Phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities in some fruits and vegetables from Burkina Faso

Levels of total phenolic compounds (TPC), proanthocyanidins (PAs) and antioxidant activities among sixteen fruits and vegetables commonly consumed in Burkina Faso were determined. Levels of TPC ranged from 0.21 to 3.33 mg of gallic acid equivalent per gram of fresh matter. The highest contents in TPC were found in hot chili pepper, okra, lemon, spinach, onion, while the highest contents in PAs were found in spinach (3.52 mg), onion (2.35 mg), okra (1.27 mg), hot chili pepper (1.11 mg), tomato (0.54 mg) and garlic (0.46 mg). Antioxidant activities ranged from 0 to 9 μmol per gram of fresh weight, trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC). The highest values of TEAC were found in garlic (9.6 μmol), okra (3 μmol), spinach (2.2 μmol), tamarind (2.2 μmol) and onion (2.1 μmol). These data revealed that, some local fruits and vegetables from Burkina Faso are potential sources of bioactive compounds.Key words: Antioxidant activity, phenolic compounds, fruits, vegetables, Burkina Faso

Modalites de consommation et valeur nutritionnelle des legumineuses alimentaires au Burkina Faso

Au Burkina Faso les légumineuses constituent une source importante de nutriments pour les populations. La présente étude a eu pour objectif de déterminer la valeur nutritionnelle et la place des légumineuses dans le régime alimentaire des ménages à Ouagadougou, Kaya, Lebda et Nobéré. La méthodologie a consisté en une enquête de consommation alimentaire auprès de 325 ménages et à déterminer les teneurs en macronutriments et en minéraux fer, zinc et calcium de six (6) variétés de légumineuses. Il en résulte que les principales légumineuses consommées dans les ménages sont l’arachide (Arachis hypogea L.), le niébé (Vigna unguiculata L.), le voandzou (Vigna subterranea L.), le soja (Glycine max L.) et le zamnè (Acacia macrostachya R.). L’arachide, le niébé et le voandzou sont consommées plus 2 à 4 fois dans le mois par l’ensemble des ménages sous forme de mets au sein des ménages tandis que le soja et le zamnè sont consommés hors ménage. A l’exception du voandzou qui est consommé au déjeuner par 38,30% des ménages à Ouagadougou, 60% à Kaya, 66,67% à Lebda et 43,18% à Nobéré, les autres légumineuses sont consommées à tout moment de la journée par plus de 80 % des ménages enquêtés. Les légumineuses niébé, voandzou et zamnè sont consommées sous forme de ragout et de plats associés à des céréales respectivement par 99%, 93% et 76%. L’arachide et le soja sont utilisés comme des ingrédients ou comme des collations. Les légumineuses ont des teneurs importantes en protéines, 35,76%, 31,04%, 27,29%, 22,55% et 20,38% respectivement pour le zamnè, le soja, l’arachide, le niébé et le voandzou. Les teneurs en lipides sont faibles et contribuent à moins de 7% à la valeur énergétique. Le niébé et le voandzou ont des teneurs en carbohydrates élevées, près de 60%. Les teneurs en fer des légumineuses varient de 1,77 mg/100g (voandzou) à 6,50 mg/100g (soja). Celles en zinc varient de 5,34 mg/100 g (zamnè) à 4,33 mg/100g (soja). Le soja et le zamnè ont d’importantes teneurs en calcium, respectivement 57,42 mg/100g et 68,40 mg/100g. Du fait de leur valeur nutritionnelle intéressante en micronutriments ces deux légumineuses nécessitent une attention particulière pour l’enrichissement des produits locaux. La diversification des produits issus de ces légumineuses ainsi que celle des méthodes de consommation au sein des ménages permettront un meilleur profilage de leur bénéfice nutritionnel auprès des populations.Mots clés: Légumineuses, importance, consommation, ménages, nutriments, urbain, rural, Burkina Fas

ORAL LESIONS OF HIV-INFECTED CHILDREN IN WEST AFRICA IN THE ERA OF ANTIRETROVIRAL TREATMENTS

Oral Communication presented at the "Forum des Jeunes Chercheurs", Brest (France) 2011

