Ectopia cordis : a report of two cases in Cameroon

This article reports two cases of ectopia cordis in two children aged one day and twenty months respectively. A one day old newborn had complete thoracic ectopia cordis associated with an internal cardiac defect and severe thoracic and abdominal wall malformations. The centre does not have the facilities to manage complex congenital defects and prior to being transferred to a cardiac centre, the neonate died on the second day of admission. A 20-month old baby had partial ectopia of the heart and a defect in the abdominal wall. He had no major congenital cardiac defect and has remained clinically stable with no life threatening symptomspeer-reviewe

Зональные фораминиферовые схемы нижнего карбона западных регионов Украины

Запропоновано зональні форамініферові схеми нижнього карбону Придобруджинського прогину та Львівсько-Волинського басейну. У Придобруджинському прогині нараховується вісім зон і дві підзони, з них одна зона і дві підзони виділені вперше. У п'яти зон змінено види-індекси, У Львівсько-Волинському басейні є п’ять зон і дві підзони, з них одна зона нова. Дві колишні зони об'єднано в одну — з двома підзонами. Змінено види-індекси трьох зон. В обох регіонах уточнено обсяг зон та їх межі. Границі зон і підзон проведено за першою появою видів-індексів. Проведено зіставлення цих зональних схем із форамініферовими зонами Доно-Дніпровського регіону і Східно-Європейської платформи.Foraminiferal zonal schemes of the Lower Carboniferous of the Dobrudja Foredeep and Lvov-Volynian basin are proposed in the paper. The first scheme includes eight zones and two subzones; among them one zone and two subzones are specified for the first time. In five zones species-index is changed. The second scheme includes five zones and two subzones; one zone is specified for the first time. Two preceding zones are united into one with two subzones. In three zones species-index is changed. The boundaries of zones and subzones are determined according to the first occurrence of species-index. Correlation of these zones with foraminiferal zones of Dono-Dnieper region and East-European platform is performed

ANTIULCEROGENIC AND ANTIULCER ACTIVITIES OF DISSOTIS THOLLONII (MELASTOMATACEAE) LEAVES IN RATS

Objective: Dissotis thollonii is used in Cameroonian ethnomedicine to cure diseases such as inflammations, pregnancy control, diarrhea and gastric ulcer. The aqueous and methanol leaf extracts were evaluated for their anti ulcerogenic and antiulcer activities.Methods: The extracts were administered at the doses of 125, 250 and 500 mg/kg to evaluate their effects on gastric ulcer induced by the HCl/ethanol mixture, indomethacin and acetic acid in rats. Ranitidine, Maalox and Misoprostol were used as standard drugs. Histopathological examination and nitric oxide level was performed to evaluate the basic action mechanism of Dissotis thollonii.Results: Oral administration of the plant dose-dependently prevented HCl/ethanol-induced gastric ulcers (72.15 to 100 % for aqueous extract and 68.78 to 89.60 % for methanol extract), Indomethacin (51.13 to 100 % for aqueous extract and-32.33 to 58.45 % for methanol extract). The extracts also promoted the healing and cicatrization process in chronic gastric ulcer induced by acetic acid and increased the NO level in plasma. Histological studies of the gastric wall revealed that ulcer control group exhibited severe damage of the gastric mucosa, compared to rats pre-treated with extracts, which comparatively showed gastric mucosal protection.Conclusion: Dissotis thollonii possess protective and healing activities in rats. The anti ulcerogenic activity may be attributed to the stimulation of the prostaglandins synthesis and antiulcer property to increase NO level in plasma. Histological investigation of gastric lesion shows that the plant stimulates the cicatrizing process. These results supported the ethnomedicinal uses of Dissotis thollonii in the treatment of gastric ulcers.Â

Aircraft Accident Prevention: Loss-of-Control Analysis

The majority of fatal aircraft accidents are associated with loss-of-control . Yet the notion of loss-of-control is not well-defined in terms suitable for rigorous control systems analysis. Loss-of-control is generally associated with flight outside of the normal flight envelope, with nonlinear influences, and with an inability of the pilot to control the aircraft. The two primary sources of nonlinearity are the intrinsic nonlinear dynamics of the aircraft and the state and control constraints within which the aircraft must operate. In this paper we examine how these nonlinearities affect the ability to control the aircraft and how they may contribute to loss-of-control. Examples are provided using NASA s Generic Transport Model

Purification and characterization of circulating Onchocerca volvulus antigens from epileptic and non-epileptic onchocerciasis patient sera

