Munhu: Unlocking the Roots, Indigenous Knowledge for Development

This paper is based on both written academic literature and Shona oral traditions. The paper looks at the conceptual framework, practice, and understanding of the muntu / munhu philosophy. The lateral translation of muntu / munhu is person. Conceptually the word goes deeper than this individualistic western worldview. Munhu is complex, multifaceted and generally understood at two levels; the lower and higher level. At lower level munhu means the physical body of a human being. At higher level munhu becomes the physical body and a lot of other extras. This paper argues that the concept of munhu (humanity) is the foundation of life and the only key to stability and progress / development among Africans. Destroying the human body or even showing disrespect to that body is a punishable offence. Thus whether munhu is understood at lower (physical) or higher (spiritual plus) level, munhu is sacred and has to be treated with respect for progress, wellbeing and development of the humankind. If respected, munhu will contribute towards both personal and communal development. In fact, in Africa the personal is communal

Improving Performance in the African Civil Service: Empirical Evidence from Zimbabwe.

Most African governments have attempted improving performance of their civil service through reforms. All ended up failing meeting the desired results because of a combination of internal and external factors. The Zimbabwean experience is a typical African reforms effort that failed because of both internal weaknesses and external pressures. This paper looks at the theoretical frameworks and the implementation of reform programmes in the Zimbabwean civil service. Key words: Improving performance, performance management, corruption, change

Gender Dynamics and Women In Conflict Situations And Post Conflict Recovery: Experiences From Africa.

The purpose of this paper is to construct a framework for understanding the gender dimensions of post-conflict reconstruction in order to strengthen assessments, project design, and policy-formulation; all with the aim of achieving the overarching goals of sustainable peace, participation and prosperity. The paper advocates for gender sensitive policies, activities and programmes that may promote gender equality, and enhance returns on post conflict recovery and reconstruction investments. It is predicated on the conviction that building and maintaining peace and prosperity requires attention to gender roles and relations in the post-conflict arena. We propose ways to undertake social, economic and political development within a particularised context (that is post-conflict): recognising gender-related challenges, suggesting ways that a ‘gender lense’ may sharpen understanding, and capitalising on opportunities presented by new rules, institutions and resources. Key words: Conflict, recovery, reconstruction, women, gender, sexual violence

Stability of Negative Image Equilibria in Spike-Timing Dependent Plasticity

We investigate the stability of negative image equilibria in mean synaptic weight dynamics governed by spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP). The neural architecture of the model is based on the electrosensory lateral line lobe (ELL) of mormyrid electric fish, which forms a negative image of the reafferent signal from the fish's own electric discharge to optimize detection of external electric fields. We derive a necessary and sufficient condition for stability, for arbitrary postsynaptic potential functions and arbitrary learning rules. We then apply the general result to several examples of biological interest.Comment: 13 pages, revtex4; uses packages: graphicx, subfigure; 9 figures, 16 subfigure

Frequency down conversion through Bose condensation of light

We propose an experimental set up allowing to convert an input light of wavelengths about $1-2 \mu m$ into an output light of a lower frequency. The basic principle of operating relies on the nonlinear optical properties exhibited by a microcavity filled with glass. The light inside this material behaves like a 2D interacting Bose gas susceptible to thermalise and create a quasi-condensate. Extension of this setup to a photonic bandgap material (fiber grating) allows the light to behave like a 3D Bose gas leading, after thermalisation, to the formation of a Bose condensate. Theoretical estimations show that a conversion of $1 \mu m$ into $1.5 \mu m$ is achieved with an input pulse of about $1 ns$ with a peak power of $10^3 W$, using a fiber grating containing an integrated cavity of size about $500 \mu m \times 100 \mu m^2$.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure

Cholesteryl ester transfer protein decreases high-density lipoprotein and severely aggravates atherosclerosis in APOE*3-Leiden mice

