PhysioCAFUN: A competency-based curriculum development guideline to strengthen physiology education in Africa.

Physiology education in Africa faces challenges due to gaps in curricula across many of its universities, such as divergent content, a lack of standardized competencies, and suitable benchmarking. Here, we describe the development of Physiology Curriculum for African Universities (PhysioCAFUN), a competency-based curriculum development guideline, as a first step to address such shortcomings. A committee of 15 physiologists from different African regions, Europe, and USA was constituted to draft the PhysioCAFUN, which was introduced and revised during the joint East African Society of Physiological Sciences (EASPS) and African Association of Physiological Sciences (AAPS) conference held in Tanzania late 2023.

Poor quality of sleep and musculoskeletal pains among highly trained and elite athletes in Senegal.

Background: Previous studies reported that poor sleep quality (PSQ) was associated with musculoskeletal pains (MSP) and poor physical performance in athletes.

Objective: The current study aimed at determining PSQ and its associations with MSP in some sub-Saharan athletes.

Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 205 highly trained and 115 elite athletes (aged: 25 ± 2 years, Body mass index: 22.

Musculoskeletal pains among amateur and professional athletes of five disciplines in Senegal: a preliminary study.

Background: Musculoskeletal pains (MSPs) in sport are cause of poor performances and loss of competition in athletes. The present study aimed at determining the prevalence of MSPs with regard to sport disciplines and athletic status.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 320 Senegalese professional and amateur athletes practicing football, basketball, rugby, tennis, athletics, and wrestling.

The telomerase activator TA-65 protects from cigarette smoke-induced small airway remodeling in mice through extra-telomeric effects.

Small airway remodeling (SAR) is a key phenomenon of airflow obstruction in smokers, leading to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). SAR results in an increased thickness of small airway walls, with a combination of peribronchiolar fibrosis with increased fibrous tissue and accumulation of mesenchymal and epithelial cells. SAR pathogenesis is still unclear but recent data suggest that alterations in telomerase activity could represent a possible underlying mechanism of SAR.

Impact of the interaction between the polymorphisms and hypermethylation of the CD36 gene on a new biomarker of type 2 diabetes mellitus: circulating soluble CD36 (sCD36) in Senegalese females.

Background: Several predisposing factors for diabetes mellitus have been identified, including cluster determinant 36 (CD36) receptor expression. We aimed to determine the effects of CD36 gene polymorphisms and hypermethylation on the plasma CD36 protein levels in type 2 diabetes.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 100 females (lean healthy control subjects and subjects with type 2 diabetes).

Association between polymorphisms and hypermethylation of CD36 gene in obese and obese diabetic Senegalese females.

Background: Obesity and related metabolic disorders are associated with genetic and epigenetic alterations. In this study, we have examined the association between polymorphisms and hypermethylation of the CD36 gene promoter with obesity in Senegalese females with or without type 2 diabetes mellitus to identify novel molecular markers of these pathologies (obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus).

Materials And Methods: The study was conducted in Senegal with healthy lean control, obese, and obese diabetic (age; 49.

Plasma Levels of Acyl-Carnitines and Carboxylic Acids Correlate With Cardiovascular and Kidney Function in Subjects With Sickle Cell Trait.

Subjects with sickle cell trait (SCT) carry one copy of mutated β-globin gene at position E6V at the origin of the production of sickle hemoglobin (HbS). Indeed, individuals with SCT have both normal hemoglobin and HbS, in contrast to patients with sickle cell disease who inherited of two copies of the mutated gene. Although SCT is generally benign/asymptomatic, carriers may develop certain adverse outcomes such as renal complications, venous thromboembolism, exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis … However, little is known about whether similar metabolic pathways are affected in individuals with SCT and whether these metabolic derangements, if present, correlate to clinically relevant parameters.

Frequencies and Distribution of APOE Gene Polymorphisms and Its Association With Lipid Parameters in the Senegalese Population.

Background Apolipoprotein E is a multifunctional protein that plays an important role in lipid metabolism. It is encoded by the gene. However, gene polymorphism has not been very well studied in the Senegalese population.

Evaluation of agreement between hemoglobin A1c, fasting glucose, and fructosamine in Senegalese individuals with and without sickle-cell trait.

Fasting glucose (FG) and glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) perform sub-optimally in people of African origin, especially in individuals with sickle-cell trait (SCT). The purpose of this study was to compare the relationships between HbA1c, FG, and fructosamine in individuals from Senegal with and without SCT. HbA1c, FG, and fructosamine were measured in 203 adults from Senegal (100 control: 45 with type 2 diabetes (T2D); 103 SCT: 51 with T2D).

Increased Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes-Related Complications in Combined Type 2 Diabetes and Sickle Cell Trait.

Objective: The prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is rapidly increasing in sub-Saharan Africa, where sickle cell trait (SCT) is also frequent. Although SCT is generally considered a benign condition, evidence suggests that SCT could exaggerate vascular dysfunction in T2D. However, it remains unclear whether SCT could increase the risk of the development of T2D complications.

