In this research, we study the relationship between mental workload and facial temperature of aircraft participants during a simulated takeoff flight. We conducted experiments to comprehend the correlation between wor...In this research, we study the relationship between mental workload and facial temperature of aircraft participants during a simulated takeoff flight. We conducted experiments to comprehend the correlation between work and facial temperature within the flight simulator. The experiment involved a group of 10 participants who played the role of pilots in a simulated A-320 flight. Six different flying scenarios were designed to simulate normal and emergency situations on airplane takeoff that would occur in different levels of mental workload for the participants. The measurements were workload assessment, face temperatures, and heart rate monitoring. Throughout the experiments, we collected a total of 120 instances of takeoffs, together with over 10 hours of time-series data including heart rate, workload, and face thermal images and temperatures. Comparative analysis of EEG data and thermal image types, revealed intriguing findings. The results indicate a notable inverse relationship between workload and facial muscle temperatures, as well as facial landmark points. The results of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of the physiological effects of workload, as well as practical implications for aviation safety and performance.展开更多
Introduction: The epidemiology of both hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections among drug users (DUs) is little known in West Africa. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of hepatitis B and ...Introduction: The epidemiology of both hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections among drug users (DUs) is little known in West Africa. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of hepatitis B and C viruses among drug users in Burkina Faso. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional biological and behavioral survey conducted between June and August 2022, among drug users in Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso, the two main cities of Burkina Faso. A respondent-driven sampling (RDS) was used to recruit drug users. Hepatitis B surface antigen was determined using lateral flow rapid test kits and antibodies to hepatitis C virus in serum determined using an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay. Data were entered and analyzed using Stata 17 software. Weighted binary logistic regression was used to identify the associated factors of hepatitis B and C infections and a p-value Results: A total of 323 drug users were recruited with 97.5% males. The mean age was 32.7 years old. The inhaled or smoked mode was the most used by drug users. The adjusted hepatitis B and hepatitis C prevalence among study participants were 11.1% and 2.3% respectively. The marital status (p = 0.001), and the nationality (p = 0.011) were significantly associated with hepatitis B infection. The type of drug used was not significantly associated with hepatitis B infection or hepatitis C infection. Conclusion: The prevalence of HBsAg and anti-HCV antibodies among DUs are comparable to those reported in the general population in Burkina Faso. This result suggests that the main routes of contamination by HBV and HCV among DUs are similar to those in the population, and could be explained by the low use of the injectable route by DUs in Burkina Faso.展开更多
The lack of food security leads us to turn to the riches of the forest, namely non-timber forest products (NTFP) and timber forest products (TFP). In Burkina, these products are a source of income for families, improv...The lack of food security leads us to turn to the riches of the forest, namely non-timber forest products (NTFP) and timber forest products (TFP). In Burkina, these products are a source of income for families, improving their living conditions. Tamarindus indica L. that is a NFTP, is widely used in both rural and urban areas. Unfortunately, tamarind is subject to attack by Caryedon serratus. Its biological activity begins on the fruit before the harvest. The aim of our study is to evaluate some biodemographic parameters of the insect pest C. serratus Olivier. First100 healthy T. indica pods were placed in contact with ten pairs of C. serratus for 24 hours. 25 pods, each carrying a maximum of two eggs, were divided into five batches of 5 pods. Then a pair of C. serratus aged less than 24 h was placed in contact with 4 healthy pods for 24 h. Every day, the pair was removed and transferred to another box containing 4 new healthy pods. A total of 20 replicates were performed. The results showed that C. serratus has an average lifespan of 14 days. However, the female (16 days) lived longer and laid an average of 34 eggs during her lifetime. The egg-laying period lasted 14 days, the number of eggs increased until reaching a maximum peak on the 4<sup>th</sup> day. C. serratus has an embryonic development time of 3 days and an emergence rate of 66.63%. However, the weight of males and females differed significantly (p = 0.0108). We found an intrinsic rate of natural increase of 0.12 and a population doubling time was 5.68 days. These results have enabled us to gain a better understanding of its development cycle and its capacity for regeneration. This allows us to implement control strategies for better stock protection.展开更多
Study of physisorbed and chemisorbed carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) species was carried out on the NaX zeolite modified by cationic exchanges with bivalent cations (Ca<sup>2+</sup> and Ba<s...Study of physisorbed and chemisorbed carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) species was carried out on the NaX zeolite modified by cationic exchanges with bivalent cations (Ca<sup>2+</sup> and Ba<sup>2+</sup>) by temperature-programmed desorption of CO<sub>2</sub> (CO<sub>2</sub>-TPD). Others results were obtained by infrared to complete the study. The results of this research showed, in the physisorption region (213 - 473 K), that the cationic exchanges on NaX zeolite with bivalent cations increase slightly the interactions of CO<sub>2</sub> molecule with adsorbents and/or cationic site. Indeed, the desorption energies of physisorbed CO<sub>2</sub> obtained on the reference zeolite NaX (13.5 kJ·mol<sup>-1</sup>) are lower than that of exchanged zeolites E-CaX and E-BaX (15.77 and 15.17 kJ·mol<sup>-1</sup> respectively). In the chemisorbed CO<sub>2</sub> region (573 - 873 K), the desorption energies related to desorbed species (bidentate carbonates: CO<sub>3</sub>2-</sup>) on the exchanged zeolites E-CaX and E-BaX are about 81 kJ·mol<sup>-1</sup>, higher than the desorbed species (bicarbonates: HCO<sub>3</sub>2-</sup>) on the reference R-NaX (62 kJ·mol<sup>-1</sup>). In addition, the exchanged E-BaX zeolite develops the secondary adsorption sites corresponding to bicarbonates species with desorption energies of 35 kJ·mol<sup>-1</sup> lower to desorption energies of bicarbonates noted on the reference zeolite NaX.展开更多
