African Land Ecology: Opportunities and Constraints for Agricultural Development

Current agriculture in Sub-Sahara Africa is undeveloped and the Green Revolution has left the continent largely untouched. Poor performance is often related to a number of socio-economic factors. In this paper we argue that there are also some specifities of natural resources, namely local homogeneity and spatial diversity of the pre-dominant Basement Complex soils, that imply that simple fertilizer strategies may not produce the yield increases obtained elsewhere. Keywords: Sub-Sahara Africa, Agro-Ecology, Land use, Land resources, Basement Complex, Green Revolution, Micronutrients, Fertilizer Policy

Uncharted digenean diversity in Lake Tanganyika : cryptogonimids (Digenea: Cryptogonimidae) infecting endemic lates perches (Actinopterygii: Latidae)

Background Lake Tanganyika is considered a biodiversity hotspot with exceptional species richness and level of endemism. Given the global importance of the lake in the field of evolutionary biology, the understudied status of its parasite fauna is surprising with a single digenean species reported to date. Although the most famous group within the lake's fish fauna are cichlids, the pelagic zone is occupied mainly by endemic species of clupeids (Actinopterygii: Clupeidae) and lates perches (Actinopterygii: Latidae, Lates Cuvier), which are an important commercial source for local fisheries. In this study, we focused on the lake's four lates perches and targeted their thus far unexplored endoparasitic digenean fauna. Methods A total of 85 lates perches from four localities in Lake Tanganyika were examined. Cryptogonimid digeneans were studied by means of morphological and molecular characterisation. Partial sequences of the nuclear 28S rRNA gene and the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene were sequenced for a representative subset of the specimens recovered. Phylogenetic analyses were conducted at the family level under Bayesian inference. Results Our integrative approach revealed the presence of six species within the family Cryptogonimidae Ward, 1917. Three out of the four species of Lates were found to be infected with at least one cryptogonimid species. Two out of the three reported genera are new to science. Low interspecific but high intraspecific phenotypic and genetic diversity was found among Neocladocystis spp. Phylogenetic inference based on partial 28S rDNA sequences revealed a sister group relationship for two of the newly erected genera and their close relatedness to the widely distributed genus Acanthostomum Looss, 1899. Conclusions The present study provides the first comprehensive characterisation of the digenean diversity in a fish family from Lake Tanganyika which will serve as a baseline for future explorations of the lake's digenean fauna. Our study highlights the importance of employing an integrative approach for revealing the diversity in this unique host-parasite system.Peer reviewe

Complete mitochondrial genomes and updated divergence time of the two freshwater clupeids endemic to Lake Tanganyika (Africa) suggest intralacustrine speciation

acceptedVersio

[18F]FDG and [18F]NaF as PET markers of systemic atherosclerosis progression:A longitudinal descriptive imaging study in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

BACKGROUND: While [18F]-fluordeoxyglucose ([18F]FDG) uptake is associated with arterial inflammation, [18F]-sodium fluoride ([18F]NaF) is a marker for arterial micro-calcification. We aimed to investigate the prospective correlation between both PET markers over time and whether they are prospectively ([18F]FDG) and retrospectively ([18F]NaF) related to progression of systemic arterial disease in a longitudinal study in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS: Baseline [18F]FDG PET/Low Dose (LD) Computed Tomography (CT) scans of ten patients with early T2DM without cardiovascular history (70% men, median age 63 years) were compared with five-year follow-up [18F]NaF/LDCT scans. Systemic activity was expressed as mean target-to-background ratio (meanTBR) by dividing the maximal standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of ten arteries by SUVmean of the caval vein. CT-assessed macro-calcifications were scored visually and expressed as calcified plaque (CP) score. Arterial stiffness was assessed with carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV). Five-year changes were expressed absolutely with delta (Δ) and relatively with %change. RESULTS: Baseline meanTBR[18F]FDG was strongly correlated with five-year follow-up meanTBR[18F]NaF (r = 0.709, P = .022). meanTBR[18F]NaF correlated positively with ΔCPscore, CPscore at baseline, and follow-up (r = 0.845, P = .002 and r = 0.855, P = .002, respectively), but not with %change in CPscore and PWV. CONCLUSION: This proof-of-concept study demonstrated that systemic arterial inflammation is an important pathogenetic factor in systemic arterial micro-calcification development

Repeated 24-hour recalls versus dietary records for estimating nutrient intakes in a national food consumption survey

The methodology used in the first Belgian food consumption survey followed to a large extent the instructions of the European Food Consumption (EFCOSUM) reports, where repeated 24-hour recalls (24HR) using EPIC-SOFT were recommended.To evaluate the relative validity of two non-consecutive 24HR using EPIC-SOFT by comparison with 5-day estimated dietary records (EDR). To assess misreporting in energy for both methods by comparing energy intake with energy expenditure from accelerometery in a subsample.A total of 175 subjects (aged 15 and over) were recruited to participate in the study. Repeated 24HR were performed with an interval of 2–8 weeks. After completion of the second interview, subjects were instructed to keep an EDR. Dietary intakes were adjusted for within-person variability to reflect usual intakes. A Student's t-test was calculated to assess differences between both methods. Spearman and Kappa correlation coefficients were used to investigate agreement.In total, 127 subjects completed the required repeated 24HR, as well as the five record days. From 76 participants, accelerometer data were available. In both methods, about 35% of participants had ratios of Energy Intake/Total Energy Expenditure (EI/TEE) above or below 95% confidence intervals for EI/TEE, suggesting misreporting of energy. Significant differences between the two dietary intake methods were found for total energy, total fat, fatty acids, cholesterol, alcohol, vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin and iron. In general, intakes from 24HR were higher compared to EDR. Correlation coefficients for all nutrients ranged from 0.16 for thiamine to 0.70 for water.The results from this study show that in the context of nutritional surveillance, duplicate 24HR can be used to asses intakes of protein, carbohydrates, starch, sugar, water, potassium and calcium

Quality of life after esophageal replacement in children

Purpose: Assessing quality of life (QoL) after esophageal replacement (ER) for long gap esophageal atresia (LGEA). Methods: All patients after ER for LGEA with gastric pull-up (GPU n = 9) or jejunum interposition (JI n = 14) at the University Medical Center Groningen and Utrecht (1985–2007) were included. QoL was assessed with 1) gastrointestinal-related QoL using the Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI)), 2) general QoL (Child Health questionnaire CHF87-BREF (children)/World Health Organization questionnaire WHOQOL-BREF (adults)), and 3) health-related QoL (HRQoL) (TNO AZL TACQoL/TAAQoL). Association of morbidity (heartburn, dysphagia, dyspnea on exertion, recurrent cough) and (HR)QoL was evaluated. Results: Six patients after GPU (75%) and eight patients after JI (57%) responded to the questionnaires (mean age 15.7, SD 5.9, 12 male, two female). Mean gastrointestinal, general and health-related QoL total scores of the patients were comparable to healthy controls. However, young adults reported a worse physical functioning (p = 0.02) but better social functioning compared to peers (p = 0.01). Morbidity was not associated with significant differences in (HR)QoL. Conclusions: With the current validated QoL most patients after ER with GPU and JI for LGEA have normal generic and disease specific QoL scores. Postoperative morbidity does not seem to influence (HR)QoL. Type of Study: Prognosis Study. Level of evidence: III

Weak population structure and recent demographic expansion of the monogenean parasite Kapentagyrus spp. infecting clupeid fishes of Lake Tanganyika, East Africa

Author's accepted version (postprint).This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Elsevier in International Journal for Parasitology on 08/04/2020.Available online: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020751920300606?via%3DihubLake Tanganyika, East Africa, is the oldest and deepest African Great Lake and harbours one of the most diverse fish assemblages on earth. Two clupeid fishes, Limnothrissa miodon and Stolothrissa tanganicae, constitute a major part of the total fish catch, making them indispensable for local food security. Parasites have been proposed as indicators of stock structure in highly mobile pelagic hosts. We examined the monogeneans Kapentagyrus limnotrissae and Kapentagyrus tanganicanus (Dactylogyridae) infecting these clupeids to explore the parasites’ lake-wide population structure and patterns of demographic history. Samples were collected at seven sites distributed across three sub-basins of the lake. Intraspecific morphological variation of the monogeneans (n = 380) was analysed using morphometrics and geomorphometrics of sclerotised structures. Genetic population structure of both parasite species (n = 246) was assessed based on a 415 bp fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. Overall, we observed a lack of clear geographical morphological differentiation in both parasites along a north–south axis. This lack of geographical population structure was also reflected by a large proportion of shared haplotypes, and a pattern of seemingly unrestricted gene flow between populations. Significant morphological and genetic differentiation between some populations might reflect temporal differentiation rather than geographical isolation. Overall, the shallow population structure of both species of Kapentagyrus reflects the near-panmictic population structure of both host species as previously reported. Morphological differences related to host species identity of K. tanganicanus were consistent with incipient speciation at the genetic level. Both parasite species experienced a recent demographic expansion, which might be linked to paleohydrological events. Finally, interspecific hybridisation was found in Kapentagyrus, representing the first case in dactylogyrid monogeneans.acceptedVersio