Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 infection can induce disturbances of several biochemical parameters especially in patients with severe or critical forms of the disease. The aim of this study is to evaluate the predictive markers of the severity of COVID-19.Materials and methods: Retrospective descriptive study, involving 129 COVID-19 positive patients. Patients were classified into two cohorts: severe (n=103) and non-severe (n=26) cases. The ROC curve and the associated area under the curve determination were used to determine the predictors of disease severity.Results: The comparison between the two groups shows that the values of AST, GGT, LDH, CPK, CRP, Ferritin, PCT, Urea, Magnesium, Troponin I and BNP were significantly higher in patients with severe forms of COVID-19 compared to those with non-severe forms. While albumin, Chlorine and Calcium were significantly decreased in severe patients. ROC curve analysis showed that Albumin (AUC = 0.779), LDH (AUC = 0.798) and PCT (AUC = 0.732) have a medium predictive value for the severity of COVID-19. While the prognostic value were good for BNP (AUC = 0.854), CRP (AUC = 0.845) and high sensitivity Troponin I (AUC = 0.812).Conclusion: The identification of biological factors predictive of the severity and/or mortality of COVID-19 infection will allow the development of predictive models of disease severity and their complementary uses in clinical practice for risk stratification and for early and adapted management to minimize the mortality rate and for rational allocation of medical resources.

This study focuses on perceived stress and the COVID-19 pandemic among employees of a company in the Gabonese oil sector. It assesses the relationships between the sub-modalities of the covid-19 pandemic (knowledge of the pandemic, compliance with barrier measures and the effect of the pandemic) on perceived stress, on the one hand, and on the other hand the degree of stress perceived among employees diagnosed as co-morbid and not co morbid. The data from a questionnaire submitted to 54 men and women employees made it possible to establish an inter-correlation matrix, linear regressions on the pandemic, perceived stress and the type of employees who participated in this research. At the end of all these analyzes, we record strong and significant links; 1) between the quality of work, professional relationships and perceived stress; 2) between compliance with barrier measures, knowledge of the pandemic, the effect of the pandemic and the perception of COVID-19. To a lesser extent; 3) no difference recorded in the level of perceived stress between co-morbid and non-co-morbid employees while waiting for their results after the screening session.

The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between pollen rain, climatic parameters and surface sediments in the Sudano-Guinean zone. Pollen rain was evaluated from the pollen analysis of 30 samples of surface sediments treated by the method of Faegri and Iversen (1989). The sediments were subjected to treatment with Hcl 10%, HF 10% and acetolysis. The floristic inventory was carried out on 500 m2 plots in the Zou, Bassila and South Borgou phytodistricts in the Sudano-Guinean zone. A total of 30 surveys were obtained and submitted to the R software (R Core Team, 2019) for the various analyses. The climatic factors listed are temperature, rainfall and altitude. Pollen analysis identified a total of 271 taxa. The phytodistrict of Zou has the highest pollen richness (97 taxa) while the lowest is found in Bassila (60 taxa). Shannon's diversity index is between 3 and 4 and Piélou's equitability index is between 0.596 and 0.632. The results obtained on the relationship between pollen diversity, climatic parameters and soil characteristics in the Sudano-Guinean zone in Benin, allow us to affirm that soil texture and structure, climatic parameters such as altitude and average temperature condition the deposition and conservation of pollen and positively influence the pollen abundance in surface sediments.

This part of our study focuses on the quantification and identification of potentially pathogenic bacteria from wild dumps in the municipality of Ibanda. The random sampling in the wild dumps was taken according to the standard of the Quebec expertise Center of environmental analysis (CEAEQ), which makes it possible to evaluate the average contamination of the environment. Hand and equipment desinfection was carried out using ethanol (70%). The bottles were placed in an isothermal bag (±4°C) and then immediately transported to the LPVMA/UOB laboratory for further treatment. We made decimal dilutions, from 100 to a 10-3 dilution. For each dilution and culture medium, Pétri dishes were inoculated in triplicate and incubation was carried out at 37°C in a Memert incubator for 24 hours. Microsoft Excel and Past softwares were used to calculate the means of each CFUs collection and to perform the nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test that compare the median of the data between columns. The results showed that FMAT germs were generally more frequent at all sites than Enterococci that were absent at more than half (60%) of the sites. Pseudomonas averaged 300 CFU/g10-6 at 5 out of 8 sites including DSELA, DSCA, DSMUSH, DSKM, and DSRGK. Salmonella and Shigella were present in all wild dumps with a maximum average value of 160 CFU/g10-6. Nonetheless they were poorly represented in the DSGB and DSCS sites. The DSELA site had more fecal and total coliforms than the DSKR site where they were absent. Enterococci were the most represented with 38.8% and 36.79% respectively in the DSCS and DSMUSH sites and coliforms are represented with 24.75% in the DSELA site. Yet Enterococci were absent in the DSELA, DSISP, DSRGK, DSPC, and DSKM sites where the absence of CFT was also reported. Concerning the prevalence of potentially pathogenic bacteria, Nyalukemba district was in the lead with 61.4% of Enterococci, followed by Ndendere district with 57.18% of fecal and total coliforms. The Ndendere district seems to be the most exposed to diseases potentially related to wild dumps, followed by the Panzi district depending on the prevalence of bacterial groups. On 10 sites explored, 8 genera were identified on the selective medium, namely Aeromonas, Citrobacter, Enterobacter, Escherichia, Pseudomonas, Serratia, Sphingomonas and Vibrio. The implementation of the 3Rs strategy (Reduce, Recycle, and Reuse) as well as the installation of a biomethanysation plant could reduce the consequences of waste on the population and the environment.