Le Français au Gabon : émergence d'une norme endogène : le cas de la presse écrite

The sociolinguistic environment in Gabon comprises the languages of the Pigmies, the Bantou languages, French and the other languages spoken by foreigners. French, as the official language, has three speeh registers: the acrolectal, mesolectal and basilectal forms. At the start, the manifestations of the endogenous norm of French in the Gabonese written media are rooted in urbanisation. Libreville, as the concrete expression of Gabonese urban disparity, carries the dynamic at the heart of the socioliguistic process of French establishing itself in Gabon. Thus, the political and administrative capital of Gabon is either a factor of unification, conflict and linguistic coexistence; either Libreville gives the outline of communication involving the media broadcasters, advertisers and producers, as seen from the angles of two currents of a diverse press: the State and the opposition medias.Then, in a second stage, the linguistic characteristics of the French language are conveyed through a linguistic imaginative world. It includes three types of norms: systemic, statistical and subjective ones. The systemic norms throw light on the development of linguistic idiosyncratic forms, on the influence of substratum languages, on the use of all language registers and on the intermingling of written and oral codes. The statistical norms reflect the statistical hierarchy of linguistic features and causalities linked to the changes of the language in the process of urbanisation, to the sociopolitical context and to logical discursive causes. The last i.e. the subjective norms translate the differences in language representations generating a feeling of linguistic insecurity. This can be sensed under a double perspective, the one of the co-text as related to Makaya and the one of the context. Makaya, perceived as “improper”, presents the man/woman in the street taking offense at the failings of society. Journalists are spokepersons who through their working for a newspaper take part in the construction of the endogenous norm and its recognition.La situation sociolinguistique du Gabon est constituée des langues des Pygmées, des langues bantoues, du français et des langues des autres Étrangers. Le français, avec son statut de langue officielle, se décline en trois registres de langue : la variété acrolectale, la variété mésolectale et la variété basilectale. Dans un premier temps, les manifestations de norme endogène du français dans la presse écrite gabonaise du 1er août 2002 au 30 octobre 2002, résultent des phénomènes de l’urbanisation. Libreville, produit d’une disparité urbaine gabonaise, porte la dynamique factrice des processus sociohistoriques de l’implantation du français au Gabon. Ainsi, la capitale politique et administrative du Gabon, représente tantôt un facteur d’unification, de conflit et de coexistence linguistique ; tantôt Libreville porte le schéma de communication réunissant les émetteurs, les annonceurs, les producteurs des médias sous l’angle de la presse écrite plurielle ayant deux courants : la presse d’État et la presse d’opposition. Dans un deuxième temps, les particularités linguistiques du français de la presse écrite gabonaise sont traduites à travers un imaginaire linguistique. Ce dernier comporte trois types de normes : les Normes Systémiques, les Normes Statistiques et les Normes Subjectives. Les premières mettent en lumière le processus de formation des particularités linguistiques : l’influence des langues substrats, l’usage de tous les registres, le mélange code écrit/code oral. Les deuxièmes reflètent la hiérarchisation statistique des particularités linguistiques et les causalités liées à la dynamique de l’urbanisation des langues, aux causalités sociopolitiques, aux causalités logico discursives. Les dernières, les Normes Subjectives, retranscrivent les représentations linguistiques sur les écarts, suscitant ainsi le sentiment d’Insécurité Linguistique. Mais ce dernier est sous une double perspective : celle du co texte par la figure de Makaya et celle du contexte par le journaliste. Makaya, porteur de l’« incorrect » présente l’homme de la rue s’offusquant devant les travers de la société. Le journaliste est le porte-parole qui par son appartenance à un journal, participe à la construction de la norme endogène et à sa légitimité

Les entraves à l’approche « intersectionnelle » canadienne de la discrimination

Au Canada, le juge a une approche de la discrimination qui s’intéresse d’avantage à la façon dont la société traite la personne qu’à ses caractéristiques intrinsèques. Une telle logique permet d’analyser la discrimination lorsque les plaintes sont fondées sur des motifs reliés les uns aux autres. Elle n’exige pas que la pratique discriminatoire entre dans une catégorie ou un critère illicite. En revanche, en France, la lutte contre les discriminations consiste à identifier au préalable des groupes ou des sous-groupes sociaux à protéger pour des raisons particulières. C’est principalement ce cadre législatif, issu du droit de l’Union européenne (UE), qui conditionne cette « catégorisation » de la lutte contre les discriminations. C’est là que réside le principal frein au développement d’instruments juridiques de lutte contre les discriminations intersectionnelles. Dès lors, les exemples juridictionnels canadiens ouvrent des pistes de réflexion dans la recherche d’effectivité de la lutte contre ces discriminations. Il est alors possible de dépasser les entraves à l’application de l’approche intersectionnelle en présentant les leviers qui s’offrent au droit français. Ainsi, au regard du droit canadien, trois types d’entraves pourraient être dépassées: celles liées aux conceptions, aux autorités et aux modalités de la lutte contre les discriminations.In Canada, the judge as an approach of discrimination which highlights the way society treats the person more than the features that are intrinsic to it. This logic can analyze discrimination when complaints are based on grounds related to each other. It does not require that the discriminatory practice falls into a category or a prohibited criterion. By contrast, in France the fight against discrimination identify groups or subgroups social protection, for specific reasons. It is mainly this legislative framework, resulting from European law, which determines the "categorization" of the fight against discrimination. This is the main obstacle to the development of legal instruments against intersectional discrimination. However, with Canadian jurisdictional examples it is possible to overcome the obstacles to the implementation of the intersectional approach. Thus, under Canadian law, three levers are available to French law: those related to designs, authorities and the terms of the fight against discrimination

