Women Breast Cancer: Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices and Factors Associated with Early Screening in the Municipality of Abomey-Calavi in Benin in 2018

Background: Breast cancer is the dominant cancer in women in both developed and developing countries. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, practices and factors associated with early breast cancer screening among women in the Municipality of Abomey-Calavi in Benin. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive, analytical study with prospective data collection from October 1 to 8, 2018, involving 1740 women in the Municipality of Abomey-Calavi, aged 18 years or older and selected by WHO four-stage random cluster sampling. Consenting women who were mentally competent, 18 years of age or older at the time of the survey, and residing continuously in the Municipality of Abomey-Calavi for the last six months prior to the survey were included. On the other hand, women who belonged to a breast cancer prevention service, women in whom secondary screening was noted, or non-consenting women were not included. The initial minimum size was estimated by the Schwartz formula with a cluster effect of k = 2. Information was collected by questionnaire survey, entered with Epidata 3.1. Fr and analyzed with R Studio 3.5.1. software. Results: The mean age of the women surveyed was 32.0 ± 11.5 years with a range of 18 and 71 years. Regarding knowledge, the clinical manifestation known by the majority of women was the presence of a nodule (68.50%). In the series, 1308 (75.17%) declared having heard about breast cancer once before, either on the radio, television or from friends and 726 (55.50%) had heard about breast cancer screening. Five hundred and twelve (70.52%) of the 726 who had heard of breast cancer said they knew that breast cancer could be screened earlier. Breast self-examination was the most cited screening method (67.58%). The disease is of natural origin according to 37.84% of them. Regarding attitudes and practices, the prevalence of early breast cancer screening was 12.93%, of which 11.67% declared that they had checked themselves to know whether they were carriers of the disease or not. The main means of the early screening used was breast self-examination (85.78%). Factors associated with early breast cancer screening found in multivariate analysis were age (≤50 years), education level (increasingly higher), marital status (married/coupled), place of residence (downtown), and socioeconomic level (average/high). Conclusion: The frequency of early breast cancer screening among women is still low in the municipality of Abomey-Calavi, although they have a good knowledge of the disease. This raises the need to strengthen awareness of early breast cancer screening.

Study of the Temperature-Programmed Desorption of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) on Zeolites X Modified with Bivalent Cations

Study of physisorbed and chemisorbed carbon dioxide (CO2) species was carried out on the NaX zeolite modified by cationic exchanges with bivalent cations (Ca2+ and Ba2+) by temperature-programmed desorption of CO2 (CO2-TPD). Others results were obtained by infrared to complete the study. The results of this research showed, in the physisorption region (213 - 473 K), that the cationic exchanges on NaX zeolite with bivalent cations increase slightly the interactions of CO2 molecule with adsorbents and/or cationic site. Indeed, the desorption energies of physisorbed CO2 obtained on the reference zeolite NaX (13.5 kJ·mol-1) are lower than that of exchanged zeolites E-CaX and E-BaX (15.77 and 15.17 kJ·mol-1 respectively). In the chemisorbed CO2 region (573 - 873 K), the desorption energies related to desorbed species (bidentate carbonates: CO32-) on the exchanged zeolites E-CaX and E-BaX are about 81 kJ·mol-1, higher than the desorbed species (bicarbonates: HCO32-) on the reference R-NaX (62 kJ·mol-1). In addition, the exchanged E-BaX zeolite develops the secondary adsorption sites corresponding to bicarbonates species with desorption energies of 35 kJ·mol-1 lower to desorption energies of bicarbonates noted on the reference zeolite NaX.

Desorption of Methylene Blue Adsorbed on Activated Carbon from Cocoa Pod Shell

Environmental protection has become a concern for the world. For this reason, the objective of this work is to remove methylene blue adsorbed on activated carbon. The coal used comes from cocoa pod shells. Before pyrolysis, the shells were ground, sieved and impregnated with orthophosphoric acid. Before desorption, the activated carbons were initially saturated with MB. These saturated coals were brought into contact with a sodium chloride (NaCl) solution and then stirred. The evolution of the resorbed MB concentration was monitored by spectrophotometry. The desorption tests showed a remarkable elimination from the first 10 minutes. The desorption kinetics comprises two phases: a rapid kinetics between 0 and 30 minutes and a slow kinetics between 30 and 60 minutes. The desorption of the dye reaches a concentration aqual to 0.84 mg/l at pH = 4 at temperature = 80°C. For modeling, the coefficient of the Langmuir II model is greater than or equal to O.9893. The model of Langmuir III is less than or equal to 0.9373. The Freundlich model coefficient is 0.9842 or less. The desorption is thefore carried out on energy-homogeneous adsorption sites and without any interaction between the adsorbed cations of the dye. Experimental parameters such as pH, temperature and concentration of sodium chloride (NaCl) solution influence the desorption of MB. And the model of Langmuir II describes well the process of desorption of the MB.