Near-forward Raman selection rules of the phonon-polariton created by alloying in (Zn,Be)Se

The Raman selection rules of the (ZnSe, BeSe) mixed phonon polariton created by alloying in the three mode (1ZnSe, 2BeSe) ZnBeSe system, whose dramatic S like dispersion covers the large frequency gap between the ZnSe and BeSe spectral ranges, is studied in its wave vector dependence by near forward scattering. Both the collapse regime away from the Brillouin zone centre and the reinforcement regime near the Brillouin zone centre are addressed, using appropriate laser lines and Be contents. We find that in both regimes the considered phonon polariton, in fact a transverse mode with mixed mechanical and electrical character, obeys the same nominal Raman selection rules as its purely mechanical variant commonly observed in the backscattering geometry. Besides, marked differences in the phonon polariton Raman lineshapes in the two regimes give a hint about how the phonon polariton electrical field E develops while descending the S like dispersion towards the Brillouin zone centre. In the reinforcement regime E is large, leading to intramode on top of intermode transfers of oscillator strength mediated by E between the two BeSe modes, that both exhibit a fine structure on account of the alloy disorder. In contrast, in the collapse regime E remains weak, as testified by the absence of intramode transfer. The discussion is supported by contour modeling of the multi phonon polariton Raman lineshapes in their wave vector dependence within the linear dielectric approach.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure

Increase in EPI vaccines coverage after implementation of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in infant with Sulfadoxine -pyrimethamine in the district of Kolokani, Mali: Results from a cluster randomized control trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Even though the efficacy of Intermittent Preventive Treatment in infants (IPTi) with Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP) against clinical disease and the absence of its interaction with routine vaccines of the Expanded Immunization Programme (EPI) have been established, there are still some concerns regarding the addition of IPTi, which may increase the work burden and disrupt the routine EPI services especially in Africa where the target immunization coverage remains to be met. However IPTi may also increase the adherence of the community to EPI services and improve EPI coverage, once the benefice of strategy is perceived.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To assess the impact of IPTi implementation on the coverage of EPI vaccines, 22 health areas of the district of Kolokani were randomized at a 1:1 ratio to either receive IPTi-SP or to serve as a control. The EPI vaccines coverage was assessed using cross-sectional surveys at baseline in November 2006 and after one year of IPTi pilot-implementation in December 2007.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At baseline, the proportion of children of 9-23 months who were completely vaccinated (defined as children who received BGG, 3 doses of DTP/Polio, measles and yellow fever vaccines) was 36.7% (95% CI 25.3% -48.0%). After one year of implementation of IPTi-SP using routine health services, the proportion of children completely vaccinated rose to 53.8% in the non intervention zone and 69.5% in the IPTi intervention zone (P <0.001).</p> <p>The proportion of children in the target age groups who received IPTi with each of the 3 vaccinations DTP2, DTP3 and Measles, were 89.2% (95% CI 85.9%-92.0%), 91.0% (95% CI 87.6% -93.7%) and 77.4% (95% CI 70.7%-83.2%) respectively. The corresponding figures in non intervention zone were 2.3% (95% CI 0.9% -4.7%), 2.6% (95% CI 1.0% -5.6%) and 1.7% (95% CI 0.4% - 4.9%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study shows that high coverage of the IPTi can be obtained when the strategy is implemented using routine health services and implementation results in a significant increase in coverage of EPI vaccines in the district of Kolokani, Mali.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00766662">NCT00766662</a></p

Hodgkin Lymphoma at the Paediatric Oncology Unit of Gabriel Touré Teaching Hospital, Bamako, Mali: 5-Year Experience

