Thérapies traditionnelles aux Comores

Cet article présente un tableau général des divers moyens de protection des dangers et de guérison des maux, mis en oeuvre dans la société comorienne. Islamisée de façon continue depuis des siècles, cette société développe aussi une vision populaire du monde et des pratiques magico-religieuses plus ou moins tolérées par l'indulgence de l'islam local. Religion et pratiques populaires ont été elles-mêmes apportées par des groupes de population d'origine africaine, indonésienne, arabe ou malgache, qui ont juxtaposé ou mêlé divers systèmes de représentations. Leurs points communs sont : une vision déterminée d'un monde dominé par des déséquilibres et des concordances à respecter, justifiant l'observance de l'astrologie et le respect d'interdits; un relativisme social qui attribue à l'autre les intentions malveillantes qui ont provoqué le mal, les désordres et les problèmes qui affectent l'être humain, ou sa famille, dans sa vie quotidienne. (Résumé d'auteur

Time-Resolved Diffusing Wave Spectroscopy for selected photon paths beyond 300 transport mean free paths

This paper is devoted to the theoretical and experimental demonstration of the possibility to perform time-resolved diffusing wave spectroscopy: we successfully registered field fluctuations for selected photon path lengths that can overpass 300 transport mean free paths. Such a performance opens new possibilities for biomedical optics applications.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure

Up-regulation of the P2Y2 receptor by cytokines in neuronal cells

Abstract only availableAlzheimer's Disease (AD) is characterized by inflammation and neurodegeneration in the brain due to the presence of extracellular amyloid beta (A β) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Microglial and astrocyte cells associated with these plaques and tangles have been shown to release cytokines in AD patients, which have a proinflammatory effect on the brain. The P2Y2 receptor (P2Y2R) is a receptor protein that is up-regulated in response to damage or stress in a variety of tissues, including blood vessels and salivary gland epithelium. Recently our laboratory has shown that activation of the P2Y2R enhances α -secretase-dependent amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing. APP is proteolytically processed by β - and γ -secretases to release neurodegenerative A β. Alternatively, APP can be cleaved within the A β domain by α -secretase releasing the non-amyloidogenic product, sAPP α, which has been shown to have neuroprotective properties. Primary neurons have low P2Y2R expression, however, it has been demonstrated that cytokines up-regulate P2Y2R in smooth muscle cells. Therefore, this study will explore if cytokines up-regulate P2Y2R expression in primary rat neurons and in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells. Primary rat neurons and SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells were plated on glass cover slips 24 or 48 hours with individual treatment, or a combination of, human interleukin-1 β (IL1- β), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF α), and interferon γ (IF γ). P2Y2R activity was measured by increases in intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i ) in response to the P2Y2R agonist UTP. Results support the hypothesis that P2Y2R is up-regulated by cytokines in neuronal cells. Furthermore, real-time PCR results indicate a two-fold increase in P2Y2R mRNA after cytokine treatment. Therefore, activation of the up-regulated P2Y2R in stressed neurons generates a neuroprotective (sAPP α) rather than neurodegenerative (A β) peptide. These results could have a substantial impact on the understanding and treatment of neurological disorders such as AD.Life Sciences Undergraduate Research Opportunity Progra

PET/CT Scanner and Bone Marrow Biopsy in Detection of Bone Marrow Involvement in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.

Evaluation of bone marrow involvement (BMI) is paramount in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) for prognostic and therapeutic reasons. PET/CT scanner (PET) is now a routine examination for the staging of DLBCL with prognostic and therapeutic implications. This study evaluates the role of PET for detecting marrow involvement compared to bone marrow biopsy (BMB). This monocentric study included 54 patients diagnosed with DLBCL between 2009 and 2013 and who had FDG PET/CT in a pre-treatment setting. A correlation analysis of the detection of BMI by PET and BMB was performed. A prognostic evaluation of BMI by BMB and/or PET/CT and correlation with an overall 2-year survival were analyzed. PET was more sensitive for the detection of BMI than BMB (92.3% vs. 38.5%). It can be considered a discriminatory Pre-BMB test with a negative predictive value of 97.6%. In addition, BMI by PET had a prognostic value with strong correlation with progression-free survival (PFS) (HR = 3.81; p = 0.013) and overall survival (OS) (HR = 4.12; p = 0.03) while the BMB had not. PET shows superior performance to the BMB for the detection of marrow involvement in DLBCL. It may be considered as the first line examination of bone marrow instead of the biopsy

Impact of intermittent preventive anti-malarial treatment on the growth and nutritional status of preschool children in rural Senegal (west Africa).

