Harnessing the health benefits of plant biodiversity originating from the American tropics in the diet

Introduction. Fruit and vegetable consumption is now more than ever before understood, along with physical exercise, to be among the factors ensuring well-being. Cross-cultural epidemiological studies reveal a preventive effect of this consumption on certain human pathologies, whence the emergence of preventive nutrition. Changes in biodiversity dietary intake. Industrially-processed products, undergoing a greater or lesser degree of refinement, were developed during the last century; they focused on a few productive species and varieties. The concept of high-calorie foods, an energy source, which has been prevalent in dietetics over the past few decades, had minimised the role of fruit and vegetables in the diet, due to their low calorie content. Plant biodiversity in foodstuffs originating from the American tropics. There are few cultivated major species and varieties in terms of biodiversity. 40% of the edible plant species in the world today originate from the American tropics. Of the planet's 250 000 estimated plant species, 100 000 are believed to be from the Americas. Preserving the beneficial properties of processed products. To improve recovery of the properties of the fresh resource for the consumer, innovation in the processing methods is required, with unit operations ensuring the best possible preservation of the healthy compounds. Conclusion and prospects. Communication on fruit and vegetables has not enjoyed the same research and publicity resources as many processed products. Knowledge of and information on food resources, diet and health have become a major challenge. The relative wealth of the plant biodiversity from the American tropics represents a heritage we need to reharness

Immigration et clips musicaux : vers la construction d’espaces sans frontières

Immigration is a reality which touches primarily the young in most country. This phenomenon must be undressed of its blaming considerations, in view of its incommensurable contribution in the development of many countries. If the United States of America arrived at the legalization of immigration, by instituting a lottery called “lottery visa”, it is that they are conscious of the benefit that this phenomenon can bring to their nation. Moreover, the United States is a nation built on the bases of the immigration to which they owe their power today. They are numerous these young people who set off to the migration in search of a greater comfort. And it is by far that they see from now on realities of on their premises, and that, through the media. Among these migrants there are artists who by nostalgia convene realities of their space of origin in their musical works. They thus go in their artistic productions, to make a mixture of styles of their places of reception and their starting places (their fold). That is especially perceptible in the video clips through a plume of cultures and artistic expressions of two cultural surfaces sweat evoked. On both sides, one recognizes oneself in this kind of video with the multiform, but aesthetic universes. How the video clips resulting from “the music of the migration” can take part in the construction of spaces where the borders do not exist? And in which measurements these spaces can they be used in the construction of a company for the universal standards? It is with the turn of these two questionings that our communication will be worked out

An Instrumented Macro-Indentation Method for Determining the Mechanical Properties of Coconut Shell (Coco Nucifera of Cameroon)

International audienceAn instrumented macro-indentation test was used to determine the viscoelastic parameters and hardness of the shell of Coco Nucifera from Cameroon in order to promote their use in the manufacture of abrasives. Samples measuring 10 mm x 10 mm x 3 mm were cut out from the bottom of the fruit, close to the natural indentations (the eye) of an approximately round-shaped fruit. The indentation load ranged from 50 to 500 N with an increment of 50 N. A comparator with digital display and a camera attached to the machine measured the total penetration and rate of penetration. The Oliver and Pharr indentation model and Hertz contact theory were used to determine the Young's modulus, hardness and creep ratio of coconut shells. Young's modulus determined in the polar zone was 3.52x10 3 MPa and 1.45x10 3 MPa in the equatorial zone. The hardness was 1.16x10 2 MPa in the polar zone and 0.7x10 2 MPa in the equatorial zone. The creep ratio was 16 in the polar region and 8 in the equatorial zone. Validation of the procedure and results will be done with indentation tests on a kind of wood: Azobé (Lophira alata). Introduction. Coconut Shell of Coco Nucifera (CSCN) is a product of the coconut tree (Coco nucifera) which is exploited for the valuable flesh (copra) enclosed in the hard shell. Important quantities of CSCN are generated during the production of copra [1]. The CSCN alone occupies about 25% by weight of the nuts and with about 54 million tons of coconuts produced annually worldwide [2], an estimated 13.5 million tonnes of CSCNs is generated. A small part of these shells is used in the production of activated carbon. [3]. However, most of CSCN is not used, presenting a challenge for solid waste management [4]. Usually the CSCN is simply discarded in nature with negative environmental impact (occupying land that could otherwise be used for agriculture, breeding sites for mosquitos). In recent years, the instrumented indentation test has been used as an alternative method for determining mechanical properties of materials [5]. The hard nature and the abrasiveness of the shell makes it a potential food processing material. A good knowledge of the properties of this hull allows it to be used as a green alternative in agro-processing tools to plump goods such as beans, maize and groundnuts, otherwise like abrasives for woods. Preliminary characterisation of this shel

Village Baseline Study: Site Analysis Report for Yatenga – Tougou, Burkina Faso

The village baseline study of Kononga village in the CCAFS site Yatenga-Tougou in Burkina Faso took place from 19th to 21st July 2011. Focus group discussions were conducted separately for men and women. Male and female participants believe that the natural resources in the village are deteriorating due to population increase and labour shortages related to the exodus of young people to gold mining sites. The village’s vision of the future includes more productive and fertile farmland, a denser forest, deeper and wider water reservoirs, and more boreholes. The men identified 21 organisations in the village, including 9 operating at the community level, while women identified 17 organisations, 10 of which operate at the community level. Men are considered the most important personal source of information in the village. The regional directorate for agriculture, hydrology and fishery resources (DRAHRA) is the single most relevant institutional source of climate and weather information for both male and female participants. Men and women gather information from outside the village via radio broadcasting and particularly Radio “Voix du paysan” (Voice of the Farmer). The market is the most important channel of information access for women. Women have a substantial role in agriculture and livestock production, as well as natural resource management but they have limited access to land or to improved technology or equipment, and few training opportunities

