Western French Research Articles

Efficacy of Peridialytic Cinacalcet in Controlling Hyperparathyroidism in Non-observant Patients on Chronic Hemodialysis in Western French Guiana

Efficacy of Peridialytic Cinacalcet in Controlling Hyperparathyroidism in Non-observant Patients on Chronic Hemodialysis in Western French Guiana

Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in pregnant women in an amazonian region: a large retrospective study from French Guiana.

Over the past decade, the Amazon basin has faced numerous infectious epidemics. Our comprehension of the actual extent of these infections during pregnancy remains limited. This study aimed to clarify the clinical and epidemiological features of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases during pregnancy in western French Guiana and along the Maroni River over the previous nine years. This retrospective cohort study enrolled pregnant women living in west French Guiana territory and giving birth in the only local referral center after 22 weeks of gestation between 2013 and 2021. Data on symptomatic or asymptomatic biologically confirmed emerging or re-emerging diseases during pregnancy was collected. Six epidemic waves were experienced during the study period, including 498 confirmed Zika virus infections (2016), 363 SARS-CoV-2 infections (2020-2021), 87 chikungunya virus infections (2014), 76 syphilis infections (2013-2021), and 60 dengue virus infections (2013-2021) at different gestational ages. Furthermore, 1.1% (n = 287) and 1.4% (n = 350) of pregnant women in west French Guiana were living with HIV and HTLV, respectively. During the study period, at least 5.5% (n = 1,371) faced an emerging or re-emerging infection during pregnancy. These results highlight the diversity, abundance, and dynamism of emerging and re-emerging infectious agents faced by pregnant women in the Amazon basin. Considering the maternal and neonatal adverse outcomes associated with these infections, increased efforts are required to enhance diagnosis, reporting, and treatment of these conditions.

Sickle cell disease in French Guiana: assessing 30 years of neonatal screening (1992-2021)

Sickle cell disease is one of the most common genetic diseases in France. In French Guiana, neonatal screening was introduced in 1992, at the same time as other screening programs for childhood diseases. The aim of this study is to describe the organization of newborn screening for sickle cell disease in French Guiana. We used several data sources: data collected from hospital records since 2005, activity reports from the national neonatal screening program and data from screening campaigns organized by the Drepaguyane association between 2010 and 2021 on 1,300 subjects. Blood samples from newborns are collected by capillary or venous sampling and absorbed on blotting paper (Guthrie) at the same time as those for other neonatal screenings. The dried papers are sent to the inter-regional laboratory in Lille, for further processing. In Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, in order to reduce the proportion of people lost to follow-up, a double screening is carried out and the results are returned before discharge from the maternity hospital. All data were entered into an anonymous Excel file. The data were analyzed using STATA software. Among the 175,593 screened neonates between 1992 and 2021, screening detected 823 infants with sickle cell disease and 17,950 heterozygotes. Sickle cell genotypes include 493 SS (60%), 302 SC (37%) and 28 S-Beta-thalassemia (3%). The incidence of sickle cell disease was 1/213, 95% CI [1/236-1/204], and that of heterozygotes 1/10, IC 95% [1/12-1/8]. The majority of these children (52%) were from the Maroni region. The delay between screening and test results was 7 days. Only pathological results (homozygous, heterozygous) were communicated to parents and/or the attending physician by post. These data confirm the upward trend in the number of children screened for sickle cell disease in French Guiana. Data from screening campaigns organized by the Drepaguyane association have enabled to describe the distribution of the various abnormal hemoglobin fractions, and to confirm that HbS is more frequent in Western French Guiana. In Cayenne, in 2021, the active file comprised 699 patients, including 266 children under 18 years old. This study provides valuable data on 30 years of neonatal screening for sickle cell disease in French Guiana, and on the evolution of sickle cell disease patients. It confirms that French Guiana is the French territory with the highest incidence of sickle cell disease. This incidence continues to rise over time. The study reveals the improvement in the organization of sickle cell disease management in French Guiana between 1992, when screening was introduced, and the present day. It highlights the role of patient associations in the fight against this disease, by organizing awareness and screening campaigns. These data will be used to guide public health policies in the pursuit of improved care and primary prevention.

Short-lived active margin magmatism preceding Variscan collision in the Western French Massif Central

This paper presents and discusses new geochronological and petrological data on a suite of calc-alkaline plutons composed predominantly of diorites and tonalites from the West Massif Central. Their petrochemical fingerprints are compatible with partial melting of a hydrous mantle wedge followed by fractional crystallization of amphibole and plagioclase before final emplacement between 5 and 8 kbar within the continental upper plate of a subduction system. In situ U-Pb zircon dating on tonalites yields a fairly narrow age range of 365−354 Ma (including uncertainties) for igneous crystallization. These calc-alkaline plutons imply active margin magmatism near the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary and are contemporaneous with the back-arc magmatism and HP metamorphism as dated by recent studies. However, such isolated igneous bodies do not form a transcrustal magmatic arc but rather represent dispersed plutons emplaced within less than 30 Myr when all data from the Variscan belt of France are considered. In Limousin, they intrude migmatitic paragneisses and retrogressed eclogites from the Upper Gneiss Unit (UGU), suggesting that the high pressure rocks were already exhumed at 19−30 km depth before 365 Ma. Moreover, the diorites and tonalites are never found within units below the UGU. It therefore suggests that these tectono-metamorphic units of the Western French Massif Central were piled up after 354 Ma. Altogether these results support the monocyclic model for Variscan geodynamics in the French Massif Central, with the transition between oceanic subduction and continental collision taking place between Upper Devonian and Lower Carboniferous.

Clinical and Biological Profile and Factors Associated with High Blood Lead Levels in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients in a Western French Guiana Hospital Center

Clinical and Biological Profile and Factors Associated with High Blood Lead Levels in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients in a Western French Guiana Hospital Center

Causes and consequences of fever in Amazonian pregnant women: A large retrospective study from French Guiana.

The aim of this study was to describe different causes and consequences of fever during pregnancy in Western French Guiana and along the Maroni River. A retrospective single-center study including all patients with a history of documented fever ≥ 38°C during pregnancy at the West French Guiana Hospital for 9 years. Postpartum fever and nosocomial infections were excluded. We focused on medical history and on clinical and biological findings. Causes were characterized as confirmed or uncertain and then classified as preventable or non-preventable. A total of 940 pregnant women who experienced at least one episode of fever were included and compared to 23,811 deliveries who occurred during the same period without documented fever. Among them, 43.7% (411/940) were in labor. About 3.7% (35/940) of febrile pregnant women had at least two episodes of fever, while 0.3% (3/940) had a coinfection at the time of diagnosis, resulting in a total of 978 febrile episodes. Among them, causes remained unknown or uncertain in 7.6% (75/978) and 0.9% (9/978) of cases, respectively. Among confirmed causes of fever throughout pregnancy (n = 483), the most common known cause was arbovirus infection (146/483, 30.2%), followed by urinary tract infection (134/483, 27.7%), chickenpox (27/483, 5.6%), and gastrointestinal (14/483, 2.9%) and pulmonary infections (10/483, 2%). Mothers with fever had a higher risk of cesarean section (19.8% vs 15.5%, aOR 1.3 [95% CI 1.14-1.6], stillbirth (5.5% versus 1.9%, aOR 2.7 [95% CI 2-3.7]), and preterm delivery < 34 weeks of gestation (7.2% vs 4.7%, aOR 1.5 [95% CI 1.2-2]. In the Amazon region, causes of fever are diverse and often associated with epidemic waves, notably arboviruses. This must be considered when exploring possible causes of fever during pregnancy in these localities, including fetal anomalies and/or fetal loss. Physicians should consider the epidemiological context and avoid generalizations. Given the impact of emergent agents such as arboviruses on pregnancy, particular attention must be paid to the epidemiological context. This study can also help clinicians when managing fever in pregnant travelers or in their partner after having visited exposed areas. In this context, fetal abnormalities and adverse obstetric outcomes should be explored accordingly.

