Demystifying the Role of Copyright as a Tool for Economic Development in Africa: Tackling the Harsh Effects of the Transferability Principle in Copyright Law

In the English common law tradition copyright is seen as being in the nature of a property right and thus alienable and transmissible from one person to the other. In contrast, the droit d’auteur system of Continental Europe sees copyright as being an author’s right, which attaches to the personality of the author. However, even in this system a distinction can be made between the monist system (as applies in Germany), which treats both moral rights and economic rights as being inseparable and thus equally inalienable, and the dualist system applicable in France, which distinguishes between moral and economic rights, with the former considered inalienable, while the latter is freely alienable. In this way French law embodies the transferability principle in respect of economic rights, in the same way as the Anglo-American system does. Many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have inherited copyright laws from their erstwhile colonial masters (whether England or France), resulting in the laws of these countries also embodying the transferability principle. It is argued, however, that the transferability principle has had the inadvertent effect of stifling copyright-based entrepreneurship, and thus economic development in these countries. Because of the conditions of impoverishment prevailing in these countries, authors find that they do not have the material resources to economically exploit their copyright works. They thus have no option but to assign their copyrights to others, mainly foreign entities, resulting in an endless cycle where they can never act entrepreneurially in respect of their copyrights. The paper seeks to explore this phenomenon and make proposals of possible solutions.   &nbsp

Milk Production in Goats on Veld Hay Supplemented with Selected Legume Forages

Alternative affordable sources of feed such as forage legumes that provide protein, vitamins and mineral elements, which are lacking in mature natural grassland pastures, especially during the dry season (Baloyi et al. 2008), can be an option. The high protein content of these legumes suggests that they have high potential for use as protein supplements in goat feeding. However, there is need for an in-depth study of the utilization of different legume forages for milk production in goats. Gusha et al. (2014) reported that supplementing with legume hays could improve poor quality roughage intake in goats. Snyman (2010) observed lower kid mortality in supplemented does compared to those not supplemented during lactation. Therefore, this research was designed to investigate the effects of supplementing Desmodium uncunatum, Mucuna pruriens and Vigna unguiculata forage legumes to low quality veld hay on milk production in indigenous goats

Progress and Challenges in Improving Nutritional Quality in Wheat

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) houses a wide range of nutritional components such as iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), vitamins and phenolic acids, which are important for plant metabolism and human health. The bioavailability of these nutritional components is low due to their interaction with other components and low quantity in the endosperm. Biofortification is a more sustainable approach that could improve the bioavailability of essential nutritional components. Substantial progress has been made to improve nutritional quality through the application of conventional, technological and transgenic approaches. This has led to the discovery, cloning and introgression of the Gpc-B1 gene; the invention of online databases with minimally characterized biosynthetic, metabolic pathways and biological processes of wheat-related species; the establishment of genetic variation in grain Fe and Zn content and the biofortification of wheat with Zn by the HarvestPlus organization. Nonetheless, the biofortification of wheat with micronutrients and phenolic acids is still a challenge due to incomplete understanding of the wheat genome, biosynthesis and translocation of selected nutritional components into different wheat grain compartments. There is a need to integrate selected omics technologies to obtain a holistic overview and manipulate key biological processes involved in the remobilization and biosynthesis of nutritional components into desired wheat grain compartments

Nitrogen Retention and Microbial Protein Yield of \u3cem\u3e Desmodium uncunatum, Mucuna pruriens\u3c/em\u3e and \u3cem\u3eVigna unguiculata \u3c/em\u3e Forage Legumes in Goats

Forage legumes have high potential degradability, indicating that they might need to stay in the rumen for a longer time (MolinaAlcaide et al., 1996) to increase microbial protein yield. Microbial protein contributes about two thirds of the amino acids absorbed by ruminants (Pathak 2008). Protein supplements which have proper levels of rumen undegradable protein provide growth limiting amino acids like lysine and methionine (Rezai et al., 2012). Nyambati et al. (2003) showed that milk production can be increased by supplementing with velvet bean, highlighting the importance of integrating legumes into the low-input, mixed cropping systems in the tropics. The current study was to determine total microbial protein yield from Vigna unguiculata (cowpea), Desmodium uncinatum (silverleaf desmodium) and Mucuna pruriens (velvet bean) legume forages in goats

Health determinants on healthy ageing in sub-Saharan Africa: A psychosocial and theo-gerontology

This article explored health determinants on successful, healthy ageing in sub-Saharan Africa, using the case of Ramotswa in Botswana. The study used contextual, descriptive and qualitative approaches. It also explored the integrative nature of determinants to healthy and successful ageing by examining the biopsychological and physiological challenges. The article made use of the pastoral theological approach in understanding the complexity of ageing and revealing solutions for mitigating the health challenges encountered by older persons. While the article was theological in its approach, it acknowledged the interconnectedness with other disciplines, such as sociology and psychology, as fundamental in dealing with this topic. The findings revealed the elderly caregivers’ need for emotional support. This study maintained that emotional support could minimise the burden on elderly caregivers, because reports during the study indicated that elderly caregivers experienced a mixture of emotions such as loneliness, frustration, anger, depression, guilt, anxiety, love, acceptance and warmth, which could have negative consequences on them. Contribution: In conclusion, the article suggested that given the complexity of the understanding of successful and healthy ageing, as well as the integrative nature of determinants of successful ageing, it is crucial for caregivers and policymakers to avoid a blanket approach in dealing with elderly persons in a context of care

