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Proto-Bantu Reflexes in Dhaisu
No full textThis paper is a study of Proto-Bantu reflexes in Dhaisu, a highly endangered language also known as Dhaiso, Segeju, Daisu and Kidhaisu (dhs, E56). Dhaisu is spoken in the East Usambara Mountains in northeastern Tanzania, but its closest relative is Kamba (E55). Seven vowels are reported in this study as has been in other studies /i, ɪ, ɛ, a, ɔ, ʊ, u/. However, no contrast can be established between ɪ and ɛ, or between u and ʊ. The data show that Dhaisu vowel system is changing to a 5-vowel system *i̧, *i, *e, *a, *o, *u, *u̧ > /i, ɛ, a, ɔ, u/. The most remarkable feature of this change is that unlike other Bantu languages, which merge the mid-high to high vowels, Dhaisu is merging the mid-high vowels to mid-low. The innovation is demonstrated in (a) numerous lexical items in which Proto-Bantu *i has become ɛ, and PB *u has become ɔ; (b) several nominal prefixes that are constructed in PB having mid-high vowels now have mid-low vowels, and (c) the applicative suffix whose PB form was *id is now -ɛr in Dhaisu. The fact that the change does not seem to have affected all nominal prefixes with mid-high vowels, and has affected not all verbal derivation with mid-high vowel suggests an ongoing transition. Reflexes of consonants are presented to show that they are not a result of spirantization
The role of organic fertilization and arbuscular mycorhizal fungi inoculation on sweet corn growth on rasau series soil | IJAAR
No full textThe objective of this research was to determine the effect of organic and bio fertilization on the growth performance of corn planted on Rasau series soil. A factorial experiment of 5 x 2 Randomised Complete Block Design replicated 4 times was conducted at the glasshouse of Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. The factors include organic manure at 5 levels OM1 (control), OM2 (chicken manure), OM3 (cattle manure), OM4 (horse manure) and OM5 (biochar), and arbuscular mycorrhizal Fungi at 2 levels M1 (with) and M2 (without), the variables measured were plant height, stem girth, leaf height, leaf number, leaf length, leaf width and leaf area at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks after planting (WAP). The data collected were analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with Statistical Analysis System (SAS) and means separated using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test at p<0.05. The growth performance of the test crop (sweet corn) in this experiment was significant in the measured parameters with chicken manure (OM2) under mycorrhizal inoculation (M1). The result of this study showed chicken manure when inoculated with AMF can boost sweet corn production on Rasau series soi
Atypical antipsychotic Lumateperone Beyond Schizophrenia: Seeking clarity in a time of Uncertainty
No full textLumateperone (ITI-007) is a serotonin 5HT2A tosylate salt with high affinity for dopamine D2 and D1 receptors and the serotonin transporter. It is unusual in that it controls serotonin, dopamine, and glutamate neurotransmission concurrently, all of which have been implicated in severe mental illness. Consider it a multi-targeted ligand and multifunctional modulator of the serotoninergic system with possible precognitive, antipsychotic, antidepressant, and anxiolytic properties. While lumateperone has been explored as a new agent for schizophrenia therapy, it also provides a unique therapeutic option for a range of other psychiatric and neurological diseases, including behavioural signs of dementia or Alzheimer's disease, sleep problems, and bipolar depression. Additionally, it had a better safety profile than placebo, with no significant extrapyramidal side effects, hyperprolactinemia, or changes in cardiometabolic or endocrine characteristics. Additional study is needed to validate and analyse lumateperone's effectiveness, as well as to identify prospective therapeutic targets. This article gives a comprehensive overview of the most notable results and potential future applications of this chemical in personalised medicine, particularly for neurodegenerative diseases
Arab-Muslims Contributions to Modern Neuroscience: What’s Giving Us Hope?
No full textThe Arab world encompasses a broader geographical area, covering a wide variety of countries in Asia and Africa. Arab culture is due to much of its development in all the fields of intellectual practice, including in medicine, particularly during the Golden Age of the Arabic Islamic sciences (8th – 13th centuries C.E.). The glorious history of the Arab world allows us to consider the debt of mankind to the golden age of Arab science and assess the contribution of Arab countries to our day's biomedical and neuroscience research
Time-Series Satellite Imagery Demonstrates the Progressive Failure of a City Master Plan to Control Urbanization in Abuja, Nigeria
Get PDFUrbanization is a global phenomenon, but its negative effects are most pronounced in developing countries. While much urbanization in the global South is unplanned, there have been occasional attempts at strategic, large-scale urban planning. One example is Abuja, Nigeria, a new city with origins in a 1970s Master Plan. Here, we use multi-temporal remote sensing to investigate four decades of urbanization in Abuja, showing the extent to which urban development has matched original intentions. Seven Landsat images from 1975 to 2014 were selected to correspond with Master Plan milestones and turning points in Nigeria’s socio-political development. Land cover classification and change detection results show built-up land increasing rapidly, from 1,167 ha in 1975 to 18,623 ha in 2014, mostly converted from grassland, often via a pioneer bare soil class. Comparing image analysis against the Master Plan shows that, in the early years, Abuja’s development matched broad planning intentions fairly closely.
