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Abstract Introduction Mental health is considered a major public health issue. Non-psychiatric physicians often engage in the treatment of mental disorders. The aim of this study was to describe psychiatric drug prescription knowledge and practices among non-psychiatric specialists and evaluate their training needs. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from September 1st to October 15th, 2021, in 3 Moroccan healthcare facilities and among private practitioners in Kenitra. We asked non-psychiatric specialists about their knowledge and current practices regarding psychotropic drugs, and their needs in psychiatric training. Results The study included a total of 150 participants. The majority of participants demonstrated insufficient knowledge regarding the selection of psychotropic drugs and the duration of pharmacotherapy. Specifically, 61.3% were unaware of the average duration of treatment for depression. 22.7% of participants did not feel comfortable when prescribing psychotropic drugs. Anxiolytics were the most commonly prescribed class of psychotropic drugs, accounting for 30.7% of prescriptions. The most common indications for psychotropic drugs prescription were anxiety (35.3%), followed by insomnia (34.7%) and depression (31.3%). The majority of participants (72%) reported receiving clinical training in psychiatry, with 74.7% expressing varying levels of satisfaction with their undergraduate psychiatry training, while 7.3% expressed dissatisfaction. Regarding CME, only 11.3% of participants engaged in at least one psychiatry-related CME session in the past two years. 54.7% of participants expressed interest in expanding their knowledge of prescribing psychotropic drugs. Around 40% of participants preferred trainings in psychotropic drugs prescription related to their specialty, while 34% were not interested in receiving further training. Conclusions Our study shows gaps in knowledge of non-psychiatric specialists, which raises concern regarding their ability to care for mental disorders. Educational efforts should be made to improve teaching of psychiatry from the undergraduate level. Continuing Medical Education should be tailored to the specific needs and preferred learning methods of non-psychiatric physicians.

Abstract Background Cancer has become a major health concern due to the increasing morbidity and mortality rates, and its negative social, economic consequences and the heavy financial burden incurred by cancer patients. About 40% of cancers are preventable. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding cancer prevention, and associated characteristics to inform the development of targeted cancer prevention campaigns and policies. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey of adult patients at Mohamed Sekkat and Sidi Othmane Hospitals in Casablanca, Morocco. Data collection was conducted by two trained interviewers who administered the questionnaire in-person in the local language. An unsupervised clustering approach included 17 candidate variables for the cluster analysis. The variables covered a wide range of characteristics, including demographics, health perceptions and attitudes. Survey answers were calculated to compose qualitative ordinal categories, including a cancer attitude score and knowledge score. Results The cluster-based analysis showed that participants in cluster 1 had the highest mean attitude score (13.9 ± 2.15) and percentage of individuals with a high level of knowledge (50.8%) whereas the lowest mean attitude score (9.48 ± 2.02) and knowledge level (7.5%.) were found in cluster 3. The participants with the lowest cancer attitude scores and knowledge levels were aged 34 to 47 years old (middle age group), predominantly females, living in rural settings, and were least likely to report health professionals as a source of health information. Conclusions The findings showed that female individuals living in rural settings, belonging to an older age group, who were least likely to use health professionals as an information source had the lowest levels of knowledge and attitudes. These groups are amenable to targeted and tailored interventions aiming to modify their understanding of cancer in order to enhance the outcomes of Morocco’s on-going efforts in cancer prevention and control strategies.

The study aims to determine the relation between the micro-climate and the natural production of Amanita subviscosa, and Lactifluus gymnocarpoides, in the Guinea-Sudanian ecozone. Nine permanent plots of 50 ×50 m were installed in three different vegetations of the “Ouémé Supérieur” forest reserve in central Benin. The mycological surveys were carried out during three (3) mycological seasons, each from June to October at a frequency of two visits per week and per plot. The number of fruiting bodies and the fresh biomass were recorded. Microclimatic parameters (soil water content, air temperature, soil temperature, relative humidity and precipitation) were measured using a rain gauge and a HOBO micro station data logger installed at the middle of each plot. We tested several Generalized Linear Mixed Effects Models (GLMM) using the lme4 package to obtain the effect of recorded microclimate factor on the number of fruit bodies of each species and the Linear Mixed Effects Model (LMM) using the package nlme for fresh biomass. The study showed that soil water content is the main driver of fungal fruiting phenology and increased biomass production. The fruiting of A. subviscosa is positively affected by air temperature and soil water content (p = 0.0004) but negatively affected by relative air humidity. The fructification of L. gymnocarpoides is only positively affected by the air temperature and negatively affected by relative air humidity and soil water content. Soil water content significantly affects the fresh biomass of A. subviscosa (p≈0) while the fresh biomass of L. gymnocarpoides is significantly affected by soil water content and relative air humidity (p≈0). All species for their natural production have specific response at microclimate parameters variation.

The interplay between immune cells and malignant cells represents an essential chapter in the eradication of breast cancer. This widely distributed and diverse form of cancer represents a major threat to women worldwide. The incidence of breast cancer is related to several risk factors, notably genetic predisposition and family antecedents. Despite progress in treatment modalities varying from surgery and chemotherapy to radiotherapy and targeted therapies, persistently high rates of recurrence, metastasis, and treatment resistance underscore the urgent need for new therapeutic approaches. Immunotherapy has gained considerable ground in the treatment of breast cancer, as it takes advantage of the complex interactions within the tumor microenvironment. This dynamic interplay between immune and tumor cells has become a key point of focus in immunological research. This study investigates the role of various cancer markers, such as neoantigens and immune regulatory genes, in the diagnosis and treatment of breast tumors. Moreover, it explores the future potential of immune checkpoint inhibitors as therapeutically effective agents, as well as the challenges that prevent their efficacy, in particular tumor-induced immunosuppression and the difficulty of achieving tumor specificity.

Over the last decades, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have become increasingly popular for their roles in various pathologies, including cancer and neurological and immunological disorders. EVs have been considered for a long time as a means for normal cells to get rid of molecules it no longer needs. It is now well established that EVs play their biological roles also following uptake or by the interaction of EV surface proteins with cellular receptors and membranes. In this review, we summarize the current status of EV production and secretion in glioblastoma, the most aggressive type of glioma associated with high mortality. The main purpose is to shed light on the EVs as a universal mediator of interkingdom and intrakingdom communication in the context of tumor microenvironment heterogeneity. We focus on the immunomodulatory EV functions in glioblastoma-immune cross-talk to enhance immune escape and reprogram tumor-infiltrating immune cells. We critically examine the evidence that GBM-, immune cell-, and microbiome-derived EVs impact local tumor microenvironment and host immune responses, and can enter the circulatory system to disseminate and drive premetastatic niche formation in distant organs. Taking into account the current state of the art in intratumoral microbiome studies, we discuss the emerging role of bacterial EV in glioblastoma and its response to current and future therapies including immunotherapies.

The aim of this study is to assess the anti-inflammatory effects of volatile compounds derived from clove bud in vivo and in silico. Clove bud essential oil was obtained through hydrodistillation and subsequently analyzed using GC–MS. The analysis identified ten compounds, which were then subjected to molecular docking with Cyclooxygenase II (PDB ID: 3LN1). From these docking studies, two active compounds were selected for further investigation using a mouse ear edema model induced by DNFB. The results revealed that eugenol was the predominant compound in the essential oil constituting 68.51 %. The docking simulations demonstrated effective binding affinities for eugenol and acetyleugenol, with energies of -7.3 and -8.1 Kcal/mol, respectively, which were comparable to aspirin (-7.5 Kcal/mol). Additionally, both selected ligands exhibited non-toxic and non-carcinogenic properties based on ADMET predictions. In the in vivo experiments, significant anti-inflammatory activity was observed for both tested compounds. Notably, 48 h after the challenge, the presence of acetyleugenol resulted in a more pronounced reduction in ear swelling compared to eugenol. These findings hold promise for potential applications in future clinical studies aimed at harnessing the therapeutic benefits of clove bud derived compounds for anti-inflammatory purposes.

IntroductionGliomas represent the most prevalent and aggressive tumors within the central nervous system. Despite the current standard treatments, the median survival time for glioblastoma patients remains dismal, hovering around 14 months. While attempts have been made to inhibit the PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4/CD80-CD86 axes through immunotherapy, the outcomes have yet to demonstrate significant efficacy. The immune checkpoint Butyrophilin 3A1 (BTN3A1) can either be involved in advantageous or detrimental function depending on the cancer type.MethodsIn our study, we utilized a Moroccan cohort to delve into the role of BTN3A1 in gliomas. A transcriptomic analysis was conducted on 34 patients, which was then corroborated through a protein analysis in 27 patients and validated using the TCGA database (n = 667).ResultsOur results revealed an elevated expression of BTN3A1 in glioblastoma (grade 4), as evidenced in both the TCGA database and our cohort of Moroccan glioma patients. Within the TCGA cohort, BTN3A1 expression was notably higher in patients with wild-type IDH. We observed a positive correlation between BTN3A1 expression and immune infiltration of B cells, CD8+ T cells, naive CD4+ T cells, and M2 macrophages. Patients exhibiting increased BTN3A1 expression also presented elevated levels of TGF‐β, IL‐10, and TIM‐3 compared to those with reduced BTN3A1 expression. Notably, patients with high BTN3A1 expression were associated with a poorer prognosis than their counterparts with lower expression.ConclussionOur findings suggest that BTN3A1 might promote the establishment of an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Consequently, targeting BTN3A1 could offer novel therapeutic avenues for the management of advanced gliomas.

Résumé : Depuis 2019, le Niger, est touché par des problèmes sociaux et surtout alimentaires à cause du contexte mondial et de leurs problèmes internes. Les prix des denrées alimentaires ne cessent de croitre au point de créer des mécontentements sociaux du fait de la cherté de la vie dans les ménages nigériens. Il est question dans cet article de montrer les facteurs susceptibles de créer des émeutes de la faim et les conséquences qui en résultent. L’objectif est de présenter la Covid 19, la Guerre Russo-Ukrainienne et le changement climatique comme des facteurs bouleversant la vie alimentaire de cet état africain. Mieux, il met l’accent sur les techniques de ce pays pour remédier à l’accès facile des produits alimentaires. La réalisation de ce travail, s’est appuyée sur la collecte de sources orales, écrites et les audio-visuelles. Ainsi, nous avons mené des enquêtes individuelles, la retranscription et la confrontation des données avec objectivité scientifique pour en tirer la vérité historique. Mots-clés : Covid19, Guerre Russie –Ukraine, Émeutes de la faim, Niger.

With climate change and intensification of the hydrological cycle, the stationarity of hydrological variables is becoming questionable, requiring appropriate flood assessment models. Frequency analysis is widely used for flood forecasting. This study aims to determine the most suitable models (stationary and non-stationary) for estimating the maximum flows observed at some stations spread across West Africa. A statistical analysis of the annual maximum flows in terms of homogeneity, stationarity, and independence was carried out through the Pettitt, modified Mann–Kendall, and Wald–Wolfowitz tests, respectively, to identify the stations whose flows are non-stationary. After that, the best-correlated climate covariates with the annual maximum flows of the non-stationary stations were determined. The covariates explored are the climatic indices of sea surface temperatures (SST). Finally, different non-stationary GEV models were derived by varying the scale and position parameters of the best-correlated index for each station. The results indicate that 56% of the annual maximum flow series are non-stationary. As per the Bayes information criterion (BIC) values, the performance of the non-stationary models (GEV, generalized extreme values) is largely greater than that of the stationary models. These good performances of non-stationary models using climatic indices open perspectives for the prediction of extreme flows in the study area.

BackgroundThe crosstalk between the immune system and cancer cells has aroused considerable interest over the past decades. To escape immune surveillance cancer cells evolve various strategies orchestrating tumor microenvironment. The discovery of the inhibitory immune checkpoints was a major breakthrough due to their crucial contribution to immune evasion. The A2AR receptor represents one of the most essential pathways within the TME. It is involved in several processes such as hypoxia, tumor progression, and chemoresistance. However, its clinical and immunological significance in human breast cancer remains elusive.MethodsThe mRNA expression and protein analysis were performed by RT-qPCR and immunohistochemistry. The log-rank (Mantel-Cox) test was used to estimate Kaplan-Meier analysis for overall survival. Using large-scale microarray data (METABRIC), digital cytometry was conducted to estimate cell abundance. Analysis was performed using RStudio software (7.8 + 2023.03.0) with EPIC, CIBERSORT, and ImmuneCellAI algorithms. Tumor purity, stromal and immune scores were calculated using the ESTIMATE computational method. Finally, analysis of gene set enrichment (GSEA) and the TISCH2 scRNA-seq database were carried out.ResultsGene and protein analysis showed that A2AR was overexpressed in breast tumors and was significantly associated with high grade, elevated Ki-67, aggressive molecular and histological subtypes, as well as poor survival. On tumor infiltrating immune cells, A2AR was found to correlate positively with PD-1 and negatively with CTLA-4. On the other hand, our findings disclosed more profuse infiltration of protumoral cells such as M0 and M2 macrophages, Tregs, endothelial and exhausted CD8+ T cells within A2ARhigh tumors. According to the Single-Cell database, A2AR is expressed in malignant, stromal and immune cells. Moreover, it is related to tumor purity, stromal and immune scores. Our results also revealed that CD8+T cells from A2ARhigh patients exhibited an exhausted functional profile. Finally, GSEA analysis highlighted the association of A2AR with biological mechanisms involved in tumor escape and progression.ConclusionThe present study is the first to elucidate the clinical and immunological relevance of A2AR in breast cancer patients. In light of these findings, A2AR could be deemed a promising therapeutic target to overcome immune evasion prevailing within the TME of breast cancer patients.

Plant-parasitic nematodes are a threat to crop production. Combining bioinformatics, genetic and biochemical approaches, the authors show that the plant pathogen beet cyst nematode possesses an incomplete vitamin B5 synthesis pathway, of potential prokaryotic origin, complemented by its plant host.

