Caractérisation des Systèmes de Cultures des Sites Maraîchers de Houéyiho, de Sèmè-Kpodji et de Grand-Popo au Sud-Bénin

Vegetable crops provide the required elements for the proper functioning of the organism. They play an important role in food security. The present study aims to characterize cultivation practices in urban and periurban market gardening production in South Benin. An exploratory study and an agricultural survey were conducted with 225 market gardeners. Sociodemographic and cultural practices data, were collected and subjected to descriptive analysis, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Factorial Correspondence Analysis (FCA) with regard to sources of watering water, and the protective measures used by farmers during chemical treatments. The study revealed that 13 different vegetables were grown by market gardeners in the study area. These vegetables were significantly dominated by Capsicum frutescens, Lycopersicum esculentum, Allium cepa, and Amarantethus hybridus in terms of cultivated area (P < 0.001). Vegetable production was intensive at all sites. The use of unregistered synthetic chemicals for pest control remained the most widely used control method. The number of chemical treatments performed on vegetables during their cycle was six. 70% of the interviewees at Houéyiho site and 58% of the interviewees at Sèmè-Kpodji site, combined at least two chemicals in each treatment. The practice of mineral fertilization was widely observed at all sites. The average dose of mineral fertilizers applied was 380.96 kg/ha for urea and 571.42 kg/ha for NPK. Les cultures maraîchères fournissent des éléments nécessaires au bon fonctionnement de l’organisme. Elles jouent un rôle important dans la sécurité alimentaire. La présente étude a pour but de caractériser les pratiques culturales en production maraichère urbaine et périurbaine au Sud-Bénin. Une étude exploratoire et une enquête agricole à l’aide d’un questionnaire ont été réalisées auprès de 225 maraîchers. Des informations collectées sur les caractéristiques sociodémographiques et les pratiques culturales ont été soumises à une analyse descriptive, à une analyse de la variance (ANOVA) et à une Analyse Factorielle des Correspondances (AFC) simple en ce qui concerne les sources d’eau d’arrosage et les mesures de protection prises par les maraichers lors des traitements phytosanitaires. L’étude a révélé que 13 différents légumes sont cultivés par les maraîchers de la zone d’étude. Ces légumes sont significativement dominés par Capsicum frutescens, Lycopersicum esculentum, Allium cepa et Amarantethus hybridus en terme de superficie (P<0,001). La production des légumes est intensive sur l’ensemble des sites. Le recours aux pesticides de synthèse non homologués pour le contrôle des ravageurs reste la méthode de lutte la plus utilisée. Le nombre de traitements phytosanitaires effectués sur les légumes au cours de leur cycle est de six. 70 % des enquêtés du site de Houéyiho et 58 % des enquêtés de Sèmè-Kpodji combinent au moins deux produits phytosanitaires lors de chaque traitement. La pratique de la fertilisation minérale est très observée sur l’ensemble des sites. La dose moyenne d’engrais minéraux appliquée aux cultuures maraîchères est de 380,96kg/ha pour l’urée et 571,42 kg/ha pour le NPK

Wireless phone use in childhood and adolescence and neuroepithelial brain tumours: Results from the international MOBI-Kids study

In recent decades, the possibility that use of mobile communicating devices, particularly wireless (mobile and cordless) phones, may increase brain tumour risk, has been a concern, particularly given the considerable increase in their use by young people. MOBI-Kids, a 14-country (Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain) case-control study, was conducted to evaluate whether wireless phone use (and particularly resulting exposure to radiofrequency (RF) and extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields (EMF)) increases risk of brain tumours in young people. Between 2010 and 2015, the study recruited 899 people with brain tumours aged 10 to 24 years old and 1,910 controls (operated for appendicitis) matched to the cases on date of diagnosis, study region and age. Participation rates were 72% for cases and 54% for controls. The mean ages of cases and controls were 16.5 and 16.6 years, respectively; 57% were males. The vast majority of study participants were wireless phones users, even in the youngest age group, and the study included substantial numbers of long-term (over 10 years) users: 22% overall, 51% in the 20-24-year-olds. Most tumours were of the neuroepithelial type (NBT; n = 671), mainly glioma. The odds ratios (OR) of NBT appeared to decrease with increasing time since start of use of wireless phones, cumulative number of calls and cumulative call time, particularly in the 15-19 years old age group. A decreasing trend in ORs was also observed with increasing estimated cumulative RF specific energy and ELF induced current density at the location of the tumour. Further analyses suggest that the large number of ORs below 1 in this study is unlikely to represent an unknown causal preventive effect of mobile phone exposure: they can be at least partially explained by differential recall by proxies and prodromal symptoms affecting phone use before diagnosis of the cases. We cannot rule out, however, residual confounding from sources we did not measure. Overall, our study provides no evidence of a causal association between wireless phone use and brain tumours in young people. However, the sources of bias summarised above prevent us from ruling out a small increased risk

