Hemicryptophytes plant species as indicator of grassland state in semi-arid region: Case study of W Biosphere Reserve and its surroundings area in Benin (West Africa)

In semi-arid region managers are facing rapid degradation of grassland. There is a need to determine indicators to be used to detect early change occurring in the grassland for their sustainable management. Thereof, in this study, we explored the reliability of the use of hemicryptophytes as indicator of grassland state in semi-arid region within W Biosphere Reserve and surrounding areas (Benin). Plots of 10 m X 10 m were installed along a land use gradient (from communal lands to the protected area via the buffer zone) in three vegetation types for plant biomass harvesting and hemicryptophytes traits measurement. The hemicryptophyte density, biovolume, tussock size, contact frequency, contribution to total plant biomass and grassland grazing value were assessed and compared between land uses. Findings showed that hemicryptopyte traits were significantly different with the land use type. Hemicryptophyte biovolume and hemicryptophyte contribution were strongly correlated, respectively, with total biomass production and grazing value. The study highlights the relevance of hemicryptophyte as indicators of grassland state that could be used by grassland managers for grassland monitoring, restoration and sustainable use.Keywords: Grassland monitoring, hemicryptophyte traits, indicators, land us

Assessment of plant communities' pattern and diversity along a land use gradient in W Biosphere Reserve, Benin Republic

Human disturbance on vegetation is an important concern in biodiversity conservation. In this study we assessed how anthropogenic disturbance affected plant communities pattern, diversity, life form and chorotype composition along a land use gradient. Vegetation relevés were performed along a land use gradient (park-buffer zone-communal land) at W Biosphere Reserve in Benin. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS) was used to assess plant communities patterns. Indicator species were determined for each plant community and land use. Plant community diversity, life forms and chorotypes composition were assessed and compared among land uses using one-way analysis of variance. NMS ordination showed a good separation between relevés of the park and those from the communal land while relevés of buffer zone were mixed within the park and communal land relevés. There was no significant difference between species richness among land uses types (F = 0.68; p = 0.529, ANOVA test at a level of significance of 5%). The Pielou evenness for the plant communities was higher in the park (E= 0.69±0.04) and buffer zone (E = 0.61±0.13) than in the communal lands (E = 0.44±0.02) while Shannon index showed no clear pattern along land use gradient. Therophytes abundance was significantly higher in the communal land while hemicryptophytes abundance was significantly higher in the park. Wide-distributed species abundance was significantly higher in the communal land whilst Sudanian species showed significantly higher abundance in the park. We concluded that monitoring of the indicator species of the plant communities and their traits are relevant tools for managers to follow-up changes in plant communities

SIMULATION DU CLIMAT FUTUR ET DES RENDEMENTS AGRICOLES EN REGION SOUDANO-SAHELIENNE\ua0 EN REPUBLIQUE DU BENIN

Climate change is unequivocal and affects biophysical systems. Predicting the future effects of climate change is a prerequisite for the development of adaptation and mitigation strategies. This study was carried out to determine the future yields of the main agricultural crops in the Sudano-Sahelian region of West Africa, and especially using Banikoara district of Republic of Benin, for the period up to 2050. The methodology adopted combined the collection of long term agricultural and meteorological data, the calculation of agro-climatic indexes and simulation of crop yields using DSSAT (Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfert) and Crop-Model. Results revealed that the temperatures of Sudano-Sahelian region will increase in temperature by about 1 to 3 \ub0C compared to the reference period 1971-2010. The rainfall of the agricultural season will decline under the assumption of an increase in mean temperature (of 1, 1.5 and 2\ub0C). Apart from sorghum of which the simulated yield will increase about 9,3%, other crops will be characterised by a decline by 2050 of projected yields. The greatest decline in simulated yield was recorded for cassava; while yam showed the lowest decline in yield. Indeed, if cassava has particular affection for hot climates, it requires a certain soil moisture that is no longer guaranteed due to climate change. The shift of agricultural calendar and especially the adaptation of the sowing date to the observed climatic disturbances is urgently needed to ascertain food security insurance in the Sudano-Sahelian region of Benin.Le changement climatique est sans \ue9quivoque et affecte les syst\ue8mes biophysiques. La pr\ue9diction des effets futurs du changement climatique constitue un pr\ue9alable indispensable dans l\u2019\ue9laboration des strat\ue9gies d\u2019adaptation et d\u2019att\ue9nuation. La pr\ue9sente \ue9tude a \ue9t\ue9 initi\ue9e pour d\ue9terminer les caract\ue9ristiques des rendements des principales sp\ue9culations agricoles de la r\ue9gion soudano-sah\ue9lienne de l\u2019Afrique de l\u2019Ouest et plus particuli\ue8rement la Commune de Banikoara \ue0 l\u2019horizon 2050. La m\ue9thodologie adopt\ue9e regroupe la collecte des statistiques agricoles et des donn\ue9es m\ue9t\ue9orologiques sur le long terme, le calcul d\u2019indices agro-climatiques et la simulation des rendements au moyen de DSSAT (Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfert) et Crop-Model. Des r\ue9sultats, il appara\ueet que les temp\ue9ratures de la r\ue9gion soudano-sah\ue9lienne connaitront une hausse comprise entre 1\ub0 et 3\ub0C en r\ue9f\ue9rence aux valeurs de la p\ue9riode 1971-2010. La pluviom\ue9trie de la saison agricole baissera par rapport \ue0 la p\ue9riode de r\ue9f\ue9rence selon les sc\ue9narios d\u2019augmentation de la temp\ue9rature moyenne (de 1\ub0C, 1,5\ub0C et 2\ub0C). Outre le sorgho pour lequel une am\ue9lioration de 9,3% du rendement a \ue9t\ue9 observ\ue9e, les rendements des sp\ue9culations agricoles baisseront \ue0 l\u2019horizon 2050. Le plus fort niveau de baisse de rendement simul\ue9 a \ue9t\ue9 enregistr\ue9 pour le manioc tandis que l\u2019igname a affich\ue9 la baisse de rendement le plus faible. En effet, si le manioc affectionne les climats chauds, il exige une certaine humidit\ue9 qui n\u2019est plus assur\ue9e compte tenu du changement climatique. La modification du calendrier agricole et plus pr\ue9cis\ue9ment l\u2019adaptation des p\ue9riodes de semis aux perturbations climatiques constat\ue9es appara\ueet comme une n\ue9cessit\ue9 urgente pour garantir la s\ue9curit\ue9 alimentaire dans la r\ue9gion soudano-sah\ue9lienne

