Une innovation dans la gestion de l’eau potable dans les quartiers précaires de Port-au-Prince: expérimentation, tentatives d’institutionnalisation et d’adaptation aux crises

A hybrid drinking water service has been in place since 1995 to supply the poor districts of Port-au-Prince. It involves connecting a district mini-network—managed by a committee of local people—to the public network. The committee, to which the service is delegated, is bound by contract: it pays bills to CAMEP, the public water utility, and retails the water to the inhabitants of the district. From 1995 to 2009, this institutional innovation enabled over 50 districts of Haiti’s capital—representing some 800,000 inhabitants—to be equipped and supplied. More than 50 water committees were set up, often acting as the sole point of contact with the state in the so-called “illegal” or “lawless” districts. What were the implications of the progressive institutionalization of this service? What are its limitations? How have people responded and adapted, following the destruction wrought by the 2010 earthquake? In this highly uncertain context, what does the future hold for the water committees?Depuis 1995, un service hybride d’eau potable a été mis en place pour approvisionner les quartiers précaires de Port au Prince. Il consiste à raccorder un mini-réseau de quartier géré par un comité issu du quartier, au réseau public. Le comité, délégataire du service, est lié contractuellement et paye des factures à la société publique d’eau, la CAMEP, tout en reven-dant l’eau au détail aux habitants du quartier. Entre 1995 et 2009, cette innovation institutionnelle a permis à plus de 50 quartiers de la capitale haïtienne d’être équipés et approvi-sionnés, représentant environ 800 000 habitants. Plus de 50 comités d’eau ont été mis en place, représentants souvent les seuls interlocuteurs de l’Etat dans des quartiers dits illégaux ou de non-droit. Quels ont été les enjeux de l’institutionnalisation progressive de ce service ? Quelles en sont ses limites ? Quelles réactions et adaptation suite aux destructions provoquées par le séisme de 2010 ? Quel avenir pour les comités d’eau dans un contexte très incertain ?Desde 1995, se ha puesto en marcha un servicio híbrido de agua potable para abastecer a los barrios de chabolas de Puerto Príncipe. Consiste en conectar una mini red de barrio, gestionada por un comité del propio barrio, con la red pública. El comité, delegatario del servicio, está vinculado por relación contractual y paga facturas a la empresa pública del agua, CAMEP, y vende, a su vez, el agua al por menor a los habitantes del barrio. Entre 1995 y 2009, esta innovación institucional ha supuesto equipamiento y abastecimiento para más de 50 barrios de la capital haitiana, lo que representa unos 800.000 habitantes. Se han creado más de 50 comités de agua, que suelen ser los únicos interlocutores del Estado en los denominados barrios ilegales o zonas de no derecho. ¿Cuáles han sido los retos de la institucionalización progresiva de este servicio? ¿Cuáles son los límites? ¿Qué reacciones y adaptaciones han sido necesarias para paliar los destrozos provocados por el terremoto de 2010? ¿Qué futuro tienen los comités de agua en un contexto muy incierto

RETRATO SIN IDENTIFICAR [Material gráfico]

Copia digital. Madrid : Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, 201

Une innovation dans la gestion de l’eau potable dans les quartiers précaires de Port-au-Prince: expérimentation, tentatives d’institutionnalisation et d’adaptation aux crises

A hybrid drinking water service has been in place since 1995 to supply the poor districts of Port-au-Prince. It involves connecting a district mini-network—managed by a committee of local people—to the public network. The committee, to which the service is delegated, is bound by contract: it pays bills to CAMEP, the public water utility, and retails the water to the inhabitants of the district. From 1995 to 2009, this institutional innovation enabled over 50 districts of Haiti’s capital—representing some 800,000 inhabitants—to be equipped and supplied. More than 50 water committees were set up, often acting as the sole point of contact with the state in the so-called “illegal” or “lawless” districts. What were the implications of the progressive institutionalization of this service? What are its limitations? How have people responded and adapted, following the destruction wrought by the 2010 earthquake? In this highly uncertain context, what does the future hold for the water committees

Appui à la gouvernance concertée des services publics locaux : les apports du projet de recherche-action Agora (Bénin, Burkina Faso, Mali)

à veni

Phototoxic Action Spectrum on a Retinal Pigment Epithelium Model of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Exposed to Sunlight Normalized Conditions

International audienceAmong the identified risk factors of age-related macular degeneration, sunlight is known to induce cumulative damage to the retina. A photosensitive derivative of the visual pigment, N-retinylidene-N-retinylethanolamine (A2E), may be involved in this phototoxicity. The high energy visible light between 380 nm and 500 nm (blue light) is incriminated. Our aim was to define the most toxic wavelengths in the blue-green range on an in vitro model of the disease. Primary cultures of porcine retinal pigment epithelium cells were incubated for 6 hours with different A2E concentrations and exposed for 18 hours to 10 nm illumination bands centered from 380 to 520 nm in 10 nm increments. Light irradiances were normalized with respect to the natural sunlight reaching the retina. Six hours after light exposure, cell viability, necrosis and apoptosis were assessed using the Apotox-Glo Triplex™ assay. Retinal pigment epithelium cells incubated with A2E displayed fluorescent bodies within the cytoplasm. Their absorption and emission spectra were similar to those of A2E. Exposure to 10 nm illumination bands induced a loss in cell viability with a dose dependence upon A2E concentrations. Irrespective of A2E concentration, the loss of cell viability was maximal for wavelengths from 415 to 455 nm. Cell viability decrease was correlated to an increase in cell apoptosis indicated by caspase-3/7 activities in the same spectral range. No light-elicited necrosis was measured as compared to control cells maintained in darkness. Our results defined the precise spectrum of light retinal toxicity in physiological irradiance conditions on an in vitro model of age-related macular degeneration. Surprisingly, a narrow bandwidth in blue light generated the greatest phototoxic risk to retinal pigment epithelium cells. This phototoxic spectrum may be advantageously valued in designing selective photoprotection ophthalmic filters, without disrupting essential visual and non-visual functions of the eye

