The economic potential of Echinochloa pyramidalis (Lam.) Hitchc & Chase forage plant used in liquid waste treatment in Cameroon: Opportunity to link sanitation to food security

Cameroon, like other developing countries, faces major problems in the urban centres such as high rate of population increase, food and ruminant feed shortages as well as inadequate access to sanitation. However, Echinochloa pyramidalis, well-known forage adapted to the drying vegetated beds for wastewater and faecal sludge treatments with similar characteristics as Typha sp., Phragmites sp., might be used in the dual purpose as animal feed and as support material in sanitation treatment. This study aimed at linking sanitation technology to forage production. A socio-economic survey conducted in Douala, Yaoundé and Garoua to evaluate the economic potential of E. pyramidalis showed the daily quantities of marketed forage between 5 and 8-tons of fresh weight (FW) respectively during dry and rainy season. The forage price varies with season and species from USD 0.1–0.2 to USD 0.2–0.3/kg FW with daily income of USD 800–1’600 and USD 500–1’500 respectively to rainy and dry season. While comparable to most tropical forages, the nutritional values of E. pyramidalis after 45 and 100 days of wetland treatment were only affected by the advancing maturity. Thus, E. pyramidalis can be easily grown in wetland systems and sold for animal feeding in the local market.Keywords: Echinochloa pyramidalis, economic potential, forage production, nutritional values, sanitation technology, vertical-flow constructed wetland

Global existence of solutions for the relativistic Boltzmann equation with arbitrarily large initial data on a Bianchi type I space-time

We prove, for the relativistic Boltzmann equation on a Bianchi type I space-time, a global existence and uniqueness theorem, for arbitrarily large initial data.Comment: 17 page

Vers un changement du calendrier cultural dans l’ecotone foret-savane de la Côte D’Ivoire

L’étude porte sur les pratiques agricoles paysannes de l’écotone forêt-savane de la Côte d’Ivoire sous l’effet des changements pluviométriques actuels. La caractérisation des changements agrométéorologiques entre 1937 et 2009, s’est appuyée sur les méthodes de Tyson et celle de Franquin. L’analyse des pratiques agricoles paysannes a été effectuée à partir des enquêtes de terrain, visites et observations des parcelles agricoles selon un échantillonnage non probabiliste portant sur 450  paysans de 9 villages. Les résultats ont révélé que dans le Centre de la Côte d’Ivoire (Dimbokro), le début de la grande saison des pluies a accuséun retard d’un mois tandis que la longueur de la petite saison des pluies a été réduite de deux décades. Face à ces changements, les stratégies d’adaptation paysannes sont : (i) la diversification des cultures pérennes de rente (cacaoyer, caféier, anacardier, palmier à huile et hévéa) et (ii) l’association de cultures vivrières annuelles. Concernant le calendrier agricole, l’étude a recommandé pour cette région : (i) deux périodes (Août et septembre) de nettoyage des cultures pérennes et (ii) le mois de mai pour les mises en place des cultures à tubercules et céréales au lieu du mois d’avril qui est de plus en plus déficitaire en termes de bilan hydrique.Mots clés : Calendrier agricole, changement pluviométrique, Côte d’Ivoire, écotone forêt-savane, stratégie paysanne. TOWARDSA CHANGE IN THE AGRICULTURAL CALENDAR IN THE ECOTONE FOREST-SAVANNA AREA OF COTE D’IVOIREThis paper examines the peasant farming practices in the forest-savanna ecotone of Côte d’Ivoire as influenced by the rainfall pattern change. The characterization of agrometeorological changes between 1937 and 2009 was made according to methods described by Tyson and that of Franquin. Peasant farming analysis was based on field surveys, visits and observations of agricultural parcels using a non-probability test sampling of 450 farmers from 9 villages. The results revealed that in the Centre of Côte d’Ivoire (Dimbokro), the beginning of the long rainy season  registered one month delay and the length of the short rainy season was reduced of 20 days. Faced with these changes, farmers’ adaptation  strategies were based on (i) the diversification of perennial cash crops  (cocoa, coffee, cashew, oil palm and rubber) and (ii) the mixed farmingcombining three food crops on the same plot. Regarding the agricultural calendar the study recommended for this region: (i) three field cleaning periods (August and December) for perennial crops and (ii) the month of May for tubers and cereals sowing instead of April, which is increasingly deficient in terms of water balance.Keywords : Agricultural calendar, rainfall pattern change, Côte d’Ivoire,  forest-savanna ecotone, adaptation strategies

