Knowledge, attitudes, practices of teenagers on sexual health in the district of Ambohidratrimo

Background: Talking about sex, sexuality, sexual health in many countries, including Madagascar, is very difficult because of the sacred and taboos that surround these questions but especially because of certain puritanism. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of adolescents in matters of sexual health.Methods: A retrospective, descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in adolescents aged 10 to 19 seen in Ambohidratrimo district. The data were collected during the month of June and July 2019 and relate to data for the twelve months before the survey.Results: A total of 210 adolescents were recruited whose average age was 15.82±2.75 years and the sex ratio was 1:04. Eighty-six percent of the adolescents surveyed had heard of sexual health. Nine out of 10 adolescents would go to a health worker if they contract an STI. Almost a quarter or 23.8% of respondents declared having already had sexual intercourse.Conclusions: At the end of this study on the knowledge, attitudes and practices of adolescents on sexual health, they certainly have knowledge but considered average. Therefore, there is a need for sexuality education, for improving knowledge and understanding of sexual development, human procreation, healthy and adapted sexual behavior and different means of contraception, on the part of adolescents, but also with the aim of improving communications between adolescents and their parent

Epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic profile of uterine fibroids at the Befelatanana University hospital centre of obstetric gynecology of Antananarivo, Madagascar

Background: Leiomyomas or fibromyomas more commonly referred as uterine fibroids are the most common tumors of the female genital tract. They affect 20 to 25% of women in genital activity. The objective of present study is to describe the epidemiological and therapeutic profile of uterine fibroids at the UHCOBG.Methods: Retrospective and descriptive cross-sectional study of patients with uterine fibroids hospitalized in the department of gynecology of the UHCOBG between January 2015 and December 2016.Results: In total, 101 cases of uterine fibroids have been identified with a prevalence of 3.92%. The average age is 42.75±3.6 years old. The most affected age group varies from 35 to 45 years old. Thirty-eight-point six percent of the patients were pauciparous. The medical history of irregular menstrual cycle disorders was present in 17.8% of the cases. The symptomatology was dominated by menometrorrhagia (78.2%) and in 67.3% of the cases, patients had anemia. The majority of patients (64.4%) had poly-myomatous uterus which fibroid location was predominantly corporeal (92.1%), isthmic (21.8%), and three quarters of the mapping was interstitial. Complications were dominated by aseptic necrobiosis (7.9%) and conservative treatment in 68.3% of the cases. Laparotomy is the pillar of a surgical treatment. The duration of hospitalization was short in 77.2% of the cases, 91.1% had a good progress and no death was noticed during 2 years.Conclusions: This is the first operative indication of all gynecological pathologies in present UHC and proves to be a real public health problem. The development of operative laparoscopy is necessary to reduce the morbidity associated with treatment

Carbone des sols en Afrique

Les sols sont une ressource essentielle à préserver pour la production d’aliments, de fibres, de biomasse, pour la filtration de l’eau, la préservation de la biodiversité et le stockage du carbone. En tant que réservoirs de carbone, les sols sont par ailleurs appelés à jouer un rôle primordial dans la lutte contre l’augmentation de la concentration de gaz à effet de serre. Ils sont ainsi au centre des objectifs de développement durable (ODD) des Nations unies, notamment les ODD 2 « Faim zéro », 13 « Lutte contre le changement climatique », 15 « Vie terrestre », 12 « Consommation et production responsables » ou encore 1 « Pas de pauvreté ». Cet ouvrage présente un état des lieux des sols africains dans toute leur diversité, mais au-delà, il documente les capacités de stockage de carbone selon les types de sols et leurs usages en Afrique. Il propose également des recommandations autour de l’acquisition et de l’interprétation des données, ainsi que des options pour préserver, voire augmenter les stocks de carbone dans les sols. Tous les chercheurs et acteurs du développement impliqués dans les recherches sur le rôle du carbone des sols sont concernés par cette synthèse collective. Fruit d’une collaboration entre chercheurs africains et européens, ce livre insiste sur la nécessité de prendre en compte la grande variété des contextes agricoles et forestiers africains pour améliorer nos connaissances sur les capacités de stockage de carbone des sols et lutter contre le changement climatique

Does selenium exert cardioprotective effects against oxidative stress in myocardial ischemia?

