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Few standardized language assessments are adapted to different cultural and linguistic contexts to assess children's first language (L1) abilities. We introduce the Ivorian Children's Language Assessment Toolkit for measuring phonological awareness, vocabulary, oral comprehension, and tone awareness in the Abidji, Attié, and Baoulé languages of Côte d'Ivoire. Six hundred and three primary-school children (age 4-14) completed language assessments in their L1 and French. The toolkit provided a reliable and comprehensive assessment of children's language abilities. We observed age- and grade-related increases in all subtest scores. Still, children scored higher in their L1 compared to French, highlighting the need for language assessments in a bilingual's two languages to achieve an accurate measure of children's language abilities. The ability to benchmark children's scores relative to age- and grade-norms are discussed in the context of language of instruction education policies as well as the potential use of age- and grade-norms in identifying children with language impairment and/or children who are at risk for reading difficulties due to poor language skills.

Copyright of Journal of Medical Mycology / Journal de Mycologie Médicale is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Medical Mycology / Journal de Mycologie Médicale is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: Because of the difficulties to manage the post-operative digestive fistulas (FDPO) and their disappointing results, the authors led this survey. It's objective is to identify the prognosis factors in order to optimize their management and improve their prognosis., Patients and Method: It is a retrospective survey during 12 years, from January 1992 to December 2004 in the general and digestive surgery adult service of CHU Yopougon. It included 86 files of patients aged of 15 years at least presenting a FDPO., Results: The middle age was of 36.8 years. The death rate was 29.06%. It rose with age. The risk of death was multiplied by 5.54 over age of 55 years (OR = 5.54 and p = 0.012). The number of death rose meaningfully with the length of the diagnostic delay (p = 0.016 for OR1 = 1.64 and OR2 = 8.94. The death rate was raised more in the exposed fistulas that in the controlled fistulas (87% against 45%). In 50% of the cases the death occurred when the debit was superior or equal to 500 cc daily. Among the patients submitted to the medical treatment 69.70% had a spontaneous closing of their fistula in a middle delay of 27.18 days for extremes varying between 13 and 47 days., Conclusion: The affection is very serious considering it's death rate. A precocious diagnosis and a fast and adapted management should permit to reduce this higher mortality.

Objectives: To determine the value of perineal sonography in the diagnosis of urethral stenosis and evaluation of surrounding fibrosis. Materials and methods. Fifty-eight healthy subjects underwent urethral sonography. Thirty-two patients with suspected urethral stenosis underwent sonography after retrograde distension of the urethra using normal saline and retrograde urethrogram and voiding cystourethrogram., Results: The mean diameters of the healthy urethra varied from 11 to 15 mm. The mean thickness of normal periurethral tIssue was between 2 and 4mm. Sonography detected 34 stenoses (97.4%). The length of the stenosis was significantly longer at sonography compared to retrograde urethrogram and voiding cystourethrogram. No significant difference was found between both techniques when measuring urethral diameter. In all cases, the thickness of periurethral tIssues was greater at the stenotic level than at a normal level, irrespective of the involved segment. There was no correlation between the thickness of periurethral tIssues and the degree of stenosis., Conclusion: Urethral sonography is a method that permits diagnosis of urethral stenosis and evaluation of periurethral fibrosis. It may replace retrograde urethrogram and voiding cystourethrogram in the diagnosis of post infectious stenosis.

An investigation on the effects of hand burns has been undertaken about 32 children admitted in the plastic surgery outpatients Department. Accident occurs among the lower class population and heat is the major factor pointed out. The most frequent effects are hand palmar contracture. The surgical treatment completed with the functional re-education has given very good results in 79% cases. However the cheloid contractures are the most difficult to cure. Indeed the authors insist or the prevention and the creation of a center of burned patients and a plastic surgery Service to take care of patients whose life prognostic is optimistic.

Buruli's ulcer is a real disease of public health. In Ivory Coast, 50 patients were treated from February 1987 to August 1991. It realizes a real destruction of skin and subcutaneous tissues. The germ is Mycobacterium ulcerans. The preferential localisation is the limbs in children of 14 years old. Large ulcer with polycyclic margin are treated by extended excision and thin skin grafts. But deformities persist after the surgical treatment. Hospitalisation is long and drugs are expensive.

In one case of Dupuytren's contracture the authors make an important literature review. The affection is rare with the black man but frequent in caucasian population. Its origin is therefore european. They point out alcoholism and microtrauma due to the patient's antecedents and job.