Abstract A field spray drift experiment using florpyrauxifen-benzyl was conducted to measure drift from commercial ground and aerial applications, evaluate soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] impacts, and compare to United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) drift models. Collected field data were consistent with US EPA model predictions. Generally, with both systems applying a Coarse spray in a 13-kph average wind speed, the aerial application had a 5.0- to 8.6-fold increase in drift compared to the ground application, and subsequently, a 1.7- to 3.6-fold increase in downwind soybean injury. Soybean reproductive structures were severely reduced following herbicide exposure, potentially negatively impacting pollinator foraging sources. Approximately a 25% reduction of reproductive structures up to 30.5-m downwind and nearly a 100% reduction at 61-m downwind were observed for ground and aerial applications, respectively. Aerial applications would require three to five swath width adjustments upwind to reduce drift potential similar to ground applications.

IntroductionUveal melanoma (UM) is a rare yet deadly tumor. It is known for its high metastatic potential, which makes it one of the most aggressive and lethal cancers. Recently, immune checkpoints such as Programmed cell Death protein-1 (PD1) and Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte-Associated significantly increasing patient survival in multiple human cancers, especially cutaneous melanoma. However, patients with UMs were excluded from these studies because of their molecular characteristics, which tend to be widely different from those of cutaneous melanoma. This study aimed to analyze the expression of V domain Ig Suppressor T-cell Activation (VISTA), a novel immune checkpoint, to evaluate its prognosis significance and its correlation with PD1 and CTLA-4.MethodsEvaluation of VISTA, CTLA-4, and PD1 expression was performed through TCGA database analysis and immunohistochemistry using two independent cohorts with primary malignant UM.Results and discussionOur results showed that VISTA expression was associated with tumor aggressiveness, T cell exhaustion, and the shortest median overall survival among patients. Surprisingly, PD1 protein expression was negative in all patients, whereas CTLA-4 expression was high in patients with advanced stages. Our findings suggest that VISTA may be a prognostic marker and an attractive treatment strategy for immunotherapy in patients with UM. Exploring its expression profile may predict response to immunotherapy and may lead to the improvement of precision therapy in malignant uveal melanoma patients.

IntoroductionNuclear receptor subfamily 2 group F member 6 (NR2F6) is a promising checkpoint target for cancer immunotherapy. However, there has been no investigation of NR2F6 in glioma. Our study systematically explored the clinical characteristics and biological functions of NR2F6 in gliomas.MethodsWe extracted RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data of 663 glioma samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) as the training cohort and 325 samples from the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) as the validation cohort. We also confirmed the NR2F6 gene expression feature in our own cohort of 60 glioma patients. R language and GraphPad Prism softwares were mainly used for statistical analysis and graphical work.ResultsWe found that NR2F6 was significantly related to high tumor aggressiveness and poor outcomes for glioma patients. Functional enrichment analysis demonstrated that NR2F6 was associated with many biological processes that are related to glioma progression, such as angiogenesis, and with multiple immune-related functions. Moreover, NR2F6 was found to be significantly correlated with stromal and immune infiltration in gliomas. Subsequent analysis based on Gliomas single-cell sequencing datasets showed that NR2F6 was expressed in immune cells, tumor cells, and stromal cells. Mechanistically, results suggested that NR2F6 might act as a potential immunosuppression-mediated molecule in the glioma microenvironment through multiple ways, such as the recruitment of immunosuppressive cells, secretion of immunosuppressive cytokines, M2 polarization of macrophages, in addition to combining with other immune checkpoint inhibitors.ConclusionOur findings indicated that intracellular targeting of NR2F6 in both immune cells and tumor cells, as well as stromal cells, may represent a promising immunotherapeutic strategy for glioma. Stromal cells, may represent a promising immunotherapeutic strategy for glioma.

Gliomas are considered one of the most malignant cancers in the body. Despite current therapies, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, these tumors usually recur with more aggressive and resistant phenotypes. Indeed, the survival following these conventional therapies is very poor, which makes immunotherapy the subject of active research at present. The anti-tumor immune response could also be considered a prognostic factor since each stage of cancer development is regulated by immune cells. However, glioma microenvironment contains malignant cells that secrete numerous chemokines, cytokines and growth factors, promoting the infiltration of immunosuppressive cells into the tumor, which limit the functioning of the immune system against glioma cells. Recently, researchers have been able to reverse the immune resistance of cancer cells and thus activate the anti-tumor immune response through different immunotherapy strategies. Here, we review the general concept of glioma’s immune microenvironment and report the impact of its distinct components on the anti-tumor immune response. We also discuss the mechanisms of glioma cell evasion from the immune response and pinpoint some potential therapeutic pathways, which could alleviate such resistance.

IntroductionAmong all types of central nervous system cancers, glioma remains the most frequent primary brain tumor in adults. Despite significant advances in immunomodulatory therapies, notably immune checkpoint inhibitors, their effectiveness remains constrained due to glioma resistance. The discovery of TMIGD2 (Transmembrane and Immunoglobulin Domain Containing 2) as an immuno-stimulatory receptor, constitutively expressed on naive T cells and most natural killer (NK) cells, has emerged as an attractive immunotherapy target in a variety of cancers. The expression profile of TMIGD2 and its significance in the overall survival of glioma patients remains unknown.MethodsIn the present study, we first assessed TMIGD2 mRNA expression using the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) glioma transcriptome dataset (667 patients), followed by validation with the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) cohort (693 patients). Secondly, we examined TMIGD2 protein staining in a series of 25 paraffin-embedded blocks from Moroccan glioma patients. The statistical analysis was performed using GraphPad Prism 8 software.ResultsTMIGD2 expression was found to be significantly higher in astrocytoma, IDH-1 mutations, low-grade, and young glioma patients. TMIGD2 was expressed on immune cells and, surprisingly, on tumor cells of glioma patients. Interestingly, our study demonstrated that TMIGD2 expression was negatively correlated with angiogenesis, hypoxia, G2/M checkpoint, and epithelial to mesenchymal transition signaling pathways. We also demonstrated that dendritic cells, monocytes, NK cells, gd T cells, and naive CD8 T cell infiltration correlates positively with TMIGD2 expression. On the other hand, Mantel-Cox analysis demonstrated that increased expression of TMIGD2 in human gliomas is associated with good overall survival. Cox multivariable analysis revealed that TMIGD2 is an independent predictor of a good prognosis in glioma patients.DiscussionTaken together, our results highlight the tight implication of TMIGD2 in glioma progression and show its promising therapeutic potential as a stimulatory target for immunotherapy.

