Variations in agronomic and grain quality traits of rice grown under irrigated lowland conditions in West Africa

Rice breeding in West Africa has been largely skewed toward yield enhancement and stress tolerance. This has led to the variable grain quality of locally produced rice in the region. This study sought to assess variations in the agronomic and grain quality traits of some rice varieties grown in this region, with a view to identifying sources of high grain yield and quality that could serve as potential donors in their breeding programs. Forty‐five varieties were grown under irrigated conditions in Benin and Senegal with two trials in each country. There were wide variations in agronomic and grain quality traits among the varieties across the trials. Cluster analysis using paddy yield, head rice yield, and chalkiness revealed that 68% of the total variation could be explained by five varietal groupings. One group comprising seven varieties (Afrihikari, BG90‐2, IR64, Sahel 108, WAT311‐WAS‐B‐B‐23‐7‐1, WAT339‐TGR‐5‐2, and WITA 10) had high head rice yield and low chalkiness. Of the varieties in this group, Sahel 108 had the highest paddy yield in three of the four trials. IR64 and Afrihikari had intermediate and low amylose content, respectively, with the rest being high‐amylose varieties. Another group of varieties consisting of B6144F‐MR‐6‐0‐0, C74, IR31851‐96‐2‐3‐2‐1, ITA222, Jaya, Sahel 305, WITA 1, and WITA 2 had high paddy yield but poor head rice yield and chalkiness. The use of materials from these two groups of varieties could accelerate breeding for high yielding rice varieties with better grain quality for local production in West Africa

Hodgkin Lymphoma at the Paediatric Oncology Unit of Gabriel Touré Teaching Hospital, Bamako, Mali: 5-Year Experience

Introduction. The aim of this retrospective, unicentric study over 5 years is to describe the epidemiologic, pathologic, clinic and therapeutic aspects of children treated for Hodgkin lymphoma in our paediatric oncology unit. Patients and Methods. From January 2005 to December 2009, all children under 18 years of age, with Hodgkin lymphoma were included in this study. The treatment protocol was the GFAOP (Groupe Franco—Africain d'Oncologie Pédiatrique) Hodgkin lymphoma treatment protocol. Results. During the study period, 217 cancer cases were diagnosed in our centre. Of these cases, 7 were Hodgkin Lymphoma (LH) (0.04%). The mean age was 11.7 years. The sex-ratio was 6/1. 4% (5/7) of patients were stage IIB and 28.6% (2/7) stage IIIB of Ann-Arbor classification. There were 3 cases (42.8%) of sclero-nodular subtype, 2 cases (28.6%) of lymphocyte-rich classical HL subtype, 1 case (14.3%) of mixed cellularity and 1 case (14.3%) of lymphocyte depleted subtype. With a median followup of 37 months, 5 patients (71.4%) are alive, and 2 patients (28.6%) died. Conclusion. Broader multicentric studies are needed for more accurate data on this malignancy

Molecular characterization of extended spectrum beta-lactamase among clinical multidrug resistant Escherichia Coli in two hospitals of Niamey, Niger

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the multiple ESBL genes in Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli isolated in various biological samples in two hospitals of Niamey.Methodology: A total of 195 multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli were included in the study. These isolates were tested using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of the presence of bla CTX-M, bla TEM, bla SHV and bla OXA-1 beta-lactamase genes.Results: A total of 27.7% of Escherichia coli isolates were ESBL producing strains. Globaly, the bla TEM gene was the most prevalent (70.3%) followed by bla CTX-M (43.1%), bla OXA-1 (31.8%) and bla SHV (4.1%) genes. The four genes type of ESBL were founded simultaneously only in stool samples. Furthermore, none bla SHV gene was found in other samples type.Conclusion: This study showed the presence of various ESBL genes among clinical MDR Escherichia coli. That is why a rational use of antibiotic and appropriate methods of screening ESBL genes in routine laboratories in Niger is needed to control the ESBL genes dissemination.Keywords: MDR ,Escherichia coli, ESBL, bla genes, PCR, Niamey, Niger. Caracterisation moleculaire des betalactamases a spectre etendu chez les souches de Escherichia coli multi resistantes dans deux hopitaux de Niamey, au NigerObjectifs: Le but de cette étude était d'identifier les multiples gènes de BLSE chez les souches de Escherichia coli multi résistantes isolées de différents types d’échantillons biologiques dans deux hôpitaux de Niamey.Méthodologie : Un total de 195 Escherichia coli multi résistants a été inclus dans l'étude. Ces isolats ont été testés par la réaction de polymérase en chaîne (PCR) pour détecter la présence des gènes bla CTX-M, bla TEM, bla SHV et bla OXA-1.Résultats : Au total, 27,7% des isolats de Escherichia coli multi-résistants étaient des souches productrices de BLSE. Globalement le gène bla TEM (70,3%) était le plus détecté suivi des autres gènes bla CTX-M (43,1%), bla OXA-1 (31,8%) et bla SHV (4,1%). Notons que seul dans les échantillons de selles quatre types de gènes de BLSE ont été trouvés simultanément. Par ailleurs notons qu’aucun gène de type bla SHV n'a été trouvé dans les autres types d'échantillons.Conclusion : Cette étude avait montré la présence de divers gènes de BLSE chez les souches cliniques de Escherichia coli. C'est pourquoi une utilisation rationnelle des antibiotiques et des méthodes appropriées de dépistage des gènes de BLSE dans les laboratoires sont nécessaires afin de contrôler la diffusion des gènes de BLSE.Mots clés : Escherichia coli multi résistantes, BLSE, gènes bla, PCR, Niamey, Niger

Contour bunding technology-evidence and experience in the semiarid region of southern Mali

Land and water management practices have been widely implemented in rural Mali since the 1980s to improve agricultural productivity and erosion control. Under conditions of recurring droughts, these practices are expected to increase farmers’ ability to cope with shocks. One of the most common practices applied in the central and southern parts of Mali is contour bunding (CB). In this study the impact of the CB technology is evaluated with a focus on biophysical and socio-economic benefits. Data were collected in two agro-ecologies of southern Mali and were generated through field experimentation and household survey. Field experimentation involved implementation of contour lines with farm ridges, agronomic trails and runoff and erosion measurements. Agronomic data was collected on sorghum, maize, groundnut and millet for three consecutive years (2015 to 2017). Socio-economic data on the use of CB was obtained from individual farmer surveys. CB involves the layout of contour lines with land leveling devices to identify points of equal elevation and construction of contour lines with draught animals and human labor. The majority of the labor input to construct and maintain the CB comes from adult men who are head of the household (58%) and youth male (33%). Results indicate that with the application of CB yield of crops was higher with the highest increase in grain yield and biomass obtained for maize and millet (P < 0.01). CB application was useful in retaining soil water and reduced erosion rate. In treatment fields, 162mmof rainfall per year was saved as soil moisture and on average 13,090 kg per hectare of soil was lost from farm fields without CB, and CB implementation significantly reduced the soil loss by 163% (P < 0.01). The improvements in crops yield and biomass, and the retention of soil nutrients positively changed farm level productivity conditions. The majority of farmers (78%) perceived higher income from the sale of crops grown on CB plots. These results suggest the landscape wide application of CB

Increasing rabies data availability: the example of a One Health research project in Chad, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali

Rabies is a fatal but preventable disease that remains notoriously underreported. Weak data availability hampers advocacy, constitutes a barrier to resource allocation and inhibits effective prevention and control. To gain better insight into the global rabies burden and human vaccine demand several studies were funded through the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI) learning agenda. With the help of this funding, Swiss TPH and local in country partner organizations implemented a One Health research project in Chad, Cote d'Ivoire and Mali to collect data at household, public health facility and veterinary level. This paper describes the implementation of this research project and evaluates its success on amount of information gained, achieved capacity building, impact on knowledge creation and influence on national and international policies. The project was based on the One Health concept and guided by the principles of transboundary research partnerships formulated by the Swiss Academy of Sciences. Data was collected on bite incidents and health seeking from over 24'000 households, on access to treatment of over 8'800 bite cases registered in public health facilities and on the status of over 1'800 rabies suspect animals. Selected country specific datasets have contributed to more than 10 scientific articles so far. On the international level, the multi-level data collection provided a unique set of indicators to inform, along with results from other studies, new WHO rabies immunization recommendations and a vaccine investment case scenario to prevent human rabies. New rabies burden estimates based on the data gathered are published for Mali and will be modelled for the whole West and Central African region. On the national level, the project facilitated communication between animal health and human health workers catalyzing creation of local and national committees and formulation of national action plans for Mali and Cote D'Ivoire. Major challenges arose from lack of data collection and documentation experience of human health and veterinary workers and weak infrastructural capacities of the veterinary and human health systems of the project countries. Through adherence to the principles of transboundary research partnerships, project team members acquired valuable research and networking skills despite language barriers, enabling them to play key roles in the future agenda towards national, regional and global canine rabies elimination. Project external collaborations with local public institutions was facilitated through long-term local partnerships. Both factors enabled success in project implementation and outcomes by identifying and mitigating risks in advance, resolving challenges amiably and enabling mutual knowledge creation as a fructuous ground for sustained commitment. Lack of immediate follow-up funding did not allow to maintain activities beyond the project timeframe. However, the national and international policy changes triggered, as well as the strengthened local disease control and research capacities provides sustainable basis for the elimination of dog transmitted human rabies

Basal fertilizer effects on weed occurrence and rice yield in acid upland soil of West Africa at Bénin

Fertilizers application is required in order to improve rice production in low fertile soils of West Africa. This practice can also increase weed pressure in rice field, thereby reducing yield significantly. Chemotropism of weed was hypothesized to identify nutrient effects on weed abundance and biomass production as well as rice yield for suitable recommendation of basal fertilizer in terre de barre soil agro-ecology. Two years (2005 and 2006) fertilizer omission trial including nitrogen (N), potassium (K), phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and zinc (Zn) was conducted in a randomized completed block design, with 4 replications at the Africa Rice Center experiment station, in Benin. The New Rice for Africa named NERICA 4 was sown. Weed dominance-abundance indices and biomass, as well as, rice grain yield were assessed. Results show that Digitaria horizontalis Wild and Mariscus cylindristachyus Steudel were the most dominant weed species in rainfed rice fields on terre de barre soils and the omission of Zn has ability to discriminate among weeds. Base on weed biomass (60.11 – 129.26 g m-2) reduction by 36 – 53% in treatments with Ca, Mg and P omission, the application of N, K and Zn was recommendable for basal fertilizer as integrated weed management practice for boosting rice production on terre de barre soils in West Africa

Nanometric TiO 2 as NBBs for functional organic-inorganic hybrids with efficient interfacial charge transfer

International audienceThe purpose of this work is to establish a fabrication method for new electronic materials: organic-inorganic p-MAPTMS / titanium-oxo-alkoxy hybrids. The size-selected 5.2-nm TiO 2 nanoparticles (Nano Building Blocks-NBB) are generated in a sol-gel reactor with turbulent fluids micromixing. The surface exchange between propoxy and MAPTMS groups under vacuum pumping results in a stable nanoparticulate precursor available for 2-photon laser polymerisation. The hybrids demonstrate quantum yield of photoinduced charges separation 6 % and can steadily trap photoinduced electrons at number density of 6% Ti atoms. The materials are suitable for 3D-microstructuring

Efficacy of the association of cover crops with maize and direct sowing short-term effect on crops? yields in maize-cotton cropping system in Western Burkina Faso.

To improve the productivity and sustainability of cotton and cereals based system, direct sow ing under mulch was tested for its efficacy on cotton and maize yields on the research station of Farako - Bâ, in Western Burkina Faso. The experimental design was a complete randomized blocks of Fisher with four replications. Conventional tillage by annual moldboard plowing (T7) was compared with direct sowing under mulch -based cropping system (DMC) using maize association with cover crop s defined as: maize without cover crop (T1), maize +Brachiaria ruziziensis(T2), maize + B. ruziziensis+ Mucuna cochinchinensis (T3), maize + B. ruziziensis+ Panicum maximum (T4), maize + B. ruziziensis + Stylosantes hamata (T5), and maize + Crotalaria juncea (T6). Cover crops were planted 21 days after maize emergence between the rows of this main crop. The biomass produced by the cover crops and maize straws were evaluated as well as maize and cotton yields, during the first 6 years of the study, from 2010 to 2015. Results showed that among cover crops, the biomass production was significantly lower with C. juncea. The associations of cover crops with maize increased significantly the production of total dry matter compared to plots without cover crops, in the conventional tillage. Association with cover crops did not influence significantly nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium contents of maize and the maize’s yields even if the depressive effects were recorded. Compared to the conventional tillage, the DMC appeared also effective on seed cotton yields even without a significant improvement during the 6 first years of the study . These promising results, confirm the feasibility in tropical conditions of DMC which must be continued to better analyze its long-term effects on soil properties

Diversité et sélection participative de variétés locales productives de banane plantain de Côte d’Ivoire

