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Sample records for east african highland

  1. Ky'osimba Onaanya: Understanding Productivity of East African Highland Banana

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Taulya, G.

    2016-01-01

    Drought stress, potassium (K) and nitrogen (N) deficiencies are major constraints to East African highland banana (Musa spp. AAA-EA; hereafter referred to as ‘highland banana’), a primary staple food crop for over 30 million people in East Africa. This study explored the main and interactive effects

  2. Ky’osimba Onaanya: understanding productivity of East African Highland banana

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Taulya, G.

    2015-01-01

    Over 30 million people in East Africa depend on East African highland bananas for food and income. The bananas are grown with limited additions of nutrients and no irrigation, despite widespread poor soil fertility and regular dry seasons. This thesis describes the effect of increasing rainfall

  3. Proliferation and Shoot Recovery among the East African Highland ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Production of East African highland banana (EA-AAA banana) (Musa spp.) is limited by scarcity of planting materials, attributable to their low natural proliferation ability. Under natural field conditions, the EA-AAA bananas greatly differ in suckering ability. In vitro micropropagation has been adopted as an alternative means ...

  4. Characteristics of soils in selected maize growing sites along altitudinal gradients in East African highlands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elijah Njuguna

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Maize is the main staple crop in the East African Mountains. Understanding how the edaphic characteristics change along altitudinal gradients is important for maximizing maize production in East African Highlands, which are the key maize production areas in the region. This study evaluated and compared the levels of some macro and micro-elements (Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na and P and other soil parameters (pH, organic carbon content, soil texture [i.e. % Sand, % Clay and % Silt], cation exchange capacity [CEC], electric conductivity [EC], and water holding capacity [HC]. Soil samples were taken from maize plots along three altitudinal gradients in East African highlands (namely Machakos Hills, Taita Hills and Mount Kilimanjaro characterized by graded changes in climatic conditions. For all transects, pH, Ca, K and Mg decreased with the increase in altitude. In contrast, % Silt, organic carbon content, Al and water holding capacity (HC increased with increasing altitude. The research provides information on the status of the physical–chemical characteristics of soils along three altitudinal ranges of East African Highlands and includes data available for further research.

  5. Ky'osimba Onaanya: Understanding Productivity of East African Highland Banana

    OpenAIRE

    Taulya, G.

    2016-01-01

    Over 30 million people in East Africa depend on East African highland bananas for food and income. The bananas are grown with limited additions of nutrients and no irrigation, despite widespread poor soil fertility and regular dry seasons. This thesis describes the effect of increasing rainfall and application of potassium and nitrogen fertilizers on banana growth and yields. In areas that receive less than 1100 mm of rainfall per year, additional rainfall increases yields by 65%. Application...

  6. Drought is a major yield loss factor for rainfed East African highland banana

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Asten, van P.; Asten-Fermont, van A.M.; Taulya, G.

    2011-01-01

    Although drought stress has been identified among the production constraints of East African highland bananas (Musa spp., AAA-EA genome), no quantitative data were available to support this assumption. This study uses data from three on-station fertilizer trials (5–6 cycles) in Central and Southwest

  7. Evaluation of the LISEM soil erosion model in two catchments in the East African Highlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hessel, R.; Bosch, van den R.; Vigiak, O.

    2006-01-01

    Under increasing population pressure, soil erosion has become a threat in the East African Highlands, and erosion modelling can be useful to quantify this threat. To test its applicability for this region, the LISEM soil erosion model was applied to two small catchments, one in the Usumbara

  8. Norms for multivariate diagnosis of nutrient imbalance in the East African highland bananas (musa spp.aaa)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wairegi, L.; Asten, van P.

    2011-01-01

    Despite low yields and soil fertility problems, fertilizer use in the East African Highland banana (AAA-EA) production is absent. High fertilizer costs increase the need for site-specific fertilizer recommendations that address deficiencies. This study aimed to derive and compare norms for AAA-EA

  9. East African highland bananas (Musa spp. AAA-EA) 'worry' more about potassium deficiency than drought stress

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Taulya, G.

    2013-01-01

    Drought stress, potassium (K) and nitrogen (N) deficiencies are major constraints to rain-fed East African highland banana (EAHB) production in Uganda. It was hypothesised that the reduction in fresh bunch mass and increase in dry matter (DM) allocation to corms with drought stress, K and N

  10. Malaria in east African highlands during the past 30 years: impact of environmental changes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yousif El - Safi Himeidan

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available East African highlands are one of the most populated regions in Africa. The population densities in the highlands ranged between 158 persons/km2 in Ethiopia to 410 persons/km2 in Rwanda. According to the United Nations Population Fund, the region has the world's highest population growth rate. These factors are likely behind the high rates of poverty among the populations. As there were no employment opportunities other than agricultural, this demographic pressure of poor populations have included in an extensive unprecedented land use and land cover changes such as modification of bushland, woodland, and grassland on hillsides to farmland and transformation of papyrus swamps in valley bottoms to dairy pastures and cropland and changing of fallows on hillsides from short or seasonal to longer or perennial. Areas harvested for food crops were therefore increased by more than 100% in most of the highlands. The lost of forest areas, mainly due to subsistence agriculture, between 1990 - 2010 ranged between 8000 ha in Rwanda to 2838000 ha in Ethiopia. These unmitigated environmental changes in the highlands led to rise temperature and optimizing the spread and survival of malaria vectors and development of malaria parasites. Malaria in highlands was initially governed by low ambient temperature, trend of malaria transmission was therefore increased and several epidemics were observed in late 1980s and early 2000s. Although, malaria is decreasing through intensified interventions since mid 2000s onwards, these environmental changes might expose population in the highlands of east Africa to an increase risk of malaria and its epidemic particularly if the current interventions are not sustained.

  11. Mineral fertilizer response and nutrient use efficiencies of East African highland banana (Musa spp., AAA-EAHB, cv. Kisansa)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nyombi, K.; Asten, van P.J.A.; Corbeels, M.; Taulya, G.; Leffelaar, P.A.; Giller, K.E.

    2010-01-01

    Poor yields of East African highland bananas (Musa spp., AAA-EAHB) on smallholder farms have often been attributed to problems of poor soil fertility. We measured the effects of mineral fertilizers on crop performance at two sites over two to three crop cycles; Kawanda in central Uganda and Ntungamo

  12. Field Plot Techniques for Black Sigatoka Evaluation in East African Highland Bananas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Okoro, JU.

    1997-01-01

    Full Text Available Number of plants per experimental unit and number of replications for the efficient and precise assessment of black sigatoka leaf spot disease caused by Mycosphaerella fijiensis in East African Highland bananas were determined. Two representative cultivars were used. Host response to black sigatoka infection was measured by recording the youngest leaf with necrotic spots. The number of plants per experimental unit was determined, using the methods of maximum curvature and comparison of variances, while the number of replications was estimated by Hatheway's method. The optimum experimental plot size was 3 plants (18 m2 for the beer banana cultivar 'Igitsiri', and 30 plants (180 m2 for the cooking banana cultivar 'Igisahira Gisanzwe', using the comparison of variances method. However, the optimum plot size was 15 plants (90 m2 for both cultivars using the method of maximum curvature. The latter statistical method was preferred because of the low precision of the estimates in the former method. Unreplicated trials with plots of 15 plants could be adequate to assess black sigatoka response in East African bananas if uniform disease pressure exists.

  13. Epidemic malaria and warmer temperatures in recent decades in an East African highland

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Alonso, David; Bouma, Menno J.; Pascual, Mercedes

    2011-01-01

    Climate change impacts on malaria are typically assessed with scenarios for the long-term future. Here we focus instead on the recent past (1970-2003) to address whether warmer temperatures have already increased the incidence of malaria in a highland region of East Africa. Our analyses rely on a

  14. Genetic Diversity Among East African Highland Bananas For ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    There are 84 distinct cultivars of highland bananas (Musa spp.) in Uganda, grouped in five clone sets and it is not known which among these are female fertile. The objective of the study reported herein was to identify female fertile highland bananas that can be used in a cross breeding program and to determine the ...

  15. The Ngorongoro Volcanic Highland and its relationships to volcanic deposits at Olduvai Gorge and East African Rift volcanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mollel, Godwin F; Swisher, Carl C

    2012-08-01

    The Ngorongoro Volcanic Highland (NVH), situated adjacent and to the east of Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania, is the source of the immense quantities of lava, ignimbrite, air fall ash, and volcaniclastic debris that occur interbedded in the Plio-Pleistocene sedimentary deposits in the Laetoli and Olduvai areas. These volcanics have proven crucial to unraveling stratigraphic correlations, the age of these successions, the archaeological and paleontological remains, as well as the source materials from which the bulk of the stone tools were manufactured. The NVH towers some 2,000 m above the Olduvai and Laetoli landscapes, affecting local climate, run-off, and providing varying elevation - climate controlled ecosystem, habitats, and riparian corridors extending into the Olduvai and Laetoli lowlands. The NVH also plays a crucial role in addressing the genesis and history of East African Rift (EAR) magmatism in northern Tanzania. In this contribution, we provide age and petrochemical compositions of the major NVH centers: Lemagurut, basalt to benmorite, 2.4-2.2 Ma; Satiman, tephrite to phonolite, 4.6-3.5 Ma; Oldeani, basalt to trachyandesite, 1.6-1.5 Ma; Ngorongoro, basalt to rhyolite, 2.3-2.0 Ma; Olmoti, basalt to trachyte, 2.0-1.8 Ma; Embagai, nephelinite to phonolite, 1.2-0.6 Ma; and Engelosin, phonolite, 3-2.7 Ma. We then discuss how these correlate in time and composition with volcanics preserved at Olduvai Gorge. Finally, we place this into context with our current understanding as to the eruptive history of the NVH and relationship to East African Rift volcanism. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Phytogeography of the tropical north-east African mountains

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    I. Friis

    1983-11-01

    Full Text Available The tropical north-east African mountains are tentatively divided into four phytochoria, the formal rank of which is not defined. The division is based on patterns of distribution and endemism in the region. The recognition of a distinct Afromontane phytochorion is now well established (Chapman & White, 1970; Werger, 1978; White, 1978. However, there is still very little information on the phytogeography of the individual mountains or mountain systems. This study hopes to fill a little of the gap by analysing distribution patterns and patterns of endemism in the flora of the tropical north-east African mountains. The north-east African mountain system is the largest in tropical Africa (see e.g. map in White, 1978. At the core of this system is the large Ethiopian massif, around which are located various mountains and mountain chains. These include the Red Sea Hills in the Sudan, the mountain chain in northern Somalia, the south-west Arabian mountains, and the Imatong mountains of south-east Sudan. The latter are often referred to the East African mountain system (White, 1978 but. as I will point out later, they also have a close connection with the south-west highlands of Ethiopia. The paper presents some results of my study of the mountain flora of tropical north-east Africa, particularly the forest species. Where no source is indicated, the data are from my own unpublished studies.

  17. East African Medical Journal

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The East African Medical Journal is intended for publication of papers on ... research on problems relevant to East Africa and other African countries will receive special ... Analysis of survival patterns of TB‐HIV co‐infected patients in relation to ...

  18. Ranking malaria risk factors to guide malaria control efforts in African highlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Protopopoff, Natacha; Van Bortel, Wim; Speybroeck, Niko; Van Geertruyden, Jean-Pierre; Baza, Dismas; D'Alessandro, Umberto; Coosemans, Marc

    2009-11-25

    Malaria is re-emerging in most of the African highlands exposing the non immune population to deadly epidemics. A better understanding of the factors impacting transmission in the highlands is crucial to improve well targeted malaria control strategies. A conceptual model of potential malaria risk factors in the highlands was built based on the available literature. Furthermore, the relative importance of these factors on malaria can be estimated through "classification and regression trees", an unexploited statistical method in the malaria field. This CART method was used to analyse the malaria risk factors in the Burundi highlands. The results showed that Anopheles density was the best predictor for high malaria prevalence. Then lower rainfall, no vector control, higher minimum temperature and houses near breeding sites were associated by order of importance to higher Anopheles density. In Burundi highlands monitoring Anopheles densities when rainfall is low may be able to predict epidemics. The conceptual model combined with the CART analysis is a decision support tool that could provide an important contribution toward the prevention and control of malaria by identifying major risk factors.

  19. Key-socio economic factors influencing sustainable land management investments in the West Usambara Highlands, Tanzania

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nyanga, A.W.; Kessler, C.A.; Tenge, A.J.M.

    2016-01-01

    Low investments in sustainable land management (SLM) limit agricultural production in the East African Highlands, leading to increased soil erosion, low productivity of land and food insecurity. Recent studies in the region show that different socio-economic factors influence SLM investments by

  20. Ranking malaria risk factors to guide malaria control efforts in African highlands.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natacha Protopopoff

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Malaria is re-emerging in most of the African highlands exposing the non immune population to deadly epidemics. A better understanding of the factors impacting transmission in the highlands is crucial to improve well targeted malaria control strategies. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A conceptual model of potential malaria risk factors in the highlands was built based on the available literature. Furthermore, the relative importance of these factors on malaria can be estimated through "classification and regression trees", an unexploited statistical method in the malaria field. This CART method was used to analyse the malaria risk factors in the Burundi highlands. The results showed that Anopheles density was the best predictor for high malaria prevalence. Then lower rainfall, no vector control, higher minimum temperature and houses near breeding sites were associated by order of importance to higher Anopheles density. CONCLUSIONS: In Burundi highlands monitoring Anopheles densities when rainfall is low may be able to predict epidemics. The conceptual model combined with the CART analysis is a decision support tool that could provide an important contribution toward the prevention and control of malaria by identifying major risk factors.

  1. Scopus: Journal of East African Ornithology

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Scopus: Journal of East African Ornithology has been published since 1977 by the Bird Committee of the East Africa Natural History Society. Originally titled Scopus, the addition of Journal of East African Ornithology began with our January 2018 issue. The journal is published Open Access twice a year, typically in January ...

  2. The effectiveness of soil conservation measures at a landscape scale in the West Usambara highlands, Tanzania

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wickama, Juma; Masselink, Rens; Sterk, Geert

    2015-01-01

    The adoption of soil and water conservation (SWC) technologies among small holder farmers in the East African highlands is an area which poses many challenges. When adoption occurs across a vast landscape, the locations and effectiveness of the adopted measures are often not adequately known. For

  3. East African Journal of Statistics: Journal Sponsorship

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Journal of Statistics: Journal Sponsorship. Journal Home > About the Journal > East African Journal of Statistics: Journal Sponsorship. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

  4. Journal of East African Natural History

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Journal of East African Natural History is published jointly by the East Africa Natural History Society and the National Museums of Kenya. The Journal publishes papers and notes in the field of natural history, broadly defined as the study of organisms in their natural state, relevant to the eastern African region.

  5. East African rarities committee report | Fisher | Scopus: Journal of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Rarities Committee (EARC) Special Report Species included for East African countries in Britton (1980) which have since been considered unacceptable. East African Rarities Committee Report 2013–2015. Full Text: EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD ...

  6. Scopus: Journal of East African Ornithology: Journal Sponsorship

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Scopus: Journal of East African Ornithology: Journal Sponsorship. Journal Home > About the Journal > Scopus: Journal of East African Ornithology: Journal Sponsorship. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

  7. East African Journal of Public Health: Journal Sponsorship

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Journal of Public Health: Journal Sponsorship. Journal Home > About the Journal > East African Journal of Public Health: Journal Sponsorship. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

  8. Archives: East and Central African Journal of Surgery

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Items 1 - 40 of 40 ... Archives: East and Central African Journal of Surgery. Journal Home > Archives: East and Central African Journal of Surgery. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

  9. Regional Integration: A Political Federation of the East African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The aim of this paper is to explore the possibility and viability of an East African political federation project. Since the late 1800s under the then British East Africa, the countries of East Africa have been searching for ways to integrate. The search led to the establishment of the East African Community (EAC) in December ...

  10. EAST AFRICAN MEDICAL JOURNAL

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2003-11-11

    Nov 11, 2003 ... East African Medical Journal Vol. ... Lecturer/Consultant Surgeon, Paediatric Surgery Unit, Department of Surgery, College of Medical Sciences, University of Calabar, .... mind and the results obtained were however satisfying.

  11. Stable isotopic composition of East African lake waters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Odada, E.O.

    2001-01-01

    The investigation of stable isotopic composition of East African lake waters was conducted by scientists from the Department of Geology, University of Nairobi, as part of the International Decade for the East African Lakes (IDEAL) project and in close collaboration with the scientists from Large Lakes Observatory of the University of Minnesota and the Isotope Hydrology Laboratory of the IAEA in Vienna. The Research Contract was part of the IAEA Co-ordinated Research Programme on Isotope Techniques in Lake Dynamics Investigations, and was sponsored by the Agency. Water and grab sediment samples were obtained from East African Lakes during the month of January and February 1994 and July/August 1995. Water samples were analysed for oxygen and deuterium isotopic composition at the IAEA Laboratories in Vienna, Austria. In this final paper we report the results of the study of oxygen and deuterium isotopic composition from the East African lake waters. (author)

  12. Effect of Leucaena and Sesbania supplementation on body growth and scrotal circumference of Ethiopian highland sheep and goats fed teff straw basal diet

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kaitho, R.J.; Tegegne, A.; Umunna, N.N.; Nsahlai, I.V.; Tamminga, S.; Bruchem, J. van; Arts, J.M.

    1998-01-01

    The long term effect of supplementation of Leucaena pallida and Sesbania sesban on growth and reproduction performance was determined on 30 male Ethiopian highland sheep and 25 East African goats. Unchopped teff straw (Eragrostis tef) was given ad libitum and supplemented with either wheat bran (150

  13. Isotopic signature of Pan-African rejuvenation in the Kerala Khondalite belt, southern India: implications for east Gondwana reassembly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Unnikrishnan Warrier, C.

    1997-01-01

    Sm-Nd isotope systematics on mineral separates from sillimanite-and cordierite-bearing metapelite (khondalite), and garnet-and biotite-bearing gneiss (leptynite) from the Kerala Khondalite Belt (KKB), southern India, yielded mineral isochron ages (wr-feld-bio-gar) of 537±27 Ma (MSWD=0.9) and 534±26 Ma (MSWD=1.23) respectively. Rb-Sr systematics in the same samples gave wr-feld-bio mineral isochron ages of 437±9 Ma (MSWD=0.67) and 467±9 Ma (MSWD=0.76). These results provide the first mineral isochron ages for the regional metasedimentaries in the KKB. The ε (Nd T) values at 550 Ma for khondalite and leptynite are -22.7 and -21.8 respectively. These results demonstrate a complete rejuvenation of the crust during Pan-African times. Coeval alkaline plutons emplaced along fault-lineaments in this area suggest an extensional tectonic regime. Geochronologic correlations with the Lutzow-Holm bay complexes in east Antarctica, and the highland and southwestern complex of Sri Lanka show that a similar Pan-African tectono-thermal event manifested in all the east Gondwana crustal fragments. (author)

  14. Journal of East African Natural History: Editorial Policies

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Focus and Scope. The Journal of East African Natural History is published jointly by the East Africa Natural History Society and the National Museums of Kenya. The Journal publishes papers and notes in the field of natural history, broadly defined as the study of organisms in their natural state, relevant to the eastern African ...

  15. East and Central African Journal of Surgery: About this journal

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East and Central African Journal of Surgery: About this journal. Journal Home > East and Central African Journal of Surgery: About this journal. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

  16. THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE CROPPING SYSTEMS IN THE HIGHLANDS OF SOUTH-EAST ASIA: GENERAL LESSONS FOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael A. Fullen

    2005-05-01

    Full Text Available Soil conservation in the highlands of South-East Asia is essential for sustainable agro-environmental development. The effectiveness of soil conservation treatments developed in runoff plots was investigated in farmer-managed plots on a natural catchment. This wasachieved by the development and scientific evaluation of modified and novel cropping practices in a representative highland catchment in Yunnan Province, China. Wang Jia Catchment covers 40.1 hectares near Kedu, in Xundian County, north-east Yunnan (25o28'N, 102o53'E. The initial project consisted of an evaluation of the effects of modified cropping practices on maize productivity and soil properties. This programme was extended to investigate ways of increasing the productivity of maize, wheat and soybean on fragile slopes in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly way. The approach incorporates modified and novel agronomic and soil conservation measures, with the evaluation of their agricultural, environmental and socio-economic impacts using multidisciplinary approaches. This European Union funded project involved an international research team from Belgium, China, Ireland, Thailand and the U.K. Five co-ordinated work packages were implemented. Involving: (1 Background agricultural and environmental assessment of Wang Jia Catchment. (2Implementation and evaluation of modified and novel cropping systems for wheat, maize and soybean in the catchment. (3 Cost-benefit analyses of the socio-economic impacts of the changed cropping practices. (4 Comparative scientific evaluation of the cropping techniques in the highlands of northern Thailand. (5 Dissemination of project outcomes and establishment of training programmes for best practice in highland rural development. The lessons of the Project for promoting sustainable agro-environmental development in tropical and subtropical highlands include: (1 Recognizing the importance of both ‘north-south’ and ‘south-south’ co

  17. Portulacaria afra in East AFrica | Newton | Journal of East African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    No Abstract. East African Journal of Natural History Vol. 96 (1) 2007: pp. 107-108. http://dx.doi.org/10.2982/0012-8317(2007)96[107:PAIEA]2.0.CO;2 · AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors · FAQ's · More about AJOL · AJOL's Partners · Terms and Conditions of Use ...