A Review of Posttraumatic Bowel Injuries in Ibadan

Background. Bowel injuries are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality following trauma. Evaluating patients who sustained abdominal trauma with bowel injury may pose a significant diagnostic challenge to the surgeon. Prompt recognition and timely intervention is necessary to improve outcome. Aim. This study was undertaken to evaluate treatment and outcome of patients with bowel trauma. Methods. A 5-year retrospective study of all patients presenting with abdominal trauma requiring surgical intervention seen in the UCH Ibadan, Nigeria was undertaken. Results. There were 71 patients (59 males and 12 females). The majority of cases (70%) occurred between the 3rd and 5th decades of life. Some 37 patients (52%) sustained blunt abdominal injury, while 34 patients (48%) sustained penetrating abdominal injury. There were 27 patients with bowel injuries (38%). Isolated bowel injuries occurred in 19 patients (27%). The most common surgical operation performed was simple closure. There were 3 deaths in patients with bowel injuries. Conclusion. Most cases of bowel injury can be managed by simple closure, a technique that is not so technically demanding for surgeons in less-developed countries. This study has also incidentally identified a “rule of six” for patients with bowel injuries and abdominal trauma

Impacts des effluents liquides industriels sur l’environnement urbain d’Abidjan - Côte D’Ivoire

Au cours de ces dernières années, les pouvoirs publics ivoiriens ont fait de l’industrialisation l’un des maillons essentiels du développement, après le succès de l’agriculture. Mais la mise en oeuvre de cette politique pose parfois des problèmes d’environnement à Abidjan. La présente étude a pour objectif principal d’évaluer à travers six paramètres (T °C, pH, DCO, DBO5, MES et MGT), les impacts environnementaux négatifs des effluents industriels dans le milieu urbain d’Abidjan. Pour ce faire, des analyses physico-chimiques de 36 échantillons de rejets industriels, ont été réalisées. A l’exception du pH et de la température, les valeurs extrêmes des paramètres de pollution (DCO, DBO5, MES et MGT respectivement de 1392,83 mg O2/l, 910,03 mg O2/l, 231,53 mg/l et 332,67 mg/l) sont largement supérieures à la norme ivoirienne. Ce qui indique que la zone urbaine d’Abidjan est polluée. Par ailleurs, l’activité industrielle a favorisé aux alentours des zones industrielles d’Abidjan (Yopougon et Port-Bouët), des habitats précaires avec leurs corolaires de maladies (paludisme (68,4%), fièvre typhoïde (12,2%), etc.) et les mauvaises conditions de vie (53,4%). Au regard de ce qui précède, il serait recommandable aux industriels de mettre l’accent sur l’abattement des paramètres en deçà des normes. Les structures de contrôle étatique devraient assurer leur rôle régalien au sein des zones industrielles. © 2013 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Mots clés: Entreprises industrielles, Abidjan, paramètres physico-chimiques, Environnement, Impacts, pollution

