Time-resolved ion velocity distribution in a cylindrical Hall thruster: heterodyne-based experiment and modeling

Time-resolved variations of the ion velocity distribution function (IVDF) are measured in the cylindrical Hall thruster using a novel heterodyne method based on the laser-induced fluorescence technique. This method consists in inducing modulations of the discharge plasma at frequencies that enable the coupling to the breathing mode. Using a harmonic decomposition of the IVDF, one can extract each harmonic component of the IVDF from which the time-resolved IVDF is reconstructed. In addition, simulations have been performed assuming a sloshing of the IVDF during the modulation that show agreement between the simulated and measured first order perturbation of the IVDF.

[Reasons for admission of elderly people in reanimation in the Gabriel Touré teaching hospital of Bamako]

INTRODUCTION

Reanimation consists of the taking care of patients of all ages presenting or likely to present one or more acute failures directly affecting their likelihood of survival. According to the Society of Reanimation of the French Languages in 2012, in the United States 50% of the patients admitted in reanimation have more than 65 years whereas in France, the patients older than 80 years represent more than 10% of the admissions of the intensive care units.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the reasons for admission of the elderly patients in reanimation of the Gabriel Touré teaching hospital.

PATIENTS AND METHOD

A cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2010 to September 2011 in the Gabriel Touré teaching hospital of Bamako. Patients aged 65 year old and up were included. All patients were the subject of a meticulous clinical examination. Data graphing was done using Excel. The analysis of the data was made on the SPSS 17.0 software. The statistical test used was Chi₂ with a significance fixed to P = 0, 05.

RESULTS

During the period of study, the data of 95 elderly people was collected for 501 admissions (18.9%); the 65 to 74 years old age bracket represented 63.3% (figure 1). The sex-ratio was 1.4 in favour of men. Mental deterioration was the principal cause for admission in 65.3% of the cases. Cerebral vascular accidents were the most encountered pathology with 40.7% of cases. The most common noted prognosis was the likelihood of intervention complications.

CONCLUSION

The most common admission factors were mental deterioration, respiratory distress syndrome. The prognosis is conservative considering the patients' old age, medical pathology, and a Glasgow score inferior to 8 at the time of admission.

Two-dimensional AXUV-based radiated power density diagnostics on NSTX-U

A new set of radiated-power-density diagnostics for the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade (NSTX-U) tokamak have been designed to measure the two-dimensional poloidal structure of the total photon emissivity profile in order to perform power balance, impurity transport, and magnetohydrodynamic studies. Multiple AXUV-diode based pinhole cameras will be installed in the same toroidal angle at various poloidal locations. The local emissivity will be obtained from several types of tomographic reconstructions. The layout and response expected for the new radially viewing poloidal arrays will be shown for different impurity concentrations to characterize the diagnostic sensitivity. The radiated power profile inverted from the array data will also be used for estimates of power losses during transitions from various divertor configurations in NSTX-U. The effect of in-out and top/bottom asymmetries in the core radiation from high-Z impurities will be addressed.

High-resolution tangential absolute extreme ultraviolet arrays for radiated power density measurements on NSTX-U

The radiated-power-density diagnostic on the equatorial midplane for the NSTX-U tokamak will be upgraded to measure the radial structure of the photon emissivity profile with an improved radial resolution. This diagnostic will enhance the characterization and studies of power balance, impurity transport, and MHD. The layout and response expected of the new system is shown for different plasma conditions and impurity concentrations. The effect of toroidal rotation driving poloidal asymmetries in the core radiation from high-Z impurities is also addressed.

Boundary displacement measurements using multi-energy soft x-rays

The Multi-Energy Soft X-ray (ME-SXR) system on NSTX provides radial profiles of soft X-ray emission, measured through a set of filters with varying thickness, which have been used to reconstruct the electron temperature on fast time scales (∼10 kHz). In addition to this functionality, here we show that the ME-SXR system can be used to measure the boundary displacement of the NSTX plasma with a few mm spatial resolution during magnetohydrodyamic (MHD) activity. Boundary displacement measurements can serve to inform theoretical predictions of neoclassical toroidal viscosity, and will be used to investigate other edge phenomena on NSTX-U. For example, boundary measurements using filtered SXR measurements can provide information on pedestal steepness and dynamic evolution leading up to and during edge localized modes (ELMs). Future applications include an assessment of a simplified, filtered SXR edge detection system as well as its suitability for real-time non-magnetic boundary feedback for ELMs, MHD, and equilibrium position control.

