On-Farm Evaluation on Yield and Economic Performance of Cereal-Cowpea Intercropping to Support the Smallholder Farming System in the Soudano-Sahelian Zone of Mali

Cereal-cowpea intercropping has become an integral part of the farming system in Mali. Still, information is lacking regarding integrated benefits of the whole system, including valuing of the biomass for facing the constraints of animal feedings. We used farmers’ learning networks to evaluate performance of intercropping systems of millet-cowpea and sorghum-cowpea in southern Mali. Our results showed that under intercropping, the grain yield obtained with the wilibali (short maturing duration) variety was significantly higher than the yield obtained with the sangaranka (long maturing duration) variety whether with millet (36%) or sorghum (48%), corresponding, respectively, to an economic gain of XOF (West African CFA franc) 125 282/ha and XOF 142 640/ha. While for biomass, the yield obtained with the sangaranka variety was significantly higher by 50% and 60% to that of wilibali with an economic gain of XOF 286 526/ha (with millet) and XOF 278 516/ha (with sorghum). Total gain obtained with the millet-cowpea system was significantly greater than that obtained with the sorghum-cowpea system by 14%, and this stands irrespective of the type of cowpea variety. Farmers prefer the grain for satisfying immediate food needs instead of economic gains. These results represent an indication for farmer’s decision-making regarding cowpea varieties selection especially for addressing household food security issues or feeding animals

Open access data in polar and cryospheric remote sensing

This paper aims to introduce the main types and sources of remotely sensed data that are freely available and have cryospheric applications. We describe aerial and satellite photography, satellite-borne visible, near-infrared and thermal infrared sensors, synthetic aperture radar, passive microwave imagers and active microwave scatterometers. We consider the availability and practical utility of archival data, dating back in some cases to the 1920s for aerial photography and the 1960s for satellite imagery, the data that are being collected today and the prospects for future data collection; in all cases, with a focus on data that are openly accessible. Derived data products are increasingly available, and we give examples of such products of particular value in polar and cryospheric research. We also discuss the availability and applicability of free and, where possible, open-source software tools for reading and processing remotely sensed data. The paper concludes with a discussion of open data access within polar and cryospheric sciences, considering trends in data discoverability, access, sharing and use.A. Pope would like to acknowledge support from the Earth Observation Technology Cluster, a knowledge exchange project, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) under its Technology Clusters Programme, the U.S. National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, Trinity College (Cambridge) and the Dartmouth Visiting Young Scientist program sponsored by the NASA New Hampshire Space Grant.This is the final published version. It's also available from MDPI at http://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/6/7/6183

L’expression du genre grammatical dans les langues nationales du Mali

Résumé : Le phénomène du genre grammatical dans les langues nationales suscite des interrogations, voire de la curiosité. La tendance habituelle consiste à vouloir transférer le modèle français aux langues ou à trouver coûte que coûte dans la langue nationale son correspondant au niveau du français. Cette « paresse intellectuelle » nous amène à nous complaire dans les apparences et à ne pas fournir des efforts pour une analyse approfondie de la structure des langues nationales. Le présent article a pour objectif d’analyser les mécanismes d’expression du genre grammatical dans les langues nationales du Mali. Pour le réaliser, nous avons administré un guide d’entretien aux chercheurs des treize unités linguistiques de l’Académie Malienne des langues et à des personnes-ressources travaillant sur les langues nationales ou ayant une certaine connaissance des langues. Nous avons procédé surtout à une analyse documentaire, en l’occurrence, le document de grammaire de référence de chaque langue. Il ressort que le genre grammatical, contrairement aux français, n’est pas exprimé par des déterminants spécifiques dans les langues nationales. Il est plutôt cerné à travers des compositions, des juxtapositions ou des dérivations dans lesquelles des morphèmes lexicaux ou grammaticaux relatifs à la masculinité ou à la féminité apparaissent, ou par des noms propres spécifiques aux hommes ou aux femmes. Il est aussi exprimé par des noms propres aux deux genres et dont seul le contexte permet d’établir la masculinité ou la féminité.   Mots-clés : genre, langue nationale, déterminant, composition, morphème

Remote Sensing and Geomatics. Université de Sherbrooke

Ph.D. Program in Remote Sensin

French intervention, EU and UN. African solution for african problems?

Since independence in 1960, Mali confronted successive rebellions led Tuareg tribes in Northern region, Kidal. The latest has seen a nexus of separatist, radical Islamic, terrorists affiliated with the main rebel group MNLA been ousted from by their allied from proclaimed “independent state of Azawad”. But French military intervention “Serval“ recovered occupied territory restored volatile stability paving the way for MINUSMA‘s deployment which incorporated African mission, launching of EU mission in charge of restructuration Malian army. But military victory has not annihilated terrorists and radicals Islamic who are demonstrating a strong capacity of resilience and engaging in “asymmetric war of attrition”. Therefore the presence of keys allies France, EU, UN, will be necessary for sometimes. Peace negotiations are in standstill and their success will depend on political will from both sides and mainly from the readiness of the Central government to make hard concession

