A text and apercu for Subsaharan Africa; a lecture series.

Includes bibliography.

Heart failure in sub-Saharan Africa: review of the aetiology of heart failure and the role of point-of-care biomarker diagnostics

Within Africa, the burden of heart failure is significant. This arises from the increase in cardiovascular disease and associated risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes, as well as causes of heart failure which are particular to sub-Saharan Africa, such as endomyocardial fibrosis. The lack of access to echocardiography and other imaging modalities, from a cost and technical perspective, combined with the predominantly rural nature of many countries with poor transport links, means that the vast majority of people never obtain an appropriate diagnosis. Similarly, research has been limited on the causes and treatment of heart failure in Africa and in particular endemic causes such as EMF and rheumatic heart disease. This review outlines the burden of heart failure in Africa and highlights the opportunity to expand diagnosis through the use of biomarkers, in particular natriuretic peptides. This builds on the success of point-of-care testing in human immunodeficiency virus and tuberculosis which have been extensively deployed in community settings in Africa.

De l'ethnicité dans les langages musicaux contemporains : au-delà de l'exotisme : processus de composition de quatre oeuvres : Deux tempêtes et une langueur, Sept gestes ludiques, Azabache, Landocinogena

La version intégrale de ce mémoire est disponible uniquement pour consultation individuelle à la Bibliothèque de musique de l’Université de Montréal.

La formation continue à distance des enseignants du secondaire au Bénin : réalités et perspectives

Cette recherche porte sur la pertinence et la faisabilité d’un programme de formation continue à distance des enseignants qualifiés de l’enseignement secondaire général public du Bénin. Elle a deux objectifs spécifiques : l’identification et l’analyse des besoins de formation continue des enseignants du secondaire du Bénin et l’étude des modalités administratives, pédagogiques et techniques de mise en place d’un tel programme dans le contexte béninois. Les recherches sont effectuées sur la base de la mise en œuvre de la technique du groupe nominal (TGN) qui a permis de générer un premier questionnaire soumis à un échantillon de 278 enseignants représentatifs des 1 488 enseignants qualifiés de l’enseignement secondaire général public du Bénin et trois autres questionnaires, basés sur la technique Delphi, adressés à 13 experts du système éducatif béninois. Il apparaît qu’un futur programme de formation continue à distance des enseignants du secondaire devrait comporter, principalement, les trois thèmes ci-après, classés par ordre de priorité : «Technologies de l’information et de la communication »; «Méthodes pédagogiques» et « Matière de spécialité ». L’utilisation de la technique Delphi a permis d’établir une liste de 23 items correspondant aux modalités administratives, pédagogiques et techniques pour la mise en œuvre de la formation. L’analyse des résultats de la technique Delphi et celle des réponses au questionnaire adressé aux enseignants ont permis d’opérer un choix de médias à utiliser et/ou à intégrer pour transmettre le savoir et soutenir l’apprentissage. Il ressort des résultats de la recherche que les enseignants béninois du secondaire ont d’importants besoins de formation continue et que la conception et la mise en œuvre d’un programme de formation à distance axée sur l’utilisation des TIC sont pertinentes et faisables au Bénin. Un modèle organisationnel de formation continue à distance a été proposé.

La cooperación internacional para el desarrollo como herramienta de política exterior japonesa en África Subsahariana

El presente caso de estudio tiene como objetivo explicar el rol de la cooperación internacional para el desarrollo en Tanzania, Mozambique, Nigeria para la consolidación del liderazgo político internacional de Japón. El interés de realizar esta investigación es la ampliación del conocimiento sobre el uso del poder blando, para alcanzar los objetivos de política exterior japonesa. Por eso, se llevara a cabo una revisión bibliográfica para el análisis de documentos oficiales y artículos académicos para la consolidación de información. A partir de ello, se pretende demostrar que la cooperación al desarrollo es una herramienta de política exterior japonesa para consolidarse como líder, en la medida en que el uso de herramientas propias de la cooperación y el presupuesto destinada a la ejecución de éstas tienen incidencia en los votos de estos Estados africanos para las iniciativas japonesas en las Naciones Unidas.