Objectif: Parmi les principales cultures vivrières qui contribuent à la sécurité alimentaire en Côte d’Ivoire, la banane plantain occupe une place de choix. Cependant, la production reste toujours faible à cause de l’utilisation de variétés traditionnelles à faible rendement et aux mauvaises pratiques agricoles appliquées par les producteurs. Cette étude se propose d’identifier des variétés locales performantes pour accroire les rendementsMéthodologie et résultats: Pour apporter une solution à ces problèmes, plusieurs variétés locales de banane plantain ont été collectées dans les zones de production de bananiers en Côte d’Ivoire. Une diversité élevée de variétés de banane plantain a été observée à l’Est du pays. L’évaluation agronomique en station de recherche a permis de sélectionner de nombreux génotypes qui présentent des potentialités agronomiques intéressantes (haut rendement, tolérance aux maladies, précocité, etc.). Parmi ces variétés, 10 ont fait l’objet d’une sélection participative dans deux zones agro-écologiques différentes de la Côte d’Ivoire. Les résultats de cette évaluation ont permis de sélectionner 6 (CNRA-PLA-3, CNRA-PLA-4, CNRA-PLA-15, CNRA-PLA-7, CNRA-PLA-18 et CNRA-PLA-9) parmi les 10 variétés par les producteurs eux-mêmes. Ces variétés ont été choisies par les producteurs sur la base de leur rendement élevé, leur précocité et leur tolérance à la cercosporiose noire.Conclusion et application des résultats: La présente étude a permis de mettre en évidence 6 variétés locales productives de banane plantain à la suite d’une sélection participative. Ces variétés peuvent être conseillées aux producteurs pour accroître ainsi les productions afin d’assurer la sécurité alimentaire des populations.Mots clés: Banane plantain, rendement, tolérance, sélection participative, Côte d’IvoireEnglish AbstractEnglish Title: Diversity and participatory selection of high-yielding local plantain varieties in Côte d’IvoireObjective: Among the main food crops that contribute to food security in Côte d’Ivoire, plantain occupies a place of choice. However, the production is still low due to the use of traditional varieties with low yield and poor agricultural practices applied by the producers. This study aims to identify performant local plantain varieties to increase the yield.Methods and Results: To provide a solution to these problems, several local varieties of plantain have been collected in plantains production areas in Côte d’Ivoire. A high diversity of plantain varieties has been observed in the east of the country. The agronomic evaluation in research station allowed to select many genotypes with interesting agronomic potential (high yield, tolerance to diseases, precocity, etc.). Among these varieties, 10 were used for participatory selection in two different agro-ecological areas in Côte d’Ivoire. The results of this evaluation allowed the producers to select 6 (CNRA-PLA-3, CNRA-PLA-4, CNRA-PLA-15, CNRA-PLA-7, CNRA-PLA-18 and CNRA-PLA-9) among the 10 varieties. These varieties have been chosen by the producers on the basis of their high yield, their precocity and their tolerance to black sigatoka.Conclusion and application of results: The present study permitted to identify 6 performant local plantain varieties during a participatory selection. The varieties may be recommended to the producers in order to increase the productions and ensure the food security of the population.Keywords: Plantain, yield, tolerance, participatory selection, Cote d'Ivoir

Epidémiologie des cancers digestifs en milieu hospitalier à Bamako

Les cancers digestifs sont de plus en plus constatés dans nos régions, probablement du fait de la disponibilité plus importante des moyens diagnostiques. Le but principal de notre travail était d’étudier l’épidémiologie de ces affections dans les services d’hépato-gastro-entérologie et de chirurgie générale du CHU Gabriel Touré. Il s’agissait d’une étude transversale portant sur les patients hospitalisés de février à juin 2007 puis de février à juin 2008. Nous avons retrouvé 115 cancers digestifs sur 1 547 patients hospitalisés, soit une fréquence de 7,4 %. Le sex ratio était de 1,5 en faveur des hommes et l’âge moyen des patients était de 56,6 ± 2,4 ans. Les cancers de l’estomac et le CHC étaient plus fréquents avec respectivement : 59,1 % et 19,1 % des cas. Les femmes au foyer et les cultivateurs (couches socio-économiques défavorisées) étaient plus fréquemment atteints, avec respectivement 34,8 % et 33 % des cas. La salaison, la fumaison, la consommation de tabac, de tô (pâte cuite de céréale) avec potasse ont été les facteurs de risque les plus retrouvés dans respectivement 74,8 %, 80,9 %, 33,9 % et 99,1 % des cas. Les cancers digestifs constituent un véritable problème de santé publique.Digestive cancers are increasingly found in our regions, probably due to the greater availability of diagnosis facilities. The main goal of our work was to study the epidemiological aspects of these diseases in the hepatology and gastro intestinal tract unit and in the general surgery unit in the University hospital Gabriel Touré. It was a cross-sectional study about in-patient from February to June 2007 and from February to June 2008. We found 115 gastro-intestinal tract cancers among 1 547 in-patients (7.4%). The sex-ratio was 1.5 for men and the patient’s mean age was 56.6 ± 2.4 years. Gastric cancers and hepatocellular carcinoma were more frequent with 59.1% and 19.1% of the cases. Housewives and farmers (low incomes group) were more frequently affected with respectively 34.8% and 33% of the cases. Salt intake, smoking, chewing tobacco, tô (cereal dough with potash) consumption were the strongest risk factor found respectively in 74.8%, 80.9%, and 99.1% of the cases. Digestive cancer is thus a major public health concern