Factors associated with the relapse of infantile haemangiomas in children treated with oral propranolol

BACKGROUND

Although propranolol has become the first-line therapy for infantile haemangiomas (IHs), no study has yet investigated factors associated with the risk of relapse in children with IH treated with propranolol after cessation of treatment.

OBJECTIVES

To compare factors associated with the risk of relapse in children with IH treated with oral propranolol.

METHODS

We conducted a single-centre retrospective observational study. All files and photographs of patients with IH aged 5 months or less at the time of treatment initiation, and who were seen between 1 June 2008 and 31 December 2011 at the National Reference Center for rare skin diseases of Bordeaux, were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTS

In total 158 children were included, of whom 118 had not relapsed and 40 had relapsed. Fifty-two patients were boys and 106 were girls (male : female ratio 1 : 2), and 19 had a segmental IH (12%). When conducting multivariate analysis, only IHs with a deep component and those with segmental distribution were independently associated with relapse.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study shows that segmental IHs, as well as haemangiomas with a deeper component, are more at risk of relapse and should thus indicate closer follow-up after treatment interruption, and/or longer treatment.

Full genome sequence of a peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) from Ghana

The full genome of a peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) isolated from a sheep lung sample collected in Ghana, Western Africa, in 2010, has been sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the virus clustered within the lineage II clade while comparison of its full genome with those of other PPRV strains revealed the highest identity (96.6 %) at a nucleotide level with the PPRV strain Nigeria/76/1. This is the first full genome sequence generated for a PPRV lineage II isolated since 1976.

Effect of xylanase on performance and apparent metabolisable energy in starter broilers fed diets containing one maize variety harvested in different regions of china

The objective of this study was to investigate the variability in broiler performance, apparent metabolisable energy (AME) and ileal digestible energy (IDE) between five different maize samples fed with and without xylanase at 16,000 U/kg. Various in vitro characterisations were conducted to determine if any could predict performance or AME. Samples of the maize were harvested in five diverse regions and fed individually in a mash diet as follows (g/kg): test maize 608.3; soya bean meal (SBM) 324.1; poultry fat 25.2; salt 4.6; met 2.6; lys 1.6; thr 0.5; limestone 9.7, dical 18.4; vit/min 5.0; CP 210 and ME (kcal/kg) 3,085. The diets were fed to 720 broilers with 6 replicates, each containing 12 birds per treatment, from 0 to 18 d of age. Maize samples were analysed for starch, protein, crude fibre, fat, protein solubility index (PSI) and vitreousness using near infra red reflectance spectroscopy (NIR). They were also assayed using an in vitro starch digestibility method. The results showed that there was no effect of harvest region on the feed intake (FI), body weight gain (BWG) or feed conversion ratio (FCR) of the broilers over the 18 d period (p = 0.959, 0.926, 0.819 respectively). There was an improvement in all parameters with the addition of xylanase (FI p = 0.011; BWG and FCR p<0.001). There was a significant positive effect of xylanase on IDE, AME, IDE Intake (IDEI) and AME intake (AMEI) (p<0.0001 in all cases). Although there was no significant effect of maize source, there was a strong trend towards variability in IDE (p = 0.066) and AME (p = 0.058). There were no significant correlations (p<0.05) between any proximate or physiochemical values and any performance or AME values. This may suggest that none of those selected were suitable predictors for performance or AME. The broilers performed well according to the breed guidelines, with slightly increased FI, increased BWG and similar FCR prior to the addition of xylanase. When FCR and BWG were analysed with FI as a covariate, xylanase addition remained significant suggesting that the improvement in BWG and FCR was driven by an increase in digestibility and nutrient availability.

The long journey: a brief review of the eradication of rinderpest

In 2011, the 79th General Session of the World Assembly of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the 37th Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAD) Conference adopted a resolution declaring the world free from rinderpest and recommending follow-up measures to preserve the benefits of this new and hard-won situation. Eradication is an achievable objective for any livestock disease, provided that the epidemiology is uncomplicated and the necessary tools, resources and policies are available. Eradication at a national level inevitably reflects national priorities, whereas global eradication requires a level of international initiative and leadership to integrate these tools into a global framework, aimed first at suppressing transmission across all infected areas and concluding with a demonstration thatthis has been achieved. With a simple transmission chain and the environmental fragility of the virus, rinderpest has always been open to control and even eradication within a zoosanitary approach. However, in the post-1945 drive for more productive agriculture, national and global vaccination programmes became increasingly relevant and important. As rinderpest frequently spread from one region to another through trade-related livestock movements, the key to global eradication was to ensure that such vaccination programmes were carried out in a synchronised manner across all regions where the disease was endemic - an objective to which the European Union, the United States Agency for International Development, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the African Union-Interafrican Bureau of Animal Resources, FA0 and OIE fully subscribed. This article provides a review of rinderpest eradication, from the seminal work carried out by Giovanni Lancisi in the early 18th Century to the global declaration in 2011.

