HIV epidemics in Western and Central Africa (WCA) remain concentrated among key populations, who are often unaware of their status. HIV self-testing (HIVST) and its secondary distribution among key ...populations, and their partners and relatives, could reduce gaps in diagnosis coverage. We aimed to document and understand secondary HIVST distribution practices by men who have sex with men (MSM), female sex workers (FSW), people who use drugs (PWUD); and the use of HIVST by their networks in Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, and Senegal.
A qualitative study was conducted in 2021 involving (a) face-to-face interviews with MSM, FSW, and PWUD who received HIVST kits from peer educators (primary users) and (b) telephone interviews with people who received kits from primary contacts (secondary users). These individual interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded using Dedoose software. Thematic analysis was performed.
A total of 89 participants, including 65 primary users and 24 secondary users were interviewed. Results showed that HIVST were effectively redistributed through peers and key populations networks. The main reported motivations for HIVST distribution included allowing others to access testing and protecting oneself by verifying the status of partners/clients. The main barrier to distribution was the fear of sexual partners' reactions. Findings suggest that members of key populations raised awareness of HIVST and referred those in need of HIVST to peer educators. One FSW reported physical abuse. Secondary users generally completed HIVST within two days of receiving the kit. The test was used half the times in the physical presence of another person, partly for psychological support need. Users who reported a reactive test sought confirmatory testing and were linked to care. Some participants mentioned difficulties in collecting the biological sample (2 participants) and interpreting the result (4 participants).
The redistribution of HIVST was common among key populations, with minor negative attitudes. Users encountered few difficulties using the kits. Reactive test cases were generally confirmed. These secondary distribution practices support the deployment of HIVST to key populations, their partners, and other relatives. In similar WCA countries, members of key populations can assist in the distribution of HIVST, contributing to closing HIV diagnosis gaps.
As climate model uncertainties remain very large for future rainfall in the Sahel, a multi-centennial perspective is required to assess the situation of current Sahel climate in the context of global ...warming. We present here the first record of hydroclimatic variability over the past 1600 years in Senegal, obtained from stable oxygen isotope analyses (δ
18
O) in archaeological shell middens from the Saloum Delta. During the preindustrial period, the region was relatively humid, with maximum humidity reached during the period from AD 1500 to AD 1800, referred to as the Little Ice Age. A significant negative link is observed at the centennial scale between global temperature and humidity in the Sahel that is at odds with the expected effects of latitudinal shifts of the intertropical convergence zone during the last millennium. In the context of the past 1600 years, the Western Sahel appears to be experiencing today unprecedented drought conditions. The rapid aridification that started ca. AD 1800 and the recent emergence of Sahel drought from the natural variability point to an anthropogenic forcing of Sahel drying trend. This new long-term perspective suggests that the recovery of Sahel rainfall in the last decade may only result from short-term internal variability, and supports climate models that predict an increase of Sahel drought under future greenhouse climate.
In citrus, the effects of an excess of boron (B) are conditioned by the type of rootstock. In the present work, the morphological, physiological and biochemical responses of seedlings from three ...citrus genotypes, commonly used as rootstocks in citriculture. In particular, Citrange Carrizo (CC), Citrus macrophylla (CM) and sour orange (SO) seedlings were treated with an excess of B (10 mg L−1) in the nutrient solution in order to determine the relative tolerance and to understand the possible mechanisms that make a rootstock more tolerant than the others. To assess these responses, different parameters were measured in plants, such as vegetative growth, B concentration in leaves, stems and roots, gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence, the concentration of osmolytes and the activity of enzymes related to the antioxidant system. The results showed, according to the growth parameters, that the SO rootstock was the most tolerant to an excess of B; while CC was the most sensitive. This result was due to the fact that SO plants accumulated less B in leaves, as its roots have a great capacity of restricting the uptake and transport of B towards the aerial part. Moreover, SO is suggested to diminish B toxicity risk through its antioxidant system, since it presented high activity of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), as well as high accumulation of quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs).
•Physiological, biochemistry, and morphological parameters were studied in three citrus rootstocks under B excess.•The rootstocks used were citrange Carrizo, citrus Macrophylla and sour Orange.•Sour orange was more B-excess tolerant than citrange Carrizo and citrus Macrophylla according to growth parameters.•Leaf boron accumulation, and its toxicity determines the contrasting responses among citrus rootstock genotypes.
•This diversity reveals a strong consensus on the need for multi-stakeholder programs.•Divergent views on roles suggest the plurality of potential forms of collaboration with shared ...responsibilities.•Views on the diversity of stakeholders to be involved diverge according to the experts’ profession.
Stakeholders’ involvement is key to breeding programs’ success. The identification of stakeholders, their categories, respective role and weight in the overall process therefore constitutes a crucial aspect of animal breeding. The objective of this paper is to show how the different international experts in breeding perceive the participation of stakeholders and their collaboration in the sustainable management of cattle-breeding programs in developing countries. This study uses the Delphi method to collect experts’ opinions on stakeholders’ involvement in breeding scheme design. In a first round, experts are asked to list all potential stakeholders and to score them on a scale from 1 to 5 according to the perceived importance of roles assigned to them. In a second round, experts were asked to confirm or modify their first notes for each proposal, by taking into account the opinion of the other experts. In the first and second rounds, 17 and 12 experts answered our questionnaires respectively. Two types of analyses were first realized, i.e., a statistical analysis, which evaluated the consensus and the divergence between experts, and a textual analysis, which evaluated the arguments and the roles. Then a factorial correspondence analysis was conducted to propose a typology of stakeholders according to their roles. In the first round, the State representatives, researchers and breeders were frequently mentioned, but the experts variably perceived the importance given to them individually. In the second round, the experts confirmed the need to involve these stakeholders. Between the two rounds, a convergence of views is observed on this implication, despite a persisting divergence on the assigned roles and their relative importance. This diversity of views may have reflected a diversity of origins and professions of responding experts. Development professionals considered the State as the main actor, while researchers considered the breeders and researchers. Expressed through a typological analysis, this divergence of experts’ perception of roles suggests three groups of actors playing main roles. Group 1 corresponds to research, which role is to provide a scientific support for genetic and economic evaluation, as well as technological development. Group 2, composed of State, NGOs and funding institutions, covers roles in financing, subsidizing and capacity building. Group 3, including farmers and their organizations, is responsible of the breeding program management, genetic progress and breed conservation. The proposed typology of actors according to their role may intervene as a basis of discussion, helping in the identification of fruitful agreements beyond the perspective of one sole expert in charge of the designing of a breeding program. It suggests an organization that federates these groups of actors and defines the intervention framework and the activities of the breeding program.
Patients can be immunocompromised from a diverse range of disease and treatment factors, including malignancies, autoimmune disorders and their treatments, and organ and stem-cell transplantation. ...Infections are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients, and the disease treatment landscape is continually evolving. Despite being a critical but preventable and curable adverse event, the reporting of infection events in randomised trials lacks sufficient detail while inconsistency of categorisation and definition of infections in observational and registry studies limits comparability and future pooling of data. A core reporting dataset consisting of category, site, severity, organism, and endpoints was developed as a minimum standard for reporting of infection events in immunocompromised patients across study types. Further additional information is recommended depending on study type. The standardised reporting of infectious events and attributable complications in immunocompromised patients will improve diagnostic, treatment, and prevention approaches and facilitate future research in this patient group.
This study investigates the physical processes controlling the mixed layer buoyancy using a regional configuration of an ocean general circulation model. Processes are quantified by using a ...linearized equation of state, a mixed-layer heat, and a salt budget. Model results correctly reproduce the observed seasonal near-surface density tendencies. The results indicate that the heat flux is located poleward of 10° of latitude, which is at least three times greater than the freshwater flux that mainly controls mixed layer buoyancy. During boreal spring-summer of each hemisphere, the freshwater flux partly compensates the heat flux in terms of buoyancy loss while, during the fall-winter, they act together. Under the seasonal march of the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone and in coastal areas affected by the river, the contribution of ocean processes on the upper density becomes important. Along the north Brazilian coast and the Gulf of Guinea, horizontal and vertical processes involving salinity are the main contributors to an upper water change with a contribution of at least twice as much the temperature. At the equator and along the Senegal-Mauritanian coast, vertical processes are the major oceanic contributors. This is mainly due to the vertical gradient of temperature at the mixed layer base in the equator while the salinity one dominates along the Senegal-Mauritania coast.
Many breeding programs have been implemented in developing countries, many of which have been unsuccessful. To better understand the failure of these breeding programs, it is proposed to analyze ...their adequacy with innovations that are actually adopted by smallholders. The proposed methodology takes account of these innovations, the reasons for their adoption and the objectives of livestock keeping. The N’Dama cattle-breeding program in Senegal was used as a case study. Surveys were carried out among 54 farmers: 27 breeders who participated in this program, 17 of whom recently resigned, and 27 breeders who have never participated. Feeding was the most frequently cited area of innovation, followed by infrastructure. Genetics, animal health and reproduction held the third rank. Milk production appeared as an important objective of breeders, although the context remains one of strong multifunctionality. Principal component analysis highlighted three categories of breeders according to the innovations they adopted: institutional, modernizing, and integrating innovators. The groups of institutional and modernizing innovators dominate, gathering each 41% of the farmers. In the first category, breeders have organized themselves in an association and use N’Dama sires, livestock aiming at an insurance objective. In the second category, artificial insemination with exotic breeds and other technical innovations (cowshed, vaccination, urea treatment of straw) are used to improve production of milk and meat. The third group is termed ‘integrating innovators,’ since their innovations aim at integrating livestock and crop production. Gathering 18% of the sampled breeders, this group presents intermediate features between the two previous groups, using animals as draught power and for manure production. These results indicate that a process of intensification is at play and that the genetic improvement through the selection of N’Dama cattle for production criteria does not meet the breeders’ demand. However, the N’Dama’s adaptive traits justify its use as part of the breeding strategy of farmers, either in pure-breeding or in crossbreeding. The study thus tends to show the interactive link between genetic improvement and other innovations. It suggests that the success of a breeding program depends on its adequate positioning within the set of innovations adopted by breeders and proposes a method to inform breeding programs accordingly.
