Université Libre du Congo

Surface water quality in Dolisie (southwest of the Republic of Congo) is strongly impacted by human activities, particularly domestic wastewater discharge, agriculture, and livestock farming, leading to progressive degradation of water resources and posing risks to public health as well as domestic and agricultural uses. This study assessed water quality through analysis of physico-chemical and bacteriological parameters at several sites representative of domestic and agricultural areas. Physico-chemical analysis showed that pH ranged from 5.5 (Ninja Lake) to 9.9 (marsh near the Orthodox Church), with a mean of 6.58 ± 1.18. Water temperature varied from 25.36°C (upstream of the Loubomo River) to 28.5°C (Tahiti fish ponds), with an average of 26.83 ± 0.93°C. Electrical conductivity ranged from 115.66 to 315.33 µS/cm (mean 213.65 ± 73.18 µS/cm), while total dissolved solids (TDS) varied from 57 to 210.5 ppm (mean 112.52 ± 46.70 ppm). Three heavy metals were detected: cadmium (0.049–0.070 ppm, mean 0.057 ± 0.005 ppm), copper (0.0217–0.0509 ppm, mean 0.037 ± 0.010 ppm), and zinc (0.0004–0.00311 ppm, mean 0.004 ± 0.008 ppm). Microbiologically, total mesophilic aerobic flora (TMAF) ranged from 1,000 to 6,000 CFU/100mL (mean 3,333 ± 1,670), total coliforms from 69 to 193 CFU/100mL (mean 133 ± 43), and fecal coliforms from 32 to 102 CFU/100mL (mean 64 ± 21), exceeding WHO standards and indicating significant fecal contamination. Fecal streptococci ranged from 30 to 72 CFU/100mL, <i>Staphylococcus</i> spp. from 14 to 97 CFU/100mL, <i>Salmonella</i> from 40 to 110 CFU/100mL, <i>Shigella</i> from 19 to 77 CFU/100mL, and <i>Pseudomonas </i><i>aeruginosa</i> from 15 to 62 CFU/100mL. Correlation analyses revealed significant relationships: temperature correlated with total coliforms (r = 0.69) and fecal coliforms (r = 0.63), electrical conductivity correlated with TDS (r = 0.91), and several bacterial groups showed positive correlations among themselves. Principal component analysis associated the F1 axis (42.24% of variance) with microbiological parameters and the F2 axis (20.7%) with physico-chemical parameters. These findings reveal progressive deterioration of surface water quality in Dolisie and emphasize the urgent need for sustainable management measures, public awareness, and wastewater control to preserve water resources and protect public health.

Abstract Studies can only guide conservation if their findings are informative at the scales at which practitioners and policymakers operate. Yet, it is rarely tested whether large-scale studies reach similar conclusions to the smaller-scale studies on which conservation traditionally relies. We examine whether predictors of extinction risk are consistent across global, regional, and local scales, for 210 tropical forest mammal species (≥ 1 kg) that existed during the last 130,000 years, in 64 tropical forests, across three biogeographical realms. We found consistent predictors of extinction risk (body mass, generation length, diet, brain volume and scansoriality) when analyses differed only in their spatial resolution. However, predictors differed when analyses also varied in their temporal extent. Macroecological findings about extinction risk can, thus, inform conservation at smaller scales, but they risk misidentifying threatened species if differences in temporal extent are not recognised.

