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The aim of this work was to test the adsorption efficiency of copper (II) ions in an aqueous solution on Natural Smectite (NS) and Activated Carbon (AC). The experiments carried out in batch mode made it possible to determine the stirring time, the adsorbent mass, the pH, the initial concentration of copper (II) ions, the isotherms and the adsorption kinetics. It appears that the stirring time was 15 minutes for the AC and 20 minutes for the NS. The adsorption was at maximum for the two adsorbents at optimum pH of 3.5 for a mass of 0.05 g each. The quantity of copper (II) ions adsorbed was 26.6 mg/L for NS and 36.6 mg/g for AC of a concentration of 600 mg/L each. The Langmuir isotherm was the one that best described the adsorption process for the two adsorbents. The adsorption kinetics obtained was that of the pseudo second-order for our two adsorbents. The results obtained showed that these two adsorbents were effective for the adsorption of copper (II) ions in an aqueous solution.

This work focuses on the analysis of the chemical composition of soils dedicated to agriculture in order to assess the impacts of manganese mining activity in the city of Moanda in South-East Gabon. The result of the analysis obtained using wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence revealed the presence of twenty-seven elements in the seventeen soil samples collected namely: Na, K, Rb, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Ti, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Y, Zr, Nb, Cr, Mn, Al, O, C, P, S, Si, I, Ac and Th. Iron (Fe), aluminum (Al) and manganese (Mn) were respectively higher. The practice of agriculture near mining sites is not without risks for the quality of agricultural products and the health of the population.

The Mako area, located in eastern Senegal, constitutes a segment of Paleoproterozoic (Birimian) formations of the Kedougou-Kenieba Inliers (KKI) in the western part of the West African craton. The basic volcanism of the Birimian formations of the KKI has long been considered to be related to a single magmatic event associated with a Mid Oceanic Ridge Basalts (MORB) setting. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate on the basis of the architectural characteristics of the granitoids dark enclaves, the occurrence of at least two distinct phases of basic Magamtism in the Birimian of the KKI. The methodology consists of a cartography, a petrographic and architectural characterization of the dark enclaves within the Mako granitoids, in order to constrain their spatial and temporal relationships with the granitic magma. The results obtained are compared with those of the bibliography. We have pinpointed two types of enclaves depending on their shapes and the characteristics of their edge with the enclosing rocks: angular enclaves with straight edges (ante-granitoids) and the soft enclaves with uneven edges (syn-granitoids). The enclaves with straight and well-defined rectilinear edges (ante-granitoids) would be linked to a basic magma which is already consolidated before being fragmented, torn and carried away as enclaves in the granitoids. These enclaves would come from enclosing outcrops of metabasalts and metagabbros which are locally cross-cut by the granitoids. The soft enclaves with uneven edges (syn-granitoids) were co-magmatic and not solid during their incorporation into the granitoids. They come from a basic magma which is contemporaneous to the granitic one. Thus, the occurrence of two generations of dark enclaves is related to, at last, two different phases of basic magmatism in the Birimian formations of the KKI.

Context: Technological advances have improved the toxicities of radiotherapy. We are evaluating the 3D technique in prostate cancer. Materials and Methods: Retrospective study from January 2015 to December 2015 with 29 files. Survival was calculated by Kaplan-Meier method. Results: We collected 29 patient records over the study period. The median age was 75 years with the following extremes: 54 years and 83 years. The median PSA level was 12 ng/ml with a range of 3.05 to 79 ng/ml. Gleason score analysis showed 6 patients (20.69%) with a score of 6 (3 + 3), 23 patients (79.31%) with a score of 7 including 12 patients (41.38%) with grade 3 and 11 patients (37.93%) with grade 4. The median dose delivered was 74 Gy, with a mean dose of 73.79 Gy and extremes of 70 Gy for the minimum and 76 Gy for the maximum. Hormone therapy was combined with radiotherapy in 17 patients (58.62%). Seven patients (24.14%) had grade 1 acute bladder toxicity and one patient (3.45%) had grade 2 acute toxicity. Late bladder toxicity was grade 1 in 5 patients (17.24%), grade 2 in 3 patients (10.34%) and grade 3 in 1 patient (3.45%). Late rectal toxicity, grade 2 in 3 patients (10.34%), grade 3 in 1 patient, was noted. Overall survival at 2 years was 100% and 89.65% at 5 years. Relapse-free survival at 2 years was 82.76% and 62.07% at 5 years. There were 3 deaths (10.34%) of which only one was related to prostate cancer. Conclusion: Radiotherapy, like surgery, is a fundamental option for the treatment of prostate cancers, particularly those that are locally advanced. It is gaining in importance with the improvement of techniques (IMRT, VMAT…) and new fractionations which contribute to the reduction of toxicities and the comfort of patients (shorter spread).

The aim of this study was to evaluate the dose delivered to patients during scannographic examinations at the Kaolack Regional Hospital (one of the 14 regions of Senegal located in the center-west of the country, 192 km from Dakar) and to compare these irradiation doses at diagnostic reference levels found in the literature in order to optimize our scanning protocols. To achieve this goal, we carried out a prospective study involving 218 CT scans. These examinations focused on cerebral, thoracic, abdominopelvic and lumbar spine acquisitions made in adults and cerebral only in children. We compared the median values of dosimetric indicators (CTDIvol and DLP) per acquisition with NRDs in the literature. During the course of this study, we found a dosimetric ratio lower than that of the NRDs for thoracic, abdomino-pelvic and lumbar spine CT scans in adults and a significant dosimetric exceedance for brain scans in adults and in children. These results encourage us to extend these dosimetric evaluations to other hospital structures in order to establish rigorous monitoring of dosimetric indicators and to respect the principles of radiation protection and good practice.

Today, Linear Mixed Models (LMMs) are fitted, mostly, by assuming that random effects and errors have Gaussian distributions, therefore using Maximum Likelihood (ML) or REML estimation. However, for many data sets, that double assumption is unlikely to hold, particularly for the random effects, a crucial component in which assessment of magnitude is key in such modeling. Alternative fitting methods not relying on that assumption (as ANOVA ones and Rao’s MINQUE) apply, quite often, only to the very constrained class of variance components models. In this paper, a new computationally feasible estimation methodology is designed, first for the widely used class of 2-level (or longitudinal) LMMs with only assumption (beyond the usual basic ones) that residual errors are uncorrelated and homoscedastic, with no distributional assumption imposed on the random effects. A major asset of this new approach is that it yields nonnegative variance estimates and covariance matrices estimates which are symmetric and, at least, positive semi-definite. Furthermore, it is shown that when the LMM is, indeed, Gaussian, this new methodology differs from ML just through a slight variation in the denominator of the residual variance estimate. The new methodology actually generalizes to LMMs a well known nonparametric fitting procedure for standard Linear Models. Finally, the methodology is also extended to ANOVA LMMs, generalizing an old method by Henderson for ML estimation in such models under normality.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of protection of employees who are exposed to radiation in a level III hospital establishment. It was a descriptive cross-sectional survey of six months’ duration, involving eight level III Hospitals (Aristide Le Dantec, Fann, Hoggy, Hear, Abass Ndao, Pikine, Touba, and Thies) in Senegal. Sixty-one of the one hundred questionnaires were recovered (overall response rate of 61%). The population of the study was mainly female (54.1%). The average age was 38.57 with extremes ranging from 23 to 65 years old. In the places where ionizing radiation sources are handled, only at the Aristide Le Dantec Hospital did we find a “competent person in radiation protection”. This explained the lack of a classification of employees and work areas. Forty out of sixty-one (73.77%) had no knowledge of the basic principles of radiation protection (justification, optimisation, dose limitation) and had not ever taken radiation holidays. For radiovigilance, exposure time limits to ionizing radiation concerned only 29/61 or 47.54% of the study population. The inverse square law of distance was known by only 40 workers, of whom 15 had no compliance. We found the presence of dosifilms in only 7/61 or 11.47% of the workers. On the other hand, the use of lead aprons was well established and concerned 57/61 workers, i.e., 93.44%. In sum, ionizing radiation causes adverse health effects. The absence of a good radiation protection culture in Senegal requires the presence of at least 4 to 5 competent persons in radiation protection for quality training of workers in radiobiology, radiopathology and radiation protection.

