Insecticidal effect of kaolin powder flavoured with essential oils of Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae) and Annona senegalensis Pers. (Annonaceae) on Caryedon serratus Olivier (Coleoptera-Bruchidae), a groundnut stock pest

The groundnut weevil, Caryedon serratus, causes significant losses of groundnut stocks in Senegal by developing larvae in the seeds. Essential oils extracted from leaves of two plants that grow naturally in Senegal, i.e. the sugar apple (Annona senegalensis Pers.) and lantana (Lantana camara), were tested on adults of Caryedon serratus. Purified and pulverized kaolin was flavoured with essential oils of A. Senegalensis Pers. and L. camara (Lam) obtained through vapour distillation. Adults C. serratus aged 24 hrs at most were treated with 0.1 g of powder flavoured with increasing doses (12.5 to 50 ìl/g. of powder) of essential oil. Withincreasing doses (12.5 to 50 ìl/g of powder) of essential oil. The powder Aromatized with essential oil of A. senegalensis at concentration 25 ìl/g. induced 50% mortality after 36 hrs of contact at concentration 25 ìl/gand 100% after 48 hrs at 50 ìl/g. The powder mixed with the essential oil of L. camara induced after 12 hours of contact 22% mortality at the dose of 12.5 ìl/g, the mortality increased with dose duration of exposure andreached 97.22% after 36 hrs with 50ìl/g

Assessing the geographic resolution of exhaustive tabulation for geolocating Internet hosts

peer reviewedGeolocation of Internet hosts relies mainly on exhaustive tabulation techniques. Those techniques consist in building a database, that keeps the mapping between IP blocks and a geographic location. Relying on a single location for a whole IP block requires using a coarse enough geographic resolution. As this geographic resolution is not made explicit in databases, we try in this paper to better understand it by comparing the location estimates of databases with a well-established active measurements-based geolocation technique. We show that the geographic resolution of geolocation databases is far coarser than the resolution provided by active measurements for individual IP addresses. Given the lack of information in databases about the expected location error within each IP block, one cannot havemuch confidence in the accuracy of their location estimates. Geolocation databases should either provide information about the expected accuracy of the location estimates within each block, or reveal information about how their location estimates have been built, unless databases have to be trusted blindly.FP6-FET ANA (FP6-IST- 27489

Bending strain-tunable magnetic anisotropy in Co2FeAl Heusler thin film on Kapton

Bending effect on the magnetic anisotropy in 20 nm Co$_{2}$FeAl Heusler thin film grown on Kapton\textregistered{} has been studied by ferromagnetic resonance and glued on curved sample carrier with various radii. The results reported in this letter show that the magnetic anisotropy is drastically changed in this system by bending the thin films. This effect is attributed to the interfacial strain transmission from the substrate to the film and to the magnetoelastic behavior of the Co$_{2}$FeAl film. Moreover two approaches to determine the in-plane magnetostriction coefficient of the film, leading to a value that is close to $\lambda^{CFA}=14\times10^{-6}$, have been proposed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Etude ethnobotanique des plantes utilisées contre la constipation chez les Malinké de la communauté rurale de Tomboronkoto, Kédougou (Sénégal)

La constipation est une pathologie bien connue de la médecine traditionnelle africaine. Pour la traiter, on utilise à la fois les ressources naturelles aujourd’hui fortement menacées et les savoirs traditionnels. La technique des entretiens ouverts semi-structurés a été partout utilisée. Nous avons interrogé entre 2008 et 2010 des tradithérapeutes et des chefs de ménage Malinké de la communauté rurale de Tomboronkoto. Nos investigations ont permis de recenser dix-huit espèces utilisées contre la constipation. Elles sont constituées de dix-huit genres répartis dans quatorze familles dont les mieux représentées sont les Bombacaceae (3 espèces), les Apocynaceae et les Euphorbiaceae (2 espèces chacune). Les espèces les plus citées sont successivement Combretum glutinosum Perr. ex DC, Tamarindus indica L., Adansonia digitata L., Ozoroa insignis Delile et Hibiscus sabdariffa L. Les feuilles (32%) et les racines (27%) sont les organes les plus utilisés contre la constipation. La macération est le mode de préparation le plus courant et la décoction est réservée aux feuilles. Les noms en Malinké de toutes les espèces inventoriées ont été donnés mais, l’étymologie ou la signification de 22% des noms locaux n’a pu être recueillie. Il y aurait une perte des savoirs relatifs aux noms locaux. Cette dénomination a mis en évidence plusieurs démarches utilisées par les Malinké pour nommer les plantes. Les noms des espèces recensées renvoient le plus souvent à l’écologie (29%), à la morphologie et à des anecdotes (22% chacun).Mots clés: Ethnobotanique, constipation, plantes médicinales, guérisseur traditionnel, pharmacopée sénégalais

