Un arbre ne fait pas la forêt

Un Arbre ne fait pas la Forêt En tant que Malgaches, nous apprécions la beauté de notre patrimoine naturel et la richesse de notre culture. Ces éléments contribuent à modeler le sens collectif de l‘identité et de la fierté nationales à Madagascar. Bien que de divers horizons culturels et géographiques, le peuple malgache se sent uni par ces éléments qui, en même temps, mettent en exergue la diversité du pays. Les Malgaches partagent ces richesses entre eux et invitent les autres à les connaître, à les apprécier et à les respecter. Avec le nouveau Systèmes des Aires Protégées de Madagascar, nous célébrons cet héritage naturel à travers les six catégories d’aires protégées préconisées par l’UICN : les Réserve naturelles intégrales, les Parcs nationaux, les monuments naturels, les Aires aménagées pour l’habitat et les espèces, les Paysages terrestres ou marins protégés et les Aires protégées de ressources naturelles aménagées. Ces symboles nationaux contribuent à notre identité malgache de plusieurs façons. Ils dépeignent une diversité de cultures et d‘environnements naturels. Ceux - ci peuvent être situés dans n‘importe quelle région du pays, au Nord comme au Sud, à l’Est comme à l’Ouest. Ce sont des liens tangibles non seulement avec le passé et le présent mais aussi avec le futur. Ces endroits patrimoniaux nous ouvrent une fenêtre sur le monde et mettent en évidence notre devoir d‘assurer de façon continue, la protection et la mise en valeur d‘un patrimoine dont l‘importance dépasse nos frontières. En effet, nous assistons à l’heure actuelle, à un foisonnement de projets, nationaux et internationaux, de recherche générant ainsi des données considérables et nous ne pouvons que nous en féliciter. Il suffit de consulter les excellents articles, qui traitent de la culture, de la biodiversité et du développement du peuple Malgache, publiés dans le présent numéro du bulletin de MCD, ainsi que dans les précédents, pour s’en convaincre. Ces données nous sont utiles pour honorer notre devoir envers la conservation de ce patrimoine naturel, ce qui nous permettra de transmettre à la génération suivante un patrimoine intact, plus ou moins ! Mais, comme nous le savons tous, la nature est encore loin d’avoir livré tous ses secrets. Ce qui m’amène à dire que la recherche ne doit plus être l’apanage des chercheurs uniquement ! Encore mieux, la compréhension de son importance doit dépasser les cercles de la communauté scientifique, des responsables de la gestion des ressources naturelles et des responsables politiques, et intéresser tout un peuple car, finalement, les résultats de ces recherches visent à promouvoir son développement harmonieux dans son propre environnement naturel et culturel. Ainsi, quelle que soit la modestie de nos connaissances, quels que soient nos manques en ressources et quels que soient nos retards sur la technologie, nous avons tous le devoir d’apporter à la recherche notre contribution.A Tree does not make a Forest As Malagasy, we appreciate the beauty of our natural patrimony and the richness of our culture. These elements contribute to the collective sense of national identity and pride in Madagascar. Despite having different cultural and geographical horizons, the Malagasy people feel united through these elements, which at the same time stress the diversity of the country. The Malagasy share this richness amongst each other and invite others to experience it, to appreciate it and to respect it. With the new system of protected areas of Madagascar, we celebrate this natural heritage throughout all of the six categories of protected areas recognised by the IUCN: the strict nature reserves, the national parks, the natural monuments, the areas established for habitat and species, the protected terrestrial or marine areas and the protected areas for the conservation of natural resources. These national symbols contribute in different ways to our identity. They depict a diversity of culture and natural landscapes. These can be located at any region of the country, north or south, east or west. They are tangible links not only to the past and the present but also to the future. These sites, our patrimony, open a window to the world for us and underline our duty to reassure in continuous fashion, the protection and development of a heritage whose importance goes beyond our boundaries. Now, we Malagasy are involved more than ever before on a multitude of research projects, both national and international, generating considerable data and we can only congratulate ourselves for that. It suffices to consult the excellent articles on culture, biodiversity and the development included in this present issue of the journal MCD, as well as in the previous ones, for a concrete demonstration of our active participation in research. This data is useful for us to honour our duty towards the conversation of this natural heritage, guiding us as to how best to pass our natural legacy to the next generation. But, as we all know, nature is far from having revealed all its secrets. Research activities need to be encouraged yet further, and the fruits of this research must spread far beyond the confines of the scientific community to those responsible for the management of natural resources, to politicians, and out into the realms of the whole nation. This information is needed by all concerned with the harmonious development of their natural and cultural environment. So despite our modest knowledge, our lack of resources and our technical inadequacies, we all have the duty to encourage research and be ready to integrate its results into our decision-making

