Water-condition effects on rhizobia competition for cowpea nodule occupancy

Two indigenous bradyrhizobia strains displaying different natural behaviours towards water regime (strain ORS 3257, nodulating more frequently in favourable-water conditions and strain ORS 3260, in limited-water conditions) were studied for their competitivity for nodulation of cowpea (Mouridecultivar) under favourable and limited water conditions in non-sterile soil. The nodule occupancy was studied by PCR-RFLP analysis. Both strains showed good competition with other indigenous rhizobia populations under favourable- and limited-water conditions. Competition between the inoculatedstrains in the mixture varied between water regimes. In non-limited-water conditions, strain ORS 3257 was the best competitor, whereas in limited-water conditions, strain ORS 3260 was the best competitor. Results indicated that screening of strains according to their environmental origin could ensuresuccessful rhizobia inoculatio

Monitoring and Forecasting of Coastal Erosion in the Context of Climate Change in Saint Louis (Senegal)

Owing to its unique physical and socio-economic characteristics, the Saint Louis region stands out as one of the most susceptible areas in Senegal to the adverse impacts of coastal erosion. The dynamics of erosion in this region are significantly influenced by the Langue de Barbarie (LB), a sand spit formed at the mouth of the Senegal River. Initially, in 2003, a 4 m wide artificial breach was strategically introduced to mitigate flooding; however, sediment dynamics expanded it to 6 km by 2020, thereby affecting the entire region. This study delves into the coastline change of the LB, specifically divided into three zones (LB-1, LB-2, and LB-3), spanning the period from 1994 to 2042. Leveraging Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing techniques, our investigation reveals that, prior to the breach’s creation, the average dynamic coastline rates in zones LB-1, LB-2, and LB-3 were estimated at 4.4, 5.9, and 4.4 m/year, respectively. Subsequent to the breach, these rates shifted to −1.2, 8.4, and −2.7 m/year, with the most significant erosion observed alongshore of LB-3 at −6.6 m/year during the period 2002–2012. Projecting into 2032, LB-1 and LB-3 are anticipated to experience erosion rates of −11.5 and −26.8 m/year, respectively, while the LB-2 records an estimated accretion rate of 8.41 m/year. Eroded areas are expected to total 571,458 m2, while accumulated areas are expected to total 67,191 m2. By 2042, zones LB-1, LB-2, and LB-3 are expected to experience erosion rates of −23 and −53.6 m/year, resulting in the erosion of 1,021,963 m2 and the accumulation of 94,930 m2 with a dynamic rate of 168.2 m/year in zone LB-3. These results have significant implications for solving the urgent issue of coastal erosion in LB. © 2024 by the authors

Etude de l’activité antifalcémiante d’extraits de racines de Leptadenia hastata Decne. (Asclepiadacae)

L’objectif de cette étude est d’évaluer l’activité antifalcémiante d’extraits de racines de Leptadenia hastata sur des hémoglobines falciformes et d’identifier les principes actifs à l’origine de cette activité. La méthode employée étudie la réversibilité des drépanocytes, en fonction du temps d’incubation des extraits par rapport aux témoins (eau physiologique, phénylalanine et arginine) sur des échantillons de sang de patients drépanocytaires homozygotes. Des concentrations de 0,05; 0,5; 5 et 10 mg/ml de quatre extraits (méthanol, hexane, acétate d’éthyle et méthanol résiduel) ont été mises en contact avec des drépanocytes de type SS après avoir provoqué leur falciformation avec une solution à 2% de métabisulfite de sodium. L’évaluation a été effectuée toutes les 30 minutes pendant 120 minutes. Les différents extraits ont montré une activité dosedépendante sur la réversibilité de la falciformation des globules rouges avec plus de 80% d’inversion en 120 minutes pour l’extrait méthanolique, le plus actif. Un screening phytochimique a permis de faire une corrélation entre les flavonoïdes et l’activité antifalcémiante des extraits de Leptadenia hastata.Mots clés : Drépanocytose, hémoglobine, activité antifalcémiante, Leptadenia hastata, flavonoïdes

A molecular method to discriminate between mass-reared sterile and wild tsetse flies during eradication programmes that have a sterile insect technique component

Background The Government of Senegal has embarked several years ago on a project that aims to eradicate Glossina palpalis gambiensis from the Niayes area. The removal of the animal try-panosomosis would allow the development more efficient livestock production systems. The project was implemented using an area-wide integrated pest management strategy including a sterile insect technique (SIT) component. The released sterile male flies originated from a colony from Burkina Faso. Methodology/Principal Findings Monitoring the efficacy of the sterile male releases requires the discrimination between wild and sterile male G.p. gambiensis that are sampled in monitoring traps. Before being released, sterile male flies were marked with a fluorescent dye powder. The marking was however not infallible with some sterile flies only slightly marked or some wild flies contaminated with a few dye particles in the monitoring traps. Trapped flies can also be damaged due to predation by ants, making it difficult to discriminate between wild and sterile males using a fluorescence camera and / or a fluorescence microscope. We developed a molecular technique based on the determination of cytochrome oxidase haplotypes of G. p. gambiensis to discriminate between wild and sterile males. DNA was isolated from the head of flies and a portion of the 5' end of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase I was amplified to be finally sequenced. Our results indicated that all the sterile males from the Burkina Faso colony displayed the same haplotype and systematically differed from wild male flies trapped in Senegal and Burkina Faso. This allowed 100% discrimination between sterile and wild male G. p. gambiensis. Conclusions/Significance This tool might be useful for other tsetse control campaigns with a SIT component in the framework of the Pan-African Tsetse and Trypanosomosis Eradication Campaign (PATTEC) and, more generally, for other vector or insect pest control programs

Acute traumatic abdominal wall hernia

Although blunt abdominal trauma is frequent, traumatic abdominal wall hernias (TAWH) are rare. We describe a large TAWH with associated intra-abdominal lesions that were caused by high-energy trauma. The diagnosis was missed by clinical examination but was subsequently revealed by a computed tomography (CT) scan. Repair consisted of an open anatomical reconstruction of the abdominal wall layers with reinforcement by an intraperitoneal composite mesh. The patient recovered well and the results of a post-operative CT scan are presented

Leiomyosarcome retro-rectal : place de la voie d’abord périnéale

Introduction : les tumeurs rétro rectales se développent dans l’espace limité en avant par le rectum, en arrière par la pièce sacro coccygienne, en bas par les releveurs et les muscles anococcygiens, latéralement par les uretères et les vaisseaux iliaques .leur incidence est estimée à 1/40 000, leur nature histologique est très variable et 30 à 50 % d’entre elles sont malignes ou le deviennent au cours de l’évolution.Observation : nous rapportons le cas d’un leiomyosarcome  rétro- rectal  chez un patient de 40 ans qui se plaignait depuis 2 ans de douleurs pelviennes paroxystiques avec pesanteur et pollakiurie .le toucher rectal perçoit une masse latero-rectale gauche. La Tomodensitométrie été en faveur d’une collection abcédée, en montrant une formation hypodense, et c’est l’imagerie par résonance magnétique nucléaire qui a posé le diagnostic de processus tumoral latero-rectal gauche, arrivant au contact du plancher pelvien et autorisant la voie d’abord périnéale de cette tumeur dont l’exérèse était complète sans effraction capsulaire. L’examen anatomopathologique de la pièce de résection a conclu après immunohistochimie à un leiomyosarcome de bas grade de malignité .une radiothérapie complémentaire centrée sur le site opératoire a été indiquée pour prévenir une éventuelle récidive locorégionale. Conclusion : Le leiomyosarcome retrorectal est une tumeur rare qui pose des problèmes d’abord chirurgical. Le pronostic reste relativement réservé et il faut guetter une éventuelle récidive. Le traitement néo-adjuvent n’est pas encore codifi