Soil carbon balance in a tropical grassland: Estimation of soil respiration and its partitioning using a semi-empirical model

In savannah and tropical grasslands, which account for 60% of grasslands worldwide, a large share of ecosystem carbon is located below ground due to high root:shoot ratios. Temporal variations in soil CO2 efflux (R-S) were investigated in a grassland of coastal Congo over two years. The objectives were (1) to identify the main factors controlling seasonal variations in R-S and (2) to develop a semi-empirical model describing R-S and including a heterotrophic component (R-H) and an autotrophic component (R-A). Plant above-ground activity was found to exert strong control over soil respiration since 71% of seasonal R-S variability was explained by the quantity of photosynthetically active radiation absorbed (APAR) by the grass canopy. We tested an additive model including a parameter enabling R-S partitioning into R-A and R-H. Assumptions underlying this model were that R-A mainly depended on the amount of photosynthates allocated below ground and that microbial and root activity was mostly controlled by soil temperature and soil moisture. The model provided a reasonably good prediction of seasonal variations in R-S (R-2 = 0.85) which varied between 5.4 mu mol m(-2) s(-1) in the wet season and 0.9 mu mol m(-2) s(-1) at the end of the dry season. The model was subsequently used to obtain annual estimates of R-S, R-A and R-H. In accordance with results reported for other tropical grasslands, we estimated that R-H accounted for 44% of R-S, which represented a flux similar to the amount of carbon brought annually to the soil from below-ground litter production. Overall, this study opens up prospects for simulating the carbon budget of tropical grasslands on a large scale using remotely sensed data. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

World distribution of land cover changes, model in NetCDF format

The role of Pre- and Protohistoric anthropogenic land cover changes needs to be quantified i) to establish a baseline for comparison with current human impact on the environment and ii) to separate it from naturally occurring changes in our environment. Results are presented from the simple, adaptation-driven, spatially explicit Global Land Use and technological Evolution Simulator (GLUES) for pre-Bronze age demographic, technological and economic change. Using scaling parameters from the History Database of the Global Environment as well as GLUES-simulated population density and subsistence style, the land requirement for growing crops is estimated. The intrusion of cropland into potentially forested areas is translated into carbon loss due to deforestation with the dynamic global vegetation model VECODE. The land demand in important Prehistoric growth areas - converted from mostly forested areas - led to large-scale regional (country size) deforestation of up to 11% of the potential forest. In total, 29 Gt carbon were lost from global forests between 10 000 BC and 2000 BC and were replaced by crops; this value is consistent with other estimates of Prehistoric deforestation. The generation of realistic (agri-)cultural development trajectories at a regional resolution is a major strength of GLUES. Most of the pre-Bronze age deforestation is simulated in a broad farming belt from Central Europe via India to China. Regional carbon loss is, e.g., 5 Gt in Europe and the Mediterranean, 6 Gt on the Indian subcontinent, 18 Gt in East and Southeast Asia, or 2.3 Gt in subsaharan Africa.

Experiences with the control of schistosomiasis mansoni in two foci in Central Africa

Experiences with population-based chemotherapy and other methods for the control of schistosomiasis mansoni in two subsaharan foci are described. In the forest area of Maniema (Zaire), intense transmission of Schistosoma mansoni, high prevalences and intensities of infection, and important morbidity have been documental. Taking into account the limited financial means and the poor logistic conditions, the control strategy has been based mainly on targeted chemotherapy of heavily infected people (>600 epg). After ten years of intervention, prevalences and intensities have hardly been affected, but the initial severe hepatosplenic morbidity has almost disappeared. In Burundi, a national research and control programme has been initiated in 1982. Prevalences, intensities and morbidity were moderate, transmission was focal and erratic in time and space. A more structural control strategy was developed, based on screening and selective therapy, health education, sanitation and domestic water supply. Prevalences and intensities have been considerably reduced, though the results show focal and unpredicatable variations. Transmission and reinfection were not signifcantly affected by chemotherapy alone, and eventual outcome of repeated selective treatment appears to be limited by the sensitivity of the screening method. Intestinal morbidity was strongly reduced by community-based selective treatment, but hepatosplenic enlargement was hardly affected; this is possibly due to the confounding impact of increasing malaria morbidity. The experiences show the importance of local structures and conditions for the development of an adapted control strategy. It is further concluded that population-based chemotherapy is a highly valid tool for the rapid control of morbidity, but should in most operational conditions not be considered as a tool for transmission control. Integration of planning, execution and surveillance in regular health services...

