Effects of some physical and chemical characteristics of soil on productivity and yield of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) in coastal region (Cameroon)

Studies were conducted to assess the response of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) to some physical and chemical characteristics of soil in coastal region (Cameroon). The cowpea variety used in this trial was Tsacre, planted at a spacing of 80 cm × 80 cm. The experimental design was a randomized complete block comprising of five plots with three replicates. Productivity parameters (dry weight aerial parts, roots dry weight, abortion seeds rate, number of flowering per plant, flowering rate) and yield components (number of seeds per pod, number of pod per plant, grain yield, pod yield and weight of 1000 seeds) were determined. Soil samples were taken randomly from depths of 0 - 30 and 30 - 60 cm before seeds sowing. The results showed that the plot with the highest percentage of sand (71.80%), the lowest percentage of clay (21.00%) and silt (7.20%) and with the highest amount of organic matter (10.26%), exchange potassium (0.36 g Kg-1), calcium (0.49 g Kg-1) and magnesium (0.46 g Kg-1) increased significantly (

Dynamique de croissance et taux de mortalité de Rhizophora spp. dans les mangroves de l'estuaire du Rio del Rey: Site de Bamusso (Sud-Ouest Cameroun)

Objectifs : L’objectif des présents travaux est de clarifier le stock du peuplement de Rhizophora ssp. du site par la détermination de ses paramètres de structure spatiale et d'évaluer sa croissance annuelle.Méthodologie et résultats : La méthode d'étude est celle des transects. Deux transects de 100mx10m distantes de 5km orientés WNW-ESE et perpendiculaires au principal chenal ont été établis au hasard .Chaque transect était subdivisé en trois placettes de 20mx10m et chaque placettes scindé en deux sous placettes de 20mx5m. Les mesures (Diamètre et hauteur) ont été effectuées à l'intérieur de chaque sous placette pendant trois campagnes (2009, 2012, 2014). Les résultats montrent que les diamètres moyens pour le transect1(T1) sont de 4,76 ± 0,23cm; 5,09± 0,25cm et 5,43±0,28cm contre 26,53 ± 1,72cm; 24,66 ± 1,90cm et 25,26 ± 1,93cm pour le transect2 (T2) respectivement pour 2009; 2012 et 2014. Les hauteurs moyennes varient de 4,51 ± 0,16 m (2009); 4,74 ± 0,18m (2012) et 4,98 ± 0,2m (2014) pour T1 contre 20,20± 1,22m; 18,86 ± 1,35 m et 19,29 ±1,39m pour T2. L'analyse de la croissance du peuplement montre que les diamètres d'exploitation du bois de la mangrove  affectionnée par les riverains se situent dans l'intervalle (5-30cm). Le test d'ANOVA montre une différence significative (P<0,05) pour les paramètres, de structure et une différence non significative (P>0,05) de la croissance annuelle entre T1 et T2.Conclusion et application des résultats : Cette étude a montré un taux de mortalité relativement faible (m=2,27%) qui présage d'une pression anthropique faible sur cet écosystème. L'étude de la dynamique réalisée permet de recommander ce site dans le processus REDD+ pour le calcul du carbone bleu indispensable dans la lutte contre le phénomène de changement climatique. Mots clés: Transect, Diamètre; Hauteur; Nombre d'individus, BamussoGrowth dynamic and death rate of Rhizophora spp. within mangrove's forest of Rio del Rey estuary (South-West Cameroon)Objective: This study was conducted to clarify the stock of Rhizophora ssp and to assess its growth within the study area.Methodology and results: Transect method was carried out during this study. So, two transects of 100 m in length, 10 m in width and 0.1 ha in area each distance to 5km oriented WNW-ESE and perpendicular to themain channel were established randomly . Each transect was divided in three plots of 20mx10m each and each plot separated in two subplots of 20mx5m each. Measures (Diameter and height) were collected within each subplot during three data collections campaigns (2009,2012,and 2014). The results show that mean diameters of transect1(T1) were 4.76 ± 0.23cm; 5.09± 0.25cm and 5.43±0.28cm to 26.53 ± 1.72cm; 24.66 ± 1.90cm and 25.26 ± 1.93cm for transect2 (T2) respectively in 2009; 2012 et 2014. Mean height values were 4.51 ± 0.16 m (2009); 4.74 ± 0.18m (2012) and 4.98 ± 0.2m (2014) for T1 to 20.20± 1.22m; 18.86 ± 1.35 m and 19.29 ±1.39m for T2. Study of growth show that used diameters of mangrove woods by neighborhood are inside class 5-30cm. The one-way ANOVA test showed a significant difference (P<0.05) for structure  parameters and no significant difference (P>0,05) for annual growth between T1 and T2.Conclusion and application of findings: This study showed a relatively weak annual death rate of trees (m=2.27%) dues to a weak anthropogenic pressure in this ecosystem. This dynamic study will recommend the site to the REDD+ process in order to estimate its blue carbon stock important to fight against climate change.Key words: Transect, Diameter, Height, Number of individuals, Bamuss