International audienceIn the mid-1960s, a small number of scientists postulated the role of oxidative stress and oxygen-derived free radicals in the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying ischemic heart disease. However, because of the technical difficulty of measuring free radicals and quantitating oxidative damage, it was very difficult to prove that free radicals could contribute to cell pathology. The role of oxidative stress in biological systems was not definitely recognized until the early 1980s when measurement of short-lived oxygen-derived reactive species was made possible by the advent of sophisticated techniques such as EPR spectroscopy or fluorescent probes. These enabled both the study of free radical biochemistry and the acquisition of useful information about the nature and consequences of free radical-induced protein and lipid oxidation. The hypothesis that reactive oxygen species mediate cellular damage produced upon reperfusion of ischemic myocardium has gained considerable support during the past 10-15 years. Several experimental studies indicated that the administration of antioxidant enzymes or non-enzymatic antioxidants offers a significant degree of protection against ischemic damage, improving functional recovery and reducing morphological alterations to cardiomyocytes. In this context, selenium, as an essential component of glutathione peroxidase, plays a critical role in protecting aerobic tissues from oxygen radical-initiated cell injury

Chorioamnionitis at the Befelatanana university hospital centre of obstetric gynecology in Antananarivo Madagascar: epidemiology, taken care and forecast

Background: The chorioamnionitis corresponds to an infection of the ovular cavity. She puts game neonatal and maternal forecast. This study had as objectives to describe the epidemiological aspects, the taking care and the forecast of the chorioamnionitis to the gynecology teaching hospital and obstetrics Befelatanana, Madagascar.Methods: It is about a descriptive, retrospective and transverse study, during a period of 6 months going from January, 2016 till July 2016. The pregnant women introducing a premature break of membranes (RPM) complicated with chorioamnionitis hospitalized in CHU-GOB during this period had been included.Results: Authors found 35 cases of chorioamnionitis, that is 38.1% premature breaks of membranes. The medium age of the patients was 20±5, 16 years old (extreme from 17 to 36 years). Primiparous was found in 82.9%. The chorioamnionitis had happened in 68.5% cases after 37 weeks of amenorrhea. The delay between RPM and happened of chorioamnionitis was of 6 hours. The picture of chorioamnionitis was complete in 54.3%. Delivery was by low way in 33.3%. Authors had found 88.60% case of endometritis, 8.6% case of parietal suppuration post caesarian section but without any maternal decease. Neonatal complications were marked by a score of Apgar <7 - five minutes in 74.3%, neonatal infection in 25.7% and precocious neonatal decease in 11.4%.Conclusions: The chorioamniotite concerned primiparous especially young urgent. The application of the protocol of taking care of the premature break of membranes is necessary for the reduction of the happening of the chorioamniotitis

In situ Synchrotron X-Ray diffraction study of high-temperature stress relaxation in chromia scales containing the reactive element yttrium

International audienceThe viscoplastic behaviour of the model yttria-coated Ni28Cr alloy was studied under high temperature oxidation conditions for various small quantities of reactive element (RE). The main purpose was to determine the way the RE acts on the non-destructive stress relaxation mechanisms (creep) occurring in thermally grown chromia scales. After building of an initial chromia microstructure by 3 h oxidizing at 1273 K, temperature jumps were applied to generate thermal stress loading, the chromia scale microstructure being considered as stable. The generated stress was then released along 3 h isothermal periods and X-ray Synchrotron diffraction was used to follow in situ its evolution. The experimental curves were then simulated in order to calculate the creep coefficients, to evaluate the activation energy of the diffusion-creep mechanism and determine the diffusion coefficients and the elementary mechanisms associated to the viscoplastic behaviour of chromia scales in relation with the introduced RE quantity

Strains in thermally growing Cr2O3 films measured in situ using synchrotron X-rays

International audienceThis work takes place in the general context of a better understanding of materials degradation mechanisms in extreme environments. In particular, the aim of the present study was to correlate microstructural elements to growth stress magnitude evolution and stress release mechanisms for thermally grown chromia thin films on NiCr alloys. Strains in thermally grown oxides have been measured in-situ, as the oxides develop and evolve. Data have been acquired from oxides grown for different high temperatures evolutions on NiCr model alloys that form Cr2O3. Using synchrotron X-Ray at the ESRF (Beamline BM02) coupled with an induction furnace, Debye-Scherrer diffraction patterns from the oxidizing specimen were recorded in air at temperature between 700-1000°C and during cooling. The distortion of the diffraction rings was analyzed to yield the in-plane strain. Thermal stresses imposed on Cr2O3/NiCr by abruptly reducing the sample temperature for a period of time, exploiting the thermal expansion difference between oxide and substrate, showed noticeable subsequent stress relaxation by creep. Such a mechanism was monitored using time-dependent in situ measurements of strain relaxation in the oxide. The main results obtained from these experiments are the kinetic of the growth stress from the isothermal measurements (isothermal plateau), and the study of the stress release mechanism after the low-temperature jumps. In complement, the oxide microstructure development during the course of oxidation is also investigated from both the peaks intensity and width evolution. In all cases, the steady stage growth strain was relatively low and compressive. Different degrees of relaxation were also found on cooling depending on scale microstructure through the variation of the initial oxidation conditions. Results are compared with other reports of residual stresses evolution in Cr2O3 scales. © 2017 Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland