Brucellosis in Cameroon: Seroprevalence and risk factors in beef-type cattle

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Understanding India - South Africa tourism: The Impact of Food Tourism on the Socio-Cultural and Economic Fabrics in Durban.

India-Africa relations is distinct and owes its origins to a common past that the countries share. In this paper the researchers attempt to trace India’s engagement in South Africa and its socio-cultural and economic impact in the coastal city of Durban. In order to gain an insight on the socio-economic activities and the cultural dynamics, a qualitative research design was used. Twenty key informant interviews were conducted. The results show that eating food is not just what we enjoy but it is additionally a medium of cultural exchange and experience. For Africans from other African countries based in Durban, the presence and availability of Indian food, fulfils a cultural and emotional gap by creating a space to their ‘remembered places’. The paper concludes that Indo-Africa engagement has accelerated growth on investment and culinary tourism. The paper recommends the development of culinary itineraries and the expansion of socio-economic and cultural programmes in South Africa

Nexus between Oil Revenue, Non-oil Export and Industrial Output in Nigeria: An Application of the VAR Model

The study had set forth to explore the intertwining relationship that exist between oil revenue shock, non-oil export and industrial output in Nigeria. In achieving this objective the study utilized data spanning the period 1970-2010. This period captured the major era of regime shift (changes in governance) and policy administration in Nigeria. Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model and cointegration technique were used to examine the long run relationship, while the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) was used to analyze the short-run behavior of the variables. The Johansen cointegration analysis suggests that a long run behavior exist between oil revenue shock, non-oil export, policy/regime shift and industrial output in Nigeria. The short-run result showed that the speed at which industrial output will converge towards long-run equilibrium after experiencing shock from oil revenue is very slow. It therefore would take a very slow process for industrial output to recover from shock arising from variation in oil revenue. The long run result shows that oil revenue shock and policy/regime shift had negative impact on industrial output and non-oil export. The impulse response function and variance decomposition analysis suggest that the major drivers of industrial development in Nigeria are non-oil export, regime shift and oil revenue. Thus innovations from these variables impact severely on industrial growth in Nigeria. The study therefore suggest among other things that the panacea to industrial growth in Nigeria rest on diversifying the economy away from crude oil export and ensuring a stable government in Nigeria that will endure long enough to sustain industrial and other economic policies

REFUGEE INFLUX: A SOCIOLOGICAL INSIGHT AND EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF ITS CONCOMITANT EFFECT ON FOOD SECURITY IN ETUNG CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

The study examines the impact of Cameroun refugee influx and its impact on food security in Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. The study adopted the survey research method in eliciting information from 400 samples from two political wards in Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria, using the purposive and random sampling technique. a self-administered structured questionnaire was the instrument of Data collection. Data gathered from the field was meticulously collated, coded and analyzed using simple percentages, frequency distribution, figures and simple lineal regression at 0.05 confidence level. Result revealed that there is a significant relationship between refugee influx and Food Security in Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. The study recommends That the Cross-River state synergizes with the relevant agencies of the Federal Government as well as other international Agencies to stimulate production in Etung through agricultural programs such as farmers smallholders schemes, cassava, banana, yam, plantain plantations schemes, animal husbandry, cottage industries etc. to promote aggressive food revolution within affected areas to avert serious food crisis amongst others.  Article visualizations

Designing and implementing interventions to change clinicians' practice in the management of uncomplicated malaria: lessons from Cameroon.

BACKGROUND: Effective case management of uncomplicated malaria is a fundamental pillar of malaria control. Little is known about the various steps in designing interventions to accompany the roll out of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). This study documents the process of designing and implementing interventions to change clinicians' practice in the management of uncomplicated malaria. METHODS: A literature review combined with formative quantitative and qualitative research were carried out to determine patterns of malaria diagnosis and treatment and to understand how malaria and its treatment are enacted by clinicians. These findings were used, alongside a comprehensive review of previous interventions, to identify possible strategies for changing the behaviour of clinicians when diagnosing and treating uncomplicated malaria. These strategies were discussed with ministry of health representatives and other stakeholders. Two intervention packages - a basic and an enhanced training were outlined, together with logic model to show how each was hypothesized to increase testing for malaria, improve adherence to test results and increase appropriate use of ACT. The basic training targeted clinicians' knowledge of malaria diagnosis, rapid diagnostic testing and malaria treatment. The enhanced training included additional modules on adapting to change, professionalism and communicating effectively. Modules were delivered using small-group work, card games, drama and role play. Interventions were piloted, adapted and trainers were trained before final implementation. RESULTS: Ninety-six clinicians from 37 health facilities in Bamenda and Yaounde sites attended either 1-day basic or 3-day enhanced training. The trained clinicians then trained 632 of their peers at their health facilities. Evaluation of the training revealed that 68% of participants receiving the basic and 92% of those receiving the enhanced training strongly agreed that it is not appropriate to prescribe anti-malarials to a patient if they have a negative RDT result. CONCLUSION: Formative research was an important first step, and it was valuable to engage stakeholders early in the process. A logic model and literature reviews were useful to identify key elements and mechanisms for behaviour change intervention. An iterative process with feedback loops allowed appropriate development and implementation of the intervention. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01350752

India and its diaspora: making sense of Hindu identity in South Africa.

