Hair Strengthening Activity Of Rice Bran Oil And Synergistic Effect With Some Natural Hair Dyes On Hair Protection

Ultrasound extracted Rice bran oil (RBO) from the Madagascan Makalioka variety contained 40.25% of oleic acid as the major compound and 34.36% of linoleic acid. Reverse HPLC revealed that 24-methylene cycloartanyl ferulate was the most dominant Oryzanol compound and β and γ-tocotrienols were the dominant tocols. Stretching test was chosen as the method for evaluating the protective effect of RBO and natural dyes. Afro, Caucasian and Asian natural hair types were used to perform the study. The natural dyes consisted of a mixture of Lawsonia inermis and Cassia obovata aqueous extracts. To simulate the daily coloring routine, hair shafts were immersed in the plant extracts during 12 hours. For the RBO treatment, hair rods were massaged for about 10 minutes with the oil until fully absorbed. A load equivalent to 75 g was applied to hair shafts until rupture and the maximum elongation was recorded. The hair shafts treated with RBO have shown greater elongation compared to the control: 0.35, 0.73 and 0.50cm respectively for Afro, Caucasian and Asian hair types. Combined with natural dyes, this difference in elongation varied from 0.51cm for the Afro type to 1.08 cm for the Caucasian type. Asian hair type has shown the maximum stretching ability and the Caucasian hair type has shown the most positive response to treatments

Four years into the Indian ocean field epidemiology training programme

Introduction: Following the 2005-6 chikungunya outbreak, a project to strengthen regional Public Health preparedness in the Indian Ocean was implemented. It includes the Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion (France) and Seychelles. A Field Epidemiology Training Programme (FETPOI) was started in 2011 to develop a pool of well-trained intervention epidemiologists. Methods: The FETP-OI consists of two years of supervised, learning-by-doing, on-the-job training at national sites involved in disease surveillance and response. It includes work placements at the Madagascar Pasteur Institute and the French regional epidemiology unit in Reunion and up to three training courses per year. Training objectives include epidemiological surveillance, outbreak investigations, research studies, scientific communication and transfer of competencies. Results: In four years, two cohorts of in total 15 fellows originating from four countries followed the FETP-OI. They led 42 surveillance projects (71% routine management, 14% evaluations, 12% setup, 3% other) and investigated 36 outbreak alerts, 58% of them in Madagascar; most investigations (72%) concerned foodborne pathogens, plague or malaria. Fellows performed 18 studies (44% descriptive analyses, 22% disease risk factors, and 34% on other subjects), and presented results during regional and international conferences through 26 oral and 15 poster presentations. Four articles were published in regional Public Health bulletins and several scientific manuscripts are in process. Conclusion: The FETP-OI has created a regional force of intervention consisting of field epidemiologists and trained supervisors using the same technical language and epidemiological methods. The third cohort is now ongoing. Technically and financially sustainable FETP-OI projects help addressing public health priorities of the Indian Ocean