Application d’un modèle conceptuel et d’un modèle de réseaux de neurones artificiels à la simulation des débits annuels dans le bassin versant du N’zi-Bandama (Côte d’Ivoire)

Cette étude présente la comparaison de deux approches de modélisation de la transformation pluie-débit à l'échelle annuelle : un modèle conceptuel et un réseau de neurones artificiels (RNA). Les deux modèles sont appliqués sur trois sous-bassins du fleuve N’zi-Bandama en Côte d'Ivoire. L’analyse comparative est basée sur les performances de simulation en termes de critère de Nash-Sutcliffe. Les modèles ont été testés sur deux périodes, l’une sèche (1973-1997) et l’autre humide (1961-1972). Les données d’entrée des deux modèles sont la pluie et l’évapotranspiration potentielle au pas de temps annuel. Les principaux résultats de ce travail montrent que les performances des deux modèles (conceptuel et neuronal) restent en général satisfaisantes avec des critères de Nash-Sutcliffe supérieurs à 60%. Ces modèles se sont révélés aussi robustes et adaptés pour la simulation des débits annuels des rivières. La comparaison des deux modèles a montré que le réseau de neurones a obtenu des résultats significativement meilleurs que le modèleconceptuel.Mots-clés : modélisation pluie-débit, modèle conceptuel, réseaux de neurones artificiels, N’zi-Bandama, Côte d’Ivoir.Application of a conceptual model and a model of artificial neural networks for the simulation of annual flows in the N'Zi-Bandama watershed (Ivory Coast).This study presents the comparison of two approaches of modelisation of the rainfall-runoff transformation on an annual scale: a conceptual model and an artificial neural network. The two models are applied to three watersheds of the N’zi-Bandama river in Ivory Coast. The comparative analysis is based on the performances of simulation in terms of criterion of Nash-Sutcliffe. The models were tested over two periods, one dries (1973-1997) and the other wet one (1961-1972). The data input of the two models are the rain and the potential evapotranspiration with the step of annual time. The principal results of this work show that the performances of the two models (conceptual and neuronal) remain satisfactory in general with criteria of Nash-Sutcliffe higher than 60%. These models appeared also robust and adapted for the simulation of the annual flow of the rivers. The comparison of the two models showed that the network of neurons had results significantly better than the conceptual model.Keywords : rainfall-runoff modelling, conceptual model, artificial neural network, N’zi-Bandama, Ivory Coast

Prevalence of Schistosoma mono- and co-infections with multiple common parasites and associated risk factors and morbidity profile among adults in the Taabo health and demographic surveillance system, South-Central Côte d'Ivoire

BACKGROUND: Schistosomiasis remains an important public health problem, also among adults, and infected individuals not treated serve as a reservoir for continued transmission. Despite this fact, evidence on the epidemiology of schistosomiasis in adults in Cote d'Ivoire is scanty. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors of Schistosoma infection and co-infection with other helminth species and Plasmodium among adults in the Taabo region in the south-central part of Cote d'Ivoire. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in April and May 2017 in the frame of the "Cote d'Ivoire Dual Burden of Disease Study" (CoDuBu). A total of 901 randomly selected individuals, aged 18-90 years, provided blood, stool and urine samples for the diagnosis of malaria and helminth infections. Stool samples were subjected to the Kato-Katz technique for detection of Schistosoma mansoni and soil-transmitted helminth eggs, while urine samples were examined for eggs of Schistosoma haematobium and circulating cathodic antigen of S. mansoni. Risk factors and morbidity profiles were assessed using health examination and questionnaires. Multinomial logistic regressions were employed to identify risk factors and morbidity patterns associated with S. mansoni mono- and co-infections. RESULTS: The prevalence of S. mansoni and S. haematobium was 23.2% and 1.0%, respectively. Most S. mansoni were mono-infections (81.3%). Independent determinants of S. mansoni infection were young age, low socioeconomic status (mono- and co-infection) and poor hygiene practices (co-infection) (P < 0.05). S. mansoni infection was independently associated with higher pain and symptom scores (mono-infection), poor self-rated health and low healthcare use (co-infection) (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that adults represent a substantial reservoir of S. mansoni. To sustain schistosomiasis control and improve people's wellbeing, it is important to expand preventive chemotherapy from school-aged children to adults, coupled with hygiene and health education

First molecular investigation of capsular serotyping and hypervirulent (hvlp) of K. Pneumoniae in university hospital center of yopougon cote d'ivoire