Beach erosion aggravates the drastic decline in marine turtle populations in French Guiana

Yalimapo beach, near the Maroni River estuary in French Guiana, is an important turtle nesting site. The interaction of massive mud banks migrating alongshore from the distant Amazon River with discharge from the Maroni River generates strong beach morpho-sedimentary changes. The eventual degradation of the marine turtle nesting habitats resulting from these changes represents a threat to the offspring, and consequently, to the turtle population. Field operator counts of green and leatherback turtle nests were combined with high-resolution topographic measurements of the beach over four field surveys in 2012 and 2014 to map the topographic modifications susceptible to affect nesting on Yalimapo beach. We assumed that the survival of nests was at stake when the depth of sand between the egg chamber and the topographic surface (i.e. the top) of the beach was < 50 cm, and that beach surface lowering > 10 cm represented unfavourable conditions for nest safety with unequal nest survival across the beach. Erosion of the beach surface exceeding a depth of 50 cm therefore results in nest destruction. Digital elevation models were produced to quantify the topographic modification of nesting on Yalimapo beach and highlight the endangered nesting areas. As the modification of the beach is not linear, some sectors are more eroded than others, resulting in unequal nest survival across the beach. Overall, up to 40% of the nests were presumed destroyed over the 2 years of survey, but true losses would depend on the species and the preferential locations of their nesting habitats. The relatively unfavourable conditions that prevailed during the 2 years of the survey are consistent with persistent erosion of Yalimpao beach since 2011. This ongoing erosion could explain in part the drastic decline of the leatherback turtle population in western French Guiana over the period 2001–2018. The substrate quality and dynamics of the nesting beach in relation to the preferred nesting habitat of each species are therefore critical issues that should be considered in the conservation strategies of marine turtles. The beach nesting conditions of marine turtles in French Guiana, as elsewhere, could be further aggravated in the future by climate change effects, including sea-level rise.

Adaptive ecological knowledge among the Ndjuka Maroons of French Guiana; a case study of two ‘invasive species’: Melaleuca quinquenervia and Acacia mangium

BackgroundTo understand how local ecological knowledge changes and adapts, here in the case of the recent introduction of plant species, we report the knowledge and perceptions of the Ndjuka (Maroon) of French Guiana concerning two tree species, Acacia mangium and niaouli (Melaleuca quinquenervia), which are categorized as “invasive alien plants” in the savannas of their territory.MethodsTo this end, semi-structured interviews were conducted between April and July 2022, using a pre-designed questionnaire, plant samples and photographs. The uses, local ecological knowledge, and representations of these species were surveyed among populations of Maroon origin in western French Guiana. All responses to closed questions collected during the field survey were compiled into an Excel spreadsheet in order to perform quantitative analyses, including the calculation of use reports (URs).ResultsIt appears that the local populations have integrated these two plant species, which are named, used and even traded, into their knowledge systems. On the other hand, neither foreignness nor invasiveness seem to be relevant concepts in the perspective of the informants. The usefulness of these plants is the determining factor of their integration into the Ndjuka medicinal flora, thus resulting in the adaptation of their local ecological knowledge.ConclusionIn addition to highlighting the need for the integration of the discourse of local stakeholders into the management of "invasive alien species,” this study also allows us to observe the forms of adaptation that are set in motion by the arrival of a new species, particularly within populations that are themselves the result of recent migrations. Our results furthermore indicate that such adaptations of local ecological knowledge can occur very quickly.

Incidence, causes, and risk factors of stillbirth in an Amazonian context: Saint Laurent du Maroni maternity ward 2016–2021

