Restauration de plages nues d’une brousse tachetée au Niger

Un essai de restauration de plages nues dfune brousse tachetee degradee du Parc National du W au sudouest du Niger a ete installe en 2007. Cet article etablit le bilan de cette restauration realisee par la plantation dfespeces locales dans des ouvrages antierosifs du type tranchees sylvopastorales. Dans la zonetemoin et dans la zone mise en defens par une cloture, le taux de survie des plants mis en place, leur croissance en hauteur et en diametre, la composition et la diversite floristique des herbacees ont ete suivis pendant trois ans (2007-2009). Lfeffet des ouvrages antierosifs sur lfhumidite du sol a ete evalue pendant lapremiere annee. Les analyses demontrent une amelioration nette des conditions ecologiques du site dfexperimentation, qui evolue progressivement vers lfetat dfune brousse tachetee, qui est lfecosysteme de reference. Lfamelioration de lfhumidite du sol induit des conditions beaucoup plus favorables pour la couverture vegetale. La richesse floristique dans la zone-temoin est passee en trois annees de 16 a 49, la diversite ƒ¿ de 2,1 a 4,42 et lfequitabilite de Pielou de 0,59 a 0,78. Dans la zone cloturee (mise en defens), la richesse floristique, la diversite ƒ¿ et lfequitabilite de Pielou sont respectivement passees en trois ans de 14 a 43, de 2,26 a 4,22 et de 0,53 a 0,79, ce qui traduit une amelioration progressive de la flore. Acacia senegal et Bauhinia rufescens ont enregistre les plus forts taux de survie et les plus importantes croissances en hauteur et en diametre. Les mortalites elevees des A. seyal et Ziziphus mauritiana sont vraisemblablement liees a la forte concentration de rongeurs que la presence dfune cloture ne gene guere. La pose couteuse dfune cloture nfest efficace que contre les grands mammiferes, ce qui se traduit toujourspar une croissance en diametre et en hauteur superieure pour la zone cloturee.Mots-cles : restauration ecologique, brousse tachetee, Acacia senegal, Acacia seyal, Bauhinia rufescens, Ziziphus mauritiana, ouvrage antierosif

Use of sorghum on stepwise substitution of maize in broiler feeds in Niger

With an objective to demonstrate the merits of diets based on locally produced non-tannin sorghums as against Maize a total of 240 1-day-old broiler chicks Early bird strain were randomly allocated to 20 pens (12 birds per pen) with four pens per treatment and five treatments, at the Maradi Government poultry farm in Niger for a period of 12weeks. Birds were allowed to consume feed and water on an ad-libitum basis. The treatments diets were: i) Maize -based, ii) 75% Maize+25% Sorghum, iii) 50% Maize+50% Sorghum, iv) 25% Maize + 75% Sorghum, and v) Sorghum. Birds consumed water and feed on an ad-libitum basis with body weights recorded on day 0, 21, and 49. At the end of the experiment, 5 birds per pen were randomly chosen and slaughtered for carcass analysis. All growth and carcass data were analyzed as a randomized complete block design using the Proc Mixed procedure of R. Live weight was used as a covariate during carcass data analysis. Bodyweight means of 41g at d-0 and 1419 g at d-49 were similar (P = 0.17) for birds fed on all five treatments. Mean Gain/feed (G/F) ratios were similar with a mean of 540 g/kg to d-49. Birds fed Maize based, sorghum-based or Maize-sorghum-based diets had similar growth performance and carcass characteristics. Thus, tannin free sorghum had nutritional value comparable to that of Maize, and in West Africa local sorghum is a good alternative for poultry feeds when grains price are similar

Intercomparisons of Red TL and ESR signals from heated quartz grains

Red thermoluminescence (TL) and electron-spin-resonance (ESR) measurements were made on identically prepared quartz grains, which had been zeroed by a lava flow of the Gravenoire volcano (Clermont-Ferrand, France) during the last glacial period (Wûrm glaciation). Samples from two different sites were studied. The additive technique was used in order to evaluate the palaeodoses and the corresponding dose response curves (DRC), approximating saturating exponentials, were fitted on the basis of DRC obtained with laboratory reset samples. Using this technique of regression, results derived from Al and Ti ESR signais and red TL signais converged better than when only the additive DRC were taken into account in a simple exponential fit. Annealing experiments indicated that the traps involved in red TL, Al and Ti ESR centres had different stabilities vs time and temperature; thus the agreement of the palaeodoses derived from the three signais, within error limits, strengthened confidence in the results for each sample. The ages obtained for the two sites agreed with each other, although the palaeodoses and natural radiation dose rates were significantly different: 62.2 + 9.0 and 61.3 +9.0 ka

Price quality relationships in fodder trading in Niger with special regards to comparison of cowpea & groundnut haulms with concentrates, collected shrubs and grasses

Investigations of price-quality relationships in feed and fodder marketing can yield crucial information about economic benefits from livestock production, specific feed demand and supply, opportunities for engaging in feed and fodder production and transaction and least cost diet designs

Comparison of cowpea and groundnut haulm trading in urban and rural fodder markets in Niger

In West Africa 80% of small holder farmers are living in mixed crop-livestock/agro-pastoral systems..

May Measurement Month 2018: a pragmatic global screening campaign to raise awareness of blood pressure by the International Society of Hypertension

Aims Raised blood pressure (BP) is the biggest contributor to mortality and disease burden worldwide and fewer than half of those with hypertension are aware of it. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global campaign set up in 2017, to raise awareness of high BP and as a pragmatic solution to a lack of formal screening worldwide. The 2018 campaign was expanded, aiming to include more participants and countries. Methods and results Eighty-nine countries participated in MMM 2018. Volunteers (≥18 years) were recruited through opportunistic sampling at a variety of screening sites. Each participant had three BP measurements and completed a questionnaire on demographic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg, or taking antihypertensive medication. In total, 74.9% of screenees provided three BP readings. Multiple imputation using chained equations was used to impute missing readings. 1 504 963 individuals (mean age 45.3 years; 52.4% female) were screened. After multiple imputation, 502 079 (33.4%) individuals had hypertension, of whom 59.5% were aware of their diagnosis and 55.3% were taking antihypertensive medication. Of those on medication, 60.0% were controlled and of all hypertensives, 33.2% were controlled. We detected 224 285 individuals with untreated hypertension and 111 214 individuals with inadequately treated (systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg) hypertension. Conclusion May Measurement Month expanded significantly compared with 2017, including more participants in more countries. The campaign identified over 335 000 adults with untreated or inadequately treated hypertension. In the absence of systematic screening programmes, MMM was effective at raising awareness at least among these individuals at risk