Observation of edge instability limiting the pedestal growth in tokamak plasmas

With fusion device performance hinging on the edge pedestal pressure, it is imperative to experimentally understand the physical mechanism dictating the pedestal characteristics and to validate and improve pedestal predictive models. This Letter reports direct evidence of density and magnetic fluctuations showing the stiff onset of an edge instability leading to the saturation of the pedestal on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak. Edge stability analyses indicate that the pedestal is unstable to both ballooning mode and kinetic ballooning mode in agreement with observations.

Quality of reporting of phase II trials: a focus on highly ranked oncology journals

BACKGROUND

Phase II trials represent an essential step in the development of anticancer drugs. This study assesses the quality of their reporting in highly ranked oncology journals, investigates predictive factors of quality, and proposes reporting guidelines.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We reviewed the table of contents of all volumes of eight peer-reviewed oncology journals published in English between January and December 2011 with a 2011 impact factor (IF)>4. Two reviewers assessed the quality of each report by using a 44-point overall quality score (OQS). Primary end point definition, justification of sample size, and definition of the evaluable population, were assessed separately to establish a 3-point key methodological score (KMS). Exploratory analyses identified predictive factors associated with scores.

RESULTS

One hundred fifty-six articles were included. The median OQS was 28 (range: 9-35). OQS subsection analysis showed that reporting of statistical methods was low with a median OQS of 3. Median KMS was 2 (range 0-3). Primary end point definition, justification of sample size and definition of the evaluable population were reported in only 107 (68.6%), 121 (77.6%), and 52 (33.3%) cases, respectively. At multivariate analysis, registration on clinicaltrials.gov and IF>10 were associated with improved OQS. No associations for KMS were observed.

CONCLUSION

Phase II trial reporting is still poor even in journals with strict editorial policies. This may lead to biased interpretation of phase II trial results. Besides using a checklist during the preparation of their manuscript, authors should also provide reviewers and readers with the last version of the study's protocol.

[Tracheal intubation in the Emergency Unit: accidents and incidents in the teaching hospital of Gabriel Touré of Bamako]

INTRODUCTION

Intubation in urgency is characterized by a greater difficulty compared with intubation in situation regulated with the operating theatre suite. In urgency, the determination of the predictive anatomical factors of difficult intubation is secondary. The incidence of the complications of endotracheal intubations in urgency in the French system was 11,6% with a rate of failure to 0,5.

OBJECTIVE

To study the incidents and accidents during endotracheal intubations in the service of reception of the urgencies with the Gabriel TOURE teaching hospital of Bamako.

PATIENTS AND METHOD

A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2010 at September 2011 with the service of reception of the urgencies of the Gabriel Touré teaching hospital. All the intubated patients were included. All the patients received a clinical evaluation and paraclinic examinations. Clinical monitoring was carried out in the 24 hours following the accident. The statistical test which was used for the comparison of our results was Khi ² with a threshold of significance fixed at P<0,05.

RESULTS

For the period of study 120 cases of accidents and incidents were collected for 320 intubated patients - a frequency of 37,5%. The age bracket 15 - 29 was prevalent representing 30,8 % of patients. The sex ratio was 2,3 in favour of men. In 44.3% of cases patients died in the 24 hours following intervention. Only patients admitted for cranial traumatism presented undesirable side effects in 50% of the cases versus 50% for the other joined reasons for admission.

CONCLUSION

The accidents during endotracheal intubation in urgent interventions are considerable, hence the acquisition of more suitable material and good training would decrease incidence.

Ethnobotanical survey on medicinal plants used by Guinean traditional healers in the treatment of malaria

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The objective of the present study was to collect and document information on herbal remedies traditionally used for the treatment of malaria in Guinea.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The survey was carried out from May 2008 to September 2010 and targeted traditional medical practitioners and herbalists. The questionnaire and oral interviews were based on the standardized model which was prepared by the "Centre de Recherche et de Valorisation des Plantes Médicinales (CRVPM) - Dubréka".

