13 research outputs found
ReView Bamboozled: Archival Affects
No full textThe first time the author watched Spike Lee’s Bamboozled (2000), the film literally moved her body 3000 miles. In this video reView, Bamboozled moves the author again, this time to the very space that gives the film its continued, urgent relevance: the archive. In moving and being moved, the author surprisingly discovers a little-known archival collection in Buffalo, NY that directly relates to Lee’s film and its usage of black memorabilia. ReVIEW BAMBOOZLED: ARCHIVAL AFFECTS chronicles the author’s journey into this archive and her remarkable discussion with the archivist and her research assistant about the stakes of that collection, Spike Lee’s film, and the affects of both. It also reViews archival practice, showing the tensions of working with what the archivist acknowledges to be, in some ways, “the uncollectible.
In Vitro Anthelmintic Activity of Ethanol Stem Bark Extract of Albizia ferruginea (Guill. & Perr.) Benth
No full textAlbizia ferruginea (Guill. & Perr.) Benth bark is used in the traditional medicine as a vermifuge. This study sought to determine the anthelmintic activity of the stem bark extract of Albizia ferruginea. The powdered A. ferruginea stem bark was extracted with ethanol. Phytochemical screening was carried out on A. ferruginea ethanol extract (AFE) and then screened for its anthelmintic property against Pheretima posthuma and Haemonchus contortus using the adult motility assay. The effect of AFE and its fractions on the anthelminthic activity of mebendazole and albendazole were also determined using the adult worm (P. posthuma) motility assay. AFE showed a dose-dependent anthelmintic activity against P. posthuma and H. contortus. The least concentration of AFE (0.5 mg/mL) paralyzed and killed P. posthuma within 272.50±12.42 min and 354.50±5.06 min of exposure, respectively. AFE at the least test concentration (0.14 mg/mL) caused paralysis and induced death of H. contortus, after at 63.50±2.98 and 254.96±2.44 min of exposure, respectively. AFE extract at 0.25 and 0.125 mg/mL increased the paralytic and helminthicidal activities of albendazole. The paralytic and helminthicidal activities of mebendazole were reduced when combined with AFE (0.25 and 0.125 mg/mL). Among the three fractions obtained from AFE, the methanol fraction showed the highest anthelmintic activity. The methanol fraction at 0.5 mg/mL caused paralysis after 69.90±0.15 min and death of worm after 92.53±0.74 min of exposure. The petroleum ether and ethyl acetate fractions showed relatively low anthelmintic activity. Phytochemical screening of AFE revealed the presence of tannins, saponins, glycosides, alkaloids, and coumarins. The results from this study show that A. ferruginea possesses anthelmintic activity which gives credence to its folkloric use
Plant seedlings of peas, tomatoes, and cucumbers exude compounds that are needed for growth and chemoattraction of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae 3841 and Azospirillum brasilense Sp7
No full textAbstract: This study characterizes seedling exudates of peas, tomatoes and cucumbers at the level of chemical composition and functionality. A plant experiment confirmed that Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae 3841 enhanced growth of pea shoots, while Azospirillum brasilense Sp7 supported growth of pea, tomato, and cucumber roots. Chemical analysis of exudates after one day of seedling incubation in water yielded differences between the exudates of the three plants. Most remarkably, cucumber seedling exudate did not contain detectable sugars. All exudates contained amino acids, nucleobases/nucleosides, and organic acids, among other compounds. Cucumber seedling exudate contained reduced glutathione. Migration on semi solid agar plates containing individual exudate compounds as putative chemoattractants revealed that R. leguminosarum bv. viciae was more selective than A. brasilense, which migrated towards any of the compounds tested. Migration on semi solid agar plates containing 1:1 dilutions of seedling exudate was observed for each of the combinations of bacteria and exudates tested. Likewise, R. leguminosarum bv. viciae and A. brasilense grew on each of the three seedling exudates, though at varying growth rates. We conclude that the seedling exudates of peas, tomatoes, and cucumbers contain everything that is needed for their symbiotic bacteria to migrate and grow on.
