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Biomedical subjects

J P Besancenot

Publications and source records attributed to J P Besancenot.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Reduced fungal contamination of the indoor environment with the Plasmair system (Airinspace).

Aspergillus spp. and other moulds cause life-threatening opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients. Indoor contamination and construction work that liberate fungal spores are a major source of nosocomial aspergillosis. Dijon hospital is a tertiary care institution in northeast France undergoing construction work beside high-risk clinical units. To determine the impact of this activity, a surveillance programme was implemented one year before building work began in order to establish baseline levels of contamination. Air and surface fungal contamination in adult and paediatric haematology units were prospectively examined following use, or not, of a new air-treatment system with mobile Plasmair units (Airinspace). There were significant reductions in overall fungal contamination for the Plasmair treated rooms for air and surface samples in both clinical units. Plasmair treatment also significantly reduced A. fumigatus in the air. These data suggest that Plasmair units may provide an efficient method of reducing indoor fungal contamination in hospitals.

Air Microbiology↗
PubMed2004

[How to predict the date of the start of the pollination of a plant from the meteorological data: the example of ragweed at Lyon].

The pollen of Ambrosia, highly allergenic, can be found in high quantities in the French regions of Burgundy, Auvergne and mostly a great part of the Rhône-Alpes region. The aim of this study was to establish some forecast models of the Starting Date of the Pollen season (SDP) of Ambrosia, in order to provide early information to allergists and allergic people. The pollen data came from the Hirst trap set up in Lyon since 1987 by the RNSA, and the meteorological data for the same period were provided by Météo-France. Two models were used, a sum of daily average temperatures and a multiple regression on all the 10-day period meteorological data. The results were quite accurate, except for 2003 with the temperature sums, probably because of very special meteorological conditions. So the models will have to be updated in this way.

Air↗
PubMed2003

[The French Airborne Pollen Network: current situation and prospects for improvement].

The french network of aeropalynology includes traps very close together and vast areas without any trap as well. A study was launched in order to optimise this network, without the number of traps increasing too much. Five criteria are successively reviewed to rationalise the spatial cover. Equi-distance of sites has to be balanced by the number of concerned people. But the need for having long time series is incentive to delete only as a last resort the traps which are reliable for a long time. Moreover, apart from the general network, some local or regional features make indispensable a trap in such-and-such a place (health resort), or justify a higher density of traps in such-and-such an area (the Rhône-Alpes concerning ragweed, the Mediterranean South concerning cypress).

Air↗
PubMed2002

[Evolution of eosinophilia during the pollen season among the general population: a way of determining new sensitiziations].

The purpose of this paper was to verify the effect of pollen peaks on blood eosinophilia in an all and sundry population, including allergic as well as non-allergic subjects, so that we can open up new horizons in the understanding and prevention of pollinosis. Daily eosinophilia counts of hospital patients were measured at the time of a blood checkup (1996-1998), and divided into six classes. Those data were compared to daily pollen counts of twelve taxa, coming from the Hirst trap of Dijon (France). An eosinophilia increase occurred when hazel, hornebeam, birch, oak, grasses, ragweed and plantain were present in high concentration. In other cases, only simultaneous presence of several taxa seemed to play a part, because of cross-reactivity or polysensitization. Lastly, Cupressaceae-Taxaceae and ragweed were seen as increasing eosinophilia in seemingly non allergic people. The analysis of eosinophilia in the general population was able to reveal potential allergic patients and potential allergic diseases.

Cross Reactions↗
PubMed1997

Weather conditions and cerebrospinal meningitis in Benin (Gulf of Guinea, West Africa).

Over a 28-year period cerebrospinal meningitis, in sporadic as well as epidemic situations, mainly affected the Beninese territory from November to March, April or sometimes May. On the average, the acme occurred in February-March. A regression analysis confirmed that 14 to 34.5% of the temporal variability of the disease was due to the northern trade wind (harmattan) and a low absolute humidity in the northern areas, which constitute the main epidemiological pole of the country. On the contrary, cerebrospinal meningitis and climate turned out to be fully independent one from the other in the southernmost areas, where the harmattan is seldom experienced although the meningitis belt is at the present time spreading southwards. But the case-fatality ratio was especially high in the coastal region and during the off season, i.e. when endemic meningitis predominantly affected small children aged under one year. In any way, the climate-meningitis relationship proved to be weaker than is sometimes assumed, perhaps because this relationship is partly overshadowed by both anthropic effects (vaccination campaigns) and latency before disease outbreak.

Benin↗
PubMed1997

[Tropical climate pathology].

In addition to being a determinant factor for the development of infectious and parasitic diseases, tropical weather conditions can have harmful effects for the human organism different from those of temperate climates. Adverse effects can result from aggressive environmental factors such as ultraviolet radiation, extreme heat, abrupt changes in temperature, and tropical storms. In weather-sensitive subjects, exposure to tropical conditions increases the risk of acute reactions including ischemic heart disease, asthma attacks, and kidney stones. Adverse effects can be enhanced by suddenness of change in climate as underlined by the stress experienced by air travelers. In practice it is important to recognize that different tropical climates have different effects on health. Intertropical climates range from dry and rainy areas to plains and mountain areas. Knowledge of the concepts of climatopathology is necessary to advise patients on the choice of destination and the most favorable period for travel.

Asthma↗