There is a growing body of evidence showing a close correlation between left ventricular mass with cardiovascular morbidity and overall mortality. Therefore, identifying the determinants of left ventricular hypertroph...There is a growing body of evidence showing a close correlation between left ventricular mass with cardiovascular morbidity and overall mortality. Therefore, identifying the determinants of left ventricular hypertrophy can be of great importance for cardiovascular prevention, for prognosis and therapeutic intervention. Objective: To assess the prevalence and identify the independent determinants of echocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy in The MA-Ghreb and Sub-Saharan Africa Left-Ventricul ArGEometry Study (MAG-SALVAGES) participants. Methods: The MAG-SALVAGES is a community based study in which 100 asymptomatic Black Sub-Saharan African (BSSA) and 189 white skin Maghreb within the age of 18 to 55 years underwent a resting echocardiography. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was utilized to identify the independent determinants of LVH left ventricular hypertrophy. Results: Men represented the majority of the enrolled participants: 173 (59.9%). Echocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy was seen in 10 (3.5%) participants. Age ≥40 years, female gender, overall obesity, abdominal obesity, hypertension status and less fruit consumption were significantly associated with echocardiography left ventricular hypertrophy. After adjusting for confounding factors, age ≥40 years, female gender, abdominal obesity and less fruit consumption were independently and significantly associated with echocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy, as illustrated in the following equation: Y = 0.36 + 0.162 age >40 years + 2.69 female gender + 2.52 abdominal obesity + 1.31 less fruit consumption. Conclusion: Lifestyle changes for the prevention of abdominal obesity and encouraging fruit consumption may be beneficial in preventing left ventricular hypertrophy.展开更多
Background: Evidence that blacks have greater left ventricular mass (LVM) than whites has been demonstrated by large population-based American studies. However, to our knowledge, there is no study to date comparing LV...Background: Evidence that blacks have greater left ventricular mass (LVM) than whites has been demonstrated by large population-based American studies. However, to our knowledge, there is no study to date comparing LVM in Black Sub-Saharan Africans (BSSA) and the Maghreb white population. We compared LVM measured echocardiographically in asymptomatic BSSA and Maghreb. Methods and Results: A total of 100 asymptomatic BSSA and 189 Maghreb, (18 to 55 years old), underwent resting two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography. LVM and geometry were assessed according to the 2015 American Society of Echocardiography and the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging updated guidelines for cardiac chamber quantification. Crude or indexed LVM to body surface area or height2.7 was similar in BSSA and in Maghreb (132.7 ± 37.0 vs. 134.2 ± 35.7 g;73.1 ± 17.8 vs. 72.9 ± 16.2 g/m2;32.1 ± 9.8 vs. 33.6 ± 9.5 g/m2.7). However, the left ventricular posterior wall was thicker in BSSA. Patterns of left ventricular geometry (normal, concentric remodeling, or concentric or eccentric hypertrophy) were equally distributed among the two ethnic groups. Conclusions: Left ventricular posterior wall thickness but not LVM is greater in BSSA than in Maghreb.展开更多
Background:The Maghreb Magpie(Pica mauritanica)is an endemic North African species.Available knowledge on this species is limited to historic descriptive data with no ecological information provided.Populations contin...Background:The Maghreb Magpie(Pica mauritanica)is an endemic North African species.Available knowledge on this species is limited to historic descriptive data with no ecological information provided.Populations continue to dramatically decline in Tunisia,where only one relic population survives.Investigating the breeding biology of this species is essential for conservation purposes.The purpose of this study was to increase our understanding of the Tunisian relic population and provide detailed data on breeding biology over two breeding seasons(2017 and 2018).Methods:This study occurred on a private