We aimed to describe the epidemiology of intrauterine fetal deaths in multiethnic western French Guiana and to assess its main causes and risk factors. A retrospective descriptive study was conducted based on data from January 2016 to December 2021. All information on stillbirth with a gestational age ≥20 weeks in the Western French Guiana Hospital Center was extracted. Terminations of pregnancy were excluded. We focused on medical history, clinical investigation, biological findings, placental histology, and autopsy examination to elucidate the cause of death. We used the Initial Cause of Fetal Death (INCODE) classification system for assessment. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed. Overall, 331 fetuses in 318 stillbirth deliveries were reviewed and compared to live births that occurred during the same period. The rate of fetal death varied between 1.3 % and 2.1 %, with an average of 1.8 % over the 6-year period. Poor antenatal care (104/318, 32.7 %), obesity ≥30kg/m2 (88/318, 31.7 %), and preeclampsia (59/318, 18.5 %) were the main risk factors associated with fetal death in this group. Four hypertensive crises were reported. According to the INCODE classification, the main causes of fetal death were obstetric complications (112/331, 33.8 %), particularly intrapartum fetal death with labor-associated asphyxia under 26 weeks (64/112, 57.1 %), and placental abruption (29/112, 25.9 %). Maternal-fetal infections were common, particularly mosquito-borne diseases (e.g., Zika virus, dengue, and malaria), re-emerging infectious agents such as syphilis, and severe maternal infections (8/331, 2.4 %). 19.3 % of fetal deaths (64/331) remained unexplained. Change in lifestyle as well as social deprivation and isolation adversely affect pregnancy in western French Guiana, in the context of a poor health care system that is similar to what is found in the Amazonian basin. Particular attention must be paid to emerging infectious agents in pregnant women and travelers returning from the Amazon region.

‘In the West of traditions, 1793 was yesterday’: Royalism at the 1889 Decennial Exhibition

My dissertation, tentatively titled ‘The bleus and the blancs: Political Division, Compromise, and the French Revolution at the 1889 Exposition Universelle’, explores the revolutionary-themed paintings on display in the Decennial exhibition celebrating the past decade of art against the backdrop of a tense political election. The event, a spectacle heralding France’s "progress,” was criticized at the time on the left for insufficiently celebrating the legacy of French Revolution. This paper is a portion of my chapter on royalism at the 1889 Decennial art exhibition at the world’s fair, focused on the martyr cult of the western French royalist leader, Charette. Nearly one hundred years after his execution, he appeared at the Decennial in the form of Julien Le Blant’s acclaimed 1883 painting The Execution of Charette. This painting provides a case-study for thinking about the political mobilization of past trauma. A 1969 interview with Charette’s descendants who owned the painting was aptly subtitled “In the west of traditions, 1793 was yesterday” and it speaks to simmering resentment against the political descendants of the Revolution with modern repercussions. With this paper, I analyze paintings aligned with royalist ideology to probe the legacy of the French founding myth of the Revolution and the modern relevance of the politics of memory.&amp;nbsp;

Sociodemographic characteristics of children born to HIV-infected mothers in Western French Guiana

BackgroundFrench Guiana is the French department most affected by HIV. The situation in Western French Guiana is complicated by the transborder context and isolation of many patients. This study aims to describe the epidemiological characteristics of children born to mothers living with HIV followed in Western French Guiana. MethodsThis was a retrospective and descriptive study. All children born to HIV-infected mothers between 2014 and 2018 were included. Data were collected using a survey sheet to generate an Excel database. ResultsWe recorded 177 newborns exposed to maternal HIV, four of whom (2.26 %) were infected. The majority of women (87 %) were of foreign origin, and only 7 % had conventional health insurance coverage. The infection was discovered during pregnancy in 20 % of women. Overall 21.71 % of newborns were preterm and 22.5 % hypotrophic. All neonates had received antiretroviral prophylaxis for four weeks, either as monotherapy (AZT) (67.43 %) or triple therapy (AZT/3TC/NVP) (25.71 %). Twenty-two neonates had at least one neonatal illness: transient respiratory distress (9 cases), asphyxia (3 cases), hyaline membrane disease (8 cases), and there were two cases with birth defects: clubfoot (1 case) and heart disease (1 case). The follow-up rate at 24 months was 65 % and 35 % of cases were lost to follow-up. The most common biological anomalies were anemia (69.14 %), hyperlacticaemia (23 %), and neutropenia (9.14 %). ConclusionThe prevalence of mother-to child transmission of HIV was high; a quarter of maternal infections were discovered during pregnancy. The mother’s socio-economic situation was often precarious and follow-up interruptions common.

