Hydatid Cyst of the Heart: Six Clinical Cases

Hydatidosis is a cosmopolitan disease due to Echinococcus granulosus. The hydatid cyst of the heart (HCH) occurs in 0.5 to 2% of all hydatid locations. We report of six cases of HCH surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass, done in cardiovascular surgery department at Hassan II university teaching hospital in Fez, Morocco to analyze their diagnostic and therapeutic aspects. This is a retrospective study done, from January 2012 to April 2015. Six cases of hydatid cyst of the heart were collected among 760 cardiac surgery patients, with a frequency of 0.8%. The average age was 29 years, a sex ratio of 1.5 in favour of women. The hydatid cysts (HC) were in the wall and the inter septum of the right atrium in 2 cases and in the wall of the left ventricle in 4 cases. The association with other locations were noted with three patients with lung HC, one patient with liver HC, and the other one with a brain and peritoneal location.Cardiac hydatid disease is mainly characterized by its clinical polymorphism, latency and severity of complications that are often indicative of the condition and can immediately be life-threatening. Advances in medical imaging has significantly contributed to improving its diagnosis, and echocardiography is one of the key tests for specifying the location. The CT scan, MRI contribute to the staging the disease. Hydatid serology is an important test and is necessary both for diagnostic purposes and for monitoring. Curative treatment of HCH is primarily surgical, which must be done as soon as the diagnosis is made and before the complications occur

Inventaire, structure morpho-métrique et importance des varans sacrés de Kandi (Nord-Est Bénin)

Les sites naturels sacrés regorgent d’espèces traditionnellement protégées. Cette étude menée de juin 2013 à décembre 2013 à Kandi (milieu soudanien) a permis de décrire les espèces de varans et d’analyser la structure morpho-métrique des varans sacrés. Les observations directes, les enquêtes ethnozoologiques semistructurées sur 74 chefs de ménage et chasseurs et, les mesures corporelles des varans capturés ont signalé la présence de Varanus exanthematicus et Varanus niloticus différenciés à partir de la taille (87% des enquêtés), forme (61%), couleur (59%) et tempérament (52%). V. niloticus était sacré pour l’ethnie dominante "Batonu". 84% des captures étaient mâtures, pesaient en moyenne 1484 g pour 111,3 cm de long. La longueur moyenne du museau-cloaque était de 44,7 cm et la queue 65,3 cm. Ils étaient plus courts et moins lourds que V. niloticus du Lac Tchad (milieu sahélien) pouvant traduire une adaptation phénotypique. La longueur de la queue (LQ) et du museau-cloaque (LMC) s’ajustent dans le modèle LQ=1,19LMC + 11,74 (R²=0,73 ; N=37). La longueur totale (L) et la masse corporelle (MC) s’ajustent dans l’équation MC=0,03L - 1,42 (R²=0,81 ; N=37). Toutefois, leur statut écologique doit être analysé en incluant la symbiose hommes-varans.© 2015 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Mots clés: Varans, richesse spécifique, données biométriques, KandiEnglish Title: Inventory, morpho-metric structure and importance of sacred monitor lizard of Kandi (Northeastern Benin)English AbstractSacred natural sites abound in traditionally protected species. This study led from June 2013 to July 2013 at Kandi (Sudanese area) has enabled to describe the species of monitor lizards and to analyze the morpho-metric structure of sacred monitor lizards. Direct observations, semi-structure and ethnozoological surveys on 74 heads of household and hunters, and body measurements of monitor lizards captured have indicated the presence of Varanus exanthematicus and Varanus niloticus differentiated from size (87% of investigated), form (61%), color (59%) and temperament (52%). V. niloticus was sacred for “batonu” the dominant ethnic. 84% of the captures were matures, weighed on the average 1484 g and 111.3 cm long. The average of snout-vent-length (SVL) was 44.7 cm and the tail (TL) 65.3 cm. They were more shorts and less  heavy than V. niloticus of Lake Chad (sahelian environment). It can express phenotype adaptation. Tail length and snout-vent-length fit in the model TL=1.19SVL + 11.74 (R²=0.73; N=37). Total length (L) and body mass (BM) fit in the equation BM =0.03L – 1.42(R²=0.81; N=37). Therefore, their status must been analyzed including the symbiosis human-monitor lizards.© 2015 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Keywords: Monitor lizards, specific richness, biometrical data, Kand