TRPA1- FGFR2 binding event is a regulatory oncogenic driver modulated by miRNA-142-3p

YesRecent evidence suggests that the ion channel TRPA1 is implicated in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) where its role and mechanism of action remain unknown. We have previously established that the membrane receptor FGFR2 drives LUAD progression through aberrant protein-protein interactions mediated via its C-terminal proline rich motif. Here, we report that the N-terminal ankyrin repeats of TRPA1 directly bind to the C-terminal proline rich motif of FGFR2 inducing the constitutive activation of the receptor, thereby prompting LUAD progression and metastasis. Furthermore, we show that upon metastasis to the brain, TRPA1 gets depleted, an effect triggered by the transfer of TRPA1-targeting exosomal microRNA (miRNA-142-3p) from brain astrocytes to cancer cells. This downregulation, in turn, inhibits TRPA1-mediated activation of FGFR2 hindering the metastatic process. Our study reveals a direct binding event and characterizes the role of TRPA1 ankyrin repeats in regulating FGFR2-driven oncogenic process; a mechanism that is hindered by miRNA-142-3p.Faculty of Biological Sciences at the University of Leeds, Wellcome Trust Seed Award, Royal Society Research Grant RG150100, MR/K021303/1, Swedish Research Council (2014-3801) and the Medical Faculty at Lund University

Correction to: First results on survival from a large Phase 3 clinical trial of an autologous dendritic cell vaccine in newly diagnosed glioblastoma

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors reported an error in the spelling of one of the author names. In this Correction the incorrect and correct author names are indicated and the author name has been updated in the original publication. The authors also reported an error in the Methods section of the original article. In this Correction the incorrect and correct versions of the affected sentence are indicated. The original article has not been updated with regards to the error in the Methods section.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144529/1/12967_2018_Article_1552.pd

Analysis of the mechanisms of action of Mycosphaerella fijiensis toxins during the development of Black Leaf Streak disease.

peer reviewedThe goal of our programme is to understand the role of M. fijiensis toxins in Black Leaf Streak disease to facilitate early selection of banana genotypes resistant to the disease. Toxic effects induced by crude extracts, as well as by purified juglone released by the pathogen in culture filtrates, were analysed on two reference cultivars of banana. Injection of the pathogen metabolites into banana leaves showed a light-dependent toxicity revealed by the development of necrosis and a rapid decrease of the relative vitality index determined from chlorophyll fluorescence measurements. We demonstrated that juglone, a purified metabolite of M. fijiensis, has a direct inhibitory effect on the electron transfer properties of purified banana chloroplasts. Regardless of the bioassay performed, the susceptibility of the two reference cultivars to this metabolite was correlated with their respective sensitivity to the pathogen infection. On the other hand, some preliminary data showed that juglone initiates oxidation of ascorbic acid, the most abundant antioxidant system in plants. On this base, we hypothesized that oxidative damage could be involved in the action of M. fijiensis toxins

Phillipsite formation in nephelinitic rocks in response to hydrothermal alteration at Mount Etinde, Cameroon

Fresh nephelinitic rocks and hydrothermally altered rocks at Mount Etinde (Cameroon Volcanic Line, West Africa) have been studied by combined whole rock geochemistry (ICP-MS), mineralogy and mineral chemistry (SEM-EDS, WDS, XRD) techniques. The nephelinites have feldspathoids, clinopyroxene, perovskite and titanomagnetite as the principal minerals in the mode with subsidiary apatite and sphene. The mineralogy of their hydrothermally altered counterparts includes phillipsite, calcite and analcime which are secondary phases developed in response to hydrothermal fluid events. Correspondingly, the bulk rock geochemical data show elevated SiO2, CaO, Na2O and K2O concentrations with increasing alteration and Al2O3 and Fe2O3 depletion while MgO, MnO and TiO2 concentrations are largely unaffected. The nephelinites also have high concentrations of LILLE, HFSE and REE and upon hydrothermal alteration they show an enrichment of LREE and MREE over HREE. Phillipsite is the principal alteration mineral in the rocks and it occurs along cracks, vesicles and also forms alteromorphs after feldspathoids. The Ce content of these categories of phillipsite varies. Phillipsite along cracks is richer in Ce while phillipsite associated with calcite has lower Ce concentration and the phillipsite alteromorphs very little or no Ce. Various stages of fluid circulation are proposed hereby to explain the variations in phillipsite generation and composition

