[Revision of of the subfamily of Metaracoelophryinae de Puytorac 1972 (Oligohymenophora: Hoplytophryida: Hoplytophryidae), astome ciliates of the digestive tract of Oligochaeta worms of Africa: description of five new species]. / Révision de la sous-famille des Metaracoelophryinae de Puytorac 1972 (Oligohymenophora : Hoplytophryida : Hoplytophryidae), ciliés astomes du tube digestif d'oligochètes terricoles d'Afrique : description de cinq espèces nouvelles.

Five new species belonging to the astome ciliates, living in the digestive tract of Oligochaeta worms belonging to the genus Alma from Cameroon, have been described. The techniques used are: vital staining, staining of the nucleus with Diamidino Phenyl Indol (DAPI), scanning electron microscopy and silver staining method (Fernandez Galiano, 1976, 1994). This work confirms the presence of the genus Paracoelophrya and Dicoelophrya in the digestive track of the oligochaete Alma from Gabon and Cameroon; it helps to understand the general taxonomy of this Metaracoelophryinae subfamily. Moreover, the homogeneity of this group is confirmed and the phylogenetic relationship inside the Hoplitophryida order need more studies to be solved.

[Morphological variations of the nuclear apparatus of astome ciliates Almophrya bivacuolata and A. maediovacuolata (protozoa: ciliophora) endocommensal of terricolous oligochaetes in Cameroon]. / Variations morphologiques de l'appareil nucléaire chez les ciliés Astomes Almophrya bivacuolata et A. mediovacuolata (protozoa: ciliophora) endocommensaux d'oligochites terricoles du Cameroun.

The silver impregnation supplemented by DAPI and Feulgen nuclear coloration enabled us to study the morphological variations of the nuclear apparatus of two species of endocommensal Astome ciliates, Almophrya bivacuoloata (de Puytorac & Dragesco, 1968) and A. mediovocuolata (Ngassam, 1983). We highlighted important digitations and the presence of dark bands in the structure of the "H" macronucleus of the small cellular types as well as the presence of intermediate forms between "H" and "X" in these two species.

The in-vitro antimicrobial activities of some medicinal plants from Cameroon.

The antimicrobial activities of 10 plant species (Voacanga africana, Crepis cameroonica, Plagiostyles africana, Crotalaria retusa, Mammea africana, Lophira lanceolata, Ochna afzelii, Ouratea elongata, Ou. flava and Ou. sulcata), each of which is currently used in the traditional medicine of Cameroon, were investigated in vitro. The activities of a methanol extract of each plant were tested, in disc-diffusion assays, against 37 reference or laboratory strains of seven species of microorganism (Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Enterococcus hirae, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans). The minimal inhibitory concentrations of each extract were then estimated, against each of the more susceptible microorganisms (i.e. those giving an inhibition zone measuring at least 9 mm in diameter in the disc-diffusion assays), by agar dilution. Although, in the disc-diffusion assays, each of the 10 methanol extracts investigated displayed some degree of antimicrobial activity against at least one species of microorganism, no activity against the Gram-negative bacteria (Es. coli, K. pneumoniae and Ps. aeruginosa) was observed. The extract with the greatest antimicrobial activity was that of Pl. africana (Euphorbiaceae).

Effects of methylene chloride/methanol leaf extract of Celtis durandii engler (Ulmaceae) on constriction of rat aorta.

Celtis durandii is a medicinal plant widely used in some part of Cameroon for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders. The vasorelaxant effects of the methylene chloride/methanol leaf extract of C. durandii were examined on isolated rat thoracic aorta. The relaxant effects of C. durandii on vascular preparation from rat aorta precontracted with KCl or norepinephrine was concentration dependent. This relaxing effect was significantly reduced with KCl-induced contraction following mechanical damage to the aortic endothelium. Relaxation elicited by C. durandii was not significantly affected by glibenclamide (10(-6) M), a selective inhibitor of K-ATP-dependent channels or tetraethylammonium (10(-6) M), a non selective K+ channel blocker. Indomethacin (10(-6) M) significantly inhibited relaxation induced by the plant extract. These findings indicate that the vasorelaxation effect of the methylene chloride/methanol leaf extract of C. durandii may be mediated at least in part by prostacyclin.

Emergence of CTX-M-15-producing enterobacteria in Cameroon and characterization of a blaCTX-M-15-carrying element.

CTX-M-15-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli emerged recently in Cameroon. CTX-M-15 was encoded by two different multiresistance plasmids, of which one carried an ISEcp1-bla(CTX-M-15) element flanked by a 5-bp target site duplication and inserted within a Tn2-derived sequence. A truncated form of this element in the second plasmid was identified.

[Biogeographical distribution of snakes in Cameroon: the case of venomous snakes]. / Répartition biogéographique des serpents venimeux au Cameroun.

A preliminary analysis of the distribution of snakes captured in Cameroon between 1999 and 2004 is presented in this study. This work helps to provide a better understanding of the distribution of the venomous snakes. The main focus of this study was to identify regions of high diversity of venomous species, a useful step towards developing a national strategy of snakebite care and antivenom distribution. We recorded 4,910 specimens of 150 species from 361 localities throughout Cameroon. Among the ten provinces in Cameroon, the southwest province recorded the highest number of venomous snakes. Diversity was less in the far-north province, but the high abundance of Echis ocellatus seems to be responsible for many snake bites in the region. Of all venomous snakes, the forest cobra Naja melanoleuca was the most abundant in the forest region. The humid savannah region was dominated by Causus maculatus while the Sahelian part by Echis ocellatus. Given the abundance and high snake bite cases of the latter in the region, snakebite care from a national point of view should begin from the far-north towards the forest region of the south-west Cameroon.

[Three new species of Myxosporidia (Myxozoa: Myxosporea) parasites of Citharinus citharus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809) (Citharinidae) in Chad (Central Africa)]. / Description de trois espèces nouvelles de Myxosporidies (Myxozoa: Myxosporea) parasites de Citharinus citharus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809) (Citharinidae) au Tchad (Afrique Centrale).

The study of Citharinus citharus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809) (Teleost, Citharinidae) captured in the Chari river in Chad revealed the presence of three new myxosporidian which are described in the present paper: Thelohanellus taguii sp. nov., a systematic parasite; Myxobolus mbailaoi sp. nov., which affects operculum, skin and intestine, Myxobolus charii sp. nov., a parasite of the skin.

Morphogenesis of Bipartition in two species of the genus Ptychostomum (Ciliophora, Hysterocinetidae).

Two new species of Hysterocinetidae ciliates living parasitically in the alimentary tract of Alma nilotica are described along with the process of stomatogenesis in these species. The buccal primordium of the opisthe originates from the multiplication of kinetosomes of some somatic kineties forming a disorganized field. One row of kinetosomes, a second and a third are successively isolated from this field. As soon as this stage with three rows of kinetosomes is reached, the peristomial infraciliature of the old buccal infraciliature progressively migrates to the equator of the cell. There, it gives rise to the buccal infraciliature of the proter through resorption and reorganization of the old buccal infraciliature. The description of this morphological development is related to both nuclear division stages and the organization of the sucker cytoskeleton of the ciliates. Our findings contradict the well admitted idea concerning the autonomous characteristic of the stomatogenesis within the Hysterocinetidae. We propose that these ciliates should be considered as a separate group within the Oligohymenophora.

Pulmonary function studies in Friedreich's ataxia.

Pulmonary function tests were carried out on 20 patients with Friedreich's ataxia. The lung volume, diffusing capacity, flow rate, flow-volume curve, and blood gases were measured. In each patient the degree of scoliosis was measured and the pulmonary function tests were analyzed in relation to the scoliosis. A control group of 13 subjects with idiopathic scoliosis was used for comparison. In both groups, the degree of scoliosis was similar.