Current Opinion and Practice on Peritoneal Carcinomatosis Management: The North African Perspective.

The status of peritoneal surface malignancy (PSM) management in North Africa is undetermined. The aim of this study was to assess and compare current practice and knowledge regarding PSM and examine satisfaction with available treatment options and need for alternative therapies in North Africa. This is a qualitative study involving specialists participating in PSM management in North Africa. The survey analyzed demographic characteristics and current knowledge and opinions regarding PSM management in different institutions. We also looked at goals and priorities, satisfaction with treatment modalities and heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) usefulness according to specialty, country, years of experience, and activity sector. One-hundred and three participants responded to the survey (response rate of 57%), including oncologists and surgeons. 59.2% of respondents had more than 10 years experience and 45.6% treated 20-50 PSM cases annually. Participants satisfaction with PSM treatment modalities was mild for gastric cancer (3/10 [IQR 2-3]) and moderate for colorectal (5/10 [IQR 3-5]), ovarian (5/10 [IQR 3-5]), and pseudomyxoma peritonei (5/10 [IQR 3-5]) type of malignancies. Good quality of life and symptom relief were rated as main priorities for treatment and the need for new treatment modalities was rated 9/10 [IQR 8-9]. The perceived usefulness of systemic chemotherapy in first intention was described as high by 42.7 and 39.8% of respondents for PSM of colorectal and gastric origins, while HIPEC was described as highly useful for ovarian (49.5%) and PMP (73.8) malignancies. The management of PSM in the North African region has distinct differences in knowledge, treatments availability and priorities. Disparities are also noted according to specialty, country, years of expertise, and activity sector. The creation of referral structures and PSM networks could be a step forward to standardized PSM management in the region

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

The MOBI-Kids Study Protocol: Challenges in Assessing Childhood and Adolescent Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields from Wireless Telecommunication Technologies and Possible Association with Brain Tumor Risk

The rapid increase in mobile phone use in young people has generated concern about possible health effects of exposure to radiofrequency (RF) and extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields (EMF). MOBI-Kids, a multinational case-control study, investigates the potential effects of childhood and adolescent exposure to EMF from mobile communications technologies on brain tumor risk in 14 countries. The study, which aims to include approximately 1,000 brain tumor cases aged 10-24 years and two individually matched controls for each case, follows a common protocol and builds upon the methodological experience of the INTERPHONE study. The design and conduct of a study on EMF exposure and brain tumor risk in young people in a large number of countries is complex and poses methodological challenges. This manuscript discusses the design of MOBI-Kids and describes the challenges and approaches chosen to address them, including: (1) the choice of controls operated for suspected appendicitis, to reduce potential selection bias related to low response rates among population controls; (2) investigating a young study population spanning a relatively wide age range; (3) conducting a large, multinational epidemiological study, while adhering to increasingly stricter ethics requirements; (4) investigating a rare and potentially fatal disease; and (5) assessing exposure to EMF from communication technologies. Our experience in thus far developing and implementing the study protocol indicates that MOBI-Kids is feasible and will generate results that will contribute to the understanding of potential brain tumor risks associated with use of mobile phones and other wireless communications technologies among young people

Utilisation d'imagerie drone pour la caractérisation et le suivi des forets : le projet I-DROP

International audienceLa caractérisation et la surveillance des états de la végétation par imagerie spatiale s'est généralisée au cours des décennies passées mais ces outils sont encore onéreux et pas toujours adaptés à un suivi fin et à fréquence rapide. Une alternative réside dans l'utilisation de nouveaux outils en développement tels que l'imagerie haute résolution acquise avec des drones. Le projet I-DROP a ainsi pour objectifs de tester la faisabilité de nouvelles solutions numériques sur la base de photos aériennes RGB et multi-spectrales prises par des drones légers longue distance dans le cadre de l'exploitation forestière certifiée en Afrique centrale. Sur la base de ces images aériennes, il s'agit, tout d'abord, de tester la faisabilité d'identification d'un petit nombre d'espèces clefs, permettant de mieux planifier l'exploitation à venir et de favoriser une gestion durable de la ressource. Ces images permettront aussi d'identifier plus précisément les zones sensibles telles que les zones marécageuses ou inondables et de protéger les écosystèmes fragiles. D'autres développement sont aussi à l'étude, en relation avec la caractérisation de l'état de développement et de santé des arbres ou le suivi des états phénologiques. Les premiers résultats de ce projet pilote seront présentés et discutés

Utilisation d'imagerie drone pour la caractérisation et le suivi des forets : le projet I-DROP

International audienceLa caractérisation et la surveillance des états de la végétation par imagerie spatiale s'est généralisée au cours des décennies passées mais ces outils sont encore onéreux et pas toujours adaptés à un suivi fin et à fréquence rapide. Une alternative réside dans l'utilisation de nouveaux outils en développement tels que l'imagerie haute résolution acquise avec des drones. Le projet I-DROP a ainsi pour objectifs de tester la faisabilité de nouvelles solutions numériques sur la base de photos aériennes RGB et multi-spectrales prises par des drones légers longue distance dans le cadre de l'exploitation forestière certifiée en Afrique centrale. Sur la base de ces images aériennes, il s'agit, tout d'abord, de tester la faisabilité d'identification d'un petit nombre d'espèces clefs, permettant de mieux planifier l'exploitation à venir et de favoriser une gestion durable de la ressource. Ces images permettront aussi d'identifier plus précisément les zones sensibles telles que les zones marécageuses ou inondables et de protéger les écosystèmes fragiles. D'autres développement sont aussi à l'étude, en relation avec la caractérisation de l'état de développement et de santé des arbres ou le suivi des états phénologiques. Les premiers résultats de ce projet pilote seront présentés et discutés

