Economic Performance of Soil and Water Conservation Practicesin Burkina Faso

The continuous degradation of agroecosystems is a major concern for Sub-Saharan African countries, particularly Burkina Faso. To fight against this problem, various research projects and programs have implemented Soil and Water Conservation practices (SWC) in Northern Burkina Faso. The objective of this study was to assess the economic performance of stone rows, grass strips, zaï, filtering dikes, half-moons and agroforestry on agricultural production in this part of Burkina Faso. Stochastic Frontier Analysis was used to estimate SWC’s technical efficiency. Results indicated that the cost for SWC construction did not influence white sorghum and pearl millet yield. However, an increase of 1% in the investment for SWC implementation results in a 0.42% increase in groundnut yield and 0.19% in cowpea yield. Although, the half-moon technique had a positive effect on the farmer’s technical efficiency, the effects of stone rows, filtering dikes, zaï and grass strips were not significant. Given the tremendous efforts that farmers develop to implement these anti-erosion practices, one recommendation is that policy makers strengthen the technical, financial and equipment supports to farmers for efficient implementation of SWC techniques to ensure sustainability of agricultural production systems in Northern Burkina Faso

A 1-Year Prospective French Nationwide Study of Emergency Hospital Admissions in Children and Adults with Primary Immunodeficiency.

PURPOSE: Patients with primary immunodeficiency (PID) are at risk of serious complications. However, data on the incidence and causes of emergency hospital admissions are scarce. The primary objective of the present study was to describe emergency hospital admissions among patients with PID, with a view to identifying "at-risk" patient profiles. METHODS: We performed a prospective observational 12-month multicenter study in France via the CEREDIH network of regional PID reference centers from November 2010 to October 2011. All patients with PIDs requiring emergency hospital admission were included. RESULTS: A total of 200 admissions concerned 137 patients (73 adults and 64 children, 53% of whom had antibody deficiencies). Thirty admissions were reported for 16 hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients. When considering the 170 admissions of non-transplant patients, 149 (85%) were related to acute infections (respiratory tract infections and gastrointestinal tract infections in 72 (36%) and 34 (17%) of cases, respectively). Seventy-seven percent of the admissions occurred during winter or spring (December to May). The in-hospital mortality rate was 8.8% (12 patients); death was related to a severe infection in 11 cases (8%) and Epstein-Barr virus-induced lymphoma in 1 case. Patients with a central venous catheter (n = 19, 13.9%) were significantly more hospitalized for an infection (94.7%) than for a non-infectious reason (5.3%) (p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: Our data showed that the annual incidence of emergency hospital admission among patients with PID is 3.4%. The leading cause of emergency hospital admission was an acute infection, and having a central venous catheter was associated with a significantly greater risk of admission for an infectious episode

HIBISCUS: Hydroxychloroquine for the secondary prevention of thrombotic and obstetrical events in primary antiphospholipid syndrome

The relapse rate in antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) remains high, i.e. around 20%-21% at 5 years in thrombotic APS and 20-28% in obstetrical APS [2, 3]. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) appears as an additional therapy, as it possesses immunomodulatory and anti-thrombotic various effects [4-16]. Our group recently obtained the orphan designation of HCQ in antiphospholipid syndrome by the European Medicine Agency. Furthermore, the leaders of the project made the proposal of an international project, HIBISCUS, about the use of Hydroxychloroquine in secondary prevention of obstetrical and thrombotic events in primary APS. This study has been launched in several countries and at now, 53 centers from 16 countries participate to this international trial. This trial consists in two parts: a retrospective and a prospective study. The French part of the trial in thrombosis has been granted by the French Minister of Health in December 2015 (the academic trial independent of the pharmaceutical industry PHRC N PAPIRUS) and is coordinated by one of the members of the leading consortium of HIBISCUS

Molecular detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis sensu stricto in the soil of Niger

International audienc

CRISPR-Based Detection, Identification and Typing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Lineages

The whole-genome sequence comparison of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) genomic sequences that are available in the NCBI database identified a unique, specific gene to be used directly on clinical diagnostic samples to detect MTC against all species of mycobacteria and to differentiate between MTC species, lineages, and sublineages

Impact des modes de gestion de la fertilité du sol et des systèmes de cultures sur la nutrition azotée et les rendements du mil (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) au Niger

Impact of Soil Fertility Management Practices and Cropping systems on Nitrogen Nutrition and Yields of Millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R.Br.) in Niger. To identify the best methods of soil fertility management in Sahel conditions, the following objects were compared in a trial conducted according to a Latin square arrangement from 2011 to 2013 at Kalapaté (Niger) in three different millet-cowpea cropping systems (monoculture, intercropping, and rotation): (i) control without manure application, (ii) micro-dose of NPK (6 g of 15-15-15) per hole + 30 kg N ha-1, (iii) rock phosphates (30 kg ha-1 P2O5) + 30 kg N ha-1, (iv) phospho-compost (5 tones ha-1) + 30 kg N ha-1 and (iv) Super Simple phosphate (30 kg P2O5 ha-1) + 50 kg N ha-1. 15N isotope marked NPK and urea were used to assess the contribution of organic and mineral fertilization and of cowpea cultivation to the Nitrogen nutrition of millet. Millet yields of the treatments were significantly different from the control with yield increases ranging from 116 to 299%. Cowpea-millet rotation associated with these technologies led to a mean increase in grain yield of millet varying from 40 to 112% compared to monoculture. The use of the 15N isotope method evidenced the major role played by crop rotation in Nitrogen removal and uptake from the soil. The average Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) calculated from all compared crop associations amounts to 1.46. This indicates that it is more advantageous to practice intercropping than monoculture. Therefore these technologies improve agricultural productivity by enabling efficient use of land and better mobilization of soil nitrogen

Age-related hearing loss in individuals and their caregivers: Effects of coping on the quality of life among the dyads

International audienc