Phenology and environmental drivers of glass eel entrance in a Mediterranean lagoon

Abstract The European eel, Anguilla anguilla, is an emblematic facultative catadromous species that spawns in the Sargasso Sea and grow in continental waters of Europe and North Africa. In most of its growing habitats its population has dropped since 1980. Although Mediterranean lagoons represent particularly important habitats for eel, knowledge of eel ecology in lagoons is not as developed as it is in rivers. Particularly, data on the phenology, drivers and biometrics characteristics of glass eel entering lagoons are scarce. To address this lack of data, the abundance, pigmentation stage, size, and weight of glass eel entering the Bages-Sigean lagoon (western French Mediterranean) were monitored during 647 d from December 2018 to April 2021 using passive floating traps. Simultaneously, different environmental drivers were measured (flow velocity, temperature, rainfalls…). The highest abundances of glass eels were observed between mid-November and mid-March especially when the discharge of the main tributary of the lagoon was higher than its base flow. The glass eels captured during the peak of entrance were less pigmented, longer, and bigger than during other months. This work enabled us to identify periods when anthropogenic activities should be limited to decrease human-based impact on glass eel in similar habitats.

Paleogeographical reconstruction of the western French Alps foreland during the last glacial maximum using cosmogenic exposure dating

AbstractThe extent of glaciers in the western French Alps foreland during the last glacial maximum (LGM, 26.5–19 ka) has not yet been determined, so understanding glacial paleogeography during the LGM remains an open question. This study focuses on the glacial chronology in the western French Alps piedmont using 10Be surface exposure ages on nine glacial boulders and 12 erratic boulders. Results indicate an LGM glacier advance between ca. 24 and 21 ka. During the late LGM, a smaller glacier readvance or stabilization phase occurred at ca. 19 ka, which was followed by a withdrawal phase between ca. 19 and 16.5 ka. Our outcomes show that the LGM extent in the western French Alps was similar or slightly less extensive than the pre-LGM ice extents during the last glacial. Such paleogeography has also been suggested in the western Italian Alps, which share the same accumulation zone with the western French Alps glaciers. The LGM dynamic of the western French Alps foreland glaciers highlighted by our exposure ages is consistent with the timing of the LGM glacier advances and deglaciation with the western Italian ice lobes.

The Vendee Rebellion and Its Place in the History of European Regional Antirevolutionary and Counterrevolutionary Movements

The western French department of the Vendee occupies a special place among the regional counterrevolutionary and antirevolutionary movements in the history of European revolutions. The Vendee peasant royalist rebellion, between 1793-1796, under the leadership of the nobility and Catholic clergy, has made the region a synonym for mass lower-class counterrevolutions. This article examines several aspects of the Vendee rebellion in the history of the French Revolution. The accusations of certain scholars about a policy of genocide by the Jacobin government of the region’s population arouses heated debates among contemporary historians. Many historians do recognize the massiveness of the repressions but they object to use of the term genocide. The Vendee rebellion has elements of similarity with many other regional counterrevolutionary and anti-revolutionary movements emerging already in the first months after the taking of the Bastille on July 14, 1789 and with the many revolutionary «federalist» movements of the departments in 1793 against Parisian and local Jacobins. All these movements contained elements of civil war between different groupings of the population, especially between opponents and supporters of the revolution. A deeper study of the Vendee rebellion helps us more objectively understand the questions of regional identities, the consolidation of the French political nation, civil wars within revolutions, the dynamics of antirevolutionary and counterrevolutionary movements, and the diversities of mass violence.

Analysis of the Spatiotemporal Evolution of the Maurienne Swarm (French Alps) Based on Earthquake Clustering

AbstractBetween August 2017 and March 2019, an intense seismic swarm was recorded in the Maurienne valley in the north of the Belledonne massif (Western French Alps). In order to study the spatiotemporal evolution of the Maurienne swarm, we created a high‐resolution catalog based on template matching, double‐difference relocation, and moment magnitudes. The catalog includes 71,064 events with a maximum moment magnitude of 3.5 and a magnitude of completeness of 0.7. The seismic activity is interpreted as the reactivation of an N80 strike‐slip fault system called Fond de France. Moreover, earthquake relocation reveals the presence of a shallower fault system with the same strike, but opposite dip direction and smaller size. The presence of two distinct fault systems may explain the observed variation of the b‐value with depth. The seismicity migrated asymmetrically in all directions during the course of about 15 months. Shorter migrations lasting 2–3 days are also observed. The different migration patterns suggest that the swarm is driven by several mechanisms, possibly pore‐pressure diffusion, aseismic slip, and earthquake interactions.

