Note de synthèse sur le cycle évolutif des sarcosporidies affectant les animaux domestiques

Après un bref rappel de la variété des espèces affectées, nous rappelons la nature coccidienne des sarcosporidies. Nous exposons le cycle évolutif de ces parasites tel qu'il a pu être établi expérimentalement à ce jour. Nous mentionnons également les caractères particuliers de ces sporozoaires, qui les différencient de Toxoplasma gondii et de Hammondia hammond

Seismic Assessment of Rammed Earth Walls Using Pushover Tests

AbstractRammed earth (RE) construction is attracting renewed interest throughout the world thanks to its sustainable characteristics: a very low embodied energy, an advantageous living comfort due to a substantial thermal inertia, good natural moisture buffering, and an attractive appearance. This is why several studies have been carried out recently to investigate RE. However, there have not yet been sufficient studies on the seismic performance of RE buildings.This paper presents an experimental study on the static nonlinear pushover method and its application on the seismic performance of RE structures. Several walls with two height/length ratios were built and tested to obtain the nonlinear “shear force–displacement” curves. By transposing to the “acceleration-displacement” system and by using the standard spectra presented in Eurocode 8, the performance points could be determined which enabled to assess the seismic performance of the studied walls in different conditions (seismicity zones and soil types)

La sarcosporidiose chez le buffle africain (Syncerus caffer)

Après quelques généralités sur la sarcosporidiose, une description des kystes sarcosporidiens trouvés chez le buffle africain (S. caffer) et quelques hypothèses sur le cycle évolutif sont donnée

Essai de traitement, dans les conditions africaines, du polyparasitisme du zébu, à l'aide des associations Disto-5-Thiabendazo le, Disto-5-Tartrate de Morantel et Disto-5-Tétramisole

Les auteurs exposent les résultats positifs qu'ils ont obtenus en Afrique dans la lutte contre le polyparasitisme du zébu, à base de nématodes et trématodes, grâce à l'emploi d'associations médicamenteuses présentant un large spectre d'activité dont ils donnent la composition et la formulation. Ils insistent sur la nécessité de n'utiliser en Afrique, que des associations sous marque déposée, fabriquées par des firmes garantissant rigoureusement leur production, présentées sous forme de comprimés séccables exactement dosé

Safety and diagnostic yield of renal biopsy in the intensive care unit

Purpose Renal biopsy (RB) is occasionally performed in critically ill patients. The safety and impact of RB in this setting have not been reported. Methods A 10-year (2000–2009) retrospective multicentre study was conducted in ten French intensive care units (ICU) on patients who underwent RB during their management. Medical files were retrieved for data analysis. Results Seventy-seven patients underwent an RB of which 68 (88 %) were on a native kidney and 9 (12 %) on a transplanted kidney. Percutaneous ultrasound-guided RB was used in most cases (87 %). Fifty-seven per cent of the patients were on mechanical ventilation at the time of RB. RB-related complications occurred in 17 (22 %) patients, two were graded as severe (requirement for kidney embolization, eventually successful). In 35 (51 %) non-transplanted patients, RB established a specific diagnosis other than acute tubular necrosis (ATN), which was diagnosed in only 18 % of patients. In the remaining patients, only non-specific lesions were observed. Therapeutic modifications followed RB in 14 (21 %) non-transplanted patients. Presence of signs of systemic disease involving the renal tract, occurrence of renal failure before hospital admission, and absence of any factor usually associated with ATN significantly predicted the presence of a specific diagnosis at RB other than ATN. Conclusions In this cohort, the contribution of RB to diagnosis and treatment was undeniable, but at the expense of frequent adverse events although most of them were not considered severe

Balloon catheters versus vaginal prostaglandins for labour induction (CPI Collaborative): an individual participant data meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Background: Induction of labour is one of the most common obstetric interventions globally. Balloon catheters and vaginal prostaglandins are widely used to ripen the cervix in labour induction. We aimed to compare the effectiveness and safety profiles of these two induction methods. Methods: We did an individual participant data meta-analysis comparing balloon catheters and vaginal prostaglandins for cervical ripening before labour induction. We systematically identified published and unpublished randomised controlled trials that completed data collection between March 19, 2019, and May 1, 2021, by searching the Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials.gov, WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and PubMed. Further trials done before March 19, 2019, were identified through a recent Cochrane review. Data relating to the combined use of the two methods were not included, only data from women with a viable, singleton pregnancy were analysed, and no exclusion was made based on parity or membrane status. We contacted authors of individuals trials and participant-level data were harmonised and recoded according to predefined definitions of variables. Risk of bias was assessed with the ROB2 tool. The primary outcomes were caesarean delivery, indication for caesarean delivery, a composite adverse perinatal outcome, and a composite adverse maternal outcome. We followed the intention-to-treat principle for the main analysis. The primary meta-analysis used two-stage random-effects models and the sensitivity analysis used one-stage mixed models. All models were adjusted for maternal age and parity. This meta-analysis is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020179924). Findings: Individual participant data were available from 12 studies with a total of 5460 participants. Balloon catheters, compared with vaginal prostaglandins, did not lead to a significantly different rate of caesarean delivery (12 trials, 5414 women; crude incidence 27·0%; adjusted OR [aOR] 1·09, 95% CI 0·95–1·24; I2=0%), caesarean delivery for failure to progress (11 trials, 4601 women; aOR 1·20, 95% CI 0·91–1·58; I2=39%), or caesarean delivery for fetal distress (10 trials, 4441 women; aOR 0·86, 95% CI 0·71–1·04; I2=0%). The composite adverse perinatal outcome was lower in women who were allocated to balloon catheters than in those allocated to vaginal prostaglandins (ten trials, 4452 neonates, crude incidence 13·6%; aOR 0·80, 95% CI 0·70–0·92; I2=0%). There was no significant difference in the composite adverse maternal outcome (ten trials, 4326 women, crude incidence 22·7%; aOR 1·02, 95% CI 0·89–1·18; I2=0%). Interpretation: In induction of labour, balloon catheters and vaginal prostaglandins have comparable caesarean delivery rates and maternal safety profiles, but balloon catheters lead to fewer adverse perinatal events. Funding: Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and Monash Health Emerging Researcher Fellowship

Cantor Digitalis: chironomic parametric synthesis of singing

Cantor Digitalis is a performative singing synthesizer that is composed of two main parts: a chironomic control interface and a parametric voice synthesizer. The control interface is based on a pen/touch graphic tablet equipped with a template representing vocalic and melodic spaces. Hand and pen positions, pen pressure, and a graphical user interface are assigned to specific vocal controls. This interface allows for real-time accurate control over high-level singing synthesis parameters. The sound generation system is based on a parametric synthesizer that features a spectral voice source model, a vocal tract model consisting of parallel filters for vocalic formants and cascaded with anti-resonance for the spectral effect of hypo-pharynx cavities, and rules for parameter settings and source/filter dependencies between fundamental frequency, vocal effort, and formants. Because Cantor Digitalis is a parametric system, every aspect of voice quality can be controlled (e.g., vocal tract size, aperiodicities in the voice source, vowels, and so forth). It offers several presets for different voice types. Cantor Digitalis has been played on stage in several public concerts, and it has also been proven to be useful as a tool for voice pedagogy. The aim of this article is to provide a comprehensive technical overview of Cantor Digitalis