  18. Crowdfunding in Emerging Markets : Lessons from East African Startups

    OpenAIRE

    World Bank Group

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to capture lessons learned from East African entrepreneurs who were some of crowdfunding’s first adopters. Their experiences can serve as a practical guide for entrepreneurs looking to more effectively utilize crowdfunding across all emerging markets. In order to gather this data, the World Bank conducted interviews with a number of East African technology entr...

  19. Model, Proxy and Isotopic Perspectives on the East African Humid Period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tierney, Jessica E.; Lewis, Sophie C.; Cook, Benjamin I.; LeGrande, Allegra N.; Schmidt, Gavin A.

    2011-01-01

    Both North and East Africa experienced more humid conditions during the early and mid-Holocene epoch (11,000-5000yr BP; 11-5 ka) relative to today. The North African Humid Period has been a major focus of paleoclimatic study, and represents a response of the hydrological cycle to the increase in boreal summer insolation and associated ocean, atmosphere and land surface feedbacks. Meanwhile, the mechanisms that caused the coeval East African Humid Period are poorly understood. Here, we use results from isotopeenabled coupled climate modeling experiments to investigate the cause of the East African Humid Period. The modeling results are interpreted alongside proxy records of both water balance and the isotopic composition of rainfall. Our simulations show that the orbitally-induced increase in dry season precipitation and the subsequent reduction in precipitation seasonality can explain the East African Humid Period, and this scenario agrees well with regional lake level and pollen paleoclimate data. Changes in zonal moisture flux from both the Atlantic and Indian Ocean account for the simulated increase in precipitation from June through November. Isotopic paleoclimate data and simulated changes in moisture source demonstrate that the western East African Rift Valley in particular experienced more humid conditions due to the influx of Atlantic moisture and enhanced convergence along the Congo Air Boundary. Our study demonstrates that zonal changes in moisture advection are an important determinant of climate variability in the East African region.

  20. East African Journal of Sciences: Submissions

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Aims The East African Journal of Sciences (EAJS) publishes original scientific ... of ideas among scientists engaged in research and development activities; and ... font size 12, Times New Roman), including tables, figures and illustrations.

  1. East African Orthopaedic Journal: Submissions

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Author Guidelines. The East African Orthopaedic Journal is published biannually by the Kenya Orthopaedics Association. Its primary objective is to give researchers in orthopaedics and ... Format should be as follows; Details of authors as for original articles, summary of not more than 200 words, introduction, case report,

  2. Collaboration with East African security organisations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nordby, Johannes Riber; Jacobsen, Katja L.

    2012-01-01

    of the concept. At the same time the three organisations represent different constellations of member nations and thus different national interests, and locally they have different legitimacy and political strength. Thus, when choosing collaboration partners for a security project it is not simply a question......When it comes to understanding the concept of security and the way fragile security situations should be solved, the difference is big. While EASF – the East African Standby Force – is a regular military force with a rather traditional, military perception of the concept of security, EAC (East...... African Community) and IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) have broader perceptions of the concept. According to EAC, security also concerns matters such as policy reform, legislation, education and infrastructure. IGAD considers food security and environmental and economic issues as part...

  3. East and Central African Journal of Surgery: Contact

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Principal Contact. Prof. Ignatius Kakande Editor-in-Chief Association of Surgeons of East Africa. East and Central African Journal of Surgery. P.O. Box 7051. Kampala. Uganda. Alternative email: igkakande@gmail.com. Phone: +256 772 501 745. Email: ecajs@gmail.com ...

  4. General practitioners and clinical guidelines | Bhagat | East African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Medical Journal: 2001 78(1): 30-34). Full Text: EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT · http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/eamj.v78i1.9109 · AJOL African Journals Online.

  5. East African Agricultural and Forestry Journal

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Agricultural and Forestry Journal is published by the Kenya ... water resource base to meet the challenges of poverty alleviation and food security. ... on maize growth, nitrogen uptake and yield in a semi-arid Kenyan environment ...

  6. East African Journal of Public Health

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The East African Journal of Public Health is a multi-disciplinary journal publishing scientific research work from a range of public health related disciplines including community medicine, epidemiology, nutrition, behavioural sciences, health promotion, health education, communicable and non-communicable disease.

  7. Crater Highlands, Tanzania

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-01-01

    The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), flown aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour in February 2000, acquired elevation measurements for nearly all of Earth's landmass between 60oN and 56oS latitudes. For many areas of the world SRTM data provide the first detailed three-dimensional observation of landforms at regional scales. SRTM data were used to generate this view of the Crater Highlands along the East African Rift in Tanzania. Landforms are depicted with colored height and shaded relief, using a vertical exaggeration of 2X and a southwestwardly look direction. Lake Eyasi is depicted in blue at the top of the image, and a smaller lake occurs in Ngorongoro Crater. Near the image center, elevations peak at 3648 meters (11,968 feet) at Mount Loolmalasin, which is south of Ela Naibori Crater. Kitumbeine (left) and Gelai (right) are the two broad mountains rising from the rift lowlands. Mount Longido is seen in the lower left, and the Meto Hills are in the right foreground. Tectonics, volcanism, landslides, erosion and deposition -- and their interactions -- are all very evident in this view. The East African Rift is a zone of spreading between the African (on the west) and Somali (on the east) crustal plates. Two branches of the rift intersect here in Tanzania, resulting in distinctive and prominent landforms. One branch trends nearly parallel the view and includes Lake Eyasi and the very wide Ngorongoro Crater. The other branch is well defined by the lowlands that trend left-right across the image (below center, in green). Volcanoes are often associated with spreading zones where magma, rising to fill the gaps, reaches the surface and builds cones. Craters form if a volcano explodes or collapses. Later spreading can fracture the volcanoes, which is especially evident on Kitumbeine and Gelai Mountains (left and right, respectively, lower center). The Crater Highlands rise far above the adjacent savannas, capture moisture from passing air masses, and host rain

  8. The ecology of Anopheles mosquitoes under climate change: case studies from the effects of deforestation in East African highlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Afrane, Yaw A; Githeko, Andrew K; Yan, Guiyun

    2012-02-01

    Climate change is expected to lead to latitudinal and altitudinal temperature increases. High-elevation regions such as the highlands of Africa and those that have temperate climate are most likely to be affected. The highlands of Africa generally exhibit low ambient temperatures. This restricts the distribution of Anopheles mosquitoes, the vectors of malaria, filariasis, and O'nyong'nyong fever. The development and survival of larval and adult mosquitoes are temperature dependent, as are mosquito biting frequency and pathogen development rate. Given that various Anopheles species are adapted to different climatic conditions, changes in climate could lead to changes in species composition in an area that may change the dynamics of mosquito-borne disease transmission. It is important to consider the effect of climate change on rainfall, which is critical to the formation and persistence of mosquito breeding sites. In addition, environmental changes such as deforestation could increase local temperatures in the highlands; this could enhance the vectorial capacity of the Anopheles. These experimental data will be invaluable in facilitating the understanding of the impact of climate change on Anopheles. © 2012 New York Academy of Sciences.

  9. Scientific Communication | Okolo | East African Medical Journal

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Medical Journal. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 92, No 2 (2015) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

  10. Tobacco smoking in black and white South Africans | Peltzer | East ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Tobacco smoking in black and white South Africans. K. Peltzer. Abstract. (East African Medical Journal: 2001 78(3): 115-118). Full Text: EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT · http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/eamj.v78i3.9074 · AJOL African Journals Online.

  11. Assessing sanitary mixtures in East African cities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Letema, S.C.

    2012-01-01

    The urbanisation of poverty and informality in East African cities poses a threat to environmental
    health, perpetuates social exclusion and inequalities, and creates service gaps (UN-Habitat, 2008).
    This makes conventional sanitation provision untenable citywide, giving rise to the

  12. Acute appendicitis in a Kenya rural hospital | Willmore | East African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Medical Journal: 2001 78(7): 355-357). Full Text: EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT · http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/eamj.v78i7.9007 · AJOL African Journals Online.

  13. East African Cenozoic vegetation history.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linder, Hans Peter

    2017-11-01

    The modern vegetation of East Africa is a complex mosaic of rainforest patches; small islands of tropic-alpine vegetation; extensive savannas, ranging from almost pure grassland to wooded savannas; thickets; and montane grassland and forest. Here I trace the evolution of these vegetation types through the Cenozoic. Paleogene East Africa was most likely geomorphologically subdued and, as the few Eocene fossil sites suggest, a woodland in a seasonal climate. Woodland rather than rainforest may well have been the regional vegetation. Mountain building started with the Oligocene trap lava flows in Ethiopia, on which rainforest developed, with little evidence of grass and none of montane forests. The uplift of the East African Plateau took place during the middle Miocene. Fossil sites indicate the presence of rainforest, montane forest and thicket, and wooded grassland, often in close juxtaposition, from 17 to 10 Ma. By 10 Ma, marine deposits indicate extensive grassland in the region and isotope analysis indicates that this was a C 3 grassland. In the later Miocene rifting, first of the western Albertine Rift and then of the eastern Gregory Rift, added to the complexity of the environment. The building of the high strato-volcanos during the later Mio-Pliocene added environments suitable for tropic-alpine vegetation. During this time, the C 3 grassland was replaced by C 4 savannas, although overall the extent of grassland was reduced from the mid-Miocene high to the current low level. Lake-level fluctuations during the Quaternary indicate substantial variation in rainfall, presumably as a result of movements in the intertropical convergence zone and the Congo air boundary, but the impact of these fluctuations on the vegetation is still speculative. I argue that, overall, there was an increase in the complexity of East African vegetation complexity during the Neogene, largely as a result of orogeny. The impact of Quaternary climatic fluctuation is still poorly understood

  14. East African Journal of Sciences: Editorial Policies

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Open Access Policy. This journal provides immediate open access to its content, upon registration, on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Creative Commons License East African Journal of Sciences by Haramaya University is licensed under a ...

  15. General practitioners and clinical guidelines | Bhagat | East African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Medical Journal. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 78, No 1 (2001) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

  16. Short communications | Mockler | Scopus: Journal of East African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Scopus: Journal of East African Ornithology. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 36, No 1 (2016) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

  17. East African Journal of Public Health: Editorial Policies

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Focus and Scope. The East African Journal of Public Health is a multi-disciplinary journal publishing scientific research work from a range of public health related disciplines including community medicine, epidemiology, nutrition, behavioural sciences, health promotion, health education, communicable and ...

  18. Journal of East African Natural History: Submissions

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2017-11-01

    Nov 1, 2017 ... Author Guidelines. Submission: manuscripts should be submitted as a Word document in an email attachment, to the Editor-in-Chief, Journal of East African Natural History at office@naturekenya.org. The manuscript should be accompanied by a covering letter from the author, or in the case of multiple ...

  19. The biggest fish in the sea? Dynamic Kenyan labour migration in the East African community

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ong'ayo, A.O.O.; Oucho, J.O.; Oucho, L.A.

    2013-01-01

    This study assesses the Kenyan policy and institutional framework concerning South–South labour migration with particular focus on the East African Community (EAC) countries. It focuses mainly on one particular policy instrument, the East African Community Common Market framework. The research

  20. African Muslim Youth and the Middle East

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ihle, Annette Haaber

    this African tradition of religious scholarship in the Middle East. The paper will, with the help of Pierre Bourdieu's notion of forms of capital related to various fields, analyse the challenges which Muslim students encounter during their stay in the Middle East and the forms of capital they bring back......, marked by economic decline and political instability. In Africa a weak or even failed state often means that young people have in reality no access to political, educational or economic positions and resources. In some countries like Nigeria, Ghana and the Ivory Coast the marginalisation of the youth...

  1. Virulence diversity of Uromyces Appendiculatus in the Highlands of Guatemala

    Science.gov (United States)

    The common bean is planted throughout Guatemala, especially in the highlands of the South East, North East, and South West regions. In these regions, temperatures fluctuate between 16 y 20 °C and the average rain precipitation is about 1000 mm. These conditions are optimum for the rust disease and b...

  2. East African governments' responses to high cereal prices

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meijerink, G.W.; Roza, P.; Berkum, van S.

    2009-01-01

    This study analyses the responses of governments in four East African countries (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia) with respect to price formation and price transmission in the cereal sector. All four countries were confronted with high cereal prices in 2008. Government policies applied largely

  3. East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences is dedicated to all aspects of Pharmaceutical Sciences research and is published in English. The scientific papers published in the Journal fall into three main categories: review papers, original research papers and short communications. Review papers in ...

  4. Systematic and taxonomic issues concerning some East African bird ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Scopus: Journal of East African Ornithology. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 34 (2015) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

  5. Bandwidth selection in smoothing functions | Kibua | East African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... inexpensive and, hence, worth adopting. We argue that the bandwidth parameter is determined by two factors: the kernel function and the length of the smoothing region. We give an illustrative example of its application using real data. Keywords: Kernel, Smoothing functions, Bandwidth > East African Journal of Statistics ...

  6. Panmixia in east African Platgyra daedalea | Macdonald | Western ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Reef coral populations in the western Indian Ocean are neglected in terms of research and management. Very little is known about coral population connectivity and dynamics at regional scales. Platygyra daedalea was collected from Indian Ocean coral reefs, mainly from the east African coast between Mombasa Marine ...

  7. East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 1. Vol. 8(2) 40 - 42. Constituents of the Stem Bark of Dombeya Rotundifolia Hochst. S.N. NDWIGAH*', G.N. THOITHI', J.W. MWANGI~ AND 1.0. KIBWAGE'. 'Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of Nairobi,. P. 0.

  8. Editorial : Clinical drug interactions | Kokwaro | East African Medical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Journal Home > Vol 78, No 10 (2001) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register. Editorial: Clinical drug interactions. G. O. Kokwaro. Abstract. (East African Medical Journal 2001 78 (10): 505-506). Full Text: EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT

  9. A south equatorial African precipitation dipole and the associated atmospheric circulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dezfuli, A. K.; Zaitchik, B.; Gnanadesikan, A.

    2013-12-01

    South Equatorial Africa (SEA) is a climatically diverse region that includes a dramatic topographic and vegetation contrast between the lowland, humid Congo basin to the west and the East African Plateau to the east. Due to lack of conventional weather data and a tendency for researchers to treat East and western Africa as separate regions, dynamics of the atmospheric water cycle across SEA have received relatively little attention, particularly at subseasonal timescales. Both western and eastern sectors of SEA are affected by large-scale drivers of the water cycle associated with Atlantic variability (western sector), Indian Ocean variability (eastern sector) and Pacific variability (both sectors). However, a specific characteristic of SEA is strong heterogeneity in interannual rainfall variability that cannot be explained by large-scale climatic phenomena. For this reason, this study examines regional climate dynamics on daily time-scale with a focus on the role that the abrupt topographic contrast between the lowland Congo and the East African highlands plays in driving rainfall behavior on short timescales. Analysis of daily precipitation data during November-March reveals a zonally-oriented dipole mode over SEA that explains the leading pattern of weather-scale precipitation variability in the region. The separating longitude of the two poles is coincident with the zonal variation of topography. An anomalous counter-clockwise atmospheric circulation associated with the dipole mode appears over the entire SEA. The circulation is triggered by its low-level westerly component, which is in turn generated by an interhemispheric pressure gradient. These enhanced westerlies hit the East African highlands and produce topographically-driven low-level convergence and convection that further intensifies the circulation. Recent studies have shown that under climate change the position and intensity of subtropical highs in both hemispheres and the intensity of

  10. Attitudes, perceptions and behaviours towards HIV testing among African-American and East African immigrant women in Washington, DC: implications for targeted HIV testing promotion and communication strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Jesus, Maria; Carrete, Claudia; Maine, Cathleen; Nalls, Patricia

    2015-12-01

    The objective of the study was to examine and compare the HIV testing attitudes, perceptions and behaviours between African-American and East African immigrant women in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Adopting an inductive, qualitative methodological approach, we conducted a total of 40 in-depth, semistructured interviews between October 2012 and March 2013. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Overall, African-American women held more favourable views towards HIV testing than East African immigrant women. Very few East African immigrant women sought HIV testing intentionally. The majority of East African participants were tested inadvertently, while others tested for immigration-related or employment-related purposes. There were many barriers that impede women from seeking an HIV test including negative assumptions (eg, "Getting an HIV test implies that I am HIV positive"), negative emotions (eg, "Fear of being diagnosed with HIV and what this will mean for me") and potential negative reactions from partner or others (eg, "Getting an HIV test can signal distrust, disrespect, or infidelity"). There were nuances in how each group articulated some of these barriers and East African women expressed unique concerns that originated from experiences in their home countries. The study shed light into the complexity of factors that constrain women from presenting themselves voluntarily for an HIV test and highlighted the nuances between African-American and East African perceptions. Implications of findings for effective targeted HIV screening promotion and communication strategies among these groups of women are discussed. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

  11. Attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors toward HIV testing among African American and East African immigrant women in Washington, D.C.: Implications for targeted HIV testing promotion and communication strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Jesus, Maria; Carrete, Claudia; Maine, Cathleen; Nalls, Patricia

    2015-01-01

    Objectives The objective of the study was to examine and compare the HIV testing attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors between African American and East African immigrant women in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area. Methods Adopting an inductive, qualitative methodological approach, we conducted a total of 40 in-depth, semi-structured interviews between October 2012 and March 2013. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Results Overall, African American women held more favorable views toward HIV testing than East African immigrant women. Very few East African immigrant women sought HIV testing intentionally. The majority of East African participants were tested inadvertently, while others tested for immigration- or employment-related purposes. There were many barriers that impede women from seeking an HIV test including: negative assumptions (e.g., ‘Getting an HIV test implies that I am HIV positive’); negative emotions (e.g., ‘Fear of being diagnosed with HIV and what this will mean for me’); and potential negative reactions from partner or others (e.g., ‘Getting an HIV test can signal distrust, disrespect, or infidelity’). There were nuances in how each group articulated some of these barriers and East African women expressed unique concerns that originated from experiences in their home countries. Conclusions The study shed light into the complexity of factors that constrain women from presenting themselves voluntarily for an HIV test and highlighted the nuances between African American and East African perceptions. Implications of findings for effective targeted HIV screening promotion and communication strategies among these groups of women are discussed. PMID:25897146

  12. Human Cryptosporidiosis: A Review | Ayuo | East African Medical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Medical Journal. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 86, No 2 (2009) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register · Download this PDF file. The PDF file you selected should ...

  13. Adhesive intestinal obstruction | Kuremu | East African Medical Journal

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Medical Journal. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 83, No 6 (2006) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register · Download this PDF file. The PDF file you selected should ...

  14. Editorial : Emerging issues of measles | Obimbo | East African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Medical Journal. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 78, No 1 (2001) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register · Download this PDF file. The PDF file you selected should ...

  15. Two extended haplotype blocks are associated with adaptation to high altitude habitats in East African honey bees.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreas Wallberg

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Understanding the genetic basis of adaption is a central task in biology. Populations of the honey bee Apis mellifera that inhabit the mountain forests of East Africa differ in behavior and morphology from those inhabiting the surrounding lowland savannahs, which likely reflects adaptation to these habitats. We performed whole genome sequencing on 39 samples of highland and lowland bees from two pairs of populations to determine their evolutionary affinities and identify the genetic basis of these putative adaptations. We find that in general, levels of genetic differentiation between highland and lowland populations are very low, consistent with them being a single panmictic population. However, we identify two loci on chromosomes 7 and 9, each several hundred kilobases in length, which exhibit near fixation for different haplotypes between highland and lowland populations. The highland haplotypes at these loci are extremely rare in samples from the rest of the world. Patterns of segregation of genetic variants suggest that recombination between haplotypes at each locus is suppressed, indicating that they comprise independent structural variants. The haplotype on chromosome 7 harbors nearly all octopamine receptor genes in the honey bee genome. These have a role in learning and foraging behavior in honey bees and are strong candidates for adaptation to highland habitats. Molecular analysis of a putative breakpoint indicates that it may disrupt the coding sequence of one of these genes. Divergence between the highland and lowland haplotypes at both loci is extremely high suggesting that they are ancient balanced polymorphisms that greatly predate divergence between the extant honey bee subspecies.

  16. Two extended haplotype blocks are associated with adaptation to high altitude habitats in East African honey bees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schöning, Caspar

    2017-01-01

    Understanding the genetic basis of adaption is a central task in biology. Populations of the honey bee Apis mellifera that inhabit the mountain forests of East Africa differ in behavior and morphology from those inhabiting the surrounding lowland savannahs, which likely reflects adaptation to these habitats. We performed whole genome sequencing on 39 samples of highland and lowland bees from two pairs of populations to determine their evolutionary affinities and identify the genetic basis of these putative adaptations. We find that in general, levels of genetic differentiation between highland and lowland populations are very low, consistent with them being a single panmictic population. However, we identify two loci on chromosomes 7 and 9, each several hundred kilobases in length, which exhibit near fixation for different haplotypes between highland and lowland populations. The highland haplotypes at these loci are extremely rare in samples from the rest of the world. Patterns of segregation of genetic variants suggest that recombination between haplotypes at each locus is suppressed, indicating that they comprise independent structural variants. The haplotype on chromosome 7 harbors nearly all octopamine receptor genes in the honey bee genome. These have a role in learning and foraging behavior in honey bees and are strong candidates for adaptation to highland habitats. Molecular analysis of a putative breakpoint indicates that it may disrupt the coding sequence of one of these genes. Divergence between the highland and lowland haplotypes at both loci is extremely high suggesting that they are ancient balanced polymorphisms that greatly predate divergence between the extant honey bee subspecies. PMID:28542163

  17. Looking forward to the East African Countries' Collaboration in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    of harmonizing nursing and midwifery education, practice and legislation. A study to ... opportunity for University Deans in the East African region to dialogue and examine possible areas .... essentials for a productive collaboration including; ... and 4 students graduated in mental health programs. ... such as e-learning.

  18. Scopus: Journal of East African Ornithology - Vol 32 (2012)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Remarks concerning the East African coastal form of the Tropical Boubou Laniarius aethiopicus sublacteus (Cassin 1851), and its supposed black morph · EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. DA Turner, BW Finch, ND Hunter, 47-49 ...

  19. Records: East African Rarities Committee report and change of remit ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Scopus: Journal of East African Ornithology. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 29 (2009) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

  20. Climate variability and impacts on east African livestock herders: the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Climate variability and impacts on east African livestock herders: the Maasai of ... and vulnerability to climate variability and climate change is assessed, using data ... Model results suggest that the ecosystem is quite resilient and suggests that ...

  1. Seismicity of the Earth 1900-2013 East African Rift

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayes, Gavin P.; Jones, Eric S.; Stadler, Timothy J.; Barnhart, William D.; McNamara, Daniel E.; Benz, Harley M.; Furlong, Kevin P.; Villaseñor, Antonio; Hayes, Gavin P.; Jones, Eric S.; Stadler, Timothy J.; Barnhart, William D.; McNamara, Daniel E.; Benz, Harley M.; Furlong, Kevin P.; Villaseñor, Antonio

    2014-01-01

    The East African Rift system (EARS) is a 3,000-km-long Cenozoic age continental rift extending from the Afar triple junction, between the horn of Africa and the Middle East, to western Mozambique. Sectors of active extension occur from the Indian Ocean, west to Botswana and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is the only rift system in the world that is active on a continent-wide scale, providing geologists with a view of how continental rifts develop over time into oceanic spreading centers like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

  2. Maritime Security Concerns of the East African Community (EAC ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The maritime domain of the East African Community (EAC) is affected by a number of maritime security threats, including piracy, armed robbery against ships and an ongoing maritime border dispute between Kenya and Somalia. Neither the EAC nor its member States have long-term and holistic maritime security policies.

  3. Extremes in East African hydroclimate and links to Indo-Pacific variability on interannual to decadal timescales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ummenhofer, Caroline C.; Kulüke, Marco; Tierney, Jessica E.

    2018-04-01

    East African hydroclimate exhibits considerable variability across a range of timescales, with implications for its population that depends on the region's two rainy seasons. Recent work demonstrated that current state-of-the-art climate models consistently underestimate the long rains in boreal spring over the Horn of Africa while overestimating the short rains in autumn. This inability to represent the seasonal cycle makes it problematic for climate models to project changes in East African precipitation. Here we consider whether this bias also has implications for understanding interannual and decadal variability in the East African long and short rains. Using a consistent framework with an unforced multi-century global coupled climate model simulation, the role of Indo-Pacific variability for East African rainfall is compared across timescales and related to observations. The dominant driver of East African rainfall anomalies critically depends on the timescale under consideration: Interannual variations in East African hydroclimate coincide with significant sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies across the Indo-Pacific, including those associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the eastern Pacific, and are linked to changes in the Walker circulation, regional winds and vertical velocities over East Africa. Prolonged drought/pluvial periods in contrast exhibit anomalous SST predominantly in the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific warm pool (IPWP) region, while eastern Pacific anomalies are insignificant. We assessed dominant frequencies in Indo-Pacific SST and found the eastern equatorial Pacific dominated by higher-frequency variability in the ENSO band, while the tropical Indian Ocean and IPWP exhibit lower-frequency variability beyond 10 years. This is consistent with the different contribution to regional precipitation anomalies for the eastern Pacific versus Indian Ocean and IPWP on interannual and decadal timescales, respectively. In the model

  4. Development of catchment research, with particular attention to Plynlimon and its forerunner, the East African catchments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blackie, J. R.; Robinson, M.

    2007-01-01

    Dr J.S.G. McCulloch was deeply involved in the establishment of research catchments in East Africa and subsequently in the UK to investigate the hydrological consequences of changes in land use. Comparison of these studies provides an insight into how influential his inputs and direction have been in the progressive development of the philosophy, the instrumentation and the analytical techniques now employed in catchment research. There were great contrasts in the environments: tropical highland (high radiation, intense rainfall) vs. temperate maritime (low radiation and frontal storms), contrasting soils and vegetation types, as well as the differing social and economic pressures in developing and developed nations. Nevertheless, the underlying scientific philosophy was common to both, although techniques had to be modified according to local conditions. As specialised instrumentation and analytical techniques were developed for the UK catchments many were also integrated into the East African studies. Many lessons were learned in the course of these studies and from the experiences of other studies around the world. Overall, a rigorous scientific approach was developed with widespread applicability. Beyond the basics of catchment selection and the quantification of the main components of the catchment water balance, this involved initiating parallel process studies to provide information on specific aspects of catchment behaviour. This information could then form the basis for models capable of extrapolation from the observed time series to other periods/hydrological events and, ultimately, the capability of predicting the consequences of changes in catchment land management to other areas in a range of climates.

  5. Hybridization in East African swarm-raiding army ants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kronauer, Daniel Jc; Peters, Marcell K; Schöning, Caspar

    2011-01-01

    Hybridization can have complex effects on evolutionary dynamics in ants because of the combination of haplodiploid sex-determination and eusociality. While hybrid non-reproductive workers have been found in a range of species, examples of gene-flow via hybrid queens and males are rare. We studied...... hybridization in East African army ants (Dorylus subgenus Anomma) using morphology, mitochondrial DNA sequences, and nuclear microsatellites....

  6. Genetic structure and diversity of East African taro [ Colocasia ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Taro [Colocasia esculenta (L) Schott] is mainly produced in Africa by small holder farmers and plays an important role in the livelihood of millions of poor people in less developed countries. The genetic diversity of East African taro has not been determined. This study utilizes six microsatellite primers to analyze five ...

  7. Agricultural Trade and Economic Growth in East African Community ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Community states, as many other states in the region, depend largely on agricultural activities to boost their economic growth and create employment. Up to 80 per cent of the populace depends on agriculture directly and indirectly for food, employment and income, while about 40 million people in EAC suffer ...

  8. Primary cerebral angitis of the central nervous | Das | East African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Various medications like intravenous immunoglobulin, antibiotics, acyclovir, methyl prednisolone and management for raised intracranial pressure were instituted. She rapidly deteroriated and died on tenth hospital day. Only at autopsy was the diagnosis of primary angitis of central nervous system established. East African ...

  9. East African Community Law : Institutional, Substantive and Comparative EU Aspects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ugirashebuja, E.; Ruhangisa, J.E.; Ottervanger, T.R.; Cuyvers, A.

    2017-01-01

    The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental and supranational organization currently comprising the Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania, and the Republic of Uganda. Established in 2000, the EAC aims at widening and deepening

  10. East African wetland-catchment data base for sustainable wetland management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leemhuis, Constanze; Amler, Esther; Diekkrüger, Bernd; Gabiri, Geofrey; Näschen, Kristian

    2016-10-01

    Wetlands cover an area of approx. 18 Mio ha in the East African countries of Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania, with still a relative small share being used for food production. Current upland agricultural use intensification in these countries due to demographic growth, climate change and globalization effects are leading to an over-exploitation of the resource base, followed by an intensification of agricultural wetland use. We aim on translating, transferring and upscaling knowledge on experimental test-site wetland properties, small-scale hydrological processes, and water related ecosystem services under different types of management from local to national scale. This information gained at the experimental wetland/catchment scale will be embedded as reference data within an East African wetland-catchment data base including catchment physical properties and a regional wetland inventory serving as a base for policy advice and the development of sustainable wetland management strategies.

  11. East African wetland-catchment data base for sustainable wetland management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Leemhuis

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Wetlands cover an area of approx. 18 Mio ha in the East African countries of Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania, with still a relative small share being used for food production. Current upland agricultural use intensification in these countries due to demographic growth, climate change and globalization effects are leading to an over-exploitation of the resource base, followed by an intensification of agricultural wetland use. We aim on translating, transferring and upscaling knowledge on experimental test-site wetland properties, small-scale hydrological processes, and water related ecosystem services under different types of management from local to national scale. This information gained at the experimental wetland/catchment scale will be embedded as reference data within an East African wetland-catchment data base including catchment physical properties and a regional wetland inventory serving as a base for policy advice and the development of sustainable wetland management strategies.

  12. A methodology to track temporal dynamics and rainfall thresholds of landslide processes in the East African Rift

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monsieurs, Elise; Jacobs, Liesbet; Kervyn, François; Kirschbaum, Dalia; d'Oreye, Nicolas; Derauw, Dominique; Kervyn, Matthieu; Nobile, Adriano; Trefois, Philippe; Dewitte, Olivier

    2015-04-01

    The East African rift valley is a major tectonic feature that shapes Central Africa and defines linear-shaped lowlands between highland ranges due to the action of geologic faults associated to earthquakes and volcanism. The region of interest, covering the Virunga Volcanic Province in eastern DRC, western Rwanda and Burundi, and southwest Uganda, is threatened by a rare combination of several types of geohazards, while it is also one of the most densely populated region of Africa. These geohazards can globally be classified as seismic, volcanic and landslide hazards. Landslides, include a wide range of ground movements, such as rock falls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows. Landslides are possibly the most important geohazard in terms of recurring impact on the populations, causing fatalities every year and resulting in structural and functional damage to infrastructure and private properties, as well as serious disruptions of the organization of societies. Many landslides are observed each year in the whole region, and their occurrence is clearly linked to complex topographic, lithologic and vegetation signatures coupled with heavy rainfall events, which is the main triggering factor. The source mechanisms underlying landslide triggering and dynamics in the region of interest are still poorly understood, even though in recent years, some progress has been made towards appropriate data collection. Taking into account difficulties of field accessibility, we present a methodology to study landslide processes by multi-scale and multi-sensor remote sensing data from very high to low resolution (Pléiades, TRMM, CosmoSkyMed, Sentinel). The research will address the evolution over time of such data combined with other earth observations (seismic ground based networks, catalogues, rain gauge networks, GPS surveying, field observations) to detect and study landslide occurrence, dynamics and evolution. This research aims to get insights into the rainfall

  13. A one-size-fits-all HIV prevention and education approach?: Analyzing and interpreting divergent HIV risk perceptions between African American and East African immigrant women in Washington, DC

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Jesus, Maria; Taylor, Juanita; Maine, Cathleen; Nalls, Patricia

    2015-01-01

    Background To date, there are very few comparative US studies and none in DC that distinguish between US-born and foreign-born Black women to examine and compare their perceptions of HIV risk. This qualitative study, therefore, analyzes African American and East African women’s perceptions of HIV risk in the Washington DC Metropolitan area, which has the highest AIDS rate in the US. Methods Forty in-depth, semi-structured interviews and 10 cognitive interviews were conducted among a sample of 25 African American women and 25 East African born women between October 2012 and March 2013 to examine perceptions regarding HIV risk. The in-depth semi-structured interviews were preceded by the cognitive interviews and accompanying survey. Study protocol was reviewed and approved by the American University Institutional Review Board. Results Adopting Boerma and Weir’s Proximate Determinants conceptual framework to interpret the data, the results of the study demonstrate that African American and East African immigrant women have divergent perceptions of HIV risk. While African American women ascribe HIV risk to individual-level behaviors and choices such as unprotected sex, East African women attribute HIV risk to conditions of poverty and survival. Conclusions Study findings suggest that addressing HIV prevention and education among Black women in DC will require distinct and targeted strategies that are culturally and community-centered in order to resonate with these different audiences. PMID:26766523

  14. Emerging landscape degradation trends in the East African Horn

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pricope, N. G.; Michaelsen, J.; Husak, G. J.; Funk, C. C.; Lopez-Carr, D.

    2012-12-01

    Increasing climate variability along with declining trends in rainfall represent major risk factors affecting food security in many regions of the world. We identify Africa-wide regions where significant rainfall decreases from 1979-2011 are coupled with significant human population density increases. The rangelands of the East African Horn remain one of the world's most food insecure regions with significantly increasing human populations predominantly dependent on pastoralist and agro-pastoralist livelihoods. Widespread vegetation degradation is occurring, adversely impacting fragile ecosystems and human livelihoods. Using MODIS land cover and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data collected since 2000, we observe significant changes in vegetation patterns and productivity over the last decade across the East African Horn and demonstrate that these two products can be used concurrently at large spatial scales to monitor vegetation dynamics at decadal time scales. Results demonstrate that a near doubling of the population in pastoral regions is linked with hotspots of degradation in vegetation condition. The most significant land cover change and browning trends are observed in areas experiencing drying precipitation trends in addition to increasing population pressures. These findings have serious implications for current and future regional food security monitoring and forecasting and for mitigation and adaptation strategies in a region where population is expected to continue increasing against a backdrop of drying climate trends.Fig.1(a)Change in standardized precipitation index in Africa between 1979-2010 (b)Change in population density at continental scale using the GRUMPv1 1990 and 2000 and AfriPop 2010 population density datasets Fig.2 Land cover change trajectories based on 2001-2009 MOD12Q1 Land Cover product for the East African Horn overlaid over aggregated FEWS Net Livelihoods Zones.

  15. Alcoholism and diabetes mellitus: Case report | Otieno | East African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Medical Journal. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 79, No 2 (2002) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register · Download this PDF file. The PDF file you selected should ...

  16. Anorexia nervosa in Kenya | Njenga | East African Medical Journal

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Medical Journal. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 81, No 4 (2004) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register · Download this PDF file. The PDF file you selected should ...

  17. Post-traumatic stress disorder: Case report | Nyamai | East African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Medical Journal. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 77, No 4 (2000) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register · Download this PDF file. The PDF file you selected should ...

  18. Primary breast sarcoma: case report | Hassan | East African Medical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Medical Journal. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 81, No 7 (2004) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register · Download this PDF file. The PDF file you selected should ...

  19. Kaposis sarcoma in a Nairobi Hospital | Onyango | East African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Medical Journal. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 81, No 3 (2004) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register · Download this PDF file. The PDF file you selected should ...

  20. Managing scalp defects in sub-Saharan Africa | Legbo | East African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Conclusions: Management of scalp defects remains a major challenge in our environment. The importance of continuing education of colleagues and other health workers in peripheral health units on the importance of proper initial wound debridement and early referral cannot be overemphasised. East African Medical ...

  1. East and Central African Journal of Surgery Volume 15 Number 2 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DELL

    East and central African Journal of Surgery. Page 136 ... at school. Early presentation, immediate intervention and treatment can prevent grave .... Bank DE, Diaz L, Behrman DA, Delaney J, Bizzocco S. Tongue entrapment in an aluminum.

  2. East and Central African Journal of Surgery Volume 15 Number 2 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DELL

    East and central African Journal of Surgery. Page 122 ... curriculum by integrating the basic and clinical sciences focusing on organ system and featuring early .... 5. identify the different radiological and imaging investigations. 6. know how to ...

  3. The genus Atheris (Serpentes: Viperidae) in East Africa: phylogeny and the role of rifting and climate in shaping the current pattern of species diversity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menegon, M; Loader, S P; Marsden, S J; Branch, W R; Davenport, T R B; Ursenbacher, S

    2014-10-01

    Past climatic and tectonic events are believed to have strongly influenced species diversity in the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot. We investigated the phylogenetic relationships and historical biogeography of the East African genus Atheris (Serpentes: Viperidae), and explored temporal and spatial relationships between Atheris species across Africa, and the impact of palaeoclimatic fluctuations and tectonic movements on cladogenesis of the genus. Using mitochondrial sequence data, the phylogeny of East African species of Atheris shows congruent temporal patterns that link diversification to major tectonic and aridification events within East Africa over the last 15million years (my). Our results are consistent with a scenario of a delayed direct west-east colonisation of the Eastern Arc Mountains of Atheris by the formation of the western rift. Based on the phylogenetic patterns, this terrestrial, forest-associated genus has dispersed into East Africa across a divided route, on both west-southeasterly and west-northeasterly directions (a C-shaped route). Cladogenesis in the Eastern Arc Mountains and Southern Highlands of Tanzania corresponds to late Miocene and Plio-Pleistocene climatic shifts. Taxonomically, our data confirmed the monophyly of Atheris as currently defined, and reveal four major East African clades, three of which occur in discrete mountain ranges. Possible cryptic taxa are identified in the Atheris rungweensis and A. ceratophora clades. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. African Postal Heritage : Tanzania 1885-1920s : part I : German East Africa, 1885-1914

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dietz, A.J.

    2016-01-01

    An earlier version of this African Postal Heritage Paper was published as African Studies Centre Leiden Working Paper 119 / 2015: "A postal history of the First World War in Africa and its aftermath - German colonies; III Deutsch Ostafrika / German East Africa", written by Ton Dietz.

  5. Cerebral cortices of East african early hominids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falk, D

    1983-09-09

    An endocast of the frontal lobe of a reconstructed skull, which is approximately 2 million years old, from the Koobi Fora region of Kenya appears to represent the oldest human-like cortical sulcal pattern in the fossil record, while the endocast from another skull from the same region produces an endocast that appears apelike in its frontal lobe and similar to endocasts from earlier South African australopithecines. New analysis of paleoanatomical evidence thus indicates that at least two taxa of early hominids coexisted in East Africa.

  6. 59 East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    pharm-chem

    East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Vol. 16 (2013). There is a misconception that traditional medicine is unique to developing countries of Africa, Asia and. South America. This is certainly not true. Traditional medicine, often referred to as "alternative medicine", is widely used in developed countries ...

  7. East and Central African Journal of Surgery Volume 15 Number 2 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DELL

    East and Central African Journal of Surgery Volume 15 Number 2. ... Makerere University,School of Biomedical sciences Department of Anatomy, P.O Box 7072, ..... should be borne in mind when locating the nerve for a regional block in the ...

  8. East African Journal of Public Health - Vol 7, No 1 (2010)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Journal of Public Health. ... DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. E Mutabaruka, C Dochez, D Nshimirimana, A Meheus ... Prevalence of cigarette smoking and knowledge of its health implications among Nigerian soldiers · EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT ...

  9. The episode of genetic drift defining the migration of humans out of Africa is derived from a large east African population size.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nuha Elhassan

    Full Text Available Human genetic variation particularly in Africa is still poorly understood. This is despite a consensus on the large African effective population size compared to populations from other continents. Based on sequencing of the mitochondrial Cytochrome C Oxidase subunit II (MT-CO2, and genome wide microsatellite data we observe evidence suggesting the effective size (Ne of humans to be larger than the current estimates, with a foci of increased genetic diversity in east Africa, and a population size of east Africans being at least 2-6 fold larger than other populations. Both phylogenetic and network analysis indicate that east Africans possess more ancestral lineages in comparison to various continental populations placing them at the root of the human evolutionary tree. Our results also affirm east Africa as the likely spot from which migration towards Asia has taken place. The study reflects the spectacular level of sequence variation within east Africans in comparison to the global sample, and appeals for further studies that may contribute towards filling the existing gaps in the database. The implication of these data to current genomic research, as well as the need to carry out defined studies of human genetic variation that includes more African populations; particularly east Africans is paramount.

  10. Over grafting donor site | Rogers | East and Central African Journal ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East and Central African Journal of Surgery. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 14, No 2 (2009) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register. Over grafting donor site. AD Rogers, AK ...

  11. Use of Machine Learning Techniques for Identification of Robust Teleconnections to East African Rainfall Variability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, J. Brent; Robertson, F. R.; Funk, C.

    2014-01-01

    Hidden Markov models can be used to investigate structure of subseasonal variability. East African short rain variability has connections to large-scale tropical variability. MJO - Intraseasonal variations connected with appearance of "wet" and "dry" states. ENSO/IOZM SST and circulation anomalies are apparent during years of anomalous residence time in the subseasonal "wet" state. Similar results found in previous studies, but we can interpret this with respect to variations of subseasonal wet and dry modes. Reveal underlying connections between MJO/IOZM/ENSO with respect to East African rainfall.

  12. East and Central African Journal of Surgery http://www.bioline.org.br ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Patrick

    East and Central African Journal of Surgery ... Investigations and intra-operative findings were suggestive of testicular torsion. We report this case because of its unusual ... The diagnosis is made mainly through clinical examination and signs.

  13. Regional view of a Trans-African Drainage System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed Abdelkareem

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Despite the arid to hyperarid climate of the Great Sahara of North Africa, pluvial climates dominated the region. Radar data shed some light on the postulated Trans-African Drainage System and its relationship to active and inactive tributaries of the Nile basin. Interpretations of recent elevation data confirm a source of the river water from the Red Sea highlands did not connect the Atlantic Ocean across Tushka basin, highlands of Uwinate and Darfur, and Chad basin, but northward to the ancestral Nile Delta. Elements of topography and climate were considered. They show that the former segments of the Nile closely mirror present-day tributaries of the Nile basin in drainage geometry, landscape, and climate. A rainfall data interpolation scenario revealed that this basin received concurrent runoff from both flanks such as Gabgaba-Allaqi to the east and Tushka basin to the west, similar to present-day Sobat and White Nile tributaries, respectively. Overall the western tributaries such as those of Tushka basin and Howar lead to the Nile, which was (and still is the biggest river system in Africa.

  14. Regional view of a Trans-African Drainage System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdelkareem, Mohamed; El-Baz, Farouk

    2014-01-01

    Despite the arid to hyperarid climate of the Great Sahara of North Africa, pluvial climates dominated the region. Radar data shed some light on the postulated Trans-African Drainage System and its relationship to active and inactive tributaries of the Nile basin. Interpretations of recent elevation data confirm a source of the river water from the Red Sea highlands did not connect the Atlantic Ocean across Tushka basin, highlands of Uwinate and Darfur, and Chad basin, but northward to the ancestral Nile Delta. Elements of topography and climate were considered. They show that the former segments of the Nile closely mirror present-day tributaries of the Nile basin in drainage geometry, landscape, and climate. A rainfall data interpolation scenario revealed that this basin received concurrent runoff from both flanks such as Gabgaba-Allaqi to the east and Tushka basin to the west, similar to present-day Sobat and White Nile tributaries, respectively. Overall the western tributaries such as those of Tushka basin and Howar lead to the Nile, which was (and still is) the biggest river system in Africa. PMID:26257941

  15. African Crop Science Journal - Vol 21 (2013)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    M Barungi, DH Ng'ong'ola, A Edriss, J Mugisha, 637-646 ... Innovation platforms for establishment and management of community nurseries in the central highlands of Ethiopia. EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT ... Scaling Sustainable Land management Innovations: The African Highland Initiative Devolution Model. EMAIL FREE ...

  16. Acute appendicitis in a Kenya rural hospital | Willmore | East African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Medical Journal. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 78, No 7 (2001) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register · Download this PDF file. The PDF file you selected should ...

  17. Louse-borne relapsing fever among East African refugees in Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antinori, Spinello; Mediannikov, Oleg; Corbellino, Mario; Raoult, Didier

    2016-01-01

    Louse-borne relapsing fever a neglected and forgotten disease by western physicians has recently re-emerged among East African migrants seeking asylum in Europe. We review here the cases observed so far together with a critical reappraisal of several issues regarding clinical presentation, diagnosis and treatment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Task Shifting in HIV Clinics, Western Kenya | Kosgei | East African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Medical Journal. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 87, No 7 (2010) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register · Download this PDF file. The PDF file you selected should ...

  19. Response of banana cultivars to banana weevil attack | Kiggundu ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Highland Bananas (EAHB) (Musa AAA, 'Matooke' group) are a major staple food in the East African region. However, banana weevil (Cosmopolites sorllidus) is a major production constraint to bananas and may cause damage levels of up to 100%. Pesticides can effectively control banana weevil but these are ...

  20. Signatures of selection for environmental adaptation and zebu × taurine hybrid fitness in East African shorthorn zebu

    Science.gov (United States)

    The East African Shorthorn Zebu (EASZ) cattle are ancient hybrid between Asian zebu × African taurine cattle preferred by local farmers due to their adaptability to the African environment. The genetic controls of these adaptabilities are not clearly understood yet. Here, we genotyped 92 EASZ sample...

  1. Comparison of East African and Iran natural feeding condition based ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In this scientific work, we used soils from Zanzibar (Tansania region east African), Guilan (north of Iran), Tehran (center of Iran) and two type of soils from Zabol and Saravan regions (southeastern of Iran) in a condition simulated like atmospheric ones. The amounts of reduced Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, pH, Ec, carbohydrate and lipid ...

  2. Effectiveness of sustainable land management measures in West Usambara highlands, Tanzania

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wickama, Juma; Okoba, Barrack; Sterk, Geert|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/157276465

    2014-01-01

    Soil erosion is a serious problem that affects food security and social livelihoods in the highlands of East Africa. Sustainable land management (SLM) measures have been widely promoted to reduce erosion and increase crop yield, but the adoption of SLM measures has remained low. In order to

  3. A One-Size-Fits-All HIV Prevention and Education Approach?: Interpreting Divergent HIV Risk Perceptions Between African American and East African Immigrant Women in Washington, DC Using the Proximate-Determinants Conceptual Framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Jesus, Maria; Taylor, Juanita; Maine, Cathleen; Nalls, Patricia

    2016-02-01

    To date, there are very few comparative US studies and none in DC that distinguish between US-born and foreign-born black women to examine and compare their perceptions of HIV risk. This qualitative study, therefore, analyzes African American and East African women's perceptions of HIV risk in the Washington DC Metropolitan area, which has the highest AIDS rate in the United States. Forty in-depth, semistructured interviews and 10 cognitive interviews were conducted among a sample of 25 African American women and 25 East African born women between October 2012 and March 2013 to examine perceptions regarding HIV risk. The in-depth semistructured interviews were preceded by the cognitive interviews and accompanying survey. Study protocol was reviewed and approved by the American University Institutional Review Board. Adopting Boerma and Weir's Proximate Determinants conceptual framework to interpret the data, the results of the study demonstrate that African American and East African immigrant women have divergent perceptions of HIV risk. Although African American women ascribe HIV risk to individual-level behaviors and choices such as unprotected sex, East African women attribute HIV risk to conditions of poverty and survival. Study findings suggest that addressing HIV prevention and education among black women in DC will require distinct and targeted strategies that are culturally and community-centered to resonate with these different audiences.

  4. Yellow fever, Asia and the East African slave trade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cathey, John T; Marr, John S

    2014-05-01

    Yellow fever is endemic in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and South America, yet its principal vectors--species of mosquito of the genus Aedes--are found throughout tropical and subtropical latitudes. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that yellow fever originated in Africa and that its spread to the New World coincided with the slave trade, but why yellow fever has never appeared in Asia remains a mystery. None of several previously proposed explanations for its absence there is considered satisfactory. We contrast the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and trade across the Sahara and to the Arabian Peninsula and Mesopotamia, with that to Far East and Southeast Asian ports before abolition of the African slave trade, and before the scientific community understood the transmission vector of yellow fever and the viral life cycle, and the need for shipboard mosquito control. We propose that these differences in slave trading had a primary role in the avoidance of yellow fever transmission into Asia in the centuries before the 20(th) century. The relatively small volume of the Black African slave trade between Africa and East and Southeast Asia has heretofore been largely ignored. Although focal epidemics may have occurred, the volume was insufficient to reach the threshold for endemicity.

  5. East African Journal of Sciences (2015) Volume 9 (1) 41-48 Effect of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    tosheba

    East African Journal of Sciences (2015). Volume 9 (1) 41-48 ... but no significant difference was observed amongst them. Queen .... used method of termite management in western. Ethiopia ..... Ethiopia. Working Document Series 68, ICRA,.

  6. Geodynamics of the East African Rift System ∼30 Ma ago: A stress field model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Min, Ge; Hou, Guiting

    2018-06-01

    The East African Rift System (EARS) is thought to be an intra-continental ridge that meets the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the Ethiopian Afar as the failed arm of the Afar triple junction. The geodynamics of EARS is still unclear even though several models have been proposed. One model proposes that the EARS developed in a local tensile stress field derived from far-field loads because of the pushing of oceanic ridges. Alternatively, some scientists suggest that the formation of the EARS can be explained by upwelling mantle plumes beneath the lithospheric weak zone (e.g., the Pan-African suture zone). In our study, a shell model is established to consider the Earth's spherical curvature, the lithospheric heterogeneity of the African continent, and the coupling between the mantle plumes and the mid-ocean ridge. The results are calculated via the finite element method using ANSYS software and fit the geological evidence well. To discuss the effects of the different rock mechanical parameters and the boundary conditions, four comparative models are established with different parameters or boundary conditions. Model I ignores the heterogeneity of the African continent, Model II ignores mid-ocean spreading, Model III ignores the upwelling mantle plumes, and Model IV ignores both the heterogeneity of the African continent and the upwelling mantle plumes. Compared to these models is the original model that shows the best-fit results; this model indicates that the coupling of the upwelling mantle plumes and the mid-ocean ridge spreading causes the initial lithospheric breakup in Afar and East Africa. The extension direction and the separation of the EARS around the Tanzanian craton are attributed to the heterogeneity of the East African basement.

  7. Use and misuse of aspirin in rural Ethiopia | Duncan | East African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Medical Journal. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 83, No 1 (2006) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register · Download this PDF file. The PDF file you selected should ...

  8. Landscape determinants and remote sensing of anopheline mosquito larval habitats in the western Kenya highlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mushinzimana, Emmanuel; Munga, Stephen; Minakawa, Noboru; Li, Li; Feng, Chen-Chieng; Bian, Ling; Kitron, Uriel; Schmidt, Cindy; Beck, Louisa; Zhou, Guofa; Githeko, Andrew K; Yan, Guiyun

    2006-02-16

    In the past two decades the east African highlands have experienced several major malaria epidemics. Currently there is a renewed interest in exploring the possibility of anopheline larval control through environmental management or larvicide as an additional means of reducing malaria transmission in Africa. This study examined the landscape determinants of anopheline mosquito larval habitats and usefulness of remote sensing in identifying these habitats in western Kenya highlands. Panchromatic aerial photos, Ikonos and Landsat Thematic Mapper 7 satellite images were acquired for a study area in Kakamega, western Kenya. Supervised classification of land-use and land-cover and visual identification of aquatic habitats were conducted. Ground survey of all aquatic habitats was conducted in the dry and rainy seasons in 2003. All habitats positive for anopheline larvae were identified. The retrieved data from the remote sensors were compared to the ground results on aquatic habitats and land-use. The probability of finding aquatic habitats and habitats with Anopheles larvae were modelled based on the digital elevation model and land-use types. The misclassification rate of land-cover types was 10.8% based on Ikonos imagery, 22.6% for panchromatic aerial photos and 39.2% for Landsat TM 7 imagery. The Ikonos image identified 40.6% of aquatic habitats, aerial photos identified 10.6%, and Landsate TM 7 image identified 0%. Computer models based on topographic features and land-cover information obtained from the Ikonos image yielded a misclassification rate of 20.3-22.7% for aquatic habitats, and 18.1-25.1% for anopheline-positive larval habitats. One-metre spatial resolution Ikonos images combined with computer modelling based on topographic land-cover features are useful tools for identification of anopheline larval habitats, and they can be used to assist to malaria vector control in western Kenya highlands.

  9. East and central farming and forest region and Atlantic basin diversified farming region: LRRs N and S

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brad D. Lee; John M. Kabrick

    2017-01-01

    The central, unglaciated US east of the Great Plains to the Atlantic coast corresponds to the area covered by LRR N (East and Central Farming and Forest Region) and S (Atlantic Basin Diversified Farming Region). These regions roughly correspond to the Interior Highlands, Interior Plains, Appalachian Highlands, and the Northern Coastal Plains.

  10. East-African Social Sciences and Humanities Publishing: A Handmade Bibliometrics Approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schmidt, N

    2016-07-01

    For Eastern Africa, very little information about the SSH knowledge production can be found from a European perspective. Adequate indicators like information-rich bibliographic databases that cover East-Africa-based journals and book publishers are lacking. This research in progress explores their indexing situation in detail, their development, which is closely connected to political history, their (non-)usage, and affiliations as well as careerstages of their authors. Furthermore, it also pays attention to East-Africa-based SSH researchers who use other publication venues. Any bibliometric analysis in this field needs to rely on manual data collection, otherwise it would be heavily biased. This study lays out the foundation for citation analyses, qualitative research on the publications' content and the self-description of East-African scholars against the background of an academic environment that is often described as “international”. (Author)

  11. Diversification of African tree frogs (genus Leptopelis) in the highlands of Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reyes-Velasco, Jacobo; Manthey, Joseph D; Freilich, Xenia; Boissinot, Stéphane

    2018-05-01

    The frog genus Leptopelis is composed of ~50 species that occur across sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of these frogs are typically arboreal; however, a few species have evolved a fossorial lifestyle. Most species inhabit lowland forests, but a few species have adapted to high elevations. Five species of Leptopelis occupy the Ethiopian highlands and provide a good opportunity to study the evolutionary transition from an arboreal to a fossorial lifestyle, as well as the diversification in this biodiversity hot spot. We sequenced 14 nuclear and three mitochondrial genes, and generated thousands of SNPs from ddRAD sequencing to study the evolutionary relationships of Ethiopian Leptopelis. The five species of highland Leptopelis form a monophyletic group, which diversified during the late Miocene and Pliocene. We found strong population structure in the fossorial species L. gramineus, with levels of genetic differentiation between populations similar to those found between arboreal species. This could indicate that L. gramineus is a complex of cryptic species. We propose that after the original colonization of the Ethiopian highlands by the ancestor of the L. gramineus group, episodes of vicariance fragmented the ancestral populations of this group. We also report the re-evolution of arboreality in L. susanae, which evolved from a fossorial ancestor, a rare ecological switch in frogs that had previously been reported only once. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. African mutinies in the Netherlands East Indies : a nineteenth-century colonial paradox

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kessel, van W.M.J.; Abbink, J.; Bruijn, de M.E.; Walraven, van K.

    2003-01-01

    Between 1831 and 1872, the Dutch government recruited 3,000 Africans from the Gold Coast and Ashanti (Ghana) for service in the colonial army in the Netherlands East Indies. The majority of them were ex-slaves but were promised that their conditions of service would be the same as those of

  13. Ideological trends in initial teacher education curricula: the case of East African universities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Proscovia Namubiru Ssentamu

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper reviews the ideological trends in initial teacher education curricula in East African universities during the post-independent and contemporary times. From the mid-1960s and mid-1980s, initial teacher education curricula were integrated and harmonised with support from the East African Community whose efforts were coordinated by the Inter-University Council for East Africa. With the breakup of the Community in 1977, each independent state pursued its own educational strategy. However, underfunding of the public sector by governments, introduction of market-friendly reforms under the World Bank Structural Adjustment Programme in 1987 and the de-regularisation policies led to the liberalisation of public services, including education. Liberalisation affected among others, the quality of the initial teacher education curricula. Consequently, national councils and commissions for higher education were established to control standards in higher education, and the Inter-University Council for East Africa was revived to standardise and harmonise educational standards at regional level. The review shows that over the past five decades, the structure and organisation of initial teacher education curricula has continuously adjusted itself and been adjusted to a hybrid culture blending classical humanism, utilitarianism, social re-constructionism, market and global ideologies. Comparable ideological inclinations at socio-economic and political levels have influenced this trend in the region. The paper highlights the implications of such trends on the future of initial teacher education in the region.

  14. Contrasted continental rifting via plume-craton interaction : Applications to Central East African Rift

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koptev, Alexander; Burov, Evgueni; Calais, Eric; Leroy, Sylvie; Gerya, Taras; Guillou-Frottier, Laurent; Cloetingh, Sierd

    The East African Rift system (EARS) provides a unique system with the juxtaposition of two contrasting yet simultaneously formed rift branches, the eastern, magma-rich, and the western, magma-poor, on either sides of the old thick Tanzanian craton embedded in a younger lithosphere. Data on the

  15. The role of households in solid waste management in East African capital cities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Solomon, A.O.

    2011-01-01

    Solid Management is a concern in East African capital cities. The absence of managing solid waste is a serious problem. An ever bigger concern is the growing quantities of waste that are generatedat households level in informal settlements. In most cases proper safeguard measures are largely

  16. Mainstreaming biodiversity and wildlife management into climate change policy frameworks in selected east and southern African countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olga L. Kupika

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The Rio+20 outcomes document, the Future We Want, enshrines green economy as one of the platforms to attain sustainable development and calls for measures that seek to address climate change and biodiversity management. This paper audits climate change policies from selected east and southern African countries to determine the extent to which climate change legislation mainstreams biodiversity and wildlife management. A scan of international, continental, regional and national climate change policies was conducted to assess whether they include biodiversity and/or wildlife management issues. The key finding is that many climate change policy–related documents, particularly the National Adaptation Programme of Actions (NAPAs, address threats to biodiversity and wildlife resources. However, international policies like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol do not address the matter under deliberation. Regional climate change policies such as the East African Community, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and African Union address biodiversity and/or wildlife issues whilst the Southern African Development Community region does not have a stand-alone policy for climate change. Progressive countries like Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia have recently put in place detailed NAPAs which are mainstream responsive strategies intended to address climate change adaptation in the wildlife sector. Keywords: mainstreaming, biodiversity, wildlife, climate change policy, east and southern Africa

  17. Is the Proposed East African Monetary Union an Optimal Currency Area? A Structural Vector Autoregression Analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Steven K. Buigut; Neven Valev

    2004-01-01

    The treaty of 1999 to revive the defunct East African Community (EAC) ratified by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania came into force on July 2000 with the objective of fostering a closer co-operation in political, economic, social, and cultural fields. To achieve this, an East Africa Customs Union protocol was signed in March 2004. A Common Market, a Monetary Union, and ultimately a Political Federation of East Africa states is planned. Though the question of a monetary union has been discussed in t...

  18. Climatology of the African Easterly Jet and Subtropical Highs over North Africa and Arabian Peninsula and a Numerical Case Study of an Intense African Easterly Wave

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spinks, James D.

    North African climate is analyzed between 1979 and 2010 with an emphasis on August using the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) global dataset to investigate the effects of the subtropical anticyclones over North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula on the Africa easterly jet (AEJ). It was found that the AEJ encloses a core with a local wind maximum (LWM) in both West and East Africa, in which the west LWM core has a higher zonal wind speed. The strength of both cores is distinctly different by way of thermal wind balance. The variability of these synoptic weather features is higher in East Africa. The most noticeable variability of intensity occurred with easterly waves. Maintenance of easterly waves from the Arabian Peninsula into East Africa is dependent on strong zonal gradients from the AEJ. These zonal gradients were induced by the strengthening of the subtropical highs and the presence of a westerly jet in Central Africa and south of the Arabian Peninsula. During positive ENSO periods, these systems are generally weaker while in negative periods are stronger. The origins of an intense African easterly wave (AEW) and mesoscale convective system (MCS) in August 2004 (A04) were traced back to the southern Arabian Peninsula, Asir Mountains, and Ethiopian Highlands using gridded satellite (GridSat) data, ERA-I, and the WRF-ARW model. A vorticity budget was developed to investigate the dynamics and mechanisms that contribute to the formation of A04's vorticity perturbation.

  19. Spatial patterns of sea surface temperature influences on East African precipitation as revealed by empirical orthogonal teleconnections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tim eAppelhans

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available East Africa is characterized by a rather dry annual precipitation climatology with two distinct rainy seasons. In order to investigate sea surface temperature driven precipitation anomalies for the region we use the algorithm of empirical orthogonal teleconnection analysis as a data mining tool. We investigate the entire East African domain as well as 5 smaller sub-regions mainly located in areas of mountainous terrain. In searching for influential sea surface temperature patterns we do not focus any particular season or oceanic region. Furthermore, we investigate different time lags from zero to twelve months. The strongest influence is identified for the immediate (i.e. non-lagged influences of the Indian Ocean in close vicinity to the East African coast. None of the most important modes are located in the tropical Pacific Ocean, though the region is sometimes coupled with the Indian Ocean basin. Furthermore, we identify a region in the southern Indian Ocean around the Kerguelen Plateau which has not yet been reported in the literature with regard to precipitation modulation in East Africa. Finally, it is observed that not all regions in East Africa are equally influenced by the identified patterns.

  20. Data summaries | | African Crop Science Journal

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    (African Crop Science Journal 1999 7(3) Special Issue: Monograph on geographic shifts in highland cooking banana (Musa, group AAA-EA) production in Uganda: 231-243). AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors · FAQ's · More about AJOL · AJOL's Partners · Terms ...

  1. Site summaries | | African Crop Science Journal

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    (African Crop Science Journal 1999 7(3) Special Issue: Monograph on geographic shifts in highland cooking banana (Musa, group AAA-EA) production in Uganda: 244-297). AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors · FAQ's · More about AJOL · AJOL's Partners · Terms ...

  2. Giant seismites and megablock uplift in the East African Rift: evidence for Late Pleistocene large magnitude earthquakes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hilbert-Wolf, Hannah Louise; Roberts, Eric M

    2015-01-01

    In lieu of comprehensive instrumental seismic monitoring, short historical records, and limited fault trench investigations for many seismically active areas, the sedimentary record provides important archives of seismicity in the form of preserved horizons of soft-sediment deformation features, termed seismites. Here we report on extensive seismites in the Late Quaternary-Recent (≤ ~ 28,000 years BP) alluvial and lacustrine strata of the Rukwa Rift Basin, a segment of the Western Branch of the East African Rift System. We document examples of the most highly deformed sediments in shallow, subsurface strata close to the regional capital of Mbeya, Tanzania. This includes a remarkable, clastic 'megablock complex' that preserves remobilized sediment below vertically displaced blocks of intact strata (megablocks), some in excess of 20 m-wide. Documentation of these seismites expands the database of seismogenic sedimentary structures, and attests to large magnitude, Late Pleistocene-Recent earthquakes along the Western Branch of the East African Rift System. Understanding how seismicity deforms near-surface sediments is critical for predicting and preparing for modern seismic hazards, especially along the East African Rift and other tectonically active, developing regions.

  3. A new brachypterous scarab species, Orphnus longicornis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Orphninae), from the East African Rift.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frolov, Andrey; Akhmetova, Lilia

    2015-11-05

    The Afrotropical Region is the center of the diversity of the scarab beetle genus Orphnus MacLeay, 1819 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Orphninae), with 94 species occurring from Sahel in the north to Little Karoo in the south (Paulian, 1948; Petrovitz, 1971; Frolov, 2008). The East African Rift is one of the richest regions of the Afrotropics housing more than 20 species of Orphnus (Paulian, 1948; Frolov, 2013), most of which are endemic to this region. Yet the scarab beetle fauna of the East African Rift, and especially the Eastern Arc Mountains, is still inadequately studied. Examination of the material housed in the Museum of Natural History of Humboldt-Universität, Berlin, Germany (ZMHUB), revealed a series of brachypterous Orphnus beetles belonging to an undescribed species. The new species is described and illustrated below.

  4. The East African rift system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chorowicz, Jean

    2005-10-01

    This overview paper considers the East African rift system (EARS) as an intra-continental ridge system, comprising an axial rift. It describes the structural organization in three branches, the overall morphology, lithospheric cross-sections, the morphotectonics, the main tectonic features—with emphasis on the tension fractures—and volcanism in its relationships with the tectonics. The most characteristic features in the EARS are narrow elongate zones of thinned continental lithosphere related to asthenospheric intrusions in the upper mantle. This hidden part of the rift structure is expressed on the surface by thermal uplift of the rift shoulders. The graben valleys and basins are organized over a major failure in the lithospheric mantle, and in the crust comprise a major border fault, linked in depth to a low angle detachment fault, inducing asymmetric roll-over pattern, eventually accompanied by smaller normal faulting and tilted blocks. Considering the kinematics, divergent movements caused the continent to split along lines of preexisting lithospheric weaknesses marked by ancient tectonic patterns that focus the extensional strain. The hypothesis favored here is SE-ward relative divergent drifting of a not yet well individualized Somalian plate, a model in agreement with the existence of NW-striking transform and transfer zones. The East African rift system comprises a unique succession of graben basins linked and segmented by intracontinental transform, transfer and accommodation zones. In an attempt to make a point on the rift system evolution through time and space, it is clear that the role of plume impacts is determinant. The main phenomenon is formation of domes related to plume effect, weakening the lithosphere and, long after, failure inducing focused upper mantle thinning, asthenospheric intrusion and related thermal uplift of shoulders. The plume that had formed first at around 30 Ma was not in the Afar but likely in Lake Tana region (Ethiopia

  5. Genetic diversity and connectivity in the East African giant mud crab Scylla serrata: Implications for fisheries management.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cyrus Rumisha

    Full Text Available The giant mud crab Scylla serrata provides an important source of income and food to coastal communities in East Africa. However, increasing demand and exploitation due to the growing coastal population, export trade, and tourism industry are threatening the sustainability of the wild stock of this species. Because effective management requires a clear understanding of the connectivity among populations, this study was conducted to assess the genetic diversity and connectivity in the East African mangrove crab S. serrata. A section of 535 base pairs of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI gene and eight microsatellite loci were analysed from 230 tissue samples of giant mud crabs collected from Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, and South Africa. Microsatellite genetic diversity (He ranged between 0.56 and 0.6. The COI sequences showed 57 different haplotypes associated with low nucleotide diversity (current nucleotide diversity = 0.29%. In addition, the current nucleotide diversity was lower than the historical nucleotide diversity, indicating overexploitation or historical bottlenecks in the recent history of the studied population. Considering that the coastal population is growing rapidly, East African countries should promote sustainable fishing practices and sustainable use of mangrove resources to protect mud crabs and other marine fauna from the increasing pressure of exploitation. While microsatellite loci did not show significant genetic differentiation (p > 0.05, COI sequences revealed significant genetic divergence between sites on the East coast of Madagascar (ECM and sites on the West coast of Madagascar, mainland East Africa, as well as the Seychelles. Since East African countries agreed to achieve the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD target to protect over 10% of their marine areas by 2020, the observed pattern of connectivity and the measured genetic diversity can serve to provide useful information for designing

  6. Effect of Deforestation and Land Use Changes on Mosquito Productivity and Development in Western Kenya Highlands: Implication for Malaria Risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kweka, Eliningaya J; Kimaro, Epiphania E; Munga, Stephen

    2016-01-01

    African highlands were known to be free of malaria for the past 50 years. However, the ever growing human population in the highlands of Africa has led to the deforestation and land coverage changes to create space for more land for cultivation, grazing, and house construction materials needs. This has lead to the creation of suitable breeding habitats, which are in open places. Decrease of canopy and forest cover has led to increased temperature both in outdoors and indoors in deforested areas. This increased temperature has resulted in the shortening of developmental stages of aquatic stages of mosquitoes and sporogony development in adult mosquitoes. Assessment of the effects of deforestation and land coverage changes (decrease), which leads to temperature changes and subsequently increases survivorship of adults and sporogony development in adult mosquitoes' body was gathered from previous data collected from 2003 to 2012 using different analysis techniques. Habitats productivity, species dynamics and abundance, mosquitoes feeding rates, and sporogony development are presented in relation to temperature changes. The effects of temperature rise due to land cover changes in highlands of western Kenya on larval developmental rates, adult sporogony developments, and malaria risk in human population were derived. Vector species dynamics and abundance in relation to land use changes have been found to change with time. This study found that, land cover changes is a key driver for the temperature rise in African highlands and increases the rate of malaria vectors Anopheles gambiae ssp., An. Funestus , and An. arabiensis colonizing the highlands. It has also significantly enhanced sporogony development rate and adult vector survival and therefore the risk of malaria transmission in the highlands.

  7. Transfert du modèle prédictif d'épidémie de paludisme aux ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Early prediction of malaria epidemics in the East African Highlands using climate data. Download PDF. Journal articles. Development and validation of climate and ecosystem-based early malaria epidemic prediction models in East Africa. Download PDF. Journal articles. Identification of malaria transmission and epidemic ...

  8. Alienation and Revolutionary Vision in East African Post-Colonial Dramatic Literature

    OpenAIRE

    Fashina, Nelson O.

    2009-01-01

    This paper is a trans-disciplinary inquiry into the principles of alienation and revolutionary ethos in two East African plays of postcolonial society. It engages literary-textual exegesis and sociological theories to unravel the multi-dimensional forms of alienation as an interrogation of contemporary postcolonial history. The writers, though somewhat in throes and dilemma of exilic consciousness, ‘commodify’ and appropriate the literary enterprise as weapon of active physical revolt and tex...

  9. Simulating sanitation and waste flows and their environmental impacts in East African urban centres

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oyoo, R.

    2014-01-01

    Simulating Sanitation and Waste Flows and their Environmental Impacts in East African Urban Centres

    Abstract

    If improperly managed, urban waste flows can pose a significant threat to the quality of both the natural environment and public health.

  10. Transferring the Malaria Epidemic Prediction Model to Users in East ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Transferring the Malaria Epidemic Prediction Model to Users in East Africa. In the highlands of East Africa, epidemic malaria is an emerging climate-related hazard that urgently needs addressing. Malaria incidence increased by 337% during the 1987 epidemic in Rwanda. In Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, malaria incidence ...

  11. Minority drug-resistant HIV-1 variants in treatment naïve East-African and Caucasian patients detected by allele-specific real-time PCR.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Halime Ekici

    Full Text Available To assess the presence of two major non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI drug resistance mutations (DRMs, Y181C and K103N, in minor viral quasispecies of treatment naïve HIV-1 infected East-African and Swedish patients by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR.Treatment naïve adults (n=191 with three epidemiological backgrounds were included: 92 Ethiopians living in Ethiopia; 55 East-Africans who had migrated to Sweden; and 44 Caucasians living in Sweden. The pol gene was analysed by standard population sequencing and by AS-PCR for the detection of Y181C and K103N.The Y181C was detected in the minority quasispecies of six Ethiopians (6.5%, in two Caucasians (4.5%, and in one East-African (1.8%. The K103N was detected in one East- African (1.8%, by both methods. The proportion of mutants ranged from 0.25% to 17.5%. Additional DRMs were found in all three treatment naïve patient groups by population sequencing.Major NNRTI mutations can be found by AS-PCR in minor quasispecies of treatment naïve HIV-1 infected Ethiopians living in Ethiopia, in East-African and Caucasian patients living in Sweden in whom population sequencing reveal wild-type virus only. Surveys with standard sequencing are likely to underestimate transmitted drug resistance and the presence of resistant minor quasispecies in treatment naïve patients should be topic for future large scale studies.

  12. Tectonic inheritance and continental rift architecture: Numerical and analogue models of the East African Rift System.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Corti, G.; van Wijk, J.W.; Cloetingh, S.A.P.L.; Morley, C.

    2007-01-01

    The western branch of the East African Rift is composed of an arcuate succession of elongate asymmetric basins, which differ in terms of interaction geometry, fault architecture and kinematics, and patterns of uplift/subsidence and erosion/sedimentation. The basins are located within Proterozoic

  13. Middle East and North African Health Informatics Association (MENAHIA): Building Sustainable Collaboration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Shorbaji, Najeeb; Househ, Mowafa; Taweel, Adel; Alanizi, Abdullah; Mohammed, Bennani Othmani; Abaza, Haitham; Bawadi, Hala; Rasuly, Hamayon; Alyafei, Khalid; Fernandez-Luque, Luis; Shouman, Mohamed; El-Hassan, Osama; Hussein, Rada; Alshammari, Riyad; Mandil, Salah; Shouman, Sarah; Taheri, Shahrad; Emara, Tamer; Dalhem, Wasmiya; Al-Hamdan, Zaid; Serhier, Zineb

    2018-04-22

    There has been a growing interest in Health Informatics applications, research, and education within the Middle East and North African Region over the past twenty years. People of this region share similar cultural and religious values, primarily speak the Arabic language, and have similar health care related issues, which are in dire need of being addressed. Health Informatics efforts, organizations, and initiatives within the region have been largely under-represented within, but not ignored by, the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA). Attempts to create bonds and collaboration between the different organizations of the region have remained scattered, and often, resulted in failure despite the fact that the need for a united health informatics collaborative within the region has never been more crucial than today. During the 2017 MEDINFO, held in Hangzhou, China, a new organization, the Middle East and North African Health Informatics Association (MENAHIA) was conceived as a regional non-governmental organization to promote and facilitate health informatics uptake within the region endorsing health informatics research and educational initiatives of the 22 countries represented within the region. This paper provides an overview of the collaboration and efforts to date in forming MENAHIA and displays the variety of initiatives that are already occurring within the MENAHIA region, which MENAHIA will help, endorse, support, share, and improve within the international forum of health informatics. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart.

  14. Use of Machine Learning Techniques for Iidentification of Robust Teleconnections to East African Rainfall Variability in Observations and Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, J. Brent; Robertson, Franklin R.; Funk, Chris

    2014-01-01

    Providing advance warning of East African rainfall variations is a particular focus of several groups including those participating in the Famine Early Warming Systems Network. Both seasonal and long-term model projections of climate variability are being used to examine the societal impacts of hydrometeorological variability on seasonal to interannual and longer time scales. The NASA / USAID SERVIR project, which leverages satellite and modeling-based resources for environmental decision making in developing nations, is focusing on the evaluation of both seasonal and climate model projections to develop downscaled scenarios for using in impact modeling. The utility of these projections is reliant on the ability of current models to capture the embedded relationships between East African rainfall and evolving forcing within the coupled ocean-atmosphere-land climate system. Previous studies have posited relationships between variations in El Niño, the Walker circulation, Pacific decadal variability (PDV), and anthropogenic forcing. This study applies machine learning methods (e.g. clustering, probabilistic graphical model, nonlinear PCA) to observational datasets in an attempt to expose the importance of local and remote forcing mechanisms of East African rainfall variability. The ability of the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS5) coupled model to capture the associated relationships will be evaluated using Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) simulations.

  15. Overview (in both English and French) | | African Crop Science Journal

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    (African Crop Science Journal 1999 7(3) Special Issue: Monograph on geographic shifts in highland cooking banana (Musa, group AAA-EA) production in Uganda: 223-230). AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors · FAQ's · More about AJOL · AJOL's Partners · Terms ...

  16. Multi-scale Food Energy and Water Dynamics in the Blue Nile Highlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaitchik, B. F.; Simane, B.; Block, P. J.; Foltz, J.; Mueller-Mahn, D.; Gilioli, G.; Sciarretta, A.

    2017-12-01

    The Ethiopian highlands are often called the "water tower of Africa," giving rise to major transboundary rivers. Rapid hydropower development is quickly transforming these highlands into the "power plant of Africa" as well. For local people, however, they are first and foremost a land of small farms, devoted primarily to subsistence agriculture. Under changing climate, rapid national economic growth, and steadily increasing population and land pressures, these mountains and their inhabitants have become the focal point of a multi-scale food-energy-water nexus with significant implications across East Africa. Here we examine coupled natural-human system dynamics that emerge when basin and nation scale resource development strategies are superimposed on a local economy that is largely subsistence based. Sensitivity to local and remote climate shocks are considered, as is the role of Earth Observation in understanding and informing management of food-energy-water resources across scales.

  17. The strange case of East African annual fishes: aridification correlates with diversification for a savannah aquatic group?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dorn, Alexander; Musilová, Zuzana; Platzer, Matthias; Reichwald, Kathrin; Cellerino, Alessandro

    2014-10-14

    Annual Nothobranchius fishes are distributed in East and Southern Africa and inhabit ephemeral pools filled during the monsoon season. Nothobranchius show extreme life-history adaptations: embryos survive by entering diapause and they are the vertebrates with the fastest maturation and the shortest lifespan. The distribution of Nothobranchius overlaps with the East Africa Rift System. The geological and paleoclimatic history of this region is known in detail: in particular, aridification of East Africa and expansion of grassland habitats started 8 Mya and three humid periods between 3 and 1 Mya are superimposed on the longer-term aridification. These climatic oscillations are thought to have shaped evolution of savannah African mammals. We reconstructed the phylogeny of Nothobranchius and dated the different stages of diversification in relation to these paleoclimatic events. We sequenced one mitochondrial locus and five nuclear loci in 63 specimens and obtained a robust phylogeny. Nothobranchius can be divided in four geographically separated clades whose boundaries largely correspond to the East Africa Rift system. Statistical analysis of dispersal and vicariance identifies a Nilo-Sudan origin with southwards dispersion and confirmed that these four clades are the result of vicariance events In the absence of fossil Nothobranchius, molecular clock was calibrated using more distant outgroups (secondary calibration). This method estimates the age of the Nothobranchius genus to be 8.3 (6.0 - 10.7) My and the separation of the four clades 4.8 (2.7-7.0) Mya. Diversification within the clades was estimated to have started ~3 Mya and most species pairs were estimated to have an age of 0.5-1 My. The mechanism of Nothobranchius diversification was allopatric and driven by geographic isolation. We propose a scenario where diversification of Nothobranchius started in rough coincidence with aridification of East Africa, establishment of grassland habitats and the appearance

  18. Post-Pan-African tectonic evolution of South Malawi in relation to the Karroo and recent East African rift systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castaing, C.

    1991-05-01

    Structural studies conducted in the Lengwe and Mwabvi Karroo basins and in the basement in South Malawi, using regional maps and published data extended to cover Southeast Africa, serve to propose a series of geodynamic reconstructions which reveal the persistence of an extensional tectonic regime, the minimum stress σ3 of which has varied through time. The period of Karroo rifting and the tholeiitic and alkaline magmatism which terminated it, were controlled by NW-SE extension, which resulted in the creation of roughly NE-SW troughs articulated by the Tanganyika-Malawi and Zambesi pre-transform systems. These were NW-SE sinistral-slip systems with directions of movement dipping slightly to the Southeast, which enabled the Mwanza fault to play an important role in the evolution of the Karroo basins of the Shire Valley. The Cretaceous was a transition period between the Karroo rifting and the formation of the Recent East African Rift System. Extension was NE-SW, with some evidence for a local compressional episode in the Lengwe basin. Beginning in the Cenozoic, the extension once more became NW-SE and controlled the evolution in transtension of the Recent East African Rift System. This history highlights the major role of transverse faults systems dominated by strike-slip motion in the evolution and perpetuation of the continental rift systems. These faults are of a greater geological persistence than the normal faults bounding the grabens, especially when they are located on major basement anisotropies.

  19. Relapsing fever causative agent in Southern Iran is a closely related species to East African borreliae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naddaf, Saied Reza; Ghazinezhad, Behnaz; Kazemirad, Elham; Cutler, Sally Jane

    2017-10-01

    We obtained two blood samples from relapsing fever patients residing in Jask County, Hormozgan Province, southern Iran in 2013. Sequencing of a partial fragment of glpQ from two samples, and further characterization of one of them by analyzing flaB gene, and 16S-23S spacer (IGS) revealed the greatest sequence identity with East African borreliae, Borrelia recurrentis, and Borrelia duttonii, and Borrelia microti from Iran. Phylogenetic analyses of glpQ, flaB, and concatenated sequences (glpQ, flab, and IGS) clustered these sequences amongst East African Relapsing fever borreliae and B. microti from Iran. However, the more discriminatory IGS disclosed a unique 8-bp signature (CAGCCTAA) separating these from B. microti and indeed other relapsing fever borreliae. In southern Iran, relapsing fever cases are mostly from localities in which O. erraticus ticks, the notorious vector of B. microti, prevail. There are chances that this argasid tick serves as a host and vector of several closely related species or ecotypes including the one we identified in the present study. The distribution of this Borrelia species remains to be elucidated, but it is assumed to be endemic to lowland areas of the Hormozgan Province, as well as Sistan va Baluchistan in the southeast and South Khorasan (in Persian: Khorasan-e Jonobi) in the east of Iran. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  20. East African discourses on khat and sex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beckerleg, Susan

    2010-12-01

    The study aims to review and analyse the varied East African discourses on the effects of khat use on libido, fertility, transmission of HIV, prostitution and rape. The data were gathered between 2004 and 2009 in Kenya and Uganda. Between 2004 and 2005 across Kenya and Uganda a broad survey approach was adopted, involving identification of and travel to production areas, interviews with producers and consumers in rural and urban settings. In addition, a survey of 300 Ugandan consumers was carried out in late 2004. Between 2007 and 2009, an in-depth study of khat production, trade and consumption was conducted in Uganda. This study also employed a mixture of methods, including key informant interviews participant-observation and a questionnaire survey administered to 210 khat consumers. Khat is associated, by consumers and its detractors alike, with changes in libido and sexual performance. Although there is no evidence to support their claims, detractors of khat use argue that khat causes sexual violence, causes women to enter sex work, and that chewing causes the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including the HIV virus. In East Africa the discourse on khat and sex has led to consumption of the substances being associated by many people with uncontrolled sexual behaviour. There is no evidence that khat use fuels promiscuity, commercial sex, sexually transmitted diseases or rape. The current discourse on khat and sex touches on all these topics. Local religious and political leaders invoke khat use as a cause of what they argue is a breakdown of morals and social order. In Kenya and Uganda it is women khat consumers who are seen as sexually uncontrolled. In Uganda, the argument is extended even to men: with male khat chewers labelled as prone to commit rape. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Immigrant Entrepreneurship in United Arab Emirates: An exploratory study on East African Asian Immigrant Businesses

    OpenAIRE

    Khakoo, Mohamed Hussein Turabali

    2008-01-01

    Immigrant entrepreneurship has always existed and has developed remarkably. It is related to migration flows over time and has brought increasing attention from researchers and management practitioners in recent years. The research sets out to investigate the process by which immigrants enter into entrepreneurship. The idea of starting a small business and the internationalization strategies they follow. A homogeneous ethnic minority is researched upon, the East African Asians who had migrate...

  2. Estimates of interhemispheric transport of radioactive debris by the east African low-level jet stream

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rangarajan, C.; Eapen, C.D.

    1981-01-01

    The movement of air masses across the equator by way of the east African low-level jet stream has been studied using fission products from the French nuclear tests of the South Pacific as tracers. The studies show that the transit time of air masses from Malagasy to India is 3--6 days and about 75% of the air mass on the west coast of India is from the southern hemisphere

  3. Phylogenetic relationships among East African haplochromine fish as revealed by short interspersed elements (SINEs).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terai, Yohey; Takezaki, Naoko; Mayer, Werner E; Tichy, Herbert; Takahata, Naoyuki; Klein, Jan; Okada, Norihiro

    2004-01-01

    Genomic DNA libraries were prepared from two endemic species of Lake Victoria haplochromine (cichlid) fish and used to isolate and characterize a set of short interspersed elements (SINEs). The distribution and sequences of the SINEs were used to infer phylogenetic relationships among East African haplochromines. The SINE-based classification divides the fish into four groups, which, in order of their divergence from a stem lineage, are the endemic Lake Tanganyika flock (group 1); fish of the nonendemic, monotypic, widely distributed genus Astatoreochromis (group 2); the endemic Lake Malawi flock (group 3); and group 4, which contains fish from widely dispersed East African localities including Lakes Victoria, Edward, George, Albert, and Rukwa, as well as many rivers. The group 4 haplochromines are characterized by a subset of polymorphic SINEs, each of which is present in some individuals and absent in others of the same population at a given locality, the same morphologically defined species, and the same mtDNA-defined haplogroup. SINE-defined group 4 contains six of the seven previously described mtDNA haplogroups. One of the polymorphic SINEs appears to be fixed in the endemic Lake Victoria flock; four others display the presence-or-absence polymorphism within the species of this flock. These findings have implications for the origin of Lake Victoria cichlids and for their founding population sizes.

  4. Middle East and North African Oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Quazzaz, Ayad

    1981-01-01

    Traces the history of oil and natural gas in the Middle East and relates the importance of the Middle East's current stores of oil to economic development. Information is presented on the relationship of major oil companies and local governments, OPEC, rate of production, and the impact of oil on the societies of the Middle East and North Africa.…

  5. Bovine Tuberculosis in East Africa | Mugambi | African Crop Science ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The zoonotic Mycobacterium bovis is a pathogen of significance in the dairy industry in many parts of the world. Although the pathogen primarily affects cattle, it has a wide host range including humans. A cross-sectional study was carried out in three agro-ecological zones of Tanzania, namely the southern highlands zone ...

  6. African Journals Online (AJOL)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    reviewed, African-published scholarly journals. Historically, scholarly information has flowed from North to South and from West to East. It has also been difficult for African researchers to access the work of other African academics. In partnership with ...

  7. ISSN 2073 ISSN 2073-9990 East Cent. East Cent. East Cent. Afr. J.

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DELL

    East and Central African Journal of Surgery. ... collaboration in the writing and editing of Surgical Care at the District Hospital, ... increasing availability of computers and huge developments in software technology such ... Emergency Surgery ...

  8. African Journals Online (AJOL)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    African Journals OnLine (AJOL) is the world's largest and pre-eminent collection of peer-reviewed, African-published scholarly journals. Historically, scholarly information has flowed from North to South and from West to East. It has also been difficult for African researchers to access the work of other African academics.

  9. Reassessment of source parameters for three major earthquakes in the East African rift system from historical seismograms and bulletins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Kulhánek

    2000-06-01

    Full Text Available Source parameters for three majo earthquakes in the East African rift are re-computed from historical seismograms and bulletins. The main shock and the largest foreshock of the August 25, 1906 earthquake sequence in the main Ethiopian rift are re-located on the eastern shoulder of the rift segment.The magnitude of the main shock is estimated to be 6.5 (Mw from spectral analysis. The December 13, 1910 earthquake in the Rukwa rift (Western Tanzania indicated a significant strike-slip component from teleseismcs body-waveform inversion for fault mechanism and seismic moment. The January 6, 1928 earthquake in the Gregory rift (Kenya showed a multiple rupture process and unusually long duration for a size of 6.6(Mw. The May 20, 1990 earthquake in Southern Sudan, mentioned merely for the sake of comparison, is the largest of all instrumentally recorded events in the East African rift system. Despite the fact that the mode of deformation in the continental rift is predominantly of extensional nature, the three largest earthquakes known to occur in the circum-Tanzanian craton have shallow focal depths and significant strike-slip component in their fault mechanisms. This and similar works will enrich the database for seismic hazard assessment in East Africa.

  10. The Ozark Highlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ethridge, Max

    2009-01-01

    The Ozark Highlands include diverse topographic, geologic, soil, and hydrologic conditions that support a broad range of habitat types. The landscape features rugged uplands - some peaks higher than 2,500 feet above sea level - with exposed rock and varying soil depths and includes extensive areas of karst terrain. The Highlands are characterized by extreme biological diversity and high endemism (uniqueness of species). Vegetation communities are dominated by open oak-hickory and shortleaf pine woodlands and forests. Included in this vegetation matrix is an assemblage of various types of fens, forests, wetlands, fluvial features, and carbonate and siliceous glades. An ever-growing human population in the Ozark Highlands has become very dependent on reservoirs constructed on major rivers in the region and, in some cases, groundwater for household and public water supply. Because of human population growth in the Highlands and increases in industrial and agricultural activities, not only is adequate water quantity an issue, but maintaining good water quality is also a challenge. Point and nonpoint sources of excessive nutrients are an issue. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) partnership programs to monitor water quality and develop simulation tools to help stakeholders better understand strategies to protect the quality of water and the environment are extremely important. The USGS collects relevant data, conducts interpretive studies, and develops simulation tools to help stakeholders understand resource availability and sustainability issues. Stakeholders dependent on these resources are interested in and benefit greatly from evolving these simulation tools (models) into decision support systems that can be used for adaptive management of water and ecological resources. The interaction of unique and high-quality biological and hydrologic resources and the effects of stresses from human activities can be evaluated best by using a multidisciplinary approach that the USGS

  11. Social Realism in the African Novel: The South African and East ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Although the African novel arose from Europe, the African has used it to explore a different world view; a world where gods and men hold a place together in the affairs of men. But more importantly, the African novel has followed the peculiar history of colonization and decolonization. While the earlier novels depicted the ...

  12. Influence of Mascarene High and Indian Ocean dipole on East African extreme weather events

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ogwang Bob Alex

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Extreme weather and climate events such as floods and droughts are common in East Africa, causing huge socio-economic losses. This study links the east African October-December (OND rainfall, Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD and Mascarene High (MH.Correlation analysis is applied to quantify the relationship between the index of IOD (Dipole Mode Index (DMI and OND rainfall. Results show that there exists a significant correlation between OND rainfall and DMI, with a correlation coefficient of 0.6. During dry years, MH is observed to intensify and align itself in the southeast-northwest orientation, stretching up to the continent, which in turn inhibits the influx of moisture from Indian Ocean into East Africa. During wet years, MH weakens, shifts to the east and aligns itself in the zonal orientation. Moisture from Indian Ocean is freely transported into east Africa during wet years. Analysis of the drought and flood years with respect to the different variables including wind, velocity potential and divergence/ convergence revealed that the drought (flood years were characterized by divergence (convergence in the lower troposphere and convergence (divergence at the upper level, implying sinking (rising motion, especially over the western Indian Ocean and the study area. Convergence at low level gives rise to vertical stretching, whereas divergence results in vertical shrinking, which suppresses convection due to subsidence. Positive IOD (Negative IOD event results into flood (drought in the region. The evolution of these phenomena can thus be keenly observed for utilization in the update of seasonal forecasts.

  13. Diseases threatening banana biodiversity in Uganda ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Recent on station and on-farm studies suggest the major diseases threatening banana biodiversity in Uganda include: 1)Black sigatoka which severely affects all East African Highland (EA-AAA) banana cultivars and a range of introduced genotypes; 2) Fusarium wilt which affects several introduced genotypes though all EA ...

  14. Banana (Musa spp.) Production Characteristics and Performance in Uganda

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bagamba, F.; Burger, C.P.J.; Tushemereirwe, W.K.

    2010-01-01

    The highland cooking banana (Musa spp., AAA-EA genome) is the most important crop in the East African Great Lakes region. In Uganda, production has expanded and productivity increased in the country’s southwest and declined in the Central region where the crop has traditional roots. Analyzing crop

  15. Origin of the pre-tropical storm Debby (2006) African easterly wave-mesoscale convective system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Yuh-Lang; Liu, Liping; Tang, Guoqing; Spinks, James; Jones, Wilson

    2013-05-01

    The origins of the pre-Debby (2006) mesoscale convective system (MCS) and African easterly wave (AEW) and their precursors were traced back to the southwest Arabian Peninsula, Asir Mountains (AS), and Ethiopian Highlands (EH) in the vicinity of the ITCZ using satellite imagery, GFS analysis data and ARW model. The sources of the convective cloud clusters and vorticity perturbations were attributed to the cyclonic convergence of northeasterly Shamal wind and the Somali jet, especially when the Mediterranean High shifted toward east and the Indian Ocean high strengthened and its associated Somali jet penetrated farther to the north. The cyclonic vorticity perturbations were strengthened by the vorticity stretching associated with convective cloud clusters in the genesis region—southwest Arabian Peninsula. A conceptual model was proposed to explain the genesis of convective cloud clusters and cyclonic vorticity perturbations preceding the pre-Debby (2006) AEW-MCS system.

  16. Good Governance and Foreign Direct Investment : A Legal Contribution to a Balanced Economic Development in the East African Community (EAC)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mbembe, Binda

    2015-01-01

    One of the objectives of the East African Community (EAC) is the promotion of a balanced economic development between its Partner States: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. And one of the ways to reach this economic development is the attraction of investment, especially Foreign Direct

  17. Khat chewing and acculturation in East-African migrants living in Frankfurt am Main/Germany.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bongard, Stephan; Nakajima, Motohiro; al'Absi, Mustafa

    2015-04-22

    Khat (Catha edulis, Forsk) is a drug widely used in countries around the Red Sea (East-Africa and Arabian Peninsula). In Germany khat chewing is illegal but nevertheless an often observed habit in immigrants from this region. This study investigates the interrelation between immigrants acculturation processes and traditional khat chewing habits. Sixty-one khat chewers (14 female) from East-African countries were interviewed about their khat chewing habits and acculturation strategy using standardized questionnaires. Results indicate that immigrants׳ khat chewing behaviors are similar to what is common in countries with traditional khat use. But khat chewing tended to be less among immigrants who were relatively more oriented towards their cultures of origin. Chewing khat was subjectively considered to help coping with problems, to forget bad memories and to concentrate better. It was concluded that khat chewing serves a functional use of coping with stressful events in the present or in the past within this sample. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Isolation and molecular characterization of Chikungunya virus from the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, India: evidence of an East, Central, and South African genotype.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muruganandam, N; Chaaithanya, I K; Senthil, G S; Shriram, A N; Bhattacharya, D; Jeevabharathi, G S; Sudeep, A B; Pradeepkumar, N; Vijayachari, P

    2011-12-01

    Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an Alphavirus belonging to the family Togaviridae. In 2006, CHIKV infection struck the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, with an attack rate of 60%. There were more than 10 cases with acute flaccid paralysis simulating the Guillian Barre Syndrome. The majority of the patients presented severe joint pain. The cause for such an explosive nature of the outbreak with increased morbidity was not known. The isolation of CHIKV was attempted and succeeded from nine subjects presenting clinical symptoms of Chikungunya fever. The cDNA of all the isolates was sequenced for partial E1 and nsP1 genes. Sequences were aligned based on the double locus sequence typing concept. The phylogenetic analysis shows that sequences of Andaman isolates grouped with the East, Central, and South African genotype of virus isolates from India, Sri Lanka, and Réunion. The genetic distance between Andaman isolates and the Réunion isolates was very small. The phylogenetic analysis confirmed the origin of the isolates responsible for the first ever confirmed CHIKV outbreak in these islands to be the East, Central, and South African genotype. In this manuscript, we discuss the involvement of the East, Central, and South African strain with the Chikungunya fever outbreak in this archipelago and double locus sequence typing as a first time approach.

  19. Climate variability and impacts on east African livestock herders: The Maasai of Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania

    OpenAIRE

    Galvin, K.A.; Thornton, P.K.; Boone, R.B.; Sunderland, J.

    2004-01-01

    Metadata only record East African pastoral adaptation and vulnerability to climate variability and climate change is assessed, using data from decision-making processes and ecological data of the Maasai of Ngorongoro Conservation Area as an example. The paper uses integrated modeling, linking PHEWS, a household model, to SAVANNA, an ecosystem model to look at the effects of drought and a series of wet years on the well-being of Maasai pastoralists. Model results suggest that the ecosystem ...

  20. Planation surfaces as a record of medium to large wavelength deformation: the example of the Lake Albert Rift (Uganda) on the East African Dome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brendan, Simon; François, Guillocheau; Cécile, Robin; Jean, Braun; Olivier, Dauteuil; Massimo, Dall'Asta

    2016-04-01

    African relief is characterized by planation surfaces, some of them of continental scale. These surfaces are slightly deformed according to different wavelengths (x10 km; x100 km, x1000 km) which record both mantle dynamics (very long wavelength, x 1000 km) and lithosphere deformation (long wavelength deformation, x 100 km). Different types of these planation surfaces are recognized: - Etchplains capped by iron-duricrust which correspond to erosional nearly flat weathered surfaces resulting from the growth of laterites under warm and humid conditions. - Pediments which define mechanical erosional surfaces with concave or rectilinear profiles delimited by upslope scarps connected upstream with the upper landforms. We here focused on the Lake Albert Rift at the northern termination of the western branch of the East African Rift System of which the two branches are surimposed on the East-African Dome. Different wavelengths of deformation were characterized based on the 3D mapping of stepped planation surfaces: (1) very long wavelength deformations resulting from the uplift of the East African Dome; (2) long wavelength deformations resulting from the opening of the eastern branch and (3) medium wavelength deformations represented by the uplift of rift shoulders like the Rwenzori Mountains. The paleo-landscape reconstruction of Uganda shows the existence of four generations of landforms dated according to their geometrical relationships with volcanic rocks. A four stepped evolution of the Ugandan landforms is proposed: • 70 - 22 Ma: generation of two weathered planation surfaces (etchplain Uw and Iw). The upper one (Uw) records a very humid period culminating at time of the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (70-45 Ma). It corresponds to the African Surface. A first uplift of the East African Dome generates a second lower planation surface (Iw) connected to the Atlantic Ocean base level; • 17-2.7 Ma: planation of large pediplains connected to the local base level induced

  1. Genetic susceptibility to infectious disease in East African Shorthorn Zebu: a genome-wide analysis of the effect of heterozygosity and exotic introgression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, Gemma G R; Woolhouse, Mark E J; Tapio, Miika; Mbole-Kariuki, Mary N; Sonstegard, Tad S; Thumbi, Samuel M; Jennings, Amy E; van Wyk, Ilana Conradie; Chase-Topping, Margo; Kiara, Henry; Toye, Phil; Coetzer, Koos; deC Bronsvoort, Barend M; Hanotte, Olivier

    2013-11-09

    Positive multi-locus heterozygosity-fitness correlations have been observed in a number of natural populations. They have been explained by the correlation between heterozygosity and inbreeding, and the negative effect of inbreeding on fitness (inbreeding depression). Exotic introgression in a locally adapted population has also been found to reduce fitness (outbreeding depression) through the breaking-up of co-adapted genes, or the introduction of non-locally adapted gene variants. In this study we examined the inter-relationships between genome-wide heterozygosity, introgression, and death or illness as a result of infectious disease in a sample of calves from an indigenous population of East African Shorthorn Zebu (crossbred Bos taurus x Bos indicus) in western Kenya. These calves were observed from birth to one year of age as part of the Infectious Disease in East African Livestock (IDEAL) project. Some of the calves were found to be genetic hybrids, resulting from the recent introgression of European cattle breed(s) into the indigenous population. European cattle are known to be less well adapted to the infectious diseases present in East Africa. If death and illness as a result of infectious disease have a genetic basis within the population, we would expect both a negative association of these outcomes with introgression and a positive association with heterozygosity. In this indigenous livestock population we observed negative associations between heterozygosity and both death and illness as a result of infectious disease and a positive association between European taurine introgression and episodes of clinical illness. We observe the effects of both inbreeding and outbreeding depression in the East African Shorthorn Zebu, and therefore find evidence of a genetic component to vulnerability to infectious disease. These results indicate that the significant burden of infectious disease in this population could, in principle, be reduced by altered breeding

  2. Power, slavery, and spirit possession in East Africa: A few reflections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beatrice Nicolini

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Spirit possession and its relationship with power aims to offer here a better understanding not only of East African societies, but, most of all, of their historical role in numerous political and military conflicts and also within peace-building processes that represent a continuation of a topic of longstanding concern in East African history. The relationships between religions, local cultures and institutional powers throughout contemporary East African history will be re-read through regional and transnational, as well as international dynamics.