La Cour de cassation valide la stigmatisation du don de sang des hommes homosexuels et bisexuels

Le 8 juillet dernier, la Cour de cassation a validé l'exception à l'exigence d'un consentement du donneur de sang, à la conservation de données personnelles relatives à son orientation sexuelle. Malgré la constitutionnalité de ladite exception, qui fonde le raisonnement de la chambre criminelle, il est possible de s’interroger sur sa conventionnalité. Trop abstraite, l’évaluation de la proportionnalité dans cette affaire ne convint pas car il existe, notamment, d’autres moyens de protection des receveurs, moins attentatoires aux droits fondamentaux. En attendant un changement législatif ou une décision de la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme, les hommes ayant eu un rapport sexuel avec un autre homme restent donc les exclus du don de sang et du droit à l’oubli

Tartuffe face à Marie-Madeleine : Retour sur la condamnation d’une ex-Femen pour exhibition sexuelle

Dans un arrêt du 15 février 2017, la Cour d’appel de Paris estime que l’action d’une Femen dans l’église de la Madeleine est bien constitutive d’une exhibition sexuelle. Cette décision illustre l’ambiguïté de cette infraction qui, tout en assurant l’interdiction d’une agression sexuelle, permet au juge de se faire le censeur des atteintes à la morale religieuse. L’aveuglement du juge pénal concernant le caractère militant de la démarche, le conduit même à négliger le contrôle de l’atteinte à la liberté d’expression, au sens de la Convention européenne de sauvegarde des droits de l’homme. La conséquence d’un tel positionnement, sur la conciliation des libertés fondamentales, est d’autant plus dérangeante qu’aucun contrôle de constitutionnalité ne semble pouvoir régulariser cette situation

Antenatal care visit attendance, intermittent preventive treatment and bed net use during pregnancy in Gabon

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) and insecticide treated bed nets (ITNs) must be provided during antenatal care (ANC) visits for malaria prevention during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to determine the level of ANC attendance and its relationship with IPTp-SP and bed net coverage in Gabonese pregnant women. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey performed in 2011 in sentinel sites for malaria: two ANC units (Melen and Owendo) and one delivery unit (CHL). A validated structured questionnaire was used to collect the following data: age, parity, history of the current pregnancy including gestational age at the interview, number of ANC visits already performed, date of first visit, use of malaria preventive measure and details on IPTp-SP administration. RESULTS: During the study, 1030 women were interviewed, 735 at their ANC visit and 295 at the delivery. Their median age was 24[20–29] years and 21.0% were primigravidae. More than 70.0% attended their first ANC visit during the second trimester. Among the 442 women who were at the end of their pregnancy, 71.5% had a correct attendance, at least four ANC visits, most frequently women with no education and older women; IPTp-SP was offered to 84.1% of them and 57.4% received at least two doses. The number of SP doses was correlated to the number of ANC visits. Bed net coverage was 59.0%, not associated with ANC attendance. Among the women with correct ANC attendance, only 49.5% had a complete IPTp-SP course associated with bed net use during pregnancy. In the site where SP administration was supervised, 80% had four ANC visits and 97.4% received a full 2-dose course of IPTp-SP. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a high level of correct ANC attendance in Gabon, the goal of 80% of women with 2-dose IPTp-SP during pregnancy is not achieved. Evaluations, training of health workers, as well as surveys from other areas of the country are needed to further measure the implementation and the impact of these strategies

Mycosis fongoïde chez une Gabonaise infectée par le HTLV-I

L'HTLV-I est carcinogène pour les lymphocytes T mais sa responsabilité dans le mycosis fongoïde est discutée. Une forme typique de mycosis fongoïde au stade tumoral de la forme classique d'Alibert - Bazin a été diagnostiquée chez une gabonaise de 58 ans également infectée par l'HTLV-I. Cette affection, qui se classe parmi les lymphomes épidermotropes, est rarement décrite en Afrique mais elle y est vraisemblablement méconnue. L'association avec l'infection rétrovirale pourrait n'être que fortuite, le Gabon se situant parmi les régions de plus forte prévalence pour l'HTLV-I dont la seule expression maligne actuellement reconnue est la leucémie/lymphome à cellules T. Cependant des données récentes font état de la présence de particules rétrovirales semblables et d'un gène commun tax dans les monocytes de la plupart des patients porteurs de mycosis fongoïde. (Résumé d'auteur

