Zoonotic tuberculosis

Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis are the main agents of zoonotic tuberculosis (Tb). Both are very prevalent worldwide. M. bovis, the agent of “bovine” Tb, is isolated in 5 to 30% of human Tb cases in developing countries, due to contamination via crude milk and aerosols and to the lack of protecting measures, in particular milk pasteurization. Transmission from Humans to cows can also occur, in both developed and developing countries. In countries or groups where “Human” Tb is frequent, M. tuberculosis can be transmitted from Humans to different animal species, including cows, pets and elephants, especially Asian elephants. Transmission of M. tuberculosis from elephants to Humans has also been demonstrated. Cows seem capable to transmit M. tuberculosis to Humans, while less efficiently than M. bovis. Pet dogs and cats are exceptionally involved. In order to control zoonotic Tb, a “One Health” approach is needed and should include more specific measures targeting zoonotic transmissionMycobacterium bovis et Mycobacterium tuberculosis, fortement prévalents dans le monde entier, sont les principaux agents de la tuberculose (Tb) zoonotique. Dans les pays en développement, M. bovis, l’agent de la Tb “bovine”, est isolé dans 5 à 30% des cas humains de Tb. Sont en cause la contamination par consommation de lait cru et par aérosol associés à l’absence de mesures protectrices, comme la pasteurisation du lait. La transmission de l’Homme aux bovins peut survenir, dans les pays développés comme dans ceux en développement. Dans les pays ou les groupes où la Tb humaine est fréquente, M. tuberculosis peut être transmis de l'Homme à différentes espèces animales, notamment aux bovinés, carnivores et éléphants, particulièrement d’Asie. La transmission des éléphants à l'Homme a été démontrée. Les bovinés semblent capables de transmettre M. tuberculosis aux humains, quoique moins efficacement que M. bovis. Les carnivores domestiques sont exceptionnellement impliqués. Le contrôle de la Tb zoonotique passe par une approche “One Health” et devrait inclure des mesures spécifiques ciblant la transmission zoonotiqu

L'importance des soft-skills dans le développement des capacités entrepreneuriales

Soft skills have become an important issue for higher education institutions and the entrepreneurial community at large. Research on soft skills comes at a time when new types of partnerships and relationships are emerging between entrepreneurship and higher education. In this study, the top three soft skills examined were communication, leadership, critical thinking, and problem solving. According to the results of interviews with five Moroccan entrepreneurs, critical thinking and problem solving are the most important soft skills that help entrepreneurs become more competitive and productive. In addition, all respondents confirmed that college education programs should strengthen soft skills in order to improve entrepreneurial skills among college students. Therefore, trainers need to develop strategies to increase the chances of acquiring soft skills.   Keywords: communication, leadership, critical thinking and problem solving, entrepreneurial skills, soft skills JEL classification: M13 Paper type : Empirical researchd'enseignement supérieur et la communauté entrepreneuriale en général. La recherche sur les soft skills arrive à point où de nouveaux types de partenariats et de relations se développent entre l'entrepreneuriat et l'enseignement supérieur. Dans cette étude, les trois principales « soft skills » examinées étaient la communication, le leadership, la pensée critique et la résolution de problèmes. Selon les résultats d’une entrevue menée auprès de cinq entrepreneurs marocains, la pensée critique et la résolution de problèmes sont les ‘Soft-skills’ les plus importantes pour aider les entrepreneurs à améliorer leur compétitivité et leur productivité. De plus, les interviewés ont tous confirmé que les programmes de formation des établissements d'enseignement supérieur devraient renforcer les compétences générales pour améliorer la capacité entrepreneuriale des étudiants du monde universitaire. Par conséquent, les formateurs doivent développer des stratégies pour augmenter les chances d'acquérir des compétences non techniques. Les résultats globaux contribuent avec succès au développement de la recherche en suggérant que les ‘Soft-skills’, à savoir la communication, le leadership, la réflexion éclairée et les compétences de résolution de problèmes sont liés à la réussite entrepreneuriale.   Mots clés : communication, leadership, pensée critique et résolution de problèmes, capacité entrepreneuriale, Soft skills Classification JEL : M13 Type de l’article : Article empiriqu

Paradoxes in a Multi-criteria Routing Game

International audienceIn this paper, we consider a routing game in a network that contains lossy links. We consider a multi-objective problem where the players have each a weighted sum of a delay cost and a cost for losses. We compute the equilibrium and optimal solution (which are unique). We discover here in addition to the classical Kameda type paradox another paradoxical behavior in which higher loss rates have a positive impact on delay and therefore higher quality links may cause a worse performance even in the case of a single player

Cancer incidence in Morocco: report from Casablanca registry 2005-2007

Introduction: Few population-based cancer registries are in place in developing countries. In order to know the burden of cancer in Moroccanpopulation, cancer registry initiative was put in place in the Casablanca district, the biggest city of Morocco. Methods: The data collected covers3.6 millions inhabitant and included Casablanca city and the administrative region.Results: The data collected in the years 2005-07 show that the top 5 forms of cancers in women were breast (ASR: 36.4 per 100,000), cervical (15.0), thyroid (6.7), colon-rectum (5.8), and ovarian (5.3); the top 5 cancers in men were lung (25.9), prostate (13.5), bladder (8.7), colon-rectum (8.1) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (7.2). Tumours of haematopoietic and lymphoid tissues represented 11% of all cancers (skin excluded); some presented unusual sex ratios. For breast, cervical, colorectal and thyroid cancer, respectively 57%, 42%, 28% and 60% of the cases were under 50 years of age. This was attributable to particularly low numbers of cases recorded among old people, and the young age of the general population; the observed age-specific incidences under age 50 were not higher than in western countries. Cancers at young ages were particularly common in women: 67% of the cases were under 50. Stageat diagnosis could be obtained for 82% of the breast cancer cases and was as follows: 28% local, 63% regional and 9% distant, in the absence ofscreening.Conclusion: These first population-based data have provided an invaluable resource for the national cancer control plan of Morocco, and will be useful tool to its future evaluation

