Securing world heritage sites: insurgency and the destruction of UNESCO’s world heritage sites in Timbuktu, Mali

Because of the political and religious disagreements in Mali, the protection of the country’s world heritage sites (WHSs) has been a constant agenda of state-parties to the World Heritage Convention (WHC). To avoid irreversible damage and loss of these valuable national heritages, appropriate action is needed at every level for their conservation and preservation. Significant attention has been directed at understanding the relevance and benefits of WHSs to the economic sector specifically, but, there has been relatively little academic and policy research on the destruction and looting of WHSs especially in Timbuktu, Mali. This is the gap this study intends to fill. This calls for serious questions regarding what precipitated and led to the destruction of Timbuktu’s cultural heritage. What is the significance of Timbuktu’s WHSs to the Malians? How should government authorities respond to the destruction of the sites? Finally, against the background of the destruction of the Timbuktu WHSs, how can the WHSs be preserved and protected? This study critically interrogates insurgents’ attacks on the WHSs, with the motive of developing a sustainable template suitable for forestalling potential attacks by Islamic/jihadist insurgents, or any other insurgents for that matter, in other locations in Mali, using the attacks in Timbuktu as a case study.http://link.springer.com/journal/10708hj2022Political Science

Challenges of accountability and development in Nigeria: An auto-regressive distributed lag approach

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges of accountability and development in Nigeria. In the literature, corruption is seen as an indicator of a lack of political accountability in most countries of the world, especially in less developed countries such as Nigeria. The Nigerian Government has taken several actions to address the problems of bad governance and corruption that have impeded economic development, but unfortunately these measures have not yielded the desired results. Design/methodology/approach Thus, this study examined accountability and developmental issues in Nigeria using secondary data and then made use of the auto-regressive distributed lag econometric technique to analyze the data. Findings The results from the study found that a rise in total government expenditure poses a danger of reducing Nigeria’s economic development in the long run and that control of corruption and political (the institutional variables) has a direct and significant effect on Nigeria’s economic development. Originality/value Therefore, upon these findings, this paper recommended that for Nigeria to experience development, corruption should be eliminated, and the Nigerian Government should spend on viable projects and economic activities that will be beneficial to the populace and the society at large and hence bring about economic development. Accountability is the hallmark of a prudent government that ensures efficient management of resources and transparency in the utilization of funds by the government. The absence of accountability mechanism allows corruption to thrive, which hinders the developmental process

Fly ash: An alternative to powdered activated carbon for the removal of eosin dye from aqueous solutions

This paper reports the use of powdered activated carbon (PAC) and raw coal fly ash (RFA) in the removal of eosin dye from aqueous solution in batch processes. Operational parameters such as contact time, initial dye concentration, pH and temperature were investigated. Adsorption equilibrium was established in 120 min for the two adsorbents. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were used to fit the adsorption data. Langmuir model gave the best fit in both cases. The adsorption capacities of PAC and RFA were found to be 62.28 mg/g and 43.48 mg/g, respectively. The highest percentage of eosin dye removal for both PAC (98%) and RFA (90%) was observed at pH 2. Pseudo first-order and pseudo second-order kinetic models were used to fit the adsorption data. Pseudo second-order kinetic model gave the best description of the adsorption of eosin dye onto the two adsorbents. Thermodynamic parameters, ΔH⁰, ΔS⁰ and ΔG⁰ confirmed the physical nature, spontaneity and the endothermic nature of the adsorption process. A regeneration technique and a process calculation for evaluating the adsorbent dose required were carried out. This study has shown that RFA is a good alternative adsorbent in the removal of eosin dye from aqueous solution

Acute myocardial infarction in middle-aged male Nigerian with Pemphigus vulgaris on long term corticosteroid therapy: a case report

We report the case of an acute myocardial infarction in a 64-year-old man with background pemphigus vulgaris and long term dapsone and oral corticosteroid therapy. Pemphigus is an uncommon autoimmune blistering disease, mediated by antibodies directed against desmosomal adhesion proteins that are responsible for maintaining integrity of the epidermis. Our patient presented with the commonest type, pemphigus vulgaris, which is associated with oral mucosal ulceration, subsequently followed by the development of superficial blisters. Autoimmune disorders are associated with accelerated atherosclerosis. The relationship between pemphigus vulgaris and myocardial infarction is not clear. This report highlights the presentation and management of myocardial infarction and the possible relationship of acute coronary events with autoimmune disease and chronic steroid use

How safe is sedated upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in a sub-Saharan teaching hospital?