The southeastern part of Senegal, in West Africa, is home to the country’s first major gold mine owned by Sabodala gold operations SGO, as subsidiary of Teranga Gold Corporation during the timeframe of this study. As part of its expansion, the company opened and operated the Gora satellite mine for 4 years’ exploitation. At the end of the mine’s life, the authorities decided to close the site. In this context, SGO in compliance with its legal, regulatory and normative obligations, has commissioned a study of rehabilitation activities for a better environmental and social management of the Gora gold mine. This study is a first in Senegal and presents the general framework for the rehabilitation of a gold mine which will allow scientists to have several research perspectives in this field. The methodological approach consisted of a participatory process of collecting field data and data from stakeholders directly involved in mine rehabilitation and closure; these data were analyzed and coupled with international best practices in rehabilitation, closure, and post-mine management. Results of the selected options are based on known experiences from around the world, coupled with analysis of the SGO’s field activities results and those obtained from the synthesis of the interview guides from the numerous consultations. This synthesis made possible to align them with international guidelines presented in this document. In this context, the aspects related to the open-pit mine equipment, processing facilities and related infrastructure were a particular interest to the various stakeholders. Thus, the following rehabilitation options were retained by the group constituted by the populations: 1) Backfilling pits, for cultivation practices and development of agribusiness and the establishment of grazing land for livestock; 2) Setting up water storage basins for the sustainable development of certain activities around the mine and aquifer recharge while respecting the protection and safety standards of the basin in order to avoid the risks of accidents; 3) Returning certain facilities to the communities and the competent State services. These few measures will allow the indigenous populations affected by the mine to participate in the rehabilitation program by integrating all relevant ideas and discussions on the issues of rehabilitation as perceived by the actors involved in the study, as well as the implementation of the best international strategic orientations in this field for sustainable development. In addition, it will be necessary to set up an internal technical committee within the mining company to coordinate the rehabilitation and closure operations with the various departments, and an external technical committee composed of the relevant government departments, the local community, and civil society, among others, to examine and validate the closure options. A closure clearance should be issued to operators who have responsibly closed their mines.

Objective: Circulating levels of sex hormones vary with age. Moreover, there is emerging evidence supporting that sex hormones have an influence on the immune response of women. Here, we investigated age-associated levels of sex hormones and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) specific cytokines response in women. Design: Using immunoassay methods, we have measured and compared secretion levels of E2, P4 and Mtb specific secretion of 11 cytokines including Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), Interferon gamma (IFN-γ), Interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), IL-10, IL-12 (p70), IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, and Tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) in forty-two (42) HIV-negative females. Results: Estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P4) levels were significantly higher in younger women irrespective of their LTB status (p Mtb IL-8 specific response was significantly higher in women above 40 years old than in women under 40 years old. Conclusion: In premenopausal women, there is an increase in the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-8 secretion in response to Mtb-antigen. This observation suggests an underlying link between the pro-inflammatory cytokine and age associated hormonal changes, which may have implications on the course of tuberculosis infection women.

Introduction: Fatigue fractures are secondary to excessive, unusual, repeated mechanical stress, occurring on healthy bone. Bone scintigraphy (BS) with 99mTc-HMDP is an excellent means of diagnosis. We report a case of stress fracture of the calcaneus with scintigraphic diagnosis, in a marathon runner. Patient and Methods: He is a 40-year-old athlete in overtraining with right calcaneal pain on running, intense at first, moderate in the middle and then persistent after exercise. The interrogation found no trauma to the right foot and the x-ray of the foot was without abnormality. The so 3 phases were performed following an injection of 564 MBq of 99mTc-HMDP, with a SPECT gamma camera. Results: Bone scintigraphy found in the early phase, hyper-perfusion and hyper-fixation of the right calcaneal region compared to its left counterpart and in the bone phase persistence of focal hyperfixation opposite the right calcaneus. This scintigraphic aspect of the right calcaneus in an overtrained marathon runner, in a painful context and in front of a normal X-ray, made us evoke a fracture of fatigue. A complementary CT scan performed two days after the BS was without abnormality. Conclusion: Fatigue fractures are micro-fractures generally not noticed on radiography and CT. BS due to its high sensitivity is an excellent or the best tool for the early diagnosis of stress fractures.