Analysis of stakeholder perceptions and practices related to climate change adaptation in Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso, like other Sahelian countries, has experienced a profound change in its climatic regime, with the new context characterised by high rainfall variability with an overall downward trend and a shortening of the seasons. The future rainfall pattern anticipates a decrease in the frequency of low rainfall (0.1 to 5 mm per day), a lengthening of the average duration of dry sequences, and an early end and late start of rainy seasons. The objective of this study was to perform an in-depth analysis of stakeholder perceptions about agricultural water (AgWater) resources sustainability, practices in the context of climate variability and change in Burkina Faso. Interviews were held with institutional actors involved in water resources decision making and initiatives (Government, Research, Non-Governmental Organisations) in the country. In addition, based on four main criteria (climate condition, type of farm and crop, type of AgWater sources, reliability of AgWater), three agricultural sites were investigated using household surveys. The results showed that organisations and farmers in Burkina Faso were aware of climate impacts and had initiated and implemented for many years, diverse options and water control mechanisms for AgWater adaptation. However, there were still gaps in strategies for adapting the water sector to climate threats. Institutional bodies had not got yet attained capacity to sustainably anticipate the effects of climate change on AgWater. There was a lack of mainstreaming hydroclimate services at farm levels, especially for the dry season crops; lack of on-farm flood control mechanisms, absence of a clear gender approach and no standardised monitoring system, Farmers also lacked anticipatory resilience strategies, particularly those who used water sources that were considered as \u201creliable\u201d then. In general, most of the climate adaptation initiatives implemented lacked synergies, sustainability, and were uncertain about sound water resource management such as moving towards \u201cno regret\u201d and \u201cwin-win\u201d options.Le Burkina Faso, \ue0 l\u2019instar des pays du Sahel, a connu un changement consid\ue9rable de son r\ue9gime climatique. Le nouveau contexte climatique est caract\ue9ris\ue9 par une forte variabilit\ue9 et une baisse de la fr\ue9quence des pr\ue9cipitations (0,1 \ue0 5 mm par jour), un allongement de la dur\ue9e moyenne des s\ue9quences s\ue8ches, une fin pr\ue9coce et un d\ue9but tardif des saisons des pluies. L\u2019objectif de cette \ue9tude \ue9tait donc d\u2019effectuer une analyse approfondie des perceptions et pratiques des acteurs au regard de la s\ue9curit\ue9 en eau agricole dans un contexte de changement climatique au Burkina Faso. Des entretiens semi-structur\ue9s ont \ue9t\ue9 conduits avec les acteurs institutionnels impliqu\ue9s dans la gestion de l\u2019eau agricole (d\ue9cideurs, chercheurs, praticiens). Aussi, sur la base de quatre crit\ue8res principaux (conditions climatiques, type d\u2019exploitation et de cultures, type de sources d\u2019eau agricole, fiabilit\ue9 de la source d\u2019eau), trois sites agricoles ont \ue9t\ue9 s\ue9lectionn\ue9s et des enqu\ueates conduites aupr\ue8s des agriculteurs. Les r\ue9sultats ont montr\ue9 que l\u2019ensemble des acteurs institutionnels ou usagers exp\ue9rimentent les effets du climat sur l\u2019eau agricole. En outre, de nombreuses initiatives et m\ue9canismes, qui contribuent \ue0 l\u2019adaptation de cette ressource, ont \ue9t\ue9 mis en \u153uvre depuis de nombreuses ann\ue9es. Toutefois, il existe encore de nombreuses lacunes dans les strat\ue9gies pour une adaptation durable de l\u2019eau agricole aux menaces climatiques. Les acteurs institutionnels n\u2019ont pas encore la capacit\ue9 d\u2019anticiper efficacement les effets des changements climatiques. Il n\u2019existe pas encore de services hydroclimatiques au niveau des exploitations agricoles, notamment pour les cultures de saison s\ue8che ; de m\ueame que l\u2019absence de m\ue9canismes de maitrise des inondations sur ces exploitations agricoles, la promotion d\u2019une approche genre sp\ue9cifique et le manque d\u2019un syst\ue8me standard de suivi de la r\ue9silience. Les agriculteurs manquent de strat\ue9gies anticipatives d\u2019adaptation, en particulier autour des sources d\u2019eau consid\ue9r\ue9es comme \u201cfiables\u201d. En g\ue9n\ue9ral, la plupart des initiatives actuelles d\u2019adaptation au climat manquent de synergies, et la prise en compte de l\u2019incertitude climatique comme l\u2019orientation vers les \u201c options sans \u201cregret\u201d ou \u201cgagnant-gagnant\u201d

Are schoolchildren less infected if they have good knowledge about parasitic worms? A case study from rural Côte d'Ivoire

