Right-heart infective endocarditis: apropos of 10 cases

The prevalence and characteristics of right heart endocarditis in Africa are not well known. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiological, clinical and laboratory profiles of patients with right-heart infective endocarditis. This was a 10-year retrospective study conducted in 2 cardiology departments in Dakar, Senegal. All patients who met the diagnosis of right heart infective endocarditis according to the Duke's criteria were included. We studied the epidemiological, clinical as well as their laboratory profiles. There were 10 cases of right-heart infective endocarditis representing 3.04% of cases of infective endocarditis. There was a valvulopathy in 3 patients, an atrial septal defect in 1 patient, parturiency in 2 patients and the presence of a pacemaker in one patient. Anaemia was present in 9 patients whilst leukocytosis in 6 patients. The port of entry was found to be oral in three cases, ENT in one case and urogenital in two cases. Apart from one patient with vegetations in the tricuspid and pulmonary valves, the rest had localized vegetation only at the tricuspid valve. However, blood culture was positive in only three patients. There was a favorable outcome after antibiotic treatment in 4 patients with others having complications; three cases of renal impairment, two cases of heart failure and one case of pulmonary embolism. There was one mortality. Right heart infective endocarditis is rare but associated with potentially fatal complications.Pan African Medical Journal 2015; 2

Dyslipidemia, obesity and other cardiovascular risk factors in the adult population in Senegal

Introduction: According to the WHO, 50% of deaths worldwide (40.1% in developing countries) are due to chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Of these chronic NCDs, cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death and disability in developed countries. The Framingham study has shown the importance of hypercholesterolemia as a primary risk factor. In Senegal, the epidemiology of  dyslipidemia and obesity are still poorly understood due to the lack of comprehensive studies on their  impact on the general population. This motivated this study to look into the key epidemiologic and socio-demographic determinants of these risk factors. Methods: It was a cross-sectional descriptive epidemiological survey which included 1037 individuals selected by cluster sampling. Data were collected using a questionnaire following the WHO STEPwise approach. Socio-demographic, health and biomedical variables were collected. P value Results: The average age was 48 years with a female predominance (M: F of 0.6). The literacy rate was 65.2% and 44.7% of participants were from rural areas. The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia, hyperLDLemia, hypoHDLemia, hypertriglyceridemia and mixed hyperlipidemia were 56%, 22.5%, 12.4%, 7.11% and 1.9% respectively. One in four was obese (BMI> 30kg/m2) and 34.8% had abdominal obesity. The main factors significantly associated with dyslipidemia were obesity, urban dwelling, physical inactivity and a family history of dyslipidemia. Conclusion: The prevalence of dyslipidemia, obesity and other risk factors in the population was high needing immediate care for those affected and implementation of prevention strategies.Key words: Dyslipidemia, obesity, cardiovascular, risk factors, Saint Loui

Invasive mole: a rare cause of postmenopausal bleeding

Gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) describes a number of gynaecological tumours that originate in the trophoblast layer, including hydatidiform mole (complete or partial), placental site trophoblastic tumour, choriocarcinoma and invasive mole. Invasive moles are responsible of most cases of localized gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN). Invasive mole is a condition where a molar pregnancy, such as a partial hydatidiform mole or complete hydatidiform mole, invades the wall of the uterus. It is an extremely rare condition. As GTN is not considered in the differential diagnosis of postmenopausal uterine malignancies, its preoperative diagnosis is challenging. We report a case of invasive hydatidiform mole in a postmenopausal woman discovered in a context of postmenopausal bleeding. She underwent hysterectomy and followed up till her beta hCG levels were within normal limits. The patient is in complete remission in the first postoperative year.

Evaluation Of Machine Learning Classification Methods For Rice Detection Using Earth Observation Data: Case Of Senegal

Agriculture is considered one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate change. In addition to rainfed agriculture, irrigated crops such as rice have been developed in recent decades along the Senegal River. This new crop requires reliable information and monitoring systems. Remote sensing data have proven to be very useful for mapping and monitoring rice fields. In this study, a rice classification system based on machine learning to recognize and categorize rice is proposed. Physical interpretations of rice with other land cover classes in relation to the spectral signature should identify the optimal periods for mapping rice plots using three machine learning methods including Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF), and Classification and Regression Trees (CART). The database is composed of field data collected by GPS and high spatial resolution (10 to 30 m) satellite data acquired between January and May 2018. The analysis of the spectral signature of different land cover show that the ability to differentiate rice from other classes depends on the level of rice development. The results show the efficiency of the three classification algorithms with overall accuracies and Kappa coefficients for SVM (96.2%, 94.5%), for CART (97.6%, 96.5%) and for RF (98% 97.1%) respectively. Unmixing analysis was made to verify the classification and compare the accuracy of these three algorithms according to their performance