A few studies have highlighted the degradation of shea tree fruits mainly due to insects in Burkina Faso. The insects associated with these non-timber forest products are still poorly known, hence the interest of this...A few studies have highlighted the degradation of shea tree fruits mainly due to insects in Burkina Faso. The insects associated with these non-timber forest products are still poorly known, hence the interest of this study. The objective of the study is to make a qualitative inventory of the biodiversity of insect pests of shea fruits during the ripening period in two different ecosystems. It was carried out in 2021 in three locations of the Ziro province. 30 shea fruit trees distributed in 9 sites listed in agrosystems and protected areas were selected for monitoring and collecting insects infested with the fruits. The inventory identified 25 species in 13 families clustered in 5 orders. The order of Diptera, composed of 6 families with 15 species recorded, is the most dominant order in this diversity. Among the different families, 3 of them, Calliphoridae, Tephritidae and Muscidae, present at least 3 species each. 7 species are mainly associated with fruit damage with a predominance of Ceratitis silvestrii Bezzi (Diptera: Tephritidae). 91.33% of the emergences from infested fruits and 43.41% of the individuals trapped belong to this species. C. silvestrii, which presents a homogeneity in its distribution between locations and ecosystems, is therefore the main pest species of shea fruits in production in this zone. The results suggest the need to determine the economic importance of Tephritidae infesting shea fruits.展开更多
Cowpea is a very popular foodstuff among people in sub-Saharan Africa. In Burkina Faso, it is the main food legume, especially in rural areas. Its production is facing difficulties including post-harvest losses caused...Cowpea is a very popular foodstuff among people in sub-Saharan Africa. In Burkina Faso, it is the main food legume, especially in rural areas. Its production is facing difficulties including post-harvest losses caused by fungi. Therefore, the objective of this study was to isolate and identify fungal strains associated with cowpea seeds produced in Burkina Faso. Thus, a total of 108 seed samples were collected in the three agro-ecological zones of Burkina Faso. The sanitary analysis of the seeds was carried out using the direct contact method. The isolation and purification of the isolates were performed on Potato Dextrose Agar medium while their identification was done through macroscopic and microscopic phenotypical characterization using different culture media (Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA), Malt Extract Agar (MEA) and Czapeck Dox Agar (CZA)) and different identification keys. A total of 10 fungal species were isolated, with predominance of Aspergillus flavus, Aspegillus niger, Macrophomina phaseolina, Fusarium oxysporium and Rhizopus sp. whose infection rates were 70.8% to 100% of seed samples. In addition to being present in all three zones, the infection rates of Aspergillus flavus (56.55%), Aspergillus niger (20.35%) and Rhizopus (32.80%) were higher in the Sahelian zone. In the Sudano-Sahelian zone, Macrophomina (50.66%) and Fusarium (18.88%) presented the highest infection rates, while Penicillium sp. showed the highest infection rate (2.84%) in the Sudanian zone. This finding demonstrated the necessity to improve post-harvest and conservation techniques of cowpea to limit crop losses and preserve the sanitary quality of this important foodstuff.展开更多
Air pollution is today a real concern across the world, responsible for around 7 million deaths per year around the world. It is currently involved in the appearance and worsening of several non-transmissible patholog...Air pollution is today a real concern across the world, responsible for around 7 million deaths per year around the world. It is currently involved in the appearance and worsening of several non-transmissible pathologies, making it an environmental, health, and societal problem. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of short-term exposure to air pollution on the level of sex hormones in mechanics. We conducted a cross-sectional, analytical, prospective case-control study in Brazzaville on 228 patients (76 cases and 152 controls) from June 2020 to December 2022, a period of 30 months. This study made it possible to evaluate, on the one hand, the level of sexual hormones in men exposed to automobile pollution according to the automated method (ELFA) on mini vidas and, on the other hand, the quality of the air by a colorimetric, punctual method on a Dräger tube coupled with a Dräger accuro pump. The results obtained made it possible to establish a statistically significant link between automobile pollutants (CO, CO<sub>2</sub>, NO<sub>2</sub>, SO<sub>2</sub>) and the increase in LH and FSH on the one hand and the decrease in testosterone on the other hand. We also noted that the concentrations of automotive pollutants during this study were all above the standards required by the WHO. Exposure to automobile pollutants affects the hypothalamic-pituitary axis and therefore disrupts the level of sex hormones.展开更多
We propose a new scalarization method which consists in constructing, for a given multiobjective optimization problem, a single scalarization function, whose global minimum points are exactly vector critical points of...We propose a new scalarization method which consists in constructing, for a given multiobjective optimization problem, a single scalarization function, whose global minimum points are exactly vector critical points of the original problem. This equivalence holds globally and enables one to use global optimization algorithms (for example, classical genetic algorithms with “roulette wheel” selection) to produce multiple solutions of the multiobjective problem. In this article we prove the mentioned equivalence and show that, if the ordering cone is polyhedral and the function being optimized is piecewise differentiable, then computing the values of a scalarization function reduces to solving a quadratic programming problem. We also present some preliminary numerical results pertaining to this new method.展开更多
The disorders caused by the swelling of the soil on the structures have been observed for several years in the city of Rufisque. This article presents the results of the study of swelling kinetics of expansive soils i...The disorders caused by the swelling of the soil on the structures have been observed for several years in the city of Rufisque. This article presents the results of the study of swelling kinetics of expansive soils in Rufisque and their prediction based on the hyperbolic rule. The odometer is used as an instrument for measuring swelling and the tests are carried out on some intact samples at their sampling water content. The present study shows that in Rufisque the most swelling layer is marl. The results show two phases of development. The first phase is very fast and represents 77% of the final deformation and the second one is slower. The prediction of the issue by the hyperbolic rule shows that it underestimates the first phase but gives a good prediction of the second phase of the swelling rate. There is a good correlation between the final swelling rates. However, the model gives a bad approximation of the half-swelling time.展开更多
The present study was carried out with the aim of evaluating the chemical composition and bioactivity of Uvariodendron molundense against Sickle cell disease and associated pathogenic bacteria agents. The antisickling...The present study was carried out with the aim of evaluating the chemical composition and bioactivity of Uvariodendron molundense against Sickle cell disease and associated pathogenic bacteria agents. The antisickling and antibacterial activities were assessed using Emmel and micro-dilution methods respectively. The results revealed that the leaves and stem bark of U. molundense contains various secondary metabolites such as total phenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins, tannins, quinones, saponins, alkaloids, steroids, terpenoids and leuco-anthocyanins. The n-hexane (non-polar solvent) extract displayed poor yield (0.66) than the extracts obtained in the polar solvents which have a high yield (Methanol: 1.68, Ethanol: 1.46 and Ethyl acetate: 1.40). These results indicate that the abundant secondary metabolites/compounds in this plant species are those which pass easily through the polar solvents (methanol, ethanol and ethyl acetate). This is the case of phytomarkers like flavonoids and tannins (which are most concentrated in methanol) and anthocyanins which are concentrated in ethyl acetate. The extraction yield of organic/triterpenoic acids (betulinic acid rich extract) was 1.70%. All tested extracts displayed antisickling activity. At 100 μg/mL, the rates of normalization were 89% for organic extract (ED50 = 0.391 μg/ml) and 82% for anthocyanins extract (ED50 = 0.659 μg/mL). The antibacterial activity of tested extracts was very good toward Staphyloccocus areus (CMI ≤ 31.25 μg/mL) while, for Escherichia coli, only the organic extract exhibit interesting activity (CMI = 31.25 μg/mL). This study validates for the first time the in vitro antisickling activity of U. molundense. The bioactivity profiles of organic acids extract from the studied plant material indicate that they constitute promising fraction to be further investigated phytochemically for the discovery of new lead compounds for pharmaceutical application.展开更多
The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of unconventional food resources on the quality of pig meat. 90 pigs of which 20 were slaughtered at 180 days old for meat quality evaluation. It came out from the study...The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of unconventional food resources on the quality of pig meat. 90 pigs of which 20 were slaughtered at 180 days old for meat quality evaluation. It came out from the study that the highest L* and b* were obtained in A0 commercial feed, while the highest a* was recorded in A3 (P Longissimus dorsi) were lower in control group than in experimental groups. The cooking loss and water-holding capacity of the meat from A4 were higher than those of other treatments. Luminance, redness, yellowness, chroma values and pH of the pork had increased during the post-mortem aging time for the both diet treatments while the hue value decreased (P < 0.05). Nutritionally, the protein content, the fat content, the dry matter content and the ash content varied respectively from 24.45% to 26.87%, 0.52% to 1.6%, 26% to 27.5% and 1.1% to 1.79% with the highest protein contents found in meat from unconventional feed A4 (P < 0.01) while the highest fat content (1.6%) was obtained from meat of the control group A0 (P < 0.001). The texture of the meat from the control group was better than those of experimental groups (P < 0.01). Overall, unconventional diet based on Azolla and Moringa improves technological and nutritional pork quality.展开更多
A theoretical study of a polysilicon solar cell with a radial junction in static regime under monochromatic illumination is presented in this paper. The junction radial solar cell geometry is illustrated and described...A theoretical study of a polysilicon solar cell with a radial junction in static regime under monochromatic illumination is presented in this paper. The junction radial solar cell geometry is illustrated and described. The carriers’ diffusion equation is established and solved under quasi-neutral base assumption with boundaries conditions and Bessel equations. New analytical expressions of electrons and holes density and photocurrent are found. The wavelength and structural parameters (base radius, emitter thickness) influences on charge carriers density and photocurrent are shown and examined.展开更多
The improvement of silica particle codeposition into a nickel electrodeposited composite coating (ECC) by a double face horizontal impinging jet cell (IJC) has been studied. The microstructure of coatings was examined...The improvement of silica particle codeposition into a nickel electrodeposited composite coating (ECC) by a double face horizontal impinging jet cell (IJC) has been studied. The microstructure of coatings was examined by means of scanning electron microscopy performed in backscattered electron mode. The embedded particles distribution was shown to be the densest and the most uniform in laminar low flow mode and when the nozzle is at a distance of 5 mm close from the cathode. Excrescences observed on the composite surface are due to the wave-like flow of the jet on the cathode surface. The silica content of the nickel composite coatings was assessed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The amount of particles embedded in the coating decreases with an increasing Reynolds number and as the nozzle-to-sample distance d becomes larger. A maximum rate of 4.43 wt% of silica has been successfully loaded at a distance d equal to 5 mm in the Ni-SiO2 composite coating.展开更多
The aim of our work is the study of nutrition diabetic women, and the study of the health status of their newborns in West of Algeria. Our study was performed on 165 diabetic mothers aged 20 to 45 years and 161 newbor...The aim of our work is the study of nutrition diabetic women, and the study of the health status of their newborns in West of Algeria. Our study was performed on 165 diabetic mothers aged 20 to 45 years and 161 newborns admitted to the hospital specialized in obstetrics and gynecology of Sidi Bel Abbes. A food survey and anthropometric study were achieved in our population, clinical and socioeconomic data were recorded in an identification card. Our results show that the average age of women with diabetes is 33.26 ± 5.15 ans. The socio-economic survey shows that 47.32% of women have an average monthly income;their education level is low with only 8.06% having a higher level. Anthropometric parameters show that 48.08% of elderly diabetic women aged 30 to 40 years are overweight BMI > 25. Dietary survey indicates that women experienced iron, calcium and vitamin B9 deficiency. The results of clinical data have shown the existence of gestational diabetes with a rate of 50.90%;macrosomia is dominant in their newborns with a rate of 22.26%. We noted the presence of hypoglycemia in 18.01% and inutero death in 12.42%.展开更多
This work studies the influence of mechanical and geometrical characteristics of the concrete and the soil on the stresses in a mat foundation. In this study, the soil-structure interaction is modeled by two parameter...This work studies the influence of mechanical and geometrical characteristics of the concrete and the soil on the stresses in a mat foundation. In this study, the soil-structure interaction is modeled by two parameters, the modulus of subgrade vertical reaction (k) and the modulus of subgrade horizontal reaction (2T). These two parameters are dependent on the geometrical and mechanical characteristics of the system. Results of this study show a sensitivity of solicitations to variations of geometrical and mechanical characteristics of the model. Although solicitations in the plate are sensitive to mechanical properties of concrete, these solicitations are strongly influenced by the mechanical and geometrical characteristics of the soil mass. However, it should be noted that the influence of Eb is denoted in the center of the plate whereas the Es feels almost in the same manner over the entire extent of the plate. This study also shows that for the same load cases, the values of the torsion moment and shear stress are not significant those of bending moments and normal stresses, respectively.展开更多
As serious but neglected public health problems, poor quality medicines, i.e. for antimalarial medicines, urged to be fought. One of the approaches is to consider the analytical chemistry and separative techniques. In...As serious but neglected public health problems, poor quality medicines, i.e. for antimalarial medicines, urged to be fought. One of the approaches is to consider the analytical chemistry and separative techniques. In this study, a generic liquid chromatographic method was firstly developed for the purpose of screening 8 antimalarial active ingredients, namely amodiaquine (AQ), piperaquine (PPQ), sulfalene (SL), pyrimethamine (PM), lumefantrine (LF), artesunate (AS), artemether (AM) and dihydroartemisinine (DHA) by applying DoE/DS optimization strategy. Since the method was not totally satisfying in terms of peak separation, further experiments were undergone applying the same development strategy while splitting the 8 ingredients into five groups. Excellent prediction was observed prior to correlation between retention times of predicted and observed separation conditions. Then, a successful geometric transfer was realized to reduce the analysis time focusing on the simultaneous quantification of two WHO’s recommended ACTs in anti-malarial fixed-dose combination (AM-LF and AS-AQ) in tablets. The optimal separation was achieved using an isocratic elution of methanol-ammonium formate buffer (pH 2.8;10 mM) (82.5:17.5, v/v) at 0.6 ml/min through a C18 column (100 mm × 3.5 mm, 3.5 μm) thermostated at 25℃. After a successful validation stage based on the total error approach, the method was applied to determine the content of AM/LF or AS/AQ in seven brands of antimalarial tablets currently marketed in West, Central and East Africa. Satisfying results were obtained compared to the claimed contents.展开更多
Objective: The role of anesthesia in maternal mortality is unknown in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This study was conducted with the objective of analyzing the determinants of morbidity and maternal mortali...Objective: The role of anesthesia in maternal mortality is unknown in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This study was conducted with the objective of analyzing the determinants of morbidity and maternal mortality linked to anesthesia in course of cesarean section. Methods: This is a prospective, analytical and mono-centric study carried out on women who underwent cesarean section at the Centre Hospitalier Mère-Enfant Monkole from January 1st, 2011 to December 31st, 2018. The variables analyzed were socio-demographic, clinical, biological and anesthetic as well as the maternal issues. Data analysis was performed with SPSS 21.0 software. The determinants of mortality were sought by logistic regression with p Results: During this period, 1954 cesarean sections were performed. The mean age of the women was 31 years (range 14 to 47), 1549 women (79.3%) had completed prenatal consultation in Monkole and 405 (20.7%) elsewhere. The emergency was extreme in 192 cases (9.82%), absolute in 445 (22.77%) and relative in 1317 (67.4%). Locoregional anesthesia (LRA) was performed in 1811 cases (92.68%). The main complications were marked by arterial hypotension (22.9%) due to spinal anesthesia, and mortality was 0.56%. In multivariate analysis, only extreme emergency (aOR 7.62 95% CI: 2.80 - 71.23 p = 0.007), coma on admission (aOR 10.44 95% CI: 1.81 - 60.13 p = 0.009), general anesthesia (aOR 15.41 95% CI: 2.11 - 40.21 p = 0.007) and intraoperative transfusion due to anemia/hemorrhage (aOR 8.63 95% CI: 1.07 - 69.55 p = 0.043) persisted as determinants of maternal death. Conclusion: Maternal mortality (0.56%) in this series was relatively low for a low-income country and no death was directly related to anesthesia. General anesthesia, extreme urgency, intraoperative transfusion due to anemia/bleeding, and coma on admission were the major determinants of mortality.展开更多
Because the elderly account for 80% of deaths from COVID-19 and they may be more vulnerable to air pollution, in this retrospective study we aimed to explore individual and environmental risk factors for COVID-19 mort...Because the elderly account for 80% of deaths from COVID-19 and they may be more vulnerable to air pollution, in this retrospective study we aimed to explore individual and environmental risk factors for COVID-19 mortality in the geriatric departments of seven European University hospitals, between February and May 2020. Long-term exposure to air pollution was estimated through annual pollutant concentrations at the residential address over the last two years. Short-term variations in air pollutants and weather parameters were also examined through a 20-day period before the confirmed PCR diagnostic of COVID-19. We found positive associations for diabetes and COVID-19 mortality (OR 2.2 CI 95%: 1.1, 4.4). Regarding environmental factors, we found no association between COVID-19 mortality and air pollutants and weather parameters;however, our study suffers from strong disparities—such as patient characteristics—between fairly polluted and less polluted cities. In order to overcome those disparities between cities, we aimed to explore the relationship between air pollution and COVID-19 mortality within each city, but even with the high-efficiency modelisation systems, differences in air pollutants were too small to estimate the effect of air pollution at the city level. Thus, this study highlights the need to improve the estimation of individual exposure to air pollution. To address this issue, solutions exist such as the increase of the number of fixed air monitors, or even better, through the use of individual markers of air pollution exposure such as urinary black carbon or passive individual samplers. Furthermore, we underline that outdoor air pollutant concentrations may not be representative of individual exposure, especially in the elderly, thus, we suggest that further studies focus on indoor air pollution. Regarding meteorological conditions, we found no association between UV, temperature, wind speed and COVID-19 mortality. We found a positive association between an increase in relative humidity (RH) and COVID-19 mortality, however, the influence of RH on COVID-19 mortality remains unclear, and additional studies are needed to confirm this potential link.展开更多
Zinc oxide nanoparticles with different sizes and shapes have been synthesized in polyol using a bottom-up approach. We have studied the scale-up of the process to massively produce high quality nanoparticles of contr...Zinc oxide nanoparticles with different sizes and shapes have been synthesized in polyol using a bottom-up approach. We have studied the scale-up of the process to massively produce high quality nanoparticles of controlled size and shape. The scale-up strategy required the effective mixing of reagents using either axial or radial mixing configurations and was experimentally validated by comparing structural properties of particles obtained in a small and a large size reactor. In addition, the flow patterns in these reactors have been calculated using three-dimensional turbulent computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Our results indicate a strong connection between the flow patterns, as obtained by CFD simulations, and the size and shape of the particles. Actually, our pilot scale reactor allowed producing sample aliquots of ~50 grams with nanoparticle sizes ranging from 8 nm to 600 nm and aspect ratio varying from 1 (nanospheres) to 20 (nanorods). After their synthesis, these two nanoparticle classes have been tested as building blocks in D149-dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The measured power conversion efficiency (PCE) was 4.66% for nanorods shaped particles and 4.21% for nanospheres. These values were significantly higher than the 3.90% PCE obtained with commercial Degussa VP20 ZnO nanoparticles.展开更多