Exposure to family planning messages and modern contraceptive use among men in urban Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Family planning (FP) researchers and policy makers have often overlooked the importance of involving men in couples’ fertility choices and contraception, despite the fact that male involvement is a vital factor in sexual and reproductive health programming. This study aimed to assess whether men’s exposure to FP demand-generation activities is associated with their reported use of modern contraceptive methods. Methods We used evaluation data from the Measurement, Learning & Evaluation project for the Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (URHI) in select cities of three African countries (Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal) collected in 2012/2013. A two-stage cluster sampling design was used to select a representative sample of men in the study sites. The sample for this study includes men aged 15–59 years who had no missing data on any of the key variables: 696 men in Kenya, 2311 in Nigeria, and 1613 in Senegal. We conducted descriptive analyses and multivariate logistic regression analyses to assess the associations of interest. All analyses were weighted to account for the study design and non-response rates using Stata version 13. Results The proportion of men who reported use of modern contraceptive methods was 58 % in Kenya, 43 % in Nigeria, and 27 % in Senegal. About 80 % were exposed to at least one URHI demand-generation activity in each country. Certain URHI demand-generation activities were significantly associated with men’s reported use of modern contraception. In Kenya, those who participated in URHI-led community events had four times higher odds of reporting use of modern methods (aOR: 3.70; p < 0.05) while in Senegal, exposure to URHI-television programs (aOR: 1.40; p < 0.05) and having heard a religious leader speak favorably about FP (aOR: 1.72; p < 0.05) were associated with modern contraceptive method use. No such associations were observed in Nigeria. Conclusion Study findings are important for informing future FP program activities that seek to engage men. Program activities should be tailored by geographic context as results from this study indicate city and country-level variations. These types of gender-comprehensive and context-specific programs are likely to be the most successful at reducing unmet need for FP

Contribution of Surfactin and SwrA to Flagellin Expression, Swimming, and Surface Motility in Bacillus subtilis.

Multicellular communities produced by Bacillus subtilis can adopt sliding or swarming to translocate over surfaces. While sliding is a flagellum-independent motility produced by the expansive forces in a growing colony, swarming requires flagellar functionality and is characterized by the appearance of hyperflagellated swarm cells that associate in bundles or rafts during movement. Previous work has shown that swarming by undomesticated B. subtilis strains requires swrA, a gene that upregulates the expression of flagellar genes and increases swimming motility, and surfactin, a lipopeptide biosurfactant that also facilitates sliding. Through an analysis of swrA(+) and swrA mutant laboratory strains with or without a mutation in sfp (a gene involved in surfactin production), we show that both swrA and surfactin upregulate the transcription of the flagellin gene and increase bacterial swimming. Surfactin also allows the nonswarming swrA mutant strain to efficiently colonize moist surfaces by sliding. Finally, we reconfirm the essential role of swrA in swarming and show that surfactin, which increases surface wettability, allows swrA(+) strains to produce swarm cells on media at low humidity

Survival and persistence of Bacillus clausii in the human gastrointestinal tract following oral administration as spore-based probiotic formulation