Klebsiella pneumoniae is a well known human pathogen. Although infectious in most nosocomial infections with a high level of resistance, capsular types and circulating hypervirulent strains in our context are not documented. The aims of this study are to identify capsular serotypes and hypervirulent strains circulating at the Yopougon University Hospital in Abidjan. 51 strains of Klebsiella were collected at Chu de Yopougon. The capsular serotypes were determined using PCR and the serotypes K1, K2 and K5 were searched. The hypervirulent strains were also investigated by PCR and by string test. The predominant serotypes were non-K1 / K2 (46/51, 90%). The serotypes found K5 and K2 in (4/51, 7.8%) and (1/51; 1.9%) respectively. The rmpA gene linked to hyperviscosity or hyperviscosity was not found although 25.5% (12/51) were positive for the stretch test. The capsular distribution of strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae seems different from Asian authors. The determination of non-K1non types K2 remains to be elucidated.Keyvords: Klebsiella pneumoniae, capsular serotype - hypervirulencePremiere etude d’investigation moleculaire de serotypage capsulaire et de gene d’hypervirence de klebsiella pneumniae au laboratoire du chu de yopougon en cote d’ivoireKlebsiella pneumoniae est un pathogène nosocomial humain bien connu. Bien qu’incriminé dans la plus part des infections nosocomiales avec un niveau élevé de résistance, les types capsulaires et les souches hypervirulentes circulantes dans notre contexte ne sont pas documentés. L’objectif de cette étude est d'identifier les sérotypes capsulaires et les souches hypervirulentes circulant au CHU de Yopougon Abidjan., 51 souches de Klebsiella ont été collectés au Chu de Yopougon. Les sérotypes capsulaires ont été déterminée à l’aide de la PCR et les sérotypes K1, K2 et K5 ont été recherchés. Les souches hypervirulentes ont été recherchées également par PCR et par le test d’étirement ou string test. Les sérotypes prédominants étaient les non K1/K2 (46/51; 90%). Les sérotypes retrouvés K5 et K2 dans respectivement (4/51; 7,8%) et (1/51 ; 1,9%). Le gène rmpA lié à l’hyperviscosité n’a pas été retrouvé bien que 25,5% (12/51) étaient positives au test d’étirement. La distribution capsulaire des souches de Klebsiella pneumoniae semble différente des auteurs asiatiques. D’ou l’intérêt de travaux plus approfondies afin de déterminer les types capsulaire des souches non K1 non K2.Mots clefs : Klebsiella pneumoniae – serotype capsulaire – Hypervirulenc

GENETIC EVALUATION OF SEED TRAITS FROM INTRASPECIFIC CROSSING OF GENETICALLY DISTINCT WATERMELON VARIETIES

Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsumura and Nakai (Cucurbitaceae) is an important cucurbit crop worldwide. Global production of watermelon is about 90 million metric tonnes per annum, making it among the top five most consumed fresh fruits. The objective of this study was to evaluate seed variability in different segregating populations, and determine heritability of traits of watermelon. Interspecific crosses were made between two cultivars of C. lanatus (Bebu and Wl\ueawl\uea Small Seeds (WSS) were performed at Research Station of Nangui Abrogoua University in Abidjan, C\uf4te d\u2019Ivoire. There was wide variability between parental, F1, BC1 (first generation of back-crossing) and F2 seeds. Seeds of all hybrid populations were intermediate versus those of the parents. Also, crossing did not affect F1 and F2 seed characters, but affected those of BC1 because of maternal effects. Thus, back-crossing on Bebu cultivar produced seeds which looked like those of Bebu; while back-crossing on WSS cultivar produced seeds similar to those of WSS. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and individuals repartitioning revealed that Bebu and WSS cultivars were genetically distinct and showed three main groups: two groups from each parental line and one from a recombinant line (hybrids). F2 population had a wide individual\u2019s dispersion, and contained seeds of all other populations. High heritability was observed for all evaluated characters.Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsumara et Nakai (Cucurbitac\ue9e) est une importante cucurbite dans le monde entier. La production annuelle globale est d\u2019environ 90 million de tonne, ce qui place cette culture parmi les cinq fruits les plus consomm\ue9s crus. L\u2019objectif de cette \ue9tude est d\u2019\ue9valuer la variabilit\ue9 des graines de diff\ue9rentes populations en s\ue9gr\ue9gation et de d\ue9terminer l\u2019h\ue9ritabilit\ue9 des caract\ue8res chez l\u2019esp\ue8ce Citrullus lanatus. Pour cela, un croisement intersp\ue9cifique entre deux cultivars de Citrullus lanatus (Bebu et Wl\ueawl\uea \ue0 petites graines (WSS)) a \ue9t\ue9 effectu\ue9 \ue0 la station de recherche de l\u2019Universit\ue9 Nangui Abrogoua d\u2019Abidjan (C\uf4te d\u2019Ivoire). Il existe une variabilit\ue9 importante entre les graines parentales, F1, BC1 (premi\ue8re g\ue9n\ue9ration de back-cross) et F2. Les graines de toutes les populations hybrides sont interm\ue9diaires \ue0 celles des parents. Aussi, le sens de croisement n\u2019affecte pas les caract\ue8res des graines F1 et F2 mais affecte ceux des graines BC1 \ue0 cause de l\u2019effet maternel. Ainsi, un backcross effectu\ue9 sur le cultivar Bebu produit des graines semblables aux graines de Bebu tandis qu\u2019un backcross effectu\ue9 sur le cultivar WSS produit des graines semblables aux graines de WSS. L\u2019Analyse en Composantes Principales et la r\ue9partition des individus dans le plan permettent d\u2019observer que les cultivars Bebu et WSS sont g\ue9n\ue9tiquement distincts et montrent trois principaux groupes\ua0: deux groupes de chaque type parental et un type recombinant (hybride). La population F2 a une large dispersion et se compose des graines de toutes les autres populations. Une forte h\ue9ritabilit\ue9 a \ue9t\ue9 observ\ue9e pour tous les caract\ue8res \ue9valu\ue9s. En somme, la variabilit\ue9 des graines observ\ue9es dans les populations en s\ue9gr\ue9gation chez C. lanatus pourrait \ueatre due \ue0 des effets g\ue9n\ue9tique