Background: Parasitic worms (helminths) are common infections in low- and middle-income countries. For most helminth species, school-aged children are at highest risk of infection and morbidity, such as impaired cognitive and physical development. Preventive chemotherapy is the current mainstay for helminthiases control. Sanitation improvement and hygiene-related education are important complementary strategies, which act by altering children’s behaviour. However, little is known about the effect of improved knowledge on the risk of helminth infection. The aim of this study was to assess the potential influence of knowledge that children acquired at home or in school, without any specific health education intervention, on helminth infections. Methods: In May 2014, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in western Côte d’Ivoire. A total of 2498 children, aged 9-12 years, were subjected to three consecutive stool examinations using duplicate Kato-Katz thick smears to determine infections with soil-transmitted helminths and Schistosoma mansoni. Additionally, children were interviewed to assess their knowledge about helminth infections. Four knowledge scores were constructed by factor analysis; one, reflecting general knowledge about helminths and three manifesting helminth species-specific knowledge. The effect of general and specific knowledge on children’s helminth infection status was determined using meta-analysis. Results: Children who scored high in the hookworm-specific knowledge were less likely to be infected with hookworm but no association was found for the other helminth species. Moreover, greater general knowledge was not associated with lower odds of being infected with any helminth species. Most of the children interviewed believed that the effect of preventive chemotherapy is permanent, and hence, re-treatment is not necessary. Conclusions: Specific knowledge about different types of helminths might not suffice to induce behavioural change which in turn reduces infection and reinfection with helminths. Health education interventions should strive to strengthen the perception of risk and to clarify the true benefit of preventive chemotherapy.publishersversionpublishe

Effect of an integrated intervention package of preventive chemotherapy, community-led total sanitation and health education on the prevalence of helminth and intestinal protozoa infections in Côte d'Ivoire

Preventive chemotherapy with donated anthelminthic drugs is the cornerstone for the control of helminthiases. However, reinfection can occur rapidly in the absence of clean water and sanitation coupled with unhygienic behaviour. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of an integrated package of interventions, consisting of preventive chemotherapy, community-led total sanitation (CLTS) and health education, on the prevalence of helminth and intestinal protozoa infections and on participants' knowledge, attitude, practice and beliefs (KAPB) towards these diseases including water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).; A cross-sectional survey was carried out in nine communities of south-central Côte d'Ivoire to assess people's infection with helminths and intestinal protozoa and KAPB. Subsequently, interventions were targeted to five communities, while the remaining communities served as control. The intervention encouraged latrine construction and an evaluation was done 6-7 months later to determine open defecation status of the respective communities. Anthelminthic treatment was provided to all community members. A follow-up cross-sectional survey was conducted approximately one year later, using the same procedures.; Overall, 810 people had complete baseline and follow-up data and were given anthelminthic treatment. The baseline prevalence of hookworm, Schistosoma haematobium, Trichuris trichiura, Schistosoma mansoni and Ascaris lumbricoides was 31.1%, 7.0%, 2.0%, 1.0% and 0.3%, respectively. Four of the five intervention communities were classified open-defecation free. For hookworm infection, we observed higher negative changes in terms of proportion of decrease (-0.10; 95% confidence interval (CI): - 0.16, -0.04) and higher egg reduction rate (64.9 vs 15.2%) when comparing intervention with control communities. For intestinal protozoa, prevalence reduction was higher in intervention compared to control communities (8.2 vs 2.6%) and WASH indicators and intervention outcomes associated with lower odds for infection at follow-up. The intervention significantly impacted on reported latrine use (before: 15.5%, after: 94.6%), open defecation in the community surroundings (before: 75.0%, after: 16.7%) and awareness for environmental contamination through open defecation (before: 20.4%, after: 52.2%).; An integrated package of interventions consisting of preventive chemotherapy, health education and CLTS reduces the prevalence of helminth and intestinal protozoa infection. Additional studies in other social-ecological settings are warranted to confirm our findings

Canonicalizing Knowledge Base Literals

Ontology-based knowledge bases (KBs) like DBpedia are very valuable resources, but their usefulness and usability is limited by various quality issues. One such issue is the use of string literals instead of semantically typed entities. In this paper we study the automated canonicalization of such literals, i.e., replacing the literal with an existing entity from the KB or with a new entity that is typed using classes from the KB. We propose a framework that combines both reasoning and machine learning in order to predict the relevant entities and types, and we evaluate this framework against state-of-the-art baselines for both semantic typing and entity matching

Effect of nourishment and inorganic fertilization on growth of snakehead fish, «Parachanna insignis (Channidae)» in non-drained pond

The influence of combination of feed based on rice bran and inorganic fertilizer (NPK-17-17-17) was tested in a three months studt on growth performances of snakehead fish in non-drained pond. Daily growth obtained with this mixed feed of rice bran combined with inorganic fertilization profited well to snakehead fish with growth of 1.463 g/day against 0.765 g/day for the control. This type of feed could be proposed to increase the production of fish farming in the trial area