G\"odel-type universes in f(T) gravity

The issue of causality in $f(T)$ gravity is investigated by examining the possibility of existence of the closed timelike curves in the G\"{o}del-type metric. By assuming a perfect fluid as the matter source, we find that the fluid must have an equation of state parameter greater than minus one in order to allow the G\"{o}del solutions to exist, and furthermore the critical radius $r_c$, beyond which the causality is broken down, is finite and it depends on both matter and gravity. Remarkably, for certain $f(T)$ models, the perfect fluid that allows the G\"{o}del-type solutions can even be normal matter, such as pressureless matter or radiation. However, if the matter source is a special scalar field rather than a perfect fluid, then $r_c\rightarrow\infty$ and the causality violation is thus avoided.Comment: 18 pages, introduction revised, reference adde

Observational constraints on Rastall's cosmology

Rastall's theory is a modification of General Relativity, based on the non-conservation of the stress-energy tensor. The latter is encoded in a parameter $\gamma$ such that $\gamma = 1$ restores the usual $\nabla_\nu T^{\mu\nu} = 0$ law. We test Rastall's theory in cosmology, on a flat Robertson-Walker metric, investigating a two-fluid model and using the type Ia supernovae Constitution dataset. One of the fluids is pressureless and obeys the usual conservation law, whereas the other is described by an equation of state $p_x = w_x\rho_x$, with $w_x$ constant. The Bayesian analysis of the Constitution set does not strictly constrain the parameter $\gamma$ and prefers values of $w_x$ close to -1. We then address the evolution of small perturbations and show that they are dramatically unstable if $w_x \neq -1$ and $\gamma \neq 1$, i.e. General Relativity is the favored configuration. The only alternative is $w_x = -1$, for which the dynamics becomes independent from $\gamma$.Comment: Latex file, 14 pages, 6 figures in eps format. Substantial modifications performed, main conclusions change

Interet D’une Supplementation En Spiruline Chez Les Enfants Drepanocytaires Homozygotes A L’hopital National De Niamey. (Essai Clinique Randomise En Double Aveugle A Propos De 53 Cas)

Spirulina is a micro algae used for thousands of years due to its healing properties. We supplemented children suffering from sickle cell anemia in order to appreciate its impact on the anthropometrical and clinical parameters. It consisted of a randomized clinical double blind test which was carried during a period of 9 months. The study concerned 53 homozygotes children suffering from sickle cell anemia aged 6 months to 15 years. Also, they were visiting the National Hospital of Niamey for follow up. One group (28 children) received 5 g of spirulina daily, and the other group (25 children) received placebo. The aspects studied were: the number of hospitalizations and transfusions, the vaso-occlusive crisis, the body mass index, and the splenomegalia. We found that 84.90% of patients were hospitalized at least once and 45.3% of them have already been transfused. The average number of crisis has greatly decreased in the spirulina group from 2.75 before the study to 1.18 at the end of the study. This, thus, was observed when compared to 2.44 to 1.6 in the placebo group. We also noticed a decrease of the number of hospitalizations and the number of transfusions which is less important in the group supplemented with spirulina. In conclusion, this study showed that supplementation in spirulina had a significant impact on children suffering from sickle cell anemia. This is even despite the fact that the difference between the two groups is not significant in some cases

Scalar models for the generalized Chaplygin gas and the structure formation constraints

The generalized Chaplygin gas model represents an attempt to unify dark matter and dark energy. It is characterized by a fluid with an equation of state $p = - A/\rho^\alpha$. It can be obtained from a generalization of the DBI action for a scalar, tachyonic field. At background level, this model gives very good results, but it suffers from many drawbacks at perturbative level. We show that, while for background analysis it is possible to consider any value for $\alpha$, the perturbative analysis must be restricted to positive values of $\alpha$. This restriction can be circumvented if the origin of the generalized Chaplygin gas is traced back to a self-interacting scalar field, instead of the DBI action. But, in doing so, the predictions coming from formation of large scale structures reduce the generalized Chaplygin gas model to a kind of quintessence model, and the unification scenario is lost, if the scalar field is the canonical one. However, if the unification condition is imposed from the beginning as a prior, the model may remain competitive. More interesting results, concerning the unification program, are obtained if a non-canonical self-interacting scalar field, inspired by Rastall's theory of gravity, is imposed. In this case, an agreement with the background tests is possible.Comment: Latex file, 25 pages, 33 figures in eps format. New section on scalar models. Accepted for publication in Gravitation&Cosmolog

Resolution of dark matter problem in f(T) gravity

In this paper, we attempt to resolve the dark matter problem in f(T) gravity. Specifically, from our model we successfully obtain the flat rotation curves of galaxies containing dark matter. Further, we obtain the density profile of dark matter in galaxies. Comparison of our analytical results shows that our torsion-based toy model for dark matter is in good agreement with empirical data-based models. It shows that we can address the dark matter as an effect of torsion of the space.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure