Modeling and optimization of compaction pressure, and retention time in the production process of carbonized sawdust-based biofuel briquettes using response surface methodology (RSM).

The importance of parameters such as compaction pressure, binder percentage and retention time and their interaction in the production of carbonized briquettes for domestic or industrial use cannot be overestimated, as they have a considerable impact on the properties of the resulting briquettes. This study used Box-Behnken Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Analysis Of Variance (ANOVA) to show how the above parameters and their interactions significantly influence the Higher Heating Value (HHV), ash content and Impact Resistance Index (IRI) of the biofuels obtained. The briquettes are characterized in accordance with American Society for Testing and Materials ASTM D-(5865 and 3172).

Identifying Barriers in Access to Care for Head and Neck Cancer Patients: A Field Study in Dakar.

Objectives/hypothesis: To identify barriers in access to care for head and neck cancer (H&NC) patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), specifically within Dakar, Senegal, using both quantitative and qualitative data.

Study Design: Descriptive observational study.

Methods: Patients with H&NC were selected from two independent university hospitals in Dakar, Senegal.

Splenic lymphangioma.

Introduction: Abdominal localization of cyst lymphangioma is rare. The splenic involvement is exceptional.

Case Presentation: A 63-year-old woman, who was followed for martial anemia evolving associated with abdominal pain in the past 12 months.

Community-acquired diarrhea among children and adults in urban settings in Senegal: clinical, epidemiological and microbiological aspects.

Background: Only limited data are available relating to the etiology of diarrhea in children and adults in Senegal. The aim of this prospective study was to describe the epidemiology and etiology of community-acquired diarrheal infections in children and adults living in urban settings.

Methods: A prospective study was carried out from March 2009 to December 2010, in the urban region of Dakar, Senegal.

Coupled extruder-headspace, a new method for analysis of the essential oil components of Coriandrum sativum fruits.

A new method involving concurrent single screw extruder combined with continuous headspace dynamic for the extraction and identification of the essential oil of Coriandrum sativum L. fruit was developed. The effect of six different nozzle diameters (5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 mm) on the content and chemical composition of the essential oil of coriander fruit was studied.

Prospective study of positional nystagmus in 100 consecutive patients.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the various diagnoses of patients who present with positional nystagmus.

Methods: Positional maneuvers were systematically performed in the plane of the posterior canal (PC; Dix-Hallpike maneuver) and the horizontal canal (HC; patients were rolled to either side in a supine position) on 490 consecutive patients essentially referred for vertigo and/or gait unsteadiness.

Results: One hundred patients (20%) presented positional nystagmus.

Microsurgical anatomy of intralaryngeal distribution of the inferior laryngeal nerve.

The functional results of a partial laryngeal surgery or a laryngeal reinnervation depend on the precise knowledge of the intra laryngeal anatomy of the inferior laryngeal nerve (ILN). Ten human larynges without known laryngeal disorders were obtained from human cadavers for ILN microdissection. Intra laryngeal ILN branching patterns were determined bilaterally.