AIMS: This study aimed to investigate the fate of Bacillus clausii spores orally administered as lyophilized or liquid formulation to healthy volunteers. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study was a randomized, open-label, cross-over trial in which two commercial probiotic formulations containing spores of four antibiotic-resistant B. clausii strains (OC, NR, SIN, T) were given as a single dose administration. Faecal B. clausii units of each strain were counted on selective media and extrapolated for the total weight of evacuated faeces. RAPD-PCR typing was used to confirm B. clausii identification. Bacillus clausii was found alive in faeces for up to 12 days. In some volunteers, the recovered amount of OC, NR or SIN was higher than the number of administered spores. Bioequivalence among the two formulations was demonstrated. CONCLUSIONS: Bacillus clausii spores survive transit through the human gastrointestinal tract. They can undergo germination, outgrowth and multiplication as vegetative forms. Bacillus clausii strains can have different ability to survive in the intestinal environment. Bacillus clausii spores administered as liquid suspension or lyophilized form behave similarly in vivo. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This work contributes towards a better understanding of the behaviour of B. clausii spores as probiotics

Impact of daily consumption of Moringa (Moringa oleifera) dry leaf powder on iron status of Senegalese lactating women

A randomized study was conducted to test the efficacy of Moringa powder on iron&nbsp;status and weight gain in women. In an open-labelled randomized trial, 82 moderately&nbsp;anaemic, lactating women, aged 26.7� 6.5 years, received a weekly dose of either&nbsp;100g of Moringa powder(Moringa group) or 120 mg iron sulphate with 0.5 mg folicacid (Control group). Data from 64 women (33 from Moringa group and 31 from&nbsp;Control group) were analyzed. Baseline parameters, socio-economic, anthropometry,&nbsp;haematology, plasma ferritin, and acute phase proteins were comparable in both&nbsp;groups. Low plasma ferritin (&lt; 12 �g/l) indicating iron deficiency was found in 13&nbsp;and 14 women from the Moringa and Control groups, respectively. After 3 months oftreatment, mean haemoglobin concentrations significantly increased in both groups&nbsp;(p&lt;0.001) but iron stores were unchanged in the Moringa group while they&nbsp;significantly increased in the Control group indicating that consumption of Moringa&nbsp;leaves failed to restore iron stores in anaemic subjects. A slight improvement was&nbsp;observed in the prevalence of anaemia in both groups but anaemia still persisted due&nbsp;to other reasons than iron deficiency anaemia. None of the groups gained weightduring the 3 months. However, the average weight lost was less important in the&nbsp;Moringa group (-0.8 � 2.1 kg) compared to the control group (-1.2� 2.3 kg) but the&nbsp;difference was not significant (p=0.45).The amount of digestible protein in the&nbsp;powder could suggest that the consumption of Moringa was beneficial to the rural&nbsp;women by preventing weight loss during the rainy season. Micronutrient status&nbsp;improvement of vulnerable people in developing countries like Senegal shouldcombine diet-based strategies through production and consumption of animal derived&nbsp;food, vegetable, fruits and food fortification program. However, Moringa Oleifera is&nbsp;one example of local food that can be used in nutritional intervention program, but its&nbsp;use needs additional rigorous clinical trials to confirm its nutritional benefits.&nbsp

The Geant4-DNA project

The Geant4-DNA project proposes to develop an open-source simulation software based and fully included in the general-purpose Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation toolkit. The main objective of this software is to simulate biological damages induced by ionising radiation at the cellular and sub-cellular scale. This project was originally initiated by the European Space Agency for the prediction of deleterious effects of radiation that may affect astronauts during future long duration space exploration missions. In this paper, the Geant4-DNA collaboration presents an overview of the whole ongoing project, including its most recent developments already available in the last Geant4 public release (9.3 BETA), as well as an illustration example simulating the direct irradiation of a chromatin fibre. Expected extensions involving several research domains, such as particle physics, chemistry and cellular and molecular biology, within a fully interdiciplinary activity of the Geant4 collaboration are also discussed.Comment: presented by S. Incerti at the ASIA SIMULATION CONFERENCE 2009, October 7-9, 2009, Ritsumeikan University, Shiga, Japa