Design of New Thiadiazole Derivatives with Improved Antidiabetic Activity

Diabetes is a serious, long-term (or chronic) disease that occurs when a person’s blood sugar levels are high because their body cannot produce enough insulin, or does not produce enough insulin or that it cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. According to the literature, this disease has several causes, but certain types of diabetes such as type 2 diabetes are most closely linked to a metabolic disorder due to abdominal obesity. Thus, the number of individuals with type 2 diabetes is increasing. It is with this in mind that we work to improve human health. The aim of this study is to design new derivatives of 1,3,4-thiadiazole with improved antidiabetic activity by the mathematical model of multiple linear regression (MLR) established previously. The analysis of the effect on the substituents influencing the antidiabetic activity, fourteen (14) new molecules coded CDTH were generated and presenting values of the potential of inhibitory concentration higher than that of the base compound (pIC50 = 2.526). But thirteen (13) of these new compounds belong to the domain of applicability of the MLR model established previously. In addition, the thermodynamic quantities of formation formed at 298K have been calculated. Lipinski’s rule and pharmacokinetic properties proved that five (5) (TH4, TH9, TH10, TH13 and TH14) new molecules can be used as diabetes medicine.

Numerical Study of Natural Convective Heat Transfer in an Air Filled Square Cavity Heated from Below and Symmetrically Cooled from the Sides with a Partition in the Hot Wall

A two-dimensional numerical study of laminar natural convection in a square enclosure filled with air with a wall partially heated on the bottom is presented.The heat source is located on the lower wall with different heated widths varied from 20 to 80%(ε=0.2–0.8)of the total width of the lower wall and different heights h=H/4 and H/2 of the partition.The effect of the partition height on the main system dynamics is investigated through solution of the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations and the energy equation by means of a finite volume method based on the SIMPLE algorithm.The influence of the Rayleigh number(Ra=10^(3) to 10^(6))and the hot wall length is also examined.It is shown that the average Nusselt number grows whenεincreases and when h decreases.For a given value ofεand h,the average Nusselt number increases as Ra increases.It is concluded that the partition height causes a decrease in the average Nusselt number.

A Review on Conductive and Transparent Materials Used in the Design of Transparent Antennas

In this review, we highlight the essential parameters of some transparent materials for use in the design of transparent antennas. ITO films with a sheet resistance of Rs = 10 Ω/sq and a T = 90% transmittance, we turn to materials that can be serious alternatives for ITO, such as graphene T = 97% for Rs = 60 Ω/sq and the micro-mesh metal. Wire mesh seems to be the best alternative T = 93% for Rs Rs = 0.022 Ω/sq at T = 81%, this is the micrometric pitch mesh.

Factors Associated with Homicides in Psychiatric Expertise in Togo

Background: In most societies, homicide or murder is a crime that often leads to imprisonment. Studies around the world have sometimes found cases of mental illness (schizophrenia spectrum disorders) as an explanation for some homicides. The aim of this study was to determine the factors associated with homicide in the Togolese context. Methods: This was a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study of pre-trial psychiatric expertise reports from January 31st, 2019 to January 30th, 2022. Results: Out of 704 defendants appraised, 206 (29.3%) had committed homicide. Males accounted for 91.7% of Homicide defendants (HD). Their average age was 31.6 ± 12.2 years, with extremes of 16 and 74 years. Factors associated with homicide were female gender, age between 30 and 45 years, married or cohabiting status and occupation as a farmer/fisherman/breeder. Psychoactive substance use (PAS), mental illness and psychiatric history were not associated with homicide. Conclusion: Preventing delinquency and interpersonal conflict, and promoting social cohesion, could significantly reduce homicides in Togo.

INTELLIGENT MECHANISM TO SUPPORT DFX ABILITIES IN AUTOMATED DESIGNER'S ENVIRONMENT

The paper aims at providing a computerized design environment to support product design practically. The authors solved this problem by taking the product life cycle issues into consideration as more as possible during the design process from the designer oriented perspective of view. Design for X abilities (DFX) is an effective approach to this philosophy. So the paper mainly presents the infrastructure of an intelligent DFX mechanism which is the essential part of the developed product design environment. At first the designer oriented computer environment DesignerSpace is introduced for understanding the designer how to implement design activities and DFX method better. In order to integrate design knowledge from downstream aspects for the optimization and the design decision making, an intelligent DFX mechanism is developed to incorporate knowledge base, algorithm base and monitoring/debugging tools. DesignerSpace is implemented with DFX abilities and applied to the blisk design of aircraft engine and the further development is strongly intended.

A cellular automata traffic flow modeling of desired speed variability

The satisfaction rate of desired velocity in the case of a mixture of fast and slow vehicles is studied by using a cellular automaton method. It is found that at low density the satisfaction rate depends on the maximal velocity. However, the behavior of the satisfaction rate as a function of the coefficient of variance is independent of the maximal velocity. This is in good agreement with empirical results obtained by Lipshtat [Phys. Rev. E 79 066110 （2009）]. Furthermore, our numerical result demonstrates that at low density the satisfaction rate takes higher values, whereas the coefficient of variance is close to zero. The coefficient of variance increases with increasing density, while the satisfaction rate decreases to zero. Moreover, we have also shown that, at low density the coefficient variance depends strongly on the probability of overtaking.

Systematic design method for PI controller with Virtual Resistor-based Active Damping of LCL filter

The Virtual Resistor based Active Damping(VR-AD) is widely employed in converters connected to the grid via LCL filters in order to mitigate the inherent resonance of the filters. Nevertheless, in digitally controlled systems, the PWM and the calculating delays modify the system characteristics in terms of frequency and phase, thus destabilizing the system and degrading the VR-AD performances, mainly in low switching frequencies. Moreover, the stability of the system is greatly affected under weak grid operation characterized by large grid impedance variation. This paper solves these problems by proposing a systematic, robust and optimized design procedure of voltage oriented PI control(VOC) with VRAD. The considered design procedure ensures robust control(sufficient stability margins) and high quality of grid current(reduced steady-state error and minimized THD value) despite the negative impact of digital time delay, grid impedance variation and filter parameters change. Simulation and experimental results are presented to show robustness and efficiency of the suggested design procedure.

Soil Macrofauna Behaviour in the Presence of Pesticides and Organic Amendments

Insects attack vegetable crop, leading to an overuse of pesticides. Organic amendments are recommended to increase soil fertility. The impact of two insecticides, on soil macrofauna under rainfed cultivation of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) with or without organic amendments was evaluated. The insecticides were Lambda Super (lambda-cyhalothrin) and Dursban (chlorpyrifos ethyl) and organic amendments were compost, pig manure and cattle manure. An experimental device in split-plot with three replicate was installed. Pesticides were applied periodically each week during the experiment. The results have showed that with organic amendments, Lambda super increased the earthworm population compared to the control. Indeed, we found 42 individuals/m2 with compost;1 individuals/m2 with pig manure and 27 individuals/m2 with cattle manure but the control was 0 individuals/m2 in the presence of Lambda super without organic amendment. Similarly, Dursban increased the population of earthworms in the presence of organic amendment with 11, 37 and 91 individuals/m2 respectively for compost, pig manure and cattle manure. Lambda super with compost has led to a total elimination of termites. In the presence of Dursban, a decrease in the number of termites was observed when adding cattle manure (11 individuals/ m2) compared to the control containing only Dursban (21 individuals/m2). Better distribution of macrofauna was obtained with treatment with Dursban and compost (E = 0.99 for earthworms and E = 0.96 for termites). All organic amendments used in our study stimulated earthworm population, but more in the presence of Lambda super or Dursban.

Location and Characterization of Breeding Sites of Solitary Desert Locust Using Satellite Images Landsat 7 ETM+ and Terra MODIS

In the southern Algerian Sahara, populations of the desert locust have been monitored during the past 43 years. On a limited study area, the use of remote sensing data from Landsat 7 ETM+ and Terra MODIS, coupled with the locust population database, allowed the identification and mapping of solitary desert locust breeding areas during remission periods. These sites are mainly located in wadis and in areas of accumulation/spreading of rainwater. The use of this methodology to all the Algerian Sahara is surely possible in order to improve the preventive management of this pest.