Long-lasting effect of oral azithromycin taken by women during labour on infant nutrition: Follow-up cohort of a randomized clinical trial in western Gambia.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of administering an oral dose of 2g of azithromycin in Gambian women during labour on infant growth. METHODS: Children whose mothers had been randomized to receive either an oral dose of 2g of azithromycin or placebo during labour were visited at home at the end of infancy by trained study nurses blind to the treatment allocation. The follow-up visit of these cohorts (exposed and non-exposed to azithromycin), which was not part of the original trial design, was conducted between November 2014 and May 2015 when the infants were 11 to 13 months of age. During visits, nurses recorded anthropometrical measurements and transcribed information from the infants' welfare cards. RESULTS: Four-hundred and sixty-five (79.6%) of the 584 infants aged 11-13 months at the time of the survey were recruited. The proportion of children with an age-adjusted Z-score <-2SD for mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC) was lower among those exposed to azithromycin [1.3% versus 6.3%, OR = 0.21 95%CI (0.06,0.72), p = 0.006] and there was weak evidence of a difference in the proportion of infants with weight-for-age (WAZ) Z-score <-2SD [7.1% versus 12.1%, OR = 0.58 95%CI (0.33,1.04), p = 0.065]. For all other malnutrition indicators the proportions were similar in the exposed and un-exposed cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that azithromycin in labour may have a beneficial effect in MUAC among children who are below the curve. Larger studies with closer follow-up are warranted. TRIAL REGISTRATION (MAIN TRIAL): ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01800942

The JRC-EU-TIMES model - Assessing the long-term role of the SET Plan Energy technologies

The JRC-EU-TIMES model is one of the models currently pursued in the JRC under the auspices of the JRC Modelling Taskforce. The model has been developed over the last years in a combined effort of two of the JRC Institutes, IPTS and IET. The JRC-EU-TIMES model is designed for analysing the role of energy technologies and their innovation for meeting Europe's energy and climate change related policy objectives. It models technologies uptake and deployment and their interaction with the energy infrastructure including storage options in an energy systems perspective. It is a relevant tool to support impact assessment studies in the energy policy field that require quantitative modelling at an energy system level with a high technology detail. This report aims at providing an overview on the JRC-EU-TIMES model main data inputs and major assumptions. Furthermore, it describes a number of model outputs from exemplary runs in order to display how the model reacts to different scenarios. The scenarios described in this report do not represent a quantified view of the European Commission on the future EU energy mix.JRC.F.6-Energy systems evaluatio

Bioclimatic envelope models predict a decrease in tropical forest carbon stocks with climate change in Madagascar