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Calcium and magnesium are divalent multipotent ions playing a major role in metabolism, excitability and neuroglial plasticity. Because of these multiple properties, their deficiency induces complex brain processes leading to acute or even lasting disorders in excitability and neural networks. These ions are usually prescribed in clinical contexts of neuronal hyperexcitability such as preeclampsia and chronic stress.

Pulse wave velocity is lower in trained than in untrained sickle cell trait carriers.

Background: Sickle cell trait (SCT) is a benign condition of sickle cell disease. Nevertheless, previous reports showed that SCT carriers have increased blood viscosity and decreased vascular reactivity compared to non-SCT carrier. The benefit of regular exercise on vascular function has been well documented in the general population but no study focused on the SCT population.

Crystal structure of bis-(N,N,N',N'-tetra-methyl-guanidinium) tetra-chlorido-cuprate(II).

In the structure of the title salt, (C5H14N3)2[CuCl4], the Cu(II) atom in the anion lies on a twofold rotation axis. The tetra-chlorido-cuprate(II) anion adopts a flattened tetra-hedral coordination environment and inter-acts electrostatically with the tetra-methyl-guanidinium cation. The crystal packing is additionally consolidated through N-H⋯Cl and C-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds, resulting in a three-dimensional network structure.

Crystal structure of catena-poly[N,N,N',N'-tetra-methyl-guanidinium [(chlorido-cadmate)-di-μ-chlorido]].

In the structure of the title salt, {(C5H14N3)[CdCl3]} n , the Cd(II) atom of the complex anion is five-coordinated by one terminal and four bridging Cl atoms. The corresponding coordination polyhedron is a distorted trigonal bipyramid, with Cd-Cl distances in the range 2.4829 (4)-2.

gen. nov., sp. nov., an anaerobic bacterium isolated from tropical shea cake.

A Gram-stain positive, endospore-forming, strictly anaerobic bacterium, designated strain Gal1, was isolated from shea cake, a waste material from the production of shea butter, originating from Saraya, Senegal. The cells were rod-shaped, slightly curved, and motile with peritrichous flagella. The strain was oxidase-negative and catalase-negative.

Crystal structure of (ferrocenylmeth-yl)di-methyl-ammonium hydrogen oxalate.

The crystal structure of the title salt, [Fe(C5H5)(C8H13N)](HC2O4), consists of discrete (ferrocenylmeth-yl)di-methyl-ammonium cations and hydrogen oxalate anions. The anions are connected through a strong O-H⋯O hydrogen bond, forming linear chains running parallel to [100]. The cations are linked to the anions through bifurcated N-H⋯(O,O') hydrogen bonds.

Sickle Cell Trait Worsens Oxidative Stress, Abnormal Blood Rheology, and Vascular Dysfunction in Type 2 Diabetes.

Objective: It is predicted that Africa will have the greatest increase in the number of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) within the next decade. T2DM patients are at risk for cardiovascular disorders. In Sub-Saharan African countries, sickle cell trait (SCT) is frequent.

Cardiopulmonary response to exercise in COPD and overweight patients: relationship between unloaded cycling and maximal oxygen uptake profiles.

Cardiopulmonary response to unloaded cycling may be related to higher workloads. This was assessed in male subjects: 18 healthy sedentary subjects (controls), 14 hypoxemic patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and 31 overweight individuals (twelve were hypoxemic). They underwent an incremental exercise up to the maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), preceded by a 2 min unloaded cycling period.

Antioxidant activity of various Mauritanian date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) fruits at two edible ripening stages.

The increasing interest in plant phenolics and flavonoids outlined the necessity of determining their contents and biological activity in Mauritanian date palm fruits. Methanolic extracts of fruit of six date palm cultivars commonly grown in Mauritania were screened for their antioxidant activity, total phenolics, and flavonoid content at two edible ripening stages. Polyphenols and flavonoids were higher in theBlah stage, corresponding toKhalal in the standard Iraqi Arabic nomenclature, compared to the fully matureTamr stage regardless the cultivar.

Blood viscosity is lower in trained than in sedentary sickle cell trait carriers.

The aim of this study was to compare blood and plasma viscosities, as well as the hematocrit/blood viscosity ratio (HVR), between trained and sedentary SCT carriers. Thirty African male SCT carriers from the city of Dakar (Senegal) participated in the study: one group composed of 15 trained SCT carriers (TSCTc) and one group composed of 15 sedentary individuals (SSCTc). Blood was sampled in resting condition and blood and plasma viscosities were measured using a cone-plate viscometer.

E23K variant in KCNJ11 gene is associated with susceptibility to type 2 diabetes in the Mauritanian population.

Aims: Many genetic association studies reported the contribution of KCNJ11 gene to type 2 diabetes susceptibility in different populations. We aimed to evaluate the association between E23K variant of KCNJ11 and type 2 diabetes in the Mauritanian population.

Materials And Methods: We performed a case-control association study including 135 type 2 diabetes Mauritanian patients and 135 controls.