Antimicrobial activity of Crataeva religiosa Forst against bacteria isolated from Thryonomys swinderianus Temminck

An attempt has been made to carry out a screening on the antibacterial activity of leaves of Crateva religiosa Forst used in Benin traditional veterinary medicine against bacterial infection of Thryonomys swinderianus (class of Mammalia, family of Thryonomyidae) commonly called agouti or kholan. The aim of this study was to select the most active extracts and fractions which may be useful to combat these bacterial infections. Seven extracts from C. religiosa were screened for their antibacterial. The antibacterial activity was evaluated by both microtest method using p-iodonitrotetrazolium and bioautography against five microorganisms obtained from T. swinderianus (Escherichia coli, Shigella sonei, Staphylococcus aureus, Pasteurela pestis and Yersinia enterocolitica). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the total activity (TA) were determined. All extracts were effective against tested microorganisms at different levels (0.31 ≤ MIC ≤ 10 mg/ml). The screening experiment revealed that ethyl acetate extract was more potent than other extracts with the MIC values of 0.62 mg/ml against E. coli and 0.31 mg/ml against S. aureus, S. sonei, P. pestis and Y. enterocolitica. The results provide an evidence for the traditional use of C. religiosa for the treatment of infective diseases of T. swinderianus Temminck.Key words: Crataeva religiosa, Thryonomys swinderianus Temminck, ethnomedicine, Republic of Benin

Modélisation du durcissement cyclique de l’aluminium produit au Cameroun

Modelling of the cyclic hardening of aluminium produced inCameroonStrain-hardening is a very significant parameter to traduce theelastoplastic behaviour of materials, particularly for the simulation of theirworking by plastic deformation. This paper presents a model of cyclic hardening of two nuances of aluminium produced in Cameroon, the 1200 and the 5005. The experimentation was led under quasi-static or variable stresses with constant amplitude. The results obtained allow to determine the static mechanical characteristics in tension and compression of the studied nuances and to establish their monotonous and cyclic strain-hardening curves. The amplitude of stress is a linear function of the plasticdeformation in a logarithmic scale, which allows a simple modelling of thelaw of cyclic work hardening of studied materials

Impacts sanitaires liés à l’usage des eaux de puits, à l’assainissement et à l’aménagement à Gbôdjê dans l’arrondissement de Godomey au Bénin

Cette étude a pour objectif de faire le point sur les ressources en eau utilisées, l’assainissement et l’estimation de l’impact sanitaire pour les populations riveraines de la ville de Cotonou au Bénin. Une enquête méthodologique basée sur des questionnaires a été réalisée du 21 septembre 2010 au 15 janvier 2011, dans l’arrondissement de Godomey au Bénin. Les résultats indiquent que la gestion des ressources en eau et de l’assainissement de l’environnement constituent un véritable problème dans les 2 quartiers déshérités de Gbôdjê/Womey et Rails, à cause d’une forte croissance démographique qui s’accompagne d’un développement spatial anarchique, échappant au contrôle des pouvoirs publics. Sur un échantillon de 122 concessions, 37,50% sont abonnés au réseau public mais la plupart (98,36%) utilise les eaux de puits à diverses fins. Les ouvrages d’assainissement pour les Water Closers (WC) modernes sont de 2,24% contre 97,76% de latrines ; 12,71% des concessions défèquent dans la nature. Pour le nettoyage, 15,57% des concessions sont malsaines. 82,50% des concessions déversent les eaux usées domestiques et ordures dans la nature. La santé de la population semble être menacée par les maladies hydriques avec 82,25%, 12,28% et 4,78%, respectivement pour le paludisme, maladies diarrhéiques et cutanées.Mots clés: Population riveraine, concessions, gestion des ressources, maladies hydrique

Composition en vitamines et en minéraux des graines de Pterocarpus santalinoides L'Hér. ex De. (Papilionoideae), une plante alimentaire et médicinale de l'Afrique de l'Ouest