A new organic-inorganic hybrid salt piperidinium trans-diaquabis(oxalato)- chromate(III) tetrahydrate, (C5H10NH2)[Cr(C2O4)2(H2O)2]·4H2O (1), has been synthesized in water and characterized by FTIR and UV-Vis spectroscopies, elemental and thermal analyses and by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. 1 crystallizes in the orthorhombic non-centrosymmetric space group Cmc21 with the unit cell parameters a = 7.4329(3), b = 9.9356(5), c = 23.6756(11) A, α = β = γ = 90°, V = 1748.45(14) A3 and Z = 4. The structure of 1 consists of [Cr(C2O4)2(H2O)2]- mononuclear anions, piperidinium cations and uncoordinated water molecules. The CrIII ion in the complex [Cr(C2O4)2(H2O)2]- is coordinated in a slightly distorted octahedral environment by four O atoms from two chelating oxalate dianions in the equatorial plane, and two O atoms from trans-coordinated water molecules occupying the apical positions. In the crystal, N-H···O and O-H···O hydrogen bond interactions connect the components into a 3-D framework. The IR spectrum of 1 is consistent with the presence of the various molecular building constituents, namely oxalato and aqua ligands, piperidinium cations and solvent water molecules. The UV-Vis spectrum shows two absorption bands around 564 and 416 nm which are compatible with an anionic chromium(III) complex in an octahedral environment. Thermal analysis shows a three-step decomposition of 1, leading to formation of a metal oxide residue.

Ascaris lumbricoides is the most common helminth affecting humans. It is endemic in tropical and underdeveloped countries. It particularly infects children but most often is asymptomatic. Sometimes, it can mimic a surgical abdominal emergency. When it is suspected, its diagnosis is made on the parasitological examination of stool. We here report the case of a diagnosis of intestinal ascariasis made on ultrasound in an 8-year-old child who consulted for an acute abdominal syndrome which initially suggested an acute intussusception.

Background: Hypospadias is a congenital malformation resulting from hypoplasia of the tissues forming the ventral face of the penis. It is associated to variable degrees with an ectopic urethral meatus, a penis curvature and a sapper’s apron foreskin [1]. The incidence of this malformation varies from country to country. It is estimated at 1/300 male births in France and 0.26/ 1000 in Mexico [1]. In Senegal, the prevalence of this malformation is unknown. Hypospadias surgery has improved significantly in recent years due to a better understanding of the anatomy on the one hand and the improvement of the instruments used during surgery on the other (suture material, surgical magnification, urethral catheter of suitable size). In sub-Saharan Africa and particularly in Senegal, hypospadias surgery remains a challenge due to the unavailability of adequate equipment (lack of microsurgical instruments and surgical loupes). Objective: To evaluate the outcomes of the treatment of hypospadias by the different surgical techniques used in our center as well as their sexual function in adulthood. Patients and Methods: This is a retrospective study, including all patients operated for hypospadias between January 2009 and December 2017 in Urology-Andrology department of Aristide Le Dantec hospital. The studied parameters were: frequency, age, clinical and therapeutic aspects, and their sexual function in adulthood after treatment. The outcomes of the treatment were judged good or poor depending of the quality of penile straightening, the aesthetic appearance of the penis, the position of the urethral neo-meatus, the permeability of the urethra and the existence or not of fistula. The sexual function was assessed by the International Index of Erectile Function 15 (IIEF) score. Results: Fifty-five patients were included. The median age was 6 years (P25 = 2.8 and P75 = 13 years). After a mean follow-up of 58 ± 33 months, 81.8% (45) of patients had a good outcome. Duplay-Snodgrass urethroplasty was the most commonly used urethroplasty technique with better results. Complications were noted in 29 patients. The most common were urethral fistula, surgical site infection and urethral neo-meatus stenosis. The sexual function was rated good in one patient and average in the other two (after an average decline of 53 ± 26 months). Conclusion: Urethroplasty according to Duplay Snodgrass was the most used technique in our studies and its outcomes were better compared to the other techniques used.

