The Public Sphere in 21st Century Africa: Broadening the Horizons of Democratisation

The public sphere, as the crucible for public opinion, is indispensable tomodern democratic politics. This paper traces the seminal contributions ofthe German critical theorist, Jurgen Habermas to the elaboration of the concept. However, while Habermas’ conception has had a profound impact, it has nevertheless been criticised on fundamental grounds. And contemporary globalisation and technological changes have also had important implications for our understanding of the concept. I seek to elaborate the development of the idea of the public sphere from Habermas to the era of internet globalisation. I also examine the specific ways the idea has found expression in post-colonial Africa, showing how the global intellectual trajectory shapes the applicability of the concept to specific African contexts. If the concept of the public sphere is to relate to African realities, it must be understood not as a single public – a la Habermas – or ‘Two Publics’ – a la Ekeh, but as a multiplicity of overlapping publics. I argue that we can fruitfully re-interpret contemporarydemocratisation in Africa against the backdrop of this understanding of theconcept of the public sphere, taking full cognizance of the other criticisms of the concept

Pelvimetry of kuri and bunaji cows in Maiduguri metropolitan slaughterhouse, northern Nigeria

The study was conducted on 58 indigenous cattle consisting of 33 Kuri and 25 Bunaji cows slaughtered at the Maiduguri Metropolitan Slaughter house. The internal and external pelvic dimensions in the two breeds were  obtained immediately post slaughter before the animals were dressed.  The Mean ± SEM for pelvic area were found to be 120.83 cm ± 3.6 and 110.1 cm ± 3.4 for Kuri (K) and Bunaji (WF) respectively. The mean ± SEM for various body measurements were 80.98 cm ± 0.5 and 74.0 cm ± 0.8  for heart girth; 149.9 cm ± 1.1 and 138 cm ± 0.7 for height at withers;  129.3 cm ± 1.04 and 117.96 ± 1.4 for height at pin bone; 141.3 cm ± 0.54 and 131.7 cm ± 1.05 for height at hook bone; 46.2 cm ± 0.42 and 42.3 cm ± 0.51 for rump length; 43.6 cm ± 0.45 and 40.8 cm ± 0.74 for rump width; 10.7 cm ± 0.2 and 9.5 cm ± 0.16 bisilliac distance and 11.85 cm ± 0.02 and 11.12 cm ± 0.18 sacropubis distance for Kuri and Bunaji respectively. There was a significant correlation (P<0.05) between pelvic area and sacropubis, bisilliac, height at pin bone and height at withers in both breeds. The pelvic area was significantly (P<0.05) correlated with height at hook bone in Kuri cows but, there was no correlation with heart girth. The Bunaji showed a significant correlation of the pelvic area with the heart girth while, there was no correlation with the height at hook bone. A significant difference (P<0.05) was observed in the dimensions of the traitsbetween the breeds except in the heart girth and rump width. The study indicated that the parameters measured above may be used as good indicators of cows with large pelvic area in both breeds

Modified collection methods and quality of semen in Nigerian local turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo)

Semen collection in birds was initially achieved either via post-mortem drainage of the vas deferens or by cloacal retrieval after natural mating. Current techniques do not exclude stress and risk of injury during restraint or milking, especially in domestic turkeys. The present study was designed to develop more convenient methods of semen collection in turkeys. It involved five (n = 5) matured turkey toms weighing approximately 12 – 15 kg and two (n = 2) turkey hens. In the improved collection method, toms were stimulated by exposing them to hens, covered using a locally constructed wooden box. They were allowed to mount until there was evidence of ejaculatory response, demonstrated by increased abdominal pressure and cloacal contraction. After mounting, the tail feathers were lifted, and a collection vial was placed immediately below the cloaca to collect the ejaculates. In the modified abdominal massage, the turkey toms were restrained on sterna recumbency while the ejaculatory response was initiated by gently massaging the soft part of the abdomen and backward massage of the tail feathers. This is continued by rubbing either side of the cloaca till erection is achieved and semen is milked into a collection vial by gently squeezing the cloaca. Collections were made twice a week for four weeks using each method independently. The mean semen volume in the improved collection method was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than the modified abdominal massage. There was no significant (p > 0.05) difference in motility, abnormalities and concentration between both methods. The results from this study suggest that both collection methods were satisfactory for practical use and may offset some challenges associated with the most widely used abdominal massage technique of semen collection in turkeys