Studies conducted during the past 25 years to investigate the possible relationship between onchocerciasis and epilepsy have led to contradictory results. In the present study aimed at contributing to the investigation of a possible relationship between onchocerciasis and epilepsy, we proceeded to purify and characterize circulating O. volvulus antigens from sera of onchocerciasis patients with and without epilepsy. Out of 539 onchocerciasis patients included in the study, sera from 78 epileptics and 20 non epileptics with high antigen titres were separately pooled and subjected to affinity purification using immunosorbent columns prepared using human and rabbit anti-O. volvulus IgG antibodies. Eluates of purified circulating O. volvulus antigens were concentrated, and then the protein contents were determined using the Bradford method. The antigenicity of the purified antigens was evaluated in a direct ELISA using onchocerciasis patient sera. Finally, the molecular composition of the purified proteins was determined by SDS-PAGE. The purified antigens were highly antigenic and there was no significant difference in the reaction profiles of the two groups or categories of patients. SDS-PAGE analysis showed that the purified antigens ranged from 31.63 to 102.40 KDa and there was no difference in the molecular composition of antigens purified from sera of the two classes of patients. Based on this antigen profiling between epileptic and non-epileptic onchocerciasis patients, we cannot conclude with certainty whether onchocerciasis is really a cause of epilepsy in areas where it is hyperendemic as predicted by some epidemiological studies.Keywords: Antigen-detection ELISA, Immunoadsorbent columns, Affinity chromatography, Antigenicity, SDS-PAG

Mapping suitable great ape habitat in and around the Lobéké National Park, South-East Cameroon

Abstract As a result of extensive data collection efforts over the last 20?30 years, there is quite a good understanding of the large-scale geographic distribution and range limits of African great apes. However, as human activities increasingly fragment great ape spatial distribution, a better understanding of what constitutes suitable great ape habitat is needed to inform conservation and resource extraction management. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) and gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) inhabit the Lobéké National Park and its surrounding forest management units (FMUs) in South-East Cameroon. Both park and neighboring forestry concessions require reliable evidence on key factors driving great ape distribution for their management plans, yet this information is largely missing and incomplete. This study aimed at mapping great ape habitat suitability in the area and at identifying the most influential predictors among three predictor categories, including landscape predictors (dense forest, swampy forest, distance to water bodies, and topography), human disturbance predictors (hunting, deforestation, distance to roads, and population density), and bioclimatic predictor (annual precipitation). We found that about 63% of highly to moderately suitable chimpanzee habitat occurred within the Lobéké National Park, while only 8.4% of similar habitat conditions occurred within FMUs. For gorillas, highly and moderately suitable habitats occurred within the Lobéké National Park and its surrounding FMUs (82.6% and 65.5%, respectively). Key determinants of suitable chimpanzee habitat were hunting pressure and dense forest, with species occurrence probability optimal at relatively lower hunting rates and at relatively high-dense forest areas. Key determinants of suitable gorilla habitat were hunting pressure, dense forests, swampy forests, and slope, with species occurrence probability optimal at relatively high-dense and swampy forest areas and at areas with mild slopes. Our findings show differential response of the two ape species to forestry activities in the study area, thus aligning with previous studies

Évolution volcanologique du mont Manengouba (Ligne du Cameroun) ; nouvelles données pétrographiques, géochimiques et géochronologiques<br /> Volcanological evolution of the mount Manengouba (Cameroon line), new petrographical, geochemical, and geochronological data

Le mont Manengouba est un complexe volcanique polygénique de la Ligne du Cameroun édifié au Quaternaire, entre 1,55 et 0 Ma, en trois phases principales. La première phase, de 1,55 à 0,7 Ma, correspond à la construction du volcan Elengoum. La deuxième, entre 0,7 et 0,56 Ma, est marquée par l'effondrement de la partie sommitale de l'Elengoum. La troisième, de 0,56 à 0 Ma, voit l'édification du volcan Eboga, puis la formation de la caldeira, et comporte une activité fissurale adventive à partir de 0,48 Ma. Les produits émis définissent une série alcaline sodique, allant des basaltes à néphéline à des trachytes. Toutes ces laves ont évolué par cristallisation fractionnée dans une chambre magmatique périodiquement réalimentée. The mount Manengouba is a polygenic volcanic complex of the Cameroon line, which was built in the Quaternary, between 1.55 and 0 Ma, during three stages. The first stage, from 1.55 to 0.7 Ma, corresponds to the building of the Elengoum volcano. The second, between 0.7 and 0.56 Ma, points to the collapse of the Elengoum summit. The third, from 0.56 to 0 Ma, fits with the erection of the Eboga volcano and its caldera sinking, and, from 0.48 Ma, with the adventive fissural activity. The products define an alkaline sodic series, from nepheline-bearing basalts to trachytes. All the lavas evolved by fractional crystallization in a periodically replenished magmatic chamber