This paper describes the evaluation of trace element composition of atmospheric aerosol particles (PM<sub>2.5</sub> and PM<sub>10</sub>) and their influence on air quality in the largest indust...This paper describes the evaluation of trace element composition of atmospheric aerosol particles (PM<sub>2.5</sub> and PM<sub>10</sub>) and their influence on air quality in the largest industrial area of Abidjan city, C?te d’Ivoire. Multi-week sampling was conducted in an urban site (industrial area) in Abidjan from April 2018 to July 2019. The mean mass concentration was 48.83 ± 15.24 μg/m<sup>3</sup> for PM<sub>2.5</sub> and 77.34 ± 10.91 μg/m<sup>3</sup> for PM<sub>10</sub>, with significant temporal variability. The average ratio of PM<sub>2.5</sub>/PM<sub>10</sub> was 0.64 ± 0.21. The concentration of BC in PM<sub>2.5</sub> and PM<sub>10</sub> was respectively 52.32 ± 7.48 μg/m<sup>3</sup> and 52.26 ± 12.07 μg/m<sup>3</sup>. Twenty-two elements: Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Rb, Sr, Zr and Pb were analysed by Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF). Elemental composition data were modeled using principal component analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation to determine two (2) and four (4) dominant source categories contributing to PM<sub>2.5</sub> and PM<sub>10</sub> respectively. In the case of fine particles PM<sub>2.5</sub>, the possible sources were Industrial activities and non-exhaust emissions, exhaust emissions. The PM<sub>10</sub> sources were industrial activities and non-exhaust emissions, industrial processes, mineral dust, and waste combustion.展开更多
文摘In this research, we study the relationship between mental workload and facial temperature of aircraft participants during a simulated takeoff flight. We conducted experiments to comprehend the correlation between work and facial temperature within the flight simulator. The experiment involved a group of 10 participants who played the role of pilots in a simulated A-320 flight. Six different flying scenarios were designed to simulate normal and emergency situations on airplane takeoff that would occur in different levels of mental workload for the participants. The measurements were workload assessment, face temperatures, and heart rate monitoring. Throughout the experiments, we collected a total of 120 instances of takeoffs, together with over 10 hours of time-series data including heart rate, workload, and face thermal images and temperatures. Comparative analysis of EEG data and thermal image types, revealed intriguing findings. The results indicate a notable inverse relationship between workload and facial muscle temperatures, as well as facial landmark points. The results of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of the physiological effects of workload, as well as practical implications for aviation safety and performance.
文摘Introduction: The epidemiology of both hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections among drug users (DUs) is little known in West Africa. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of hepatitis B and C viruses among drug users in Burkina Faso. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional biological and behavioral survey conducted between June and August 2022, among drug users in Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso, the two main cities of Burkina Faso. A respondent-driven sampling (RDS) was used to recruit drug users. Hepatitis B surface antigen was determined using lateral flow rapid test kits and antibodies to hepatitis C virus in serum determined using an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay. Data were entered and analyzed using Stata 17 software. Weighted binary logistic regression was used to identify the associated factors of hepatitis B and C infections and a p-value Results: A total of 323 drug users were recruited with 97.5% males. The mean age was 32.7 years old. The inhaled or smoked mode was the most used by drug users. The adjusted hepatitis B and hepatitis C prevalence among study participants were 11.1% and 2.3% respectively. The marital status (p = 0.001), and the nationality (p = 0.011) were significantly associated with hepatitis B infection. The type of drug used was not significantly associated with hepatitis B infection or hepatitis C infection. Conclusion: The prevalence of HBsAg and anti-HCV antibodies among DUs are comparable to those reported in the general population in Burkina Faso. This result suggests that the main routes of contamination by HBV and HCV among DUs are similar to those in the population, and could be explained by the low use of the injectable route by DUs in Burkina Faso.
文摘The lack of food security leads us to turn to the riches of the forest, namely non-timber forest products (NTFP) and timber forest products (TFP). In Burkina, these products are a source of income for families, improving their living conditions. Tamarindus indica L. that is a NFTP, is widely used in both rural and urban areas. Unfortunately, tamarind is subject to attack by Caryedon serratus. Its biological activity begins on the fruit before the harvest. The aim of our study is to evaluate some biodemographic parameters of the insect pest C. serratus Olivier. First100 healthy T. indica pods were placed in contact with ten pairs of C. serratus for 24 hours. 25 pods, each carrying a maximum of two eggs, were divided into five batches of 5 pods. Then a pair of C. serratus aged less than 24 h was placed in contact with 4 healthy pods for 24 h. Every day, the pair was removed and transferred to another box containing 4 new healthy pods. A total of 20 replicates were performed. The results showed that C. serratus has an average lifespan of 14 days. However, the female (16 days) lived longer and laid an average of 34 eggs during her lifetime. The egg-laying period lasted 14 days, the number of eggs increased until reaching a maximum peak on the 4<sup>th</sup> day. C. serratus has an embryonic development time of 3 days and an emergence rate of 66.63%. However, the weight of males and females differed significantly (p = 0.0108). We found an intrinsic rate of natural increase of 0.12 and a population doubling time was 5.68 days. These results have enabled us to gain a better understanding of its development cycle and its capacity for regeneration. This allows us to implement control strategies for better stock protection.
文摘Study of physisorbed and chemisorbed carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) species was carried out on the NaX zeolite modified by cationic exchanges with bivalent cations (Ca<sup>2+</sup> and Ba<sup>2+</sup>) by temperature-programmed desorption of CO<sub>2</sub> (CO<sub>2</sub>-TPD). Others results were obtained by infrared to complete the study. The results of this research showed, in the physisorption region (213 - 473 K), that the cationic exchanges on NaX zeolite with bivalent cations increase slightly the interactions of CO<sub>2</sub> molecule with adsorbents and/or cationic site. Indeed, the desorption energies of physisorbed CO<sub>2</sub> obtained on the reference zeolite NaX (13.5 kJ·mol<sup>-1</sup>) are lower than that of exchanged zeolites E-CaX and E-BaX (15.77 and 15.17 kJ·mol<sup>-1</sup> respectively). In the chemisorbed CO<sub>2</sub> region (573 - 873 K), the desorption energies related to desorbed species (bidentate carbonates: CO<sub>3</sub>2-</sup>) on the exchanged zeolites E-CaX and E-BaX are about 81 kJ·mol<sup>-1</sup>, higher than the desorbed species (bicarbonates: HCO<sub>3</sub>2-</sup>) on the reference R-NaX (62 kJ·mol<sup>-1</sup>). In addition, the exchanged E-BaX zeolite develops the secondary adsorption sites corresponding to bicarbonates species with desorption energies of 35 kJ·mol<sup>-1</sup> lower to desorption energies of bicarbonates noted on the reference zeolite NaX.
