Ontologies-Based Platform for Sociocultural Knowledge Management

International audienceIn this paper, we present a sociocultural platform aiming at persevering and capitalizing sociocul-tural events in Senegal. This platform relies on Semantic Web technologies. First, we discuss the two ontologies we provided to support our platform: an upper-level sociocultural ontology (USCO) and a human time ontol-ogy (HuTO). To build our upper-level ontology we proposed a methodology based on the theory of Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky called "Vygotskian Framework". We also present how the upper-level ontology can be matched in the Linked Open Data (LOD) cloud. On the other hand, we present the Human Time Ontol-ogy (HuTO) of which major contributions are (i) the modeling of non-convex intervals (repetitive interval) like every Monday, (ii) representation deictic temporal expressions which form specific relations with time speech and (iii) qualitative temporal notions which are temporal notions relative to a culture or a geographical position. Finally, we discuss the platform designed on top of Semantic MediaWiki to apply our scientific contributions. indeed, the platform allows Senegalese communities to share and co-construct their sociocultural knowledge

High resolution melting: a useful field-deployable method to measure dhfr and dhps drug resistance in both highly and lowly endemic Plasmodium populations

Background: Emergence and spread of drug resistance to every anti-malarial used to date, creates an urgent need for development of sensitive, specifc and feld-deployable molecular tools for detection and surveillance of validated drug resistance markers. Such tools would allow early detection of mutations in resistance loci. The aim of this study was to compare common population signatures and drug resistance marker frequencies between two populations with diferent levels of malaria endemicity and history of anti-malarial drug use: Tanzania and Sénégal. This was accomplished by implementing a high resolution melting assay to study molecular markers of drug resistance as compared to polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR/RFLP) methodology. Methods: Fifty blood samples were collected each from a lowly malaria endemic site (Sénégal), and a highly malaria endemic site (Tanzania) from patients presenting with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria at clinic. Data representing the DHFR were derived using both PCR–RFLP and HRM assay; while genotyping data representing the DHPS were evaluated in Senegal and Tanzania using HRM. Msp genotyping analysis was used to characterize the multiplicity of infection in both countries. Results: A high prevalence of samples harbouring mutant DHFR alleles was observed in both population using both genotyping techniques. HRM was better able to detect mixed alleles compared to PCR/RFLP for DHFR codon 51 in Tanzania; and only HRM was able to detect mixed infections from Senegal. A high prevalence of mutant alleles in DHFR (codons 51, 59, 108) and DHPS (codon 437) were found among samples from Sénégal while no mutations were observed at DHPS codons 540 and 581, from both countries. Overall, the frequency of samples harbouring either a single DHFR mutation (S108N) or double mutation in DHFR (C59R/S108N) was greater in Sénégal compared to Tanzania Conclusion: Here the results demonstrate that HRM is a rapid, sensitive, and feld-deployable alternative technique to PCR–RFLP genotyping that is useful in populations harbouring more than one parasite genome (polygenomic infections). In this study, a high levels of resistance polymorphisms was observed in both dhfr and dhps, among samples from Tanzania and Sénégal. A routine monitoring by molecular markers can be a way to detect emergence of resistance involving a change in the treatment policy

HuTO: une Ontologie Temporelle Narrative pour les Applications du Web Sémantique: HuTO: une Ontologie Temporelle Narrative

National audienceThe temporal phenomena have many facets that are studied by different communities. In Semantic Web, large heterogeneous data are handled and produced. These data often have informal, semi-formal or formal temporal information which must be interpreted by software agents. In this paper we present Human Time Ontology (HuTO) an RDFS ontology to annotate and represent temporal data. A major contribution of HuTO is the modeling of non-convex intervals giving the ability to write queries for this kind of interval. HuTO also incorporates normalization and reasoning rules to explicit certain information. HuTO also proposes an approach which associates a temporal dimension to the knowledge base content. This facilitates information retrieval by considering or not the temporal aspect.Un défi majeur en informatique est la modélisation et le raisonnement sur les données temporelles. Ce travail est devenu encore plus important avec l'émergence du Web sémantique où de grandes quantités données hétérogènes sont manipulées. Ces données comportent souvent des informations temporelles informelles, semi-formelles ou formelles qui doivent être interprétées par les agents logiciels. Dans cet article nous présentons notre ontologie, Humain Time Ontologie (HuTO), une ontologie en RDFS pour annoter des ressources en RDF et représenter les expressions narratives temporelles. Une des contributions majeures de HuTO est la modélisation des intervalles non-convexes c'est-à-dire les intervalles répétitifs comme tous les mercredi mais également la possibilité d'écrire des requêtes sur ce type d'intervalle. HuTO intègre aussi des règles de normalisation et de raisonnement pour expliciter certaines informations temporelles. HuTO propose aussi une approche qui permet de garder distincte la dimension temporelle et les annotations du domaine métier. Cela facilite la recherche d'informations qu'elles soient temporelles ou non