Breast cancer is the most common type of tumor in women worldwide. Immune checkpoint inhibitors, particularly anti-PDL1, have shown promise as a therapeutic approach for managing this disease. However, this type of immunotherapy still fails to work for some patients, leading researchers to explore alternative immune checkpoint targets. The Ig suppressor of T cell activation domain V (VISTA) has emerged as a novel immune checkpoint that delivers inhibitory signals to T cells and has demonstrated encouraging results in various cancers. Our study investigated the association of VISTA expression with clinicopathological parameters in breast cancer patients, its involvement in the Epithelial-Mesenchymal-Transition (EMT) process, and its correlation with PD1 expression. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that VISTA was associated with lobular and metaplastic histological type, tumor size, lymph node status, ER and PR negative status, and the TNBC molecular subtype. Furthermore, VISTA expression was strongly associated with an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Immunohistochemistry analysis corroborated the transcriptomic results, indicating that VISTA was expressed in most immune cells (94%) and was significantly expressed in breast cancer tumor cells compared to matched adjacent tissues. Our study also showed for the first time that VISTA overexpression in breast cancer cells could be associated with the EMT process. Additionally, we identified a positive correlation between VISTA and PD-1 expression. Together, these results highlight the immunosuppressive effect of VISTA in breast cancer patients and suggest that bi-specific targeting of VISTA and PD-1 in combination therapy could be beneficial for these patients.

A broadband 77/79 GHz transmitter (TX) front-end for automotive long range radar (LRR) and short range radar (SRR) applications is presented in this paper. To achieve the best system performance one new TX architecture with two specifically designed voltage controlled oscillators (VCOs) is implemented in a 28 nm CMOS technology. Furthermore, the degradation of the VCO phase noise due to the TX integration is analyzed in detail and solutions to minimize the impacts are proposed and verified. Experimental results of a 20 GHz push-push VCO1 measured at the 77 GHz TX output show a continuous tuning range of 4.75 GHz, a coarse tuning range of 3.2 GHz and an average phase noise of −100 dBc/Hz @ 1 MHz, while a 26 GHz VCO2 with third harmonic signal extraction achieves a continuous and coarse tuning range of 7.5 GHz and 4.2 GHz with an average phase noise of −96 dBc/Hz @ 1 MHz at 79 GHz TX output. Moreover, a record pushing performance of $\rm { 100 MHz/V at 77/79 GHz TX output has been achieved according to the authors’ best knowledge. The whole TX chip consumes about 860 mW from a single 2.1 V supply while providing more than 16 dBm output power over the whole frequency band.

Cotonou, the economic capital of Benin, is suffering from the impacts of climate change, particularly evident through recurrent floods. To effectively manage these floods and address this issue, it is crucial to have a deep understanding of return periods and hydroclimatic parameters (such as intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves and related coefficients), which are essential for designing stormwater drainage structures. Determining return periods and these parameters requires statistical analysis of extreme events, and this analysis needs to be regularly updated in response to climate change. The objective of this study was to determine the necessary return periods and hydroclimatic parameters to improve stormwater drainage systems in the city and its surroundings areas. This required annual maximum precipitation series of 1, 2, 3, 6, 12, and 24 h for 20 years length (1999–2018) as well as flood record data. The intensity series, derived by dividing the amount of rainfall by its duration, was adjusted using Gumbel’s law. IDF curves were constructed based on Montana and Talbot models, and their coefficients were determined according to the corresponding return periods. In 2010, which witnessed devastating floods in the country, the return period for the most intense rainfall events was 40 years, followed by 2013 with a return period of 13.4 years. Consequently, the commonly used 10-year return period for the design of stormwater drainage structures in Cotonou is insufficient. The Talbot model produced the lowest mean square errors for each quantile series and coefficients of determination closest to one, indicating that the parameters obtained from this model are well suited for designing hydraulic structures in Cotonou. The hydroclimatic parameters presented in this study will contribute to the improved design of hydraulic structures in the city of Cotonou.

Intense transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Africa might promote emergence of variants. We describe 10 SARS-CoV-2 lineages in Benin during early 2021 that harbored mutations associated with variants of concern. Benin-derived SARS-CoV-2 strains were more efficiently neutralized by antibodies derived from vaccinees than patients, warranting accelerated vaccination in Africa.

Abstract In human gliomas, anti-tumor T cell responses are inhibited through induction of local and systemic immunosuppression. Immune checkpoint blockade is proving to be a success in several types of cancers. However, many studies reported that the treatment of glioblastoma patients with anti-CTLA-4 or anti-PD-1 has no survival benefit compared to standard chemotherapy. This study aimed to investigate the expression and role of VISTA, a newly described immune checkpoint regulator, in human gliomas. mRNA expression was assessed in a total of 87 samples from glioma patients. 57 glioma tissues were taken at different grades. 20 peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) samples were taken before surgery and ten after surgery, all from the same set of patients. As for the control, ten specimens of PBMC were taken from healthy donors. Protein expression using immunohistochemistry was performed for 30 patients. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data set, was also used to investigate VISTA expression through analysis of RNA-seq data of 667 glioma patients. In the Moroccan cohort, VISTA gene expression was significantly upregulated in glioma tissues related to PBMC of healthy donors. This high expression was specific to patient tissues since VISTA expression in PBMC was low when assessed either before or after surgery. Besides, VISTA exhibited higher expression levels in grade III/IV relative to grade I/II glioma patients. Interestingly, VISTA correlated positively with PD-1 expression. PD-1 also showed elevated expressions in higher glioma grades. The TCGA cohort corroborated these observations. Indeed, VISTA was also found to be strongly expressed in high grades. It was positively correlated with other critical immune checkpoints. Finally, increased VISTA transcript levels were associated with weak overall survival of glioma patients. Our study highlighted a correlation between high levels of VISTA expression and poor prognosis in glioma patients. VISTA might be involved in glioma progression and could be considered as a possible new therapeutic target, especially in advanced gliomas.

West African populations are increasingly exposed to heavy rainfall events which cause devastating floods. For the design of rainwater drainage facilities (to protect populations), practitioners systematically use the Gumbel distribution regardless of rainfall statistical behaviour. The objective of this study is twofold. The first is to update existing knowledge on heavy rainfall frequency analysis in West Africa to check whether the systematic preference for Gumbel's distribution is not misleading, and subsequently to quantify biases induced by the use of the Gumbel distribution on stations fitting other distributions. Annual maximum daily rainfall of 12 stations located in the Benin sections of the Niger and Volta Rivers' basins covering a period of 96 years (1921–2016) were used. Five statistical distributions (Gumbel, GEV, Lognormal, Pearson type III, and Log-Pearson type III) were used for the frequency analysis and the most appropriate distribution was selected based on the Akaike (AIC) and Bayesian (BIC) criteria. The study shows that the Gumbel's distribution best represents the data of 2/3 of the stations studied, while the remaining 1/3 of the stations fit better GEV, Lognormal, and Pearson type III distributions. The systematic application of Gumbel's distribution for the frequency analysis of extreme rainfall is therefore misleading. For stations whose data best fit the other distributions, annual daily rainfall maxima were estimated both using these distributions and the Gumbel's distribution for different return periods. Depending on the return period, results demonstrate that the use of the Gumbel distribution instead of these distributions leads to an overestimation (of up to +6.1 %) and an underestimation (of up to −45.9 %) of the annual daily rainfall maxima and therefore to an uncertain design of flood protection facilities. For better validity, the findings presented here should be tested on larger datasets.