farm of 650 ha,located 10 km from Dhorbania village at Kairouan Governorate,in central Tunisia.Active nests were monitored weekly during egg laying period and twice a week during hatching period.The Ivlev's electivity index was used to assess whether the frequency of use of nesting trees and bushes matched their availability in the study area.We recorded nest measurements and positions,and compared them using Wilcoxon signed-rank test.Variations of breeding parameters as number of eggs laid,hatchlings,and fledglings over years were performed using Mann–Whitney U-test andχ^(2) tests.We used a Generalized Linear Mixed Model(GLMM)to investigate how egg volume varied with clutch size and laying date.Results:We investigated clutch size,egg size,hatching and fledging success,and evaluated how these parameters varied according to laying date and nest characteristics.Clutch size averaged 5.00±0.19 but was significantly greater nest.Causes of nest failure included the depredation of nestlings by shrikes,cobras and rats(e.g.Lanius meridionalis,Naja haje and Rattus rattus),death of parents by the Black-shouldered Kite(Elanus caeruleus)and nest parasitism by the Great Spotted Cuckoo(Clamator glandarius).Clutch size,brood size and fledgling success were unaffected by laying date,nest volume and nest elevation.Egg volume decreased with laying date but was unaffected by clutch.Conclusion:Our study provides the first and only detailed data on reproductive parameters of the Maghreb Magpie in its entire geographic range(North Africa).Information gleaned from this study provides valuable information for monitoring and long-term conservation plans of the endangered Tunisian Magpie population.Additionally,our data provide an avenue of large-scale comparative studies of the reproductive ecology of the magpie complex.展开更多
Background: The influence of race/ethnicity on the relationship between sedentary screen time and left ventricular mass has been recently suggested, but remains a subject of debate, and has never been explored in Afri...Background: The influence of race/ethnicity on the relationship between sedentary screen time and left ventricular mass has been recently suggested, but remains a subject of debate, and has never been explored in Africa. Purpose: To determine whether there is a racial/ethnic influence on the relationship between sedentary screen time and left ventricular mass in MAGhreb and Sub Saharan Africa Left-Ventricul ArGEometry Study (MAG-SALVAGES) participants. Methods: 100 blacks sub-Saharan African and 187 white Maghreb aged 18 - 55 years underwent an interview on their behavioral measures, physical activity and eating habits. Their left ventricular mass has also been measured by a resting transthoracic echography according to the American Society of Echography. Generalized linear models evaluated a test-for-trend across higher levels of sedentary screen time in progressive models with left ventricular measurements as dependent variables. The study population was stratified into quartiles of sedentary screen time (separately for whites and blacks) and examined the joint association of sedentary screen time and LVM within quartiles of physical activity. Results: Among White Maghreb, higher screen time was associated with smaller left ventricular mass (P Conclusions: Sedentary screen time is associated with smaller left ventricular mass in White Maghreb, not in black sub-Saharan African. The lack of association in blacks supports a potential qualitative difference in the cardiovascular consequences of sedentary screen based behavior.展开更多
The stalemated decolonization process in Africa’s last colony,Western Sahara,was investigated in its historical context.Deploying the critical-analytic methodology of contemporary history and examining available sour...The stalemated decolonization process in Africa’s last colony,Western Sahara,was investigated in its historical context.Deploying the critical-analytic methodology of contemporary history and examining available sources on the subject,the paper posits the Saharawi right to self-determination and independence,within the framework of the UN Charter as a non-self-governing territory which is not in dispute.It concludes that the stalemate is Morocco’s contrivance to further its dream of a“Greater Morocco”,and that the reactivation of Saharawi armed struggle,complemented with diplomatic efforts under the strategic leadership of the African Union,would present the United Nations with a choice between Africa and Morocco,and reinvest the world body with the political will for its early resolution.展开更多