Alpine rock glacier activity over Holocene to modern timescales (western French Alps)

Abstract. Active rock glaciers are some of the most frequent cryospheric landforms in midlatitude high-elevation mountain ranges. Their activity strongly influences the hydrology and geomorphology of alpine environments over short (years to decades) and long (centuries to millennia) timescales. Being conspicuous expressions of mountain permafrost and important water reserves in the form of ground ice, rock glaciers are seen as increasingly important actors in the geomorphological and hydrological evolution of mountain systems, especially in the context of current climate change. Over geological timescales, rock glaciers both reflect paleoclimate conditions and transport rock boulders produced by headwall erosion, and they therefore participate in shaping high mountain slopes. However, the dynamics of rock glaciers and their evolution over different timescales remain under-constrained. In this study, we adopt a multi-method approach, including field observations, remote sensing, and geochronology, to investigate the rock glacier system of the Vallon de la Route (Combeynot Massif, western French Alps). Remotely sensed images and correlation techniques are used to document the displacement field of the rock glacier over timescales ranging from days to decades. Additionally, to estimate displacement over periods from centuries to millennia, we employ terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (quartz 10Be) surface-exposure dating on rock boulder surfaces located along the central flow line of the rock glacier, targeting different longitudinal positions from the headwall to the rock glacier terminus. The remote sensing analysis demonstrates that between 1960 and 2018 the two lower units of the rock glacier were motionless, the transitional unit presented an integrated surface velocity of 0.03±0.02 m a−1, and the two upper active units above 2600 m a.s.l. showed a velocity between 0.14±0.08 and 0.15±0.05 m a−1. Our results show 10Be surface-exposure ages ranging from 13.10±0.51 to 1.88±0.14 ka. The spatial distribution of dated rock glacier boulders reveals a first-order inverse correlation between 10Be surface-exposure age and elevation and a positive correlation with horizontal distance to the headwall. These observations support the hypothesis of rock boulders falling from the headwall and remaining on the glacier surface as they are transported down valley, and they may therefore be used to estimate rock glacier surface velocity over geological timescales. Our results also suggest that the rock glacier is characterized by two major phases of activity. The first phase, starting around 12 ka, displays a 10Be age gradient with a rock glacier surface velocity of about 0.45 m a−1, following a quiescent period between ca. 6.2 and 3.4 ka before the emplacement of the present-day upper two active units. Climatic conditions have favored an integrated rock glacier motion of around 0.18 m a−1 between 3.4 ka and present day. These results allow us to quantify back-wearing rates of the headwall of between 1.0 and 2.5 mm a−1, higher than catchment-integrated denudation rates estimated over millennial timescales. This suggests that the rock glacier system promotes the maintenance of high rock wall erosion by acting as debris conveyor and allowing freshly exposed bedrock surfaces to be affected by erosion processes.

The “Vendee” of the Russian Revolution of 1905-1907? The Western Provinces and the Black Hundreds

