The Perversion of Dignity in Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions

The goal of this thesis is to study Tsitsi Dangarembga’s allegory of aid which exploits the recipient’s precarity in her first novel Nervous Conditions. More specifically, I would like to explore how such aid dehumanizes the recipients it purports to help by imposing the giver’s goals and agenda on the recipient. I argue that because aid is after all underwritten by an ethics of power, the recipient’s helplessness in the acceptance of this gift, i.e., the precarious socioeconomic conditions which necessitate the acceptance of such aid, subject the recipient to the giver’s will, up to and even in the pursuit and realization of the giver’s goals and mission. Following Kant’s ideas on humanity and dignity, I argue that the recipients of such aid thus effectively become the means of attaining the giver’s goals. I discuss the novel’s portrayal of formal education, which is anchored to the mission; the missionaries select recipients who demonstrate academic potential, and a willingness to endure and obey their norms of success. He or she is consequently plucked out of the community, and fostered in the mission. And because the recipient is powerless in his or her choice to refuse the missionaries’ gift, he or she is inevitably tethered to the giver’s will and whims. By privileging education, the mission and its emissaries are portrayed as just another facet of social and hegemonic control posing as charity. The second part of my thesis explores some ways the recipients maintain their dignity in spite of such hegemonic control. I propose that Dangarembga’s novel humanizes her characters’ suffering, hence their humanity. In the voice of Tambu, the characters’ stories of survival elevate their humanity as they navigate their precarity, and negotiate the terms of a life worth living. Following Tambu’s journey from the village to Sacred Heart, which detours into the lives of the characters in the novel, Dangarembga invites us to envision the characters’ humanity as we engage in the novel’s politics. She does not allow her characters, and the reader, to lose sight of their worth as human beings. They live, in spite, or maybe because of the socioeconomic conditions which threaten to control them. Thrust in this limelight, the characters demonstrate their humanity in their continuous search for meaningful forms of self definition, and survival. And therein lies their dignity

COVID-19 Pandemic: The Origin, Transmission, Pathogenesis, and Therapeutic Application

An outbreak of atypical pneumonia reported in late December 2019, which subsequently progressed to global health crises of significant magnitude within the first three months after its appearance and the etiology was traced to a seafood wholesale market in the city of Wuhan, China. Where a large number of infected patients are presumed to have been exposed to the wet animal market and this was the first confirmed incident recorded. The genome sequence of this unknown pathogen was obtained and then through carefully genome sequence comparison with the already previously characterized corona viruses; SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, it was found that a betacoronavirus belonging to subfamily orthocoronavirinie is responsible for the pneumonia cases. This suggested that Wuhan was the site where COVID-19 first started and the disease is zoonotic in origin. COVID-19 pandemic has presented considerable challenges to public health care systems at global scale and dictates almost every aspect of medical practice and policies across the world. Apparently, an effective treatment therapy against COVID-19 is the most urgently needed to curb the rapidly increasing incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections. Unfortunately up to this moment there is no approved drug for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, although many reports are suggesting the drugs which were previously used against SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV such as remdesviri, lopinavir, ritonavir, interferon beta-1b, and ribavirin but these are being tested in randomized trials and again mostly showing less clinical benefits. Use of a triple combination of interferon beta-1b, lopinavir-ritonavir and ribavirin drugs were reported to be effective than when each drug is used separately, however, collaborative investigations are needed to ascertain the fidelity of these drugs. In this review, we summarize the latest research progress of the origin, pathogenesis, clinical characteristics of COVID-19, and discussed the current treatment regimens for combating the COVID-19 pandemic

Empowerment through friendship: A process view of community-based tourism

This paper explores the ‘alternative’ empowerment roles of catalyst, facilitator and advocate in community-based tourism in the context of community development practice, drawing on findings from four community-based tourism (CBT) ethnographic case studies in Kenya. The paper uncovers the ‘friend’ or ‘neighbour’ relationship as a possible combination of these roles, proposing that the various roles may be points or positions in a continuum, a relationship that develops over time. Arguably, these roles could be realized between a community and an individual from within or outside the community. It is further proposed that understanding the roles and the relationships provides possibilities for community empowerment and sustainable community development within CBT settings. The findings point towards opportunities for the enhancement of empowerment, either driven by deliberate efforts of development practitioners or brought about in non-deliberate, organic manner through collaborative work of a wide range of actors. Research in this area has the potential to contribute towards understanding the processes through which sustainable community development and public social policies affecting communities can achieve global agendas such as poverty alleviation, partnerships and sustainability in what are considered marginal areas