文摘A few studies have highlighted the degradation of shea tree fruits mainly due to insects in Burkina Faso. The insects associated with these non-timber forest products are still poorly known, hence the interest of this study. The objective of the study is to make a qualitative inventory of the biodiversity of insect pests of shea fruits during the ripening period in two different ecosystems. It was carried out in 2021 in three locations of the Ziro province. 30 shea fruit trees distributed in 9 sites listed in agrosystems and protected areas were selected for monitoring and collecting insects infested with the fruits. The inventory identified 25 species in 13 families clustered in 5 orders. The order of Diptera, composed of 6 families with 15 species recorded, is the most dominant order in this diversity. Among the different families, 3 of them, Calliphoridae, Tephritidae and Muscidae, present at least 3 species each. 7 species are mainly associated with fruit damage with a predominance of Ceratitis silvestrii Bezzi (Diptera: Tephritidae). 91.33% of the emergences from infested fruits and 43.41% of the individuals trapped belong to this species. C. silvestrii, which presents a homogeneity in its distribution between locations and ecosystems, is therefore the main pest species of shea fruits in production in this zone. The results suggest the need to determine the economic importance of Tephritidae infesting shea fruits.
文摘Cowpea is a very popular foodstuff among people in sub-Saharan Africa. In Burkina Faso, it is the main food legume, especially in rural areas. Its production is facing difficulties including post-harvest losses caused by fungi. Therefore, the objective of this study was to isolate and identify fungal strains associated with cowpea seeds produced in Burkina Faso. Thus, a total of 108 seed samples were collected in the three agro-ecological zones of Burkina Faso. The sanitary analysis of the seeds was carried out using the direct contact method. The isolation and purification of the isolates were performed on Potato Dextrose Agar medium while their identification was done through macroscopic and microscopic phenotypical characterization using different culture media (Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA), Malt Extract Agar (MEA) and Czapeck Dox Agar (CZA)) and different identification keys. A total of 10 fungal species were isolated, with predominance of Aspergillus flavus, Aspegillus niger, Macrophomina phaseolina, Fusarium oxysporium and Rhizopus sp. whose infection rates were 70.8% to 100% of seed samples. In addition to being present in all three zones, the infection rates of Aspergillus flavus (56.55%), Aspergillus niger (20.35%) and Rhizopus (32.80%) were higher in the Sahelian zone. In the Sudano-Sahelian zone, Macrophomina (50.66%) and Fusarium (18.88%) presented the highest infection rates, while Penicillium sp. showed the highest infection rate (2.84%) in the Sudanian zone. This finding demonstrated the necessity to improve post-harvest and conservation techniques of cowpea to limit crop losses and preserve the sanitary quality of this important foodstuff.
文摘Air pollution is today a real concern across the world, responsible for around 7 million deaths per year around the world. It is currently involved in the appearance and worsening of several non-transmissible pathologies, making it an environmental, health, and societal problem. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of short-term exposure to air pollution on the level of sex hormones in mechanics. We conducted a cross-sectional, analytical, prospective case-control study in Brazzaville on 228 patients (76 cases and 152 controls) from June 2020 to December 2022, a period of 30 months. This study made it possible to evaluate, on the one hand, the level of sexual hormones in men exposed to automobile pollution according to the automated method (ELFA) on mini vidas and, on the other hand, the quality of the air by a colorimetric, punctual method on a Dräger tube coupled with a Dräger accuro pump. The results obtained made it possible to establish a statistically significant link between automobile pollutants (CO, CO<sub>2</sub>, NO<sub>2</sub>, SO<sub>2</sub>) and the increase in LH and FSH on the one hand and the decrease in testosterone on the other hand. We also noted that the concentrations of automotive pollutants during this study were all above the standards required by the WHO. Exposure to automobile pollutants affects the hypothalamic-pituitary axis and therefore disrupts the level of sex hormones.
文摘We propose a new scalarization method which consists in constructing, for a given multiobjective optimization problem, a single scalarization function, whose global minimum points are exactly vector critical points of the original problem. This equivalence holds globally and enables one to use global optimization algorithms (for example, classical genetic algorithms with “roulette wheel” selection) to produce multiple solutions of the multiobjective problem. In this article we prove the mentioned equivalence and show that, if the ordering cone is polyhedral and the function being optimized is piecewise differentiable, then computing the values of a scalarization function reduces to solving a quadratic programming problem. We also present some preliminary numerical results pertaining to this new method.
文摘The disorders caused by the swelling of the soil on the structures have been observed for several years in the city of Rufisque. This article presents the results of the study of swelling kinetics of expansive soils in Rufisque and their prediction based on the hyperbolic rule. The odometer is used as an instrument for measuring swelling and the tests are carried out on some intact samples at their sampling water content. The present study shows that in Rufisque the most swelling layer is marl. The results show two phases of development. The first phase is very fast and represents 77% of the final deformation and the second one is slower. The prediction of the issue by the hyperbolic rule shows that it underestimates the first phase but gives a good prediction of the second phase of the swelling rate. There is a good correlation between the final swelling rates. However, the model gives a bad approximation of the half-swelling time.
