La migraine en milieu scolaire a Gao ua Mali

Introduction La migraine est une maladie bénigne mais handicapante et qui peut altérer la qualité de vie des patients, perturber les relations affectives et retentir sur les activités scolaires et professionnelles. Objectifs L’objectif de notre travail était d’étudier les aspects épidémiologiques et l’impact de la migraine en milieu scolaire dans la commune urbaine de Gao au Mali. Méthodes Il s’agit d’une étude transversale réalisée chez les élèves de la ville de Gao. Le sondage a été fait par grappes dans 11 lycées dont chacun a représenté une grappe. L’étude a porté sur 733 élèves le diagnostic de migraine était retenu suivant les critères de L’International Headache Society (IHS) IHS 2004 et le GRIM. Résultats La prévalence globale de la migraine en milieu scolaire était de 17,3% (IC95% : [14,6% à 20%]). La prévalence parmi les élèves céphalalgiques était de 20%(IC95% : [16,91% à 23,09]), elle était significativement plus élevée chez les filles 23,0% que chez les garçons 14,8% (p< 0,01). Concernant son impact sur la vie scolaire, 63,8% des élèves migraineux avaient un absentéisme de 1 à 14 jours avec une moyenne de 5 jours pendant le dernier trimestre précédant l’enquête ; il y avait une limitation de la concentration chez 19,2% des élèves migraineux.Conclusion La migraine est fréquente chez les lycéens de Gao avec une prédominance féminine. Elle a un impact négatif sur le rendement scolaire du à l’absentéisme et aux troubles de la concentration. Il apparait donc important de procéder à une campagne de sensibilisation ciblée à grande échelle dans l’environnement scolaire

Heart of endosymbioses : transcriptomics reveals a conserved genetic program among arbuscular mycorrhizal, actinorhizal and legume-rhizobial symbioses

To improve their nutrition, most plants associate with soil microorganisms, particularly fungi, to form mycorrhizae. A few lineages, including actinorhizal plants and legumes are also able to interact with nitrogen-fixing bacteria hosted intracellularly inside root nodules. Fossil and molecular data suggest that the molecular mechanisms involved in these root nodule symbioses (RNS) have been partially recycled from more ancient and widespread arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis. We used a comparative transcriptomics approach to identify genes involved in establishing these 3 endosymbioses and their functioning. We analysed global changes in gene expression in AM in the actinorhizal tree C. glauca. A comparison with genes induced in AM in Medicago truncatula and Oryza sativa revealed a common set of genes induced in AM. A comparison with genes induced in nitrogen-fixing nodules of C. glauca and M. truncatula also made it possible to define a common set of genes induced in these three endosymbioses. The existence of this core set of genes is in accordance with the proposed recycling of ancient AM genes for new functions related to nodulation in legumes and actinorhizal plants

Titrage des immunoglobulines G anti-Plasmodium falciparum chez les enfants atteints de paludisme grave au CHU de Yopougon.

Objectifs : La pathogénie du paludisme dépend de l’interaction du plasmodium et le système immunitaire de son hôte. L’objectif de cette étude était d’évaluer la relation entre la parasitémie et le titre des Immunoglobulines de classe G anti-Plasmodium falciparum. Patients et Méthodes : Cette étude transversale a concerné 37 enfants âgés de 0 à15 ans souffrant de paludisme grave ayant été consultés au service de pédiatrie du centre hospitalier universitaire de Yopougon en Côte d’Ivoire. Le titre des IgG anti-P. falciparum a été évalué par immunofluorescence indirecte. Résultats : La parasitémie variait entre 360 et 400000 trophozoites avec une moyenne de 48525 trophozoites/mm3. La concentration en hémoglobine variait entre 3,4 et 10,7 g/dL avec une moyenne de 6,28 g/dL. Les plaquettes variaient entre 17 et 506 .103/mm3 avec une moyenne de 110,18.103/mm3. Le titre des IgG anti- P. falciparum variait entre 40 et 320 avec une moyenne de 220. L’hyperparasitémie (parasitémie ≥ 100000 trophozoites/mm3) était présente uniquement chez les patients de 0 à 5 ans. La moyenne du titre des IgG anti-P. falciparum était significativement plus élevée chez les sujets ayant une parasitémie < 100000 trophozoites/mm3 comparés à ceux présentant une parasitémie ≥ 100000 (110 vs 233,3) p = 0,017 test U de Mann-Withney. Conclusions : Le paludisme grave et l’hyperparasitémie (≥ 100000 trophozoites/mm3) sont plus fréquents chez les enfants de 0 à 5 ans et touche plus les garçons que les filles. Les anticorps IgG anti-P.falciparum ont été retrouvés chez tous les patients

