (Dark Ages). From the middle to the late Middle Ages, the floods intensified again. The coarsening deposition and higher sedimentation rates since the Iron Age resulted from increased floods and higher sediment supply by deforestation and soil erosion. The findings of this study agree with a recent paleoflood reconstruction for the Lower Meuse by using a floodplain archive, implying that levee sediment records have potential in paleohydrological studies if the completeness of the record and chronological information is guaranteed

The value of prognostic clinical data in Bell’s palsy

SummaryElectroneurography (ENoG) and clinical staging are currently the methods of choice to indicate prognosis in Bell’s palsy, although ENoG is an electrophysiological test not universally available. Aim: Identify other options of prognostic evaluation based upon clinical aspects and minimal electrical stimulation test allowing prognostic measurement in almost any circumstances. Study design: historic cohort. Material and Method: Chart review of 1,521 cases of IPFP, analyzing the following clinical aspects: gender, age, paralyzed side, installation mode, previous symptoms, associated symptoms and minimal electrical stimulation test (Hilger test) and its statistical correlation to facial palsy evolution after 6 months. Results: Data indicated that patients above 60 years old had worse prognosis in comparison with patients under 30 years old. A progressive mode of paralysis installation, absence of previous symptoms, concomitant vertigo and response superior to 3.5 mA at minimum electrical stimulation test were also related to worse prognosis. On the other hand, the absence of concomitant symptoms, diminished tearing and sudden onset were related to better prognosis. Conclusion: Clinical factors and Hilger’s test can accurately indicate the prognosis in cases of Bell’s palsy when ENoG is not available

The Need for Compliance Verification in Collaborative Business Processes

Compliance constrains processes to adhere to rules, standards, laws and regulations. Non-compliance subjects enterprises to litigation and financial fines. Collaborative business processes cross organizational and regional borders implying that internal and cross regional regulations must be complied with. To protect customs’ data, European enterprises must comply with the EU data privacy regulation (general data protection regulation - GDPR) and each member state’s data protection laws. An example of non-compliance with GDPR is Facebook, it is accused for breaching subscriber trust. Compliance verification is thus essential to deploy and implement collaborative business process systems. It ensures that processes are checked for conformance to compliance requirements throughout their life cycle. In this paper we take a proactive approach aiming to discuss the need for design time preventative compliance verification as opposed to after effect runtime detective approach. We use a real-world case to show how compliance needs to be analyzed and show the benefits of applying compliance check at the process design stag

The Need for Compliance Verification in Collaborative Business Processes

Compliance constrains processes to adhere to rules, standards, laws and regulations. Non-compliance subjects enterprises to litigation and financial fines. Collaborative business processes cross organizational and regional borders implying that internal and cross regional regulations must be complied with. To protect customs’ data, European enterprises must comply with the EU data privacy regulation (general data protection regulation - GDPR) and each member state’s data protection laws. An example of non-compliance with GDPR is Facebook, it is accused for breaching subscriber trust. Compliance verification is thus essential to deploy and implement collaborative business process systems. It ensures that processes are checked for conformance to compliance requirements throughout their life cycle. In this paper we take a proactive approach aiming to discuss the need for design time preventative compliance verification as opposed to after effect runtime detective approach. We use a real-world case to show how compliance needs to be analyzed and show the benefits of applying compliance check at the process design stag

Health seeking behaviour, health system experience and tuberculosis case finding in Gambians with cough