In contrast to the United States’relations with neighboring Morocco and Tunisia,those with Algeria are quite complex.Although US-Algerian relations have never reached the level of hostility that characterized US deal...In contrast to the United States’relations with neighboring Morocco and Tunisia,those with Algeria are quite complex.Although US-Algerian relations have never reached the level of hostility that characterized US dealings with Libya until 2003,they have been antagonistic from Algerian independence in 1962 until the past decade.Some of the guarded differences in the views of the United States and Algeria are explained by the determinants of Algerian foreign policy,which is shaped by the regional geopolitical context;the country‘s historical experience,mainly the national liberation war(1954-1962);ideological imperatives;and the economic choices imposed by postcolonial conditions.There is also the fact that Algeria continues to oppose what it perceives as the United States’global hegemonic aims.展开更多
文摘There is a growing body of evidence showing a close correlation between left ventricular mass with cardiovascular morbidity and overall mortality. Therefore, identifying the determinants of left ventricular hypertrophy can be of great importance for cardiovascular prevention, for prognosis and therapeutic intervention. Objective: To assess the prevalence and identify the independent determinants of echocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy in The MA-Ghreb and Sub-Saharan Africa Left-Ventricul ArGEometry Study (MAG-SALVAGES) participants. Methods: The MAG-SALVAGES is a community based study in which 100 asymptomatic Black Sub-Saharan African (BSSA) and 189 white skin Maghreb within the age of 18 to 55 years underwent a resting echocardiography. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was utilized to identify the independent determinants of LVH left ventricular hypertrophy. Results: Men represented the majority of the enrolled participants: 173 (59.9%). Echocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy was seen in 10 (3.5%) participants. Age ≥40 years, female gender, overall obesity, abdominal obesity, hypertension status and less fruit consumption were significantly associated with echocardiography left ventricular hypertrophy. After adjusting for confounding factors, age ≥40 years, female gender, abdominal obesity and less fruit consumption were independently and significantly associated with echocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy, as illustrated in the following equation: Y = 0.36 + 0.162 age >40 years + 2.69 female gender + 2.52 abdominal obesity + 1.31 less fruit consumption. Conclusion: Lifestyle changes for the prevention of abdominal obesity and encouraging fruit consumption may be beneficial in preventing left ventricular hypertrophy.
文摘Background: Evidence that blacks have greater left ventricular mass (LVM) than whites has been demonstrated by large population-based American studies. However, to our knowledge, there is no study to date comparing LVM in Black Sub-Saharan Africans (BSSA) and the Maghreb white population. We compared LVM measured echocardiographically in asymptomatic BSSA and Maghreb. Methods and Results: A total of 100 asymptomatic BSSA and 189 Maghreb, (18 to 55 years old), underwent resting two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography. LVM and geometry were assessed according to the 2015 American Society of Echocardiography and the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging updated guidelines for cardiac chamber quantification. Crude or indexed LVM to body surface area or height2.7 was similar in BSSA and in Maghreb (132.7 ± 37.0 vs. 134.2 ± 35.7 g;73.1 ± 17.8 vs. 72.9 ± 16.2 g/m2;32.1 ± 9.8 vs. 33.6 ± 9.5 g/m2.7). However, the left ventricular posterior wall was thicker in BSSA. Patterns of left ventricular geometry (normal, concentric remodeling, or concentric or eccentric hypertrophy) were equally distributed among the two ethnic groups. Conclusions: Left ventricular posterior wall thickness but not LVM is greater in BSSA than in Maghreb.
