Acute toxicity and antioxydant property of Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth (Scrophulariaceae)

Plants containing flavonoids have been reported to possess strong antioxidant properties. The aqueous acetone extract of Striga hermonthica was further separated into aqueous and ethyl acetate fractions and assayed for their in vitro antioxidant properties using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Thecrude extract exhibits a weak antioxidant activity (IC50 of 95.27±2.30 ìg/ml) and an insignificant acute toxicity on mice (LD50: 1753±44 mg/kg). Luteolin was isolated and identified by mean of its spectral data as the main DPPH radical scavenger of the ethyl acetate fraction, exhibiting an IC50 value of 6.80±1.46 ìg/ml. These results suggest an antioxidant potential for S. hermonthica

NEAR INFRARED LIGHT HEATING OF SOFT TISSUE PHANTOMS CONTAINING NANOPARTICLES

The objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of the addition of nanoparticles to soft tissue phantoms, aiming at the enhancement of photothermal therapy for cancer. The phantoms were made of Polyvinyl chloride-plastisol (PVC-P), with two different nanoparticles, namely, titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2) and silica nanoparticles (SiO2). A phantom without nanoparticles and a phantom containing a thermal paste were also manufactured for comparison purposes. The PVC-P phantom is transparent to the near infrared laser light, whereas the addition of titanium dioxide nanoparticles modified the optical properties enhancing the local heating, as demonstrated through experiments with a laser-diode and an infrared camera

Assessing the Climate-Smartness of the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP): What can we learn from Benin, Guinea, Niger, Togo and Chad projects?

Agriculture is the most important sector of the national economies in West Africa. However, the agricultural sector is faced with numerous challenges (declining soil fertility and land degradation, adverse climate change manifestations, demographic pressure, market instability and incidence of crop pests and diseases, etc.), compromising its ability to be a driving engine out of food insecurity and poverty. With the growing challenge of climate change and variability in West Africa, the agricultural production and food systems must undergo significant transformations to meet the interlinked challenges of achieving sustainability, increasing food security and responding to climate change. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is proposed as a solution to transform and reorient agricultural systems to support food security under the new realities of climate change

Anti-proliferative effect of Scoparia dulcis L. against bacterial and fungal strains

Scoparia dulcis L. was sequentially extracted with hexane, chloroform and methanol and soaked with aqueous-acetone (80%) to check for its antimicrobial activities against five bacterial and four fungal strains.250μg of each extract loaded on a whatman paper disc exhibited significant antimicrobial activities on all the fungus and against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Therefore, P. mirabilis is less sensitive to all the extracts while B. cereus, a â-lactamase producer bacterium, was resistant to the activity of the polar methanol and aqueous-acetone extracts. By the microdilution method, the most active extracts were chloroform extract on B. cereus with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 1.56 mg/ml and Aqueous-acetone extract on S. typhimurium (MIC = 1.56 mg/ml); the antifungal activity was strongest for hexane extract (MIC = 6.25 mg/ml) on both A. niger and P. roquefortii.Keywords: Scoparia dulcis, Antibacterial, Antifungal, Polyphenols

Residual biomass calculation from individual tree architecture using terrestrial laser scanner and ground-level measurements

Large quantity of residual biomass with possible energy and industrial end can be obtained from management operations of urban forests. The profitability of exploiting this resource is conditioned by the amount of existing biomass within urban community ecosystems. Prior research pointed out that residual biomass from Platanus hispanica and other tree species can be calculated from dendrometric parameters. In this study, two approaches have been analyzed: First, applicability of TLS was tested for residual biomass calculation from crown volume. In addition, traditional models for residual biomass prediction were developed from dendrometric parameters (tree height, crown diameter, and diameter at breast height). Next, a comparison between parameters obtained with both methodologies (standard methodologies vs TLS) was carried out. The results indicate a strong relationship (R2 = 0.906) between crown diameters and between total tree heights (R2 = 0.868). The crown volumes extracted from the TLS point cloud were calculated by 4 different methods: convex hull; convex hull by slices of 5 cm height in the XY plane; triangulation by XY flat sections, and voxel modeling. The highest accuracy was found when the voxel method was used for pruned biomass prediction (R2 = 0.731). The results revealed the potential of TLS data to determine dendrometric parameters and biomass yielded from pruning quitar of urban forestsFernández-Sarría, A.; Velázquez Martí, B.; Sajdak, M.; Martinez, L.; Estornell Cremades, J. (2013). Residual biomass calculation from individual tree architecture using terrestrial laser scanner and ground-level measurements. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 93:90-97. doi:10.1016/j.compag.2013.01.012S90979

Priority interventions for transformational change in the Sahel

The Sahel region holds both challenges and opportunities for smallholder agriculture and agro pastoralism. Market opportunities for food producers in the region have improved due to population growth, urbanization, income growth, dietary diversification and higher output prices. However, alongside land degradation and climate change, conflicts and epidemics, an increased dependence on dynamic food (and feed) value chains and on volatile markets indicates the need to address structural constraints such as limited access to high-potential agricultural innovations, ineffective policies, an underdeveloped business environment, poor infrastructure and processing facilities and a generally poor market infrastructure. To support the agricultural transformation required to meet these challenges, evidence needs to be provided to countries in the Sahel to enable them make informed decisions on policy reforms and supporting actions where and when needed. Several scaling approaches and technological solutions have been demonstrated to be effective and this document outlines proposed priority actions to achieve higher adoption of climate smart agriculture through Public-Private-Partnerships. A particular focus will be on the role of women and youth, both through improved household nutrition (and other attendant health and development benefits) and through improved job creation and wealth generation in various components of selected value chains. Meanwhile, the importance of improved agro-industrialization and trade for income generation and poverty reduction underscores the critical role of enhanced interaction with a vibrant private sector. This document presents some of the main routes by which R4D can contribute to agricultural transformation in the Sahel towards inclusive and sustainable economic growth, social development and resilience, including climate smart agricultural technologies appropriate to smallholder farming families. This will be achieved through a six-pronged strategy: (i) Increasing the efficiency of tree, crop and livestock value chains, (ii) Empowerment and increased employment opportunities for women and youth in agriculture, (iii) Co-creation of context-specific, climate smart innovations to enhance climate resilience (iv) Value addition and improved nutrition, (v) Improved soil and water conservation and its utilization for production, Improved policy and institutional enabling environments

Promising high-yielding tetraploid plantain-bred hybrids in west Africa

Open Access Journal; Published online: 21 April 2019The devastating threat of black leaf streak disease caused by Pseudocercospora fijiensis on plantain production in West Africa spurred the development of resistant hybrids. The goal of this research and development (R&D) undertaken was assessing the development and dissemination of two plantain hybrids PITA 3 and FHIA 21 bred in the 1980s by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA, Nigeria) and the Fundación Hondureña de Investigación Agrícola (FHIA, Honduras), respectively. In Côte d’Ivoire, plantain growers selected PITA 3 and FHIA 21 based on their improved agronomic characteristics and, between 2012 and 2016, they were massively propagated and distributed to farmers in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Togo under the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAAP) coordinated by the West and Central Africa Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF). In 2016, the Centre National de Recherche Agronomique in Côte d’Ivoire included the hybrids in the improved cultivar directory. This R&D activity illustrates how three decades of crossbreeding, selection, and distribution led to local acceptance. It also highlights how a CORAF-led partnership harnessed CGIAR research for development. The dissemination and acceptance of these plantain hybrids will enhance the sustainable intensification in plantain-based farming systems across the humid lowlands of West and Central Africa