Dihydroartemisinin-Piperaquine Versus Chloroquine in the Treatment of Plasmodium vivax Malaria in Thailand: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The efficacy of chloroquine in the treatment of Plasmodium vivax malaria is declining on the Northwestern border of Thailand. This randomized controlled trial in 500 adults and children shows that dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine is a safe and effective alternative treatment

Cancer mortality patterns in Ghana: a 10-year review of autopsies and hospital mortality

BACKGROUND: Cancer mortality pattern in Ghana has not been reviewed since 1953, and there are no population-based data available for cancer morbidity and mortality patterns in Ghana due to the absence of a population-based cancer registry anywhere in the country. METHODS: A retrospective review of autopsy records of Department of Pathology, and medical certificate of cause of death books from all the wards of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), Accra, Ghana during the 10-year period 1991–2000 was done. RESULTS: The present study reviews 3659 cancer deaths at the KBTH over the 10-year period. The male-to-female ratio was 1.2:1. The mean age for females was 46.5 [Standard Deviation (SD), 20.8] years, whilst that of males was 47.8 (SD, 22.2) years. The median age was 48 years for females and 50 years for males.Both sexes showed a first peak in childhood, a drop in adolescence and young adulthood, and a second peak in the middle ages followed by a fall in the elderly, with the second peak occurring a decade earlier in females than in males. The commonest cause of cancer death in females was malignancies of the breast [Age-Standardized Cancer Ratio (ASCAR), 17.24%], followed closely by haematopoietic organs (14.69%), liver (10.97%) and cervix (8.47%). Whilst in males, the highest mortality was from the liver (21.15%), followed by prostate (17.35%), haematopoietic organs (15.57%), and stomach (7.26%). CONCLUSION: Considering the little information available on cancer patterns in Ghana, this combined autopsy and death certification data from the largest tertiary hospital is of considerable value in providing reliable information on the cancer patterns in Ghana

In silico analysis of pathways activation landscape in oral squamous cell carcinoma and oral leukoplakia.

A subset of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), the most common subtype of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), harbor dysplastic lesions (often visually identified as leukoplakia) prior to cancer diagnosis. Although evidence suggest that leukoplakia represents an initial step in the progression to cancer, signaling networks driving this progression are poorly understood. Here, we applied in silico Pathway Activation Network Decomposition Analysis (iPANDA), a new bioinformatics software suite for qualitative analysis of intracellular signaling pathway activation using transcriptomic data, to assess a network of molecular signaling in OSCC and pre-neoplastic oral lesions. In tumor samples, our analysis detected major conserved mitogenic and survival signaling pathways strongly associated with HNSCC, suggesting that some of the pathways identified by our algorithm, but not yet validated as HNSCC related, may be attractive targets for future research. While pathways activation landscape in the majority of leukoplakias was different from that seen in OSCC, a subset of pre-neoplastic lesions has demonstrated some degree of similarity to the signaling profile seen in tumors, including dysregulation of the cancer-driving pathways related to survival and apoptosis. These results suggest that dysregulation of these signaling networks may be the driving force behind the early stages of OSCC tumorigenesis. While future studies with larger leukoplakia data sets are warranted to further estimate the values of this approach for capturing signaling features that characterize relevant lesions that actually progress to cancers, our platform proposes a promising new approach for detecting cancer-promoting pathways and tailoring the right therapy to prevent tumorigenesis

The International Limits and Population at Risk of Plasmodium vivax Transmission in 2009

Growing evidence shows that Plasmodium vivax malaria is clinically less benign than has been commonly believed. In addition, it is the most widely distributed species of human malaria and is likely to cause more illness in certain regions than the more extensively studied P. falciparum malaria. Understanding where P. vivax transmission exists and measuring the number of people who live at risk of infection is a fundamental first step to estimating the global disease toll. The aim of this paper is to generate a reliable map of the worldwide distribution of this parasite and to provide an estimate of how many people are exposed to probable infection. A geographical information system was used to map data on the presence of P. vivax infection and spatial information on climatic conditions that impede transmission (low ambient temperature and extremely arid environments) in order to delineate areas where transmission was unlikely to take place. This map was combined with population distribution data to estimate how many people live in these areas and are, therefore, exposed to risk of infection by P. vivax malaria. The results show that 2.85 billion people were exposed to some level of risk of transmission in 2009