Vitamins and Minerals Composition in Pterocarpus santalinoides L'Hér. ex De (Papilionoideae) Seeds: a Food and Medicinal Plant of West Africa. Studies were undertaken in order to contribute to the reduction of deficiencies in vitamins and minerals through the use of natural resources.Vitamins and micronutrients compositions of raw or cooked seeds of P. santalinoides L'Hér. ex De. (Papilionoideae), morphotypes 1 and 2 were determined by standardized methods AFNOR and AOAC. In the dry matter, the pro vitamin A content levels ranged from 7 to 100 µg/g and those of vitamin C from 40.103to 155.103 µg/g. The mean levels of total ash, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, calcium, iron and chloride in the dry materials were respectively 3.54%; 0.12%; 0.68% ; 0.26% ; 0.06% ; 0.07% ; 0.05% ; 0.42%. Cooking caused vitamin reductions. Raw and cooked seeds can contribute to improve pro vitamin A and vitamin C intake. The results of this study show the relevance of valorizing of Pterocarpus santalinoide

The impact of sociodemographic and health-service factors on breast-feeding in sub-Saharan African countries with high diarrhoea mortality

Objective: The current study aimed to examine the impact of sociodemographic and health-service factors on breast-feeding in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries with high diarrhoea mortality. Design: The study used the most recent and pooled Demographic and Health Survey data sets collected in nine SSA countries with high diarrhoea mortality. Multivariate logistic regression models that adjusted for cluster and sampling weights were used to investigate the association between sociodemographic and health-service factors and breast-feeding in SSA countries. Setting: Sub-Saharan Africa with high diarrhoea mortality. Subjects: Children (n 50 975) under 24 months old (Burkina Faso (2010, N 5710); Demographic Republic of Congo (2013, N 6797); Ethiopia (2013, N 4193); Kenya (2014, N 7024); Mali (2013, N 3802); Niger (2013, N 4930); Nigeria (2013, N 11 712); Tanzania (2015, N 3894); and Uganda (2010, N 2913)). Results: Overall prevalence of exclusive breast-feeding (EBF) and early initiation of breast-feeding (EIBF) was 35 and 44 %, respectively. Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania had higher EBF prevalence compared with Nigeria and Niger. Prevalence of EIBF was highest in Mali and lowest in Kenya. Higher educational attainment and frequent health-service visits of mothers (i.e. antenatal care, postnatal care and delivery at a health facility) were associated with EBF and EIBF. Conclusions: Breast-feeding practices in SSA countries with high diarrhoea mortality varied across geographical regions. To improve breast-feeding behaviours among mothers in SSA countries with high diarrhoea mortality, breast-feeding initiatives and policies should be context-specific, measurable and culturally appropriate, and should focus on all women, particularly mothers from low socio-economic groups with limited health-service access

Protocol for validation of the Global Scales for Early Development (GSED) for children under 3 years of age in seven countries

Introduction Children's early development is affected by caregiving experiences, with lifelong health and well-being implications. Governments and civil societies need population-based measures to monitor children's early development and ensure that children receive the care needed to thrive. To this end, the WHO developed the Global Scales for Early Development (GSED) to measure children's early development up to 3 years of age. The GSED includes three measures for population and programmatic level measurement: (1) short form (SF) (caregiver report), (2) long form (LF) (direct administration) and (3) psychosocial form (PF) (caregiver report). The primary aim of this protocol is to validate the GSED SF and LF. Secondary aims are to create preliminary reference scores for the GSED SF and LF, validate an adaptive testing algorithm and assess the feasibility and preliminary validity of the GSED PF. Methods and analysis We will conduct the validation in seven countries (Bangladesh, Brazil, Côte d'Ivoire, Pakistan, The Netherlands, People's Republic of China, United Republic of Tanzania), varying in geography, language, culture and income through a 1-year prospective design, combining cross-sectional and longitudinal methods with 1248 children per site, stratified by age and sex. The GSED generates an innovative common metric (Developmental Score: D-score) using the Rasch model and a Development for Age Z-score (DAZ). We will evaluate six psychometric properties of the GSED SF and LF: concurrent validity, predictive validity at 6 months, convergent and discriminant validity, and test-retest and inter-rater reliability. We will evaluate measurement invariance by comparing differential item functioning and differential test functioning across sites. Ethics and dissemination This study has received ethical approval from the WHO (protocol GSED validation 004583 20.04.2020) and approval in each site. Study results will be disseminated through webinars and publications from WHO, international organisations, academic journals and conference proceedings. Registration details Open Science Framework https://osf.io/ on 19 November 2021 (DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/KX5T7; identifier: osf-registrations-kx5t7-v1)