Assessment of soil redistribution rates by (137)Cs and (210)Pbex in a typical Malagasy agricultural field.

Soil degradation processes affect more than one-third of the Malagasy territory and are considered as the major environmental threat impacting the natural resources of the island. This innovative study reports about a pioneer test and use of radio-isotopic techniques (i.e.

Cleft lip and palate in Madagascar 1998-2007.

Our aim was to find out the prevalence of oral clefts in Madagascar, to compare it with elsewhere in the world, and to give the possible cause of the particular rate in the Vakinankaratra region where Antsirabe is situated. Data were collected from birth registers from 1998 to 2007 in the 10 most important hospitals of the 6 former provinces and of Antsirabe. A total of 150,973 consecutive live births were recorded in the 6 provinces, and 175,981 including those from Antsirabe.

Top soil radioactivity assessment in a high natural radiation background area: the case of Vinaninkarena, Antsirabe-Madagascar.

The village of Vinaninkarena, Antsirabe, Madagascar (47 degrees 02'40''E, 19 degrees 57'17''S) is located in a high natural radioactivity area. In order to evaluate the natural radionuclide content in soil, sampling was done on-site by the transect method (85 soil samples) and off-site through transects across and beyond the region (up to a range of 100 km), to determine the natural radioactivity variation within vs. outside the region, and to detect significant differences, taking into account spatial variability.