Rice bran supplementation modulates growth, microbiota and metabolome in weaning infants: a clinical trial in Nicaragua and Mali

Rice bran supplementation provides nutrients, prebiotics and phytochemicals that enhance gut immunity, reduce enteric pathogens and diarrhea, and warrants attention for improvement of environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) in children. EED is a subclinical condition associated with stunting due to impaired nutrient absorption. This study investigated the effects of rice bran supplementation on weight for age and length for age z-scores (WAZ, LAZ), EED stool biomarkers, as well as microbiota and metabolome signatures in weaning infants from 6 to 12 months old that reside in Nicaragua and Mali. Healthy infants were randomized to a control (no intervention) or a rice bran group that received daily supplementation with increasing doses at each month (1–5 g/day). Stool microbiota were characterized using 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing. Stool metabolomes were analyzed using ultra-high-performance liquid-chromatography tandem mass-spectrometry. Statistical comparisons were completed at 6, 8, and 12 months of age. Daily consumption of rice bran was safe and feasible to support changes in LAZ from 6–8 and 8–12 months of age in Nicaragua and Mali infants when compared to control. WAZ was significantly improved only for Mali infants at 8 and 12 months. Mali and Nicaraguan infants showed major differences in the overall gut microbiota and metabolome composition and structure at baseline, and thus each country cohort demonstrated distinct microbial and metabolite profile responses to rice bran supplementation when compared to control. Rice bran is a practical dietary intervention strategy that merits development in rice-growing regions that have a high prevalence of growth stunting due to malnutrition and diarrheal diseases. Rice is grown as a staple food, and the bran is used as animal feed or wasted in many low- and middle-income countries where EED and stunting is prevalent

Phylodynamics and movement of Phycodnaviruses among aquatic environments

Phycodnaviruses have a significant role in modulating the dynamics of phytoplankton, thereby influencing community structure and succession, nutrient cycles and potentially atmospheric composition because phytoplankton fix about half the carbon dioxide (CO2) on the planet, and some algae release dimethylsulphoniopropionate when lysed by viruses. Despite their ecological importance and widespread distribution, relatively little is known about the evolutionary history, phylogenetic relationships and phylodynamics of the Phycodnaviruses from freshwater environments. Herein we provide novel data on Phycodnaviruses from the largest river system on earth—the Amazon Basin—that were compared with samples from different aquatic systems from several places around the world. Based on phylogenetic inference using DNA polymerase (pol) sequences we show the presence of distinct populations of Phycodnaviridae. Preliminary coarse-grained phylodynamics and phylogeographic inferences revealed a complex dynamics characterized by long-term fluctuations in viral population sizes, with a remarkable worldwide reduction of the effective population around 400 thousand years before the present (KYBP), followed by a recovery near to the present time. Moreover, we present evidence for significant viral gene flow between freshwater environments, but crucially almost none between freshwater and marine environments

Using a community-based definition of poverty for targeting poor households for premium subsidies in the context of a community health insurance in Burkina Faso