Association of markers of inflammation and intestinal permeability in suicidal patients with major mood disorders /

Background: Patients with major mood disorders are at high risk of suicidal behavior compared to the general population. Suicide is a public health concern, accounting for around 1.2% of deaths worldwide. Understanding its underlying mechanisms may help identify predictive biomarkers and design novel targeted treatments. Immune dysfunctions, in particular affecting the gut-brain axis, are of interest given their dual involvement in mood disorders and suicidal behavior. We thus explored the possible relationships between suicide attempt (SA) and circulating biomarkers of intestinal permeability and systemic inflammation in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) or bipolar disorder (BD) with and without a history of SA. Method: 137 patients with BD and 168 with MDD were included, and among them, 133 had a history of SA and 172 did not. Among them, 104 were males (34%) and 201 females (66%). Depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology clinical scale (IDS-C30). Circulating levels of intestinal fatty acid binding protein (IFABP), calprotectin, apolipoprotein E (ApoE), lipopolysaccharides binding protein (LBP), lipopolysaccharides (LPS), soluble beta-2-microglobulin (B2m), and C-reactive protein (CRP), were determined. Multivariate linear regressions were performed according to the gender status given the proportion of the herein studied male and female individuals and the higher propensity of females to experience SA as compared to males. Results: After adjusting for confounding variables, patients in the SA group had significantly higher CRP, and lower IFABP levels in comparison to the NSA group. Limitations: The unavailability of confounding variables such as dietary habits, should be noted. In addition, the cross-sectional nature of the study hampers the identification of causative effects. Conclusion: Although preliminary, our observations revealed associations between markers of inflammation and intestinal permeability in patients with suicidal behavior warranting further confirmation in larger cohorts

Light-induced morphological changes in A2E-loaded RPE cells.

<p>Images of RPE cells were obtained 6 hours after 18 hour light exposure with a 10 nm illumination band centered at 440 nm (<b>E–H</b>), at 480 nm (<b>I–L</b>) or maintained in darkness (<b>A–D</b>). RPE cells were incubated with A2E at 0 µM (<b>A, E, I</b>), 12.5 µM (<b>B, F, J</b>), 20 µM (<b>C, G, K</b>) or 40 µM (<b>D, H, L</b>). Note the yellow tint of A2E-loaded RPE cells maintained in darkness (<b>B–D</b>). RPE cells treated with A2E at 20 µM (<b>G</b>) or 40 µM (H) became round and lost their confluence after their exposure to a 10 nm band centered at 440 nm. By contrast, A2E-loaded RPE cells appeared healthy after their exposure to a 10 nm band centered at 480 nm (<b>J–L</b>) similarly as cells maintained in darkness (<b>B–D</b>) or A2E-untreated (<b>A, I</b>). Scale bar in A represents 20 µm.</p

A2E dose response curves of the A2E-elicited phototoxicity on RPE cells.

<p>Cell viability (<b>A</b>) and cell apoptosis (<b>B</b>) were quantified with the ApoTox-Glo™ assay according to the A2E concentrations (0, 12.5, 20 and 40 µM) for RPE cells exposed to the 10 nm illumination bands centered at 440 or 480 nm. Cell viability and apoptosis were normalized with the experimental value obtained for RPE cells maintained in darkness without A2E treatment. The <i>P</i>-value was calculated using t-test. For the two illumination bands, statistically significant differences are indicated with respect to the illuminated conditions but in the absence of A2E (^#p<0.05, ^##p<0.01, ^###p<0.001) and when considering two A2E concentrations (*p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001).</p

Characterization of the autofluorescence in A2E-loaded RPE cells.

<p><b>A.</b> Absorbance of RPE cells treated with 40 µM A2E (A2E+RPE (a), solid line) or A2E-untreated (RPE (b), dashed line). The curve ((a)–(b), dot line) representing the difference of absorption spectra between A2E-loaded RPE cells (a) and A2E-untreated RPE cells (b), shows absorption peaks at 335 nm and 440 nm. <b>B.</b> Absorbance spectra of free A2E in pure ethanol (solid line) or in modified DMEM (dashed line). Spectra are similar in both media and A2E displays maxima of absorbance at 335 nm and 440 nm. <b>C.</b> Emission spectra of RPE cells treated with 40 µM of A2E (A2E+RPE (a), solid line) or untreated (RPE (b), dashed line) under a 440 nm excitation. The curve ((a)–(b), dot line) representing the difference between the emission spectra in A2E-loaded RPE cells (a) and A2E-untreated RPE cells (b) shows a peak at 620 nm. <b>D.</b> Emission spectra of free A2E in pure ethanol (solid line) or in modified DMEM (dashed line) with a 440 nm excitation. Spectra are similar in both media and A2E displays a maximum of emission at 640 nm. <b>E.</b> A2E contents quantified by UPLC in RPE cells after 6 hours of incubation in various A2E concentrations (0, 5, 15, 20, 30 and 40 µM) in culture medium. The A2E content in RPE cells increases in a linear way according to the incubated A2E concentration. (n = 4, r² = 0.9955). (RFU: Relative fluorescence unit).</p