Caracteristiques physico-chimiques et capacite de charge complementaire du complexe lagunaire Toho-Todougba (sud-ouest, Benin)

La détermination de la capacité de charge est établie pour permettre une utilisation durable des écosystèmes aquatiques tout en maximisant le profit par rapport à la production aquacole. L’objectif de cette étude est de déterminer la capacité de charge en poisson, du complexe lagunaire Toho-Todougba surtout du fait qu’il fait déjà l’objet d’une exploitation intense de production aquacole sans qu’aucune étude préalable n’ait été effectuée. En effet, la concentration en phosphore ainsi que les paramètres hydrologiques et hydrobiologiques ont été mesurées pendant douze mois. La variation spatio-temporelle des paramètres physico-chimiques a été présentée et la capacité de charge a été déterminée en suivant la méthode de Dillon et Rigler (1974). Il en résulte que les paramètres physicochimiques sont recommandables pour les ressources halieutiques malgré les variations constatées par endroit. La capacité de charge déterminée pour la production de tilapia est de 7315,9413 t.an-1. Cependant, cette capacité est de loin ce qui est supportable par l’écosystème puisqu’on considère que le niveau actuel de production est zéro alors que des centaines de cages sont déjà en production. En conséquence, d’autres pisciculteurs peuvent installer leurs unités de production sur le complexe tout en ayant comme référence infranchissable la capacité de charge déterminée.  English title: Physico-chemical characteristics and complementary carrying capacity of the lagoon complex Toho-Todougba (south-west, Benin) The determination of the carrying capacity is established by Dillon and Rigler to allow a sustainable use of the aquatic ecosystems while drawing the maximum profit from the aquaculture production. The objective of this study is to determine the fish carrying capacity of the Toho-Todougba lagoon complex, especially since it is increasingly being intensively exploited for aquaculture production without any prior study having been conducted. Indeed, the phosphorus concentration of the ecosystem was measured during twelve months as well as the hydrological and hydrobiological parameters. The spatio-temporal variation of the physico-chemical parameters was presented and the carrying capacity was determined following the method of Dillon and Rigler. The result is that the physico-chemical parameters are viable for the fishery resources despite the variations observed in some places. The carrying capacity determined for tilapia production is 7315.9413 tons.year-1. However, this capacity is by far what is sustainable for the ecosystem since the current level of production is considered to be zero while hundreds of cages are already in production on the lagoon. Consequently, other fish farmers can install their production units on the complex for fish production while having as an impassable reference the determined carrying capacity. Keywords: Load capacity, Toho-Todougba lagoon, Dillon and Rigler, Beni

Cowpea production practices, constraints, and end-users preferred varieties and traits in Southern Benin

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) is an important food and nutrition security crop in Benin, though its production is constrained by absence of information necessary for strategic planning. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diversity of preferred traits and production constraints of cowpea in southern Benin. A survey was conducted in three main cowpea-growing districts in southern Benin, namely Ketou, Zakpota and Klouekanmey. Data were collected from 175 respondents through structured survey, as well as using field observations and via focus group discussions. It was clear that the majority of farmers (82%) grew cowpea in association with other crops, though mostly with maize (Zea mays L.). A total of 75.9% of farmers purchased seeds from agro-dealers in local markets. The perception of cowpea production constraints varied among districts, with weeds infestation, unavailability of certified seeds, drought, low yield, and insect pest attacks as the major production constraints across the districts. Factorial analysis showed that for the sociocultural group Adja, selection of cowpea varieties is based on pod hardness and tolerance to Striga gesnerioides; while for the sociocultural group Fon, cooking time, grain colour and seed price were the main selection criteria. On the other hand, for sociocultural groups Nagot and Holli, selection of the cowpea varieties was based on the ease to separate the coat from the cotyledons and seed size (medium to large). These findings could guide cowpea breeders and extension officers in further research and dissemination programmes in Benin

Evaluation de la qualité sanitaire des poudres de feuilles de Moringa oleifera Lam. commercialisées au profit des Personnes Vivant avec le VIH à Cotonou (Bénin)

