Introduction et évaluation de la traction monobovine avec le jouguet IRAD-BF à l'Ouest du Burkina Faso

Document riche en enseignement technique pour l'accroissement de la productivité de l'agriculture familiale à travers la mécanisation à traction animale afin de lutter contre la pauvreté en Afrique de l'Ouest.La mécanisation agricole à traction bibovine est bien développée à l'ouest du Burkina Faso. Mais la traction monobovine y est quasi inexistante. Une étude sur l'introduction et l'évaluation de cette technique avec un joug simple (IRAD-BF) a été conduite dans quatre villages (Sara, Founzan, Koumbia et Gomgélédougou) de la province du Tuy. La méthode entreprise a été une enquête initiale sur l'état des lieux, la conduite d'une expérimentation, puis un bilan. En effet, 10% des paysans ont l'expérience du monobœuf et seulement 3% pratiquent cette technique dans leurs exploitations. L'engouement pour la paire est dû au fait que la technique est devenue locale et courante dans la zone, et la plupart des producteurs ne connaissent que cela. Le matériel vulgarisé dans la zone est conçu pour la traction bibovine et non adapté à l'usage d'un seul bœuf. L'analyse des essais révèle que la moyenne des ratios des puissances de traction entre le mono et la bibovine donne une constante moyenne de PBB/PMB = 1,64 ou PMB/PBB = 0,62, qui varie en fonction de la force de résistance appliquée sur la charrue. Pour optimiser le travail au champ, le producteur gagne ainsi en travaillant avec un seul bœuf pour les travaux demandant moins d'effort de traction (semis, sarclage, scarifiage, labour et buttage légers). Ainsi, 95% des producteurs ont jugé la traction monobovine commode et facile à exécuter. 66% des producteurs ont trouvé que l'effort fournit par le monobœuf est adapté lorsque l'animal a un grand gabarit (PV ≥ 300kg) et bien dressé. 100% des producteurs consentent la nécessité et la complémentarité de la traction monobovine avec le jouguet (IRAD-BF ou local). On retiendra que pour une adoption durable de la traction monobovine dans l'Ouest du Burkina Faso, il est important de tenir compte des capacités financières des bénéficiaires, d'assurer la disponibilité et l'accessibilité des jouguets, et de mener d'autres études complémentaires sur des sujets spécifiques tels que le transport et le semis monobovin avec le jouguet etc. Il est également nécessaire de mener des campagnes de promotion à travers des canaux appropriés et accessibles aux communautés rurales

Supramolecular assembly of a phosphole-based moiety into nanostructures dictated by alkynylplatinum(II) terpyridine complexes through non-covalent Pt···Pt and π–π stacking interactions: synthesis, characterization, photophysics and self-assembly behaviors

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Increasing Access to Surgical Services in Sub-Saharan Africa: Priorities for National and International Agencies Recommended by the Bellagio Essential Surgery Group

In this Policy Forum, the Bellagio Essential Surgery Group, which was formed to advocate for increased access to surgery in Africa, recommends four priority areas for national and international agencies to target in order to address the surgical burden of disease in sub-Saharan Africa

The Helicobacter pylori Genome Project : insights into H. pylori population structure from analysis of a worldwide collection of complete genomes

Helicobacter pylori, a dominant member of the gastric microbiota, shares co-evolutionary history with humans. This has led to the development of genetically distinct H. pylori subpopulations associated with the geographic origin of the host and with differential gastric disease risk. Here, we provide insights into H. pylori population structure as a part of the Helicobacter pylori Genome Project (HpGP), a multi-disciplinary initiative aimed at elucidating H. pylori pathogenesis and identifying new therapeutic targets. We collected 1011 well-characterized clinical strains from 50 countries and generated high-quality genome sequences. We analysed core genome diversity and population structure of the HpGP dataset and 255 worldwide reference genomes to outline the ancestral contribution to Eurasian, African, and American populations. We found evidence of substantial contribution of population hpNorthAsia and subpopulation hspUral in Northern European H. pylori. The genomes of H. pylori isolated from northern and southern Indigenous Americans differed in that bacteria isolated in northern Indigenous communities were more similar to North Asian H. pylori while the southern had higher relatedness to hpEastAsia. Notably, we also found a highly clonal yet geographically dispersed North American subpopulation, which is negative for the cag pathogenicity island, and present in 7% of sequenced US genomes. We expect the HpGP dataset and the corresponding strains to become a major asset for H. pylori genomics

The normal-weight type 2 diabetes phenotype revisited.

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is associated with obesity, insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome (MetS). In non-diabetic populations, features of metabolic obesity (MO) are observed in a minority of normal-weight (NW) subjects. The cardiometabolic status of metabolically obese but normal-weight (MONW) individuals has not yet been phenotyped in T2DM. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Prevalence and features of MONW were analyzed in 1244 T2DM patients, in whom MONW was identified as a BMI <25.0 and a MetS score ≥3/5. Among NW (n=262; 21%), those without MetS (n=152; NW-MetS[-]) were compared to NW-MetS[+] (n=110; i.e. 42% of NW and 9% of all T2DM). RESULTS: There were no differences between groups in age; gender; diabetes duration; smoking; BP; and LDL-C. NW-MetS[+] had higher BMI; waist; fat mass; visceral fat; liver steatosis and HbA1c, and lower insulin sensitivity. Non-right-handedness was twice-higher (18%) in NW-MetS[-]. NW-MetS[+] had higher apoB100 and triglycerides, and lower HDL-C and LDL size. Macroangiopathy was present in 39% of NW-MetS[+] vs. 22% of NW-MetS[-], as coronary (23% vs. 14%) or peripheral artery disease (14% vs. 5%) and TIA/stroke (15% vs. 7%). Microangiopathy was present in 54% of NW-MetS[+] vs. 32% of NW-MetS[-], as retinopathy (25% vs. 13%); neuropathy (29% vs. 18%); and albuminuria (39% vs. 20%). CONCLUSIONS: MONW among T2DM represents a significant minority (about 1 in 10). Their cardiometabolic phenotype deserves attention due to multiple comorbidities, including a twice-higher prevalence of micro-/macrovascular damage in patients wrongly perceived at lower risk due to normal BMI. Unexpectedly, non-right-handedness was over-represented among metabolically healthy patient