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A total of 258 people (141 males and 117 females) from which 150 traditional healers and 108 herbalists were interviewed. The age of informants ranged from 28 to 82 years old. 57% (149/258) of the interviewees were more than 50 years old. The respondents had good knowledge of the symptoms of malaria, and a fairly good understanding of the causes. One hundred thirteen plant species were recorded, out of which 109 were identified. They belonged to 84 genera and 46 families. The most frequently cited plants were Vismia guineensis, Parkia biglobosa, Nauclea latifolia, Harungana madagascariensis, Terminalia macroptera, Crossopteryx febrifuga, Terminalia albida, Annona senegalensis, and Nauclea pobeguinii. The leaves were most frequently used (80/113 species), followed by stem bark (38/113 species) and roots (4/113 species). The remedies were mostly prepared by decoction (111 species), followed by maceration (seven species). Only one species was prepared by infusion.

CONCLUSION

The present study showed that traditional healers in Guinea have a consistent knowledge of antimalarial plants. Further research should be carried out to compare the anti-malarial activity of the different species, and to check if their use against malaria can be scientifically validated.

Acute and Sub-Acute Toxicity Studies of Plumeria alba Linn. (Apocynaceae) Hydroalcoholic Extract in Rat

Plumeria alba Linn (Apocynaceae) is used in Togolese traditional medicine to treat diabetes mellitus and wounds. The present investigation was carried out to evaluate the toxicity of hydroalcoholic extract of Plumeria alba roots in Sprague Dawley rats. The acute toxicity test was conducted by administering orally dose of 5 g/Kg. General behavior and mortality were examined for up to 14 days. The sub-acute toxicity test was performed by daily gavage at 250, 500 and 1000 mg/Kg for 28 days. Body weight and blood glucose were measured weekly. Hematological and biochemical parameters, relative organ weight were determined at the end of the 28 days administration. In acute study, no adverse effect of the extract was observed at 5.0 g/Kg. Sub-acute oral administration of the extract at the dose up to 1000 mg/Kg did not induce death or significant changes in body weight, relative weight of vital organs, hematological parameters and was not associated with liver and kidney toxicity.

Autoimmune thyroid disease in vitiligo: multivariate analysis indicates intricate pathomechanisms

BACKGROUND

Vitiligo/nonsegmental vitiligo (NSV) is often associated with thyroid dysimmunity although very few reports have studied this association using multivariate logistic regression.

OBJECTIVE

To identify weighted factors associated with the presence of autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) in a large cohort of patients with vitiligo/NSV.

METHODS

This was a prospective observational study in 626 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of vitiligo/NSV attending the vitiligo clinic of the University Hospital Department of Dermatology, Bordeaux, France, from 1 January 2006 to 1 May 2012. The Vitiligo European Task Force (VETF) questionnaire was completed for each consecutive patient. AITD was defined as the presence of significant levels of serum antithyroperoxidase antibodies or evidence of autoimmune thyroiditis. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression procedures were conducted to identify factors associated with AITD in this cohort of patients with vitiligo/NSV.

RESULTS

A total of 626 patients with vitiligo/NSV were included, of whom 131 had AITD (AITD-vitiligo). Stress as an onset factor, familial history of AITD, body surface involvement and duration of the disease were positively associated with AITD-vitiligo using univariate analysis, whereas female sex, age at onset of vitiligo, personal history of autoimmune disease and localization on the trunk were found to be independently associated with AITD-vitiligo.

CONCLUSION

Vitiligo associated with AITD has clinical features distinct from vitiligo without AITD. In particular, female patients, and patients with longer duration of disease and greater body surface involvement are more likely to present with AITD and should thus be monitored for thyroid function and antithyroid antibodies on a regular basis.

Epidemiology of imported malaria give support to the hypothesis of 'long-term' semi-immunity to malaria in sub-Saharan African migrants living in France

BACKGROUND

Short-term semi-immunity to malaria in sub-Saharan African migrants who have recently arrived in non-endemic countries results in less severe imported malaria. Our aim was to investigate the factors associated with imported malaria that would favour the hypothesis of a 'long-term' semi-immunity to malaria in adult travellers of sub-Saharan origin living in France and visiting family or relatives in their country of origin (VFR group).

METHOD

The epidemiological, clinical and biological characteristics of imported Plasmodium falciparum malaria in VFR were compared with those of travellers of European origin (TEO). Newly arrived African migrants and European expatriates were excluded.

