Search

Introduction: In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), stroke is a major public health problem and the etiological aspects are poorly studied and documented because of under-medicalization; the syphilitic etiology is rarely mentioned. Patients and methods: We performed a retrospective study of 472 patients hospitalized for ischemic stroke between 2016 and 2021 in the Neurology Department of the University Hospital of Conakry, confirmed by neuroradiological explorations (brain CT, MRI-Angio) and a biological workup including VDRL-TPHA serological reactions in blood and CSF. Results: Syphilitic etiology was retained for six (6) patients (4 men and 2 women) with a mean age of 43 years (extremes 36 and 49 years). The clinical picture was dominated by carotid syndromes: superficial and deep sylvian syndrome, anterior cerebral artery syndrome and vertebro-basilar syndromes and one case of lacunar syndrome.The diagnosis was based on the positivity of serological reactions (VDRL-TPHA) in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the presence of a predominantly lymphocytic hypercellularity and a hyperproteinorachy in the CSF in the absence of any other etiology. Conclusion: These neurological vascular syndromes consecutive to a cerebral treponematous attack are often the result of a still poorly conducted management of primary and secondary syphilis in our country.

What are the meanings and aims of social sciences in a global social environment marked by ever-growing processes of exchange, connection, inequality and conflict? How do we contend with the social sciences as the science of modernization? How do we account for the Western-centered biases ingrained in their proclamations? And in what ways are the social sciences useful to scholars and professionals in different societies? These questions figure at the heart of IDEAS (International Digital Exchange between Africa and Switzerland), a project that aimed to examine them across continents and generations. [This article was written by the IDEAS Collective. Note: The publication date (2023) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct publication date is 2024.]

ObjectiveTo test the effect of proactive home visits by trained community health workers (CHWs) on child survival.MethodsWe conducted a two arm, parallel, unmasked cluster-randomized trial in 137 village-clusters in rural Mali. From February 2017 to January 2020, 31 761 children enrolled at the trial start or at birth. Village-clusters received either primary care services by CHWs providing regular home visits (intervention) or by CHWs providing care at a fixed site (control). In both arms, user fees were removed and primary health centres received staffing and infrastructure improvements before trial start. Using lifetime birth histories from women aged 15-49 years surveyed annually, we estimated incidence rate ratios (IRR) for intention-to-treat and per-protocol effects on under-five mortality using Poisson regression models.FindingsOver three years, we observed 52 970 person-years (27 332 in intervention arm; 25 638 in control arm). During the trial, 909 children in the intervention arm and 827 children in the control arm died. The under-five mortality rate declined from 142.8 (95% CI: 133.3-152.9) to 56.7 (95% CI: 48.5-66.4) deaths per 1000 live births in the intervention arm; and from 154.3 (95% CI: 144.3-164.9) to 54.9 (95% CI: 45.2-64.5) deaths per 1000 live births in the control arm. Intention-to-treat (IRR: 1.02; 95% CI: 0.88-1.19) and per-protocol estimates (IRR: 1.01; 95% CI: 0.87-1.18) showed no difference between study arms.ConclusionThough proactive home visits did not reduce under-five mortality, system-strengthening measures may have contributed to the decline in under-five mortality in both arms.

This collaborative autoethnographic study explores how three female university English teachers in critical friendship navigated professional identity tensions related to the ideological biases of male faculty members implying that women do not belong in academia because of their gender and the responsibilities it entails in an African context. In a reflective collaborative autoethnography, the women raised awareness among TESOL practitioners, researchers, and educators of their professional identity tensions, which ranged from frustration to isolation. They also shared critical reflections on how they invested in their careers to navigate their professional identity tensions in a male-dominated higher-education environment.