OBJECTIVE - The role of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) in the development of atherosclerosis is still undergoing debate. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of human CETP expression on atherosclerosis in APOE*3-Leiden (E3L) mice with a humanized lipoprotein profile. METHODS AND RESULTS - E3L mice were crossbred with human CETP transgenic mice. On a chow diet, CETP expression increased plasma total cholesterol (TC) (+43%; P<0.05). To evaluate the effects of CETP on the development of atherosclerosis, mice were fed a Western-type diet containing 0.25% cholesterol, leading to 4.3-fold elevated TC levels in both E3L and CETP.E3L mice (P<0.01). On both diets, CETP expression shifted the distribution of cholesterol from high-density lipoprotein (HDL) toward very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)/low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Moreover, plasma of CETP.E3L mice had reduced capacity (-3

Repeatability and reliability of heart rate variability in healthy, adult pony mares

Heart rate variability (HRV) is an important non-invasive method to quantify stress by measuring sympathetic and parasympathetic activity of the autonomic nervous system. Few studies exist on the repeatability and reliability of HRV in equids. The objectives of this study were to (a) compare the effect of different correction factors (CF) available in HRV analysis software on HRV indicator values and (b) to determine the repeatability and reliability of HRV indicators in an unrestricted (pasture) and a restricted movement (equine examination stocks) environment. Data were recorded on five consecutive days from six adult pony mares. Short term tachograms were compared with regards to software CF by graphical and statistical (Friedman’s and Wilcoxon signed rank test) comparison. The results showed that the specific CF influences the HRV indicator values. The Strong CF was able to balance the elimination of artefacts without removing the variability of RR-intervals and was subsequently used to determine repeatability and reliability. HRV indicators showed good repeatability over the 5 days using Friedman’s test (pasture: p=0.162-0.898; examination stocks: p=0.29-0.865), indicating that there were no significant differences between HRV indicator values. The reliability, represented by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and coefficient of variation (CV), was poor to good for pasture data (ICC=0.44-0.79; CV=10-68.10) and examination stocks data (ICC=0.22-0.83; CV=16.07-62.29). Measurements obtained from the examination stocks were less reliable than those from pasture. Using normalized low-frequency and normalized high-frequency components improved reliability. Free-movement environment based HRV recordings could ensure better reliability, but may require the use of a stronger CF.The Department of Companion Animal Clinical Studies and the South African Veterinary Foundation.http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-equine-veterinary-science/2017-11-30hb2016Anatomy and PhysiologyCompanion Animal Clinical StudiesSports MedicineStatistic

SARS Coronavirus Detection Methods

Using clinical samples from patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome, we showed that the sensitivities of a quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (80% for fecal samples and 25% for urine samples) were higher than those of the polyclonal (50% and 5%) and monoclonal (35% and 8%) antibody-based nucleocapsid antigen capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays

Absolute values of the London penetration depth in YBa2Cu3O6+y measured by zero field ESR spectroscopy on Gd doped single crystals

Zero-field electron spin resonance (ESR) of dilute Gd ions substituted for Y in the cuprate superconductor YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{\rm 6+y}$ is used as a novel technique for measuring the absolute value of the low temperature magnetic penetration depth $\lambda(T\to 0)$. The Gd ESR spectrum of samples with $\approx 1$ substitution was obtained with a broadband microwave technique that measures power absorption bolometrically from 0.5 GHz to 21 GHz. This ESR spectrum is determined by the crystal field that lifts the level degeneracy of the spin 7/2 Gd$^{3+}$ ion and details of this spectrum provide information concerning oxygen ordering in the samples. The magnetic penetration depth is obtained by relating the number of Gd ions exposed to the microwave magnetic field to the frequency-integrated intensity of the observed ESR transitions. This technique has allowed us to determine precise values of $\lambda$ for screening currents flowing in the three crystallographic orientations ($\hat a$, $\hat b$ and $\hat c$) in samples of Gd$_{\rm x}$Y$_{\rm 1-x}$Ba$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+{\rm y}}$ of three different oxygen contents ${\rm y}=0.993$ ($T_c = 89$ K), ${\rm y}=0.77$ ($T_c=75$ K) and ${\rm y}=0.52$ ($T_c=56$ K). The in-plane values are found to depart substantially from the widely reported relation $T_c\propto 1/\lambda^2$.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures; version to appear in PR