Floods are natural disasters that widely affect people and goods. Its frequency and magnitude are projected to substantially increase due to the ongoing environmental change. At regional and national levels, some efforts have been made in predicting floods at a short-term range. However, the usefulness of flood prediction increases as the time lead increases. The objective of this work is therefore to investigate flood sensitivity to climate indexes in West Africa as a basis for seasonal flood forecasting. The methodology consists of optimizing the relationship between Annual Maximal Discharge (AMD), a proxy for flood discharge and various climate indexes using correlation coefficient, linear regression and statistical modeling based on 56 river gauging stations across West Africa. The climate indexes considered are the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) of the Tropical Northern Atlantic (TNA), SST of the Tropical Southern Atlantic (TSA), the Sea Level Pressure (SLP) of the Southern Oscillation Indexes (SOI) and the detrended El-Nino Southern Oscillation indexes. It was found that SOI/SLP indexes are the most strongly related to the AMD for the investigated stations with generally high, positive, and statistically significant correlation. The TSA/SST indexes indicated both positive and negative statistically significant correlations with river discharge in the region. The percentage change in AMD per unit change in SOI/SLP for most of the statistically significant stations is within 10 % and 50 % indicating a strong relationship between these two variables. This relationship could serve as a basis for seasonal flood forecasting in the study area.

This study addresses the importance of integrating the effect of land use on soil infiltration rate into land use change impact modeling. Based on a validated version 9.05.04 of the Water balance Simulation Model-WaSiM (statistical quality measures > 0.7), and field measurement of the infiltration rate under cropland and fallow, sixteen model simulations were performed. The impact of land use change is computed comparing LULC status of years 1990 and 2013. The effect of soil parameterization is computed using a refined soil map integrating land use change impact of soil infiltration rate and a classic soil map not considering this interaction. The results show differences in model results as an effect of soil parameterization approaches, indicating that the model is sensitive to the integration of LULC related effects on soil hydraulic conductivity. These differences are more pronounced with increasing modeling time steps (24 and 28 h). The signal-to-noise-ratio indicates that, results achieved in LULC impact assessment with a classic and a refined soil parameterization are very comparable except for interflow.

Trypanosoma lewisi belongs to the so-called atypical trypanosomes that occasionally affect humans. It shares the same hosts and flea vector of other medically relevant pathogenic agents as Yersinia pestis, the agent of plague. Increasing knowledge on the population structure (reproductive mode, population size, dispersal) of this parasite thus represents a challenging but important issue. The use of polymorphic genetic markers, together with suitable population genetics tools, is a convenient way to achieve such objectives. To date, the population biology of T. lewisi is poorly known and, to our knowledge, no population genetics studies have ever been conducted. Here, we present the development of nine microsatellite markers of this species. We investigated their polymorphism in different countries from Africa and South-East Asia from DNAs extracted from the spleen of their rodent reservoirs (essentially rat species). Several amplification problems arose, especially with South-East Asian individuals. This led to retain only those individuals with complete genotypes (most of them originating from West Africa, notably Cotonou, Benin) to ensure an optimal estimate of heterozygosity. Our results pointed towards a mainly (at least 95-99%) clonal mode of propagation, a strong subdivision at the smallest scale available (i.e., urban neighborhoods, i.e. 0.250 km²), and a generation time most probably shorter than 4 months. In future studies, more extensive sampling at smaller geographic scales (i.e., households), within a one- or two-months window and with improved amplification conditions, should lead to a more precise picture of the fine population structure of this parasite.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells represent a new genetically engineered cell-based immunotherapy tool against cancer. The use of CAR T-cells has revolutionized the therapeutic approach for hematological malignancies. Unfortunately, there is a long way to go before this treatment can be developed for solid tumors, including colorectal cancer. CAR T-cell therapy for colorectal cancer is still in its early stages, and clinical data are scarce. Major limitations of this therapy include high toxicity, relapses, and an impermeable tumor microenvironment for CAR T-cell therapy in colorectal cancer. In this review, we summarize current knowledge, highlight challenges, and discuss perspectives regarding CAR T-cell therapy in colorectal cancer.

The ability to predict fate of pesticides in the environment is crucial for sustainable management. This process starts with a proper characterization of the dissipation of a parent compound under different sets of conditions. There is widespread use of S-metolachlor across multiple common cropping systems, modes of action among commercially available herbicides are limited, and concern is rising of increase in resistance to S-metolachlor in problematic weeds, including species such as Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri). Therefore, S-metolachlor dissipation was investigated in fortified soil collected from a field plot experiment in order to determine the influence of single or repeated within-season herbicide applications to accelerate dissipation. S-metolachlor dissipation in fortified soils was then investigated in samples collected from paired, commercial fields, all of silt loam soil texture. Producer fields from five Arkansas counties were categorized as low-use (0 to 2 years of application) or high-use (5 to 6 years of application within the past six years). S-metolachlor concentrations were extracted from soil during a 56-day incubation and S-metolachlor degradation was modeled to calculate half-life. Two within-season applications of S-metolachlor increased persistence in fortified soils, and dissipation was faster in soils collected 1 and 24 days compared to 59 days after planting soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.].The half-life of S-metolachlor did not decrease in soil from fields with high-use (5 to 6 years) compared to soil collected from fields with low-use (0 to 2 years) of herbicide application history. Dissipation of S-metolachlor in soil was not enhanced by repeated short-term intra-annual or longer-term inter-annual applications. Results highlight the importance of management practices and soil properties in assessing the fate of S-metolachlor.

Allelopathy and competition are components of plant-plant interactions, delimiting the level of interference. Understanding this interaction has practical applications in agriculture. Crop cultivars possessing high allelopathic ability and competitive traits are themselves tools for sustainable weed management, enabling reduced use of herbicides. Greenhouse and field experiments were conducted to assess the weed suppressive ability of selected sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas L.) cultivars. The effect of nine cultivars on Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri S. Watson), junglerice (Echinochloa colona L.), and hemp sesbania (Sesbania hederacea P. Mill.) was first evaluated in the greenhouse. The experiment was set up in a completely randomized design with four replications and conducted twice. Sweetpotatoes were cultured in sand. The target weeds were seeded in pots filled with a 2:1 mix of field soil:potting mix and watered with 100-ml aliquot of sweetpotato root leachates once every 2 d. Weed height and shoot biomass were measured. ‘Heartogold’, ‘Centennial’, and ‘Stokes Purple’ were the most allelopathic cultivars. Junglerice was most inhibited by sweetpotato leachates. Nine cultivars were evaluated in the field. Experiments were conducted at Fayetteville and Kibler, Arkansas, USA, in a split-plot design, with weed infestation (broadleaf spp., grass spp., or weed-free) as whole plot and the cultivars as split-plot. Across locations, ‘Beauregard-14’ had the longest vines, whereas ‘Hatteras’ and ‘Heartogold’ had the tallest canopy. ‘Heartogold’ had the largest leaf area. This cultivar reduced weed biomass 2- to 4-fold in both locations. Yield was reduced on average 55 and 68% with grass and broadleaf weeds across locations, respectively. ‘Beauregard-14’ and ‘Bayou Belle-6’were the high-yielding cultivars in Kibler and Fayetteville. The highest yielding cultivars were not the most weed suppressive but did not incur the highest yield loss from weed competition, indicating the ability to withstand weed interference. Cultivar competitiveness, weed-suppressive ability, and weed tolerance are important factors that should be considered before making a cultivar selection.

