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

Feed the Future Mali Livestock Technology Scaling Program (FtF-MLTSP) - Participatory assessment of animal health service delivery systems in Mali: Constraints and opportunities

United States Agency for International Developmen

Présentations de l’adénite tuberculeuse de la tête et du cou au CHU de Bobo- Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

Les ganglions de la tête et du cou sont parmi les localisations les plus fréquentes de la tuberculose, un problème de santé publique dans le monde. Une étude rétrospective conduite entre 2001 et 2010 rapporte les caractéristiques épidémiologiques et cliniques de l'adénite tuberculeuse de la tête et du cou, au CHU Sanou Souro, au Burkina Faso. Au total, 115 patients ont été observés dont l'âge était compris entre 2 ans et 64 ans (moyenne 31,46 ans). Il y avait 53 patients de sexe masculin (46,1%) et 62 de sexe féminin (53,9%). Un pic de fréquence de 39,8 % était observé entre 30 et 39 ans. Les adénopathies cervicales étaient multiples chez 96,5% des patients et abcédées chez 30%. Elles étaient associées à des adénopathies extra cervicales chez 16,6% des patients. Chez 83,4% des patients, il a été noté un ou plusieurs signes à type d'asthénie et ou d'amaigrissement (70,8%), de fièvre 25% ou de toux (20,8%). L'infection associée la plus fréquente était celle par le VIH, observée chez 43,3% des patients. Les résultats de cette étude commandent la recherche systématique de l'infection par le VIH chez tout patient porteur d'adénite cervicale tuberculeuse dans un contexte de double endémicité de la tuberculose et de l'infection à VIH.Key words: Adénite, Tête et cou, Tuberculose, VI

Non-native perception of English tonicity : an experimental study involving Catalan learners of English

This paper consists of an experimental study that examined the non-native perception and interpretation of English tonicity, and the potential influence of the first language in terms of prosodic transfer. In order to elicit data, three experimental tests were designed and auditory stimuli were created. The tests were administered to forty-one Catalan learners of English. Twenty learners met the requirements for the study. The results revealed that the subjects found more difficulties in interpreting different tonicity patterns and less in perceiving and identifying the patterns. Also, the results suggestthat phonetic focus is used to a significant degree in Catalan.Aquest treball consisteix en un estudi experimental que es va dur a terme per tal d'examinar la percepció no-nativa de la tonicitat anglesa i la influència potencial de la llengua materna en termes de transferència prosòdica. Per tal d'obtenir dades, es van dissenyar tres tests experimentals i es van crear estímuls auditius. Els tests es van administrar a quaranta-un aprenents d'anglès catalans, vint dels quals complien els requisits establerts per l'estudi. Els resultats van revelar que els participants trobaven més dificultats en interpretar diferents patrons de tonicitat i menys en percebre'ls o identificar-los

Feed the Future Mali: Scaling up technological and institutional livestock innovations

United States Agency for International Developmen

Heavy metal removal from aqueous solutions by sorption using natural clays from Burkina Faso

The acid-base properties of two raw and purified mixed clays from Burkina Faso were studied, as well as their potential to remove copper(II), lead(II) and chromium(III), and thereby their ability to be used to purify water from heavy metals. The purification procedure of the clays involved removal of carbonates, iron oxides and organic matter. A determination of the elemental composition of the mixed clays revealed the presence of aluminum, iron and silicon as main constituents. The high alkaline pH in one of the samples is attributable to the presence of carbonate in the raw clay. The point of zero charge (pHpzc) values of the clays, as determined by potentiometric titrations, were 6.79 and 9.52 for the raw clays, while after purification they were 6.87 and 6.76, respectively. Metal adsorption to the clay surfaces started at pH values below pHpzc, strongly indicating formation of inner-sphere complexes. With contact time of 48 h, complete removal of copper(II) was achieved at pH 8 for all samples. More than 90% of the lead(II) removal was attributed to adsorption while for chromium(III), it was 85%. Adsorption to organic matter and iron oxides, and precipitation of metal hydroxides gave significant contributions to the removal of metal ions in aqueous systems.Key words: Mixed clays, potentiometric titration, heavy metals, pHpzc

Dépistage du VIH en salle d’accouchement à la maternité du Centre de Santé de Référence de la commune V Bamako

Objectifs : Evaluer l’impact du counseling pour le dépistage VIH en salle de travail chez les patientes n’ayant pas bénéficié de cette activité lors des CPN. Méthodes et matériels : L’étude s’est déroulée au CSRéf de la commune v de Bamako du 1er janvier au 31décembre 2014. L’échantillonnage était systématique, portait sur toutes les parturientes admises en salle de travail avec une dilatation cervicale à 4cm ou plus et dans le post- partum immédiat avec un âge gestationnel ≥ 28SA ou un poids fœtal ≥1000g. Le test par bandelette a été utilisé après consentement éclairé des patientes .La confirmation a été faite avec l’immunocomb II VIH1 et 2 Bi spot. Résultats :L’étude a rapporté que 4,34% (380) des parturientes n’ont pas fait le dépistage VIH lors du suivi prénatal. En salle d’accouchement, ces 380 parturientes ont bénéficié toutes d’un conseil dépistage volontaire au VIH. Nous avons enregistré 11 cas de refus. Sur les 369 parturientes ayant fait le test, 37 étaient positifs au VIH soit 10%. L’âge moyen était de 27ans ±07 ; non instruite (58,9%) vivant dans un régime polygamique (65,9) ; un suivi prénatal fait (95,12%) ; 93% suivi dans les structures citées PTME. Les antirétroviraux ont été administrés à toutes les mères et aux nouveau- nés vivants. Conclusion : Au regard de la fréquence élevée (10%) des cas positifs dans notre étude, il est nécessaire de poursuivre les activités de Conseil et Dépistage Volontaire en salle d’accouchement pour permettre à l’ensemble des femmes enceintes qui accouchent dans nos structures sanitaires de bénéficier des interventions de la PTM

Distribution of bovine Fasciola gigantica (Cobbold, 1885) in the district des Savanes, northern Côte d'Ivoire

Fascioliasis, caused by an infection with liver flukes of the genus Fasciola, is an important disease of livestock in most parts of the world. However, little is known about the distribution of fascioliasis in sub-Saharan Africa. We report results of a cross-sectional study conducted in 2014 in the district des Savanes in the northern part of Cote d'Ivoire. We obtained 275 livers from bovine suspected with fascioliasis and 51 unsuspected livers from 24 slaughterhouses. Livers were dissected using a standard operating procedure and all Fasciola gigantica flukes were removed from the tissues of the liver and the biliary ducts. We found F. gigantica in 125 livers from bovines suspected with fascioliasis (45.5%) in 10 departments of the district des Savanes. Among the unsuspected livers, five were positive for F. gigantica (9.8%). The distribution of fascioliasis showed considerable spatial heterogeneity, both at regional (ranging from 18.0% to 52.3%) and departmental level (ranging from 14.3% to 64.0%). Poro region was the most affected (52.3%) with a relatively homogeneous distribution. The departments most affected by fascioliasis were M'Bengue (64.0%), Sinematiali (62.1%) and Ferkessedougou (52.9%). Our study confirms that fascioliasis is an important veterinary disease in the northern part of Cote d'Ivoire, and hence, high-risk areas need to be targeted for prevention and control measures