The level and age pattern of mortality in Bandafassi (Eastern Senegal): results from a small-scale and intensive multi-round survey

The data collected by the Bandafassi demographic study in Eastern Senegal, a small-scale intensive and experimental follow-up survey on a population of about 7,000 inhabitants in 1983, were analyzed to derive an estimation of the life table. The use of the multi-round survey technique, combined with anthropological methods to estimate the ages or collect genealogies, results in unusually reliable data. Taking into account the uncertainty of the estimates related to the small size of the population, the measures of mortality show a high mortality level, with life-expectancy at birth close to 31 years; a pattern of infant and child mortality close to what has been observed in other rural areas of Senegal; a seasonal pattern in child mortality with two high risk periods, the rainy season and the end of the dry season; an adult mortality pattern similar to what is described in model life tables for developed countries; no significant differences according to sex or ethnic group. The example of the Bandafassi population study and of a few similar studies, suggests that one possible way to improve demographic estimates in countries where vital registration systems are defective would be to set up a sample of population laboratories where intensive methods of data collection would continue for extended periods

Musée de l’Homme, 1967-1992 : exposé au racisme !

La galerie d’anthropologie du musée de l’Homme, ouvert en 1937, n’a connu aucune modification entre 1938 et 1967. Cet immobilisme muséographique a maintenu durant trente ans les classifications racistes initiées au début du XXe siècle. Exemple de la perpétuation d’un racisme scientifique au sein même des institutions muséales, l’histoire de ce musée anthropologique est aussi celle de la lutte de certains individus pour faire bouger les lignes

Vinculación de la disciplina ciencias farmacológicas al centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología de Cuba

The university-company relationship constitutes a methodological strategy for the preparation of human talent, both in the academic and business fields. Companies find in universities human resources trained in research, with which to perfect existing production and develop R&D with greater precision, while teaching is enriched by linking theoretical knowledge with practice and its application in a real environment. The objective of the work is to disseminate the main results of the link established between the Pharmacological Sciences discipline of the Institute of Pharmacy and Food (IFAL) of the University of Havana and the Directorate of Preclinical Research and Animal Experimentation (DIPEA) of the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology of Cuba. Among the achievements with the greatest impact are the design and implementation in the facilities of the DIPEA vivarium of laboratory practices integrating the subjects Pharmacology, Toxicology and Biopharmacy; the creation and incorporation into the optional curriculum of the career of a new subject related to the preclinical development of pharmaceutical and biotechnological products, taught by a group of professionals from DIPEA; the insertion in DIPEA of groups of students for the realization of their labor practice and diploma thesis and the beginning of the process of categorization as teachers of several of the professionals linked to this experience. The established link contributed to the better development of the subjects of the discipline and was recognized among the achievements of the work of DIPEA in the year 2022.La vinculación universidad–empresa constituye una estrategia metodológica para la preparación del talento humano, tanto en el ámbito académico como en el empresarial. Las empresas encuentran en las universidades recursos humanos entrenados en la investigación, con los que perfeccionar la producción existente y desarrollar la I+D con mayor precisión, mientras que la docencia se enriquece por la vinculación de los conocimientos teóricos con la práctica y su aplicación en un entorno real. El objetivo del trabajo es divulgar los principales resultados del vínculo establecido entre la disciplina Ciencias Farmacológicas del Instituto de Farmacia y Alimentos (IFAL) de la Universidad de La Habana y la Dirección de Investigaciones Preclínicas y Experimentación Animal (DIPEA) del Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología de Cuba. Entre los logros de mayor impacto se encuentran el diseño y realización en las instalaciones del bioterio de DIPEA de prácticas de laboratorio integradoras de las asignaturas Farmacología, Toxicología y Biofarmacia; la creación e incorporación al currículo optativo de la carrera de una nueva asignatura relacionada con el desarrollo preclínico de productos farmacéuticos y biotecnológicos, impartida por un conjunto de profesionales de DIPEA; la inserción en DIPEA de grupos de estudiantes para la realización de su práctica laboral y tesis de diploma y el inicio del proceso de categorización como docentes de varios de los profesionales vinculados a esta experiencia. La vinculación establecida contribuyó al mejor desarrollo de las asignaturas de la disciplina y fue reconocida entre los logros del trabajo de DIPEA en el año 2022

Research of the origin of a particular Tunisian group using a physical marker and Alu insertion polymorphisms

The aim of this study was to show how, in some particular circumstances, a physical marker can be used along with molecular markers in the research of an ancient people movement. A set of five Alu insertions was analysed in 42 subjects from a particular Tunisian group (El Hamma) that has, unlike most of the Tunisian population, a very dark skin, similar to that of sub-Saharans, and in 114 Tunisian subjects (Gabes sample) from the same governorate, but outside the group. Our results showed that the El Hamma group is genetically midway between sub-Saharan populations and North Africans, whereas the Gabes sample is clustered among North Africans. In addition, The A25 Alu insertion, considered characteristic to sub-Saharan Africans, was present in the El Hamma group at a relatively high frequency. This frequency was similar to that found in sub-Saharans from Nigeria, but significantly different from those found in the Gabes sample and in other North African populations. Our molecular results, consistent with the skin color status, suggest a sub-Saharan origin of this particular Tunisian group

Worldwide distribution of NAT2 diversity: Implications for NAT2 evolutionary history

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The N-acetyltransferase 2 (<it>NAT2</it>) gene plays a crucial role in the metabolism of many drugs and xenobiotics. As it represents a likely target of population-specific selection pressures, we fully sequenced the <it>NAT2 </it>coding region in 97 Mandenka individuals from Senegal, and compared these sequences to extant data on other African populations. The Mandenka data were further included in a worldwide dataset composed of 41 published population samples (6,727 individuals) from four continental regions that were adequately genotyped for all common <it>NAT2 </it>variants so as to provide further insights into the worldwide haplotype diversity and population structure at <it>NAT2</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The sequencing analysis of the <it>NAT2 </it>gene in the Mandenka sample revealed twelve polymorphic sites in the coding exon (two of which are newly identified mutations, C345T and C638T), defining 16 haplotypes. High diversity and no molecular signal of departure from neutrality were observed in this West African sample. On the basis of the worldwide genotyping survey dataset, we found a strong genetic structure differentiating East Asians from both Europeans and sub-Saharan Africans. This pattern could result from region- or population-specific selective pressures acting at this locus, as further suggested in the HapMap data by extremely high values of <it>F</it>_STfor a few SNPs positions in the <it>NAT2 </it>coding exon (T341C, C481T and A803G) in comparison to the empirical distribution of <it>F</it>_STvalues accross the whole 400-kb region of the <it>NAT </it>gene family.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Patterns of sequence variation at <it>NAT2 </it>are consistent with selective neutrality in all sub-Saharan African populations investigated, whereas the high level of population differentiation between Europeans and East Asians inferred from SNPs could suggest population-specific selective pressures acting at this locus, probably caused by differences in diet or exposure to other environmental signals.</p

Nécrologie - M. Jacques Gomila

Langaney André. Nécrologie - M. Jacques Gomila. In: Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d'anthropologie de Paris, XIII° Série. Tome 5 fascicule 2, 1978. pp. 103-105