Differential var Gene Expression in Children with Malaria and Antidromic Effects on Host Gene Expression

Among 62 children with mild malaria, cerebral malaria, or severe malarial anemia, we analyzed the transcription of different var gene types. There was no difference in parasitemia level or body temperature between groups. However, a significantly different expression pattern was observed in children with cerebral malaria, compared with that in patients in the other 2 groups: children with cerebral malaria had lower expression of the upsA subtype but higher expression of the upsB and upsC subtypes. Furthermore, expression of human genes responsive to tumor necrosis factor and hypoxia correlated with distinct ups type

Severe falciparum malaria in Gabonese children: clinical and laboratory features

BACKGROUND: Malaria continues to claim one to two million lives a year, mainly those of children in sub-Saharan Africa. Reduction in mortality depends, in part, on improving the quality of hospital care, the training of healthcare workers and improvements in public health. This study examined the prognostic indicators of severe falciparum malaria in Gabonese children. METHODS: An observational study examining the clinical presentations and laboratory features of severe malaria was conducted at the Centre Hospitalier de Libreville, Gabon over two years. Febrile children aged from 0 to 10 years with Plasmodium falciparum infection and one or more features of severe malaria were enrolled. RESULTS: Most children presenting with severe falciparum malaria were less than 5 years (92.3% of 583 cases). Anaemia was the most frequent feature of severe malaria (67.8% of cases), followed by respiratory distress (31%), cerebral malaria (24%) hyperlactataemia (16%) and then hypoglycaemia (10%). Anaemia was more common in children under 18 months old, while cerebral malaria usually occurred in those over 18 months. The overall case fatality rate was 9%. The prognostic indicators with the highest case fatality rates were coma/seizures, hyperlactataemia and hypoglycaemia, and the highest case fatality rate was in children with all three of these features. CONCLUSIONS: Prompt and appropriate, classification and treatment of malaria helps identify the most severely ill children and aids early and appropriate management of the severely ill child

Total and functional parasite specific IgE responses in Plasmodium falciparum-infected patients exhibiting different clinical status

Blood samples were collected from controls and P. falciparum-infected patients before treatment on the day of hospitalization (day 0) in India and, in addition, on days 7 and 30 after treatment in Gabon. Total IgE levels were determined by ELISA and functional P. falciparum-specific IgE were estimated using a mast cell line RBL-2H3 transfected with a human Fcε RI α-chain that triggers degranulation upon human IgE cross-linking. Mann Whitney and Kruskall Wallis tests were used to compare groups and the Spearman test was used for correlations. Total IgE levels were confirmed to increase upon infection and differ with level of transmission and age but were not directly related to the disease phenotype. All studied groups exhibited functional parasite-specific IgEs able to induce mast cell degranulation in vitro in the presence of P. falciparum antigens. Plasma IgE levels correlated with those of IL-10 in uncomplicated malaria patients from Gabon. In Indian patients, plasma IFN-γ , TNF and IL-10 levels were significantly correlated with IgE concentrations in all groups

Asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum infection in children is associated with increased auto-antibody production, high IL-10 plasma levels and antibodies to merozoite surface protein 3

Background Mechanisms of acquired protection to malaria in asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum carriers are only partially understood. Among them, the role plays by the self-reactive antibodies has not been clarified yet. In this study, the relationship between repertoires of circulating self-reactive and parasite-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG), their correlation with cytokine levels, and their association with protection against malaria was investigated in asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum-infected Gabonese children. Methods The diversity of P. falciparum-specific antibody repertoire was analysed using a protein micro-array immunoassay, the total auto-antibody repertoire by quantitative immunoblotting and circulating cytokine levels were measured by ELISA in endemic controls (EC) and P. falciparum-infected children from Gabon with asymptomatic (AM) or mild malaria (MM). The association of self- and parasite-specific antibody repertoires with circulating cytokines was evaluated using single linkage hierarchical clustering, Kruskal – Wallis tests and Spearman’s rank correlation. Results Children with AM exhibited an IgG response to merozoite surface protein 3 (MSP3) but not to MSP1-19, although their levels of total P. falciparum-specific IgG were similar to those in the MM group. Moreover, the asymptomatic children had increased levels of autoantibodies recognising brain antigens. In addition, a correlation between IL-10 levels and parasite load was found in AM and MM children. These two groups also exhibited significant correlations between plasma levels of IL-10 and IFN-γ with age and with total plasma IgG levels. IL-10 and IFN-γ levels were also associated with auto-antibody responses in AM. Conclusions Altogether, these results indicate that a self-reactive polyclonal response associated with increased IgG to MSP3 and high plasma levels of IL-10 and IFN-γ may contribute to protective immune mechanisms triggered in asymptomatic P. falciparum infection in Gabonese children