How leader nurse communicates in a hospital: an analysis of discursive practices

Objective: To understand how nurses realize the communication in the exercise of leadership. Method: Qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and cross-sectional study. Were interviewed 13 clinical nurses from a hospital. Data collection occurred through interview, using semi-structured roadmap. To organize and analyze the data, we used the theoretical-methodological framework of the analysis of discursive practices. The study received a favorable opinion by the ethics and Research Committee (Opinion nº 476.254). Results: The use of communication in the nurse’s leadership is important in driving the team, but presented a one-way perspective, keeping the leader/ subordinate relationship. Conclusion: The communication is configured predominantly as a hierarchical process, unidirectional, little open to dialog and focused on to order maintenance in the hospital, reproducing the assumptions of classical management and guided by the technical and social division of the profession

Effect of alogliptin on hypertensive chronic kidney disease patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

BackgroundDiabetes mellitus (DM) is a leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The antihyperglycemic treatment options for patients with Type 2 DM are limited because of safety and tolerability concerns.AimsTo retrospectively assess the effect of using Alogliptin; a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor (DPP-4i) along with conventional gliclazide: a sulphonylurea (SU) on renal outcomes and glycaemic control in T2DM patients with mild CKD and hypertension.MethodsA total of 76 patient records (38 males and 38 females) of patient ages 40–60 were analysed from the kidney unit at Punjab Care hospital, Lahore, Pakistan. All patients had a confirmed history of T2DM with mild CKD and established hypertension.Eligible patients were divided into two groups of 38 individuals each. Group SU received gliclazide monotherapy (SU) or Alogliptin (DPP-4i)+gliclazide (SU) add on therapy. All patients were followed up for 12 months.ResultsThe alogliptin (DPP-4i) plus gliclazide (SU) add on therapy group, in comparison to the group only receiving gliclazide (SU), showed a significant difference in eGFR values. The mean±SD GFR values post 12 months were 74.8±0.31 (95%CI:74.8±0.09;74.7–74.9) and 76.1±0.25 (95%CI: 76.1±0.08;76.0-76.2) for SU vs. SU+DPP-4i, respectively, with mean calculated effect size of 1.6,. HbA1c, 1,5 AG and ipid profile values have significantly changed (

Drosophila suzukii: the genetic footprint of a recent, world-wide invasion

Native to Asia, the soft-skinned fruit pest Drosophila suzukii has recently invaded the United States and Europe. The eastern United States represents the most recent expansion of their range, and presents an opportunity to test alternative models of colonization history. Here we investigate the genetic population structure of this invasive fruit fly, with a focus on the eastern United States. We sequenced six X-linked gene fragments from 246 individuals collected from a total of 12 populations. We examine patterns of genetic diversity within and between populations and explore alternative colonization scenarios using Approximate Bayesian Computation. Our results indicate high levels of nucleotide diversity in this species and suggest that the recent invasions of Europe and the continental United States are independent demographic events. More broadly speaking, our results highlight the importance of integrating population structure into demographic models, particularly when attempting to reconstruct invasion histories. Finally, our simulation results illustrate the general challenge of reconstructing invasion histories using genetic data and suggest that genome-level data are often required to distinguish among alternative demographic scenarios

Anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties of Ipomoea nil (Linn.) Roth significantly alleviates cigarette smoke (CS)-induced acute lung injury via possibly inhibiting the NF-κB pathway

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a serious manifestation of acute lung injury (ALI), is a debilitating inflammatory lung disease that is caused by multiple risk factors. One of the primary causes that can lead to ALI/ARDS is cigarette smoke (CS) and its primary mode of action is via oxidative stress. Despite extensive research, no appropriate therapy is currently available to treat ALI/ARDS, which means there is a dire need for new potential approaches. In our study we explored the protective effects of 70 % methanolic-aqueous extract of Ipomoea nil (Linn.) Roth, named as In.Mcx against CS-induced ALI mice models and RAW 264.7 macrophages because Ipomoea nil has traditionally been used to treat breathing irregularities. Male Swiss albino mice (20–25 ± 2 g) were subjected to CS for 10 uninterrupted days in order to establish CS-induced ALI murine models. Dexamethasone (1 mg/kg), In.Mcx (100 200, and 300 mg/kg) and normal saline (10 mL/kg) were given to respective animal groups, 1 h before CS-exposure. 24 h after the last CS exposure, the lungs and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of all euthanized mice were harvested. Altered alveolar integrity and elevated lung weight-coefficient, total inflammatory cells, oxidative stress, expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β and IL-6) and chemokines (KC) were significantly decreased by In.Mcx in CS-exposed mice. In.Mcx also revealed significant lowering IL-1β, IL-6 and KC expression in CSE (4 %)-activated RAW 264.7 macrophage. Additionally, In.Mcx showed marked enzyme inhibition activity against Acetylcholinesterase, Butyrylcholinesterase and Lipoxygenase. Importantly, In.Mcx dose-dependently and remarkably suppressed the CS-induced oxidative stress via not only reducing the MPO, TOS and MDA content but also improving TAC production in the lungs. Accordingly, HPLC analysis revealed the presence of many important antioxidant components. Finally, In.Mcx showed a marked decrease in the NF-κB expression both in in vivo and in vitro models. Our findings suggest that In.Mcx has positive therapeutic effects against CS-induced ALI via suppressing uncontrolled inflammatory response, oxidative stress, lipoxygenase and NF-κB p65 pathway