Analyse physico-chimique de l’eau de l’unité d’hémodialyse du chr de Saint- Louis (Sénégal)

L’insuffisance rénale chronique est un des problèmes majeurs de la santé publique dans le monde. Au Sénégal, une étude récente réalisée dans la population générale adulte avait retrouvé une prévalence de l’ordre de 6,1%. «L’eau pour dilution de concentrées d’hémodialyse» est produite en continue et utilisée en grande quantité chez l’hémodialysé chronique, donc il apparaît primordial de veiller à sa bonne qualité. Au Sénégal, aucune étude n’a été faite à ce jour pour évaluer l’efficacité du système de traitement de l’eau pour dilution des concentrés de dialyse dans les différents centres de dialyse du pays. L’objectif de ce travail est de contrôler l’efficacité du système de traitement de l’eau pour dilution de concentrées d’hémodialyse afin de s’assurer de son innocuité. Les prélèvements ont été effectués au niveau de trois points clés du circuit de traitement de l’eau pour hémodialyse. A l’entrée et à la sortie de l’osmoseur, à la sortie de la boucle de distribution. Les analyses ont été effectuées à l’aide d’électrodes spécifiques. Les valeurs de potentiels ont permis de tracer les courbes d’étalonnage. La détermination par régression des pentes et des ordonnées à l’origine de la relation de Nernst donne E(mV ) = B - A Log Cm avec des coefficients de corrélation variant entre 0,988 et 0,999 prouvant que 98% au moins des variations de tensions mesurées (E) sont attribuables à la concentration. L’analyse physico-chimique des teneurs en chlorures, nitrates et fluorures révèle des teneurs plus élevées à l’entrée de l’osmoseur qu’à la sortie. Ces basses valeurs découlent du rôle de l’osmoseur qui filtre une grande partie des électrolytes. Par contre, à la sortie de la boucle de distribution les teneurs en électrolytes des différents échantillons étaient plus importantes que celles à la sortie de l’osmoseur. Cette forte concentration en électrolytes atteste d’une pollution par la boucle de distribution de l’eau déjà filtrée par l’osmoseur. L’intérêt de cette étude réside dans le fait qu’elle met en lumière l’importance du contrôle de la qualité de l’eau pour l’hémodialyse et la nécessité d’un bon planning de maintenance préventive efficace de l’ensemble de la boucle de traitement d’eau au sein de chaque centre.© 2016 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Mots clés: Hémodialyse, eau, chlorures, fluorures, nitrates, électrodes spécifiquesEnglish Title: Physicochemical analysis of Saint–Louis regional hospital’s hemodialysis unit’s water (Senegal)English AbstractChronic kidney disease is a major public health problem worldwide. In Senegal, a recent study in the general adult population found a prevalence of about 6,1%. "Water for diluting concentrated hemodialysis" is produced and used continuously at high levels in hemodialysis chronic. It is therefore essential to ensure its quality. In Senegal, no study has been done to assess the effectiveness of water treatment system for dialysis concentrates dilution in different dialysis centers of the country. The objective of this work is to monitor the effectiveness of the water treatment system for hemodialysis concentrated dilution to ensure its safety. The samples were taken on key issues of hemodialysis water’s treatment circuit. Three levels of sampling were selected. At the entrance and at the outlet of the reverse osmosis unit at the outlet of the distribution loop. Analyses were performed using specific electrodes. Potential values allowed us to map the calibration curves. Determination by regression of slopes and intercepts of the Nernst relation gives with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.988 to 0.999 showing that at least 98% of the measured voltages fluctuations (E) are attributable to the concentration. Physicochemical analysis of the levels of chlorides, nitrates and fluorides reveals higher levels at the entrance of the reverse osmosis unit than at the outlet. These low values resulting of the role of reverse osmosis which filter much of the electrolytes. For against, at the outlet of the distribution loop the electrolyte content of the different samples were greater than those at the outlet of the reverse osmosis unit. This high electrolyte concentration attests to pollution of the water distribution loop already filtered by reverse osmosis. The interest of this study lies in the fact that it highlights the importance of monitoring the quality of water for hemodialysis and the need for good planning for effective preventive maintenance throughout the water treatment loop within each center.© 2016 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Keywords: Hemodialysis, water, nitrates, fluoride, chloride, specific electrode