Evolution of Agroclimatic Indicators in Senegal Using CMIP6 Simulations

Climate has a strong influence on agriculture, which is considered the most dependent human activity on climate variations. The future performance of the Senegalese agricultural sector will depend on its ability to adapt to the negative impacts of climate change. This study demonstrated that the impact of three climate change scenarios (ssp126, ssp245 and ssp585) on the evolution of 14 agro-climatic indicators is already evident in Senegal in the near and distant future. Indeed, the results obtained show a generalized decrease over the whole country in seasonal rainfall totals of about −10% in the near future (2020–2049; PSE horizon) up to −40% in the distant future (2070–2099) for the ssp585 scenario. This decrease in precipitation will be associated with two phenomena, namely a shortening of the rainy season due to increasingly late starts and an increase in dry spells, particularly the DSl and DSxl. The other trend observed is an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events (R99 and R20), which illustrates an increasingly chaotic distribution of rain in the future. Finally, this characterization of agroclimatic indicators made it possible to evaluate and classify the sensitivity of four global models corrected by the CFD-t method in order to run agronomic simulations and to explore adaptation strategies for farmer management in the future

Predictability of intra-seasonal descriptors of rainy season over Senegal using global SST patterns

Seasonal forecasting of the rainfall characteristics in Sahel is of crucial interest in determining crop variability in these countries. This study aims to provide further characterization of nine rainfall metrics over Senegal (Onset, cessation, LRS, CDD, CDD7, CDD15, NR90p, NR95p, NR99p)and their response to global SST patterns from 1981 to 2018. The Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station (CHIRPS) dataset and the Hadley Centre Global Sea Ice and Sea Surface Temperature (HadISST) were used. The results showed strong spatio-temporal variability with a pronounced south–north gradient for all metrics. The earliest onset was observed in the south of the country from 4 July and the latest onset in the north from 9 August. Since 2012, a new regime is observed with an increase in both long dry spells and extreme wet events. Furthermore, SST forcing has shown that the North tropical Atlantic and the East Equatorial Pacific are better able to explain the interannual variability of the intraseasonal descriptors. However, the prediction of metrics is earlier for the most remote basin (Pacific) compared to the most local basin (Atlantic). These results have implications for the seasonal forecasting of Sahel’s intraseasonal variability based on SST predictors, as significant predictability is found far from the beginning of the season

Gouttelettes secondaires aérosolisées par l’impact d’un jet de liquide sur une surface solide

The fragmentation of liquids that leads to the formation of microdroplets occurs in natural processes such as the impact of raindrops on the ground, which produces the characteristic odor of a rainstorm, or the production of sea spray following the breaking of waves. Some technological applications such as the cooling of hot surfaces by spraying or inkjet printing take advantage of this fragmentation. In other situations, this fragmentation is undesirable because it could result in the generation of microdroplets loaded with viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 or radionuclides. In the nuclear industry particularly, an accidental leak of liquid containing radioelements could result in airborne particles from microdroplets aerosolized during the impact of the liquid. Despite its importance, the literature on the resuspension of aerosols in the air during the impact of a liquid jet is rather poor. This study is innovative on the study of droplet and jet impact due to its unique positioning at the crossroads of fluid dynamics and aerosol physics. The goal of this thesis is to quantify the mass fraction of aerosols suspended when a circular liquid jet impacts a solid surface, taking into account the characteristics of the jet in terms of velocity, diameter and morphology as well as the physicochemical properties of the liquid.We show that, when the liquid jet is in the Rayleigh regime (laminar liquid jet), if the impact height is lower than the break-up length of the jet (continuous jet impact) then the aerosol production is insignificant. On the other hand, if the impact height is higher than the break-up length of the jet (impact in the form of droplet trains) then aerosols are suspended with a mass fraction controlled by a splash parameter K which characterizes the deposition/splash transition during the impact of an isolated drop on a surface. Moreover, the particle size distribution of aerosols, in the respirable range (<10 µm), evolves with the physico-chemical characteristics of the solutions, especially the surface tension. From our experimental results, we propose a quantitative prediction of the fraction of aerosols suspended during the impact of a liquid jet, thus opening the way to a more general model.La fragmentation de liquides qui conduit à la formation de microgouttelettes se produit dans des processus naturels tels que l’impact au sol des gouttes de pluie à l’origine de l’odeur caractéristique d’un début d’averse, ou la production d'aérosols d'embruns marins à la suite du déferlement des vagues. Certaines applications technologiques comme le refroidissement de surfaces chaudes par pulvérisation ou l’impression par jet d’encre tirent avantage de cette fragmentation. Dans d’autres situations, cette fragmentation est indésirable car elle pourrait donner lieu à la génération de microgouttelettes chargées en virus comme le SARS-CoV-2 ou en radionucléides. Dans l’industrie nucléaire en particulier, une fuite accidentelle de liquide contenant des radioéléments pourrait mettre en suspension dans l’air des particules nocives issues de microgouttelettes aérosolisées durant l’impact du liquide. Malgré son importance, la littérature sur la remise en suspension d’aérosols dans l'air lors de l’impact d’un jet de liquide est assez pauvre. Cette étude est novatrice sur l’étude de l’impact des gouttes et de jets du fait de son positionnement unique à la croisée de la dynamique des fluides et de la physique des aérosols. Le but de cette thèse est de quantifier la fraction massique d'aérosols mise en suspension lorsqu'un jet de liquide circulaire impacte sur une surface solide, en tenant compte des caractéristiques du jet en termes de vitesse, de diamètre et de morphologie ainsi que des propriétés physico-chimiques du liquide.Nous montrons que, lorsque le jet de liquide est dans le régime de Rayleigh (jet de liquide laminaire), si la hauteur d'impact est inférieure à la longueur de fragmentation du jet (impact en jet continu) alors la production d’aérosols est insignifiante. En revanche, si la hauteur d'impact est grande devant la longueur de fragmentation du jet (impact sous forme de trains de gouttes) alors des aérosols sont mis en suspension avec une fraction massique pilotée par un paramètre d’éclaboussure K qui caractérise la transition dépôt/éclaboussure lors de l’impact d’une goutte isolée sur une surface. Par ailleurs, la distribution granulométrique des aérosols, dans la gamme respirable (<10 µm), évolue avec les caractéristiques physico-chimiques des solutions, notamment la tension de surface. À partir de nos résultats expérimentaux, nous proposons une prédiction quantitative de la fraction d’aérosols mise en suspension lors de l’impact d’un jet de liquide, ouvrant ainsi la voie à un modèle plus général