Recent studies have underlined the importance of climatic variables in determining tree height and biomass in tropical forests. Nonetheless, the effects of climate on tropical forest carbon stocks remain uncertain. In particular, the application of process-based dynamic global vegetation models has led to contrasting conclusions regarding the potential impact of climate change on tropical forest carbon storage. Using a correlative approach based on a bioclimatic envelope model and data from 1771 forest plots inventoried during the period 1996–2013 in Madagascar over a large climatic gradient, we show that temperature seasonality, annual precipitation and mean annual temperature are key variables in determining forest above-ground carbon density. Taking into account the explicative climate variables, we obtained an accurate (R2 = 70% and RMSE = 40 Mg ha−1) forest carbon map for Madagascar at 250 m resolution for the year 2010. This national map was more accurate than previously published global carbon maps (R2 ≤ 26% and RMSE ≥ 63 Mg ha−1). Combining our model with the climatic projections for Madagascar from 7 IPCC CMIP5 global climate models following the RCP 8.5, we forecast an average forest carbon stock loss of 17% (range: 7–24%) by the year 2080. For comparison, a spatially homogeneous deforestation of 0.5% per year on the same period would lead to a loss of 30% of the forest carbon stock. Synthesis. Our study shows that climate change is likely to induce a decrease in tropical forest carbon stocks. This loss could be due to a decrease in the average tree size and to shifts in tree species distribution, with the selection of small-statured species. In Madagascar, climate-induced carbon emissions might be, at least, of the same order of magnitude as emissions associated with anthropogenic deforestation

Prevention of bacterial infections in the newborn by pre-delivery administration of azithromycin: Study protocol of a randomized efficacy trial.

BACKGROUND: Neonatal deaths, estimated at approximately 4 million annually, now account for almost 40% of global mortality in children aged under-five. Bacterial sepsis is a leading cause of neonatal mortality. Assuming the mother is the main source for bacterial transmission to newborns, the primary objective of the trial is to determine the impact of one oral dose of azithromycin, given to women in labour, on the newborn's bacterial carriage in the nasopharynx. Secondary objectives include the impact of the intervention on bacterial colonization in the baby and the mother during the first month of life. METHODS/DESIGN: This is a Phase III, double -blind, placebo controlled randomized clinical trial in which 830 women in labour were randomized to either a single dose of 2 g oral azithromycin or placebo (ratio 1:1). The trial included pregnant women in labour aged 18 to 45 years attending study health centres in the Western Gambia. A post-natal check of the mother and baby was conducted at the health centre by study clinicians before discharge and 8-10 days after delivery. Home follow up visits were conducted daily during the first week and then weekly until week 8 after delivery. Vaginal swabs and breast milk samples were collected from the mothers, and the pathogens Streptococcus pneumoniae, Group B Streptococcus (GBS) and Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from the study samples. For bacterial isolates, susceptibility pattern to azithromycin was determined using disk diffusion and E-test. Eye swabs were collected from newborns with eye discharge during the follow up period, and Chlamydial infection was assessed using molecular methods. DISCUSSION: This is a proof-of-concept study to assess the impact of antibiotic preventive treatment of women during labour on bacterial infections in the newborn. If the trial confirms this hypothesis, the next step will be to assess the impact of this intervention on neonatal sepsis. The proposed intervention should be easily implementable in developing countries. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier--NCT01800942--First received: February 26, 2013

Technology Learning Curves for Energy Policy Support

The European Commission's Joint Research Centre and the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) organised an expert workshop on 'Learning Curves for Policy Support' in Amsterdam on 8 March 2012. It aimed to assess the challenges in the application of the two-factor learning curve, or alternative solutions in supporting policy decision making in the framework of the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan, and explored options for improvement. The workshop gathered distinguished experts in the field of scientific research on learning curves and policy researchers from the European Commission and ECN to assess the challenges in the application of the two-factor-learning curve, or alternative solutions in supporting policy decision making, and to provide options for improvement. This paper forms the summary of outcomes from the workshop. Due to the very different nature of the One-Factor-Learning concept and the Two-Factor-Learning concept, these are discussed in separate parts. In each of these parts the context and the methodology are introduced, methodological and data challenges are described and the problems associated with the application of the concept in models is discussed.JRC.F.6-Energy systems evaluatio