Biomass burning has links with a number of global concerns including soil health, food security and climate change. In central Côte d'Ivoire (West Africa), we conducted a field study to compare nutrient losses, soil fertility and yam yield in slash-and-burn versus slash-and-mulch agriculture. Trials involved five sites established in the dominant Chromolaena odorata fallows of the region, each consisting of paired plots: slash and burnt biomass (SB) versus slashed and unburnt biomass, but left to serve as mulch (SM). Carbon and five elemental nutrients were assessed in the aboveground biomass prior to burning and in ash after fires; losses were assessed by subtraction. The greatest proportions of loss occurred with C (95%), N (95%) and K (74%), corresponding to losses into the atmosphere of 3532 ± 408, 200 ± 36, 132 ± 36 kg ha−1. Six weeks after the fire, soil properties were assessed: soil organic C, total N and Mg2+ were higher in SM than in SB sites. At final harvest, yam tuber yield was twice as large in SM as in SB (18 ± 4 vs. 9 ± 2 Mg ha−1) with soil C, total N and K+ as the main influential soil parameters. The key finding was that the elements lost in greatest proportion during burning were those mostly influencing yam yields. Because a clear negative relationship between biomass burning and yam production has been established the promotion of the more productive, alternate slash-and-mulch system compared to slash-and-burn system, is warranted. The findings of our research can be used in support of developing a sustainable yam production system in the region and in West Africa more generally.

The global spread of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) may be due to HIV/AIDS and other environmental factors. The symptoms of NTM and tuberculosis (TB) disease are indistinguishable, but their treatments are different. Lack of research on the epidemiology of NTM infections has led to underestimation of its prevalence within TB endemic countries. This study was designed to determine the prevalence and clinical characteristics of pulmonary NTM in Bamako. A cross-sectional study which include 439 suspected cases of pulmonary TB. From 2006 to 2013 a total of 332 (76%) were confirmed to have sputum culture positive for mycobacteria. The prevalence of NTM infection was 9.3% of our study population and 12.3% of culture positive patients. The seroprevalence of HIV in NTM group was 17.1%. Patients who weighed <55 kg and had TB symptoms other than cough were also significantly more likely to have disease due to NTM as compared to those with TB disease who were significantly more likely to have cough and weigh more than 55 kg (OR 0.05 (CI 0.02–0.13) and OR 0.32 (CI 0.11–0.93) respectively). NTM disease burden in Bamako was substantial and diagnostic algorithms for pulmonary disease in TB endemic countries should consider the impact of NTM.

The effects of an imposed, axial magnetic field $B_{z0}$ on hydrodynamics and energetic electrons in inertial confinement fusion indirect-drive hohlraums are studied. We present simulations from the radiation-hydrodynamics code HYDRA of a low-adiabat ignition design for the National Ignition Facility, with and without $B_{z0}=70~\text{T}$ . The field’s main hydrodynamic effect is to significantly reduce electron thermal conduction perpendicular to the field. This results in hotter and less dense plasma on the equator between the capsule and hohlraum wall. The inner laser beams experience less inverse bremsstrahlung absorption before reaching the wall. The X-ray drive is thus stronger from the equator with the imposed field. We study superthermal, or ‘hot’, electron dynamics with the particle-in-cell code ZUMA, using plasma conditions from HYDRA. During the early-time laser picket, hot electrons based on two-plasmon decay in the laser entrance hole (Regan et al., Phys. Plasmas, vol. 17(2), 2010, 020703) are guided to the capsule by a 70 T field. Twelve times more energy deposits in the deuterium–tritium fuel. For plasma conditions early in peak laser power, we present mono-energetic test-case studies with ZUMA  as well as sources based on inner-beam stimulated Raman scattering. The effect of the field on deuterium–tritium deposition depends strongly on the source location, namely whether hot electrons are generated on field lines that connect to the capsule.

The study presented in this paper is a first step of an EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility) analysis of the behaviour of a railway power substation at high frequency. Before on site intensive experimentation, the approach is performed with a reduced scale model. The mock-up of the substation is powered by a 220 V three-phase voltage supplied by a 15 kV A power transformer, a rectifier and loads. The study consists in designing an equivalent electrical circuit of power transformer in high frequency, available over a large panel of loads. The model of power transformer was deduced from measurements in frequency domain within the range 40 Hz to 30 MHz.

Exposure to highly focussed flash light (photonic flash sintering) has been developed as a technology to successfully cure printed metal inks on temperature sensitive plastic substrates. In contrast to the traditional approach of thermal oven sintering, conductivities up to 30 % of the value of bulk silver can be achieved within a few seconds without foil deformation. The compatibility of this technology with R2R production has been demonstrated with line speeds up to 5 m/min. As a consequence, our approach is expected to enable the high throughput fabrication of current collecting grids for organic solar cells in order to replace transparent electrodes based on metal oxides such as ITO. Additionally, our new sintering technology has enabled us to process a new generation of conductive inks, based on copper complexes, which cannot be processed by oven sintering.

Intermediate hosts of Schistosoma haematobium, the causative agent of urinary schistosomiasis, in Lake Malaŵi include: Bulinus globosus, a member of the B. africanus group and B. nyassanus, a diploid member of the B. truncatus/tropicus species complex. We compared genetic variability between isolates of S. haematobium from the southern part of the lake (Cape Maclear), where both B. globosus and B. nyassanus play a role as intermediate hosts, and isolates from the northern part, where only B. globosus is host. Data show that the S. haematobium isolates from these two areas of Lake Malaŵi cannot be distinguished using nuclear or mitochondrial sequences and are capable of cross-infections.

Trypanosomosis is a major cause of mortality for dogs in Nigeria and treatment with diminazene aceturate has steadily become less effective, either as a result of low quality of the locally available diminazene preparations or of drug resistance. To investigate these alternatives, samples of locally obtained drugs were analysed for diminazene aceturate content and a strain of Trypanosoma brucei brucei was isolated from a diminazene-refractory dog in Nsukka, south-eastern Nigeria, and used to infect albino rats. The quality of diminazene aceturate-based preparations was variable, with two preparations containing less than 95% of the stated active compound. Rats infected with T. brucei isolated from the dog were treated 7 and 10 days after infection either with 7 mg/kg diminazene aceturate (intraperitoneally, once) or with 4 mg/kg pentamidine isethionate (intramuscularly, 7 consecutive days). Relapse rates were 100% for both trypanocides in the groups of rat treated 10 days post-infection, and 83% and 50% of rats treated 7 days after infection relapsed to diminazene aceturate and pentamidine isethionate, respectively. Careful consideration of physiological parameters showed that pentamidine was only marginally superior to diminazene aceturate as applied in this study. It was concluded that dogs in Nigeria are infected with genuinely diminazene aceturate-resistant trypanosomes that appear to be cross-resistant to pentamidine isethionate.

THE political agenda in Cameroon has become increasingly dominated by what is known as the ‘anglophone problem’, which poses a major challenge to the efforts of the post-colonial state to forge national unity and integration, and has led to the reintroduction of forceful arguments and actions in favour of ‘federalism’ or even ‘secession’.