The efficacy of an activated sludge (modified Ludzack-Ettinger (MLE)) UV disinfection processes in removing human noroviruses and E. coli from sewage were compared with the prevalence of these microorganisms in a sett...The efficacy of an activated sludge (modified Ludzack-Ettinger (MLE)) UV disinfection processes in removing human noroviruses and E. coli from sewage were compared with the prevalence of these microorganisms in a settled storm discharge from the same sewage treatment works. Both discharges impacted a designated oyster production area. The treatment process delivered average NoV and E. coli reductions of 2.9log10 and 5.2log10, respectively. Most E. coli reductions occurred during the UV disinfection process whereas the MLE process was comparatively more important in reducing NoV levels. A positive relationship was found between NoV removal and measured applied UV dose. The average levels of total NoV in the settled storm tank were of the same order of magnitude of those in screened raw influent at the works. These results highlight the importance of measures to reduce the impact of stormwater discharges to minimise the risk of NoV gastroenteritis associated with the consumption of oysters.展开更多
Sickle cell disease(SCD) is a worldwide hemoglobinopathy that concerns about 250000 affected children everv year.The majority of them are living in tropical regions,particularly in sub-Saharan Africa,India and Middle ...Sickle cell disease(SCD) is a worldwide hemoglobinopathy that concerns about 250000 affected children everv year.The majority of them are living in tropical regions,particularly in sub-Saharan Africa,India and Middle East.Life expectancy and quality of life of SCD patients have improved since the newborn screening and early management have been introduced in USA and Jamaica.Experts of hemoglobinopathies strongly encouraged WHO to develop in the endemic areas networks based on the Thalassaemia International Federation(TIF) model in order to conduct activities for developing medical services for care and prevention of hemoglobin disorders. Despite the inherent practical,political and economic difficulties,early diagnosis and a comprehensive health care program for SCD could be implemented in most of the African countries where the prevalence is high;but many challenges have to be first resolved.Based on pilot studies conducted in some central African countries,this article proposed some strategies and discusses the different ways of implementing initiatives that are indispensable for decreasing the mortality and morbidity rate of SCD in Central Africa.展开更多
Context: Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant and plays an important role in human reproduction. However, micronutrient deficiency is a major public health problem, particularly in developing countries. This study aime...Context: Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant and plays an important role in human reproduction. However, micronutrient deficiency is a major public health problem, particularly in developing countries. This study aimed to establish reference intervals (RIs) for vitamin E in black Congolese people of childbearing age using an ELISA method to provide a reference for clinically assessing vitamin E status. Methods: A total of 127 healthy people between the ages of 20 and 42 who underwent check-ups were randomly selected for the study. ELISA method measured the level of vitamin E. The effect of gender on vitamin E level was assessed, and RI was established using a parametric approach. Results: Women showed significantly higher levels of vitamin E than men (p = 0.01). The RI of vitamin E in people of childbearing age was 3.71 to 13.72, 4.52 to 14.64, and 4.17 to 13.52 mg/L, respectively, for the whole population, women and men. Conclusion: Using an ELISA method, this study established RI for vitamin E in the black Congolese population of childbearing age. We also found that women had significantly higher vitamin E levels than men. The results could provide a scientific basis for interpreting vitamin status in people of childbearing age in our setting.展开更多
Objective: The role of anesthesia in maternal mortality is unknown in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This study was conducted with the objective of analyzing the determinants of morbidity and maternal mortali...Objective: The role of anesthesia in maternal mortality is unknown in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This study was conducted with the objective of analyzing the determinants of morbidity and maternal mortality linked to anesthesia in course of cesarean section. Methods: This is a prospective, analytical and mono-centric study carried out on women who underwent cesarean section at the Centre Hospitalier Mère-Enfant Monkole from January 1st, 2011 to December 31st, 2018. The variables analyzed were socio-demographic, clinical, biological and anesthetic as well as the maternal issues. Data analysis was performed with SPSS 21.0 software. The determinants of mortality were sought by logistic regression with p Results: During this period, 1954 cesarean sections were performed. The