Modeling Experimental Design for Photo-Fenton Degradation of Methomyl

Modeling experimental design was used to study the main effects and the interaction effects between operational parameters in the photocatalytic degradation of pesticide methomyl. The important parameters which affect the removal efficiency of methomyl such as concentration of Fe(NO3)3, concentration of H2O2, initial concentration of the pesticide and pH. The parameters were coded as x1, x2, x3 and x4, consecutively, and were investigated at two levels (–1 and +1). The effects of individual variables and their interaction effects for dependent variables, namely, photocatalytic degradation efficiency (%) were determined. From the statistical analysis, the most effective parameters in the photocatalytic degradation efficiency were initial concentrations of the methomyl and Fe(NO3)3. The interaction between initial concentration of the pesticide and Fe(NO3)3 was the most influencing interaction. The optimum conditions that were obtained for the photocatalytic degradation of methomyl were: minimum quantity of contaminant: 6 × 10–5 mol.L–1, maximum quantity of Fe(NO3)3: 5 × 10–4 mol.L-1, initial pH of the solution: 3 and maximum quantity H2O2: 10–2 mol.L–1.

Boron Removal by Electrocoagulation Using Full Factorial Design

Saline waters treatment has become increasingly important for drinking water supply in a greater part of the world. However, some serious limitations had recently been discovered during water treatment, among them the boron problem seems to have a critical meaning. According to the WHO regulations (2011), the boron concentration should be reduced to less than 2.4 mg/L for drinking water. The purpose of this study is to investigate the feasibility of electrocoagulation (EC) as a pretreatment process to remove boron from saline waters. To optimize the experimental conditions of boron removal, the effects of some parameters were studied such as inter-electrode distance (die), electrode connection mode, (S/V) ratio, pHi and initial conductivity of the solution (σi). Subsequently, an experimental design methodology was implemented to evaluate statistically the most significant operating parameters. The effects of current density, EC time and initial boron concentration and their mutual interaction were investigated using 23 full factorial design. At optimal conditions, boron removal from synthetic aqueous solutions containing initial boron concentrations of 5 and 50 mg/L reached 81% and 79%, respectively. Applied to boron removal from seawater samples, EC reduces boron concentration to less to 2.4 mg/L with excessive energy consumption under optimal parameters.

Chemically modified carbon-based electrodes for the determination of paracetamol in drugs and biological samples

Paracetamol is a non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug widely used in pharmaceutical applications for its sturdy, antipyretic and analgesic action. However, an overdose of paracetamol can cause fulminant hepatic necrosis and other toxic effects. Thus, the development of advantageous analytical tools to detect and determine paracetamol is required. Due to simplicity, higher sensitivity and selectivity as well as costefficiency, electrochemical sensors were fully investigated in last decades. This review describes the advancements made in the development of electrochemical sensors for the paracetamol detection and quantification in pharmaceutical and biological samples. The progress made in electrochemical sensors for the selective detection of paracetamol in the last 10 years was examined, with a special focus on highly innovative features introduced by nanotechnology. As the literature is rather extensive, we tried to simplify this work by summarizing and grouping electrochemical sensors according to the by which manner their substrates were chemically modified and the analytical performances obtained.

Evaluation of Acute Toxicity and Sedative Effects of Ethylic Extract of <i>Thymelaea lythroides</i>in Wistar Rats

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the acute toxicity and sedative effect of the ethylic extract of Thymelaea lythroides (Tl) on Wistar rats. The study was based on the gavage administration of the ethylic extract of Tl with different doses (i.e. 200, 400, 500 and 5000 mg/kg), where the toxicity and the sedative activity of the plant were observed and the obtained results were analyzed using the ANOVA test followed by the Bonferroni test. The main results of this study showed that the lethal dose of the ethylic extract of Tl was higher than the 5000 mg/kg dose. Moreover, when compared to the control rats, the animals treated with 5000 mg/kg of the extract exhibited significant reduction in appetite for food and water in the first week. Furthermore, results of the psychotropic test conducted during this study showed visible effects on the exploratory activity of the rats. The dose of 5000 mg/kg was also found to have a significant central nervous system effect;the locomotor activities of the animals decreased in a manner similar to those administered with Zepam as control.