Amélioration de la qualité des aliments fermentés à base de manioc : opération Congo : amélioration des procédés technologiques traditionnels utilisés pour la préparation de produits dérivés des racines de manioc dans le contexte socio-économique accompagnant l'urbanisation au Congo (rapport final)

L'opération menée au Congo dans le cadre du programme "amélioration de la qualité des aliments fermentés à base de manioc" a pour objectif l'amélioration des procédés traditionnels et la mise au point de procédés technologiques en tenant compte des contextes écologiques et socio-économiques. Des enquêtes en zones rurales et à Brazzaville ont porté sur les modalités actuelles de consommation, les préférences et les souhaits des consommateurs, les procédés traditionnels de transformation en inventoriant les variantes et les innovations technologiques et sur le mode de fonctionnement des ateliers urbains de fabriction de chikwangue et de foufou. Une étude cinétique des paramètres microbiologiques, physico-chimiques et biochimiques de la fermentation des racines de manioc a montré que le rouissage est une fermentation faiblement hétérolactique qui s'accompagne d'une part, d'un ramolissement des racines et, d'autres part, d'une production importante d'acide lactique et d'éthanol par les bactéries lactiques et, dans une moindre mesure, de butyrate par les clostridies. La fermentation se caractérise par la prédominance de la flore hétérofermentaire (#Leuconostoc mesenteroides) dans la phase active du processus, cette flore étant progressivement supplantée en fin de fermentation par une flore homofermentaire composée majoritairement de #Lactobacillus plantarum amylolytiques. Le ramollissement des racines semble dû à l'action simultanée de pectinase d'origine végétale (pectineestérase) et bactérienne (pectate lyase et polygalacturonase). Malgré la présence de bactéries lactiques à forte activité linamarase, la décomposition des cyanoglucosides semble dû à la linamarase endogène des racines. Les travaux effectués en laboratoire ont permis d'isoler une nouvelle souche homolactique amylolytique très performante et de définir une nouvelle méthode de rouissage en l'absence d'eau. L'optimisation et/ou la mécanisation des différentes étapes de transformation des racines en chikwangue a permis de proposer une ligne de fabrication semi-mécanisée dont les performances techniques et la rentabilité ont été testées en milieu réel. Des procédés permettant d'augmenter la densité énergétique des bouillies de sevrage à base de farine de manioc tout en conservant une consistance suffisamment fluide ont été mis au point en laboratoire avant d'être mis en oeuvre dans un atelier pilote de fabrication

Genetic diversity and differentiation among the species of African mahogany (Khaya spp.) based on a large SNP array

The genus Khaya includes some of the highest-value timber species in natural forests in Africa, which are under heavy exploitation pressure. Genetic identification of Khaya species is important to confirm the taxonomic classification for biodiversity conservation purposes and as a forensic tool aiding law enforcement in the fight against illegal logging. We collected samples from a total of 2222 trees belonging to five or six (depending on classification) different Khaya species (K. ivorensis, K. anthotheca/K. nyasica, K. grandifoliola, K. senegalensis, K. madagascariensis). Representative sampling was conducted over the natural ranges of all sampled Khaya species, in humid tropical forest and savanna zones. We genotyped individuals based on 101 molecular markers (67 nuclear, 11 chloroplast and 22 mitochondrial SNPs, 1 chloroplast indel). Bayesian clustering produced three main genetic groups assigning all K. ivorensis and all K. senegalensis trees, respectively, in two different clusters and all remaining individuals in a third cluster. Genetic self-assignment tests with all 101 SNPs had success rates of 97-100% for all species except for K. nyasica and K. madagascariensis, which could not be clearly distinguished from each other. A success rate for species identification nearly as high was observed using a subset of 15 highly differentiated SNPs. There was only very little evidence for hybridization among species and the vast majority (> 97%) of individuals were assigned to the same species group as identified based on morphological characters

Neuroblastoma among children in Southern and Eastern European cancer registries: Variations in incidence and temporal trends compared to US

Neuroblastoma comprises the most common neoplasm during infancy (first year of life). Our study describes incidence of neuroblastoma in Southern–Eastern Europe (SEE), including – for the first time – the Nationwide Registry for Childhood Hematological Malignancies and Solid Tumors (NARECHEM-ST)/Greece, compared to the US population, while controlling for human development index (HDI). Age-adjusted incidence rates (AIR) were calculated for 1,859 childhood (0–14 years) neuroblastoma cases, retrieved from 13 collaborating SEE registries (1990–2016), and were compared to those of SEER/US (N = 3,166; 1990–2012); temporal trends were assessed using Poisson regression and Joinpoint analyses. The overall AIR was significantly lower in SEE (10.1/million) compared to SEER (11.7 per million); the difference was maximum during infancy (43.7 vs. 53.3 per million, respectively), when approximately one-third of cases were diagnosed. Incidence rates of neuroblastoma at ages <1 and 1–4 years were positively associated with HDI, whereas lower median age at diagnosis was correlated with higher overall AIR. Distribution of primary site and histology was similar in SEE and SEER. Neuroblastoma was slightly more common among males compared to females (male-to-female ratio: 1.1), mainly among SEE infants. Incidence trends decreased in infants in Slovenia, Cyprus and SEER and increased in Ukraine and Belarus. The lower incidence in SEE compared to SEER, especially in infants living in low HDI countries possibly indicates a lower level of overdiagnosis in SEE. Hence, increases in incidence rates in infancy noted in some subpopulations should be carefully monitored to avoid the unnecessary costs health impacts of tumors that could potentially spontaneously regress. © 2017 UIC