Keywords: Plant growth beneficial rhizobacteria; Rhizobium leguminosarum; Azospirillum brasilense; seedling exudate; chemotaxisThe presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the pdf file of the accepted manuscript may differ slightly from what is displayed on the item page. The information in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript reflects the original submission by the author
In vitro antiplasmodial activity of six plants against chloroquine-sensitive and resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum
No full textIntroduction: The effectiveness of the first-line malaria treatment has been affected by drug resistance and adverse side effects leading to a limited number of treatment options. This calls for the search for alternative antimalarial agents. The study evaluated the in vitro antimalarial activity of six plants frequently used in herbal antimalarial products in Ghana against chloroquine-sensitive strain (3D7) and chloroquine-resistant strain (DD2) of Plasmodium falciparum. Method: Aqueous extracts were prepared from the plants by decoction and freeze-dried. A fluorescence-based SYBR Green assay was used to evaluate the antimalarial activity of the extracts against Plasmodium falciparum strains 3D7 and DD2. Also, the cytotoxic e?ects (CC50) of the plant extracts against red blood cells were evaluated using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) rapid calorimetric assay technique. Results: Alstonia boonei, Cryptolepis sanguinolenta, and Azadirachta indica were the most effective mono-herbal extracts with IC50 of 8.64 ?g/mL, 6.12 ?g/mL, and 5.22 ?g/mL respectively against 3D7 lab strain and 8.47 ?g/mL, 5.12 ?g/mL and 5.22?g/mL respectively against DD2 lab strain. The aqueous extracts of Paullinia pinnata, Citrus aurantiifolia, and Tetrapleura tetraptera exhibited moderate activity against both lab strains with IC50 values of 24.72 ?g/mL, 34.89 ?g/mL and 14.94 ?g/mL respectively against 3D7 strain and 14.84 ?g/mL, 31.01 ?g/mL and14.74 ?g/mL respectively against DD2 strain. All plant extracts exhibited no cytotoxicity against RBC (?100 ?g/mL, except Cryptolepis sanguinolenta with CC50 92.7 ?g/mL). Moreover, except Paullinia pinnata, Citrus aurantiifolia and Tetrapleura tetraptera (with low selectivity index: SI < 10), all the plants displayed a good selectivity index (SI>10). Conclusion: All six frequently used antimalarial plants in monotherapy possess significant antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum (3D7) and (DD2) strains. The data obtained from this study support the folkloric and frequent use of these plants in several herbal antimalarial products on the Ghanaian market
Writing the land : representations of 'the land' and nationalism in Anglophone literature from South Africa and Zimbabwe 1969-2002
No full textAs a material possessIOn and as an imagined space of belonging. land was the
principle draw for European settlers in southern Africa from the 17th century onwards.
The legacy of racial dispossession and conflict that ensued still resonates in the 21 st
century, as post-colonial nation-states face up to the daunting task of redistributing
land between newly enfranchised peasants, commercial farmers and displaced
communities. Representations of 'the land' in literature signal not only geographical
entities but also a variety of social and cultural landscapes. In literature written in
English from southern Africa the semantic terrain of 'the land' is thus constituted by a
diverse range of experiences, encounters and ideologies, testifying to the manifold
contradictions that settler colonialism produced.
The primary concern of this thesis is to examine how writers from Zimbabwe
and South Africa have engaged with these experiences and articulated them as
historical 'structures of feeling' (Williams 1978) in their work. In particular, it
explores the relationship between representations of 'the land' and the articulation of
nationhood and nationalism in selected novels. It argues that certain structures of
feeling rival official nationalist discourses in varied and subversive ways. As a
comparative project, it focuses on literature produced at important historical moments
both before and after the transition to majority rule in South Africa (1994) and
Zimbabwe (1980). A transition between two major structures of feeling is identified
within this comparative horizon. This thesis explores how representations of 'the
land' both propagate and question an ideology of (revolutionary) repossession in the
1970s, but also of (reconciliatory) reform in the 1990s
Identity and dislocation in Caribbean women's literature: a study of the writings of Velma Pollard
No full textJamaican-born Velma Pollard has been publishing poetry and short stories for nearly
thirty years. Her first poems appeared in the 1970s, her first volume of short stories in
1989, and her first novel in 1994. Despite this considerable literary output, in the evergrowing
critical literature on Caribbean women's writing Pollard's work has not attracted
any of the scholarly treatment accorded to other writers. Given this lack of critical
attention to Pollard's considerable body of work, this thesis aims to provide the first
detailed and contextualised study of her writings (excluding the majority of her poetry
and of her writings on linguistics), and to accord Pollard the recognition her work
deserves.