Halloysite neoformation during the weathering of nephelinitic rocks under humid tropical conditions at Mt Etinde, Cameroon

Mt Etinde eruptions are dated at 0.65 Ma. it is located on the SW oceanic border of Mt Cameroon, and is composed essentially of nephenilitic rocks. The weathering of nephelinites has resulted in the formation of a 150 cm deep Andic Cambisol (Humic) consisting of three horizons: Ah/Bw/C. Mineral weathering was studied in detail in two profiles: one (P-1) developed from unaltered nephelinite (nephelinite(U)) and the other (P-2) formed from hydrothermally altered nephelinite (nephelinite(H)). Emphasis was on the impact of hydrothermal alterations on weathering profiles, to characterise the signature of halloysite in nephelinitic regoliths and to discuss the evolution of Mt Etinde soils on the Quaternary nephelinitic parent rocks. The mineralogy of nephelinite(U) consists predominantly of clinopyroxene, nepheline, leucite, hauyne, titano-magnetite, perovskite, apatite and sphene. Nephelinite(H) differs from nephelinite(U) by phillipsite-calcite occurrence. The main weathering products are halloysites (1-nm and 0.7-nm) and minor occurrence of gibbsite and hematite. SEM micro morphological examination coupled with microprobe analyses showed halloysites resulting from in situ alterations of feldspathoids, phillipsites and clinopyroxenes. 1-nm hydrated halloysite neoformation characterises the alteromorphs of the saprolite while 1-nm and 0.7-nm halloysite coexist in the Bw and the Ah horizons of both soils. During weathering, these halloysites had a chemical dependence with parent mineral as follows: Ce-rich halloysite characterises alteromorph after phillipsite; Fe-rich halloysite, alteromorph after clinopyroxene: Ca-rich halloysite alteromorph, after hauyne; and K-rich halloysite, alteromorph after leucite. Ce-rich halloysite is a tracer of the hydrothermal impact in soils profile. The Si/Al ratio is also characteristic of the parent mineral. Therefore, the availability of Si is the only factor that controlled the formation of 1-nm halloysite at the base of the saprolite while the presence of 1-nm and 0.7 halloysite in the upper part of the saprolite, the Bw horizon and the Ah horizon suggesting only time controls of the evolution of the profiles by both kinetic (wet-dry seasons) and thermodynamic (Si-bearing) factors. Gibbsite occurs only in the nephelinite(H) soil. Its presence is due to the hydrothermal alteration which favoured the development of an intense microporosity allowing the elimination of silica. The study highlighted the influence of past hydrothermal activity on the recent weathering process in the humid tropical area

A Novel Role of BIRC3 in Stemness Reprogramming of Glioblastoma

Stemness reprogramming remains a largely unaddressed principal cause of lethality in glioblastoma (GBM). It is therefore of utmost importance to identify and target mechanisms that are essential for GBM stemness and self-renewal. Previously, we implicated BIRC3 as an essential mediator of therapeutic resistance and survival adaptation in GBM. In this study, we present novel evidence that BIRC3 has an essential noncanonical role in GBM self-renewal and stemness reprogramming. We demonstrate that BIRC3 drives stemness reprogramming of human GBM cell lines, mouse GBM cell lines and patient-derived GBM stem cells (GSCs) through regulation of BMP4 signaling axis. Specifically, BIRC3 induces stemness reprogramming in GBM through downstream inactivation of BMP4 signaling. RNA-Seq interrogation of the stemness reprogramming hypoxic (pseudopalisading necrosis and perinecrosis) niche in GBM patient tissues further validated the high BIRC3/low BMP4 expression correlation. BIRC3 knockout upregulated BMP4 expression and prevented stemness reprogramming of GBM models. Furthermore, siRNA silencing of BMP4 restored stemness reprogramming of BIRC3 knockout in GBM models. In vivo silencing of BIRC3 suppressed tumor initiation and progression in GBM orthotopic intracranial xenografts. The stemness reprograming of both GSCs and non-GSCs populations highlights the impact of BIRC3 on intra-tumoral cellular heterogeneity GBM. Our study has identified a novel function of BIRC3 that can be targeted to reverse stemness programming of GBM