Evaluating Thermal Performance and Environmental Impact of Compressed Earth Blocks with Cocos and Canarium Aggregates: A Study in Douala, Cameroon

peer reviewedA novel low-cost earthen construction system integrating biosourced aggregates is proposed for houses’ erection of low-income households. This study is based on in-situ measurements on two representative test cells constructed in Douala, with a typical hot and humid climate. One of these buildings is made with a hollow cement block as a reference, and the other with biosourced earth bricks modified with Cocos nucifera and Canarium schweinfurthii aggregates. Dynamic thermal simulations of the two test cells were performed using the EnergyPlus building performance simulation program. The results are based on measuring air temperature and humidity, and the simulation leads to defining the discomfort hours and the annual energy consumption. The adaptive ASHRAE 55 thermal comfort model was used to evaluate the comfort conditions. The results show that air conditioning systems provide the best comfort systems with minimums of about 95% for plastered and unplastered wall construction systems. Biosourced compressed earth brick constructions offered the best thermal performance with comfort ranges of around 96% and 44% for air conditioning and natural ventilation, respectively. In terms of energy consumed, there was a gain of about 100 kWh over the year. Energy consumption is lower in the biosourced compressed earth brick building than in the hollowed cement block building: this one offered the lowest comfort range of about 40% in natural ventilation. The construction provisions were considered for the life cycle assessment, and two scenarios describing the origin of the cement raw materials were considered. It can be seen that cement accounts for more than 95% of the impacts for both construction systems, as well as for the scenarios of its origin. In all situations, the hollowed cement block construction presented the highest impact on the global warming potential: 66 KgCO2eq and 89 KgCO2eq, respectively, without plaster and with plaster. It can also be seen that the plastered layer had a carbon footprint (in terms of Green House Gas Emissions (GHG emissions)) of almost 40% on the overall functional unit. Canarium Schweinfurthii and Cocos Nucifera materials accounted for only 1% of the overall impact

Microbial flora of rum fermentation media

37 ref. + Table de bactériesInternational audienc

Construction en brique de terre comprimée et granulats biosourcés : une solution pour un habitat durable à Douala

Afin de répondre aux objectifs de développement durable, les politiques mondiales sont fortement orientées vers la valorisation des matériaux locaux tels que les sous-produits agricoles. Dans ce contexte, cette étude propose des constructions en briques de terre comprimée (BTC) biosourcée de granulats de coques de Cocos nucifera (CN) et de noyaux de Canarium schweinfurthii (CS). Les agrégats CNCS ont été ajoutés en proportions égales pour les différentes formulations. L'objectif principal de ce travail est la valorisation les ressources secondaires pour des constructions durables. L’application a été faite pour un climat de type chaud et humide tel que celui de la ville de Douala au Cameroun. Le travail a été divisé quatre articulations : la synthèse bibliographique, la caractérisation des produits de base, la formulation et caractérisation de la brique de terre et enfin la caractérisation des bâtiments pilotes construits avec les matériaux formulés. Pour la première partie, les essais d’identification ont démontré l’adéquation de l’utilisation de la terre du littoral camerounais pour leur utilisation dans la production des BTC. Seulement sachant que l’argile contenue dans cette terre est de type kaolinite à activité normale, la projection d’utilisation d’un stabilisant était primordiale. Les caractérisations physique et mécanique des CN et CS ont démontré leur caractère légers et durs. Ce critère étant utile pour leur utilisation comme charges pour les composites. Bien qu’ils soient des matériaux hydrophiles, leur taux d’absorption en eau reste en deçà des 30%. Mais les matériaux ont gardé leur stabilité structurale aussi bien aux impacts hydriques que thermiques. Les BTC ont été formulées en fonction des proportions en granulats (2/4 mm) de CNCS et aussi en fonction des pressions de compactage après 28 jours de maturation. Les résultats montrent que la formulation optimale est celle à 5% de granulats et 8% de ciment pour 2.5MPa de pression de compactage pour les critères de résistances mécaniques et conductivité thermique Avec le critère de résistance mécanique, l’analyse de durabilité thermo-hygro-mécanique a permis de définir les conditions environnementales d’utilisation de ces BTC : 30°C de température pour 90% d’humidité relative. Ces valeurs de température et d’humidité restent comparables à celle de la ville de Douala. Ce travail se ferme avec des essais in-situ de mesure de température et d’humidité dans les bâtiments pilotes l’un fabriqué en BTC aux proportions optimales et l’autre en blocs de béton creux qui est le mode de construction le plus utilisé dans la ville de Douala. Ces mesures ont permis la simulation du confort thermique dans les deux bâtiments. Il en ressort que, le bâtiment en BTC présente un confort thermique meilleur que celui en parpaing avec des gains autour de 5% pour le système de ventilation naturelle avec un modèle de simulation de ASHRAE adaptive. L’analyse du cycle de vie (ACV) a confirmé l’importance de la valorisation des constructions en terre avec des impacts environnement moindre pour des constructions en BTC stabilisée. Seulement l’utilisation du ciment comme stabilisant reste une pratique à soustraire car le ciment représente presque 95% en termes de Kg de CO2eq pour l’ensemble des matériaux de construction utilisés