Disponibilite, modes et frequence de consommation des legumes traditionnels Africains dans quatre localites du burkina faso a diverses activites de maraichage : Ouagadougou, Koubri, Loumbila, Kongoussi

Les légumes traditionnels constituent une source importante de nutriments pour les ménages des pays en développement. La présente étude s’est intéressée à la diversité, à la  disponibilité, et  aux modes de consommation des légumes traditionnels africains dans des localités à  diverses activités de maraîchage au Burkina Faso. Des enquêtes de consommation alimentaire ont été réalisées auprès de 400 ménages dans quatre localités: Ouagadougou, Loumbila, Koubri et Kongoussi. Quatre principaux légumes sont retrouvés en toute saison dans les différentes localités : l’oseille (Hibiscus sabdariffa), la corète (Corchorus olitorius), l’amarante (Amaranthus cruentus) et le gombo (Abelmoschus callei). A Kongoussi d’autres légumes tels que les feuilles de morelle noire (Solanum scabrum) et de vernonia (Vernonia amygdalina) sont disponibles toute l’année. La fréquence de consommation est d’une fois par semaine pour plus de 50 % des ménages dans les zones à faible activité de maraichage, Ouagadougou, Loumbila et Koubri. A Kongoussi, plus de 45 % des ménages consomment plus d’une fois par semaine le gombo (Abelmoschus callei), les feuilles de corète (Corchorus olitorius), les feuilles d’oseille (Hibiscus sabdariffa) et les feuilles de haricot (Vigna unguiculata). Le marché est la source d’approvisionnement pour 71 % des ménages enquêtés. La saison, l’origine socio-culturelle et les habitudes alimentaires sont les principaux facteurs influant le choix des légumes. L’état frais est la principale forme de préférence des légumes. Pour l’utilisation des légumes dans les ménages, 74,25 % des ménages lavent 02 à 03 fois et découpent finement juste au moment de les préparer. Trois principaux modes de consommation ont été évoqués : la sauce, la soupe et le ragoût. La sauce est le principal mode de consommation et pour la cuisson 97,25 % procèdent par ébullition. Près de 62,50 % ; 53,33 % ; 45,22 % des ménages respectivement à Koubri, Loumbila et Ouagadougou procèdent par blanchiment et rejettent le liquide résiduel. A Ouagadougou et à Kongoussi, respectivement 66,67 % et 33,65 % des ménages pratiquant le blanchiment sont des non natifs. L’importance nutritive et l’effet antioxydant des légumes a été confirmée par près de 87% des répondants. L’étude a permis de conclure que l’activité de maraichage influe positivement sur la disponibilité, la diversité et la fréquence de consommation des légumes dans les ménages. Cependant des séances de sensibilisation sur les traitements post récoltes et les procédés de transformation des légumes sont nécessaires pour en tirer un meilleur profit au plan nutritionnel.Mots clés : légumes, maraîchage, diversité, traitement, blanchiment, cuisson, saison,consommatio

Les fièvres dans un centre PMI d'Abidjan : étiologies et pratiques thérapeutiques

Les auteurs ont étudié les caractéristiques clinicobiologiques de tous les enfants consultant pour fièvre dans un centre de Protection Maternelle et Infantile d'un quartier populaire d'Abidjan; soit du 01.02.1987 au 30.04.1987, 354 enfants avec plus de 37°8 C de température rectale. Le diagnostic le plus fréquent est celui de rougeole (184) suivi des infections respiratoires aiguës (90). Seuls 11 cas de paludisme ont été diagnostiqués cliniquement mais 29 enfants sont porteurs de plasmodium dont 4 #P. malariae$ et 26 avec une parasitémie supérieure à 1000 GR parasités par mm3. Il semble que la stratégie de chimiothérapie présomptive des accès fébriles continue à se justifier, les infirmiers se montrant capables de suspecter les causes d'hyperthermie autres que palustres. (Résumé d'auteur

Classification Models of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Patients

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic and fatal interstitial lung disease with no current cure. Progression of IPF is difficult to predict as the clinical course can be highly variable and range from a rapidly deteriorating state to a relatively stable state, or may be characterized by a slow progressive decline. Therefore, the need for an accurate diagnosis and improved tools for monitoring and managing IPF is of paramount importance, all for understanding the mitochondrial structure and the function played in the IPF. Mitochondrial DNA copy number (MtDCN) has been correlated with mortality in IPF patients and is a source of potentially clinically relevant information. We investigated the effects of various expiratory variables on MtDCN via multiple linear regression models. The models and their theoretical framework are presented under a descriptive and then analytic approach to investigate the complex and impact causes of IPF. Generalized linear model (GLM) based boosting is fitted before and after imputing the missing data. The Bayesian Hierarchical logistic models with categorical response variables that were created using carefully chosen cut-off points to classify the patients. This research provides an opportunity for novel patient surveillances