Electrodeposition of CuGaSe2 and CuGaS2 thin films for photovoltaic applications

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10008-016-3237-0.Abstract CuGaSe2 and CuGaS2 polycrystalline thin film absorbers were prepared by one-step electrodeposition from an aqueous electrolyte containing CuCl2, GaCl3 and H2SeO3. The pH of the solution was adjusted to 2.3 by adding HCl and KOH. Annealing improved crystallinity of CuGaSe2 and further annealing in sulphur atmosphere was required to obtain CuGaS2 layers. The morphology, topography, chemical composition and crystal structure of the deposited thin films were analysed by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, respectively. X-Ray diffraction showed that the asdeposited CuGaSe2 film exhibited poor crystallinity, but which improved dramatically when the layers were annealed in forming gas atmosphere for 40 min. Subsequent sulphurization of CuGaSe2 films was performed at 400 °C for 10 min in presence of molecular sulphur and under forming gas atmosphere. The effect of sulphurization was the conversion of CuGaSe2 into CuGaS2. The formation of CuGaS2 thin films was evidenced by the shift observed in the X-ray diffraction pattern and by the blue shift of the optical bandgap. The bandgap of CuGaSe2 was found to be 1.66 eV, while for CuGaS2 it raised up to 2.2 eV. A broad intermediate absorption band associated to Cr and centred at 1.63 eV was observed in Cr-doped CuGaS2 films.This work was supported by Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (ENE2013-46624-C4-4-R) and Generalitat Valenciana (Prometeus 2014/044). One of the authors (S. Ullah) acknowledges the European Union (IDEAS-Call-3, Innovation and Design for Euro-Asian scholars) for its financial support.Ullah, S.; Mollar García, MA.; Marí, B. (2016). Electrodeposition of CuGaSe2 and CuGaS2 thin films for photovoltaic applications. Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry. 20(8):2251-2257. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-016-3237-0S22512257208Calixto ME, Sebastian PJ, Bhattacharya RN, Noufi (1999) Sol Energ Mat Sol C 59:75–84Mandati S, Sarada BV, Dey SR, Joshi SV (2015) J Power Sources 273:149–157Jacobsson TJ, Fjällström V, Edoff M, Edvinsson T (2015) Sol Energ Mat Sol C 134:185–193Carrete A, Placidi M, Shavel A, Pérez Rodríguez A, Cabot A (2015) Phys Stat Sol (a) 212:67–71Saji VS, Ik-Ho C, Lee CW (2011) Sol Energy 86:2666–2678Park MG, Ahn SJ, Yun JH, Gwak J, Cho A, Ahn SK, Shin K, Nam D, Cheong H, Yoon K (2012) J Alloy Compd 513:68–74Saji VS, Lee SM, Lee CW (2011) J Korean Electrochem Soc 14:61–70Donglin X, Jangzhuang L, Man X, Xiujian Z (2008) J Non-Cryst Solids 354:1447–1450Araujo J, Ortíz R, López-Rivera A, Ortega JM, Montilla M, Alarcón D (2007) J Solid State Electroch 11(Issue 3):407–412Palacios P, Sanchez K, Conesa JC, Fernandez JJ, Wahnon P (2007) Phys Stat Sol A 203:1395–1401Palacios P, Sanchez K, Conesa JC, Wahnon P (2006) Thin Solid Films 515:6280–6284Lee H, Lee J-H, Hwang Y-H, Kim Y (2014) Curr Appl Phys 14:18–22Kim D, Kwon Y, Lee D, Yoon S, Lee S, Yoo B (2015) J Electrochem Soc 162:D36–D41Hou WW, Bob B, Li S, Yang Y (2009) Thin Solid Films 517:6853–6856Lee J, Lee W, Shrestha NK, Lee DY, Lim I, Kang SH, Nah YC, Lee SH, Yi W, Han SH (2014) Mater Chem Phys 144:49–54Yang JY, Lee D, Huh K, Jung SJ, Lee JW, Lee HC, Baek DH, Kim BJ, Kim D, Nam J, Kim GY, Jo W (2015) RSC Adv 5:40719–407257Sall T, Nafidi A, Marí B, Mollar M, Hartiti B, Fahoume M (2014) J Semicond 35:0630021–0630025Lee JH, Song WC, Yi JS, Joonyang K, Han WD, Hawang J (2003) Thin Solid Films 431-432:349–353Prabukanthan P, Dhanasekaran R (2007) Cryst Growth Des 7:618–623Guillemoles JF, Cowache P, Lusson A, Fezzaa K, Boisivon F, Vedel J, Lincot D (1996) J Appl Phys 79:7293–7302Aguilera I, Palacios P, Wahon P (2010) Sol Energ Mat Sol C 94:1903–1906Palacios P, Aguilera I, Wahnón P, Conesa JC (2008) J Phys Chem C 112:9525–952