La Prévalence des Pathologies Thyroïdiennes chez le Sujet Âgé au Service de Médecine Interne de l’Hôpital National Donka

Introduction : Le vieillissement est associé à des modifications complexes de la fonction thyroïdienne qui interviennent à plusieurs niveaux de régulation. La sécrétion des hormones thyroïdiennes est en général dans les limites inférieures des valeurs usuelles. Méthodes : Il s’agissait d’une étude rétrospective à visée descriptive et analytique menée du 1er janvier 2013 au 31 décembre 2022 (soit 10 ans). L’étude était réalisée au service de médecine interne de l’hôpital national Donka (Guinée). Elle a porté sur les sujets âgés de 60 ans et plus suivis pour une pathologie thyroïdienne. Résultats : Durand la période d’étude nous avons colligé 88 cas de dysthyroïdies soit une prévalence de 17,95 %. Il y avait une prédominance féminine (56 cas) avec un sex ratio H/F de 0,57. L’âge moyen était de 64,5 ans (extrêmes de 60 et 85 ans). Les circonstances de diagnostic de la maladie thyroïdienne étaient principalement un goitre (59,1%), une exophtalmie (9,1%), une compression cervicale (25%), une cardiothyréose (5,7 %). Les principales manifestations de la thyrotoxicose étaient l’amaigrissement (17%), les palpitations (29,5%) et la fatigabilité (34,1%). Les signes d’hypothyroïdie prédominants étaient la constipation (17%) et le syndrome myxœdémateux (3,4%). L’hyperthyroïdie a été rencontrée chez 13,64% des patients, contre 29,54% de cas d’hypothyroïdie. L’échographie cervicale thyroïdienne avait retrouvé 36 cas de goitre diffus (40,9%), 18 cas de goitre multinodulaire (20,45%), 17 cas de nodule unique (19,31%). Les principales étiologies étaient la maladie de Basedow (11,4%), le goitre multinodulaire (46,6%), la thyroïdite de Hashimoto (17%), un goitre simple (5,7%). La thyroïdectomie avait concerné 33 patients (37,5%). Deux cas de décès étaient enregistrés en rapport avec une cardiothyréose. Conclusion : Les dysthyroïdies sont fréquentes chez le sujet âgé au CHU de Conakry et un dosage hormonal au moindre doute afin d’instaurer le traitement adéquat à temps serait requis afin de prévenir les complications.   Introduction: The aging is associated with complex changes in thyroid function that occur at several levels of regulation. Thyroid hormone secretion is generally within the lower limits of usual values. Methods: This was a retrospective study with descriptive and analytical aims carried out from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2022 (i.e. 10 years). The study was carried out in the internal medicine department of the Donka national hospital (Guinea). It focused on subjects aged 60 and over followed for thyroid pathology. Results: During the study period we collected 88 cases of dysthyroidism, representing a prevalence of 17.95%. There was a female predominance (56 cases) with a M/F sex ratio of 0.57. The average age was 64.5 years (range 60 and 85 years). The circumstances of diagnosis of thyroid disease were mainly goiter (59.1%), exophthalmos (9.1%), cervical compression (25%), cardiothyreosis (5.7%). The main manifestations of thyrotoxicosis were weight loss (17%), palpitations (29.5%), and fatigability (34.1%). The predominant signs of hypothyroidism were constipation (17%) and myxedematous syndrome (3.4%). Hyperthyroidism was encountered in 13.64% of patients, compared to 29.54% cases of hypothyroidism. Cervical thyroid ultrasound found 36 cases of diffuse goiter (40.9%), 18 cases of multinodular goiter (20.45%), 17 cases of single nodule (19.31%). The main etiologies were Graves' disease (11.4%), multinodular goiter (46.6%), Hashimoto's thyroiditis (17%), simple goiter (5.7%). Thyroidectomy involved 33 patients (37.5%). Two cases of death were recorded in connection with cardiothyreosis. Conclusion: Dysthyroidism is common in the elderly at the Conakry University Hospital and a hormonal dosage if there is the slightest doubt in order to initiate the appropriate treatment in time would be required in order to prevent complications

Notes sur l'organisation économique et sociale de la pêche artisanale, du fumage et de la commercialisation du poisson dans la ville de Conakry

Les premières enquêtes effectuées par le C.R.H.B. semblent montrer que les activités halieutiques artisanales constituent à Conakry un milieu ouvert à des producteurs et des commerçants issus de secteurs économiques étrangers à la pêche et originaires de régions parfois éloignées du littoral maritime. Ces enquêtes suggèrent également qu'une étude des dynamiques des activités halieutiques dans la capitale guinéenne ne peut valablement être conduite qu'à l'intérieur d'une étude plus générale des dynamismes urbains dans leur ensemble. (Résumé d'auteur

Recent progress on univariate and multivariate polynomial and spline quasi-interpolants