Size, density and cholesterol load of HDL predict microangiopathy, coronary artery disease and β-cell function in men with T2DM.

The role of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) as modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular (CV) disease is increasingly debated, notwithstanding the finding that small-dense and dysfunctional HDL are associated with the metabolic syndrome and T2DM. In order to better clarify the epidemiological risk related to HDL of different size/density, without resorting to direct measures, it would seem appropriate to adjust HDL-C to the level of its main apolipoprotein (apoA-I), thereby providing an [HDL-C/apoA-I] ratio. The latter allows not only to estimate an average size for HDLs, but also to derive indices on particle number, cholesterol load, and density. So far, the potential usefulness of this ratio in diabetes is barely addressed. To this end, we sorted 488 male patients with T2DM according to [HDL-C/apoA-I] quartiles (Q), to determine how the ratio relates to cardiometabolic risk, β-cell function, glycaemic control, and micro- and macrovascular complications. Five lipid parameters were derived from the combined determination of HDL-C and apoA-I, namely HDL size; particle number; cholesterol load/particle; apoA-I/particle; and particle density. An unfavorable cardiometabolic profile characterized patients from QI and QII, in which HDLs were pro-atherogenic, denser and apoA-I-depleted. By contrast, QIII patients had an [HDL-C/apoA-I] ratio close to that of non-diabetic controls. QIV patients had better than average HDL size and composition, and in those patients whose [HDL-C/apoA-I] ratio was above normal, a more favorable phenotype was observed regarding lifestyle, anthropometry, metabolic comorbidities, insulin sensitivity, MetS score/severity, glycaemic control, and target-organ damage pregalence in small or large vessels. In conclusion, [HDL-C/apoA-I] and the resulting indices of HDL composition and functionality predict macrovascular risk and β-cell function decline, as well as overall microangiopathic risk, suggesting that this ratio could serve both in cardiometabolic assessment and as biomarker of vascular complications

URBAN CITIES AND WASTE GENERATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: A GIS EVALUATION OF TWO CITIES IN BURKINA FASO

Cities in developing countries are faced waste management challenges in terms of quantity and quality. Most of the time, solid and liquid wastes are dumped on street and open spaces. Uncontrolled waste dumped has led to diverse kind of health problems. The purpose of this article is to characterize urban cities and evaluate their waste generation using the Geographical Info rmation System (GIS). The focus is on two cities in Burkina Faso. Specific variabl es which were considered during the survey include urban fabric, grey water outlets a nd household garbage dumps sites/techniques. The study shows that in the two cities, the most dominant urban fabric is low standard of living (about 64% of housing in Fada and 62% of housing in Pouytenga). The urban fabric is also characterized by the exis tence of empty spaces. Overall, the average density of grey water discharge points is 0.85 points and 5.7 points per ha of street in Fada N’Gourma and Pouytenga respectivel y. The average density of solid waste dumps is 1.45 waste dumps per ha street a nd 7 waste dumps per ha street in Fada N'Gourma and Pouytenga respectively. In case of urgent waste management intervention, the priority areas for speedy intervention are area 10 in Fada N’Gourma, areas 2 and 5 in Pouytenga. GIS applied to w aste management can be a decision making tool for urban planne rs in developing country

Variations in gene expression levels in four European zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, populations in relation to metal bioaccumulation: A field study.

International audienceThe present study was performed to validate the suitability of using gene expression in zebra mussels, Dreissena polymorpha, for biomonitoring of freshwater environment. Mussels were collected in four French rivers (Meuse, Moselle, Oise and Vilaine) in spring and autumn. Relative gene expression of 9 candidate genes involved in cellular metabolic activities (Cytochrome-c-oxidase - cox, and ATP synthase - atp), detoxification process (Metallothionein - mt and Glutathion-S-Transferase - gst), oxidative stress (Catalase - cat, Superoxyde Dismutase - sod and Glutathion peroxidase - gpx) and digestive functions (Amylase - amy and Cellulase - ghf) were measured in digestive gland. Metal bioaccumulation in tissues and morphometric parameters were also analyzed to interpret molecular responses. All our results are consistent with different physiological reactions to environmental condition between zebra mussel populations. In spring, the levels of mt, sod, gpx, cat, atp, amy and ghf relative expression were significantly higher in mussels with the lowest metal bioaccumulation (the Meuse) compared to at least one of the other sites. In autumn, this higher expression levels in Meuse River were still observed for gpx, cat, atp and amy. This study has also pointed out different sources of variability in gene expression (individual size, season, trophic resources and origin of mussels) which are inevitable in natural fluctuant environment. This underlines the importance to take them into account in field study to propose a correct interpretation of biomarker responses