The effect of water policy implementation at the local community in Zambia: Examining the role of national and local institutions concerning Zambezi

To capture the ‘real world’ experience of institutions and policy within the Zambezi rural basin, the study highlights differences in perceptions of the policy and institutions of the water sector between those involved in management of the water sector and those using water for their livelihoods. The study is situated within the qualitative paradigm; its unit of analysis is the participants (members of households, policy makers and members of the Village Water Committee). The study has applied a grounded theory methodology (semi-structured interviews). Forty participants were interviewed in the Zambezi rural basin. The research highlights that, the National Water Supply and Sanitation Council as a national regulatory institution has not yet fully provided support in terms of regulatory framework that would enable the rural water sector to sustain the demand of the Zambezi rural basin of Zambia. Despite this, the National Water Supply and Sanitation Council have made some key progress in developing the suitable guidelines within the regulatory framework significant in the management of water sector. The study indicates that institutions such as the Village Water Committee are considered to be crucial for strengthening the water sector in the Zambezi rural basin if given a suitable legal status for its operational water activities. Furthermore, water supply and demand disparity among households in the Zambezi rural basin remains a challenge to be addressed. The study further highlights policy and institutions in terms of their effects on the quality of water and health status of households remain a major concern for the citizens

Magnetic Phases of Frustrated Ferromagnetic Spin-Trimer System Gd_3_Ru_4_Al_12_ With a Distorted Kagome Lattice Structure

The magnetization and specific heat measurements have been performed on single-crystalline Gd_3_Ru_4_Al_12_ with a distorted Kagome lattice structure. This spin system is regarded as an antiferromagnetic triangular lattice of XY like Heisenberg model at low temperatures. The magnetic phase diagrams indicate the existence of frustration and Z_2_ degeneracy. The magnetization and specific heat imply the successive phase transitions with partial disorder and a T-shaped spin structure in the ground state.Comment: 14 pages, 19 figure

Recommendations in updating best practice in transport demand data collection practices for rural integrated transport plans: evidence from north-west province

The Integrated Transport Plan (ITP) guidelines and minimum requirements as gazetted in 2016, state that transport plans must be developed to enhance the effective functioning of cities, towns and rural areas through the integrated planning of transport infrastructure and facilities. These specific requirements have an emphasis on travel demand management and development in rural areas. However, the status quo chapter of the ITP guidelines only provides data collection requirements centred around the current supply of transport. The guidelines for data collection and analysis for ITP and precisely their application to rural transport development, are incorrectly calibrated to an urban commuter paradigm, with an expectation that trips to and from locations should balance on the same day. This appears to be an assumption worth further investigation and study. Observations in this paper are largely based on two projects conducted in Dr Kenneth Kaunda and Bojanala Platinum District Municipality during the preparation for their Integrated Public Transport Network Plans in the period of 2018-2019. Observations were made on the passenger volume directional split in specific modes and travel patterns in rural areas. The directional split of passenger volume averaged a 50/30 split between return trips with as much as 20% of passengers not completing their return journey with the same mode of transport used for the forward trip or not completing the return trip that day. This observation was purely based on passenger volumes and not on individual passenger journey surveys. The on-site observations of trip-taking on rural roads in these two district municipalities further showed that hitchhiking (which consists of soliciting free rides on the side of the road from passing vehicles) and walking are extensively used for return journeys in rural areas, especially by school children in areas where scholar transport is not structured and organized. Approaching the data from the paradigm of the standard urban transport planning perspective may lead to the mistaken conclusion that the cordon count survey of passenger volumes in rural areas was erroneously carried out, and would require an entirely new collection – which then might yield the same “lost passenger” phenomenon. This research aimed to assess the current state of practice in the data collection guidelines set for rural areas and to conduct a gap analysis on why the phenomenon of an imbalance of passenger volume flows between the forward and return directions on rural roads is a likely outcome for a survey. Furthermore, the research provides input into updating the current guidelines on rural transport plans and data collection by providing recommendations on the data collection methodology for rural areas and providing an alternative approach that takes into consideration walking, cycling and private vehicle usage as additional data points to the travel demand and volume.Papers presented virtually at the 39th International Southern African Transport Conference on 05 -07 July 202

Sleeping

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Variation of Pressure-Induced Valence Transition with Approximation Degree in Yb-Based Quasicrystalline Approximants

We have synthesized new Tsai-type Yb-based intermediate-valence approximant crystals (ACs) with different degree of approximation to quasicrystal, Zn--Au--Yb 1/1 and 2/1 AC, and studied the external pressure effect on their Yb mean-valence $\nu$. Whereas 1/1 AC distinctly exhibits a first-order-like jump in $\nu$ at a transition pressure $P_{\rm v}$, 2/1 AC only shows an indistinct anomaly at $P_{\rm v}$. We have also studied the pressure dependence of the $\nu$ of Au--Al--Yb 1/1 AC, which is a prototypal AC exhibiting pressure-induced quantum criticality. It shows a continuous valence anomaly at a critical pressure $P_{\rm c}$ where the magnetic susceptibility diverges toward zero temperature, in contrast to the valence jump in the Zn--Au--Yb 1/1 AC. These results are discussed based on a theoretical model of quantum critical valence fluctuation

AMBRA1 is able to induce mitophagy via LC3 binding, regardless of PARKIN and p62/SQSTM1

Damaged mitochondria are eliminated by mitophagy, a selective form of autophagy whose dysfunction associates with neurodegenerative diseases. PINK1, PARKIN and p62/SQTMS1 have been shown to regulate mitophagy, leaving hitherto ill-defined the contribution by key players in 'general' autophagy. In basal conditions, a pool of AMBRA1 - an upstream autophagy regulator and a PARKIN interactor - is present at the mitochondria, where its pro-autophagic activity is inhibited by Bcl-2. Here we show that, upon mitophagy induction, AMBRA1 binds the autophagosome adapter LC3 through a LIR (LC3 interacting region) motif, this interaction being crucial for regulating both canonical PARKIN-dependent and -independent mitochondrial clearance. Moreover, forcing AMBRA1 localization to the outer mitochondrial membrane unleashes a massive PARKIN- and p62-independent but LC3-dependent mitophagy. These results highlight a novel role for AMBRA1 as a powerful mitophagy regulator, through both canonical or noncanonical pathways