The importance of some Sahelian browse species as feed for goats

Browse species contribute substantially to the availability of feed for livestock in the Sahelian zone of Burkina Faso. This study aimed to identify the most appreciated and utilized browse species, to evaluate their potential for fodder production and nutritive value, and to test the possibility of using them in intensive animal production. In the first experiment the behaviour of cattle, sheep and goats was studied and a survey was undertaken in the study area to estimate the indigenous knowledge of browse species and their utilisation by ruminants. In the second experiment, Acacia senegal, Guiera senegalensis and Pterocarpus lucens, species that were found to be well utilized, were studied by estimating the phenological variation over time and the edible biomass production, total and directly accessible to sheep (0.87 m), goats (1.65 m) or cattle (1.47 m). Biomass production was also estimated using dendrometric parameters. The chemical composition of biomass (leaves and green pods) was determined in the third experiment, followed by measurement of the voluntary intake and apparent digestibility of the leaves and pods (except for G. senegalensis) using goats. Their effect (except for A. senegal leaves) on growth, carcass characteristics and parasite resistance was evaluated in the fourth experiment, feeding the browses ad libitum with a fixed amount of bran and hay and compared with a control diet containing cottonseed cake. The farmers classified the browse species according to their availability, their nutritive value, and several other usages. The feeding activities of all animal species decreased from rainy to dry season, with the decline in fodder availability, while resting and ruminating activities were increasing at the same time. Cattle browsed (leaves and litter) during the whole the study period for around 5% of the time spent on pasture. Sheep and goats made a shift in their feeding activities from grazing to browsing (28% and 52% of the time spent on pasture, respectively, for sheep and goats) when the herbaceous biomass decreased. A. senegal, G. senegalensis and P. lucens started the foliation phase as soon as the rains started, while A. senegal lost leaves earlier. The proportion of accessible biomass was higher for G. senegalensis, but P. lucens had higher total edible biomass. Goats browsing at higher height had more edible biomass at their disposal than cattle and sheep, although the chemical composition was similar for biomass accessible by all three animal species. The crown diameter predicted well the total edible biomass production of the three browse species. The crude protein (CP) content was 114, 157 and 217 g/kg dry matter (DM) and the neutral detergent fibre content 604, 534 and 412 g/kg DM for G. senegalensis, P. lucens and A. senegal, respectively. The highest intake was of the P. lucens leaves diet (864 g) and the lowest of the G. senegalensis diet (397 g). Pods from A. senegal were more consumed than pods of P. lucens. The leaves of A. senegal and P. lucens had similar digestibilities of CP, while A. senegal pods had higher digestibility of all nutrients than P. lucens pods. Goats fed A. senegal pods showed higher growth rate (56 g/day) and the goats on P. lucens pods had the lowest (24 g/day). The carcass weight, dressing percentage and weight of the primal cuts were higher for goats fed A. senegal pods, P. lucens leaves and the control diet. In conclusion, A. senegal pods and P. lucens leaves can be recommended as supplemental feed to poor quality roughages

The Who, What, Where, and How of Foreign Languages: A Study of Foreign Language Curricula At Four-Year Colleges In Mississippi

This paper studies the eight four-year public universities within the state of Mississippi and their French and Spanish foreign language curriculums in order to compare their curriculums to those of The American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages’ standards of the Five C’s: communication, communities, culture, connections, and comparisons. The results are broken down into three sections by each college’s overall rankings, each college’s individual course offerings, and culture offerings. The data provides interesting results that shows that while a university may offer more or less foreign language courses, their curriculum did not necessarily reflect the standards that ACTFL describes as good standards for learning a foreign language

Remote sensing and dynamic modelling to forecast Rift Valley fever outbreaks in Senegal

Rift Valley Fever (RVF) is a vector-borne viral zoonosis, transmitted either through exposure to infected animals or through bites from infected mosquitoes, mainly from the Aedes or Culex genera. In semi-arid areas, water bodies, which are full during the rainy season, allow the development of Aedes and Culex mosquito species. In East Africa, RVF outbreaks are known to be closely associated with heavy rainfall events, which lead to an above normal abundance of the vectorial populations. In Senegal, there is strong evidence that the disease is endemic. Yet, the correlation found in East Africa between extreme rainfall events and RVF outbreaks occurrence is not valid. We propose here a modelling approach which makes use of remote sensing data to investigate i) the role of rainfall temporal distribution in RVF outbreaks and ii) the possibility to develop an early-warning system for RVF in Senegal. The study area is an agropastoral zone located in Northern Senegal, a region characterized by a dense network of temporary water ponds which provide suitable breeding sites to RVF vectors. A pond hydrological model is combined with a mosquito population model to predict the abundance of the two main mosquito species involved in RVF virus transmission in Senegal (Aedes vexans arabiensis and Culex poicilipes). The hydrological model uses daily rainfall as input to simulate variations of pond surface areas. The mosquito population model is mechanistic, considers both aquatic and adult stages and is driven by pond dynamics. High spatial resolution remote sensing data are used to derive the hydrological and environmental characteristics of the ponds necessary to run the models. Once validated using hydrological and entomological field data, the model was used to simulate the abundance dynamics of the two mosquito species over a 43 year period (1961-2003). Analyzing the predicted dynamics of mosquito populations with regards to the years of main outbreaks showed that the main RVF outbreaks occurred during years with simultaneous high abundances of both species. Daily satellite rainfall estimates (TRMM) were used as alternative to ground-measured rainfall data to develop a forecasting tool of RVF in Senegal. Our study provides a mechanistic insight on RVF virus transmission in Northern Senegal. It highlights the complementary roles of Aedes vexans and Culex poicilipes mosquitoes in virus transmission and the potential of remote sensing and mechanistic modelling to develop an early-warning system of RVF outbreaks in Senegal. (Texte intégral