This study examines the effect of the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) on women's subjective perception of happiness in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) based on the 2018 Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS-Palu). The choice of this period is based solely on the availability and reliability of the variables used. The ICT usage index is the variable of interest in the estimated models. It is constructed using the ACM method and is based on five variables measuring the frequency of telephone, computer, and internet use, as well as the frequency of television viewing and radio listening. By performing an ordinal logistic regression analysis on a sample of 21,756 observations, the results confirm the hypothesis that there are plausible reasons to describe ICT as a desirable event likely to improve women's subjective well-being. The results also show that this effect is much greater for women living in urban areas than for those living in rural areas. Finally, the results show that this effect is less significant for women living in unions. It is therefore essential that policymakers implement strategies to expand access to ICT, particularly by strengthening technological infrastructure in rural areas, where women are often disadvantaged in terms of access to information and digital resources. Investing in targeted awareness-raising and training programs on the use of ICTs could also promote better integration of these technologies into women's daily lives, enabling them to take full advantage of the opportunities they offer. In addition, it would be useful to study and address the complex dynamics associated with the use of ICTs in the marital context. Educational programs could include specific modules on digital interactions within couples to raise awareness among partners about the benefits and challenges of using technology. This could help create a more favorable environment for the use of ICTs, thereby reducing potential tensions.

PurposeTo understand challenges faced by faith leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in engaging with current public health strategies for the COVID-19 pandemic; to explain why long-standing collaborations between government, faith-based health services and leaders of faith communities had little impact; to identify novel approaches to develop effective messaging that resonates with local communities.MethodsA qualitative participatory research design, using a workshop methodology was deployed to seek opinions of an invited group of faith leaders in the DRC provinces of Ituri and Nord-Kivu. A topic guide was developed from data gathered in prior qualitative interviews of faith leaders and members. Topics were addressed at a small workshop discussion. Emerging themes were identified.FindingsLocal faith leaders described how misinterpretation and misinformation about COVID-19 and public health measures led to public confusion. Leaders described a lack of capacity to do what was being asked by government authorities with COVID-19 measures. Leaders' knowledge of faith communities' concerns was not sought. Leaders regretted having no training to formulate health messages. Faith leaders wanted to co-create public health messages with health officials for more effective health messaging.ConclusionPublic trust in faith leaders is crucial in health emergencies. The initial request by government authorities for faith leaders to deliver set health messages rather than co-develop and design messages appropriate for their congregations resulted in faith communities not understanding health messages. Delivering public health messages using language familiar to faith communities could help to ensure more effective public health communication and counter misinformation.

Rabbit production plays a key role in the meat production and householder revenue, but the pathological risks limit their production in the traditional systems. A study was carried out to assess the farmers' perceptions on the pathological problems in the rabbit production and assess the rate of traditional veterinary solution application on the occurrence of rabbits' lesions. Data were collected from 100 respondents through questionnaires administered to smallholder rabbits' farmers selected in the study area. Results indicated that most of our respondents are women than men, 28 years of average age, 26 months of rabbit farming experience and are mostly of the secondary school level. In addition, mange of the ears is the most frequent disease in rabbit farming and affects generally the head area. The occurrence of the lesions was the main mode of disease detection and most farmers used local solution (palmist oil + kerosene) to control the disease. The presence of lesions on organs varied with the application frequency of the product (p = 0.000). The palmist oil + kerosene solution applied 2 times per day (T2) reduced the amount of lesions compared to the control (T0) and thus reduces the risk of mortality (90%) compared to the control (100%) with healing. The study recommends that small-scale rabbits' farmers be supported by an ex-

Background: This study determines hospital performance in terms of the operating standards of a General Referral Hospital (GRH) established by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Ministry of Health in relation to the organization of a hospital, its package of activities, the resources available, its architectural structure and its environment.

Deux romans écrits avec en arrière-plan l'expérience de leurs auteurs, anciens étudiants en URSS pendant la période brejnévienne, mettent au jour les contradictions internes de la société soviétique et l'échec du « socialisme réellement existant ». Dans Un Africain dans un iceberg, Zounga Bongolo dénonce le racisme ordinaire de la société soviétique, à travers l'histoire d'un amour impossible entre une jeune étudiante russe et un étudiant originaire du Congo-Brazzaville. Le grand écrivain Sonallah Ibrahim compose dans un style très sobre un exercice d'autofiction avec le journal de bord de Choukri, étudiant égyptien qui observe les échecs et les tares du système soviétique à travers la vie quotidienne de ses camarades internationaux, tout en évoquant la situation politique de l'Égypte, alors en pleine guerre du Kippour.