BACKGROUND: Studies in Africa investigating health-seeking behaviour by interviewing tuberculosis patients have revealed patient knowledge issues and significant delays to diagnosis. We aimed to study health-seeking behaviour and experience of those with cough in The Gambia and to identify whether they had tuberculosis. METHODS: During a round of a population under 3-monthly demographic surveillance, we identified people >10 years old who had been coughing ≥ 3 weeks. A questionnaire was administered concerning demographic data, cough, knowledge, health seeking, and experience at health facilities. Case finding utilised sputum smear and chest X-ray. RESULTS: 122/29,871 coughing individuals were identified. Of 115 interviewed, 93 (81%) had sought treatment; 76 (81.7%) from the health system. Those that visited an alternative health provider first were significantly older than those who visited the health system first (p = 0.03). The median time to seek treatment was 2 weeks (range 0 – 106). 54 (58.1%) made their choice of provider because they believed it was right. Of those who left the health system to an alternative provider (n = 13): 7 believed it was the best place, 3 cited cost and 2 failure to improve. 3 cases were identified by sputum analysis, 11 more by X-ray; all had visited the health system first. Total 'excess' cough time was 1079 person weeks. CONCLUSION: The majority of people with cough in this population seek appropriate help early. Improved case detection might be achieved through the use of chest X-ray in addition to sputum smear

Intraregional variability in chironomid-inferred temperature estimates and the influence of river inundations on lacustrine chironomid assemblages.

Floodplain lakes are rarely analysed for fossil chironomids and usually not incorporated in modern chironomid-climate calibration datasets because of the potential complex hydrological processes that could result from flooding of the lakes. In order to investigate this potential influence of river inundations on fossil chironomid assemblages, 13 regularly inundated lakes and 20 lakes isolated from riverine influence were sampled and their surface sediments analysed for subfossil chironomid assemblages. The physical and chemical settings of all lakes were similar, although the variation in the environmental variables was higher in the lakes isolated from riverine influence. Chironomid concentration and taxon richness show significant differences between the two classes of lakes, and the variation in these variables is best explained by loss-on-ignition of the sediments (LOI). Relative chironomid abundances show some differences between the two groups of lakes, with several chironomid taxa occurring preferentially in one of the two lake-types. The variability in chironomid assemblages is also best explained by LOI. Application of a chironomid-temperature inference model shows that both types of lakes reconstruct July air temperatures that are equal to, or slightly underestimating, the measured temperature of the region. We conclude that, although there are some differences between the chironomid assemblages of floodplain lakes and of isolated lakes, these differences do not have a major effect on chironomid-based temperature reconstruction. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media B.V

Verifying for Compliance to Data Constraints in Collaborative Business Processes.

Production processes are nowadays fragmented across different companies and organized in global collaborative networks. This is the result of the first wave of globalization that, among the various factors, was enabled by the diffusion of Internet-based Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) at the beginning of the years 2000. The recent wave of new technologies possibly leading to the fourth industrial revolution – the so-called Industry 4.0 – is further multiplying opportunities. Accessing global customers opens great opportunities for organizations, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), but it requires the ability to adapt to different requirements and conditions, volatile demand patterns and fast-changing technologies. Regardless of the industrial sector, the processes used in an organization must be compliant to rules, standards, laws and regulations. Non-compliance subjects enterprises to litigation and financial fines. Thus, compliance verification is a major concern, not only to keep pace with changing regulations but also to address the rising concerns of security, product and service quality and data privacy. The software, in particular process automation, used must be designed accordingly. In relation to process management, we propose a new way to pro-actively check the compliance of current running business processes using Descriptive Logic and Linear Temporal Logic to describe the constraints related to data. Related algorithms are presented to detect the potential violations

Chironomid-based palaeotemperature estimates for northeast Finland during Oxygen Isotope Stage 3.

Quantitative palaeotemperature estimates for the earlier part of Oxygen Isotope Stage (OIS-) 3 are inferred from subfossil chironomid remains. The high-latitudinal study site of Sokli, northeast Finland, provides for a unique lacustrine deposit covering the earlier part of OIS-3, and the chironomid remains found in the sediments show that a shallow lake with a diverse fauna was present at the study site throughout the record. Using a Norwegian calibration data set as a modern analogue, mean July air temperatures are reconstructed. The chironomid-inferred July air temperatures are surprisingly high, reaching values similar to the current temperature at the study site. Other proxies that were applied to the sediments included the analysis of botanical and zoological macro-remains, and our results concur with temperature estimates derived from climate indicator taxa. Summer temperatures for interstadial conditions, reconstructed with climate models, are as high as our proxy-based palaeotemperatures