Kilichi, a dried meat product originating in Niger, is increasingly consumed in Burkina Faso. However, the hygienic quality of this product raises many questions among consumers. The objective of this study was to determine the production technology and hygienic quality of kilichi produced in five locations in Burkina Faso. Information on production technology was collected using a questionnaire. Hygienic quality was assessed by testing for indicator bacteria of contamination. Total mesophilic aerobic flora, total coliforms, thermotolerant coliforms, yeasts and molds, spore-forming flora, staphylococci, Salmonella, and Shigella were tested using standard microbiological analysis methods. A total of 13 kilichi producers were interviewed. Thirty-two kilichi samples were collected for microbiological analysis. The survey revealed three types of kilichi produced. All producers are male. The...

Objective The objective of our study was to assess and compare the performance of five LLMs on multiple-choice questions (MCQs) in cardiology. Materials and methods This was a comparative study conducted in the cardiology department of the Bogodogo University Hospital, Ouagadougou, involving 83 MCQs derived from the 2020 French national cardiology curriculum. The questions were submitted to ChatGPT-4, Claude, Gemini, Mistral, and Perplexity. Performance was evaluated based on overall and thematic accuracy, as well as the number of discordances. Agreement between the LLMs was assessed using the Kruskal–Wallis test. Results Claude achieved the highest overall accuracy (78.31%), followed by ChatGPT-4 and Gemini (75.90%), then Mistral (72.29%) and Perplexity (68.67%). Each LLM demonstrated a distinct performance profile by topic, with Claude excelling in heart failure (100%) and arr...

Introduction : L’objectif de cette étude était de déterminer le profil épidémiologique et les aspects anatomo-cliniques des traumatismes maxillo-faciaux chez l’enfant dans un centre hospitalier universitaire du Burkina Faso. Matériels et méthodes : Il s’est agi d’une étude transversale descriptive et analytique à collecte rétrospective sur une période de 5 ans dans le service de Stomatologie et Chirurgie maxillo-faciale du centre hospitalier universitaire Yalgado Ouédraogo de Ougadougou. Ont été inclus dans l’étude les patients âgés de 0 à 15 ans admis pour traumatisme maxillo-facial avec un bilan lésionnel complet. Résultats : Les traumatismes maxillo-faciaux de l’enfant représentaient 8,49% de l’ensemble des traumatismes maxillo-faciaux. L’âge moyen des patients était de 8,36 ans avec des extrêmes de 5 mois et 15 ans. Le pic de fréquence était observé entre 12 et 15 ans. Le sexe mascu...

Bridewealth constitutes a foundational element of customary marriage in sub-Saharan Africa. Among the Lobi of the canton of Gaoua (Burkina Faso), it is perceived by non-lobi communities as financially inaccessible, thereby generating intercommunal tensions. This study analyses the transformations undergone by bridewealth practices within the Lobi community under the influence of modernity and cultural intermingling. A qualitative approach was adopted, grounded in semi-structured interviews conducted with Lobi households, customary and religious authorities, as well as migrant populations residing in the canton of Gaoua. The findings reveal a progressive monetisation of the constituent elements of bridewealth, notably livestock and agricultural labour, under the influence of urbanisation, migration, wage employment, and the individualisation of social relations.

Malaria remains a major public health challenge in Benin, particularly among children under five years of age. Despite the wide deployment of vector control measures the disease burden remains high. Based on modeling approach, this study evaluates the potential impact and effectiveness of the introduction of the RTS, S/ASO1 malaria vaccine on the reduction of malaria-related morbidity in the province of Couffo.

Background: The soybean crop plays a crucial role in Burkina Faso’s agricultural sector and contributes significantly to food security and nutrition. The study aimed to evaluate the nutritional composition and antioxidant potential of soybean cultivated in Burkina Faso. Methods: A total of 40 soybean varieties cultivated in 2022 at two sites in Burkina Faso were analyzed using standard methods for six parameters, including total phenolic, total flavonoid, total protein, soluble sugars, phytic acid, DPPH radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). Total phenolic ranged from 1.769 to 2.923 µg GAE/100 mg, total flavonoid from 0.008 to 0.031 µg QE/100 mg, total protein from 1.526 to 2.021 mg/100 mg, soluble sugar from 107.6 to 228.1 µg GE/100 mg and phytic acid concentration from 130.9 to 378.0 µg APE/100 mg. Antioxidant activity varied from 0.786 to 2.28...

Improved variety seeds play an important role in increasing agricultural productivity and production. Unfortunately, one of the major concerns of all those involved in agricultural policy in Burkina Faso is the difficulty of marketing this basic input. This study aims to highlight the opportunities and constraints of marketing certified seed of improved varieties. Semi-structured surveys were conducted among 70 people from three categories of actors: seed producers, seed distributors and food producers, based on random sampling. The results of the surveys revealed the existence of a potential market made up of farmers with areas sown with traditional seeds and a large, little-exploited marketing channel. However, most of the seed produced by seed multipliers and seed companies is purchased by the government and its partners. Marketing difficulties are linked to the high cost of seed, t...

Background: Tacca leontopetaloides is a wild food geophyte used by local communities as famine food, with significant contribution to people subsistence during food crisis events. Local ecological knowledge and use of the species are poorly documented leading to knowledge loss and underutilization of the species. This study explored local knowledge on the species, including ecology, traditional processing technique, use level, barriers to its valuation, and domestication perspective. Methods: A stratified sampling design based on climatic zones and people ethnicity was adopted for ethnobotanical investigations. Semi-structured interviews were conducted from October to December 2022, with 224 local people from five ethnic groups residing in two contrasting climate zones in Burkina Faso. The main information collected included people’s socio-cultural traits, use knowledge and ecology of t...

Monocrystalline and polycrystalline silicon-based modules are commonly used in Burkina Faso, particularly in the city of Koudougou, to generate electricity. However, climatic parameters affect the performance of these modules. It is therefore necessary to conduct a comparative study between polycrystalline and monocrystalline silicon-based photovoltaic solar modules. The objective of this work is therefore to determine the module best suited to the city of Koudougou's climatic context. In this study, climatic parameters such as sunshine and temperature were considered. Thus, based on the mathematical model of a photovoltaic module, a simulation was carried out in the MATLAB/Simulink environment an experimental study of the two types of modules was conducted. The results obtained after the simulations and experiments were compared. Analysis of the results for the two module technologies s...

Self-immolative systems first emerged in prodrug chemistry in the 1980s. Since then, several types of self-immolative systems have been developed. Despite their structural differences, all self-immolative systems operate on the same principle: an intramolecular reaction cascade triggered by a specific stimulus, ultimately leading to the release of a molecule of interest. Self-immolative systems offer the possibility of delivering molecules safely, ensuring their specific, residue-free release at a defined location. Consequently, they have been applied in various fields, including targeted drug delivery, detection of protein biomarkers and small endogenous molecules, signal amplification, and the engineering of nanomedicines. Self-immolative systems therefore represent a versatile platform for chemical engineering in biomedical sciences.