Anti-biofilm and associated anti-virulence activities of selected phytochemical compounds against Klebsiella pneumoniae

The ability of Klebsiella pneumoniae to form biofilm renders the pathogen recalcitrant to various antibiotics. The difficulty in managing K. pneumoniae related chronic infections is due to its biofilm-forming ability and associated virulence factors, necessitating the development of efficient strategies to control virulence factors. This study aimed at evaluating the inhibitory potential of selected phytochemical compounds on biofilm-associated virulence factors in K. pneumoniae, as well as authenticating their antibiofilm activity. Five phytochemical compounds (alpha-terpinene, camphene, fisetin, glycitein and phytol) were evaluated for their antibacterial and anti-biofilmassociated virulence factors such as exopolysaccharides, curli fibers, and hypermucoviscosity against carbapenem-resistant and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-positive K. pneumoniae strains. The antibiofilm potential of these compounds was evaluated at initial cell attachment, microcolony formation and mature biofilm formation, then validated by in situ visualization using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Exopolysaccharide surface topography was characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The antibacterial activity of the compounds confirmed fisetin as the best anti-carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae, demonstrating a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 0.0625 mg/mL. Phytol, glycitein and α-terpinene showed MIC values of 0.125 mg/mL for both strains. The assessment of the compounds for anti-virulence activity (exopolysaccharide reduction) revealed an up to 65.91% reduction in phytol and camphene. Atomic force microscopy detected marked differences between the topographies of untreated and treated (camphene and phytol) exopolysaccharides. Curli expression was inhibited at both 0.5 and 1.0 mg/mL by phytol, glycitein, fisetin and quercetin. The hypermucoviscosity was reduced by phytol, glycitein, and fisetin to the shortest mucoid string (1 mm) at 1 mg/mL. Phytol showed the highest antiadhesion activity against carbapenem-resistant and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-positive K. pneumoniae (54.71% and 50.05%), respectively. Scanning electron microscopy correlated the in vitro findings, with phytol significantly altering the biofilm architecture. Phytol has antibiofilm and antivirulence potential against the highly virulent K. pneumoniae strains, revealing it as a potential lead compound for the management of K. pneumoniae-associated infections.Supplementary Materials: Table S1: Exopolysaccharide reduction in K. pneumoniae (ATCC 700603 and ATCC BAA-1705) by studied phytochemical compounds.The South African Medical Research Council—Self-Initiated Research (SAMRC-SIR) and partly by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF) Thuthuka Grant.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/plantsdm2022Biochemistr

Wall heat flux influence on the thermodynamic optimisation of irreversibilities of a circulating fluidised bed combustor

In the study the comparison of irreversibilities was done when the wall condition of the combustor was changed from adiabatic to negative heat flux, for incoming air temperature of 400 K. The reactant mixture of solid pitch pine wood fuel and air was varied from a rich to a lean mixture. A non-adiabatic non-premixed combustion model of a numerical code (ANSYS FLUENT 16.2) was used to simulate the combustion process where the solid fuel was modelled by using the ultimate analysis data. The irreversibilities generated were arrived at by computing the entropy generation rates due to the combustion and frictional pressure drop processes. For the combustor where the wall condition was changed from adiabatic to negative heat flux (that is heat leaving the system) the minimum irreversibilities generated changed from occurring at an equivalence ratio of 1.67 for an adiabatic wall condition to 1.34 for a negative heat flux wall condition. It was also found that the penalty paid when deviating from the equivalence ratio of 1 at which minimum irreversibilities are generated is drastically increased due to less heat in the combustor resulting more unburnt fuel exiting the combustor.Papers presented to the 12th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Costa de Sol, Spain on 11-13 July 2016

Optimum geometry of solid porous spheres with heat generation

Paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Malta, 16-18 July, 2012.Spent nuclear fuel has to be cooled so that the decay heat generated does not melt the containment system, which could lead to unintentionally release of radioactive material to the surrounding. The heat transfer mechanisms involved in the cooling have historically been analysed by assuming that the fluid and solid phases are at local thermal equilibrium (LTE) in order to simplify the analysis. An analytical model was developed to minimize the thermal resistance of an air cooled porous matrix made up of solid spheres with internal heat generation. This was done under the assumption of LTE. It was found that the predicted optimum sphere diameter and the minimum thermal resistance were both robust in that they were independent of the heat generation rate of the solid spheres. Results from the analytical model were compared to those from a commercial numerical porous model using liquid water and air for the fluid phase, and wood and silica for the solid phase. The magnitudes of the minima of both the temperature difference and the thermal resistance seem to be due to equally contribution from the thermal conduction heat transfer inside the solid spheres and heat transfer in the porous medium. Because the commercial numerical porous model models only the heat transfer occurring in the porous medium, it expectedly predicts half of the magnitudes of the minima of the temperature difference and thermal resistance of those by the analytical model.dc201