Aerosol generation by liquid jet impingement onto a solid surface

International audienceLiquid jet impinging onto a surface occurs in many industrial process such as nuclear facilities where a part of radioactive material is handled in liquid form. In the case of accidental leak of this liquid, the airborne particle release, in droplets form, is important to quantify since it is the vector of radioactive air contamination. In the literature, while droplets splashing by drop impact have been extensively studied, only few data are available concerning the airborne particle release fraction and the case of liquid jet impact is even less studied. The purpose of this work is to measure aerosol airborne release when a circular liquid jet impacts a solid surface. We found, when the liquid jet is in the Rayleigh regime, so that the jet is broken into multiple drops before impact, the inertia of the impacting drops influences the amplitude of the aerosols mass size distribution but does not change its shape and consequently the aerodynamic mass median diameter. We also show that particle airborne release depends on the impacting Weber and Ohnesorge numbers through the so-called splashing number $K$ which characterizes the splashing transition. We finally propose a quantitative prediction of the aerosol airborne release fraction, valid for Re $\sim$\ $\mathcal{O}(10^{3}-10^{4})$ and We $\sim$\ $\mathcal{O}(10^{2}-10^{3})$, opening the way to a more general model

Qualité Des Eaux De Boisson Conditionnées En Sachet Vendues Dans La Région De Dakar Au Sénégal

La qualité de l’eau de boisson conditionnée en sachet, vendue sous différentes marques dans les marchés de Dakar a été étudiée. Un total de 60 échantillons d’eau conditionnée dans des sachets sous 15 différentes marques a été prélevé de façon aléatoire dans les 5 différents marchés de Dakar pour déterminer la qualité physicochimique et microbiologique. Les résultats ont montré que la qualité physicochimique des eaux conditionnées en sachet est conforme à la norme réglementaire Norme NF EN ISO 19458 en la matière. Cependant, en ce qui concerne la qualité microbiologique, 83% des échantillons ont été contaminés avec une forte charge de la flore mésophile aérobie totale supérieure à celle de la norme NF EN ISO 19458 et 15% des échantillons sont vigoureusement contaminés par les coliformes totaux. Cependant, aucune présence de salmonelle n’est enregistrée dans les échantillons étudiés. Malgré tout, la population de Dakar qui utilise cet eau s’expose à des risques sanitaires. Il convient au service d’hygiène de sensibiliser et de contrôler l’activité de la vente de l’eau conditionnée en sachet. The quality of drinking water packaged in plastic bags through different brands sold in Dakar markets has been studied. 60 samples packaged through 15 different brands were taken randomly from the 5 different markets to determine their physico-chemical and microbiological quality. The results showed that physicochemical quality complies with the standards in this area. However, with regard to microbiological quality, 83% of the samples were contaminated at a high load with total viable counts, higher than the standard and 15% of the samples are highly contaminated with total coliforms. Meanwhile, there is no salmonella contamination was recorded in the samples studied. As a result, the population of Dakar who relies to this drinking water supply is exposed to health risks. The hygiene service should raise awareness and monitor the activity of selling drinking water