While reading circles have been utilized to promote extensive reading in many educational settings, studies on higher levels of reading engagement in under-researched, English-as-a-foreign-language contexts are still in their infancy. Therefore, the current study examines the factors that increase learners' levels of engagement in extensive reading tasks. I used learner diaries to collect data from 60 undergraduate students (ages 19-23) learning English as a foreign language in Mali. The findings suggested that cohesive groups with positive norms, behavioral changes during the task (e.g., investing an exceptional effort to achieve a significant learning goal, such as reading an entire story or a novel), and enjoyment after completing a reading task corresponded with these learners' high engagement levels in extensive reading. Although the findings of this study are specific to one group of language learners, they can still be applied to plan classroom interventions in other EFL contexts to promote learners' reading engagement.

West Africa is a region in fast transition from climate, demography, and land use perspectives. In this context, the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA)–Couplage de l’Atmosphère Tropicale et du Cycle eco-Hydrologique (CATCH) long-term regional observatory was developed to monitor the impacts of global change on the critical zone of West Africa and to better understand its current and future dynamics. The observatory is organized into three thematic axes, which drive the observation and instrumentation strategy: (i) analyze the long-term evolution of eco-hydrosystems from a regional perspective; (ii) better understand critical zone processes and their variability; and (iii) meet socioeconomic and development needs. To achieve these goals, the observatory has gathered data since 1990 from four densely instrumented mesoscale sites (∼10 km each), located at different latitudes (Benin, Niger, Mali, and Senegal) so as to sample the sharp eco-climatic gradient that is characteristic of the region. Simultaneous monitoring of the vegetation cover and of various components of the water balance at these four sites has provided new insights into the seemingly paradoxical eco-hydrological changes observed in the Sahel during the last decades: groundwater recharge and/or runoff intensification despite rainfall deficit and subsequent re-greening with still increasing runoff. Hydrological processes and the role of certain key landscape features are highlighted, as well as the importance of an appropriate description of soil and subsoil characteristics. Applications of these scientific results for sustainable development issues are proposed. Finally, detecting and attributing eco-hydrological changes and identifying possible regime shifts in the hydrologic cycle are the next challenges that need to be faced.

Intensive project work framed within a directed motivational current theory can transform an assessment into an engaging learning opportunity. Accordingly, a project built around the "The BIG Issue" framework variant was implemented in an English as a foreign language classroom to explore the purposeful generation of group-directed motivational current experiences. The study additionally examined the parameters that facilitated total absorption in the project. To reach these aims, learner diaries were used to collect qualitative data from five students working in small groups. A thematic analysis of the data revealed that the participants experienced purposefully generated group-directed motivational currents. They also indicated that certain features related to well-designed projects, such as authenticity and congruence, engendered an exceptional productivity that helped informants sustain their heightened, motivational drive until they achieved their project work goals. As a result, learners' test taking anxiety was maintained at an optimal level, which in turn fostered complete engagement in project work. The findings of the study not only provide empirical validity for the purposeful facilitation of group-directed motivational current experiences, but also suggest that language teachers can use these experiences as an alternative in second language assessment to increase learners' engagement and productivity.

African animal trypanosomosis, transmitted by tsetse flies (Glossina spp.) is a major constraint limiting the optimal utilization of land for agricultural production in tsetse-infested areas of Ghana. In the last 50 years various workers have made attempts at mapping the distribution of tsetse flies and the disease they transmit with a view to instituting appropriate control measures. Due to the increasing human population and agricultural expansion, there has been a retreat of the morsitans group of tsetse flies into protected areas. From the standpoint of livestock production, therefore, members of the palpalis group remain the most important vectors of trypanosomosis as they are able to persist even in areas of intense land use. The optimal exploitation of trypanotolerance as a means of trypanosomoses control is hampered by increased crossbreeding with trypanosusceptible breeds. Although the incidence of sleeping sickness has decreased drastically over the last decades, the current status of the disease has not been investigated. This paper takes a retrospective look at the problem of tsetse and trypanosomosis in Ghana, assesses the current disease situation and highlights some research perspectives that are relevant to the sustainable control of the disease.