Seoul virus is a zoonotic pathogen carried by the brown rat Rattus norvegicus. Information on its circulation in Africa is limited. In this study, the virus was detected in 37.5% of brown rats captured in the Autonomous Port of Cotonou, Benin. Phylogenetic analyses place this virus in Seoul virus lineage 7.

We used commercially available ELISAs to test 68 samples from coronavirus disease cases and prepandemic controls from Benin. We noted

An online survey to better understand current weed management practices and concerns in Arkansas rice was distributed in the fall of 2020. A total of 123 respondents from across the Arkansas rice growing region returned the survey covering a total of 236,414 rice hectares, representing about 40% of the planted Arkansas rice hectares in 2020. The most problematic weeds were Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv. (ECG), Cyperus spp., and Oryza sativa L. (weedy rice), respectively, in flooded rice, and ECG, Amaranthus palmeri S. Wats., and Cyperus spp., respectively, in furrow-irrigated rice. Most respondents (78%) reported high concern with herbicide-resistant weeds, and crop rotation (>74%) was the most common strategy listed to control and mitigate the development of herbicide-resistant weeds. A chi-square test of homogeneity showed that strategies implemented to control herbicide-resistant weeds and mitigate the evolution of herbicide-resistant weeds were not dependent on occupation type (farmer, consultant, or industry rep) nor on years of involvement in rice production. Respondents failed to control ECG 44% of the time with their first postemergence herbicide. After initial herbicide failure, 53% of respondents stated two additional herbicide applications were required to control ECG escapes while another 21% of respondents stated it was never controlled. The average ECG population at 2020 harvest was between 0.1 and 1.0 plant m−2 according to 44% of the respondents; however, 41% of respondents indicated an ECG density of 2 to 10 plants m−2 at 2020 harvest. The reported annual average cost of herbicides for rice weed control was $266.40 ha−1 with ECG accounting for 81% of the total cost. Average yield loss attributed to ECG was estimated to be 505–959 kg ha−1 (economic loss of $134–254 ha−1). However, yield loss in the most heavily infested fields was estimated to be 757–1,464 kg ha−1 (economic loss of $200–387 ha−1). Effective, non-chemical approaches to weed management were ranked as the least important current research or educational effort, indicating a paradigm shift in rice producers' weed control line of thought is needed with dwindling herbicide options due to herbicide resistance.

BackgroundGlioma is the most common type of primary brain tumor in adults. Patients with the most malignant form have an overall survival time of

Gliomas are the most common primary brain tumors in adults. Despite the fact that they are relatively rare, they cause significant morbidity and mortality. High-grade gliomas or glioblastomas are rapidly progressing tumors with a very poor prognosis. The presence of an intrinsic immune system in the central nervous system is now more accepted. During the last decade, there has been no major progress in glioma therapy. The lack of effective treatment for gliomas can be explained by the strategies that cancer cells use to escape the immune system. This being said, immunotherapy, which involves blockade of immune checkpoint inhibitors, has improved patients’ survival in different cancer types. This novel cancer therapy appears to be one of the most promising approaches. In the present study, we will start with a review of the general concept of immune response within the brain and glioma microenvironment. Then, we will try to decipher the role of various immune checkpoint inhibitors within the glioma microenvironment. Finally, we will discuss some promising therapeutic pathways, including immune checkpoint blockade and the body’s effective anti-glioma immune response.

Abstract Background Sub-Saharan African market is highly affected by counterfeit veterinary drugs. Though these counterfeit and non-compliance of drugs can induce adverse effects during their utilization, there is no monitoring system of veterinary medicines. The present pilot study was carried out in Cameroon to identify and describe suspected cases of adverse reactions to veterinary drugs in animals and / or humans as well as inefficacy of veterinary drugs. The methodology involved a descriptive cross-sectional survey of 67 actors in the veterinary medicine sector in Cameroon. Results A total of 74/120 (62%) cases of suspected adverse effects and or lack of efficacy of veterinary drugs in animals and 46 (38%) cases of adverse reactions in humans were identified. Antiparasitics were the most incriminated therapeutic class in animals (61%) and human (56%). Adverse reactions were reported in dogs (44%) and poultry (24%) while drug inefficacy was most observed in poultry (47%). According to animal health professionals, levamisole (24%) and ivermectin (16%) were identified to be responsible for the adverse effects and that the highest level of inefficacy was most frequently reported for oxytetracycline (29%). The main adverse reactions were systemic (22%), gastrointestinal (20%) and neurological (13%) disorders. Conclusion The results of this study showed that misuse and circulation of poor quality as well as lack of efficacy of veterinary drugs is very common in Cameroon. Adverse reactions were observed in animals and humans. Therefore, the establishment of a national veterinary pharmacovigilance system based on solid legal bases is essential for a continuous assessment of the risks-benefits effects of veterinary drugs marketed in Cameroon.

One of the main causes of low cashew nut yields in African countries is the lack of improved planting materials used for plantation establishment. It is therefore necessary to efficiently select planting material to increase cashew nut yields. The objective of this study was to assess the agro-morphological diversity of preselected cashew mother trees for facilitating their further selection in cashew plantations in Benin. Thirty-one variables were measured. These variables, including 12 quantitative and 19 qualitative, were selected in cashew descriptors developed by Bioversity International. Statistical tools were performed for the assessment of the 394 cashew mother trees preselected in 23 administrative districts originating from the four major cashew nut production regions in Benin: Atacora-Donga, Borgou, Zou-Collines and Plateau. A Factorial Analysis on Mixed Data and a Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) were carried out to group the individuals. Finally, a morpho-metric characterization of the different groups based on quantitative discriminant descriptors from a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was carried out. The HCA result on mixed data showed three significant morpho-metric groups of cashew mother trees. Discriminant stepwise analysis carried out on all 31 morpho-metric descriptors showed that 15 were found to be the most discriminating (5 quantitative and 10 qualitative descriptors) of the morpho-metric groups (P ˂ 0.001). The leave vein crossing, hermaphrodite flower rate, apples unit weight, abnormal flower number and nut basis shape showed significant positive or negative correlations. These results suggest the existence of an important phenotypic variability among Beninese cashew accessions that could be used in cashew tree breeding program being implemented in Benin.

Les neuropathies optiques inflammatoires (NOI) communément appelées névrites optiques sont des inflammations du nerf optique isolées ou secondaires à une affection générale. Nous avons réalisé une étude rétrospective analytique sur une période de 5 ans portant sur 116 cas (163 yeux) de NOI au service d'ophtalmologie B de l'Hôpital des spécialités de Rabat, dans le but de faire une mise au point sur les aspects épidémiologiques, cliniques et thérapeutiques des névrites optiques. L'âge moyen est de 32,50 ans, avec une prédominance féminine à 56,90%. L'atteinte est bilatérale dans 40,51%. Le principal motif de la consultation est une baisse de l'acuité visuelle dans 86,20%, associé à une douleur à la mobilisation du globe dans 14,65%. L'AV initial est ≤ 1/10e dans 50,09% des yeux. L'examen du fond d'œil révèle une papille anormale dans 81%. Une uvéite est associée dans 42,33% des cas. Le champ visuel et la vision des couleurs sont anomaux dans 58,28% des cas. L'étude des potentiels évoqués visuels montre un allongement de la P100 dans 71,77% des cas. L’étiologie la plus retrouvée est la sclérose en plaques suivie par la maladie de Behcet (16,37%), et les causes infectieuses (13,79%). La neuropathie optique est restée idiopathique dans 39,65% des cas. 87,06% des patients ont reçu un bolus IV de corticoïdes. L'évolution de la maladie après traitement montre une amélioration de l'AV dans 65,64% des cas.