Colorectal Cancer: The Contribution of CXCL12 and Its Receptors CXCR4 and CXCR7

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers, and diagnosis at late metastatic stages is the main cause of death related to this cancer. This progression to metastasis is complex and involves different molecules such as the chemokine CXCL12 and its two receptors CXCR4 and CXCR7. The high expression of receptors in CRC is often associated with a poor prognosis and aggressiveness of the tumor. The interaction of CXCL12 and its receptors activates signaling pathways that induce chemotaxis, proliferation, migration, and cell invasion. To this end, receptor inhibitors were developed, and their use in preclinical and clinical studies is ongoing. This review provides an overview of studies involving CXCR4 and CXCR7 in CRC with an update on their targeting in anti-cancer therapies

Analysis of Groundwater Depletion in the Saskatchewan River Basin in Canada from Coupled SWAT-MODFLOW and Satellite Gravimetry

The Saskatchewan River Basin (SRB) of central Canada plays a crucial role in the Canadian Prairies. Yet, climate change and human action constitute a real threat to its hydrological processes. This study aims to evaluate and analyze groundwater spatial and temporal dynamics in the SRB. Groundwater information was derived and compared using two different approaches: (1) a mathematical modeling framework coupling the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and the Modular hydrologic model (MODFLOW) and (2) gravimetric satellite observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission and its follow-on (GRACE-FO). Both methods show generalized groundwater depletion in the SRB that can reach −1 m during the study period (2002–2019). Maximum depletion appeared especially after 2011. The water balance simulated by SWAT-MODFLOW showed that SRB could be compartmented roughly into three main zones. The mountainous area in the extreme west of the basin is the first zone, which is the most dynamic zone in terms of recharge, reaching +0.5 m. The second zone is the central area, where agricultural and industrial activities predominate, as well as potable water supplies. This zone is the least rechargeable and most intensively exploited area, with depletion ranging from +0.2 to −0.4 m during the 2002 to 2011 period and up to −1 m from 2011 to 2019. Finally, the third zone is the northern area that is dominated by boreal forest. Here, exploitation is average, but the soil does not demonstrate significant storage power. Briefly, the main contribution of this research is the quantification of groundwater depletion in the large basin of the SRB using two different methods: process-oriented and satellite-oriented methods. The next step of this research work will focus on the development of artificial intelligence approaches to estimate groundwater depletion from a combination of GRACE/GRACE-FO and a set of multisource remote sensing data

Implication of the CXCL12/CXCR4/CXCR7 axis in metastatic dissemination of colon cancer

Bien que des stratégies de dépistages et des nouvelles combinaisons de traitements aient été mises en place, la survie des patients présentant des métastases au diagnostic reste encore faible. La chimiokine CXCL12 et ses récepteurs CXCR4 et CXCR7 sont décrits pour leur implication dans plusieurs cancers mais le rôle spécifique de chaque récepteur reste encore à préciser. Pour préciser leur rôle respectif dans la dissémination métastatique du cancer colique, nous avons cherché à invalider les gènes de CXCR4 et/ou CXCR7 par CRISPR-Cas9. Parmi les clones générés, nous avons obtenu des clones ayant perdu totalement ou partiellement l’expression de CXCR4 mais aucun clone invalidé pour CXCR7 ou les deux récepteurs. En étudiant les conséquences fonctionnelles de cette invalidation, nous avons montré qu’in vitro, la perte/baisse de l’expression de CXCR4 n’a pas d’impact sur la prolifération cellulaire, mais elle diminue fortement la migration, l’invasion et la migration trans-endothéliale des cellules. D’autre part, nous avons montré que cette perte/diminution d’expression affecte l’expression de certaines MMP, intégrines, gènes de l’EMT et inhibe l’activation de la Rac1 et de la voie de signalisation associée à Akt et dans une moindre mesure celle associée à Erk1/2. Par ailleurs, in vivo, la perte de CXCR4 diminue fortement la formation de tumeurs caecales et de métastases hépatiques et pulmonaires dans des xénogreffes orthotopiques et intraveineuses chez la souris.Although screening strategies and new treatment combinations have been developed, the survival of patients with metastatic disease at diagnosis remains poor. The chemokine CXCL12 and its receptors CXCR4 and CXCR7 have been described to be involved in several cancers but the specific role of each receptor remains to be clarified. To precise their respective roles in the metastatic dissemination of colon cancer, we aimed to invalidate the CXCR4 and/or CXCR7 genes by CRISPR-Cas9. Among the clones generated, we obtained clones that totally or partially lost CXCR4 expression, but no clones invalidated for CXCR7 or both receptors. By studying the functional consequences of this invalidation, we showed that in vitro, the loss/decrease of CXCR4 expression does not impact cell proliferation, but it strongly reduces migration, invasion and trans-endothelial migration of cells. Furthermore, we have shown that this loss/decrease of expression affects the expression of certain MMPs, integrins, EMT genes and inhibits the activation of Rac1 and the Akt-associated signaling pathway and to a lesser extent the one related to Erk1/2. Furthermore, in vivo, loss of CXCR4 strongly inhibits caecal tumor formation and liver and lung metastasis in orthotopic and intravenous xenografts in mice