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AbstractThe aim of this study is to highlight the recent progress in mapping vector‐borne diseases in West Africa using modelling and field experiments. Based on climatic indicators, methods have been developed to map Rift Valley fever (RVF) and malaria risk. Modelling results corroborate that northern Senegal and southern Mauritania appear to be critical areas for RVF outbreaks and that the malaria epidemic fringe is located at the northern edge of the Sahel. Future projections highlight that the malaria risk decreases over northern Sahel. This is related to a southward shift of the potential epidemic belt in autumn. Copyright © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society

The general opinion and current scientific evidence highlight the link between red meat consumption and the development of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). We explored the determinants of the intention to consume red meat in relation to the risks of developing NCDs in Senegal with a special focus on popular “dibiterie” meat (braised meat) consumed in Dakar, Senegal. Building on the theory of planned behaviour as a theoretical framework, we used a structured questionnaire to collect data on the knowledge of consumers regarding the risk of NCDs from consuming meat. The survey involved 478 people randomly selected from households in the Dakar region. Data collected was analysed by performing the calculation of the dibiterie meat quantities consumed and frequencies of consumption, analyses of the principal components, binary logistic regression, and multiple hierarchical regression. Results show that dibiterie meat is mainly a dietary supplement for the population. The convenience, the social pressure, and quality indicators such as producer expertise and health perceived a link between meat consumption and NCDs; gender and age predicted the intention to consume dibiterie meat in the households of the Dakar region. This study provides a theoretical basis for the development of incentive-based interventions aiming to promote a balanced diet and healthy eating habits. Nutrition education and the use of social media have been raised as important in risky meat consumption behaviour change.

The health of the ocean, central to human well-being, has now reached a critical point. Most fish stocks are overexploited, climate change and increased dissolved carbon dioxide are changing ocean chemistry and disrupting species throughout food webs, and the fundamental capacity of the ocean to regulate the climate has been altered. However, key technical, organizational, and conceptual scientific barriers have prevented the identification of policy levers for sustainability and transformative action. Here, we recommend key strategies to address these challenges, including (1) stronger integration of sciences and (2) ocean-observing systems, (3) improved science-policy interfaces, (4) new partnerships supported by (5) a new ocean-climate finance system, and (6) improved ocean literacy and education to modify social norms and behaviors. Adopting these strategies could help establish ocean science as a key foundation of broader sustainability transformations.

AbstractUnderstanding the regional impact of future climate change is one of the major global challenges of this century. This study investigated possible effects of climate change on malaria in West Africa in the near future (2006–2035) and the far future (2036–2065) under two representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5), compared to an observed evaluation period (1981–2010). Projected rainfall and temperature were obtained from the coordinated regional downscaling experiment (CORDEX) simulations of the Rossby Centre Regional Atmospheric regional climate model (RCA4). The malaria model used is the Liverpool malaria model (LMM), a dynamical malaria model driven by daily time series of rainfall and temperature obtained from the CORDEX data. Our results highlight the unimodal shape of the malaria prevalence distribution, and the seasonal malaria transmission contrast is closely linked to the latitudinal variation of the rainfall. Projections showed that the mean annual malaria prevalence would decrease in both climatological periods under both RCPs but with a larger magnitude of decreasing under the RCP8.5. We found that the mean malaria prevalence for the reference period is greater than the projected prevalence for 6 of the 8 downscaled GCMs. The study enhances understanding of how malaria is impacted under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 emission scenarios. These results indicate that the southern area of West Africa is at most risk of epidemics, and the malaria control programs need extra effort and help to make the best use of available resources by stakeholders.

The overuse of agricultural chemicals such as fertilizer and pesticides aimed at increasing crop yield results in environmental damage, particularly in the Sahelian zone where soils are fragile. Crop inoculation with beneficial soil microbes appears as a good alternative for reducing agricultural chemical needs, especially for small farmers. This, however, requires selecting optimal combinations of crop varieties and beneficial microbes tested in field conditions. In this study, we investigated the response of rice plants to inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) under screenhouse and field conditions in two consecutive seasons in Senegal. Evaluation of single and mixed inoculations with AMF and PGPB was conducted on rice (Oryza sativa) variety Sahel 202, on sterile soil under screenhouse conditions. We observed that inoculated plants, especially plants treated with AMF, grew taller, matured earlier and had higher grain yield than the non-inoculated plants. Mixed inoculation trials with two AMF strains were then conducted under irrigated field conditions with four O. sativa varieties, two O. glaberrima varieties and two interspecific NERICA varieties, belonging to 3 ecotypes (upland, irrigated, and rainfed lowland). We observed that the upland varieties had the best responses to inoculation, especially with regards to grain yield, harvest index and spikelet fertility. These results show the potential of using AMF to improve rice production with less chemical fertilizers and present new opportunities for the genetic improvement in rice to transfer the ability of forming beneficial rice-microbe associations into high yielding varieties in order to increase further rice yield potentials.

<span lang="EN-US">A multi-point model predictive control (MPMPC) is widely used for many applications, including wind energy system (WES), notably enhanced power characteristics and oscillation regulation. In this work, MPMPC is adapted to condense the fatigue load of the WES and improve the lifetime of the turbine assembly. The lifetime examination is carried out by considering the three chief parameters: basic lifetime until failure, short-time damage equivalent loads (DELs), and lifetime DELs. The simulation study is performed for two cases: blade root bending moments and tower top bending. Further, fatigue load examination is demonstrated to analyze the effectiveness of the proposed controller. The observed results show that the lifetime analysis of the wind turbine system displayed more excellent characteristics, i.e., 49.50% greater than MPC. Also, the fatigue load mitigation showed greater magnitude due to the control action of the proposed controller, about 37.38% grander than MPC. Therefore, the attained outcomes exhibit outstanding performance compared with conventional controllers.</span>