Contraceptive use and associated factors among adolescents on Santiago Island - Cape Verde - Western Africa

OBJECTIVE: to estimate the prevalence of contraceptive use and associated factors among adolescents attending public schools on Santiago Island, Cape Verde. METHODS: a cross-sectional study was carried out with 368 sexually active adolescents aged 13-17years attending eight public elementary and high schools, randomly selected, on Santiago Island, Cape Verde, between January and March 2007. Poisson regression with robust variance was used for the multiple analysis of risk factors, at a 5% level of significance. RESULTS: among 368 adolescents, 69.3% reported having used a contraceptive method during the last act of sexual intercourse. The most frequently used method were condom (94.9%) and pill (26.4%). Factors significantly and positively associated with contraceptive use were: living in the capital (PR=1.23; CI95%: 1.07; 1.39); having dated and had sexual intercourse (PR =1.53; CI95%: 1.14;2.06); and having more than nine years of schooling (PR=1.19; CI95%: 1.02; 1.38). CONCLUSIONS: more educated adolescents who studied in Praia (the capital city) and were dating at the time of the study were more likely to use contraception. The high prevalence of condom use and the association between contraception use and years of schooling among adolescents may indicate that sexual and reproductive health policies have produced positive outcomes that may account for the decrease in HIV infection.

Factors associated with sexual initiation and condom use among adolescents on Santiago Island, Cape Verde, West Africa

Foram analisados fatores associados ao início da vida sexual de adolescentes na Ilha de Santiago, Cabo Verde, segundo sexo. Estudo realizado com amostra probabilística e representativa de 768 adolescentes, age 13-17 anos, de escolas secundárias públicas da Ilha de Santiago em 2007. A associação foi testada pelo teste de proporção, qui-quadrado de Pearson ou Fisher e regressão logística. Nos rapazes, os fatores associados ao início da vida sexual foram: idade maior que 14 anos, ser católico e consumo de bebidas alcoólicas. Para meninas: escolaridade maior que nove anos e ter parceiro afetivo-sexual. Ao contrário de outros contextos da África Subsaariana, foram constatadas taxas elevadas de uso de preservativo por adolescentes no início da vida sexual. Os adolescentes podem iniciar a vida sexual de maneira mais segura se tiverem informação, educação sexual e acesso a métodos de prevenção à gravidez e às DST. Este artigo oferece elementos para a reflexão sobre o delineamento de políticas de redução da vulnerabilidade dos jovens às DST/AIDS e sobre os limites e desafios da promoção do uso do preservativo e educação sexual, focando as relações desiguais de gênero

Transforming Youth Identities: Interactions Across ""Races/Colors/Ethnicities,"" Gender, Class, and Sexualities in Johannesburg, South Africa

In South Africa, and especially in Johannesburg, apartheid's ""racial"" paradigms are being transformed. Fifteen years after the end of apartheid and the elimination of all forms of inequity based on notion of ""race,"" including the abolition of the Immorality Act of 1949 that prohibited mixed marriages, the discourses of youth challenge preestablished boundaries. Today, the South African Constitution gives people the right to proclaim their sexual orientation and to shape their own identities. Through ethnographic observations carried out in Johannesburg and in-depth interviews with young people, this paper explores transforming notions of identity based on ""race/color/ethnicity,"" gender, class, and sexuality. The dynamics and challenges faced by young people with regards to mixed interactions in post-apartheid Johannesburg are analyzed and the paper looks at how "" race,"" gender, and sexuality interact in the various spaces in Johannesburg and how they affect young people's lives, particularly their perceptions of risk, violence, and HIV/AIDS vulnerability.

