On the Suppression of Noise from a Fast Moving Acoustic Source using Multimodality

International audienceThe problem of cancelling the noise from a moving acoustic source in outdoor environment is investigated in this paper. By making use of the known instantaneous location of the moving source (provided by a second modality), we propose a time-domain method for removing the noise from a moving source in a mixture of acoustic sources. The proposed method consists in resampling the mixed data recorded at a reference sensor, and by linearly combining the resampled data and the non-resampled data of the others sensor to cancel the undesired source. Simulation on synthetic data show the effectiveness and the usefulness of the proposed method

Non-Negative Blind Source Separation Algorithm Based on Minimum Aperture Simplicial Cone

International audienceWe address the problem of Blind Source Separation (BSS) when the hidden sources are Nonnegative (N-BSS). In this case, the scatter plot of the mixed data is contained within the simplicial cone generated by the columns of the mixing matrix. The proposed method, termed SCSA-UNS for Simplicial Cone Shrinking Algorithm for Unmixing Non-negative Sources, aims at estimating the mixing matrix and the sources by fitting a Minimum Aperture Simplicial Cone (MASC) to the cloud of mixed data points. SCSA-UNS is evaluated on both independent and correlated synthetic data and compared to other N-BSS methods. Simulations are also performed on real Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrum (LC-MS) data for the metabolomic analysis of a chemical sample, and on real dynamic Positron Emission Tomography (PET) images, in order to study the pharmacokinetics of the [18F]-FDG (FluoroDeoxyGlucose) tracer in the brain

First report of Cassava Bacterial Blight caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. manihotis in Burkina Faso

International audienc

Towards innovative solutions for monitoring precipitation in poorly instrumented regions: real-time system for collecting power levels of microwave links of mobile phone operators for rainfall quantification in Burkina Faso

Since the 1990s, mobile telecommunication networks have gradually become denser around the world. Nowadays, large parts of their backhaul network consist of commercial microwave links (CMLs). Since CML signals are attenuated by rainfall, the exploitation of records of this attenuation is an innovative and an inexpensive solution for precipitation monitoring purposes. Performance data from mobile operators’ networks are crucial for the implementation of this technology. Therefore, a real-time system for collecting and storing CML power levels from the mobile phone operator “Telecel Faso” in Burkina Faso has been implemented. This new acquisition system, which uses the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), can simultaneously record the transmitted and received power levels from all the CMLs to which it has access, with a time resolution of one minute. Installed at “Laboratoire des Matériaux et Environnement de l’Université Joseph KI-ZERBO (Burkina Faso)”, this acquisition system is dynamic and has gradually grown from eight, in 2019, to more than 1000 radio links of Telecel Faso’s network in 2021. The system covers the capital Ouagadougou and the main cities of Burkina Faso (Bobo Dioulasso, Ouahigouya, Koudougou, and Kaya) as well as the axes connecting Ouagadougou to these citie

Ten golden rules for optimal antibiotic use in hospital settings: the WARNING call to action

Antibiotics are recognized widely for their benefits when used appropriately. However, they are often used inappropriately despite the importance of responsible use within good clinical practice. Effective antibiotic treatment is an essential component of universal healthcare, and it is a global responsibility to ensure appropriate use. Currently, pharmaceutical companies have little incentive to develop new antibiotics due to scientific, regulatory, and financial barriers, further emphasizing the importance of appropriate antibiotic use. To address this issue, the Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery established an international multidisciplinary task force of 295 experts from 115 countries with different backgrounds. The task force developed a position statement called WARNING (Worldwide Antimicrobial Resistance National/International Network Group) aimed at raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance and improving antibiotic prescribing practices worldwide. The statement outlined is 10 axioms, or “golden rules,” for the appropriate use of antibiotics that all healthcare workers should consistently adhere in clinical practice

NONLOCAL DISSIPATION MEASURE AND L 1 KINETIC THEORY FOR FRACTIONAL CONSERVATION LAWS

We introduce a kinetic formulation for scalar conservation laws with nonlocal and nonlinear diffusion terms. We deal with merely L 1 initial data, general self-adjoint pure jump Lévy operators, and locally Lipschitz nonlinearities of porous medium kind possibly strongly degenerate. The cornerstone of the formulation and the uniqueness proof is an adequate explicit representation of the nonlocal dissipation measure. This approach is inspired from the second order theory unlike the cutting technique previously introduced for bounded entropy solutions. The latter technique no longer seems to fit our setting. This is moreover the first time that the more standard and sharper tools of the second order theory are faithfully adapted to fractional conservation laws