Face au péril des carences nutritionnelles, la promotion des compléments alimentaires prend de l’ampleur au Bénin. L’objectif de cette étude est d’évaluer la qualité hygiénique des poudres de feuilles de Moringa oleifera commercialisées à Cotonou. 24 échantillons ont été achetés dans 12 points de vente et soumis à des analyses de laboratoire. L’enquête a révélé que, 25% des échantillons ne sont pas scellés, 58% des emballages sont non opaques, les dates de conditionnement et dates limites d’utilisation ne figurent pas sur 50% des échantillons. 43% des poids marqués ne sont pas conformes aux poids nets réels. La concentration moyenne des germes aérobies mésophiles (1,4.106 à 3.106 UFC/g) dépasse significativement la limite maximale d’acceptation du produit au plan microbiologique. Cette insalubrité des échantillons se confirme par la forte présence de Staphylocoques à coagulase positive (3.104), Escherichia coli (1,5.103 à 30.103), levures (1,1.103 à 15.103) et moisissures (3,4.103 à 30.103) respectivement dans 100%, 92%, 50% et 17% des poudres analysées. Par ailleurs, les bactéries Anaérobies Sulfito-Réductrices sont dans les limites d’acceptation de l’aliment. Au total, l’innocuité des poudres de Moringa commercialisées n’est pas garantie et il importe que les fabricants corrigent les failles en matière d’hygiène dans le processus de fabrication.Mots clés : Moringa oleifera, Complément alimentaire, nutrition, qualité, hygiène

Haematological evaluation of Wistar rats exposed to chronic doses of cadmium, mercury and combined cadmium and mercury

Cadmium and mercury present in the environment, cause blood disorders. This study was conducted to evaluate the influence of cadmium, mercury and their combination on hematological parameters of Wistar rats. For this purpose, two different doses of each metal and their combination were administered orally for 28 days to six groups of five rats each. Two groups (A and B) were respectively exposed to CdCl2 (0.25 and 2.5 mg/kg), two other groups (C and D) respectively received HgCl2 (0.12 and 1.2 mg/kg) and the last two groups (E and F) were respectively treated with the combination of these two metals: (0.25 mg/kg Cd + 0.12 mg/kg Hg) and (2.5 mg/kg Cd + 1.2 mg/kg Hg). The control group (G) received the same volume of distilled water. At the end of exposure, bodies of rats were weighed and the whole blood was collected by retro-orbital sinus method for analysis of hematological parameters. The results of this study show a significant decrease (p<0.05) in white blood cells (WBC) in the lot treated with the combination (0.25 mg/kg Cd + 012 mg/kg Hg) and also indicate a significant decrease (p<0.05) in WBC, red blood cells (RBC), hemoglobin concentration (HGB) and the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) with high levels of mercury (2.5 mg/kg) and the combination (2.5 mg/kg Cd + 1.2 mg/kg Hg). An increase in the number of platelet count (PLT) in all intoxicated lots was observed.Keywords: Cadmium, mercury, hematology, blood parameters, ratsAfrican Journal of BiotechnologyVol. 12(23), pp. 3731-373

Disponibilite, Valeurs Marchande Et Nutritionnelle Des Sous-Produits Agricoles Et Agroindustriels Utilises Dans L’alimentation Des Ruminants Au Benin

The availabilities and the commercial values of 31 agricultural and agro-industrial by-products were evaluated through a semi structural interview carried out on 360 breeders of Benin. A sample of each diet was collected to determine its chemical composition and nutritive values. Maize bran, cassava peels, cakes of soya and cotton are available in any season and have a commercial value. Among fruit by-products used in the food of the ruminants, the pineapple peels occupy the first place and their commercial values are three times higher than those of the cassava peels. Soya cakes has a very high commercial value (higher than 200 FCFA/kg).The leguminous pods and the cereal hulls are also largely available but without commercial value. Roots cassava and tubers of yam by-products and the cakes are very digestible and these values do not go down below 60 %. Low values of digestibility were observed on hulls and stems of cereals and leguminous pods. These digestibilities are generally below 40 %. The groundnut haulms are more digestible than cowpea haulms (57.8 vs 49.7 %). Cotton cakes and palm oil cakes are less digestible than the other oil cakes. The digestibilities of crude protein (DCP) are very low in fruit and cereals by-products. Except for the pods of leguminous, all the leguminous by-products provided considerable quantities in DCP. The studies give opportunities of choice of food supplementation to ruminants during the dry season where graminaceous and the other herbaceous becoming rare in the natural pasture

Antimicrobials: A Global Alliance For Optimizing Their Rational Use In Intra-abdominal Infections (agora)

Intra-abdominal infections (IAI) are an important cause of morbidity and are frequently associated with poor prognosis, particularly in high-risk patients. The cornerstones in the management of complicated IAIs are timely effective source control with appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Empiric antimicrobial therapy is important in the management of intra-abdominal infections and must be broad enough to cover all likely organisms because inappropriate initial antimicrobial therapy is associated with poor patient outcomes and the development of bacterial resistance. The overuse of antimicrobials is widely accepted as a major driver of some emerging infections (such as C. difficile), the selection of resistant pathogens in individual patients, and for the continued development of antimicrobial resistance globally. The growing emergence of multi-drug resistant organisms and the limited development of new agents available to counteract them have caused an impending crisis with alarming implications, especially with regards to Gram-negative bacteria. An international task force from 79 different countries has joined this project by sharing a document on the rational use of antimicrobials for patients with IAIs. The project has been termed AGORA (Antimicrobials: A Global Alliance for Optimizing their Rational Use in Intra-Abdominal Infections). The authors hope that AGORA, involving many of the world's leading experts, can actively raise awareness in health workers and can improve prescribing behavior in treating IAIs.11NIAID NIH HHS [R01 AI117211

Antimicrobials: a global alliance for optimizing their rational use in intra-abdominal infections (AGORA)

Intra-abdominal infections (IAI) are an important cause of morbidity and are frequently associated with poor prognosis, particularly in high-risk patients. The cornerstones in the management of complicated IAIs are timely effective source control with appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Empiric antimicrobial therapy is important in the management of intra-abdominal infections and must be broad enough to cover all likely organisms because inappropriate initial antimicrobial therapy is associated with poor patient outcomes and the development of bacterial resistance. The overuse of antimicrobials is widely accepted as a major driver of some emerging infections (such as C. difficile), the selection of resistant pathogens in individual patients, and for the continued development of antimicrobial resistance globally. The growing emergence of multi-drug resistant organisms and the limited development of new agents available to counteract them have caused an impending crisis with alarming implications, especially with regards to Gram-negative bacteria. An international task force from 79 different countries has joined this project by sharing a document on the rational use of antimicrobials for patients with IAIs. The project has been termed AGORA (Antimicrobials: A Global Alliance for Optimizing their Rational Use in Intra-Abdominal Infections). The authors hope that AGORA, involving many of the world's leading experts, can actively raise awareness in health workers and can improve prescribing behavior in treating IAIs

Some aspects of biology of Oreochromis niloticus L. (Perciformes: Cichlidae) recently introduced in Lake Toho (Benin, West Africa)

In 1995, Oreochromis niloticus was accidentally introduced in Lake Toho by means of fish farming developed around this lake. The present study was carried out to provide information on the growth, condition factor and reproduction of this species in the new environment. The length-weight relationship was W = 0,0156TL3.067 (r² = 0.98) for male and female. The slope b of this relationship, was not different from 3 (t = 1.73, p = 0.225). This indicates that the growth of this species is isometric. The condition factor of the species from 0.82 to 2.02 (average: 1.49 ± 0.34) depends on the sex. There was no significant difference between rainy and dry seasons related to the condition factor. The spawning occurred throughout the year but was intensive from June to November. The sex ratio is 1.3:1 in favour of males. The size at first sexual maturity was estimated to be 9.1 cm for females and 12.9 cm for males. The absolute fecundity varied from 246 to 2453 oocytes per fish. These results confirm a successful establishment of O. niloticus in Lake Toho. Keywords: Oreochromis niloticus, condition factor, reproduction, Lake Toho, Benin.International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences Vol. 2 (1) 2008 pp. 114-12

Perception endogène de l’influence des changements climatiques sur la pêche dans la basse vallée de l’Ouémé (Sud Bénin)

Les perceptions endogènes des pêcheurs de l’influence des changements climatiques sur la pêche dans la basse vallée de l’Ouémé ont été étudiées. Ces perceptions ont été recueillies à l’aide d’un questionnaire administré à 266 pêcheurs d’au moins 20 ans d’expérience, exerçant la pêche dans Aguégués, Dangbo, Adjohoun et Bonou. Il s’agit des autochtones dont 43,98% de pêcheur-agriculteurs 35,71% d’agriculteurpêcheurs, 18,42% de pêcheurs reconvertis en exploitants de sable fluvial, 1,13% reconvertis en transport fluvial et 0,75% reconvertis en trafic d’essence. La modélisation des tendances évolutives (1971 et 2013) de la pluviométrie annuelle, de la température et de la lame d’eau écoulée a été réalisée avec le logiciel Minitab 1.4., en utilisant l’analyse des séries chronologiques. Une analyse factorielle des correspondances (AFC) a servi à décrire les déterminants des perceptions. Les pêcheurs ont signalé une augmentation de la température et une diminution de la pluviométrie. Ils ont fait cas des crues sévères, des inondations persistantes et de la baisse des rendements des captures. Leurs perceptions sont corroborées par l’analyse des données hydrométéorologiques et les statistiques de pêche. Une régression logistique binaire avec le model Proc logit du logiciel SAS 9.2 a montré que le sexe influence significativement (p<0,001) au seuil de 5% la perception des pêcheurs, de même que leur appartenance religieuse (p<0,1) au seuil de et 10%.Mots clés : Perceptions des pêcheurs, changements climatiques, basse vallée de l’Ouémé