Background: Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy may induce autonomic reactions, with transient changes in haemodynamics and oxygen saturation. We audited the changes in cardiovascular parameters and oxygen saturation during sedated endoscopy.Patients and Methods: A prospective observational study of 110 consecutive patients scheduled for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy under conscious sedation. The sedative agent, duration of endoscopy, heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and oxygen saturation (SPO2) were recorded, while the rate pressure product (RPP) was computed. The patient's preoperative anxiety, pain score and discomfort score during the procedure was recorded on a modified visual analogue scale (VAS) rated from 1-10.Results: Atotal of 110 patients were studied: 69(62.7%) received IV midazolam, and 41(37.3%) had IV pentazocine. The mean HR and RPP increased significantly at all times during the study period from presedation values, p <0.0001. However, the mean HR, SBP and RPP were comparable between midazolam and pentazocine groups. The maximum HR, SBP, RPP in the midazolam group was 155 bpm, 189 mmHg, and 23.35 mmHg/bpm respectively compared to the pentazocine group with 151 bpm, 174mmHg, and 24.71 mmHg/bpm respectively, p <0.05.Oxygen desaturation (SPO2 ≤ 94%w)as noted in 15 patients (13.6%); midazolam (8.2%) versus pentazocine (5.5%), p =0.82. The lowest SPO2 in midazolam group was 92% versus 93% in pentazocine group. The post endoscopy ECG changes included sinus tachycardia in (12), ST segment elevation (5) and T wave inversion (8) in all patients. The number of patients with pain (VAS >7) during endoscopy was comparable: midazolam (26) versus pentazocine (20), p = 0.25.Conclusion: Sedationwith either midazolam or pentazocine during endoscopy had similar effects on cardiovascular parameters and oxygen saturation. However, severe pain with VAS >7 was not uncommon.Keywords: Upper gastrointestinal Endoscopy, midazolam, pentazocine, cardiorespiratory changes, Pain, anxiety score, discomfort scor

Implications of Cannabis sativa on serotonin receptors 1B (HTR1B) and 7 (HTR7) genes in modulation of aggression and depression

The use of Cannabis sativa L. is rampant in the young generation and it induces diverse psychological disturbances, hence the correlation between cannabinoids and expression of serotonin receptors in modulation of depression tendencies. Alterations in the expression of serotonin receptors 1B (HTR1B) and 7 (HTR7) genes in the brain of Wistar rats after oral administration of graded doses of C. sativa extract was investigated for different durations of daily administration to establish a correlation between dose, duration of exposure and modulation of aggression/depression. C. sativa was extracted using petroleum ether as the solvent and constituents analyzed through gas chromatography. We orally administered doses of cannabis extract (12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg) daily for 4, 8, and 12 weeks to male Wistar rats divided into 12 groups of six animals. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique was used to quantify the expressions of genes. Expression of HTR1B was upregulated after 4 and 8-weeks’ exposure to 50 mg/kg dose with relative expressions of 0.68 and 0.91 as compared to 0.48 and 0.52 of the control group, resulting in 41.7% and 75% upregulation. However, results got at 12 weeks revealed a downregulation in the lower doses group by 76% and 71% while the 50 mg/kg dose produced a downregulation of the gene. This suggests a reversal of effect because of prolonged exposure. The extract successfully upregulated HTR7 only after 12 weeks of exposure to 25 and 50 mg/kg doses by 22% and over 100% respectively. Cannabis sativa alters the expression of HTR1B and HTR7 and accounts for the mechanism through which users exhibit depression/aggression attributes, as well as modulation of cognitive ability

Chinese economic expansionism in Africa: A theoretical analysis of the environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis in the forest sector in Cameroon.

This paper, which is conceptually located at the intersection of trade–economics, resource politics, and environmental assessment, is a narrative-analytic review of Chinese economic expansionism in Africa especially its quest for the continent’s natural resources in the past 10 years. We seek to examine the environmental, ecological, and sociopolitical impacts of the current China–Africa engagement within the context of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis. The EKC hypothesis posits that an inverted U-shape relationship exists between economic growth and environmental quality. This implies that the quality of a country’s environment will initially decrease due to its economic growth, but will soon start to improve when the country attains a certain threshold level of economic development/income per capita. We argue that by virtue of its ‘omission’ and/or ‘commission’ factors, the EKC hypothesis can be misleading if not dangerous. Using the case study of China’s engagement with Cameroon in the forest sector, the paper illustrates the high threshold level of economic development/income per capita that is required before the quality of the country’s environment can begin to improve. The paper ends with the environmental, ecological, and sociopolitical impacts of Chinese involvement in the Cameroonian forest sector and concludes that this engagement and the larger Chinese economic expansionism in Africa under current trading conditions is fairly detrimental to the welfare of African peoples and their environment