The western French department of the Vendee has acquired a certain regional identity in the politics of historical memory not only of the French Revolution but also of the Russian Revolution of 1917-1922. The royalist rebellion of the Vendee peasants between 1793-1796 has become a synonym for a region of mass lower-class counter-revolution. Not surprisingly, both supporters and opponents of the Bolsheviks tried to find parallels with the French Revolution to explain the massiveness of anti-Bolshevik opposition in certain regions of the former Russian Empire. Often both Reds and Whites called the Cossack lands, especially the Don, the Vendee of the Russian Revolution. However, it is impossible to place an equal sign between the Vendee peasants, fighting for king and church, and anti-Bolshevik Cossacks and peasants because the Cossacks and peasants were not fighting for the restoration of the monarchy. One can find a Russian equivalent to the Vendee regional concept of mass counter-revolution in the nine western provinces of the Russian Empire in the Revolution of 1905-1907. These provinces, along with six other provinces, comprised the Jewish Pale of Settlement and became bastions of the Union of the Russian People and other Black Hundred organizations. Unlike the interior Russian regions, the western provinces were multiethnic and multireligious. The western provinces had mass protest movements and outbreaks of terrorism where ethnic, religious and social factors intersected. The amorphous populist Black Hundred ideology could attract mass support in the western provinces from all those seeing themselves as victims of all different variations of exploitation and injustices from the hands of different establishments.

The public health department of the Western French Guiana Hospital: a 5-year return of experience

The western French Guiana hospital (Chog) is atypical. The creation of a public health department (PSP) is the result of a willingness of the institution to respond to public health issues on its territory. The main objective of this article is to identify the levers and impediments for the development of public health activities within this hospital, after five years of implementation. This article was based on the analysis of documents produced within the PSP, the institution and at the regional level (2013-2018), and on interviews conducted in 2017 with PSP professionals, and chiefs of other departments of the Chog (N = 16). The added value of the PSP is based on the pooling of human resources and technical skills, the coexistence of clinical activities, prevention, research, teaching and international cooperation with Suriname, and the development of multidisciplinary and evaluative approaches. The lack of a set of public health objectives in the establishment project, the lack of place for these activities in its new hospital, and the difficult mobilization of financial resources, however, limit the prospects. This analysis has shown difficulties in developing public health activities within this hospital, in an overseas territory with nonetheless multiple and complex needs. The authors invite politics and health authorities to value, and develop these activities, conditions necessary for the positioning of the hospital as an actor of the &#8220;turn in prevention&#8221;.

Spectral Analysis of Worldview-2 Imagery in Detecting Invasive Plant Species (mistletoe) in Scots Pine Forest

Mistletoe (Viscum album), a hemiparasite of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), is one of the major problems in the conservation of Scots pine forest in the Alps. The study area covered with coniferous plantation, a part of Bois Noir in the South Western French Alps is highly affected by mistletoe. Consequences of mistletoe infection include branch swelling and bending of the tree structure. The coniferous plantation in the study area, located in Bois Noir in the south-western French Alps, is experiencing an alarmingly high rate of tree mortality due to mistletoe infection. This study aims to assess the spectral distinctness of Scots pine in the presence and absence of mistletoe. For the management and minimization of biological invasion, detection and mapping plays a key role in forest conservation. Advancement of very high resolution (VHR) satellite imagery and aerial imagery with application of remote sensing and GIS technologies has shown a promising result in detecting, mapping and monitoring forest health. In this research, very high resolution satellite imagery WorldView-2 (panchromatic 0.5m and multispectral 2m) was used. Scots pine with mistletoe presence has low spectral reflectance in all bands, but NIR1, NIR2 and Red edge of WorldView-2 have higher ability to discriminate the mistletoe. Similarly, the vegetation index NDVI 2 (band combination of Red and NIR2) has the potential to discriminate the mistletoe. Detection of such biological invasions provides good information for effective conservation and better management of forests.

High prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Western French Guiana

The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) infections in western French Guiana and to analyze associated factors with both infections. A retrospective study was conducted in a sexually transmitted infections clinic in 2017. Women (n=338) were tested by real-time polymerase chain reaction for vaginal, anal and throat CT and NG infections. Men (n=192) were evaluated using urine specimens. Socio-demographic and sexual behaviour data were collected by nurses with a structured questionnaire. The prevalence of CT and NG infections among women were 24.3% and 13.3%, respectively, and 12.0% and 7.3% among men. Women aged under 25 years had a higher risk of CT and NG infections than women aged 35 years or more. Another risk factor for CT infection was low educational level, and occasional unprotected sex for NG infection. CT and NG infections were associated with reporting symptoms among men. Very high prevalences of CT and NG infections among women and men were found, which suggest that a large-scale screening strategy should be implemented in French Guiana.