A robust geometrical method for blind separation of noisy mixtures of non-negatives sources

International audienceRecently, we proposed an effective geometrical method for separating linear instantaneous mixtures of non-negative sources, termed Simplicial Cone Shrinking Algorithm for Unmixing Non-negative Sources (SCSA-UNS). The latter method operates in noiseless case, and estimates the mixing matrix and the sources by finding the minimum aperture simplicial cone, containing the scatter plot of mixed data. In this paper, we propose an extension of SCSA-UNS, to tackle the noisy mixtures, in the case where the sparsity degrees of the sources are known a priori. The idea is to progressively eliminate, the noisy mixed data points which are likely to significantly modify the scatter plot of noiseless mixed data and to lead to a bad estimation of the mixing matrix and the sources. Simulations on synthetic data show the effectiveness of the proposed method

Knowledge, attitudes and practices in relation to smoking among Burkinabé people residents of Dakar (Senegal) on World No Tobacco Day 2020

Introduction: The study focused on knowledge attitudes and practices vis-à-vis smoking. It was carried out by the 2020 executive office of the Collective of Burkinabé Students in Health in Senegal on World No Tobacco Day 2020. The objective was initially to assess attitudes and practices in relation to smoking smoked by industrial cigarettes and shisha then knowledge of the anti-smoking law and the possibilities of weaning that exist in Senegal and finally to know the best attitude to fight against smoking. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study for analytical purposes. The sampling technique was voluntary and data collection was self-administered and took place from Monday May 25th to Saturday May 30th, 2020 via electronic questionnaires. The self-administered data collection technique reduced prevarication and social desirability bias. However, the lack of preliminary calculation of a sample size makes inferences in the general population difficult. The sampling technique that was voluntary exposes itself to self-selection biases. Nevertheless, the study does suggest some very important aspects of smoking among young people. Results: This study shows that shisha is increasingly becoming the gateway to smoking among young people. It reveals that the health warnings on industrial cigarette packages are less and less dissuasive. It also shows that our study population believes that the two priority actions to be carried out to fight effectively against smoking in Senegal are on the one hand "to improve the offer of help for smoking cessation" and on the other hand " rigorously apply the punitive aspects of the anti-smoking law”. Conclusion: Smoking is a global epidemic that increasingly affects young people. Tobacco control is multidimensional and requires perfect synchronization of the different actors and continuous assessment of the effectiveness of control and prevention methods. Keywords: Cigarette, Shisha, Youth, Anti-tobacco control, Senega

Feasibility of a randomized clinical trial evaluating a community intervention for household tuberculosis child contact management in Cameroon and Uganda

Background: One of the main barriers of the management of household tuberculosis child contacts is the necessity for parents to bring healthy children to the facility. We assessed the feasibility of a community intervention for tuberculosis (TB) household child contact management and the conditions for its evaluation in a cluster randomized controlled trial in Cameroon and Uganda.Methods: We assessed three dimensions of feasibility using a mixed method approach: (1) recruitment capability using retrospective aggregated data from facility registers; (2) acceptability of the intervention using focus group discussions with TB patients and in-depth interviews with healthcare providers and community leaders; and (3) adaptation, integration, and resources of the intervention in existing TB services using a survey and discussions with stakeholders.Results: Reaching the sample size is feasible in all clusters in 15 months with the condition of regrouping 2 facilities in the same cluster in Uganda due to decentralization of TB services. Community health worker (CHW) selection and training and simplified tools for contact screening, tolerability, and adherence of preventive therapy were key elements for the implementation of the community intervention. Healthcare providers and patients found the intervention of child contact investigations and TB preventive treatment management in the household acceptable in both countries due to its benefits (competing priorities, transport cost) as compared to facility-based management. TB stigma was present, but not a barrier for the community intervention. Visit schedule and team conduct were identified as key facilitators for the intervention.Conclusions: This study shows that evaluating a community intervention for TB child contact management in a cluster randomized trial is feasible in Cameroon and Uganda.Trial registration: Clini calTr ials. gov NCT03832023 . Registered on February 6th 2019