Vaccine coverage and determinants of incomplete vaccination in children aged 12-23 months in dschang, west region, cameroon: a cross-sectional survey during a polio outbreak

Inadequate immunization coverage with increased risk of vaccine preventable diseases outbreaksremains a problem in Africa. Moreover, different factors contribute to incomplete vaccination status. This study wasperformed in Dschang (West Region, Cameroon), during the polio outbreak occurred in October 2013, in order toestimate the immunization coverage among children aged 12–23 months, to identify determinants for incompletevaccination status and to assess the risk of poliovirus spread in the study population.Methods:A cross-sectional household survey was conducted in November-December 2013, using the WHOtwo-stage sampling design. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information fromconsenting parents of children aged 12–23 months. Vaccination coverage was assessed by vaccination card andparents’recall. Chi-square test and multilevel logistic regression model were used to identify the determinants ofincomplete immunization status. Statistical significance was set atp90 %, and 73.4 % children completedthe recommended vaccinations before 1-year of age. In the final multilevel logistic regression model, factorssignificantly associated with incomplete immunization status were: retention of immunization card (AOR: 7.89;95 % CI: 1.08–57.37), lower mothers’utilization of antenatal care (ANC) services (AOR:1.25; 95 % CI: 1.07–63.75),being the≥3rdborn child in the family (AOR: 425.4; 95 % CI: 9.6–18,808), younger mothers’age (AOR: 49.55;95 % CI: 1.59–1544), parents’negative attitude towards immunization (AOR: 20.2; 95 % CI: 1.46–278.9), and poorerparents’exposure to information on vaccination (AOR: 28.07; 95 % CI: 2.26–348.1). Longer distance from the vaccinationcenters was marginally significant (p=0.05).Conclusion:Vaccination coverage was high; however, 1 out of 7 children was partially vaccinated, and 1 out of 4 didnot complete timely the recommended vaccinations. In order to improve the immunization coverage, it is necessary tostrengthen ANC services, and to improve parents’information and attitude towards immunization, targeting youngerparents and families living far away from vaccination centers, using appropriate communication strategies. Finally, theestimated OPV-3 coverage is reassuring in relation to the ongoing polio outbrea

Role of Social Capital on Uptake of Sustainable Agricultural Intensification Practices’ Combinations

Smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are faced with many challenges in the production of maize and legumes. Some of the challenges include soil mining, drought, soil erosion, input acquisition among others. These challenges cannot be alleviated with the adoption of a single agricultural practice but a bundle of combination. There was need, therefore, to evaluate if social capital among other factors influences adoption of the different combination of the six Sustainable Agricultural Intensification Practices among smallholder maize-legume systems in Kenya. The study used secondary data from Adoption Pathway project panel dataset collected from Bungoma, Siaya, Meru, Tharaka Nithi and Embu counties, in three waves:  covering 613 households in the baseline, 535 in the midline and 495 in the end line was used in the analysis. Eighteen possible combinations adopted by smallholder farmers, a Principal Component Analysis was used to reduces data dimensionality, such that Seven possible clusters were formed that were homogeneous within. An index of the different combinations in the cluster was then formed for each household. Using STATA software, a Seemingly Unrelated Regression model was used in the analysis of the seven equations against a set of dependent variables, among them social capital. The findings of the study showered that social capital is not significant in explaining adoption of different combinations of SAIPs that a household adopted except for cognitive social capital and participation level in group institutions where the household was a member. Other factors that influenced adoption of combination of SAIPs included age of the household head, received information about SAIP and input markets, amount of money that a household got as income and that which they saved. Additionally, the spatial distance of the farming plot measured as the number of walking minutes from the household homestead and the number of years one has been living in the village practicing maize-legume production also significantly influenced the combinations of the SAIPs that a household adopted. Policy interventions should encourage and promote better access to information and encourage participation in group institutions. Keywords: Principal Component Analysis, Clusters, Seemingly Unrelated Regressio

Saving biodiversity by fighting desertification in West and Central Africa

Environment and Developmen

A proximity biotinylation-based approach to identify protein-E3 ligase interactions induced by PROTACs and molecular glues