Efficacy of Different Fungicides against Mango Anthracnose in Senegalese Soudanian Agroclimate

Anthracnose is the one of the most devastating diseases of mango produced in the southern part of Senegal. The field trials against post harvest rot due to anthracnose took place in three orchards over two production seasons, in 2009 and 2010. Three systemic fungicides (thiophanate methyl, azoxystrobin and myclobutanyl) and one contact fungicide (mancozeb) were tested for their efficacy. The first treatments in 2009 took place in the rainy season, while 20% of mangoes on trees exhibited anthracnose lesions. At ripening stage, 100% of fruits from non treated control mango trees were affected by anthracnose and got rotten, while between 73.2% and 80% of mangoes ripened free of disease when treated with thiophanate methyl. With the treatment with azoxystrobin, between 46.6% and 60% of fruits were not infected. Treatment with myclobutanyl was less effective. This level of effectiveness was clearly improved in 2010 by preventive spraying, days ahead of onset of the rainy season, before the appearance of anthracnose symptoms on fruits. The level of effectiveness was higher respectively for thiophanate methyl (between 96% and 100% of fruits not infected) and azoxystrobin (between 84% and 96% of fruits not infected).

Antimicrobial Activities of Desert Truffle Extracts and Their Chemical Identification

Desert truffles are edible mushrooms and they belong to groupe of ascomycetes. In Algeria, we find them in arid and semiarid area. They are represented by two most genuses: Tirmania (white terfez) and Terfezia (red terfez). The aim of our work is to present extraction technics of the bioactive substances from gleba (ascoms) of Tirmania pinoyi (Maire) Malen?on and from the culture filtrate of mycelium of Terfezia claveryi Chatin. Also, we present antifungal and antibacterial activity of these substances in vitro and their identification. There is antifungal activity of different extracts on solid medium, in vitro, against species of Aspergillus, Fusarium, Gliocladium, Candida. Also, there is antibacterial activity against species of Staphylococus, Streptococcus, Bacillus, Enterococcus, Escherichia, and Salmonella. Results show that extracts inhibition varies according to microbial tested species. Bioactive substances of the different extracts were analyzed by GC (gas chromatography)-mass, RMN (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) and infrared in order to determine the chemical identity. Results show that these substances contain pyrazines and cyclic compounds like quinones.

Preparation and Catalytic Properties of Various Oxides and Mesoporous Materials Containing Niobium and Sulfate Ions, in the Etherification Reaction of 2-Naphtol

Several types of solid acid catalysts were prepared based on oxides like (ZrO2, TiO2, HfO2, MCM-41 and SBA-15), using two main preparation methods: the precipitation and the sol-gel methods. Each catalyst was subjected to two types of impregnations: sulfate ions using sulfuric acid as precursor and niobium using niobium oxalate as precursor. These prepared catalysts were tested in the etherification reaction of 2-naphtol, where the catalysts showed both acidic and redox properties. The acidic character was manifested through the formation of 2-butoxynaphtalene (with moderate yields) when oxide is sulfated, and the redox character (when impregnated with niobium) manifested through the formation of the interesting product 2-ethylnaphtofuran (with low yields) and other products that were a result of oxidative coupling of two 2-naphtol molecules (binol and acetal of binol). However despite the effort, several attempts to increase the yield of 2-ethylnaphtofuran did not work. All products prepared were obtained in pure form and characterized by 1H and 13C NMR, GC and MS.

Phytochemical Study and Comparative Antioxidant Activity of Extracts from Aerial Parts of <i>Chenopodium ambrosioides</i>Linn. (Chenopodiaceae)

The use of Chenopodium ambrosioides in some communities in Togo reveals its importance and its medicinal properties. The plant is often infused for medicinal drinks before use. Thus, through a comparative study, this work focused on the identification of the different phytochemical groups and then on the anti-radical capacities of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of aerial parts (lea- ves and seeds) of Chenopodium ambrosiooides obtained by maceration and infusion. The phytochemical tests, carried out on the various extracts, showed that they contained certain biomolecules such as flavonoids and tannins. Likewise, the presence of terpenoids and terpenes has been detected. However, it is only in aqueous extracts that the alkaloids have been revealed. The determination of the polyphenol content of the extracts revealed that the aqueous infusion contains 25.699 mgGAE/g DE, followed by the aqueous maceration: 24.873 mgGAE/g DE, after the ethanolic infusion: 21.009 mg GAE/g DE and of the ethanolic maceration: 20.625 mg GAE/g DE. The results of the determination of the anti-radical capacity by the DPPH method after calculation of the IC50, revealed that the infusion gives respectively in aqueous and ethanolic medium: 25.541 μg/ml and 48.269 μg/ml while the maceration leads to 29.187 μg/ml 50.999 μg/ml respectively. This study showed that each extract reacted with DPPH and the aqueous infusion was the most reactive.