文摘The present study was carried out with the aim of evaluating the chemical composition and bioactivity of Uvariodendron molundense against Sickle cell disease and associated pathogenic bacteria agents. The antisickling and antibacterial activities were assessed using Emmel and micro-dilution methods respectively. The results revealed that the leaves and stem bark of U. molundense contains various secondary metabolites such as total phenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins, tannins, quinones, saponins, alkaloids, steroids, terpenoids and leuco-anthocyanins. The n-hexane (non-polar solvent) extract displayed poor yield (0.66) than the extracts obtained in the polar solvents which have a high yield (Methanol: 1.68, Ethanol: 1.46 and Ethyl acetate: 1.40). These results indicate that the abundant secondary metabolites/compounds in this plant species are those which pass easily through the polar solvents (methanol, ethanol and ethyl acetate). This is the case of phytomarkers like flavonoids and tannins (which are most concentrated in methanol) and anthocyanins which are concentrated in ethyl acetate. The extraction yield of organic/triterpenoic acids (betulinic acid rich extract) was 1.70%. All tested extracts displayed antisickling activity. At 100 μg/mL, the rates of normalization were 89% for organic extract (ED50 = 0.391 μg/ml) and 82% for anthocyanins extract (ED50 = 0.659 μg/mL). The antibacterial activity of tested extracts was very good toward Staphyloccocus areus (CMI ≤ 31.25 μg/mL) while, for Escherichia coli, only the organic extract exhibit interesting activity (CMI = 31.25 μg/mL). This study validates for the first time the in vitro antisickling activity of U. molundense. The bioactivity profiles of organic acids extract from the studied plant material indicate that they constitute promising fraction to be further investigated phytochemically for the discovery of new lead compounds for pharmaceutical application.
文摘The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of unconventional food resources on the quality of pig meat. 90 pigs of which 20 were slaughtered at 180 days old for meat quality evaluation. It came out from the study that the highest L* and b* were obtained in A0 commercial feed, while the highest a* was recorded in A3 (P Longissimus dorsi) were lower in control group than in experimental groups. The cooking loss and water-holding capacity of the meat from A4 were higher than those of other treatments. Luminance, redness, yellowness, chroma values and pH of the pork had increased during the post-mortem aging time for the both diet treatments while the hue value decreased (P < 0.05). Nutritionally, the protein content, the fat content, the dry matter content and the ash content varied respectively from 24.45% to 26.87%, 0.52% to 1.6%, 26% to 27.5% and 1.1% to 1.79% with the highest protein contents found in meat from unconventional feed A4 (P < 0.01) while the highest fat content (1.6%) was obtained from meat of the control group A0 (P < 0.001). The texture of the meat from the control group was better than those of experimental groups (P < 0.01). Overall, unconventional diet based on Azolla and Moringa improves technological and nutritional pork quality.
文摘A theoretical study of a polysilicon solar cell with a radial junction in static regime under monochromatic illumination is presented in this paper. The junction radial solar cell geometry is illustrated and described. The carriers’ diffusion equation is established and solved under quasi-neutral base assumption with boundaries conditions and Bessel equations. New analytical expressions of electrons and holes density and photocurrent are found. The wavelength and structural parameters (base radius, emitter thickness) influences on charge carriers density and photocurrent are shown and examined.
文摘The improvement of silica particle codeposition into a nickel electrodeposited composite coating (ECC) by a double face horizontal impinging jet cell (IJC) has been studied. The microstructure of coatings was examined by means of scanning electron microscopy performed in backscattered electron mode. The embedded particles distribution was shown to be the densest and the most uniform in laminar low flow mode and when the nozzle is at a distance of 5 mm close from the cathode. Excrescences observed on the composite surface are due to the wave-like flow of the jet on the cathode surface. The silica content of the nickel composite coatings was assessed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The amount of particles embedded in the coating decreases with an increasing Reynolds number and as the nozzle-to-sample distance d becomes larger. A maximum rate of 4.43 wt% of silica has been successfully loaded at a distance d equal to 5 mm in the Ni-SiO2 composite coating.
文摘The aim of our work is the study of nutrition diabetic women, and the study of the health status of their newborns in West of Algeria. Our study was performed on 165 diabetic mothers aged 20 to 45 years and 161 newborns admitted to the hospital specialized in obstetrics and gynecology of Sidi Bel Abbes. A food survey and anthropometric study were achieved in our population, clinical and socioeconomic data were recorded in an identification card. Our results show that the average age of women with diabetes is 33.26 ± 5.15 ans. The socio-economic survey shows that 47.32% of women have an average monthly income;their education level is low with only 8.06% having a higher level. Anthropometric parameters show that 48.08% of elderly diabetic women aged 30 to 40 years are overweight BMI > 25. Dietary survey indicates that women experienced iron, calcium and vitamin B9 deficiency. The results of clinical data have shown the existence of gestational diabetes with a rate of 50.90%;macrosomia is dominant in their newborns with a rate of 22.26%. We noted the presence of hypoglycemia in 18.01% and inutero death in 12.42%.
文摘This work studies the influence of mechanical and geometrical characteristics of the concrete and the soil on the stresses in a mat foundation. In this study, the soil-structure interaction is modeled by two parameters, the modulus of subgrade vertical reaction (k) and the modulus of subgrade horizontal reaction (2T). These two parameters are dependent on the geometrical and mechanical characteristics of the system. Results of this study show a sensitivity of solicitations to variations of geometrical and mechanical characteristics of the model. Although solicitations in the plate are sensitive to mechanical properties of concrete, these solicitations are strongly influenced by the mechanical and geometrical characteristics of the soil mass. However, it should be noted that the influence of Eb is denoted in the center of the plate whereas the Es feels almost in the same manner over the entire extent of the plate. This study also shows that for the same load cases, the values of the torsion moment and shear stress are not significant those of bending moments and normal stresses, respectively.
文摘As serious but neglected public health problems, poor quality medicines, i.e. for antimalarial medicines, urged to be fought. One of the approaches is to consider the analytical chemistry and separative techniques. In this study, a generic liquid chromatographic method was firstly developed for the purpose of screening 8 antimalarial active ingredients, namely amodiaquine (AQ), piperaquine (PPQ), sulfalene (SL), pyrimethamine (PM), lumefantrine (LF), artesunate (AS), artemether (AM) and dihydroartemisinine (DHA) by applying DoE/DS optimization strategy. Since the method was not totally satisfying in terms of peak separation, further experiments were undergone applying the same development strategy while splitting the 8 ingredients into five groups. Excellent prediction was observed prior to correlation between retention times of predicted and observed separation conditions. Then, a successful geometric transfer was realized to reduce the analysis time focusing on the simultaneous quantification of two WHO’s recommended ACTs in anti-malarial fixed-dose combination (AM-LF and AS-AQ) in tablets. The optimal separation was achieved using an isocratic elution of methanol-ammonium formate buffer (pH 2.8;10 mM) (82.5:17.5, v/v) at 0.6 ml/min through a C18 column (100 mm × 3.5 mm, 3.5 μm) thermostated at 25℃. After a successful validation stage based on the total error approach, the method was applied to determine the content of AM/LF or AS/AQ in seven brands of antimalarial tablets currently marketed in West, Central and East Africa. Satisfying results were obtained compared to the claimed contents.