Biofilm reduction, in-vitro cytotoxicity and computational drug-likeness of selected phytochemicals to combat multidrug-resistant bacteria

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria in biofilms are frequently linked with persistent infections across healthcare settings, due to their virulence factors. Since the post-antibiotic era coerces the quest for novel therapeutics, the use of medicinal plants and their phytochemicals emerges as prospective alternatives for the failing antibiotics. Preliminary screening of untargeted drugs for their drug-likeness and biosafety properties is a necessary step in the advancement of the drug discovery process. Thus, the study aimed to assess the noteworthy phytochemicals with antibacterial potential to reduce the biofilm formation of selected MDR bacteria, evaluate their safe use and drug-likeness properties thereby providing advanced knowledge to contribute to the search for safe, antipathogenic drugs. Three phytochemicals of 1,2,3-benzenetriol, guanosine and phytol revealed significant minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) between 0.250 – 0.040 mg/ mL against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes. Guanosine and phytol, both revealed noteworthy MIC values of 0.016 and 0.031 mg/mL for S. pyogenes and S. aureus, respectively. Five MDR bacterial pathogens treated with 1,2,3-benzenetriol, guanosine and phytol at a concentration of 0.250 mg/mL reduced anti-adhesion and biofilm development up to 78.88% and 31.82%, respectively. In situ visualisation by scanning electron microscope (SEM) displayed guanosine to significantly disrupt the biofilm structures of S. aureus, S. pyogenes and P. aeruginosa. Atomic force microscope (AFM) detected differences between the topographies of S. aureus, S. pyogenes and P. aeruginosa biofilms treated with guanosine and phytol. Guanosine and phytol showed approximately 100% of cell viability in a dose-dependent manner (0.25 – 0.001 mg/mL) while causing no cell damage on African monkey kidney Vero (epithelial) cells and showed a cytostatic rather than a cytotoxic effect. Drug-likeness in-silico screening revealed that the compounds obeyed Lipinski’s rules and have bioavailable scores of 0.55F. Guanosine and phytol showed antivirulent, biosafety and druglikeness properties with significant pharmacokinetic predictions. This study highlights the significance of phytotherapeutics for the development of novel antipathogenic agents.The South African Medical Research Council.https://www.elsevier.com/locate/sciafam2024BiochemistryGeneticsMicrobiology and Plant PathologyNon

Numerical study of the resultant sediment transport near the port of ngqura due to the blockage of a sediment bypass system

The Port of Ngqura, situated in the Algoa Bay of South Africa, was commissioned in 2009 together with a sediment bypass system that is meant to intercept sediment being transported naturally eastwards towards the entrance of the port. The sea state in the Algoa Bay is dominated by waves generated in the Southern Ocean and flow from the Agulhas Current as it flows westwards along the southern coastline of South Africa. This sea state results in waves with an average significant wave height of more than 2 m over all seasons of the year. The sediment bypass system got blocked by rock fragments and stones migrating into the sediment trap created to accommodate eduction pumps sucking the fluidised sediment onshore for pumping downstream, to the right of the eastern breakwater. This resulted in the need for regular dredging in order to keep the entrance channel into the port open. The resulting sediment transport that necessitated the dredging operation was studied numerically by using the Delft3D software code. Delft3D Flow with its morphology module was coupled with Delft3D SWAN (Simulating WAves Nearshore) in stationary mode where data from National Centre for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) averaged over a 3 hour period was used as input for wave and wind data. Two nested grids were used to compute the wave propagations using SWAN where the larger grid took input of significant wave height, peak wave period and wave direction from NCEP, and it had a grid resolution of about 1000 m. The smaller inner grid (which had a resolution of about 500 m) got its boundary inputs from the calculated solution of the larger grid. All the wave conditions for SWAN were implemented with a directional spreading of 25 degrees with the JONSWAP shape. Thin dams were used to model the breakwaters of ports in the model and small islands. The influence of the Agulhas current was approximated by a current with a magnitude of 0.2 m/s and a direction of 250 degrees. Boundary conditions input into the Delft3D Flow model were water level computed using an in-house code that took current, wind and water level as input to calculate the water level at the right boundary node. The water level solution from Delft3D-Flow was used as input to the SWAN models. The bed and suspended sediment transport terms were computed over a period of 6 months, and compared to discern dominant processes responsible for the migrating stones, rock fragments and sediment filling up the bypass system sediment trap.Papers presented at the 13th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Portoroz, Slovenia on 17-19 July 2017 .International centre for heat and mass transfer.American society of thermal and fluids engineers