Des considérations sur la lexicographie et la linguistique au Gabon

Le Gabon est un pays à diversité linguistique. La constitution gabonaise reconnaît le français comme l'unique langue officielle. En outre, elle s'efforce de promouvoir et de protéger les langues nationales. La lexicographie, discipline de la production des dictionnaires, et la linguistique, l'étude scientifique du langage, ont toutes les deux un rôle à jouer dans la promotion et la protection des langues nationales. L'objectif de cet article est de montrer l'importance d'une collaboration entre lexicographes et linguistes pour un développement effectif des langues du Gabon. Pour rendre compte de la nécessité de cette collaboration entre les lexicographes et les linguistes au Gabon, cet article commence par la présentation de la situation linguistique du Gabon. Ensuite des aspects tels que les contributions des deux disciplines de la linguistique et de la lexicographie au développement des langues gabonaises, la collaboration entre les linguistes et les lexicographes et la question des unités lexicographiques gabonaises seront discutés. Mots-clés: lexicographie, linguistique, collaboration, lexicographes, linguistes, sciences interdisciplinaires, langues gabonaises, dictionnaire, langue, corpus, unités lexicographiques, développemen

Epidemiology of Concomitant Infection Due to Loa loa and Mansonella perstans in Gabon

Loa loa and Mansonella perstans are blood filarial parasites, endemic in the central and western African forest block, and transmitted by chrysops and culicoides flies, respectively. Loa loa is pathogenic and represents a major obstacle to the control of co-endemic filariae. Treatment of individuals with >8000 Loa loa microfilariae/ml can result in severe adverse reactions. M. perstans is prevalent in the tropics, with undefined clinical symptoms. We screened 4392 individuals for these infections in 212 Gabonese villages. The overall prevalence rates were 22.4% for Loa loa microfilariae, 10.2% for M. perstans, and 3.2% for mixed infection. These rates varied across the different ecosystems: forest, savannah, Lakeland, river (Ogouée), and equator. A correlation was found between the prevalence and intensity of microfilariae, while a negative relationship was found between clinical symptoms (pruritis, Calabar swelling) and the prevalence of Loa loa microfilaremia. This study confirms the spatial uniformity of the relationship between parasitological indices, and provides a map and baseline data for implementation of mass chemotherapy for these infections

Rift Valley Fever Virus Seroprevalence in Human Rural Populations of Gabon

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a disease transmitted by a mosquito bite (Aedes). Humans can also be infected through direct contact with blood (aerosols) or tissues (placenta, stillborn) of infected animals. Although severe clinical cases can be observed, infection with RVF virus (RVFV) in humans in most cases causes a febrile illness without serious symptoms. In small ruminants RVFV mainly causes abortion and neonatal death. RVFV distribution has been poorly investigated in Central Africa. We conducted a large scale serological survey of RVF antibodies in rural populations in Gabon, involving 4,323 individuals from 212 randomly selected villages. The results showed an overall RVFV prevalence of 3.3%, with values of 2.9% in the forested zones, 2.2% in savannas and 8.3% in the lakes region. These findings strongly suggest for the first time the wide circulation of Rift valley fever virus in Gabon and the possible existence of a sylvan cycle of RVF virus in this country. The serological higher prevalence in the lake region suggests that this region is likely to have particular ecological conditions, especially mosquito vector species, favoring the circulation of this virus. In Gabon, human cases of RVF may occur but are either misdiagnosed or not reported

Multicellular Consortia Preserved in Biogenic Ductile-Plastic Nodules of Okondja Basin (Gabon) by 2.1 Ga

International audienc

Towards the integration of epitaxially grown KTN thin films in silicon technology

Ferroelectrics, 2008, 362, 95-10

Multi-stakeholder collaboration yields valuable data for cetacean conservation in Gamba, Gabon

Private industry, the Government of Gabon and two international NGOs collaborated to conduct marine surveys off the coast of Gabon, Central Africa. Surveys addressed multiple objectives of surveillance and monitoring, the documentation of the distribution of and threats to the marine megafauna, and capacity-building among government agents and local early-career scientists. During 22 days of survey effort over a two-year period, observers documented humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae, bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus, Atlantic humpback dolphins Sousa teuszii and common dolphins Delphinus delphis. Humpback whale presence was limited to the months of July to November. Bottlenose dolphins were present year-round and photo-identification of individuals indicated a closed, resident population, with an abundance estimate of 118 (CV = 21.6%, 95% CI 78–180). Small open-decked fishing vessels with gillnets were observed concentrated around river mouths within 2 km of shore, while commercial trawlers were at least 10 km offshore; all were confirmed to be registered and legal. Observations of marine turtles, flocks of marine birds, and floating logs and other debris were sparse. This multi-stakeholder collaboration to conduct a marine survey can serve as an effective model by which funding and logistic support from private industry paired with technical expertise from NGOs and academic institutions can benefit marine and coastal conservation.Keywords: fishing pressure, marine survey, Megaptera novaeangliae, photo-identification, relative abundance, Sousa teuszii, stakeholder engagement, Tursiops truncatu

An Akouemma hemisphaeria Organic Macrofossils Colony Hosting Biodiversity Assemblage on the Seafloor of Okondja Basin (Gabon) dated at 2.2 Ga

International audienc

Short-Course Regimens of Artesunate-Fosmidomycin in Treatment of Uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum Malaria

Fosmidomycin is effective against malaria, but it needs to be given for ≥4 days when used alone. We conducted a study of 50 children with Plasmodium falciparum malaria to evaluate the safety and efficacy of consecutively shortened regimens of artesunate-fosmidomycin (1 to 2 mg/kg of body weight and 30 mg/kg of body weight, respectively; doses given every 12 hours). All dosing regimens were well tolerated. Artesunate-fosmidomycin acted rapidly, resulting in consolidated geometric mean parasite and fever clearance times of 24 h and 15 h, respectively. Treatment regimens of ≥2 days led to cure ratios of 100% by day 14 (39/39; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 91% to 100%). Most importantly, the 3-day regimen achieved 100% cure on day 28 (10/10; 95% CI, 69% to 100%). Treatment with artesunate-fosmidomycin was associated with transient grade I or II neutropenia (absolute neutrophil counts of 750 to 1,200/μl and 400 to 749/μl, respectively) in six or two patients, respectively. Artesunate-fosmidomycin demonstrates the feasibility and potential value of short-course artemisinin-based combination chemotherapy with rapidly eliminated combination partners