Abstract Background Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is still a public health burden in many developing countries. In Benin, a West African country, at least 6.6 million people are at risk for LF. With the goal of eliminating LF by 2020, mass drug administration (MDA) has been scaled-up during the last decade. Currently, 23 districts are believed to have eliminated LF as a public health problem, and 25 other districts are still under treatment. In this study we report the results of the first transmission assessment survey of LF (TAS1) in 13 districts from the second group, which have received at least six rounds of MDA with albendazole and ivermectin. Methods The 13 districts were grouped into six evaluation units (EU). In each EU, 30 schools randomly selected by survey sample builder (SSB) software were surveyed. Children aged six and seven were sampled in schools and for each child the Alere™ Filariasis Test Strip test was carried out using finger-prick blood to detect the circulating filarial antigen from Wuchereria bancrofti. Results Overall, 9381 children were sampled in 191 schools from the six EU with 47.6% of the children aged six years and 52.4% aged seven years. Five EU passed the assessment, with no positive cases identified. The EU of Ouinhi which grouped the districts of Ouinhi, Cove, Za-Kpota and Zagnanado failed, with 47 positive cases. These cases were clustered in the districts of Ouinhi (n = 20), Za-Kpota (n = 11) and Zagnanado (n = 16). No cases were found in the district of Cove. Conclusions The findings of our study indicate that Benin has made important progress towards elimination in most districts evaluated. However, this study also shows that transmission of LF is ongoing in the EU of Ouinhi, part of the Zou department. The MDA strategy needs to be strengthened in order to control the human reservoir of infection in these districts.

This paper sorts out the taxonomy of species affiliated with Pulveroboletus ravenelii in the Guineo-soudanian and Zambezian woodlands of Africa. Morphological and genetic characters of African Pulveroboletus collections were studied and compared to those of North American and Asian species. A phylogenetic analysis showed that the African specimens form a subclade, sister to the Asian and American taxa. Although clamp connections have previously never been reported from Pulveroboletus, all specimens of the African subclade show very small clamp connections. Two new African species, Pulveroboletus africanus sp. nov. and P. sokponianus sp. nov., are described and illustrated. Comments concerning morphology and identification, as well as distribution and ecology, are given for both species.

Glioma is the most prevalent primary brain tumor. Immune checkpoint blockade has made a great stride in mending patient’s clinical outcome for multiple types of cancers. However, PD-1, CTLA-4, or VEGF blockade exhibited only poor outcome in glioma patients. This study aimed to explore the expression and role of IgSF11, an emerging immune checkpoint and a ligand of VISTA, in human gliomas. IgSF11 mRNA expression was assessed in human glioma patients at different grades using 2 independent cohorts, a set of 52 Moroccan samples, including 20 glioma tissues, 22 PBMC samples taken before and 10 PBMC samples taken after surgery; and a series of 667 patients from TCGA. In parallel, immunohistochemistry was performed to evaluate IgSF11 protein staining. IgSF11 gene expression was significantly upregulated in high grade glioma tissues, compared to low grade. IgSF11 protein also showed a significant expression in low and high-grade gliomas. Interestingly, IgSF11 expression seemed to correlate positively with other critical immune checkpoints such as PD1, PDL-1, VISTA, and surprisingly negatively with CTLA-4. Although, T cell markers appeared higher in advanced gliomas, T cell-produced pro-inflammatory genes showed similar expression levels, highly likely because of the potent immunosuppressive microenvironment. Indeed, increased expression of IgSF11 in advanced human gliomas associated with a poor overall survival. Our data strongly suggest that IgSF11 is an immune checkpoint, which is upregulated in advanced human gliomas and contributes to the immunosuppressive state resulting in a poor clinical outcome in glioma patients. IgSF11 could be considered as a possible promising therapeutic target in advanced human gliomas.

Months after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, case numbers from Africa are surprisingly low, potentially because the number of SARS-CoV-2 tests performed in Africa is lower than in other regions. Here, we show an overload of COVID-19-related diagnostics in the central laboratory of Benin, Western Africa, with a stagnating average number of positive samples irrespective of daily sample counts.

Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) comprises a heterogeneous group of inherited immunologic disorders with profound defects in cellular and humoral immunity. SCID is the most severe PID and constitutes a pediatric emergency. Affected children are highly susceptible to bacterial, viral, fungal, and opportunistic infections with life-threatening in the absence of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. We report here two cases of SCID. The first case is a girl diagnosed with SCID at birth based on her family history and lymphocyte subpopulation typing. The second case is a 4-month-old boy with a history of recurrent opportunistic infections, BCGitis, and failure to thrive, and the immunology workup confirms a SCID phenotype. The genetic study in the two cases revealed a novel mutation in the RAG2 gene, c.826G > A (p.Gly276Ser), in a homozygous state. The novel mutation in the RAG2 gene identified in our study may help the early diagnosis of SCID.

Drought events are predicted to increase in the future. Evaluating the response of herbicide-resistant and -susceptible weed ecotypes to progressive drought can provide insights into whether resistance traits affect the fitness of resistant weed populations. Two experiments were conducted in the greenhouse between January and May 2021 to evaluate drought tolerance differences between Palmer amaranth accessions resistant to S-metolachlor or glyphosate and their susceptible counterparts. The accessions used were S-metolachlor-resistant (17TUN-A), a susceptible standard (09CRW-A), and glyphosate-resistant (22–165 EPSPS copies) and glyphosate-susceptible (3–10 EPSPS copies) plants from accession 16CRW-D. Daily transpiration of each plant was measured. The daily transpiration rate was converted to normalized transpiration ratio (NTR) using a double-normalization procedure. The daily soil water content was expressed as a fraction of transpirable soil water (FTSW). The threshold FTSW (FTSWcr), after which NTR decreases linearly, was estimated using a two-segment linear regression analysis. The data showed differences between S-metolachlor-resistant and -susceptible accessions (p ≤ 0.05). The FTSW remaining in the soil at the breakpoint for the S-metolachlor-susceptible accession (09CRW-A) was 0.17 ± 0.007. The FTSW remaining in the soil at the breakpoint for the S-metolachlor-resistant accession (17TUN-A) was 0.23 ± 0.004. The FTSW remaining in the soil at the breakpoint for the glyphosate-resistant and glyphosate-susceptible plants (16CRW-D) was 0.25 ± 0.007 and 0.25 ± 0.008, respectively. Although the mechanism endowing resistance to S-metolachlor might have contributed to increased drought tolerance, follow-up experiments are needed in order to verify this finding. Increased EPSPS copy numbers did not improve the drought tolerance of Palmer amaranth. As droughts are predicted to increase in frequency and severity, these results suggest that S-metolachlor-resistant and glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth populations will not be at a competitive disadvantage compared to susceptible genotypes. Alternative and diverse management strategies will be required for effective Palmer amaranth control, regardless of herbicide resistance status.