Synthesis of Polyglobalide by Enzymatic Ring Opening Polymerization Using Pressurized Fluids

Here, the synthesis of polyglobalide (PGl) by enzymatic ring-opening polymerization (e-ROP) is investigated, using pressurized carbon dioxide (CO2), pressurized CO2 + dichloromethane (DCM), and pressurized propane as solvents. Particularly, the effects of phase equilibrium on the course of e-ROP and PGl final properties are discussed. The partition coefficients of CO2, DCM, propane, globalide and PGl were calculated with help of thermodynamic models, providing proper understanding of monomer partitioning in the reaction system. Reactions performed in pure CO2 resulted in monomer conversions of 100%. Besides, when only one liquid phase was present inside the reactor, PGl samples presented low polydispersities and high average molecular weights. When carried out in CO2 + DCM, e-ROP resulted in lower monomer conversions and PGl samples with higher polydispersities and lower average molecular weights. Finally, reactions carried out in pressurized propane (200 bar) produced PGl samples with the highest average molecular weights among the analyzed products.Comment: 41 pages, 9 figures, 8 table

Changes in the Molecular Epidemiology of Pediatric Bacterial Meningitis in Senegal After Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Introduction.

BACKGROUND: Bacterial meningitis is a major cause of mortality among children under 5 years of age. Senegal is part of World Health Organization-coordinated sentinel site surveillance for pediatric bacterial meningitis surveillance. We conducted this analysis to describe the epidemiology and etiology of bacterial meningitis among children less than 5 years in Senegal from 2010 and to 2016. METHODS: Children who met the inclusion criteria for suspected meningitis at the Centre Hospitalier National d'Enfants Albert Royer, Senegal, from 2010 to 2016 were included. Cerebrospinal fluid specimens were collected from suspected cases examined by routine bacteriology and molecular assays. Serotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and whole-genome sequencing were performed. RESULTS: A total of 1013 children were admitted with suspected meningitis during the surveillance period. Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, and Haemophilus accounted for 66% (76/115), 25% (29/115), and 9% (10/115) of all confirmed cases, respectively. Most of the suspected cases (63%; 639/1013) and laboratory-confirmed (57%; 66/115) cases occurred during the first year of life. Pneumococcal meningitis case fatality rate was 6-fold higher than that of meningococcal meningitis (28% vs 5%). The predominant pneumococcal lineage causing meningitis was sequence type 618 (n = 7), commonly found among serotype 1 isolates. An ST 2174 lineage that included serotypes 19A and 23F was resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. CONCLUSIONS: There has been a decline in pneumococcal meningitis post-pneumococcal conjugate vaccine introduction in Senegal. However, disease caused by pathogens covered by vaccines in widespread use still persists. There is need for continued effective monitoring of vaccine-preventable meningitis

Incidence and determinants of new AIDS-defining illnesses after HAART initiation in a Senegalese cohort

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although a dramatic decrease in AIDS progression has been observed after Highly Active Anti Retroviral Therapy (HAART) in both low- and high-resource settings, few data support that fact in low-resource settings.</p> <p>This study describes the incidence of AIDS-defining illnesses (ADI) after HAART initiation and analyzes their risk factors in a low-resource setting. A focus was put on CD4 cell counts and viral load measurements.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>404 HIV-1-infected Senegalese adult patients were enrolled in a prospective observational cohort and data censored as of April 2008. A Poisson regression was used to model the incidence of ADIs over two periods and to assess its association with baseline variables, current CD4, current viral load, CD4 response, and virological response.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>ADI incidence declined from 20.5 ADIs per 100 person-years, 95% CI = [16.3;25.8] during the first year to 4.3, 95% CI = [2.3;8.1] during the fourth year but increased afterwards. Before 42 months, the decrease was greater in patients with clinical stage CDC-C at baseline and with a viral load remaining below 1000 cp/mL but was uniform across CD4 strata (p = 0.1). After 42 months, 293 patients were still at risk. The current CD4 and viral load were associated with ADI incidence (decrease of 21% per 50 CD4/mm³and of 61% for patients with a viral load < 1000 cp/mL).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>During the first four years, a uniform decline of ADI incidence was observed even in patients with low CD4-cell counts at HAART initiation as long as the viral load remained undetectable. An increase was noted later in patients with immunologic and virological failures but also in patients with only virological failure.</p