Polynomial and spline quasi-interpolants (QIs) are practical and effective approximation operators. Among their remarkable properties, let us cite for example: good shape properties, easy computation and evaluation (no linear system to solve), uniform boundedness independently of the degree (polynomials) or of the partition (splines), good approximation order. We shall emphasize new results on various types of univariate and multivariate polynomial or spline QIs, depending on the nature of coefficient functionals, which can be differential, discrete or integral. We shall also present some applications of QIs to numerical methods

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Global, regional, national, and selected subnational levels of stillbirths, neonatal, infant, and under-5 mortality, 1980�2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Background Established in 2000, Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG4) catalysed extraordinary political, financial, and social commitments to reduce under-5 mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015. At the country level, the pace of progress in improving child survival has varied markedly, highlighting a crucial need to further examine potential drivers of accelerated or slowed decreases in child mortality. The Global Burden of Disease 2015 Study (GBD 2015) provides an analytical framework to comprehensively assess these trends for under-5 mortality, age-specific and cause-specific mortality among children under 5 years, and stillbirths by geography over time. Methods Drawing from analytical approaches developed and refined in previous iterations of the GBD study, we generated updated estimates of child mortality by age group (neonatal, post-neonatal, ages 1�4 years, and under 5) for 195 countries and territories and selected subnational geographies, from 1980�2015. We also estimated numbers and rates of stillbirths for these geographies and years. Gaussian process regression with data source adjustments for sampling and non-sampling bias was applied to synthesise input data for under-5 mortality for each geography. Age-specific mortality estimates were generated through a two-stage age�sex splitting process, and stillbirth estimates were produced with a mixed-effects model, which accounted for variable stillbirth definitions and data source-specific biases. For GBD 2015, we did a series of novel analyses to systematically quantify the drivers of trends in child mortality across geographies. First, we assessed observed and expected levels and annualised rates of decrease for under-5 mortality and stillbirths as they related to the Soci-demographic Index (SDI). Second, we examined the ratio of recorded and expected levels of child mortality, on the basis of SDI, across geographies, as well as differences in recorded and expected annualised rates of change for under-5 mortality. Third, we analysed levels and cause compositions of under-5 mortality, across time and geographies, as they related to rising SDI. Finally, we decomposed the changes in under-5 mortality to changes in SDI at the global level, as well as changes in leading causes of under-5 deaths for countries and territories. We documented each step of the GBD 2015 child mortality estimation process, as well as data sources, in accordance with the Guidelines for Accurate and Transparent Health Estimates Reporting (GATHER). Findings Globally, 5·8 million (95 uncertainty interval UI 5·7�6·0) children younger than 5 years died in 2015, representing a 52·0% (95% UI 50·7�53·3) decrease in the number of under-5 deaths since 1990. Neonatal deaths and stillbirths fell at a slower pace since 1990, decreasing by 42·4% (41·3�43·6) to 2·6 million (2·6�2·7) neonatal deaths and 47·0% (35·1�57·0) to 2·1 million (1·8-2·5) stillbirths in 2015. Between 1990 and 2015, global under-5 mortality decreased at an annualised rate of decrease of 3·0% (2·6�3·3), falling short of the 4·4% annualised rate of decrease required to achieve MDG4. During this time, 58 countries met or exceeded the pace of progress required to meet MDG4. Between 2000, the year MDG4 was formally enacted, and 2015, 28 additional countries that did not achieve the 4·4% rate of decrease from 1990 met the MDG4 pace of decrease. However, absolute levels of under-5 mortality remained high in many countries, with 11 countries still recording rates exceeding 100 per 1000 livebirths in 2015. Marked decreases in under-5 deaths due to a number of communicable diseases, including lower respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases, measles, and malaria, accounted for much of the progress in lowering overall under-5 mortality in low-income countries. Compared with gains achieved for infectious diseases and nutritional deficiencies, the persisting toll of neonatal conditions and congenital anomalies on child survival became evident, especially in low-income and low-middle-income countries. We found sizeable heterogeneities in comparing observed and expected rates of under-5 mortality, as well as differences in observed and expected rates of change for under-5 mortality. At the global level, we recorded a divergence in observed and expected levels of under-5 mortality starting in 2000, with the observed trend falling much faster than what was expected based on SDI through 2015. Between 2000 and 2015, the world recorded 10·3 million fewer under-5 deaths than expected on the basis of improving SDI alone. Interpretation Gains in child survival have been large, widespread, and in many places in the world, faster than what was anticipated based on improving levels of development. Yet some countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, still had high rates of under-5 mortality in 2015. Unless these countries are able to accelerate reductions in child deaths at an extraordinary pace, their achievement of proposed SDG targets is unlikely. Improving the evidence base on drivers that might hasten the pace of progress for child survival, ranging from cost-effective intervention packages to innovative financing mechanisms, is vital to charting the pathways for ultimately ending preventable child deaths by 2030. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY license