Voiceless Victims: Narratives of Rape in Okinawan Fiction.

M.A. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2017

Artisanal and Small-scale Mining and the Sustainable Development Goals::Opportunities and New Directions for Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper explains how formalizing and supporting artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) – low-tech, labor-intensive mineral processing and extraction – would help governments in sub-Saharan Africa meet several targets linked the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While most of the men and women found working in ASM in the region choose to operate without the requisite permits and are rarely monitored or regulated, the local impacts of their activities are significant. After examining the long historical trajectory that has relegated most ASM activities in sub-Saharan Africa to the informal economy, three of the sector’s more obvious economic impacts are reviewed: its contribution to regional mineral outputs; how operations create employment opportunities for millions of people directly, and millions more in the downstream and upstream industries they spawn; and the links the sector has with subsistence agriculture, dynamics which have important implications for food security and gender equality. These contributions alone are sufficient justification for featuring ASM more prominently in the plans, policies and programs being launched in sub-Saharan Africa to help host governments meet their commitments to the SDGs

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in sub-Saharan Africa: Re-conceptualizing formalization and ‘illegal’ activity

This article contributes to the debate on the formalization of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) – low-tech, labour-intensive mineral extraction and processing – in developing countries. A unique sector populated by an eclectic group of individuals, ASM has expanded rapidly in all corners of the world in recent years. Most of its activities, however, are informal, scattered across lands which are not officially titled. But growing recognition of the sector's economic importance, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, has forced donors, and to some extent, policymakers, to ‘rethink’ development strategies for ASM. As part of broader moves to improve the regulation of, and occasionally intensify the delivery of assistance to, the sector, many are now searching frantically for fresh ideas on how to bring operations into the legal domain, where, it is believed, they can be regulated, monitored and supported more effectively. A challenging exercise, this entails first determining, with some degree of precision, why people choose to operate informally in this sector. Drawing on analysis from the literature and findings from research conducted in Ghana and Niger, it is argued that the legalist school (on informality) in part explains how governments across sub-Saharan Africa are ‘creating’ bureaucracies which are stifling the formalization of ASM activities in the region. A more nuanced development strategy grounded in local realities is needed if formalization is to have a transformative effect on the livelihoods of those engaged in ASM in the region and elsewhere in the developing world. © 2017 Elsevier Lt

Selective Radionuclide Localisation in Primary Liver Tumours

The therapeutic potential of 131I-Lipiodol was investigated in 8 patients with cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) and 15 patients with hepatocellullar carcinoma (HCC). Patients received one or two doses of 131I-Lipiodol via hepatic arterial injection. The mean total administered activity was 668 (SD 325) MBq in CCA and 953 (SD 477) MBq in HCC. One patient with CCA retained 131I-Lipiodol. The cumulative radiation dose was 9.6 Gy to tumour, 6.4 Gy to liver and 1.5 Gy to lung. The patient remained asymptomatic with no evidence of tumour 30 months from the start of treatment, whereas the remaining 7 patients exhibited tumour progression. The mean survival in CCA was 11.6 (SD 14.5) months. All 15 patients with HCC retained 131I with tumour: liver ratios of up to 30:1. The mean cumulative radiation dose was 34.7 (SD 32.4) Gy to tumour, 3.3 (SD 1.5) Gy to liver and 4.4 (SD 2.3) Gy to lung. The mean dose per administered activity was 3.8 (SD 4.1) cGy/MBq. Partial response (reduction in tumour size > 50%) was observed in 6 patients (40%). The mean survival was 7.1 (SD 6.0) months

Eureka and beyond: mining's impact on African urbanisation

This collection brings separate literatures on mining and urbanisation together at a time when both artisanal and large-scale mining are expanding in many African economies. While much has been written about contestation over land and mineral rights, the impact of mining on settlement, notably its catalytic and fluctuating effects on migration and urban growth, has been largely ignored. African nation-states’ urbanisation trends have shown considerable variation over the past half century. The current surge in ‘new’ mining countries and the slow-down in ‘old’ mining countries are generating some remarkable settlement patterns and welfare outcomes. Presently, the African continent is a laboratory of national mining experiences. This special issue on African mining and urbanisation encompasses a wide cross-section of country case studies: beginning with the historical experiences of mining in Southern Africa (South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe), followed by more recent mineralizing trends in comparatively new mineral-producing countries (Tanzania) and an established West African gold producer (Ghana), before turning to the influence of conflict minerals (Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone)

Identification and differential expression dynamics of peach small GTPases encoding genes during fruit development and ripening

The function of monomeric GTPases of the RAS superfamily in fruit development and ripening has been partially characterized. Here the identification of peach (Prunus persica) small GTPases of the RAS superfamily expressed in fruit and the characterization of their expression profiles during fruit development are described. Extensive searches on expressed sequence tag (EST) databases led to the selection of a total of 24 genes from peach encoding proteins with significant similarity to Arabidopsis small GTPases. Sequence similarity analyses and identification of conserved motifs, diagnostic of specific RAS families and subfamilies, enabled bona fide assignment of fourteen PpRAB, seven PpARF/ARL/SAR, two PpROP and one PpRAN GTPases. Transcriptional expression profiles of peach monomeric GTPases, analysed by real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, were obtained for mesocarp samples, collected in two consecutive years. Reproducible patterns of expression could be identified for five peach RAB-encoding genes (PpRABA1-1, PpRABA2, PpRABD2-1, PpRABD2-2, and PpRABC2), two ARFs (PpARFA1-1 and PpARLB1), and two ROPs (PpROP3 and PpROP4). Interestingly, the transient transcriptional up-regulation of PpARF genes and of PpRAB genes of the A and D clades, putatively controlling the exocytic delivery of cell wall components and modifying enzymes, appeared to coincide with peaks of growth speed and sugar accumulation and with the final phases of ripening. To our knowledge, this is the first description of the co-ordinated differential expression of a set of genes encoding small GTPases of the ARF and RAB families which takes place during key moments of fruit development and maturation

A Cross-Sectional Survey on Knowledge and Perceptions of Health Risks Associated with Arsenic and Mercury Contamination from Artisanal Gold mining in Tanzania.

An estimated 0.5 to 1.5 million informal miners, of whom 30-50% are women, rely on artisanal mining for their livelihood in Tanzania. Mercury, used in the processing gold ore, and arsenic, which is a constituent of some ores, are common occupational exposures that frequently result in widespread environmental contamination. Frequently, the mining activities are conducted haphazardly without regard for environmental, occupational, or community exposure. The primary objective of this study was to assess community risk knowledge and perception of potential mercury and arsenic toxicity and/or exposure from artisanal gold mining in Rwamagasa in northwestern Tanzania. A cross-sectional survey of respondents in five sub-villages in the Rwamagasa Village located in Geita District in northwestern Tanzania near Lake Victoria was conducted. This area has a history of artisanal gold mining and many of the population continue to work as miners. Using a clustered random selection approach for recruitment, a total of 160 individuals over 18 years of age completed a structured interview. The interviews revealed wide variations in knowledge and risk perceptions concerning mercury and arsenic exposure, with 40.6% (n=65) and 89.4% (n=143) not aware of the health effects of mercury and arsenic exposure respectively. Males were significantly more knowledgeable (n=59, 36.9%) than females (n=36, 22.5%) with regard to mercury (x²=3.99, p<0.05). An individual's occupation category was associated with level of knowledge (x²=22.82, p=<0.001). Individuals involved in mining (n=63, 73.2%) were more knowledgeable about the negative health effects of mercury than individuals in other occupations. Of the few individuals (n=17, 10.6%) who knew about arsenic toxicity, the majority (n=10, 58.8%) were miners. The knowledge of individuals living in Rwamagasa, Tanzania, an area with a history of artisanal gold mining, varied widely with regard to the health hazards of mercury and arsenic. In these communities there was limited awareness of the threats to health associated with exposure to mercury and arsenic. This lack of knowledge, combined with minimal environmental monitoring and controlled waste management practices, highlights the need for health education, surveillance, and policy changes