Cancer data quality and harmonization in Europe: the experience of the BENCHISTA Project – international benchmarking of childhood cancer survival by stage

IntroductionVariation in stage at diagnosis of childhood cancers (CC) may explain differences in survival rates observed across geographical regions. The BENCHISTA project aims to understand these differences and to encourage the application of the Toronto Staging Guidelines (TG) by Population-Based Cancer Registries (PBCRs) to the most common solid paediatric cancers.MethodsPBCRs within and outside Europe were invited to participate and identify all cases of Neuroblastoma, Wilms Tumour, Medulloblastoma, Ewing Sarcoma, Rhabdomyosarcoma and Osteosarcoma diagnosed in a consecutive three-year period (2014-2017) and apply TG at diagnosis. Other non-stage prognostic factors, treatment, progression/recurrence, and cause of death information were collected as optional variables. A minimum of three-year follow-up was required. To standardise TG application by PBCRs, on-line workshops led by six tumour-specific clinical experts were held. To understand the role of data availability and quality, a survey focused on data collection/sharing processes and a quality assurance exercise were generated. To support data harmonization and query resolution a dedicated email and a question-and-answers bank were created.Results67 PBCRs from 28 countries participated and provided a maximally de-personalized, patient-level dataset. For 26 PBCRs, data format and ethical approval obtained by the two sponsoring institutions (UCL and INT) was sufficient for data sharing. 41 participating PBCRs required a Data Transfer Agreement (DTA) to comply with data protection regulations. Due to heterogeneity found in legal aspects, 18 months were spent on finalizing the DTA. The data collection survey was answered by 68 respondents from 63 PBCRs; 44% of them confirmed the ability to re-consult a clinician in cases where stage ascertainment was difficult/uncertain. Of the total participating PBCRs, 75% completed the staging quality assurance exercise, with a median correct answer proportion of 92% [range: 70% (rhabdomyosarcoma) to 100% (Wilms tumour)].ConclusionDifferences in interpretation and processes required to harmonize general data protection regulations across countries were encountered causing delays in data transfer. Despite challenges, the BENCHISTA Project has established a large collaboration between PBCRs and clinicians to collect detailed and standardised TG at a population-level enhancing the understanding of the reasons for variation in overall survival rates for CC, stimulate research and improve national/regional child health plans

Eur J Drug Metab Pharmacokinet

Bioequivalence of two medicinal, or veterinary, products is established by comparing the mean of bioavailability measures, such as AUC and Cmax, following administration of the test (T) and reference (R) products. However, the use of these parameters has several drawbacks, e.g. they do not take into consideration the overall pharmacokinetic profile shape. Therefore, concerns have been raised regarding their appropriateness for assessment of bioequivalence. To overcome the limitations of these bioequivalence parameters, direct curve comparison metrics methods were recently proposed on an average basis. In this paper, an individual based direct curve comparison method for assessing bioequivalence is proposed. The bioequivalence of T and R in each subject is evaluated by a new curve comparison metrics delta. The metrics delta is the absolute sum of the difference between two curves. The significance of the metrics for each subject is assessed by bootstrapping. An overall bioequivalence of T and R may be considered if less than 25% of the subjects show statistically different profiles

Biometrical evaluation of bioequivalence trials using a bootstrap individual direct curve comparison method.