Living Our Lives on the Edge: Power, Space and Sexual Orientation in Cape Town Townships, South Africa

Much of social science literature about South African cities fails to represent its complex spectrum of sexual practices and associated identities. The unintended effects of such representations are that a compulsory heterosexuality is naturalised in, and reiterative with, dominant constructions of blackness in townships. In this paper, we argue that the assertion of discreet lesbian and gay identities in black townships of a South African city such as Cape Town is influenced by the historical racial and socio-economic divides that have marked urban landscape. In their efforts to recoup a positive sense of gendered personhood, residents have constructed a moral economy anchored in reproductive heterosexuality. We draw upon ethnographic data to show how sexual minorities live their lives vicariously in spaces they have prised open within the extant sex/gender binary. They are able to assert the identities of moffie and man-vrou (mannish woman) without threatening the dominant ideology of heterosexuality.

Regulating industrial forest concessions in Central Africa and South America

Tropical countries face special specific problems in implementing sustainable forest management (SFM). In many countries, questions are raised on whether tropical forests should be publicly, commonly or privately owned and managed in order to enhance sustainability. Other debates also focus on whether small-scale enterprises are better positioned than large-scale industrial concessions to reduce poverty and attain sustainable management. In countries where large tracts of forest are state-owned, concessions are viewed as a means of delivering services of public and collective interest through an association of private investment and public regulation. However, the success of an industrial concession model in countries with large forest resource endowment to achieve multiple goals such as sustainable forest management and local/regional development depends on two critical assumptions. First, forest functions and services should be managed and maintained as public goods. In many cases, additional uses - and corresponding rights - can take place alongside logging activities. Industrial concessions can be more efficient than other tenure models (such as community-based forest management and small-scale enterprises) in achieving SFM, add value to raw material and comply with growing environmental norms. This is especially the case in market-remote areas with low population density and poor infrastructure. Secondly, to achieve these different outcomes, any concession system needs to be monitored and regulated, especially in contexts dominated by asymmetrical information between regulating authorities and concessionaires. New institutional responses have recently been put forward in several countries, providing valuable materials to design a renewed policy mix which associates public and private incentives. This paper provides a survey of the experience of forest concessions in several Central African and South American countries. The concession system is examined in order to clarify the issues involved, the problems encountered, and what can be learned from the shared experience of these countries in the last decade. This paper argues that despite a sometimes patchy record, concessions can help promote SFM so long as they are packaged with a certain number of specific measures. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Phytoseiid mites of the tribe Typhlodromini (Acari: Phytoseiidae) from sub-Saharan Africa

This is the ninth publication in a series on the taxonomy of phytoseiid mites of sub-Saharan Africa. Sixty-five phytoseiid species of the tribe Typhlodromini Wainstein, all of which are in the genus Typhlodromus Scheuten are reported in this paper (62 in the subgenus Anthoseius DeLeon and 3 in the subgenus Typhlodromus Scheuten). They refer to all species of this tribe known to occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Fifteen new species are described and 41 species are redescribed. Most of the reported species were collected in various habitats in southern Africa and in cassava habitats in tropical Africa. A key is included for the separation of these species.

Phytoseiid mites of the tribe Paraseiulini Wainstein (Acari : Phytoseiidae) from sub-Saharan Africa

This is the eighth publication of a series on the determination of phytoseiid mites of sub-Saharan Africa. Twenty-three phytoseiid species of the tribe Paraseiulini Wainstein are reported in this paper. They refer to all species of this tribe known to occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Six of these species are described for the first time and 13 species are redescribed. Most of the reported species were collected in cassava habitats in tropical Africa and in other habitats in South Africa. A key is included to help in the separation of the species treated in this paper.