Intracameral recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) as the primary treatment for secondary pupillary block

Alteplase is a recombinant form of human tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) that converts plasminogen to plasmin essential for fibrinolysis. It is commonly used to treat embolic or thrombotic disorders such as ischemic stroke. Despite its rarity use in ophthalmology, we are reporting the effectiveness of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) in treating an eye with secondary pupillary block as a consequence of severe endophthalmitis. A patient presented with acute endophthalmitis after a complicated cataract extraction. Examination showed severe anterior chamber reaction leading to seclusion pupillae, iris bombe and presence of iridocorneal touch 360-degree. Following intracameral alteplase 2.5 microgram in 0.1 ml given, iris bombe was observed to resolve completely onehour later. Anterior chamber was also significantly deeper and slightly larger pupil compared to before rtPA injection. Due to clearer view of anterior segment, pars planar vitrectomy and extraction of intraocular lens could be performed with significant visual improvement after surgery. Our findings suggest that usage of rtPA, which is alteplase, was effective in treating secondary pupillary block due to intense anterior segment inflammation in endophthalmitis cases. Thus it is useful in replacing the conventional use of laser peripheral iridotomy in treating pupillary block, as the latter potentially aggravates the pre-existing inflammatory condition

How ethnic are African parties really? Evidence from Francophone Africa

Though African party systems are said to be ethnic, there is little evidence for this claim. The few empirical studies rarely rely on individual data and are biased in favour of Anglophone Africa. This paper looks at four Francophone countries, drawing on representative survey polls. Results reveal that ethnicity matters, but that its impact is generally rather weak and differs with regard to party systems and individual parties. ‘Ethnic parties’ in the strict sense are virtually absent. In particular, the voters’ location seems more important than ethnic affiliation. Other determinants such as regional ties, elite strategies, cross-cutting cleavages, and rational preferences deserve more attention in the future study of voting behaviour in Africa

Cardiovascular disease and the role of oral bacteria

In terms of the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease (CVD) the focus has traditionally been on dyslipidemia. Over the decades our understanding of the pathogenesis of CVD has increased, and infections, including those caused by oral bacteria, are more likely involved in CVD progression than previously thought. While many studies have now shown an association between periodontal disease and CVD, the mechanisms underpinning this relationship remain unclear. This review gives a brief overview of the host-bacterial interactions in periodontal disease and virulence factors of oral bacteria before discussing the proposed mechanisms by which oral bacterial may facilitate the progression of CVD

A large genome-wide association study of age-related macular degeneration highlights contributions of rare and common variants.

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Nature Publishing Group via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ng.3448Advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the elderly, with limited therapeutic options. Here we report on a study of >12 million variants, including 163,714 directly genotyped, mostly rare, protein-altering variants. Analyzing 16,144 patients and 17,832 controls, we identify 52 independently associated common and rare variants (P < 5 × 10(-8)) distributed across 34 loci. Although wet and dry AMD subtypes exhibit predominantly shared genetics, we identify the first genetic association signal specific to wet AMD, near MMP9 (difference P value = 4.1 × 10(-10)). Very rare coding variants (frequency <0.1%) in CFH, CFI and TIMP3 suggest causal roles for these genes, as does a splice variant in SLC16A8. Our results support the hypothesis that rare coding variants can pinpoint causal genes within known genetic loci and illustrate that applying the approach systematically to detect new loci requires extremely large sample sizes.We thank all participants of all the studies included for enabling this research by their participation in these studies. Computer resources for this project have been provided by the high-performance computing centers of the University of Michigan and the University of Regensburg. Group-specific acknowledgments can be found in the Supplementary Note. The Center for Inherited Diseases Research (CIDR) Program contract number is HHSN268201200008I. This and the main consortium work were predominantly funded by 1X01HG006934-01 to G.R.A. and R01 EY022310 to J.L.H

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700