Bioequivalence of two medicinal, or veterinary, products is established by comparing the mean of bioavailability measures, such as AUC and Cmax, following administration of the test (T) and reference (R) products. However, the use of these parameters has several drawbacks, e.g. they do not take into consideration the overall pharmacokinetic profile shape. Therefore, concerns have been raised regarding their appropriateness for assessment of bioequivalence. To overcome the limitations of these bioequivalence parameters, direct curve comparison metrics methods were recently proposed on an average basis. In this paper, an individual based direct curve comparison method for assessing bioequivalence is proposed. The bioequivalence of T and R in each subject is evaluated by a new curve comparison metrics delta. The metrics delta is the absolute sum of the difference between two curves. The significance of the metrics for each subject is assessed by bootstrapping. An overall bioequivalence of T and R may be considered if less than 25% of the subjects show statistically different profiles

Women\u27s Political Inclusion in Kenya\u27s Devolved Political System

Kenya’s 2010 constitutional reforms devolved the political system and included a quota designed to secure a minimum threshold of women in government. While the 2017 elections yielded the country’s highest proportion of women in government in history via both elected and appointed positions, many political entities still fell short of the new gender rule, leaving them in noncompliance with the constitution. The 2017 elections reveal a tension: while devolution raised the stakes of local elections and the quota has improved women’s political inclusion, these reforms have not fundamentally changed the power of political parties, the way campaigns are financed, cultural ideas about women’s leadership, and the pervasiveness of violence in Kenyan elections. Drawing on data from both the national and county levels, this article maps these persistent obstacles to women’s political inclusion and argues that increasing women’s political power will require both the full implementation of the constitution, as well as a broader consideration of how power operates and is consolidated

Maternal lifestyle characteristics and Wilms tumor risk in the offspring: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Little is known about the etiology of childhood Wilms tumor (WT) and potentially modifiable maternal risk factors, in particular. Methods: Unpublished data derived from the hospital-based, case-control study of the Greek Nationwide Registry for Childhood Hematological Malignancies and Solid Tumors (NARECHEM-ST) were included in an ad hoc conducted systematic literature review and meta-analyses examining the association between modifiable maternal lifestyle risk factors and WT. Eligible data were meta-analysed in separate strands regarding the associations of WT with (a) maternal folic acid and/or vitamins supplementation, (b) alcohol consumption and (c) smoking during pregnancy. The quality of eligible studies was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Results: Effect estimates from 72 cases and 72 age- and sex-matched controls contributed by NARECHEM-ST were meta-analysed together with those of another 17, mainly medium size, studies of ecological, case-control and cohort design. Maternal intake of folic acid and/or other vitamins supplements during pregnancy was inversely associated with WT risk (6 studies, OR: 0.78; 95 %CI: 0.69–0.89, I2 = 5.4 %); of similar size was the association for folic acid intake alone (4 studies, OR: 0.79; 95 %CI: 0.69-0.91, I2 = 0.0 %), derived mainly from ecological studies. In the Greek study a positive association (OR: 5.31; 95 %CI: 2.00–14.10) was found for mothers who consumed alcohol only before pregnancy vs. never drinkers whereas in the meta-analysis of the four homogeneous studies examining the effect of alcohol consumption during pregnancy the respective overall result showed an OR: 1.60 (4 studies, 95 %CI: 1.28–2.01, I2 = 0.0 %). Lastly, no association was seen with maternal smoking during pregnancy (14 studies, OR: 0.93; 95 %CI: 0.80–1.09, I2 = 0.0 %). Conclusions: In the largest to-date meta-analysis, there was an inverse association of maternal folic acid or vitamins supplementation with WT risk in the offspring, derived mainly from ecological studies. The association with maternal alcohol consumption found in our study needs to be further explored whereas no association with maternal smoking was detected. Given the proven benefits for other health conditions, recommendations regarding folic acid supplementation as well as smoking and alcohol cessation should apply. The maternal alcohol consumption associations, however, should be further explored given the inherent limitations in the assessment of exposures of the published studies. © 202