A multipurpose experimental facility for advanced X-ray Spectrometry applications

Ponencia presentada en la European Conference on X-Ray Spectrometry (EXRS). 2014Motivation, Ultra High Vacuum Chamber (UHVC) project: To support/enhance the training of scientists/engineers from developing countries in the operation of synchrotron radiation instrumentation; To provide beam time access for R&D projects and hands-on training in SR-XRS based techniques; To promote networking and knowledge sharing; To increase the quality and the competitiveness of the developing countries to apply beam time proposals at SR facilities; To contribute in the further development of XRS techniques in applications with socioeconomicalrelevance (characterization of energy storage/conversion materials, environmental, biological and biomedical applications)Fil: Leani, Juan José. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Matemática, Astronomía y Física; Argentina.Fil: Leani, Juan José. Nuclear Science and Instrumentation Laboratory, IAEA Laboratories; Austria.Física Atómica, Molecular y Química (física de átomos y moléculas incluyendo colisión, interacción con radiación, resonancia magnética, Moessbauer Efecto.

Systematic review of studies generating individual participant data on the efficacy of drugs for treating soil-transmitted helminthiases and the case for data-sharing

Preventive chemotherapy and transmission control (PCT) by mass drug administration is the cornerstone of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s policy to control soil-transmitted helminthiases (STHs) caused by Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworm), Trichuris trichiura (whipworm) and hookworm species (Necator americanus and Ancylostama duodenale) which affect over 1 billion people globally. Despite consensus that drug efficacies should be monitored for signs of decline that could jeopardise the effectiveness of PCT, systematic monitoring and evaluation is seldom implemented. Drug trials mostly report aggregate efficacies in groups of participants, but heterogeneities in design complicate classical meta-analyses of these data. Individual participant data (IPD) permit more detailed analysis of drug efficacies, offering increased sensitivity to identify atypical responses potentially caused by emerging drug resistance

Oligonucleotide Based Magnetic Bead Capture of Onchocerca volvulus DNA for PCR Pool Screening of Vector Black Flies

The absence of infective larvae of Onchocerca volvulus in the black fly vector of this parasite is a major criterion used to certify that transmission has been eliminated in a focus. This process requires screening large numbers of flies. Currently, this is accomplished by screening pools of flies using a PCR-based assay. The number of flies that may be included in each pool is currently limited by the DNA purification process to 50 flies for Latin American vectors and 100 flies for African vectors. Here, we describe a new method for DNA purification that relies upon a specific oligonucleotide to capture and immobilize the parasite DNA on a magnetic bead. This method permits the reliable detection of a single infective larva of O. volvulus in pools containing up to 200 individual flies. The method described here will dramatically improve the efficiency of pool screening of vector black flies, making the process of elimination certification easier and less expensive to implement

Impact of long-term treatment of onchocerciasis with ivermectin in Kaduna State, Nigeria: first evidence of the potential for elimination in the operational area of the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control.

BACKGROUND: Onchocerciasis can be effectively controlled as a public health problem by annual mass drug administration of ivermectin, but it was not known if ivermectin treatment in the long term would be able to achieve elimination of onchocerciasis infection and interruption of transmission in endemic areas in Africa. A recent study in Mali and Senegal has provided the first evidence of elimination after 15-17 years of treatment. Following this finding, the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) has started a systematic evaluation of the long-term impact of ivermectin treatment projects and the feasibility of elimination in APOC supported countries. This paper reports the first results for two onchocerciasis foci in Kaduna, Nigeria. METHODS: In 2008, an epidemiological evaluation using skin snip parasitological diagnostic method was carried out in two onchocerciasis foci, in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area (LGA), and in the Kauru and Lere LGAs of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The survey was undertaken in 26 villages and examined 3,703 people above the age of one year. The result was compared with the baseline survey undertaken in 1987. RESULTS: The communities had received 15 to 17 years of ivermectin treatment with more than 75% reported coverage. For each surveyed community, comparable baseline data were available. Before treatment, the community prevalence of O. volvulus microfilaria in the skin ranged from 23.1% to 84.9%, with a median prevalence of 52.0%. After 15 to 17 years of treatment, the prevalence had fallen to 0% in all communities and all 3,703 examined individuals were skin snip negative. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the surveys confirm the finding in Senegal and Mali that ivermectin treatment alone can eliminate onchocerciasis infection and probably disease transmission in endemic foci in Africa. It is the first of such evidence for the APOC operational area