Background: One of the biggest challenges in subsidizing premiums of poor households for community health insurance is the identification and selection of these households. Generally, poverty assessments in developing countries are based on monetary terms. The household is regarded as poor if its income or consumption is lower than a predefined poverty cut-off. These measures fail to recognize the multi-dimensional character of poverty, ignoring community members? perception and understanding of poverty, leaving them voiceless and powerless in the identification process. Realizing this, the steering committee of Nouna's health insurance devised a method to involve community members to better define `perceived? poverty, using this as a key element for the poor selection. The community-identified poor were then used to effectively target premium subsidies for the insurance scheme. Methods: The study was conducted in the Nouna's Health District located in northwest Burkina Faso. Participants in each village were selected to take part in focus-group discussions (FGD) organized in 41 villages and 7 sectors of Nouna's town to discuss criteria and perceptions of poverty. The discussions were audio recorded, transcribed and analyzed in French using the software NVivo 9. Results: From the FGD on poverty and the subjective definitions and perceptions of the community members, we found that poverty was mainly seen as scarcity of basic needs, vulnerability, deprivation of capacities, powerlessness, voicelessness, indecent living conditions, and absence of social capital and community networks for support in times of need. Criteria and poverty groups as described by community members can be used to identify poor who can then be targeted for subsidies. Conclusion: Policies targeting the poorest require the establishment of effective selection strategies. These policies are well-conditioned by proper identification of the poor people. Community perceptions and criteria of poverty are grounded in reality, to better appreciate the issue. It is crucial to take these perceptions into account in undertaking community development actions which target the poor. For most community-based health insurance schemes with limited financial resources, using a community-based definition of poverty in the targeting of the poorest might be a less costly alternative

Contrasted Effects of Diversity and Immigration on Ecological Insurance in Marine Bacterioplankton Communities

The ecological insurance hypothesis predicts a positive effect of species richness on ecosystem functioning in a variable environment. This effect stems from temporal and spatial complementarity among species within metacommunities coupled with optimal levels of dispersal. Despite its importance in the context of global change by human activities, empirical evidence for ecological insurance remains scarce and controversial. Here we use natural aquatic bacterial communities to explore some of the predictions of the spatial and temporal aspects of the ecological insurance hypothesis. Addressing ecological insurance with bacterioplankton is of strong relevance given their central role in fundamental ecosystem processes. Our experimental set up consisted of water and bacterioplankton communities from two contrasting coastal lagoons. In order to mimic environmental fluctuations, the bacterioplankton community from one lagoon was successively transferred between tanks containing water from each of the two lagoons. We manipulated initial bacterial diversity for experimental communities and immigration during the experiment. We found that the abundance and production of bacterioplankton communities was higher and more stable (lower temporal variance) for treatments with high initial bacterial diversity. Immigration was only marginally beneficial to bacterial communities, probably because microbial communities operate at different time scales compared to the frequency of perturbation selected in this study, and of their intrinsic high physiologic plasticity. Such local “physiological insurance” may have a strong significance for the maintenance of bacterial abundance and production in the face of environmental perturbations

Risque néonatal des médicaments pris à la fin de la grossesse

Les conséquences de l’exposition fœtale aux médicaments varient selon le type de médicament et la durée de cette exposition qui est la somme de la durée de prise plus cinq demi-vies. Les décisions qui découlent de l’évaluation du risque sont un compromis entre une banalisation du risque et une prudence excessive. Nous avons séparé la gestion des risques des médicaments prescrits pour une pathologie liée à la grossesse (corticoïdes, antibiotiques) de ceux prescrits pour une pathologie chronique souvent antérieure à la grossesse (anti-inflammatoires non stéroïdiens, inhibiteurs de recapture de la sérotonine, benzodiazépines, antiépileptiques, inhibiteurs de l’enzyme de conversion/antagonistes de la rénine angiotensine, bêtabloquants). Nous avons également exposé les éléments à prendre en compte pour le choix optimal d’un médicament en fin de grossesse et/ou le conseil adapté en cas de prise : le médicament lui-même (effets pharmacologiques, cinétique chez le nouveau-né, marqueurs de toxicité), la quantité reçue et les données de la littérature sur des manifestations néonatales attribuables au médicament