Chapter 1 of this thesis situates Pollard's writings in the context of Caribbean
(women's) literature, and writings on identity, dislocations and (Caribbean) migration. I
argue that Pollard's principal contribution to Caribbean literature is found in her
engagement with two main subjects, return migration and relationships (male-female and
female-female), within a wider context of debates on identity and dislocation.
Chapter 2 introduces Pollard's work by way of a general discussion of her novella
Karl, which won the Casa de las Americas literary award in 1992. I consider Karl to be
central to Pollard's work, not least because it features many of the themes explored by
her later writings, including her novel, Homestretch, which is the subject of Chapter 3.
Pollard's first novel, Homestretch, which was published in 1994, explores the themes
of identity and dislocation through the experiences of 'return migrants' and 'repeat
migrants' and their comparison of life in England, the United States and Jamaica. The
novel chronicles how these migrants come to reconnect with and accept their cultural
heritage.
In chapters 4 and 5 I discuss selected stories taken from Pollard's two collections
of short stories, Considering Woman ('Cages', 'My Sisters', 'My Mother', and 'Gran') and
from Karl and Other Stories ('A Night's Tale', 'Miss Chandra', 'Betsy Hyde', and 'Altamont
Jones'). In these stories Pollard explores male-female relationships and the lives of
several generations and a wide range of Caribbean women and men. Pollard utilises the
West Indian setting, speech, situations and conflicts in these stories to graphically
describe familiar Caribbean role models and to provide a narrative and literary
examination of the frustrations and conflicting desires of women in the region.
In my conclusion, I address the ethnographic quality and significance of her work,
and its contribution to an understanding of the Caribbean
Suns of the Mbira: A Critical Exploration of the Multiple Figurations of Femininity in Selected Fiction by Tsitsi Dangarembga and Yvonne Vera
No full textMy thesis is that multiple figurations of femininity challenging traditional
Zimbabwean values are articulated in the representations of womanhood,
motherhood and sexuality in the writing of Tsitsi Dangarembga (1959-)
and Yvonne Vera (1964-2005). Critically, I draw centrally upon Rosi
Braidotti (1994) and Donna Haraway’s (1992; 2004) work on figurations
as feminist metaphors theorizing how women challenge and transform
socially constructed roles that confine females to subservient social
positions. In addition, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari’s (1987)
theorization of multiplicity is deployed as a useful conceptualization of
the erasure of the binary separating the collective and individual, asserting
instead, that subjectivities are pluralistic, connected identities in constant
creation.
Applying the critics’ ideas with due caution to the African context,
through a method of ‘carnivalizing,’ mixing and negotiating theory, my
thesis also makes use of selected forms of African feminist theory, to give
the necessary cultural context to Zimbabwean femininity. I critically
engage with scholarly work that theorizes African women’s
historiography and negotiations of power and knowledge. Combining
these diverse feminist and post-structuralist voices together with views
expressed in the writing, I aim to produce a nuanced reading of the
plurality of femininity so that a pattern of simultaneously complimentary
and contradictory relations with feminist paradigms of African
womanhood begins to emerge as key to interpreting the selected fiction.
My thesis develops in three chapters, beginning with an examination of
how rebellious women negotiate the domestic, private world culturally
assigned to females. I explore how Vera’s unconventional figurations of
motherhood undo the cultural and political mores placed on women by
essentialist patriarchal and racial ideologies. Further analyzing dissenting
femininities, I investigate subversive textual constructions of same-sex
relationships in Vera and Dangarembga’s fiction. My readings suggest
that some of the ideological contradictions between theory and text
provide fertile conditions in which to rethink radical femininities as
figurations within African feminism. I propose new, progressive strategies
for reading womanhood, and exploring the polyphonic and complex
nature of colonial and post-independence Zimbabwean femininity, as
expressed in the novels
Biological sample donation and informed consent for neurobiobanking: Evidence from a community survey in Ghana and Nigeria