Later, though, unplanned development proliferated, and the city’s resemblance to the Master Plan diminished progressively. Level of adherence to the Master Plan varied widely according to the system of government. Notably, after long-term military rule was replaced by a democratic government around the turn of the millennium, unplanned development increased sharply
Socio-economic impact of HIV/AIDS and compounding effect of COVID-19 pandemic in sub-Sahara Africa
Get PDFTogether with the recent emergence of COVID-19, which is not only directly contributing to high morbidity and mortality but is also destabilizing critical health systems and undermining HIV and other global health initiatives, the spread of HIV/AIDS has adversely impacted all advancements in education, health, standards of living, and life expectancy that Africa has made since the 1950s. However, all nations and regions must work together to find solutions to these global issues, especially sub-Saharan Africa, which has the lowest vaccination rates worldwide and the highest rates of HIV/AIDS infection despite having promising economic possibilities. The goals of this review were to emphasize the effects of HIV and AIDS on socio-economic development in sub-Saharan Africa and to highlight how the COVID-19 pandemic affects this relationship
Robust Extreme Quantile Estimation for Pareto-Type tails through an Exponential Regression Model
No full textThe estimation of extreme quantiles is one of the main objectives of statistics of extremes ( which deals with the estimation of rare events). In this paper, a robust estimator of extreme quantile of a heavy-tailed distribution is considered. The estimator is obtained through the minimum density power divergence criterion on an exponential regression model. The proposed estimator was compared with two estimators of extreme quantiles in the literature in a simulation study. The results show that the proposed estimator is stable to the choice of the number of top order statistics and show lesser bias and mean square error compared to the existing extreme quantile estimators. Practical application of the proposed estimator is illustrated with data from the pedochemical and insurance industries
High-stake conditions to catalyse local sustainable development through Fablabs in Africa
No full textThe chapter argues that a technology cannot be fully appropriated if it is not decolonized. Looking into the maker movement, the author specifically explores the creation of Fablabs and their development in Africa to define the conditions of innovation and technology appropriation. So-called techno-coloniality can manifest itself through the coloniality of knowledge, technology transfer, techno-utopian discourse and neo-capitalist practices. It is required that digital technologies contribute to sustainable local development through the pursuit of cognitive justice, inclusion, empowerment, decoloniality, collaboration with the informal sector and commons-based governance. The chapter attempts to define appropriate technologies from a decolonial perspective as not part of the logic of techno-coloniality, but with clear local societal purpose and contributions
Agreement On Proto-Bantu Relative Verb Forms
No full textThis chapter argues that Meeussen’s (1967) reconstruction of a Direct and an Indirect relative clause construction in Proto-Bantu (PB) is untenable, because there exists no scenario of morphosyntactic change that can lead from that reconstructed state of affairs to the relative clause constructions attested in contemporary Bantu. Although typologically unusual and widely attested across Bantu, relative verb forms that agree with the relativised noun phrase are not reflexes of a proto-construction with the same properties, but are the result of recent, parallel evolutions driven by a mechanism called the Bantu Relative Agreement (BRA) cycle. The only logically possible starting point from which the currently attested typological variation in Bantu relative clause constructions could have evolved is one in which relative verbs agreed with their subject. This conclusion has consequences for the reconstruction of the PB verbal template, which must have lacked a Pre-initial position
Students’ experiences in relation to the use of online learning and collaborative technologies during COVID-19 outbreak in South African Universities
No full textStudent’s experiences on the use of online collaborative technology continues to attract attention of researchers in education and social sciences. Of particular interest is the reliance on technological and digital platforms, using web-based strategies during the outbreak of COVID-19 in institutions of learning. This study used an unlinked, anonymous survey to explicate experiences of students on the use of online technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. Consenting participants constituted a study population that was made up of first year accounting students in a public university in South Africa, drawing a sample of 190 from a population of 371. Using a theory of connectivism, the study found that students were eager and confident that collaborative technology could lead them to pass their examinations even if face-to-face intervention was missing. Collaborative technology consisting of tools such as WhatsApp, Blackboard and Zoom made it easy for them to relate with instructors and faculty who were making efforts to deliver content in a simplified manner. The study further concluded that efforts have to be made to study the benefits of collaborative technology both to learners and faculty at institutions of higher learning