Essai de germination et de croissance de Artemisia annua L. au Niger

L’essai a été conduit à la pépinière de l’INRAN de Niamey et à la cuvette de l’INRAN de Kollo, et a porté sur la germination, croissance, développement de Artemisia annua (l’hybride F2 et M), plante qui a des vertus  anti-paludique. Cette étude a pour objectif d’évaluer les meilleures  conditions de culture de artemisia annua et le meilleur substrat pour son adaptation. Le Niger, pays d’endémie du paludisme, maladie qui constitue la première cause de morbidité et de mortalité. Face à cette menace, les autorités ont opté pour l’utilisation des dérivés d’artémisinine comme molécule de choix dans la prise en charge du paludisme comme l’a recommandé l’OMS. Les tests de la levée en pépinière ont été effectués dans un bac à semis et un germoir en planche. Les plants ont été repiqués après levée dans des pots avec trois types de substrats (substrat dunaire,substrat de bas fond et substrat de sable du fleuve) afin de déterminer le meilleur substrat pour la culture de la plante en pépinière. Il ressort des résultats obtenus que le substrat de bas fond offre les meilleurs valeurs pour la hauteur, le diamètre au collet et le nombre de feuilles que les substrats dunaire et du fleuve. Les plants ont été transférés sur le site de Kollo et transplantés sur terre ferme. Pour la biomasse c’est la variété F2 qui a enregistrée les meilleurs rendements même si au niveau de la hauteur, elle enregistre les valeurs les plus basses comparativement à la variété M. Cette étude a montrée que Artemisia annua peut s’adapter au Niger et son introduction offre à la population un moyen supplémentaire de lutte contre le paludisme.Mots clés : Artemisia annua, artemisinine, paludisme, Niger

Iron oxide minerals in dust-source sediments from the Bodélé Depression, Chad: Implications for radiative properties and Fe bioavailability of dust plumes from the Sahara

Atmospheric mineral dust can influence climate and biogeochemical cycles. An important component of mineral dust is ferric oxide minerals (hematite and goethite) which have been shown to influence strongly the optical properties of dust plumes and thus affect the radiative forcing of global dust. Here we report on the iron mineralogy of dust-source samples from the Bodélé Depression (Chad, north-central Africa), which is estimated to be Earth’s most prolific dust producer and may be a key contributor to the global radiative budget of the atmosphere as well as to long-range nutrient transport to the Amazon Basin. By using a combination of magnetic property measurements, Mössbauer spectroscopy, reflectance spectroscopy, chemical analysis, and scanning electron microscopy, we document the abundance and relative amounts of goethite, hematite, and magnetite in dust-source samples from the Bodélé Depression. The partition between hematite and goethite is important to know to improve models for the radiative effects of ferric oxide minerals in mineral dust aerosols. The combination of methods shows (1) the dominance of goethite over hematite in the source sediments, (2) the abundance and occurrences of their nanosize components, and (3) the ubiquity of magnetite, albeit in small amounts. Dominant goethite and subordinate hematite together compose about 2% of yellow-reddish dust-source sediments from the Bodélé Depression and contribute strongly to diminution of reflectance in bulk samples. These observations imply that dust plumes from the Bodélé Depression that are derived from goethite-dominated sediments strongly absorb solar radiation. The presence of ubiquitous magnetite (0.002-0.57 wt. %) is also noteworthy for its potentially higher solubility relative to ferric oxide and for its small sizes, including PM<0.1m. For all examined samples, the average iron apportionment is estimated at about 33% in ferric oxide minerals, 1.4 % in magnetite, and 65% in ferric silicates. Structural iron in clay minerals may account for much of the iron in the ferric silicates. We estimate that the mean ferric oxides flux exported from the Bodélé Depression is 0.9 Tg/yr with greater than 50% exported as ferric oxide nanoparticles (<0.1m). The high surface-to-volume ratios of ferric oxide nanoparticles once entrained into dust plumes may facilitate increased atmospheric chemical and physical processing and affect iron solubility and bioavailability to marine and terrestrial ecosystems

Impact of long-term treatment of onchocerciasis with ivermectin in Kaduna State, Nigeria: first evidence of the potential for elimination in the operational area of the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control.

BACKGROUND: Onchocerciasis can be effectively controlled as a public health problem by annual mass drug administration of ivermectin, but it was not known if ivermectin treatment in the long term would be able to achieve elimination of onchocerciasis infection and interruption of transmission in endemic areas in Africa. A recent study in Mali and Senegal has provided the first evidence of elimination after 15-17 years of treatment. Following this finding, the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) has started a systematic evaluation of the long-term impact of ivermectin treatment projects and the feasibility of elimination in APOC supported countries. This paper reports the first results for two onchocerciasis foci in Kaduna, Nigeria. METHODS: In 2008, an epidemiological evaluation using skin snip parasitological diagnostic method was carried out in two onchocerciasis foci, in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area (LGA), and in the Kauru and Lere LGAs of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The survey was undertaken in 26 villages and examined 3,703 people above the age of one year. The result was compared with the baseline survey undertaken in 1987. RESULTS: The communities had received 15 to 17 years of ivermectin treatment with more than 75% reported coverage. For each surveyed community, comparable baseline data were available. Before treatment, the community prevalence of O. volvulus microfilaria in the skin ranged from 23.1% to 84.9%, with a median prevalence of 52.0%. After 15 to 17 years of treatment, the prevalence had fallen to 0% in all communities and all 3,703 examined individuals were skin snip negative. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the surveys confirm the finding in Senegal and Mali that ivermectin treatment alone can eliminate onchocerciasis infection and probably disease transmission in endemic foci in Africa. It is the first of such evidence for the APOC operational area

GEOMETRICAL INVESTIGATION FOR THE ELECTRICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF T700/M21 CFRP COMPOSITE DURING CURING

International audienceno abstrac

CURE MONITORING OF CFRP: ELECTRICAL IMPEDANCE ANALYSIS

International audienceno abstrac

CURE MONITORING OF CFRP: ELECTRICAL IMPEDANCE ANALYSIS

International audienceno abstrac

GEOMETRICAL INVESTIGATION FOR THE ELECTRICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF T700/M21 CFRP COMPOSITE DURING CURING

International audienceno abstrac