Le Syndrome Du Canal Carpien À Lomé (Togo)

Objectif: Décrire les caractéristiques sociodémographiques, cliniques et thérapeutiques des patients souffrant d’un syndrome du canal carpien à Lomé, au Togo. Patients et Méthode: Il s’est agi d’une étude transversale menée sur dossiers du 1er janvier 2011 au 31 décembre 2018 dans les trois Services Hospitaliers de Rhumatologie de Lomé (Togo). Résultats: Cent quatre-vingt-douze patients (166 femmes, 126 hommes) ont présenté un syndrome du canal carpien pendant la période d’étude. Leur âge moyen était de 54, 2 ±13 ans (extrêmes: 26 et 83 ans). L’indice de masse corporelle moyen était de 28, 8 ± 6, 1 kg/m2 (extrêmes: 18 et 55, 4). Le sexe féminin, l’obésité (p=0,001), et le travail prolongé à l’ordinateur (p=0,005) ont été identifiés comme des facteurs de risque de SCC. Les manifestations cliniques ont été dominées par les paresthésies à type de fourmillements (77,1% des patients) et la douleur (57,8% des patients). L’atteinte était bilatérale chez 120 patients (62,5%). Cent neuf patients (56,8%) ont présenté un signe de Tinel, et 39 patients (20,3%) ont présenté un signe de Phalen associé au signe de Tinel. La presence du signe de Tinel était corrélée à l’obésité (p=0,001). Le traitement était représenté par les infiltrations locales de cortioïdes (147 patients, 76,6%), les antalgiques et les antiinflammatoires non stéroïdiens(104 patients, 54,2%). Conclusion: Le SCC à Lomé est habituellement idiopathique. Le sexe féminin, l’obésité, et le travail prolongé à l’ordinateur sont des facteurs de risque. Les infiltrations locales de corticoïdes sont efficaces. Objective: To describe the socio-demographic, clinical and therapeutic characteristics of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in Lomé (Togo). Patients and methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Data were collected from 1 st of January 2011 to 31st of December 2018 in three Rheumatologic Hospital Wards in Lomé. Results: One hundred and ninetytwo patients were diagnosed with CTS (166 women and 26 men). Their average age was between 54.2 ±13 years (range from 26 to 83 years). The average body mass index of male and female patients was 28, 8 ± 6, 1 kg/m2 (range 18 and 55.4). Female gender, obesity (p=0,001), and prolonged computer use (p=0,005) were identified as key risk factors. The main symptoms were: tingling paresthesia (77.1%) and pain (57.8%). The symptoms were bilateral in 120 patients (62.5%). The Tinel sign was positive in 109 patients (56.8%), and 39 patients (20,3%) had both the Tinel sign and the Phalen sign. The Tinel sign was related to obesity (p= 0,001). Management of CTS was performed by local steroid injections (147 patients, 76,6%), pain killers and NSAID (104 patients, 54,2%). Conclusion: CTS is usually idiopathic in Lomé. Female gender, obesity and prolonged computer use are risk factors. Local infiltration of steroids is an effective treatment