Senegal, like the other Sahelian countries, remains an important livestock area, particularly for ruminants, with almost 36% of its livestock population was goat in 2016. The national herd increased ...from 2010 to 2016, from 3.32 to 3.54 million head of cattle, 5.6 to 6.68 million sheep and 4.8 to 5.7 million goats, i.e. annual growth rates of 1.1%, 3.2% and 3.13% respectively. Thus, due to diversification of local agricultural resources and the strengthening of goat breeding techniques in the Fatick area, a programme aiming to develop the local goat sector was set up in 2010. The programme focused on improving animal husbandry, providing new added values to goat products and structuring the goat sector. This study’s aim is to better understand goat rearing systems in the area, in order to propose, together with the herders, ways of improving these systems, taking into account family and socio-cultural considerations. To better evaluate the diversity in different production systems, a survey of animal rearing practices was carried out. The survey involved 45 farmers in four localities. It revealed that the farmers were all agro-pastoralists practising a mixed farming system. The majority (93%) supplemented their animals with agricultural by-products, agro-forestry and kitchen leftovers. A multiple correspondence analysis identified three groups: cluster 1 (milk producers and processors into traditional curdled milk, selling animals for household needs), cluster 2 (milk processors into yoghurt and cheese) and cluster 3 (goat vendors in pastoral and the agro-pastoral system).
The study of the objectives and contexts of goat farming in the Fatick will enable policy-makers to design strategies for the sustainable development of family goat farming in the area.
Coccolithophores have global ecological and biogeochemical significance as the most important calcifying marine phytoplankton group. The structure and selection of prokaryotic communities associated ...with the most abundant coccolithophore and bloom‐forming species, Emiliania huxleyi, are still poorly known. In this study, we assessed the diversity of bacterial communities associated with an E. huxleyi bloom in the Celtic Sea (Eastern North Atlantic), exposed axenic E. huxleyi cultures to prokaryotic communities derived from bloom and non‐bloom conditions, and followed the dynamics of their microbiome composition over one year. Bloom‐associated prokaryotic communities were dominated by SAR11, Marine group II Euryarchaeota and Rhodobacterales and contained substantial proportions of known indicators of phytoplankton bloom demises such as Flavobacteriaceae and Pseudoalteromonadaceae. The taxonomic richness of bacteria derived from natural communities associated with axenic E. huxleyi rapidly shifted and then stabilized over time. The succession of microorganisms recruited from the environment was consistently dependent on the composition of the initial bacterioplankton community. Phycosphere‐associated communities derived from the E. huxleyi bloom were highly similar to one another, suggesting deterministic processes, whereas cultures from non‐bloom conditions show an effect of stochasticity. Overall, this work sheds new light on the importance of the initial inoculum composition in microbiome recruitment and elucidates the temporal dynamics of its composition and long‐term stability.
Many cattle breeding programs were initiated in Africa to increase the productivity of indigenous cattle breeds. Most of these programs have failed, partly due to the lack of involvement of breeders. ...The present case study contributes to the understanding of such failures. The N’Dama cattle breeding program in Senegal was taken as a case study for an in-depth analysis of participation using mixed methods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 52 breeders: 26 who participated, 15 of whom recently resigned, and 27 who had never participated. Content and statistical analyses were conducted to evaluate the motivations of breeders and the factors influencing their participation in the breeding program. Results more particularly highlight the complexity of social issues within a breeding project, in face of classical determinants of adoption that are distance or production systems features. It pinpoints crucial levers of improvement, i.e., the management of animal property rights between the nucleus management and the participating breeders, the legitimacy of participants’ representatives in cooperatives, and the strategic mobilization of member social networks. Also, adding on previous works of the authors, this study highlights the need to take better account of the dynamics of production systems, then paying sufficient attention to the objectives, preferences, and ongoing strategies of the breeders for the future. The present study is the first to highlight the added value of mixed methods to analyze innovation adoption and participation in a livestock breeding program, taking both into account the overall innovation drivers and dynamics tied to actors’ strategies.
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