  3. Evaluation of the comparative growth and reproductive performance of West African dwarf goats in the western highlands of Cameroon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tedonkeng Pamo, E.; Tendonkeng, F.; Kadjio, J.T.T.; Kwami, H.N.; Taboum, R.K.; Kana, J.R.; Tegodjeu, A.

    2002-01-01

    On-farm and on-station evaluations of the comparative growth performance of West African Dwarf Goats supplemented at an iso-nitrogenous level (6 g/animal/day) with leguminous browse Calliandra calothyrsus, Leucaena leucocephala, or Gliricidia sepium, or with cotton seed cake, were conducted around Dschang in the Western Highlands of Cameroon and at the University Experimental Farm. The animals were weighed every 21 days during the rainy season and every 14 days during the dry season for three months to evaluate their response to supplementation. Cotton seed cake, L. leucocephala, C. calothyrsus were the most accepted supplements. The weight gain of the animals fed with these supplements was significantly higher compared to that of the control animals. Mean weight of animals supplemented with G. sepium was not significantly different (P>0.05) from that of the control group during the rainy season. The average daily weight gains during the rainy period were 20.6, 19.1, 13.8, 4.5, and 3.1 g for L. leucocephala, cotton seed cake, C. calothyrsus, G. sepium and the control animals respectively, during the rainy season and 19.9, 16.1 and 1.7 g for cotton seed cake, L. leucocephala and the control animal respectively, during the dry season. Progesterone profiles were low and were unaffected by supplementation during the dry season. (author)

  4. Bioenergy from agro-industrial residues in the East African region. Summary report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jungersen, G. [Dansk Teknologisk Inst. (Denmark); Kivaisi, A.; Rubindamayugi, M. [Univ. of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania, United Republic of)

    1998-05-01

    Tanzania has recently developed a comprehensive environmental policy which has put high priority on several specific environmental issues. One of the issues is the quality of waste water. A special priority is given to the pollution from the sisal industry. The East-African agro-industries generate very large quantities of organic residues from production and processing of different crops. These residues form a major contribution to the pollution of air, soil and waterways, but, at the same time they constitute a large potential for production of bioenergy through anaerobic digestion as well as potential substrate for other biological fermentation processes. Generally, these residues are regarded as having no or very little value and the different disposal methods are mainly a matter of getting rid of the waste. The generation of residues are very often concentrated on few large units, which makes the exploitation of these resources feasible in large scale biogas systems. Typically the units will have a potential of a daily methane generation of 1,000-20,000 m{sup 3} CH{sub 4}, equivalent to a potential electricity production of 0.2-3.2 MW. The future utilization of these resources for production of valuable products is described in this report. This report consists of 3 volumes. This summary report including the main objectives and findings from the different project report: Mapping and Quantification of Organic Agro-Industrial Residues in East Africa; Biogas - Bioenergy Potential in East Africa, Seminar Proceedings, Siler Sands, Dar es Salaam 22-23 September 1997; Bioenergy from Sisal residues - Experimental results and Capacity Building Activities. (EG)

  5. HLA studies of Highland and Coastal New Guineans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crane, G; Bhatia, K; Honeyman, M; Doran, T; Messel, N; Hakos, G; Tarlinton, D; Amos, D B; Bashir, H

    1985-04-01

    The HLA profile of three New Guinean populations, two Highland (Asaro, Watut), and one Coastal is presented. The Highland populations are characterized by a low average number of alleles segregating at the HLA loci and also by a low mean value of heterozygosity at these loci. The genetic affinities of the two Highland groups with other Melanesian populations in the Pacific are remote. The Coastal group, on the other hand, shows strong similarities in its antigenic diversity and haplotypic combinations with other Melanesian populations. Nonetheless, the two Highland groups show significant divergence from each other in terms of allelic and haplotypic frequencies. Two different waves of migration settled in the Highlands of New Guinea between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago, and it is possible that the Watut, an Angan speaking group, represents the remnants of the first migration into the interior, whereas the Asaro, members of the Eastern Central family of the Trans-New Guinea phylum, arrived at a later date.

  6. East African Medical Journal

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Paris, France, K. C. Takarinda, BSc, MSc, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung ... Kenya and T. Galgalo, MSc, African Field Epidemiology Network. ... times more likely to develop active TB than those ... isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT), intensified TB case ... The capital city, where this study took place, had a.

  7. Management of grassy bald communities in the Roan Highlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    James T. Donaldson; N. Schubert; Lisa C. Huff

    2010-01-01

    No place better exemplifies that which is rare and unique within high-elevation communities of the Appalachian Mountains than the highlands of Roan Mountain. The Roan Highlands are protected through a landscape-level conservation initiative originally established by the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy and the U.S. Forest Service in 1974.

  8. INSIDE THE NUMBERS: USING PRIVATE COMMERCIAL DATA TO ANALYZE EAST AFRICAN IMPORTED SOAP CONSUMPTION, 1870-1914

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laird Jones

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Social historians identify soap as a “new need,” and argue its consumption indicates changing notions of bodily cleanliness, beauty and status. Relying largely on qualitative evidence such as traveler and missionary accounts, print advertising and oral interviews, they contend African soap use was influenced by Christian missions, colonial education and branding in the marketplace. Quantitative evidence – limited customs data – neither confirms nor challenges this position. More detailed commercial records, however, paint a somewhat different picture. The East African correspondence of William O’Swald & Co. indicates that soap marketing predated both Christian missions and colonial influence. Further, general purpose laundry soap was the overwhelming best seller. Personal toilette soaps lagged far behind. Laundering imported cotton textiles appeared the motive for initial soap purchases, and perhaps also the first step toward later personal soap use.

  9. Isolation and characterisation of a banana CYCD2;1 gene and its ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Stimulation of the cell cycle by over-expression of Arabidopsis CyclinD2;1 enhanced growth in tobacco and rice, but not Arabidopsis. To broaden the range of species and to improve an important crop species for developing countries, a CyclinD2;1 homologue was isolated from an East African highland banana cultivar ...

  10. New York - New Jersey Highlands Regional Study: 2002 Update

    Science.gov (United States)

    Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry

    2003-01-01

    Stewardship Goals For The New York - New Jersey Highlands This 2002 Update of the 1992 New York - New Jersey Highlands Regional Study embodies the following goals for the long-term stewardship of the Highlands: 1. Manage future growth that is compatible with the region's ecological constraints; 2. Maintain an adequate surface and ground water supply that...

  11. The Regional Centrality of Vietnam’s Central Highlands

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Salemink, Oscar

    2018-01-01

    strategic value turned it into a battleground among various Vietnamese parties, France, and the United States. It was here that the outcome of the Indochina wars was determined, but at a terrible price for the local population. After the adoption of economic reforms in reunified Vietnam the Central......Vietnam’s Central Highlands—or Tây Nguyên—area is usually described as remote, backward, and primitive, but this region has played a central role in the history of the surrounding states and the wider East and Southeast Asia region. Far from isolated, the Central Highlands engaged in trade...... various rivalrous polities now known as Vietnam, Champa, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand, the area occupied a strategic position in the wider mainland Southeast Asia region. With the emergence of a unified, neo-Confucianist Vietnamese state the region lost its centrality until the late colonial era, when its...

  12. Women Engagement with Power and Authority in Re-writing East ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    From the relative absence of serious women writing in the early mainstream East African literature in English, starting the last quarter of the twentieth century, women writing has flourished to gain deserved space in the East African literary canon. In the writing of Kenya's Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye, Uganda's Mary Karooro ...

  13. Post-collisional magmatism in the central East African Orogen: The Maevarano Suite of north Madagascar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodenough, K.M.; Thomas, Ronald J.; De Waele, B.; Key, R.M.; Schofield, D.I.; Bauer, W.; Tucker, R.D.; Rafahatelo, J.-M.; Rabarimanana, M.; Ralison, A.V.; Randriamananjara, T.

    2010-01-01

    Late tectonic, post-collisional granite suites are a feature of many parts of the Late Neoproterozoic to Cambrian East African Orogen (EAO), where they are generally attributed to late extensional collapse of the orogen, accompanied by high heat flow and asthenospheric uprise. The Maevarano Suite comprises voluminous plutons which were emplaced in some of the tectonostratigraphic terranes of northern Madagascar, in the central part of the EAO, following collision and assembly during a major orogeny at ca. 550 Ma. The suite comprises three main magmatic phases: a minor early phase of foliated gabbros, quartz diorites, and granodiorites; a main phase of large batholiths of porphyritic granitoids and charnockites; and a late phase of small-scale plutons and sheets of monzonite, syenite, leucogranite and microgranite. The main phase intrusions tend to be massive, but with variably foliated margins. New U-Pb SHRIMP zircon data show that the whole suite was emplaced between ca. 537 and 522 Ma. Geochemically, all the rocks of the suite are enriched in the LILE, especially K, and the LREE, but are relatively depleted in Nb, Ta and the HREE. These characteristics are typical of post-collisional granitoids in the EAO and many other orogenic belts. It is proposed that the Maevarano Suite magmas were derived by melting of sub-continental lithospheric mantle that had been enriched in the LILE during earlier subduction events. The melting occurred during lithospheric delamination, which was associated with extensional collapse of the East African Orogen. ?? 2009 Natural Environment Research Council.

  14. I Remember Highlander

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams-Hawkins, Maria

    2016-01-01

    "I Remember Highlander" reflects on the life choices of Marion Barry and Herman Henning Jr., fraternity brothers who sought the same goal but took different paths. The essay examines cultural and family situations that shaped lives and decisions.

  15. Gene-centric meta-analysis of lipid traits in African, East Asian and Hispanic populations.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clara C Elbers

    Full Text Available Meta-analyses of European populations has successfully identified genetic variants in over 100 loci associated with lipid levels, but our knowledge in other ethnicities remains limited. To address this, we performed dense genotyping of ∼2,000 candidate genes in 7,657 African Americans, 1,315 Hispanics and 841 East Asians, using the IBC array, a custom ∼50,000 SNP genotyping array. Meta-analyses confirmed 16 lipid loci previously established in European populations at genome-wide significance level, and found multiple independent association signals within these lipid loci. Initial discovery and in silico follow-up in 7,000 additional African American samples, confirmed two novel loci: rs5030359 within ICAM1 is associated with total cholesterol (TC and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C (p = 8.8×10(-7 and p = 1.5×10(-6 respectively and a nonsense mutation rs3211938 within CD36 is associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C levels (p = 13.5×10(-12. The rs3211938-G allele, which is nearly absent in European and Asian populations, has been previously found to be associated with CD36 deficiency and shows a signature of selection in Africans and African Americans. Finally, we have evaluated the effect of SNPs established in European populations on lipid levels in multi-ethnic populations and show that most known lipid association signals span across ethnicities. However, differences between populations, especially differences in allele frequency, can be leveraged to identify novel signals, as shown by the discovery of ICAM1 and CD36 in the current report.

  16. Simultaneous determination of seven informative Y chromosome SNPs to differentiate East Asian, European, and African populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muro, Tomonori; Iida, Reiko; Fujihara, Junko; Yasuda, Toshihiro; Watanabe, Yukina; Imamura, Shinji; Nakamura, Hiroaki; Kimura-Kataoka, Kaori; Yuasa, Isao; Toga, Tomoko; Takeshita, Haruo

    2011-05-01

    Identification of the population origin of an individual is very useful for crime investigators who need to narrow down a suspect based on specimens left at a crime scene. Single nucleotide polymorphisms of the Y chromosome (Y-SNPs) are a class of markers of interest to forensic investigators because many of the markers indicate regional specificity, thus providing useful information about the geographic origin of a subject. We selected seven informative Y-SNPs (M168, M130, JST021355, M96, P126, P196, and P234) to differentiate the three major population groups (East Asian, European, and African) and used them to develop forensic application. SNP genotyping was carried out by multiplex PCR reaction and multiplex single base extension (MSBE) reaction followed by capillary electrophoresis of extension products. This method can be used to assign a haplogroup from both degraded male DNA samples and DNA samples containing a mixture of female and male DNA through PCR primers that generate small amplicons (less than about 150 bp) and are highly specific for targets on the Y chromosome. The allelic state of each marker was definitively determined from a total of 791 males from the three major population groups. As expected, samples from the three major population groups showed Y-haplogroups common in the region of provenance: Y haplogroups C, D, and O for East Asians; IJ and R1 for Europeans; and AB and E for Africans. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  17. East African Journal of Statistics

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    AFRICAN JOURNALS ONLINE (AJOL) · Journals · Advanced Search · USING ... EASJOSTA publishes the latest findings in applied and theoretical statistics. ... mathematics and acturial sciences, all considered as part of applied statistics.

  18. Seasonal patterns of mixed species groups in large East African mammals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiffner, Christian; Kioko, John; Leweri, Cecilia; Krause, Stefan

    2014-01-01

    Mixed mammal species groups are common in East African savannah ecosystems. Yet, it is largely unknown if co-occurrences of large mammals result from random processes or social preferences and if interspecific associations are consistent across ecosystems and seasons. Because species may exchange important information and services, understanding patterns and drivers of heterospecific interactions is crucial for advancing animal and community ecology. We recorded 5403 single and multi-species clusters in the Serengeti-Ngorongoro and Tarangire-Manyara ecosystems during dry and wet seasons and used social network analyses to detect patterns of species associations. We found statistically significant associations between multiple species and association patterns differed spatially and seasonally. Consistently, wildebeest and zebras preferred being associated with other species, whereas carnivores, African elephants, Maasai giraffes and Kirk's dik-diks avoided being in mixed groups. During the dry season, we found that the betweenness (a measure of importance in the flow of information or disease) of species did not differ from a random expectation based on species abundance. In contrast, in the wet season, we found that these patterns were not simply explained by variations in abundances, suggesting that heterospecific associations were actively formed. These seasonal differences in observed patterns suggest that interspecific associations may be driven by resource overlap when resources are limited and by resource partitioning or anti-predator advantages when resources are abundant. We discuss potential mechanisms that could drive seasonal variation in the cost-benefit tradeoffs that underpin the formation of mixed-species groups.

  19. Compilation of an informative microsatellite set for genetic characterisation of East African finger millet (Eleusine coracana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Santie M. De Villiers

    2015-03-01

    Discussion: Five individual samples from an accession captured the largest number of alleles per locus compared to the four different bulked sampling strategies but this difference was not significant. The identified set comprised 20 markers: UGEP24, UGEP53, UGEP84, UGEP27, UGEP98, UGEP95, UGEP64, UGEP33, UGEP67, UGEP106, UGEP110, UGEP57, UGEP96, UGEP66, UGEP46, UGEP79, UGEP20, UGEP12, UGEP73 and UGEP5 and was since used to assess East African finger millet genetic diversity in two separate studies.

  20. Crustal evolution in north-east and east Africa from model Nd ages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harris, N.B.W.; Hawkesworth, C.J.; Ries, A.C.

    1984-01-01

    The authors present the results of an Nd isotope study on the major rock units of the Pan-African (1,100-500 Myr BP) terrane. Charnockites from Jabel Uweinat, a basement inlier at the junction of Egypt, Libya and the Sudan, yield middle Archaean model Nd ages, whilst model ages of < 1,200 Myr have been obtained in a belt from the Eastern Desert of Egypt to north-west Kenya. Overall, the Pan-African rocks from north-east and east Africa and those from the Damara of Namibia exhibit a wide range of epsilonsub(Nd)(T) from +7.5 to -18.0 which reflects regional changes in tectonic style and is not readily reconciled with simple models for the evolution of average continental crust. (author)

  1. Ages of tuff beds at East African early hominid sites and sediments in the Gulf of Aden

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarna-Wojcicki, A. M.; Meyer, C.E.; Roth, P.H.; Brown, F.H.

    1985-01-01

    The early hominids of East Africa were dated by determining the ages of tuff beds at the sites. Despite much research using palaeomagnetic and K/Ar-dating techniques, some of those ages are still controversial 1,2. To obtain independent age estimates for these tephra layers, we have examined cores from DSDP Sites 231 and 232 in the Gulf of Aden (Fig. 1a) which consist mainly of calcareous nannofossil ooze, but also contain rare tephra horizons3 dated by interpolation from the established nannofossil stratigraphy (Fig. 1b). Chemical analysis confirms that the identity and sequence of these horizons is the same as that at the East African sites. We conclude that the age of the Tulu Bor Tuff is <3.4 Myr and hence that the Hadar hominid specimens are also

  2. GEOTHERM programme supports geothermal energy world-wide. Geothermal energy, a chance for East African countries; GEOTHERM: BGR foerdert weltweit Nutzung geothermischer Energie. Geothermie - eine Chance fuer ostafrikanische Laender

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kraml, M.; Kessels, K.; Kalberkamp, U.; Ochmann, N.; Stadtler, C. [Bundesanstalt fuer Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR), Hannover (Germany)

    2007-02-15

    The high geothermal potential of East Africa, especially of the Eastern Rift, is known for a long time. Since these pioneer studies, geothermal plants have been constructed at three sites in East Africa. Nevertheless, up to now geothermal has been a success story only in Kenya. The steam power plant Olkaria I in Kenya is running reliability since 25 years. Today, the country produces more than 12% of its electricity from geothermal. Now, Eritrea, Djibouti, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia which are also situated along the East African Rift, are planning similar projects. The countries need to develop new energy sources because oil prices have reached a critical level. In the past, hydro power was regarded to be a reliable source of energy, but increased droughts changed the situation. Thus, the african states are searching for alternatives to be able to stabilise their energy supply and to cover the growing energy demand. There is much hope that the success of the Kenyan geothermal power plants will be repeated in the neighbouring countries. The East African countries have joined their forces to give impetus to the use of the regional geothermal resources. On behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources supports the countries in realising their plans as part of the GEOTHERM Programme. Together with further donors (Iceland, France, USA, Global Environment Facility) the path will be paved for geothermal power plants in the above mentioned six East African countries. The following main steps are necessary: - Awareness raising of political decision makers about the advantages of including geothermal into the national power plans - Improvement of knowledge about potentials geothermal sites - Development of a regional equipment pool including the necessary geophysical equipment, laboratories, etc. - Training in geothermal exploration and plant maintenance, to minimise risks of site

  3. Responses of east African highland banana (EAHB-AAA) cultivars to ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ACSS

    50% among cooking cultivars, and less than 40% to dessert cultivars. Leaf orientation was significant to folding with cooking variety type opening leaves widely (up to 100o), and enhancing excessive leaf plant dehydration, even during stressful conditions. Soil evapo-transpiration showed that cvs. Kisansa and Mpologoma ...

  4. African Journals Online (AJOL)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Historically, scholarly information has flowed from North to South and from West to East. It has also been difficult for African researchers to access the work of other African academics. In partnership with hundreds of journals from all ... Featured Country: Nigeria, Featured Journal: Nigeria Journal of Business Administration ...

  5. Effects of Leucaena pallida and Sesbania sesban supplementation on testicular histology of tropical sheep and goats

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Woldemeskel, M.; Tegegne, A.; Umunna, N.N.; Kaitho, R.J.; Tamminga, S.

    2001-01-01

    Thirty Ethiopian highland rams with an average body weight of 23.7 kg (S.D.=1.23) and age of 18 months and 25 East African bucks with an average body weight of 18.6 kg (S.D.=2.06) and age of 14 months were used to study the long term effects of supplementation with the leaves of Leucaena pallida and

  6. Seasonal patterns of mixed species groups in large East African mammals.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian Kiffner

    Full Text Available Mixed mammal species groups are common in East African savannah ecosystems. Yet, it is largely unknown if co-occurrences of large mammals result from random processes or social preferences and if interspecific associations are consistent across ecosystems and seasons. Because species may exchange important information and services, understanding patterns and drivers of heterospecific interactions is crucial for advancing animal and community ecology. We recorded 5403 single and multi-species clusters in the Serengeti-Ngorongoro and Tarangire-Manyara ecosystems during dry and wet seasons and used social network analyses to detect patterns of species associations. We found statistically significant associations between multiple species and association patterns differed spatially and seasonally. Consistently, wildebeest and zebras preferred being associated with other species, whereas carnivores, African elephants, Maasai giraffes and Kirk's dik-diks avoided being in mixed groups. During the dry season, we found that the betweenness (a measure of importance in the flow of information or disease of species did not differ from a random expectation based on species abundance. In contrast, in the wet season, we found that these patterns were not simply explained by variations in abundances, suggesting that heterospecific associations were actively formed. These seasonal differences in observed patterns suggest that interspecific associations may be driven by resource overlap when resources are limited and by resource partitioning or anti-predator advantages when resources are abundant. We discuss potential mechanisms that could drive seasonal variation in the cost-benefit tradeoffs that underpin the formation of mixed-species groups.