Introduction. The aim of this retrospective, unicentric study over 5 years is to describe the epidemiologic, pathologic, clinic and therapeutic aspects of children treated for Hodgkin lymphoma in our paediatric oncology unit. Patients and Methods. From January 2005 to December 2009, all children under 18 years of age, with Hodgkin lymphoma were included in this study. The treatment protocol was the GFAOP (Groupe Franco—Africain d'Oncologie Pédiatrique) Hodgkin lymphoma treatment protocol. Results. During the study period, 217 cancer cases were diagnosed in our centre. Of these cases, 7 were Hodgkin Lymphoma (LH) (0.04%). The mean age was 11.7 years. The sex-ratio was 6/1. 4% (5/7) of patients were stage IIB and 28.6% (2/7) stage IIIB of Ann-Arbor classification. There were 3 cases (42.8%) of sclero-nodular subtype, 2 cases (28.6%) of lymphocyte-rich classical HL subtype, 1 case (14.3%) of mixed cellularity and 1 case (14.3%) of lymphocyte depleted subtype. With a median followup of 37 months, 5 patients (71.4%) are alive, and 2 patients (28.6%) died. Conclusion. Broader multicentric studies are needed for more accurate data on this malignancy

L’epilepsie en milieu scolaire : enquete chez les enseignants de la ville de Kati au Mali et revue de la litterature

Introduction La prévalence de l’épilepsie en Afrique subsaharienne est élevée. Nous avons mené une étude transversale et descriptive dans l’ensemble des écoles primaires de la ville de Kati (200 000 habitants). Les enseignants furent interviewés de manière exhaustive à l’aide de questionnaires portant, d’une part, sur les connaissances, attitudes et pratiques des enseignants en matière d’épilepsie et, d’autre part, sur leurs avis sur les conséquences psychologiques, sociales pour l’enfant épileptique et les incidences sur sa scolarité.Résultats Nous avons interrogé 92 enseignants (60 hommes et 32 femmes). L’âge moyen des enseignants était de 30 ans. La majorité d’entre eux avait une expérience professionnelle de plus de 5 ans. Environ 38% des enseignants attribuaient la maladie à une cause surnaturelle. Plus de 39% des enseignants pensaient que l’épilepsie était contagieuse et 61% pensaient que l’épilepsie était incurable. 79% interdisaient systématiquement la pratique du sport à l’enfant épileptique. Environ 55% pensaient que l’enfant épileptique avait des capacités cognitives inférieures à celles de l’enfant non épileptique et 88% affirmaient que l’enfant épileptique était incapable d’avoir une scolarité normale. 59% trouvaient que l’élève épileptique était victime de stigmatisation et de marginalisation. Devant une crise, 68% renvoyaient l’enfant au domicile.Conclusion Ce travail fait apparaître un besoin de formation des enseignants en matière d’épilepsie. Les données actuelles sur la fréquence de l’épilepsie en milieu scolaire justifient une attention particulière des services de santé et de ceux de l’éducation nationale sur la scolarisation de l’enfant épileptique.Mots clés : Epilepsie, Ecole, Enseignants, Mali, Pratiques

Differential Scanning Fluorimetry provides high throughput data on silk protein transitions

Here we present a set of measurements using Differential Scanning Fluorimetry (DSF) as an inexpensive, high throughput screening method to investigate the folding of silk protein molecules as they abandon their first native melt conformation, dehydrate and denature into their final solid filament conformation. Our first data and analyses comparing silks from spiders, mulberry and wild silkworms as well as reconstituted ‘silk’ fibroin show that DSF can provide valuable insights into details of silk denaturation processes that might be active during spinning. We conclude that this technique and technology offers a powerful and novel tool to analyse silk protein transitions in detail by allowing many changes to the silk solutions to be tested rapidly with microliter scale sample sizes. Such transition mechanisms will lead to important generic insights into the folding patterns not only of silks but also of other fibrous protein (bio)polymers

The African Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Network: a vaccine advocacy initiative

Achieving high and equitable childhood immunisation coverage in Africa will not only protect children from disability and premature death, it will also boost productivity, reduce poverty and support the economic growth of the continent. Thus, Africa needs innovative and sustainable vaccine advocacy initiatives. One such initiative is the African Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Network, formed in 2009. This association of immunisation practitioners, vaccinologists, paediatricians, and infectious disease experts provides a platform to advocate for the introduction of newly available vaccines (e.g. 10-valent and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate and rotavirus vaccines) into the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) as well as increased and equitable coverage for established EPI vaccines.Key words: Vaccine preventable diseases, vaccine, network, Africa, awareness, child healt