mean age of the women was 31 years (range 14 to 47), 1549 women (79.3%) had completed prenatal consultation in Monkole and 405 (20.7%) elsewhere. The emergency was extreme in 192 cases (9.82%), absolute in 445 (22.77%) and relative in 1317 (67.4%). Locoregional anesthesia (LRA) was performed in 1811 cases (92.68%). The main complications were marked by arterial hypotension (22.9%) due to spinal anesthesia, and mortality was 0.56%. In multivariate analysis, only extreme emergency (aOR 7.62 95% CI: 2.80 - 71.23 p = 0.007), coma on admission (aOR 10.44 95% CI: 1.81 - 60.13 p = 0.009), general anesthesia (aOR 15.41 95% CI: 2.11 - 40.21 p = 0.007) and intraoperative transfusion due to anemia/hemorrhage (aOR 8.63 95% CI: 1.07 - 69.55 p = 0.043) persisted as determinants of maternal death. Conclusion: Maternal mortality (0.56%) in this series was relatively low for a low-income country and no death was directly related to anesthesia. General anesthesia, extreme urgency, intraoperative transfusion due to anemia/bleeding, and coma on admission were the major determinants of mortality.展开更多
Plastic litter has been widely documented in our oceans,leading to growing worldwide concerns regarding its potential impact on the marine environment.A large proportion of this plastic accumulates at the bottom of th...Plastic litter has been widely documented in our oceans,leading to growing worldwide concerns regarding its potential impact on the marine environment.A large proportion of this plastic accumulates at the bottom of the ocean,resulting in a need to monitor and quantify seafloor litter.Seafloor litter monitoring is mostly performed using benthic beam trawls,which have several limitations and environmental implications.New innovative ways to document and address seafloor litter are therefore necessary and requested by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14(SDG 14.1.1b),the Oslo Paris Convention(OSPAR)and the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea(ICES).This systematic review gives an overview of the state-of-the-art of 14 current underwater technologies that are eligible for future in situ detection of plastic litter on the seafloor based on 101 publications.A set of objectives and a Technology Readiness Level(TRL)scale were used to benchmark the technologies and revealed that the most suitable system is often very scenario-specific and,therefore,demands investments in more than one specific group of technologies.A decision tool was established to determine the most suitable technique for a range of different situations.This review indicates that most of these technologies are currently at low-middle TRLs,requiring several more development,testing and commercialization steps before they can be applied effectively in marine field conditions.However,these technologies,alone or in combination,have the potential to contribute to the establishment of more robust global environmental indicators and monitoring programs for plastic pollution.展开更多
文摘The efficacy of an activated sludge (modified Ludzack-Ettinger (MLE)) UV disinfection processes in removing human noroviruses and E. coli from sewage were compared with the prevalence of these microorganisms in a settled storm discharge from the same sewage treatment works. Both discharges impacted a designated oyster production area. The treatment process delivered average NoV and E. coli reductions of 2.9log10 and 5.2log10, respectively. Most E. coli reductions occurred during the UV disinfection process whereas the MLE process was comparatively more important in reducing NoV levels. A positive relationship was found between NoV removal and measured applied UV dose. The average levels of total NoV in the settled storm tank were of the same order of magnitude of those in screened raw influent at the works. These results highlight the importance of measures to reduce the impact of stormwater discharges to minimise the risk of NoV gastroenteritis associated with the consumption of oysters.
文摘Sickle cell disease(SCD) is a worldwide hemoglobinopathy that concerns about 250000 affected children everv year.The majority of them are living in tropical regions,particularly in sub-Saharan Africa,India and Middle East.Life expectancy and quality of life of SCD patients have improved since the newborn screening and early management have been introduced in USA and Jamaica.Experts of hemoglobinopathies strongly encouraged WHO to develop in the endemic areas networks based on the Thalassaemia International Federation(TIF) model in order to conduct activities for developing medical services for care and prevention of hemoglobin disorders. Despite the inherent practical,political and economic difficulties,early diagnosis and a comprehensive health care program for SCD could be implemented in most of the African countries where the prevalence is high;but many challenges have to be first resolved.Based on pilot studies conducted in some central African countries,this article proposed some strategies and discusses the different ways of implementing initiatives that are indispensable for decreasing the mortality and morbidity rate of SCD in Central Africa.