Onchocerciasis: The Pre-control Association between Prevalence of Palpable Nodules and Skin Microfilariae

*Background*: The prospect of eliminating onchocerciasis from Africa by mass treatment with ivermectin has been rejuvenated following recent successes in foci in Mali, Nigeria and Senegal. Elimination prospects depend strongly on local transmission conditions and therefore on pre-control infection levels. Pre-control infection levels in Africa have been mapped largely by means of nodule palpation of adult males, a relatively crude method for detecting infection. We investigated how informative pre-control nodule prevalence data are for estimating the pre-control prevalence of

A Research Agenda for Helminth Diseases of Humans: Intervention for Control and Elimination

Recognising the burden helminth infections impose on human populations, and particularly the poor, major intervention programmes have been launched to control onchocerciasis, lymphatic filariasis, soil-transmitted helminthiases, schistosomiasis, and cysticercosis. The Disease Reference Group on Helminth Infections (DRG4), established in 2009 by the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), was given the mandate to review helminthiases research and identify research priorities and gaps. A summary of current helminth control initiatives is presented and available tools are described. Most of these programmes are highly dependent on mass drug administration (MDA) of anthelmintic drugs (donated or available at low cost) and require annual or biannual treatment of large numbers of at-risk populations, over prolonged periods of time. The continuation of prolonged MDA with a limited number of anthelmintics greatly increases the probability that drug resistance will develop, which would raise serious problems for continuation of control and the achievement of elimination. Most initiatives have focussed on a single type of helminth infection, but recognition of co-endemicity and polyparasitism is leading to more integration of control. An understanding of the implications of control integration for implementation, treatment coverage, combination of pharmaceuticals, and monitoring is needed. To achieve the goals of morbidity reduction or elimination of infection, novel tools need to be developed, including more efficacious drugs, vaccines, and/or antivectorial agents, new diagnostics for infection and assessment of drug efficacy, and markers for possible anthelmintic resistance. In addition, there is a need for the development of new formulations of some existing anthelmintics (e.g., paediatric formulations). To achieve ultimate elimination of helminth parasites, treatments for the above mentioned helminthiases, and for taeniasis and food-borne trematodiases, will need to be integrated with monitoring, education, sanitation, access to health services, and where appropriate, vector control or reduction of the parasite reservoir in alternative hosts. Based on an analysis of current knowledge gaps and identification of priorities, a research and development agenda for intervention tools considered necessary for control and elimination of human helminthiases is presented, and the challenges to be confronted are discussed

Onchocerciasis transmission in Ghana: Persistence under different control strategies and the role of the simuliid vectors

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) aims at eliminating onchocerciasis by 2020 in selected African countries. Current control focuses on community-directed treatment with ivermectin (CDTI). In Ghana, persistent transmission has been reported despite long-term control. We present spatial and temporal patterns of onchocerciasis transmission in relation to ivermectin treatment history. Methodology/Principal Findings: Host-seeking and ovipositing blackflies were collected from seven villages in four regions of Ghana with 3–24 years of CDTI at the time of sampling. A total of 16,443 flies was analysed for infection; 5,812 (35.3%) were dissected for parity (26.9% parous). Heads and thoraces of 12,196 flies were dissected for Onchocerca spp. and DNA from 11,122 abdomens was amplified using Onchocerca primers. A total of 463 larvae (0.03 larvae/fly) from 97 (0.6%) infected and 62 (0.4%) infective flies was recorded; 258 abdomens (2.3%) were positive for Onchocerca DNA. Infections (all were O. volvulus) were more likely to be detected in ovipositing flies. Transmission occurred, mostly in the wet season, at Gyankobaa and Bosomase, with transmission potentials of, respectively, 86 and 422 L3/person/month after 3 and 6 years of CDTI. The numbers of L3/1,000 parous flies at these villages were over 100times the WHO threshold of one L3/1,000 for transmission control. Vector species influenced transmission parameters. At Asubende, the number of L3/1,000 ovipositing flies (1.4, 95% CI = 0–4) also just exceeded the threshold despite extensive vector control and 24 years of ivermectin distribution, but there were no infective larvae in host-seeking flies. Conclusions/Significance: Despite repeated ivermectin treatment, evidence of O. volvulus transmission was documented in all seven villages and above the WHO threshold in two. Vector species influences transmission through biting and parous rates and vector competence, and should be included in transmission models. Oviposition traps could augment vector collector methods for monitoring and surveillance