文摘Objective: The role of anesthesia in maternal mortality is unknown in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This study was conducted with the objective of analyzing the determinants of morbidity and maternal mortality linked to anesthesia in course of cesarean section. Methods: This is a prospective, analytical and mono-centric study carried out on women who underwent cesarean section at the Centre Hospitalier Mère-Enfant Monkole from January 1st, 2011 to December 31st, 2018. The variables analyzed were socio-demographic, clinical, biological and anesthetic as well as the maternal issues. Data analysis was performed with SPSS 21.0 software. The determinants of mortality were sought by logistic regression with p Results: During this period, 1954 cesarean sections were performed. The mean age of the women was 31 years (range 14 to 47), 1549 women (79.3%) had completed prenatal consultation in Monkole and 405 (20.7%) elsewhere. The emergency was extreme in 192 cases (9.82%), absolute in 445 (22.77%) and relative in 1317 (67.4%). Locoregional anesthesia (LRA) was performed in 1811 cases (92.68%). The main complications were marked by arterial hypotension (22.9%) due to spinal anesthesia, and mortality was 0.56%. In multivariate analysis, only extreme emergency (aOR 7.62 95% CI: 2.80 - 71.23 p = 0.007), coma on admission (aOR 10.44 95% CI: 1.81 - 60.13 p = 0.009), general anesthesia (aOR 15.41 95% CI: 2.11 - 40.21 p = 0.007) and intraoperative transfusion due to anemia/hemorrhage (aOR 8.63 95% CI: 1.07 - 69.55 p = 0.043) persisted as determinants of maternal death. Conclusion: Maternal mortality (0.56%) in this series was relatively low for a low-income country and no death was directly related to anesthesia. General anesthesia, extreme urgency, intraoperative transfusion due to anemia/bleeding, and coma on admission were the major determinants of mortality.
文摘Because the elderly account for 80% of deaths from COVID-19 and they may be more vulnerable to air pollution, in this retrospective study we aimed to explore individual and environmental risk factors for COVID-19 mortality in the geriatric departments of seven European University hospitals, between February and May 2020. Long-term exposure to air pollution was estimated through annual pollutant concentrations at the residential address over the last two years. Short-term variations in air pollutants and weather parameters were also examined through a 20-day period before the confirmed PCR diagnostic of COVID-19. We found positive associations for diabetes and COVID-19 mortality (OR 2.2 CI 95%: 1.1, 4.4). Regarding environmental factors, we found no association between COVID-19 mortality and air pollutants and weather parameters;however, our study suffers from strong disparities—such as patient characteristics—between fairly polluted and less polluted cities. In order to overcome those disparities between cities, we aimed to explore the relationship between air pollution and COVID-19 mortality within each city, but even with the high-efficiency modelisation systems, differences in air pollutants were too small to estimate the effect of air pollution at the city level. Thus, this study highlights the need to improve the estimation of individual exposure to air pollution. To address this issue, solutions exist such as the increase of the number of fixed air monitors, or even better, through the use of individual markers of air pollution exposure such as urinary black carbon or passive individual samplers. Furthermore, we underline that outdoor air pollutant concentrations may not be representative of individual exposure, especially in the elderly, thus, we suggest that further studies focus on indoor air pollution. Regarding meteorological conditions, we found no association between UV, temperature, wind speed and COVID-19 mortality. We found a positive association between an increase in relative humidity (RH) and COVID-19 mortality, however, the influence of RH on COVID-19 mortality remains unclear, and additional studies are needed to confirm this potential link.
文摘Zinc oxide nanoparticles with different sizes and shapes have been synthesized in polyol using a bottom-up approach. We have studied the scale-up of the process to massively produce high quality nanoparticles of controlled size and shape. The scale-up strategy required the effective mixing of reagents using either axial or radial mixing configurations and was experimentally validated by comparing structural properties of particles obtained in a small and a large size reactor. In addition, the flow patterns in these reactors have been calculated using three-dimensional turbulent computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Our results indicate a strong connection between the flow patterns, as obtained by CFD simulations, and the size and shape of the particles. Actually, our pilot scale reactor allowed producing sample aliquots of ~50 grams with nanoparticle sizes ranging from 8 nm to 600 nm and aspect ratio varying from 1 (nanospheres) to 20 (nanorods). After their synthesis, these two nanoparticle classes have been tested as building blocks in D149-dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The measured power conversion efficiency (PCE) was 4.66% for nanorods shaped particles and 4.21% for nanospheres. These values were significantly higher than the 3.90% PCE obtained with commercial Degussa VP20 ZnO nanoparticles.
文摘This paper describes the evaluation of trace element composition of atmospheric aerosol particles (PM<sub>2.5</sub> and PM<sub>10</sub>) and their influence on air quality in the largest industrial area of Abidjan city, C?te d’Ivoire. Multi-week sampling was conducted in an urban site (industrial area) in Abidjan from April 2018 to July 2019. The mean mass concentration was 48.83 ± 15.24 μg/m<sup>3</sup> for PM<sub>2.5</sub> and 77.34 ± 10.91 μg/m<sup>3</sup> for PM<sub>10</sub>, with significant temporal variability. The average ratio of PM<sub>2.5</sub>/PM<sub>10</sub> was 0.64 ± 0.21. The concentration of BC in PM<sub>2.5</sub> and PM<sub>10</sub> was respectively 52.32 ± 7.48 μg/m<sup>3</sup> and 52.26 ± 12.07 μg/m<sup>3</sup>. Twenty-two elements: Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Rb, Sr, Zr and Pb were analysed by Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF). Elemental composition data were modeled using principal component analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation to determine two (2) and four (4) dominant source categories contributing to PM<sub>2.5</sub> and PM<sub>10</sub> respectively. In the case of fine particles PM<sub>2.5</sub>, the possible sources were Industrial activities and non-exhaust emissions, exhaust emissions. The PM<sub>10</sub> sources were industrial activities and non-exhaust emissions, industrial processes, mineral dust, and waste combustion.
