Digestive anatomy and impact of dietary fibre on performances of the growing grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus)

The grasscutter is a rodent herbivore recently domesticated in several countries of sub-Saharan Africa for meat production. However, the development of this production to a rational and more productive model needs a better knowledge of the digestive physiology of this animal. This work aimed to study the digestive anatomy of the growing grasscutter and determine the impact of dietary fibre on growth rate and health

Exploring Galvanic Replacement as a Method to Engineer Peroxidase-mimics Nanoparticles

Peroxidase enzymes are of critical importance within the scientific community for their applications in biosensing assays. In a living system, natural peroxidases function as catalysts in the oxidation of peroxide (e.g., H2O2) - a harmful byproduct of aerobic processes and convert them into harmless compounds. Such an ability allows peroxidases to serve as labels in biosensing assays, where they are conjugated to antibodies and accurately produce a detection signal by catalyzing substrates. However, due to intrinsic limitations, namely instability, Peroxidase made of proteins substantially inhibit broader applications. Alternatively, nanoparticles produced from noble metals have been found to exhibit peroxidase-like abilities and, therefore, can be used as synthetic enzymes with the potential to replace their natural counterparts. Given that the stability of most peroxidase mimics is already much better than their natural counterparts, in this field, the principal challenge has been creating substantial improvements to the catalytic efficiency of the mimics. This study sought to create a cage-like nanostructure ( denoted as nanocages) consisting of two platinum group metals. This experiment uses Galvanic replacement as a mechanism to hollow all Nanocages formed. Galvanic replacement has been primarily demonstrated using coinage metals ( Ex. Ag and Au). This experiment seeks to show that this process is viable for other Nobel metals, as well. In particular, palladium cubes were used as scaffolds or sacrificed templates to induce the reaction with a precursor containing a secondary Nobel metal (Platinum, Rhodium, or Ruthenium). Once viable samples where produced and checked via TEM ( Transmission Electron microscope), the peroxidase-like activity was compared to the activity of a non-hollowed nanostructure of the same material composition using TMB colorimetric assay

A Probe into the Effectiveness of English Teaching in Cameroon: Theoretical and Practical Considerations

Previous studies have attempted to account for CamE speakers’ performance by such phenomena as Cameroon’s very rich language ecology and nativisation regarded as a hallmark of New Englishes. This paper takes a rather different stance, though. It argues that CamE speakers’ failure to measure up with other L2 English varieties and even some L3 speakers can best be explained by fashions in language teaching, the education system, learners’ zeal as well as the learning milieu. The paper basically argues that CamE speakers have low language proficiency (compared to other like speakers) due to the ineffectiveness of English language teaching in Cameroon schools. The paper closes on appealing for a change in teaching practices. In that respect, it makes useful suggestions to ELT actors, which suggestions aim for changing the prevailing situation.

DBS for refractory epilepsy: is closed-loop stimulation of the medial septum the way forward?

This scientific commentary refers to ‘Closed-loop stimulation of the medial septum terminates epileptic seizures’, by Takeuchi et al. (doi:10.1093/brain/awaa450), and ‘Medial septal GABAergic neurons reduce seizure duration upon optogenetic closed-loop stimulation’, by Hristova et al. (doi:10.1093/brain/awab042)

Evaluating the Degree of Individual Bilingualism in Yaounde

This paper seeks to determine the degree of individual bilingualism in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. It builds on findings got from the answers of 240 informants selected randomly from both sections of three bilingual High Schools in this town. The data were collected by means of two instruments: a questionnaire and a language achievement test.  The findings reveal that learners of English and French in both school sections are from the two speech communities of the country. Besides, the study population is deemed representative of the whole Cameroonian population, for it was found that participants were from all ten regions of the country (however with an imbalance in number). The questionnaire revealed that speakers made alternate use of English and French at varying degrees, and possessed each at least one language skill in these languages. Results of the language test revealed that most participants had a fair mastery of the grammars of both languages (allowing them to qualify as intermediate or upper intermediate users). In addition, a significantly high number of participants came out with sensible translations from each language into the other.The above results provide sufficient evidence for one to validly discard the general statement that it is Cameroon which is bilingual and not Cameroonians; they hint at the point that Cameroonians from both linguistic groups living in Yaounde can unequivocally be termed bilingual individuals. Keywords: Individual bilingualism, Yaounde, Anglophone, Francophon

Commercialisation des institutions de microfinance et dérive de mission : sont-elles les deux faces d’une même pièce ?