文摘Background:The Maghreb Magpie(Pica mauritanica)is an endemic North African species.Available knowledge on this species is limited to historic descriptive data with no ecological information provided.Populations continue to dramatically decline in Tunisia,where only one relic population survives.Investigating the breeding biology of this species is essential for conservation purposes.The purpose of this study was to increase our understanding of the Tunisian relic population and provide detailed data on breeding biology over two breeding seasons(2017 and 2018).Methods:This study occurred on a private farm of 650 ha,located 10 km from Dhorbania village at Kairouan Governorate,in central Tunisia.Active nests were monitored weekly during egg laying period and twice a week during hatching period.The Ivlev's electivity index was used to assess whether the frequency of use of nesting trees and bushes matched their availability in the study area.We recorded nest measurements and positions,and compared them using Wilcoxon signed-rank test.Variations of breeding parameters as number of eggs laid,hatchlings,and fledglings over years were performed using Mann–Whitney U-test andχ^(2) tests.We used a Generalized Linear Mixed Model(GLMM)to investigate how egg volume varied with clutch size and laying date.Results:We investigated clutch size,egg size,hatching and fledging success,and evaluated how these parameters varied according to laying date and nest characteristics.Clutch size averaged 5.00±0.19 but was significantly greater nest.Causes of nest failure included the depredation of nestlings by shrikes,cobras and rats(e.g.Lanius meridionalis,Naja haje and Rattus rattus),death of parents by the Black-shouldered Kite(Elanus caeruleus)and nest parasitism by the Great Spotted Cuckoo(Clamator glandarius).Clutch size,brood size and fledgling success were unaffected by laying date,nest volume and nest elevation.Egg volume decreased with laying date but was unaffected by clutch.Conclusion:Our study provides the first and only detailed data on reproductive parameters of the Maghreb Magpie in its entire geographic range(North Africa).Information gleaned from this study provides valuable information for monitoring and long-term conservation plans of the endangered Tunisian Magpie population.Additionally,our data provide an avenue of large-scale comparative studies of the reproductive ecology of the magpie complex.
文摘Background: The influence of race/ethnicity on the relationship between sedentary screen time and left ventricular mass has been recently suggested, but remains a subject of debate, and has never been explored in Africa. Purpose: To determine whether there is a racial/ethnic influence on the relationship between sedentary screen time and left ventricular mass in MAGhreb and Sub Saharan Africa Left-Ventricul ArGEometry Study (MAG-SALVAGES) participants. Methods: 100 blacks sub-Saharan African and 187 white Maghreb aged 18 - 55 years underwent an interview on their behavioral measures, physical activity and eating habits. Their left ventricular mass has also been measured by a resting transthoracic echography according to the American Society of Echography. Generalized linear models evaluated a test-for-trend across higher levels of sedentary screen time in progressive models with left ventricular measurements as dependent variables. The study population was stratified into quartiles of sedentary screen time (separately for whites and blacks) and examined the joint association of sedentary screen time and LVM within quartiles of physical activity. Results: Among White Maghreb, higher screen time was associated with smaller left ventricular mass (P Conclusions: Sedentary screen time is associated with smaller left ventricular mass in White Maghreb, not in black sub-Saharan African. The lack of association in blacks supports a potential qualitative difference in the cardiovascular consequences of sedentary screen based behavior.
文摘The stalemated decolonization process in Africa’s last colony,Western Sahara,was investigated in its historical context.Deploying the critical-analytic methodology of contemporary history and examining available sources on the subject,the paper posits the Saharawi right to self-determination and independence,within the framework of the UN Charter as a non-self-governing territory which is not in dispute.It concludes that the stalemate is Morocco’s contrivance to further its dream of a“Greater Morocco”,and that the reactivation of Saharawi armed struggle,complemented with diplomatic efforts under the strategic leadership of the African Union,would present the United Nations with a choice between Africa and Morocco,and reinvest the world body with the political will for its early resolution.
文摘In contrast to the United States’relations with neighboring Morocco and Tunisia,those with Algeria are quite complex.Although US-Algerian relations have never reached the level of hostility that characterized US dealings with Libya until 2003,they have been antagonistic from Algerian independence in 1962 until the past decade.Some of the guarded differences in the views of the United States and Algeria are explained by the determinants of Algerian foreign policy,which is shaped by the regional geopolitical context;the country‘s historical experience,mainly the national liberation war(1954-1962);ideological imperatives;and the economic choices imposed by postcolonial conditions.There is also the fact that Algeria continues to oppose what it perceives as the United States’global hegemonic aims.
