Drogue, violence et résilience : consommateurs de drogue en cure et anciens délinquants violents à Dakar.

In Senegal, violent delinquency and illicit drug use are on the increase. This study focuses on two distinct groups: drug users (DUs) undergoing rehabilitation and violent ex-offenders (VEs). The methodology adopted includes a quantitative survey of the general population (n=1009), followed by a qualitative survey of fifteen participants, including eight DUs undergoing treatment at the Centre de prise en charge intégrée des addictions de Dakar (CEPIAD) (Integrated Addictions Management Center of Dakar) and the Centre Jacques Chirac de Thiaroye, and seven former VEs from the Grand Yoff district. This neighborhood, known for its violence, is juxtaposed with the Grand Yoff social housing estate, a residential area also affected by outbreaks of violence. This study aims to establish the link(s) between drug use and criminal violence by analyzing the life stories of young adults who have managed to leave drug use and delinquency behind. It then looks to identify the determinants of resilience in certain young people. The study revealed delinquent violence among young people does not systematically result from drug use. Rather, drug use is a factor conducive to violence. The links between drugs and violence depend on individual predisposition, the type of drugs used, and the level of addiction. Resilience results from a web of individual, sociocultural, and environmental factors. It is not static, but rather the result of a series of successes, failures, and even relapses.

Metallization of the C60/Rh(100) interface revealed by valence photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations.

The electronic structure of single and multiple layers of C(60) molecules deposited on a Rh(100) surface is investigated by means of valence photoemission spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations. The binding of the fullerene monolayer to the metal surface yields the appearance of a new state in the valence band spectrum crossing the Fermi level. Insight into the metallization of the metal/fullerene interface is provided by the calculated electronic structure that allows us to correlate the measured interface state with a strong hybridization between the Rh metal states and the highest and lowest molecular orbitals. This results in a net charge transfer of approximately 0.5e-0.6e from the metal to the p states of the interfacial C atoms. The charge transfer is shown to be very short range, involving only the C atoms bound to the metal. The electronic structure of the second C(60) layer is already insulating and resembles the one measured for C(60) multilayers supported by the same substrate or calculated for fullerenes isolated in vacuum. The discussion of the results in the context of other C(60)/metal systems highlights the distinctive electronic properties of the molecule/metal interface determined by the Rh support.

Rift Valley fever outbreak with East-Central African virus lineage in Mauritania, 2003.

In October 2003, 9 human cases of hemorrhagic fever were reported in 3 provinces of Mauritania, West Africa. Test results showed acute Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) infection, and a field investigation found recent circulation of RVFV with a prevalence rate of 25.5% (25/98) and 4 deaths among the 25 laboratory-confirmed case-patients. Immunoglobulin M against RVFV was found in 46% (25/54) of domestic animals. RVFV was also isolated from the mosquito species Culex poicilipes. Genetic comparison of virion segments indicated little variation among the strains isolated. However, phylogenetic studies clearly demonstrated that these strains belonged to the East-Central African lineage for all segments. To our knowledge, this is the first time viruses of this lineage have been observed in an outbreak in West Africa. Whether these strains were introduced or are endemic in West Africa remains to be determined.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Mauritania.

From February to August 2003, 38 persons were infected with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus in Mauritania; 35 of these persons were residents of Nouakchott. The first patient was a young woman who became ill shortly after butchering a goat. She transmitted the infection to 15 persons in the hospital where she was admitted and four members of her family. In Nouakchott, two disease clusters and 11 isolated cases were identified. The case-fatality ratio was 28.6%. Of the patients not infected by the first case-patient, almost half were butchers, which suggests that the primary mode of animal-to-human transmission was direct contact with blood of infected animals. The hospital outbreak alerted health authorities to sporadic cases that occurred in the following weeks, which would have probably gone otherwise unnoticed. Studies must be conducted to determine the potential risk for continued sporadic outbreaks of CCHF in humans and to propose prevention measures.