文摘Context: Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant and plays an important role in human reproduction. However, micronutrient deficiency is a major public health problem, particularly in developing countries. This study aimed to establish reference intervals (RIs) for vitamin E in black Congolese people of childbearing age using an ELISA method to provide a reference for clinically assessing vitamin E status. Methods: A total of 127 healthy people between the ages of 20 and 42 who underwent check-ups were randomly selected for the study. ELISA method measured the level of vitamin E. The effect of gender on vitamin E level was assessed, and RI was established using a parametric approach. Results: Women showed significantly higher levels of vitamin E than men (p = 0.01). The RI of vitamin E in people of childbearing age was 3.71 to 13.72, 4.52 to 14.64, and 4.17 to 13.52 mg/L, respectively, for the whole population, women and men. Conclusion: Using an ELISA method, this study established RI for vitamin E in the black Congolese population of childbearing age. We also found that women had significantly higher vitamin E levels than men. The results could provide a scientific basis for interpreting vitamin status in people of childbearing age in our setting.
文摘Objective: The role of anesthesia in maternal mortality is unknown in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This study was conducted with the objective of analyzing the determinants of morbidity and maternal mortality linked to anesthesia in course of cesarean section. Methods: This is a prospective, analytical and mono-centric study carried out on women who underwent cesarean section at the Centre Hospitalier Mère-Enfant Monkole from January 1st, 2011 to December 31st, 2018. The variables analyzed were socio-demographic, clinical, biological and anesthetic as well as the maternal issues. Data analysis was performed with SPSS 21.0 software. The determinants of mortality were sought by logistic regression with p Results: During this period, 1954 cesarean sections were performed. The mean age of the women was 31 years (range 14 to 47), 1549 women (79.3%) had completed prenatal consultation in Monkole and 405 (20.7%) elsewhere. The emergency was extreme in 192 cases (9.82%), absolute in 445 (22.77%) and relative in 1317 (67.4%). Locoregional anesthesia (LRA) was performed in 1811 cases (92.68%). The main complications were marked by arterial hypotension (22.9%) due to spinal anesthesia, and mortality was 0.56%. In multivariate analysis, only extreme emergency (aOR 7.62 95% CI: 2.80 - 71.23 p = 0.007), coma on admission (aOR 10.44 95% CI: 1.81 - 60.13 p = 0.009), general anesthesia (aOR 15.41 95% CI: 2.11 - 40.21 p = 0.007) and intraoperative transfusion due to anemia/hemorrhage (aOR 8.63 95% CI: 1.07 - 69.55 p = 0.043) persisted as determinants of maternal death. Conclusion: Maternal mortality (0.56%) in this series was relatively low for a low-income country and no death was directly related to anesthesia. General anesthesia, extreme urgency, intraoperative transfusion due to anemia/bleeding, and coma on admission were the major determinants of mortality.
基金supported by the Flanders Innovation&Entrepreneurship(VLAIO)in the capacity of the PLUXIN project‘Plastic Flux for Innovation and Business Opportunities in Flanders’(cSBO,Project Number HBC.2019.2904)co-financed by the Operational Program AZORES 2020,through the Fund 01-0145-FEDER-000,140“MarAZ Researchers:Consolidate a body of researchers in Marine Sciences in the Azores”of the European Union.
文摘Plastic litter has been widely documented in our oceans,leading to growing worldwide concerns regarding its potential impact on the marine environment.A large proportion of this plastic accumulates at the bottom of the ocean,resulting in a need to monitor and quantify seafloor litter.Seafloor litter monitoring is mostly performed using benthic beam trawls,which have several limitations and environmental implications.New innovative ways to document and address seafloor litter are therefore necessary and requested by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14(SDG 14.1.1b),the Oslo Paris Convention(OSPAR)and the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea(ICES).This systematic review gives an overview of the state-of-the-art of 14 current underwater technologies that are eligible for future in situ detection of plastic litter on the seafloor based on 101 publications.A set of objectives and a Technology Readiness Level(TRL)scale were used to benchmark the technologies and revealed that the most suitable system is often very scenario-specific and,therefore,demands investments in more than one specific group of technologies.A decision tool was established to determine the most suitable technique for a range of different situations.This review indicates that most of these technologies are currently at low-middle TRLs,requiring several more development,testing and commercialization steps before they can be applied effectively in marine field conditions.However,these technologies,alone or in combination,have the potential to contribute to the establishment of more robust global environmental indicators and monitoring programs for plastic pollution.