Toxoplasmosis, one of the most prevalent parasitic infections in humans and animals, is caused by the intracellular protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Small mammals play a key role as intermediate reservoir hosts in the maintenance of the T. gondii life cycle. In this study, we estimated the molecular prevalence and provide genetic diversity data for T. gondii in 632 small mammals sampled in four areas of Cotonou city, Benin. Both the brain and heart of each individual were screened through T. gondii-targeting qPCR, and positive samples were then genotyped using a set of 15 T. gondii-specific microsatellites. Prevalence data were statistically analyzed in order to assess the relative impact of individual host characteristics, spatial distribution, composition of small mammal community, and urban landscape features. An overall T. gondii molecular prevalence of 15.2% was found and seven genotypes, all belonging to the Africa 1 lineage, could be retrieved from the invasive black rat Rattus rattus and the native African giant shrew Crocidura olivieri. Statistical analyses did not suggest any significant influence of the environmental parameters used in this study. Rather, depending on the local context, T. gondii prevalence appeared to be associated either with black rat, shrew, or mouse abundance or with the trapping period. Overall, our results highlight the intricate relationships between biotic and abiotic factors involved in T. gondii epidemiology and suggest that R. rattus and C. olivieri are two competent reservoirs for the Africa 1 lineage, a widespread lineage in tropical Africa and the predominant lineage in Benin.

Traditional public health methods for detecting infectious disease transmission, such as contact tracing and molecular epidemiology, are time-consuming and costly. Information and communication technologies, such as global positioning systems, smartphones, and mobile phones, offer opportunities for novel approaches to identifying transmission hotspots. However, mapping the movements of potentially infected persons comes with ethical challenges. During an interdisciplinary meeting of researchers, ethicists, data security specialists, information and communication technology experts, epidemiologists, microbiologists, and others, we arrived at suggestions to mitigate the ethical concerns of movement mapping. These suggestions include a template Data Protection Impact Assessment that follows European Union General Data Protection Regulations.

A statistical model to predict the probability and magnitude of floods in non-stationary conditions is presented. The model uses a time-dependent and/or covariate-dependent generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution to fit the annual maximal (AM) discharge, and it is applied to five gauging stations in the Ouémé River Basin in Benin Republic, West Africa. Different combinations of the model parameters, which vary with respect to time and/or climate covariates, were explored with the stationary model based on three criteria of goodness of fit. The non-stationary model more adequately explains a substantial amount of variation in the data. The GEV-1 model, which incorporates a linear trend in its location parameter, surpasses the other models. Non-stationary return levels for different return periods have been proposed for the study area. This case study tested the hypothesis of stationarity in estimating flood events in the basin and it demonstrated the strong need to account for changes over time when performing flood frequency analyses.

A França é o país que mais intervém militarmente nos assuntos africanos. Desde o processo de descolonização até hoje, os franceses já promoveram diversas intervenções militares em países africanos, ajudando a depor ou sustentando governantes de acordo com os seus interesses. Trata-se de um país que pratica uma ativa política intervencionista, sobretudo nos Estados que outrora estiveram sob o julgo do colonialismo francês. Este artigo busca discutir as motivações que levam os franceses a essa política intervencionista em África, trazendo como exemplo de atuação no continente, o caso da Costa do Marfim e a violenta crise pós-eleitoral de 2010 Recebido em: 06 junho 2015 Aceito em: 04 outubro 2015

Plant-parasitic nematodes are destructive pests causing losses of billions of dollars annually. An effective plant defence against pathogens relies on the recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) by surface-localised receptors leading to the activation of PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI). Extensive studies have been conducted to characterise the role of PTI in various models of plant-pathogen interactions. However, far less is known about the role of PTI in roots in general and in plant-nematode interactions in particular. Here we show that nematode-derived proteinaceous elicitor/s is/are capable of inducing PTI in Arabidopsis in a manner dependent on the common immune co-receptor BAK1. Consistent with the role played by BAK1, we identified a leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase, termed NILR1 that is specifically regulated upon infection by nematodes. We show that NILR1 is essential for PTI responses initiated by nematodes and nilr1 loss-of-function mutants are hypersusceptible to a broad category of nematodes. To our knowledge, NILR1 is the first example of an immune receptor that is involved in induction of basal immunity (PTI) in plants or in animals in response to nematodes. Manipulation of NILR1 will provide new options for nematode control in crop plants in future.

Leptospirosis is caused by spirochete bacteria of the genus Leptospira that affect one million and kill 60,000 persons annually in the world, who get infected through environmental mammal-excreted (notably rodent) pathogens. Using qPCR and DNA sequencing approaches, we here examine Leptospira occurrence and diversity in 971 commensal small mammals in urban and peri-urban habitats from south Benin, where socio-environmental conditions are favorable for human contamination. Prevalence reached 12.9% on average, but showed very important variations in both space and time, thus pointing toward a role of local processes in the maintenance and circulation of rodent-borne leptospires in the area. Prevalence peaks may occur during or one month after moderate (100−200 mm) monthly rainfall, suggesting that rodent-borne leptospires may be more prevalent when standing waters are present, but not at their highest levels (i.e., floods). However, this pattern will have to be confirmed through proper diachronic analysis. Finally, an incomplete but significant host-specificity was observed, with L. kirschneri retrieved only in African shrews, and the invasive Rattus norvegicus and the native Mastomys natalensis preferentially infected by L. interrogans and L. borgpeterseni, respectively. Our study highlights the urgent need for investigations on human leptospirosis in the extensively urbanized Abidjan−Lagos corridor.

Crustaceans have to cyclically replace their rigid exoskeleton in order to grow. Most of them harden this skeleton by a calcification process. Some decapods (land crabs, lobsters and crayfish) elaborate calcium storage structures as a reservoir of calcium ions in their stomach wall, as so-called gastroliths. For a better understanding of the cyclic elaboration of these calcium deposits, we studied the ultrastructure of gastroliths from freshwater crayfish by using a combination of microscopic and physical techniques. Because sugars are also molecules putatively involved in the elaboration process of these biomineralizations, we also determined their carbohydrate composition. This study was performed in a comparative perspective on crayfish species belonging to the infra-order Astacidea (Decapoda, Malacostraca): three species from the Astacoidea superfamily and one species from the Parastacoidea superfamily. We observed that all the gastroliths exhibit a similar dense network of protein-chitin fibers, from macro- to nanoscale, within which calcium is precipitated as amorphous calcium carbonate. Nevertheless, they are not very similar at the molecular level, notably as regards their carbohydrate composition. Besides glucosamine, the basic carbohydrate component of chitin, we evidenced the presence of other sugars, some of which are species-specific like rhamnose and galacturonic acid whereas xylose and mannose could be linked to proteoglycan components.