Objectif : cet article vise à examiner les dimensions de la commercialisation du secteur des IMF qui conduisent à la dérive de mission de base de la micro finance.Méthode : pour atteindre cet objectif, les tests de corrélation sont utilisés ainsi que la méthode logit sur panel. Les estimations sont faites sur un échantillon de 1466 IMF extrait du MIX sur la période 2007-2014.Résultats : les résultats ne montrent aucun lien entre la commercialisation et la dérive de mission sur le marché global des IMF (Amérique, Asie,  Europe, Afrique). Ce type de dérive ne s’observe qu’au Moyen-Orient qui ne représente que 3% de l’échantillon.Originalité/ Pertinence : par rapport aux études antérieures, cet article ambitionne de proposer aux agences de notations des IMF, un autre  regard sur la Pauvreté. Comme phénomène multifacettes, son éradication nécessite des approches d’inclusion financières durables. Celles-ci ne  s’auraient se réaliser dans notre contexte à travers les apports en subvention dont préconisent les welfaristes.   English title: The Commercialization of microfinance institutions and mission drift: are they sides of the same coin?   Objective: This article aims to examine the dimensions of commercialization of the MFI sector that lead to core mission drift in microfinance. Method: to achieve this objective, correlation tests are used as well as the logit panel method. The estimates are made on a sample of 1466 MFIs  extracted from MIX over the period 2007-2014. Results: the results show no link between Commercialization and mission drift in global MFI markets (America, Asia, Europe, Africa). This type of  drift is only observed in the Middle East, which represents only 3% of the sample. Originality/relevance: compared to previous studies, this article aims to offer MFI rating agencies another look at poverty. As a multifaceted  phenomenon, its eradication requires sustainable financial inclusion approaches. These could not have been achieved in our context through the  grant contributions advocated by welfarists. &nbsp

Mécanismes de gouvernance spécifiques et performance des collectivités territoriales décentralisées : analyse de l’efficacité dans la gestion budgétaire des communes camerounaises

Cette étude vise à déterminer les mécanismes de gouvernance publique locale qui impactent sur la performance des collectivités territoriales décentralisées pris sous l’angle de l’efficacité de la gestion budgétaire. Pour y parvenir, les données primaires sont collectées auprès de 40 communes de l’Ouest Cameroun, et les données secondaires sont issues de la base de données du comité national de supervision du guichet performance du programme national de développement participatif entre 2016 et 2019. Les résultats obtenus à partir du modèle de recherche par la méthode des moindres carrés généralisés faisables permettent de conclure que les mécanismes traditionnels de gouvernance influencent très peu, sinon négativement la performance dans le secteur public local. En outre, ces résultats suggèrent aux différents collèges d’électeurs locaux, la prise en compte de la formation initiale du maire, le nombre et la qualité d’adjoints au maire résidant, afin de créer des changements structurels et fonctionnels pour impacter positivement la performance en matière de gestion financière dans les municipalités

Enhancing scientific dissemination in neuroscience via preprint peer-review: "Peer Community In Circuit Neuroscience"

The dissemination of scientific results and new technologies in biomedical science is rapidly evolving from an exclusive and fee-oriented publishing system towards more open, free and independent strategies for sharing knowledge. In this context, preprint servers such as bioRxiv answer a very real scientific need by enabling the rapid, free and easy dissemination of findings, regardless of whether these are novel, replicated, or even showcasing negative results. Currently, thousands of manuscripts are being shared via bioRxiv each month, and neuroscience is the largest and fastest growing subject category. However, commenting on bioRxiv is declining and no structured scientific validation such as peer-review is currently available. The Peer Community In (PCI) platform addresses this unmet need by facilitating the rigorous evaluation and validation of preprints, and PCI Circuit Neuroscience (PCI C Neuro) aims to develop and extend this tool for the neuroscience community. Here we discuss PCI C Neuro's mission, how it works, and why it is an essential initiative in this new era of open science

Distinct mechanisms of Up state maintenance in the medial entorhinal cortex and neocortex

The medial entorhinal cortex (mEC) is a key structure which controls the communication between the hippocampus and the neocortex. During slow-wave sleep, it stands out from other cortical regions by exhibiting persistent activity that outlasts neocortical Up states, decoupling the entorhinal cortex-hippocampal interaction from the neocortex. Here, we compared the mechanisms involved in the maintenance of the Up state in the barrel cortex (BC) and mEC using whole cell recordings in acute mouse brain slices. Bath application of an NMDA receptor antagonist abolished Up states in the BC, and reduced the incidence but not the duration of Up states in the mEC. Conversely, blockade of kainate receptors decreased Up state duration in the mEC, but not in the BC. Voltage clamp recordings demonstrated the presence of a non-NMDA glutamate receptor-mediated slow excitatory postsynaptic current, sensitive to the selective kainate receptor antagonist UBP-302, in layer III neurons of the mEC, which was not observed in the BC. Moreover, we found that kainate receptor-mediated currents assist in recovery back to the Up state membrane potential following a current-induced hyperpolarisation of individual cells in the mEC. Finally, we were able to generate Up state activity in a network model of exponential integrate-and-fire neurons only supported by AMPA and kainate receptor-mediated currents. We propose that synaptic kainate receptors are responsible for the unique properties of mEC Up states.We also would like to acknowledge support from the Medical Research Council, UK. R.J.D. is on the Cambridge MB/PhD programme. D.S.B. is supported by the Gates Cambridge Trust. V.M. was supported by a Swiss National Science Foundation Early Postdoc Mobility Fellowship