Eco-Epidemiological Characteristics of Human Rabies in Côte d’Ivoire, 2012-2017

Introduction: Human rabies is a major public health problem in many African countries, including Côte d’Ivoire. The present work aims at describing the eco-epidemiological characteristics of human rabies cases recorded in Côte d’Ivoire. Methods: This was a retrospective and prospective cross-sectional descriptive study based on epidemiological surveillance data that ran from september 2014 to december 2017. The clinical data were extracted from the database of the human rabies epidemiological surveillance management service of the National Institute of Public Hygiene’s rabies centre. These data cover the period from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2017. Results: Human rabies is endemic in Côte d’Ivoire, with most people exposed in the south and especially in the west of the country. There was no association between any of the climatological parameters (temperature, humidity, rainfall) and the occurrence of human rabies during the months of exposure to rabies infection. Conclusion: Ultimately, effective prevention and control of human rabies requires a thorough understanding of the links between climatological parameters and rabies. Health authorities must take ownership of these results if we are to achieve our goal of eliminating rabies by 2030.

Assessment of the Physicochemical and Microbiological Parameters of a Teaching Hospital’s Wastewaters in Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire

This work deals with the physicochemical and microbiological characterization of a hospital wastewater that is directly discharged in water bodies without treatment. Our focus was paid on the teaching hospital of Treichville (Cote d’Ivoire). For the purpose, various physicochemical parameters such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solid, conductivity, nitrate, phosphate, chloride, chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand for five days (BOD5), salinity, and total suspended solids have been assessed. For the microbiological investigations, the parameters consisting in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella and total coliforms have been assessed. From the analysis, it has been found that the wastewaters of the teaching hospital of Treichville are highly loaded in organic pollutants and in pathogens bacteria. The values of nitrate, dissolved oxygen demand, COD, BOD5 and biological parameters do not respect the international (WHO) values recommended for the water to be discharged in the environment. The ratio COD/BOD5 has been determined to vary between 1.25 and 2.80. The results showed that the studied wastewater is a domestic type wastewater composed either by mostly biodegradable pollutants or a mixture of biodegradable and non-biodegradable organic pollutants. These wastewaters constitute therefore a risk for the populations since they are discharged in water bodies without any treatment and used by communities.

Electroanalytical Investigation on Paracetamol on Boron-Doped Diamond Electrode by Voltammetry

An electroanalytical method was developed for the direct quantitative determination of paracetamol in tablets based on its oxidation behavior. The electrochemical oxidation and determination of paracetamol were easily carried out on born-doped diamond (BDD) electrode using two voltammetric techniques (CV and DPV). The electrochemical measurements performed by cyclic voltammetric (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) techniques were carried out using a cathodically pretreated boron-doped diamond electrode in HClO4 and KClO4 electrolytes. HClO4 was then selected for analytical purposes and scan rate studies were also completed. The oxidation of the paracetamol is found to be irreversible and a diffusion-controlled nature of the paracetamol oxidation peak was established. A linear calibration curve for DPV analysis was constructed in the paracetamol concentration range from 0 μM to 13.87 μM, with 0.16 μM and 0.55 μM as the detection and quantification limit respectively.

Petrochemical Studies of Fouimba and Goma Mounts, Central-West of Cote d’Ivoire: Implication on Petrogenesis Tectonic Setting

Petrogeochemical analysis of mafic rocks of Fouimba and Goma Mount in the Séguéla region (central-western Côte d’Ivoire) is the subject of this study. This analysis combines remote sensing, geophysics, petrography and geochemistry, in order to determine the major characteristics of the mafic formations in the said area, and above all to participate in the detailed mapping of all the Ivorian terrains. The mafic formations encountered in this region are essentially metatonalites to metadiorites, amphibolites, amphibole bearing pyroxenites and porphyry basalts. Chemical analysis indicates that these mafic formations are tonalitic to monzonitic. They are thought to have derived from mantle depleted magmas.