No full textCopyright: \ua9 2022 Singh et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Introduction Genomic research and neurobiobanking are expanding globally. Empirical evidence on the level of awareness and willingness to donate/share biological samples towards the expansion of neurobiobanking in sub-Saharan Africa is lacking. Aims To ascertain the awareness, perspectives and predictors regarding biological sample donation, sharing and informed consent preferences among community members in Ghana and Nigeria. Methods A questionnaire cross-sectional survey was conducted among randomly selected community members from seven communities in Ghana and Nigeria. Results Of the 1015 respondents with mean age 39.3 years (SD 19.5), about a third had heard of blood donation (37.2%, M: 42.4%, F: 32.0%, p = 0.001) and a quarter were aware of blood sample storage for research (24.5%; M: 29.7%, F: 19.4%, p = 0.151). Two out of ten were willing to donate brain after death (18.8%, M: 22.6%, F: 15.0%, p<0.001). Main reasons for unwillingness to donate brain were; to go back to God complete (46.6%) and lack of knowledge related to brain donation (32.7%). Only a third of the participants were aware of informed consent (31.7%; M: 35.9%, F: 27.5%, p<0.001). Predictors of positive attitude towards biobanking and informed consent were being married, tertiary level education, student status, and belonging to select ethnic groups. Conclusion There is a greater need for research attention in the area of brain banking and informed consent. Improved context-sensitive public education on neurobiobanking and informed consent, in line with the sociocultural diversities, is recommended within the African sub region
Unraveling the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Neurobiobanking and Stroke Genomic Research in Africa: A Study Protocol of the African Neurobiobank for Precision Stroke Medicine ELSI Project
No full text\ua9 The Author(s) 2020.The ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of emerging neurobiobanks and data resources are unclear in an African scientific landscape with unique cultural, linguistic, and belief systems. The overarching goal of the African Neurobiobank for Precision Stroke Medicine–—ELSI Project is to identify, examine, and develop novel approaches to address ELSI issues of biobanking and stroke genomic research in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). To accomplish the goal we will (1) explore knowledge, attitude, perceptions, barriers, and facilitators influencing ELSI issues related to biobanking and stroke genomic research; (2) use information obtained to craft a community intervention program focused on ELSI issues; and (3) build capacity and careers related to genomics and biobanking for effective client/community engagement while enhancing regulatory, governance, and implementation competences in biobanking science in SSA. A community-based participatory research and mixed-methodological approach, focused on various levels of the social ecological model, will be used to identify and examine relevant ELSI issues. Contextual intervention tools, platforms, and practices will be developed to enhance community understanding and participation in stroke biobanking and genomics research activities while facilitating enduring trust, and equitable and fair utilization of biobanking resources for genetic and trans-omics research. A concurrent capacity building program related to genetic counseling and biobanking will be implemented for early career researchers. The huge potential for neurobiobanking and genomics research in Africa to advance precision medicine applicable to stroke and other neurological disorders requires addressing ELSI challenges while building sustainable research, career, and regulatory capacities in trans-omics and biobanking science
An exploration of the outsider's role in selected works by Joseph Conrad, Malcolm Lowry, V.S. Naipaul.
No full textPhDThis thesis explores ways in which the outsider questions rather than confirms
dominant cultural values whilst avoiding the crudity of overt politicisation. I argue
that the outsider's preference for an observer's stance is not so much an act which
denies responsibility to the world of his day, but rather a means of reassessing its
priorities.
In Section One, I discuss Conrad's role as an outsider in the age of Empires. I
demonstrate the ways in which Conrad employs narrators, frequently using strategies
of irony which can be and have been read in very different ways. I argue that Conrad
uses irony as a tool for condemnation rather than condonement of imperialist practice,
if not its ideology.
In Section Two, I discuss Lowry as an emigre from England (so contrasting
him with Conrad, the immigrant from Europe), and examine his dissenting voice
which opposes bourgeois prejudice against the working class, a totalising ideology
like Fascism, and a Western rationalism which sees too rigid a distinction between
sanity and madness. I demonstrate how Lowry as an outsider reacts to the age of
twentieth century World Wars.
In Section Three, I discuss Naipaul's role as an outsider in the age of
decolonisation, when bogus liberals and false redeemers fail to rebuild the newly
independent post-colonial states. As in Conrad's case, I show how a failure to read
Naipaul's ironic tone of voice has given rise to radically divergent views as to what he
is about. I also link Conrad and Naipaul through their cultural negotiation between the
'centre' and its peripheries.
By looking at these three writers in chronological order and offering a
comparative perspective on their work, I highlight the outsider's disturbing, yet
illuminating role within a historical context. I also draw attention to creative tensions
between artistic concerns and a serious political purpose. I assess the outsider as
observer and man of conscience rather than as a` mere onlooker. I conclude that the
outsider also fulfils a social obligation by promoting critical awareness on the reader's
side by means of his defamiliarising perspective