Population structure and genetic diversity in Acacia senegal complex of species as revealed by SSR markers

Acacia senegal is a multipurpose African tree mainly exploited for gum Arabic production. It also played a capital role in soil fertilization and as fodder for animals. Despite its wide distribution in Africa and its economic and ecological importance, no studies about population structure and genetic diversity using highly polymorphic and co-dominant markers, such as microsatellites have yet been performed for this species. In this study, we investigate the pattern of A. senegal genetic diversity in its African distribution range using 469 samples from 12 populations and 6 countries. Microsatellite markers that we developed especially for this species are used. The first results show that different specific alleles are fixed in some populations. This led to a high genetic structure and confirms that A. senegal is a complex of several sub-species. When population samples with common alleles are only considered the genetic structure becomes low with Fst = 0.09, indicating gene flow among these populations. Genetic structure investigated using Bayesian model displays 6 clusters and presence of migrants among them. Allelic richness ranges from 3.16 to 5.17 with an average value of 5.03. Expected heterozygosity (He) ranges from 0.41 to 0.56 with 0.47 of average. These results show the ability of microsatellites markers developed and used in this study, to distinguish sub-species in the A. senegal complex and, to detect genetic structure and diversity within sub-species. (Texte intégral

Study on the role of the sylvatic cycle of African swine fever in Senegal

It is generally believed that African swine fever (ASF) virus in Sub-Saharan Africa is maintained in nature by warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) and soft ticks from the genus Ornithodoros (Penrith et al., 2004). In Senegal, warthogs are present in some nature reserves and the presence of an argasid tick (O. sonrai) has been described (Vial et al., 2007). In order to verify the presence of such a sylvatic cycle in Senegal, 74 warthog sera from different locations were analysed for ASF antibodies by Blocking Elisa and Algenex anti rp-30 ELISA. Moreover, 48 warthog burrows were inspected in the Sine Saloum National Park. Equally, 132 sera from free-ranging pigs reared in central and South Senegal and 74 warthogs sera were analyzed for the presence of antibodies against Ornithodoros erraticus (Canals et al, 1990). All the warthog sera were negative against ASF antibodies and anti-tick antibodies. Equally, no presence of soft ticks were detected in the 48 warthog burrows inspected despite O. sonrai was found in neighbouring rodent burrows. Among the 132 pig sera tested against tick antibodies, 8.5% (n=12) showed positive titres. There was a strong correlation between the later sera and those sampled in the area of distribution of O. sonrai (OR=7.1; p="0.028)." In addition, among those sera, 36% (n=4) showed also positive titres to ASF virus. The absence of antibodies against ASF in warthog sera confirms the lack of circulation of ASFV among warthog populations in Senegal, even in areas where the tick is present. The absence of antibodies against soft ticks in warthogs from different regions confirms that contacts between warthogs and O. sonrai are inexistent. The detection of antibodies against O. sonrai in pig sera confirms that contacts between both species occur. Moreover, it seems to confirm that O. sonrai and O. erraticus are antigenically related and that this diagnostic method could be useful to determine the distribution of O. sonrai in Senegal and other countries. Finally, these results prove the absence of warthog involvement in the cycle of ASF virus and confirm a potential role of O. sonrai as a reservoir host for the virus in Senegal. (Texte intégral

Transhumance and nomadism in the sylvo-pastoral region (Ferlo) of Senegal : Perspectives for pastoral development

In Senegal, pastoral mobility has developed greatly over the last years as an adaptation to new environmental conditions. Competition for access to resources has increased (greater need for farms and btùldings, need to get new pasturing zones available, etc.). In spite of new measures taken by the authorities, conflicts between transhumant pastoral groups and sedentary groups has hardly been reduced. This article deals with the CUITent pastoral mobility in the sylvo-pastoral area (Zone sylvo-pastoral (ZSP) with regard to the previous situation, and indicates the trends for sustainable development in the main livestock production area of Senegal. (Résumé d'auteur

Remembering the Taste of Senegal

2012 essay contest winner Arielle Ramberg\u27s Remembering the Taste of Senegal Ramberg traveled abroad in 2010 but participated in the 2012 essay contest

The Rose McClendon Memorial Collection of Photographs of Celebrated Negroes by Carl Van Vechten

The Rose McClendon Memorial Collection of Photographs of Celebrated Negroes by Carl Van Vechten was a gift presented to the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center by Carl Van Vechten in various installments starting with the first in 1946 and ending up until his death in 1964. Carl Van Vechten was an author, critic, photographer, bibliophile, and philanthropist. During his time as a photographer, he photographed many prominent African Americans of the time, including some of the most important figures of the Harlem Renaissance. The Rose McClendon Memorial Collection of Photographs of Celebrated Negroes by Carl Van Vechten Collection is comprised of 673 images taken between 1931 and 1964 by Van Vechten. The collection focuses mainly on African Americans in the arts including actors, dancers, musicians, authors, architects, artists, and miscellaneous Black performers. Present are also some images of Black athletes. Some collection includes images of Rose McClendon, Langston Hughes, Josephine Baker, Alain Locke, Romare Bearden, Ethel Waters, Ella Fitzgerald, Rudolph Dunbar, W.E.B DuBois, and many others. Although the majority of these images are single portraits, others contain group portraits of individuals, some including Van Vechten himself