Indian immigrants to South Africa in the late nineteenth century differed in terms of their origins, motivations, belief systems, customs, and practices from the indigenous African population as well as from the ruling white settler elite. It is within this context that this paper interrogates some of the ways in which several generations of (Indian) Hindus constructed and continue to (re)construct their religious identities in South Africa. Data for this study were achieved by administering face-to-face questionnaires to 66 individuals in the Metropolitan Area of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The sample (selected through snowball sampling) comprised third to fifth generation Indians belonging to the four major language groups (Tamil, Telegu, Gujarati, and Hindi) residing in South Africa. Following the questionnaire responses, interviews were conducted with a selected number of respondents from the same sample. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS while analysis of qualitative data followed a thematic model

Antibacterial Potential of Trihydroxycyclohexa-2,4-Diene-1- Carboxylic Acid: Insight from DFT, Molecular Docking, and Molecular Dynamic Simulation

In this study, (z)-5-((3-(2,3-dihydroxyphenyl) acryloyl) oxy)- 1,3,4-trihydroxycyclohexa- 2,4-diene-1-carboxylic acid (chlorogenic acid) was isolated and characterized using UVVisible, 1H NMR and 13C NMR, FT-IR, along with detailed investigation using density functional theory (DFT), in-silico molecular docking, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Results from DFT calculation indicates that the titled compound is very stable with energy gap of 3.7–7.8 for variable functionals, and similarly, the structural parameters show very close agreement with X-ray data for bond lengths and angles. The FT-IR spectrum results revealed stretching vibration O–H (3366 cm−1), C=O (1689 cm−1), C–H (1636, 1606, 1522, and 1442 cm−1), C–O (1192 and 1122 cm−1). The drug-likeness analyses and ADME studies showed drug-likeness ability and good oral behavior of the investigated compound as it obeys Lipinski, Ghose, Veber and Egan rules. Hepatotoxic and immunotoxic activities were indicated for the toxicity/toxicological endpoints of the studied compound. The molecular docking indicates a binding affinity of −8.30 and 9.5 kcal/mol for the titled compound, which is higher than the standard drug. From the molecular dynamic simulation results, chlorogenic-2H14 (complex B) revealed variations in RMSD values of less than 3Å, indicating that the protein structure underwent minor conformational changes throughout the simulation. Chlorogenicprotein complexes had average RGyr values of 3.704 − 4.907Å, which indicates compaction during the simulation. Therefore, it can be said that the titled compound has potential to be effective as an agent for cholera management, and the results obtained can be platform further in-vitro, vivo and clinical trials

Anxiolytic and Antiepileptic Properties of the Aqueous Extract of Cissus quadrangularis (Vitaceae) in Mice Pilocarpine Model of Epilepsy

Cissus quadrangularis (C. quadrangularis) is a plant of the Vitaceae family known for its anticonvulsant effects in traditional medicine. The objective of this study was to elucidate the anxiolytic and antiepileptic effects of aqueous extract of C. quadrangularis. The mice were divided into different groups and treated for seven consecutive days as follows: a negative control group that received distilled water, po, four test groups that received four doses of the plant (37.22, 93.05, 186.11, and 372.21 mg/kg, po), and a positive control group that received sodium valproate (300 mg/kg, ip). One hour after the first treatment (first day), epilepsy was induced by intraperitoneal administration of a single dose of pilocarpine (360 mg/kg). On the seventh day, the anxiolytic effects of the extract were evaluated in the epileptic mice using the elevated plus maze (EPM) and open field (OP) paradigms. Antioxidant activities and the involvement of gabaergic neurotransmission were determined by measuring the levels of malondialdehyde, reduced glutathione (GSH), GABA, and GABA-transaminase (GABA-T) in the hippocampus of sacrificed epileptic mice. The results show that the extract of C. quadrangularis significantly and dose-dependently increased the latency to clonic and generalized tonic–clonic seizures and decreased the number and duration of seizures. In the EPM, the extract of C. quadrangularis significantly increased the number of entries and the time spent into the open arms and reduced the number of entries and the time spent into the closed arms as well as the number of rearing. The extract of C. quadrangularis also increased the number of crossing, and the time spent in the center of the OP. The level of MDA and the activity of GABA-T were significantly decreased by the extract of C. quadrangularis while reduced GSH and GABA levels were increased. The results suggest that the anticonvulsant activities of C. quadrangularis are accompanied by its anxiolytics effects. These effects may be supported by its antioxidant properties and mediated at least in part by the GABA neurotransmission

Peace and conflict resolution as a foundation for national development

It is a known fact that there cannot be meaningful development in the face of conflict. For this reason, local, national and international bodies have been set up to see to conflict resolution and to make room for national development. methods have been proposed and theories have been propounded to deal with the teething problem of conflict in order to create an atmosphere of national development. This paper stresses the necessity of peace and conflict resolution for national development. It affirms the different methods proposed by contributors to the issue of peace and conflict resolution, like those by Shedrack Gaya Best (2006) but insists that NUC proposal for the inclusion of peace and conflict studies be introduced into the school curricula from the primary to tertiary level