Proteolysis-targeting chimaeras (PROTACs) as well as molecular glues such as immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) and indisulam are drugs that induce interactions between substrate proteins and an E3 ubiquitin ligases for targeted protein degradation. Here, we develop a workflow based on proximity-dependent biotinylation by AirID to identify drug-induced neo-substrates of the E3 ligase cereblon (CRBN). Using AirID-CRBN, we detect IMiD-dependent biotinylation of CRBN neo-substrates in vitro and identify biotinylated peptides of well-known neo-substrates by mass spectrometry with high specificity and selectivity. Additional analyses reveal ZMYM2 and ZMYM2-FGFR1 fusion protein—responsible for the 8p11 syndrome involved in acute myeloid leukaemia—as CRBN neo-substrates. Furthermore, AirID-DCAF15 and AirID-CRBN biotinylate neo-substrates targeted by indisulam and PROTACs, respectively, suggesting that this approach has the potential to serve as a general strategy for characterizing drug-inducible protein–protein interactions in cells

Phosphorylation of the Archaeal Holliday Junction Resolvase Hjc Inhibits Its Catalytic Activity and Facilitates DNA Repair in Sulfolobus islandicus REY15A

Protein phosphorylation is one of the main protein post-translational modifications and regulates DNA repair in eukaryotes. Archaeal genomes encode eukaryotic-like DNA repair proteins and protein kinases (ePKs), and several proteins involved in homologous recombination repair (HRR) including Hjc, a conserved Holliday junction (HJ) resolvase in Archaea, undergo phosphorylation, indicating that phosphorylation plays important roles in HRR. Herein, we performed phosphorylation analysis of Hjc by various ePKs from Sulfolobus islandicus. It was shown that SiRe_0171, SiRe_2030, and SiRe_2056, were able to phosphorylate Hjc in vitro. These ePKs phosphorylated Hjc at different Ser/Thr residues: SiRe_0171 on S34, SiRe_2030 on both S9 and T138, and SiRe_2056 on T138. The HJ cleavage activity of the phosphorylation-mimic mutants was analyzed and the results showed that the cleavage activity of S34E was completely lost and that of S9E had greatly reduced. S. islandicus strain expressing S34E in replacement of the wild type Hjc was resistant to higher doses of DNA damaging agents. Furthermore, SiRe_0171 deletion mutant exhibited higher sensitivity to DNA damaging agents, suggesting that Hjc phosphorylation by SiRe_0171 enhanced the DNA repair capability. Our results revealed that HJ resolvase is regulated by protein phosphorylation, reminiscent of the regulation of eukaryotic HJ resolvases GEN1 and Yen1

Local Knowledge and Use of Pangolins by Culturally Diverse Communities in the Forest-Savannah Transition Area of Cameroon

Information about the presence and population status of pangolins, and the threats they face, remains limited in many parts of Cameroon, a country that is home to three species of pangolin and considered to be a global hub of pangolin trafficking. Local communities living in rural areas can provide valuable information on species presence, local uses of wildlife, and possible threats, that is useful for prioritising conservation actions. Using interview surveys in 20 villages surrounding Mbam and Djerem National Park, we investigated local peoples’ knowledge of pangolin presence, perceptions of population trends, cultural importance, consumptive and non-consumptive uses, and hunting of pangolins. Our results showed that most people recognised the white-bellied and giant pangolins, but only 10% recognised the black-bellied pangolin. Ethnolinguistic group significantly affected the likelihood of respondents recognising and having seen a pangolin before. Giant pangolin populations were perceived to be declining, particularly by older respondents. We found evidence of local use of pangolins for meat, but few respondents reported uses of scales. Cultural significance was reported by few respondents, but when it was reported it mostly referred to giant pangolin. White-bellied pangolins are reportedly hunted using bare hands for local consumption most frequently, whilst giant pangolins were mainly hunted for local consumption and income generation using wire snares. Overall, our study shows the possible value of local knowledge for planning and prioritising conservation actions for pangolins. We highlight the urgent need to monitor pangolin populations, and assess the possible impacts to pangolins from threats such as hunting

Performance-based financing as a health system reform : mapping the key dimensions for monitoring and evaluation

Peer reviewedPublisher PD