Soil salinization is one of the major causes of land degradation. In Senegal, this phenomenon continues to grow, making soils unsuitable for agriculture. To rehabilitate salty lands, one of the recommended strategies is the use of salt-tolerant plants. Among them, plants of Casuarinaceae family form a relationship with symbiotic microorganisms such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and nitrogen fixing bacteria. It has been shown that symbiotic microorganisms play an important role in the establishment of tolerant plants in saline conditions (Djighaly et al., 2018). They improve plant performance and reduce transplant shock under salt stress conditions (Diagne et al., 2014). These microorganisms can be used as biofertilizers. However, inocula containing symbiotic microorganisms are either too expensive or unavailable in many developing countries. The aim of this study is to test alternatively affordable and low-tech solutions to promote symbiotic interactions such as Casuarina crushed nodule, Casuarina rhizosphere soil and Casuarina leaves compost that may contain symbiotic microorganisms and also nutrients such as N and phosphorus. Two species of Casuarina (Casuarina equisetifolia L. and Casuarina obesa Miq.) were grown in the greenhouse on sterile soil to which an amendment was added (Casuarina crushed nodules, Casuarina Rhizospheric soil or Casuarina leaves compost). Plants were subjected to saline stress. After four months of cultivation, they were harvested and morphological and physiological parameters were determined. Results showed that inoculation with Casuarina crushed nodules, Casuarina rhizospheric soil and Casuarina leaves compost improved growth, total dry biomass, total chlorophyll and proline contents of C. equisetifolia and C. obesa plants in salt stress condition. These positive effects were more important in C. obesa plants amended with Casuarina leaves compost. This study shows that Casuarina leaves compost can play an important role in the rehabilitation of saline soils by improving Casuarina trees performance in saline conditions.

A novel organic-inorganic chromium(III) hybrid salt, triethylammonium trans-diaquabis(oxalato-κ2O1,O2)chromate(III), (C6H16N)[Cr(C2O4)2(H2O)2] (1), has been synthesized in aqueous solution and characterized by elemental and thermal analyses, FTIR and UV-Vis spectroscopies, and by single crystal X-ray structure determination. Compound 1 crystallizes in the orthorhombic system, Pbcn space group with the unit cell parameters a = 11.1776(10), b = 7.6105(10), c = 17.5654(2) A, α = β = γ = 90°, V = 1494.24(3) A3, Z = 4 and Z’ = 1/2. The structure of 1 consists of [Cr(C2O4)2(H2O)2]− mononuclear anions and triethylammonium [(C2H5)3NH]+ cations. In the anionic unit, the CrIII ion is six coordinated, in a distorted octahedral geometry, by four equatorial O atoms of two oxalate anions acting as chelating ligands and two O atoms from trans-coordinated water molecules occupying the apical positions with longer metal-oxygen distances. In the solid, O-H … O and N-H … O intra and inter molecular hydrogen bonding interactions connect the components into a 3D network. The triethylammonium cations are disordered among two possible orientations with occupancies rates around 50% for C4, N1, C1a, C1b, C4ii, N1ii, C1aii, C1bii (ii = −x + 1, y, − z + 1/2). The IR spectrum of 1 is consistent with the presence of the various molecular building constituents. The UV-Vis spectrum shows two absorption bands around 564 and 416 nm which are compatible with an anionic chromium (III) complex in an octahedral environment. Thermal studies carried out in air between 25°C and 700°C confirm the anhydrous character of 1 and show that it is stable up to 210°C.

The purpose of this article is to analyze the paradox of atrophy of capital flows to African countries, while economic theories predict that such flows of investment should be large enough because of higher returns on capital in countries where its presence is relatively low in production factors. The GMM estimate of a system of two equations for a sample of 25 African countries over the period 2004-2014 gives the following results: the low investment flows are due to the production structures of African economies, which lack efficiency and attractiveness. Also, by improving the structural elements of the economy that render production ineffective, African countries can thus increase their potential to raise larger flows of foreign direct investment.