Synthesis and Antibacterial Activities of New 2-(Benzylthio)pyrimidines and 2-(Benzimidazolylmethylthio)pyrimidines Derivatives

A series of 2-(benzylthio)pyrimidines (6a-l) and 2-(benzimidazolylmethylthio)-pyrimidines derivatives (6m and 6n) analogues of ethyl 2-(benzylthio)-6-methyl-4-phenyl-1,4-dihydropyrimidine-5-carboxylates and ethyl 2-(((1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)methyl)thio)-6-methyl-4-phenyl-1,4-dihydropyri-midine-5-carboxylates were prepared and evaluated for antibacterial activity. These compounds were obtained by condensation of 2-thiopyrimidines (4) with benzyl halides or 2-(chloromethyl)-1H-benzimidazole (5) in the presence of a base. All compounds were characterized by 1H, 13C and HRMS spectra. Out of fourteen, only eight compounds were screened against multi-resistant strains of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The results revealed that all of them were found to possess significant antibacterial activity against the germs tested. Compounds 6c, 6d, 6h and 6m were more active on S. aureus and compounds 6h and 6m more active on E. coli.

Photocatalytic and Antimicrobial Properties of [AgTiO₂]:[Clay] Nanocomposite Prepared with Clay Different Ratios

This work aimed to synthesis a novel material that would be able to efficiently remove both organic and microbiological pollutants from wastewater. Through the hydrothermal process, we first doped titanium dioxide, a semiconductor possessing excellent photocatalytic properties with silver nanoparticles having good antibacterial properties. The obtained material was then associated with clay known for its good adsorbent properties to form [AgTiO2]:[clay] type nanocomposites. The different mass composition of [AgTiO2]:[clay] considered in this work were 1:1;1:0.5;1:0.1;1:0.05 and 1:0.01. The prepared nanocomposites were characterized by means of XRD, FTIR and SEM techniques. Results revealed the presence of TiO2 anatase and Ag on the surface of the clay mainly composed of kaolinite and quartz. The photocatalytic activities of the nanocomposites were tested in the presence of synthetic Orange II (25 mg/L) wastewater under visible light irradiation. The experiments demonstrated that organic pollutants were effectively photodegraded when the proportion of clay in the mixture (AgTiO2)-(Clay) was inferior or equaled to 50%. The use of commercial TiO2, for comparison purpose, showed a lower degradation efficiency of the Orange II solution (η < 30%). The antibacterial properties of the nanocomposites [AgTiO2]:[clay] were also assessed in the presence of two types of bacteria E. coli (Gram negative) and S. aureus (Gram positive). The antibacterial activities of the nanocomposites were characterized with and without UV irradiation. In dark conditions, the antibacterial activities of nanocomposites (AgTiO2)-(Clay) against S. aureus gradually increased with increasing the clay amount. Under visible light irradiation, the nanocomposites showed a significant antimicrobial activity against E. coli and S. aureus.

Novel Mannich Bases of Benzimidazole Derivatives: An Antibacterial Study of Environmental Bacterial Strains

A previous study was conducted on the synthesis and antibacterial evaluation of Mannich bases of 2-(thioalkyl)-1H-methylbenzimidazole derivatives. The results of this study showed that certain 2-(thioalkyl)-1H-methylbenzimidazole and 2-(thioalkyl)-methyl-1-(piperidin-1-ylmethyl)benzimidazole derivatives possess antibacterial activities against clinical strains, such as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia (Gram-negative bacteria), Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Gram-positive bacteria). Following these favorable results, we extended the antibacterial evaluation of this series of molecules to environmental strains. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the methyl-piperidine group fixed at position-1 of this new series of benzimidazoles on the antibacterial activity of environmental strains. In addition, we first evaluated the antibacterial activity of four 2-(thioalkyl)methylbenzimidazole derivatives and then that of five 2-(thioalkyl)-methyl-1-(piperidin-1-ylmethyl) benzimidazole derivatives. This study allowed us to show that compounds 1d and 1e could inhibit bacterial growth in vitro of the Enterobacteria P1 strain with inhibition diameters of 17.3 ± 0.6 mm and 10 ± 0.0 mm, respectively. However, addition of methyl-piperidinyl in this series showed that five (5) of 2-(thioalkyl)-methyl-1-(piperidin-1-ylmethyl) benzimidazole derivatives had an inhibitory effect on the in vitro growth of bacterial strains used except on Enterobacteria P2 with inhibition diameters between 10.0 ± 0.8 mm and 27.9 ± 1.4 mm. The introduction of the methyl-piperidinyl group at the 1-position of 2-(thioalkyl)-1H-methylbenzimidazole derivatives greatly improved the antibacterial activity against environmental bacteria such as Escherichia coli A1, A2, A3, and A4 and two Enterobacteria P1.