RESULTS

This retrospective study included 106 adult VFR (30%) and 240 adult TEO (70%) with imported P. falciparum malaria treated at the University Hospital Center of Bordeaux between 2000 and 2007. The main regions visited were West Africa (58%) and Central Africa (34%). P. falciparum was associated with severe malaria in 8% of patients (VFR 3% vs. TEO 11%), of which two TEO died. In univariate analysis, the factors associated with P. falciparum malaria in VFR vs. TEO were: female sex, younger age, less frequent use of mosquito nets, poor compliance with chemoprophylaxis, less severe malaria without death, less severe thrombocytopenia and a tendency towards a lower level of parasitaemia and higher haemoglobinaemia. In multivariate analysis, the only factor to be independently associated with P. falciparum malaria in VFR compared to TEO was less frequent severe malaria.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results give support to the hypothesis of 'long-term' semi-immunity to malaria in VFR living in France.

Pre- vs. post-pubertal onset of vitiligo: multivariate analysis indicates atopic diathesis association in pre-pubertal onset vitiligo

BACKGROUND

Limited epidemiological data exist that compare clinical features of pre- and post-pubertal nonsegmental vitiligo.

OBJECTIVES

To compare factors associated with pre- and post-pubertal onset vitiligo.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A prospective observational study was conducted of patients with vitiligo attending the clinic between 1 January 2006 and 1 July 2011. The Vitiligo European Task Force questionnaire was completed for each patient and thyroid function and antithyroid antibodies were screened. Other forms of vitiligo (segmental, focal, mucosal, not classifiable) were excluded.

RESULTS

A total of 679 patients were included; 422 had post-pubertal and 257 pre-pubertal onset of vitiligo. Vitiligo universalis was seen only in post-pubertal onset. In univariate analysis, there was no significant statistical difference for sex, Koebner phenomenon or disease activity between both groups; thyroid disease or presence of thyroid antibodies was more frequent in post-pubertal onset [odds ratio (OR) 0·31, P < 0·003] whereas atopic dermatitis was more often associated with or preceding pre-pubertal onset (OR 2·42, P = 0·006). In multivariate analysis, halo naevi, family history of vitiligo, premature hair greying, atopic dermatitis and previous episode of spontaneous repigmentation were independently associated with pre-pubertal onset. In contrast, stress as onset factor, personal history of thyroid disease and acrofacial type were associated with post-pubertal onset.

CONCLUSIONS

Pre-pubertal onset vitiligo is strongly associated with personal and family history of atopy, suggesting that the predisposing immune background in vitiligo is not limited to autoimmunity, as also noted in alopecia areata. This study also suggests reconsidering the epidemiological data on sex ratio in vitiligo.

[Reasons for hospitalisation of hiv-infected children in pediatric service of the Gabriel Toure teaching hospital, Bamako]

PURPOSE

The aim of our study was to determine the reasons of hospitalization of HIV-infected children in our context and to identify factors associated with mortality in the course of hospitalization.

PATIENTS AND METHOD

Our study took place in the department of pediatrics of the Gabriel Touré Teaching Hospital. It involved all the children hospitalized between March 1st and August 31st, 2010 to whom an infection with HIV was diagnosed before or during the hospitalization.

RESULTS

Thirty seven HIV-infected children were hospitalized. The average age at admission was 46,9 months and the sex ratio was 0,76. HIV infection was discovered during the hospitalization for 29 children (78,4%). Fifteen children were orphan of at least a parent. The medical pathological history include sickle cell disease (2 cases) and tuberculosis (1 case). The great majority (91,9%) were at WHO stage 3 or 4. The main AIDS-defining events were severe malnutrition (73%) and pneumonia (45,9%). They were followed by bacterial infections (21,6%) and malaria (13,5%). An anemia was found at 85,7 % of the children.

CONCLUSION

Efforts must be made for early diagnosis and management of pediatric's HIV infection.

Radial resolution enhancement of the NSTX Thomson scattering diagnostic

Current magnetic confinement plasma physics research has increased the demand for radial resolution in profile diagnostics, in particular in the edge and pedestal regions. On NSTX, an upgrade of the existing multi-point Thomson scattering diagnostic has been implemented in order to respond to the research program needs. Twelve new radial channels have been added bringing the total number of positions to 42. Four previously un-instrumented fiber bundles were put in service. Eight existing "active" fiber bundles were divided in two sub-bundles each in order to increase spatial resolution. Twelve radial channels now cover the pedestal region with a resolution near one centimeter. Fifteen radial channels cover the core and internal transport barrier regions. Two additional channels were added, one near the inner edge and one in the outer scrape-off layer. The intersection of the focused viewing optics field of view with a finite-width laser beam results in major-radius cross talk between adjacent fiber sub-bundles. A discussion and calculation of the cross talk will be presented.