Population genetics of trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense: clonality and diversity within and between foci

African trypanosomes are unusual among pathogenic protozoa in that they can undergo their complete morphological life cycle in the tsetse fly vector with mating as a non-obligatory part of this development. Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, which infects humans and livestock in East and Southern Africa, has classically been described as a host-range variant of the non-human infective Trypanosoma brucei that occurs as stable clonal lineages. We have examined T. b. rhodesiense populations from East (Uganda) and Southern (Malawi) Africa using a panel of microsatellite markers, incorporating both spatial and temporal analyses. Our data demonstrate that Ugandan T. b. rhodesiense existed as clonal populations, with a small number of highly related genotypes and substantial linkage disequilibrium between pairs of loci. However, these populations were not stable as the dominant genotypes changed and the genetic diversity also reduced over time. Thus these populations do not conform to one of the criteria for strict clonality, namely stability of predominant genotypes over time, and our results show that, in a period in the mid 1990s, the previously predominant genotypes were not detected but were replaced by a novel clonal population with limited genetic relationship to the original population present between 1970 and 1990. In contrast, the Malawi T. b. rhodesiense population demonstrated significantly greater diversity and evidence for frequent genetic exchange. Therefore, the population genetics of T. b. rhodesiense is more complex than previously described. This has important implications for the spread of the single copy T. b. rhodesiense gene that allows human infectivity, and therefore the epidemiology of the human disease, as well as suggesting that these parasites represent an important organism to study the influence of optional recombination upon population genetic dynamics

Using detergent to enhance detection sensitivity of African trypanosomes in human CSF and blood by Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP)

&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Background:&lt;/b&gt; The loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay, with its advantages of simplicity, rapidity and cost effectiveness, has evolved as one of the most sensitive and specific methods for the detection of a broad range of pathogenic microorganisms including African trypanosomes. While many LAMP-based assays are sufficiently sensitive to detect DNA well below the amount present in a single parasite, the detection limit of the assay is restricted by the number of parasites present in the volume of sample assayed; i.e. 1 per µL or 103 per mL. We hypothesized that clinical sensitivities that mimic analytical limits based on parasite DNA could be approached or even obtained by simply adding detergent to the samples prior to LAMP assay.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Methodology/Principal Findings:&lt;/b&gt; For proof of principle we used two different LAMP assays capable of detecting 0.1 fg genomic DNA (0.001 parasite). The assay was tested on dilution series of intact bloodstream form Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or blood with or without the addition of the detergent Triton X-100 and 60 min incubation at ambient temperature. With human CSF and in the absence of detergent, the LAMP detection limit for live intact parasites using 1 µL of CSF as the source of template was at best 103 parasites/mL. Remarkably, detergent enhanced LAMP assay reaches sensitivity about 100 to 1000-fold lower; i.e. 10 to 1 parasite/mL. Similar detergent-mediated increases in LAMP assay analytical sensitivity were also found using DNA extracted from filter paper cards containing blood pretreated with detergent before card spotting or blood samples spotted on detergent pretreated cards.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Conclusions/Significance:&lt;/b&gt; This simple procedure for the enhanced detection of live African trypanosomes in biological fluids by LAMP paves the way for the adaptation of LAMP for the economical and sensitive diagnosis of other protozoan parasites and microorganisms that cause diseases that plague the developing world.&lt;/p&gt

Comparison of aerosol optical properties above clouds between POLDER and AeroCom models over the South East Atlantic Ocean during the fire season

Aerosol properties above clouds have been retrieved over the South East Atlantic Ocean during the fire season 2006 using satellite observations from POLDER (Polarization and Directionality of Earth Reflectances). From June to October, POLDER has observed a mean Above-Cloud Aerosol Optical Thickness (ACAOT) of 0.28 and a mean Above-Clouds Single Scattering Albedo (ACSSA) of 0.87 at 550 nm. These results have been used to evaluate the simulation of aerosols above clouds in 5 AeroCom (Aerosol Comparisons between Observations and Models) models (GOCART, HadGEM3, ECHAM5-HAM2, OsloCTM2 and SPRINTARS). Most models do not reproduce the observed large aerosol load episodes. The comparison highlights the importance of the injection height and the vertical transport parameterizations to simulate the large ACAOT observed by POLDER. Furthermore, POLDER ACSSA is best reproduced by models with a high imaginary part of black carbon refractive index, in accordance with recent recommendations