Negative consequences of malaria might account for seasonality in nutritional status in children in the Sahel. We report the impact of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of seasonal intermittent preventive anti-malarial treatment on growth and nutritional status in 1,063 Senegalese preschool children. A combination of artesunate and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine was given monthly from September to November. In the intervention arm, mean weight gain was significantly greater (122.9 +/- 340 versus 42.9 +/- 344 [SD] g/mo, P < 0.0001) and losses in triceps and subscapular skinfold measurements were less (-0.39 +/- 1.01 versus -0.66 +/- 1.01 mm/mo, and -0.15 +/- 0.64 versus -0.36 +/- 0.62 mm/mo, respectively, P < 0.0001 for both). There was no difference in height increments. The prevalence of wasting increased significantly in the control arm (4.6% before versus 9.5% after, P < 0.0001), but remained constant in intervention children: 5.6% versus 7.0% (P = 0.62). The prevention of malaria would improve child nutritional status in areas with seasonal transmission

Acute febrile illness and influenza disease burden in a rural cohort dedicated to malaria in Senegal, 2012-2013

Background African populations are considered to be particularly vulnerable to fever illnesses, including malaria, and acute respiratory disease, owing to limited resources and overcrowding. However, the overall burden of influenza in this context is poorly defined and incidence data for African countries are scarce. We therefore studied the fever syndrome incidence and more specifically influenza incidence in a cohort of inhabitants of Dielmo and Ndiop in Sokone district, Senegal. Methods Daily febrile-illness data were prospectively obtained from January 2012 to December 2013 from the cohort of the villages of Dielmo and Ndiop, initially dedicated to the study of malaria. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from, and malaria diagnosis tests (thick blood smears) carried out on, every febrile individual during clinical visits; reverse transcriptase- polymerase chain reaction was used to identify influenza viruses in the samples. Binomial negative regression analysis was used to study the relationship between the monthly incidence rate and various covariates. Results In Dielmo and Ndiop, the incidence ofmalaria has decreased, but fever syndromes remain frequent. Among the 1036 inhabitants included in the cohort, a total of 1,129 episodes of fever were reported. Influenza was present all year round with peaks in October-December 2012 and August 2013. The fever, ILI and influenza incidence density rates differed significantly between age groups. At both sites, the adjusted incidence relative risks for fever syndromes and ILI were significantly higher in the [6-24 months) than other age groups: 7.3 (95% CI: [5.7-9.3]) and 16.1 (95% CI: [11.1-23.3]) respectively. The adjusted incidence relative risk for influenza was significantly higher for the [0-6 months) than other age groups: 9.9 (95% CI: [2.9-33.6]). At both sites, incidence density rates were lowest among adults > = 50 years. Conclusions In this rural setting in Senegal, influenza was most frequent among the youngest children. Preventive strategies targeting this population should be implemented

Central factorials under the Kontorovich-Lebedev transform of polynomials

We show that slight modifications of the Kontorovich-Lebedev transform lead to an automorphism of the vector space of polynomials. This circumstance along with the Mellin transformation property of the modified Bessel functions perform the passage of monomials to central factorial polynomials. A special attention is driven to the polynomial sequences whose KL-transform is the canonical sequence, which will be fully characterized. Finally, new identities between the central factorials and the Euler polynomials are found.Comment: also available at http://cmup.fc.up.pt/cmup/ since the 2nd August 201

Synthesis, structural characterization, antimicrobial and cytotoxic effects of aziridine, 2-aminoethylaziridine and azirine complexes of copper(II) and palladium(II).

The synthesis, spectroscopic and X-ray structural characterization of copper(II) and palladium(II) complexes with aziridine ligands as 2-dimethylaziridine HNCH2CMe2 (a), the bidentate N-(2-aminoethyl)aziridines C2H4NC2H4NH2 (b) or CH2CMe2NCH2CMe2NH2 (c) as well as the unsaturated azirine NCH2CPh (d) are reported. Cleavage of the cyclometallated Pd(II) dimer [μ-Cl(C6H4CHMeNMe2-C,N)Pd]2 with ligand a yielded compound [Cl(NHCH2CMe2)(C6H4CHMe2NMe2-C,N)Pd] (1a). The reaction of the aziridine complex trans-[Cl2Pd(HNC2H4)2] with an excess of aziridine in the presence of AgOTf gave the ionic chelate complex trans-[(C2H4NC2H4NH2-N,N′)2Pd](OTf)2 (2b) which contains the new ligand b formed by an unexpected insertion and ring opening reaction of two aziridines (“aziridine dimerization”). CuCl2 reacted in pure HNC2H4 or HNCH2CMe2 (b) again by “dimerization” to give the tris-chelated ionic complex [Cu(C2H4NC2H4NH2-N,N′)3]Cl2 (3b) or the bis-chelated complex [CuCl(C2H2Me2NC2H2Me2NH2-N,N′)2]Cl (4c). By addition of 2H-3-phenylazirine (d) to PdCl2, trans-[Cl2Pd(NCH2CPh)2] (5d) was formed. All new compounds were characterized by NMR, IR and mass spectra and also by X-ray structure analyses (except 3b). Additionally the cytotoxic effects of these complexes were examined on HL-60 and NALM-6 human leukemia cells and melanoma WM-115 cells. The antimicrobial activity was also determined. The growth of Gram-positive bacterial strains (S. aureus, S. epidermidis, E. faecalis) was inhibited by almost all tested complexes at the concentrations of 37.5–300.0 μg mL−1. However, MIC values of complexes obtained for Gram-negative E. coli and P. aeruginosa, as well as for C. albicans yeast, mostly exceeded 300 μg mL−1. The highest antibacterial activity was achieved by complexes 1a and 2b. Complex 2b also inhibited the growth of Gram-negative bacteria. Graphical abstract: Synthesis, structural characterization, antimicrobial and cytotoxic effects of aziridine, 2-aminoethylaziridine and azirine complexes of copper(ii) and palladium(ii