  7. Genetic diversity of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis East African–Indian family in three tropical Asian countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yih-Yuan Chen

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: The Beijing lineage of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB is the most predominant MTB strain in Asian countries and is spreading worldwide, however, the East African–Indian (EAI lineage is also particularly prevalent in many tropical Asian countries. The evolutionary relationships among MTB EAI isolates from Taiwan and those of tropical Asian countries remain unknown. Methods: The EAI strains collected from patients in Taiwan were analyzed using spacer oligonucleotide typing and mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit–variable number of tandem repeats (MIRU-VNTR typing, and compared with published profiles from Cambodia and Singapore to investigate potential epidemiological linkages. Results: Among the three countries, the EAI lineage was most prevalent in Cambodia (60%; Singapore, 25.62%; and Taiwan, 21.85%, having also the highest rates of multidrug resistance and lowest rates of clustering of MTB isolates. We describe a convenient method using seven selected MIRU-VNTR loci for first-line typing to discriminate Beijing and EAI lineages. A potential epidemiological linkage in these tropical Asian countries is also discussed based on a minimum-spanning tree constructed using 24 MIRU-VNTR loci of MTB EAI strains. Conclusion: This study identified evolutionary relationships among MTB EAI isolates from Taiwan and those of two other tropical Asian countries, Cambodia and Singapore. Keywords: East African–Indian family, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, tropical Asian countries

  8. "Free Primary Education" in Lesotho and the Disadvantages of the Highlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urwick, James

    2011-01-01

    This article explores the effects of national policies associated with "Education for All" on a disadvantaged region, the highlands of Lesotho. Since 2000 a programme of "Free Primary Education" has improved the position of the highlands in access to primary schooling; nevertheless, highland primary schools compare poorly with…

  9. Human malaria in the highlands of Yemen

    Science.gov (United States)

    AL-Mekhlafi, A M; AL-Mekhlafi, H M; Mahdy, M A K; Azazy, A A; Fong, M Y

    2011-01-01

    Between June 2008 and March 2009, a cross-sectional study of human malaria was carried out in four governorates of Yemen, two (Taiz and Hodiedah) representing the country’s highlands and the others (Dhamar and Raymah) the country’s coastal plains/foothills. The main aims were to determine the prevalences of Plasmodium infection among 455 febrile patients presenting for care at participating health facilities and to investigate the potential risk factors for such infection. Malarial infection was detected in 78 (17·1%) of the investigated patients and was more likely to be detected among the febrile patients from the highlands than among those presenting in the coastal plains/foothills (22·6% v.13·9%; χ2 = 10·102; P = 0·018). Binary logistic-regression models identified low household income [odds ratio (OR) = 13·52; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2·62–69·67; P = 0·002], living in a household with access to a water pump (OR = 4·18; CI = 1·60–10·96; P = 0·004) and living in a household near a stream (OR = 4·43; CI = 1·35–14·56; P = 0·014) as significant risk factors for malarial infection in the highlands. Low household income was the only significant risk factor identified for such infection in the coastal plains and foothills (OR = 8·20; CI = 1·80–37·45; P = 0·007). It is unclear why febrile patients in the highlands of Yemen are much more likely to be found to have malarial infection than their counterparts from the coastal plains and foothills. Although it is possible that malarial transmission is relatively intense in the highlands, it seems more likely that, compared with those who live at lower altitudes, those who live in the highlands are less immune to malaria, and therefore more likely to develop febrile illness following malarial infection. Whatever the cause of the symptomatic malarial infection commonly found in the highlands of Yemen, it is a matter of serious

  10. Non-uniform splitting of a single mantle plume by double cratonic roots : Insight into the origin of the central and southern East African Rift System

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koptev, Alexander; Cloetingh, Sierd; Gerya, Taras; Calais, Eric; Leroy, Sylvie

    Using numerical thermo-mechanical experiments we analyse the role of an active mantle plume and pre-existing lithospheric thickness differences in the structural development of the central and southern East African Rift system. The plume-lithosphere interaction model setup captures the essential

  11. Predicting East African spring droughts using Pacific and Indian Ocean sea surface temperature indices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Funk, Christopher C.; Hoell, Andrew; Shukla, Shraddhanand; Blade, Ileana; Liebmann, Brant; Roberts, Jason B.; Robertson, Franklin R.

    2014-01-01

    In southern Ethiopia, Eastern Kenya, and southern Somalia poor boreal spring rains in 1999, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011 contributed to severe food insecurity and high levels of malnutrition. Predicting rainfall deficits in this region on seasonal and decadal time frames can help decision makers support disaster risk reduction while guiding climate-smart adaptation and agricultural development. Building on recent research that links more frequent droughts to a stronger Walker Circulation, warming in the Indo-Pacific warm pool, and an increased western Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) gradient, we explore the dominant modes of East African rainfall variability, links between these modes and sea surface temperatures, and a simple index-based monitoring-prediction system suitable for drought early warning.

  12. The springboks in East Africa: the role of 1 SA Survey Company ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The springboks in East Africa: the role of 1 SA Survey Company (SAEC) in the East African campaign of World War II, 1940–1941. ... Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies ... As a member of the British Commonwealth, South Africa was part of Britain's war effort from September 1939 onward. When Italy ...

  13. Willingness to pay for highlands' agro-tourism recreational facility: A case of Boh Tea plantation, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    A, Syamsul Herman M.; M, Nur A'in C.; S, Ahmad; S, Ramachandran

    2014-03-01

    The increase in tourist demand for highland experience is inevitable. Cameron Highlands, established as a Tea Plantation Estate during the British Colonial era in 1929, has evolved into a major highland tourism destination providing a cool climatic experience coupled with scenic beauty in the midst of Tudor concept architecture which enhances the destinations historical value. Realising such tourism potential, the Boh Plantation management has provided a visitor centre as recreational facility for tourist utilisation. However, the absence in imposing an entrance fee has left a vacuum in determining the recreational economic value of this facility as the benefit of this agro-tourism product to tourists remains unknown. It would be important for the management to identify the benefit since the development and maintenance of the facility is costly. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to estimate the benefit of such establishment in highlands area by assessing visitor's Willingness to pay (WTP). The study examines, explores and debates the issues in a critical yet supportive environment especially highlands. The study obtained 179 usable questionnaires from visitors during weekends, weekdays and public holidays. The result showed that 59% of the visitors were willing to pay for the agro-tourism product. The WTP was estimated at RM 7.21 (1.81). Three factors were found to be influencing WTP which were monthly income, years of education and perception on scenery. Although the study was conducted post development, the finding indicated the WTP for current management practise. Should the management change its style, it would also affect WTP and also the total economic value. Since WTP is established concept, the finding of the study reflects on the opportunities, barriers and challenges inherent in embracing post-disciplinary approaches to research and suggest ways to further enhance the approach.

  14. The lithosphere of the East African Rift and Plateau (Afar-Ethiopia-Turkana) : insights from Integrated 3-D density modelling

    OpenAIRE

    Woldetinsae, Girma

    2005-01-01

    The area encompassing the Eastern branch of the East African Rift System (EARS: Afar-Ethiopia-Turkana) and associated plateaux is an ideal region to investigate extension and magmatism associated with rupturing continental lithosphere. Ethiopia covers an important part of the EARS. It contains the major section of the ca. 5000 km Afro-Arabian rift and includes the transition between the Arabo-Nubian-Shield and the Mozambique Belt. A compilation of over 45000 onshore and offshore gravity stati...

  15. On being African and Reformed? Towards an African Reformed ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2014-06-17

    Jun 17, 2014 ... It is furthermore our contention that the notion of culture and African worldviews was always perceived negatively ..... dean of the South East Asia Graduate School of Theology. He later .... Another Reformed church for Indian.

  16. Kinematics of the entire East African Rift from GPS velocities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Floyd, M.; King, R. W.

    2017-12-01

    Through a collaborative effort of the GeoPRISMS East Africa Rift GPS Working Group, we have collected and collated all of the publicly available continuous and survey-mode data for the entire rift system between 1994 and 2017 and processed these data as part of a larger velocity solution for Africa, Arabia and western Eurasia. We present here our velocity solution encompassing the major bounding plates and intervening terranes along the East African Rift from the Red Sea to the Malawi Rift and adjacent regions for GPS sites with data spans of at least 2.4 years, and north and east velocity uncertainties less than 1.5 mm/yr. To obtain realistic uncertainties for the velocity estimates, we attempted at each stage of the analysis to account for the character of the noise: During phase processing, we used an elevation-dependent weighting based on the phase residuals for each station; we then examined each position time series, removing outliers and reweighting appropriately to account for the white noise component of the errors; and e accounted for temporal correlations by estimating an equivalent random-walk magnitude for each continuous site and applying the median value (0.5 mm/√yr) to all survey-mode sites. We rigorously estimate relative rotation rates of Nubia, by choosing subset of well-determined sites such that the effective weights of western, northeastern and southern Africa were roughly equivalent, and Somalia, for which the estimate is dominated by three sites (MALI, RCMN, SEY1) whose uncertainties are a factor of 2-3 smaller than those of the other sites. For both plates, the weighted root-mean-square of the velocity residuals is 0.5 mm/yr. Our unified velocity solution provides a geodetic framework and constraints on the continental-scale kinematics of surface motions as well as more local effects both within and outside of the rift structures. Specific focus areas with denser coverage than previous fields include the Danakil block, the Afar Rift, the

  17. A Comparative Analysis of Institutional Capacities for Implementing Disability Policies in East African Countries: Functions of National Councils for Disability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akiko Yokoyama

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available During the “African Decade of Persons with Disabilities (2000-2009”, East African countries witnessed significant achievements, especially in the development of law, collection of statistics and in funding. However, many persons with disability are still marginalised from opportunities in education, healthcare and employment.Purpose: With the pre-supposition that the lack of institutional capacities for implementing disability policies is the one major stumbling-block which hinders widespread delivery of social services to persons with disabilities in low-income countries, this study makes a comparative analysis of institutional capacities in the disability sectors of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.Method: The research methods adopted were a literature survey and a field survey. The framework for analysis consists of: 1 capacities and functions of disability units in central governments, 2 relationships between central and local governments in the disability sector, and 3 relationships between governments and organisations of persons with disability (DPOs. Special attention is paid to the status, roles and functions of national councils for disability (NCDs, the independent statutory bodies recently established in each of the three countries, with clear authority and duties for the implementation of disability policies. The NCDs enable multi-sectoral stakeholders to be involved in the implementation of disability policies; therefore, positive relationships between the governments and DPOs are essential for the smooth functioning of the NCDs.Results: While the result of the field survey in Tanzania reveals several effective approaches for the smooth operation of the NCD, further study is needed to verify whether these approaches would be applicable to other East African countries such as Kenya and Uganda.doi 10.5463/DCID.v23i2.106

  18. Reassessment of source parameters for three major earthquakes in the East African rift system from historical seismograms and bulletins

    OpenAIRE

    Ayele, A.; Kulhánek, O.

    2000-01-01

    Source parameters for three majo earthquakes in the East African rift are re-computed from historical seismograms and bulletins. The main shock and the largest foreshock of the August 25, 1906 earthquake sequence in the main Ethiopian rift are re-located on the eastern shoulder of the rift segment.The magnitude of the main shock is estimated to be 6.5 (Mw) from spectral analysis. The December 13, 1910 earthquake in the Rukwa rift (Western Tanzania) indicated a significant strike-slip componen...

  19. Archives: East African Medical Journal

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Items 1 - 50 of 228 ... AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors · FAQ's · More about AJOL · AJOL's Partners · Terms and Conditions of Use · Contact AJOL · News. OTHER RESOURCES... for Researchers · for Journals · for Authors · for Policy Makers · about Open Access ...

  20. Willingness to pay for highlands' agro-tourism recreational facility: A case of Boh Tea plantation, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herman M A Syamsul; Nur A'in C M; Ramachandran S; Ahmad S

    2014-01-01

    The increase in tourist demand for highland experience is inevitable. Cameron Highlands, established as a Tea Plantation Estate during the British Colonial era in 1929, has evolved into a major highland tourism destination providing a cool climatic experience coupled with scenic beauty in the midst of Tudor concept architecture which enhances the destinations historical value. Realising such tourism potential, the Boh Plantation management has provided a visitor centre as recreational facility for tourist utilisation. However, the absence in imposing an entrance fee has left a vacuum in determining the recreational economic value of this facility as the benefit of this agro-tourism product to tourists remains unknown. It would be important for the management to identify the benefit since the development and maintenance of the facility is costly. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to estimate the benefit of such establishment in highlands area by assessing visitor's Willingness to pay (WTP). The study examines, explores and debates the issues in a critical yet supportive environment especially highlands. The study obtained 179 usable questionnaires from visitors during weekends, weekdays and public holidays. The result showed that 59% of the visitors were willing to pay for the agro-tourism product. The WTP was estimated at RM 7.21 (€1.81). Three factors were found to be influencing WTP which were monthly income, years of education and perception on scenery. Although the study was conducted post development, the finding indicated the WTP for current management practise. Should the management change its style, it would also affect WTP and also the total economic value. Since WTP is established concept, the finding of the study reflects on the opportunities, barriers and challenges inherent in embracing post-disciplinary approaches to research and suggest ways to further enhance the approach

  1. East African cassava mosaic-like viruses from Africa to Indian ocean islands: molecular diversity, evolutionary history and geographical dissemination of a bipartite begomovirus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    De Bruyn Alexandre

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Cassava (Manihot esculenta is a major food source for over 200 million sub-Saharan Africans. Unfortunately, its cultivation is severely hampered by cassava mosaic disease (CMD. Caused by a complex of bipartite cassava mosaic geminiviruses (CMG species (Family: Geminivirideae; Genus: Begomovirus CMD has been widely described throughout Africa and it is apparent that CMG's are expanding their geographical distribution. Determining where and when CMG movements have occurred could help curtail its spread and reveal the ecological and anthropic factors associated with similar viral invasions. We applied Bayesian phylogeographic inference and recombination analyses to available and newly described CMG sequences to reconstruct a plausible history of CMG diversification and migration between Africa and South West Indian Ocean (SWIO islands. Results The isolation and analysis of 114 DNA-A and 41 DNA-B sequences demonstrated the presence of three CMG species circulating in the Comoros and Seychelles archipelagos (East African cassava mosaic virus, EACMV; East African cassava mosaic Kenya virus, EACMKV; and East African cassava mosaic Cameroon virus, EACMCV. Phylogeographic analyses suggest that CMG’s presence on these SWIO islands is probably the result of at least four independent introduction events from mainland Africa occurring between 1988 and 2009. Amongst the islands of the Comoros archipelago, two major migration pathways were inferred: One from Grande Comore to Mohéli and the second from Mayotte to Anjouan. While only two recombination events characteristic of SWIO islands isolates were identified, numerous re-assortments events were detected between EACMV and EACMKV, which seem to almost freely interchange their genome components. Conclusions Rapid and extensive virus spread within the SWIO islands was demonstrated for three CMG complex species. Strong evolutionary or ecological interaction between CMG species may explain

  2. Highland Medical Research Journal

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The aim of the Highland Medical Research Journal is to publish scientific research in various fields of medical science and to communicate such research findings to the larger world community. It aims to promote cooperation and understanding amoungst workers in various fields of medical science.

  3. Grenvillian vs Pan-African tectonic evolution in the Gamburtsev Province of East Antarctica

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferraccioli, F.; Guochao, W.; Finn, C.; Bell, R. E.

    2017-12-01

    The Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains in interior East Antarctica are underlain by 50-60 km thick crust. In contrast, the Archean to Mesoproterozoic Mawson craton that occupies the Wilkes and Terre Adelie region features only 40-45 km thick crust. The Gamburtsev Province is underlain by 200 km thick lithoshere, as typically observed over Precambrian lithosphere that has not been substantially reworked during Phanerozoic subduction or collision. Ferraccioli et al., (2011) proposed that a segment of a stalled orogen (i.e. an orogen where widespread orogenic collapse and root delamination has not occurred) is preserved in the Gamburtsev Province and hypothesised that its origin relates to accretionary and subsequent collisional events at ca 1 Ga, linked to the assembly of Rodinia. However, passive seismic interpretations indicate that crustal thickening may relate instead to Pan-African age assembly of Gondwana (at ca 550 Ma). Here we interpret a set of enhanced magnetic and gravity images, depth to magnetic and gravity sources and 2D and forward and inverse models to characterise the crustal architecture of the Gamburtsev Province. Enhanced aeromagnetic images reveal a system of subglacial faults that segment the Gamburtsev Province into three distinct geophysical domains, the northern, central and southern domains. Apparent offsets in high-frequency magnetic anomalies within the central domain are interpreted as revealing a transpressional fault system parallel to the previously proposed Gamburtsev Suture. Our magnetic and gravity model, combined with independent constraints from sediment provenance ages, is interpreted as revealing arc and back arc terranes of inferred Grenvillian age in the northern and Central domains of the Gambrurtsev Province. Distinct magnetic anomalies correspond to inferred Paleoproterozoic crust that may have affinities with the Lambert Terrane and the South Pole Province, an inferred Mesoproterozoic (1.6-1.4 Ga?) igneous province. We

  4. Non-native species in the vascular flora of highlands and mountains of Iceland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pawel Wasowicz

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The highlands and mountains of Iceland are one of the largest remaining wilderness areas in Europe. This study aimed to provide comprehensive and up-to-date data on non-native plant species in these areas and to answer the following questions: (1 How many non-native vascular plant species inhabit highland and mountainous environments in Iceland? (2 Do temporal trends in the immigration of alien species to Iceland differ between highland and lowland areas? (3 Does the incidence of alien species in the disturbed and undisturbed areas within Icelandic highlands differ? (4 Does the spread of non-native species in Iceland proceed from lowlands to highlands? and (5 Can we detect hot-spots in the distribution of non-native taxa within the highlands? Overall, 16 non-native vascular plant species were detected, including 11 casuals and 5 naturalized taxa (1 invasive. Results showed that temporal trends in alien species immigration to highland and lowland areas are similar, but it is clear that the process of colonization of highland areas is still in its initial phase. Non-native plants tended to occur close to man-made infrastructure and buildings including huts, shelters, roads etc. Analysis of spatio-temporal patterns showed that the spread within highland areas is a second step in non-native plant colonization in Iceland. Several statically significant hot spots of alien plant occurrences were identified using the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic and these were linked to human disturbance. This research suggests that human-mediated dispersal is the main driving force increasing the risk of invasion in Iceland’s highlands and mountain areas.

  5. Pleistocene North African genomes link Near Eastern and sub-Saharan African human populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van de Loosdrecht, Marieke; Bouzouggar, Abdeljalil; Humphrey, Louise; Posth, Cosimo; Barton, Nick; Aximu-Petri, Ayinuer; Nickel, Birgit; Nagel, Sarah; Talbi, El Hassan; El Hajraoui, Mohammed Abdeljalil; Amzazi, Saaïd; Hublin, Jean-Jacques; Pääbo, Svante; Schiffels, Stephan; Meyer, Matthias; Haak, Wolfgang; Jeong, Choongwon; Krause, Johannes

    2018-05-04

    North Africa is a key region for understanding human history, but the genetic history of its people is largely unknown. We present genomic data from seven 15,000-year-old modern humans, attributed to the Iberomaurusian culture, from Morocco. We find a genetic affinity with early Holocene Near Easterners, best represented by Levantine Natufians, suggesting a pre-agricultural connection between Africa and the Near East. We do not find evidence for gene flow from Paleolithic Europeans to Late Pleistocene North Africans. The Taforalt individuals derive one-third of their ancestry from sub-Saharan Africans, best approximated by a mixture of genetic components preserved in present-day West and East Africans. Thus, we provide direct evidence for genetic interactions between modern humans across Africa and Eurasia in the Pleistocene. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

  6. ISSN 2073 ISSN 2073 9990 East Cent. Afr. J. 9990 East Cent. Afr. J ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Hp 630 Dual Core

    COSECSA/ASEA Publication East and Central African ... the one hand on medical technology and equipment and on the other hand on the medical .... traumatic brain injury was the main cause of death amongst emergency admissions at the.

  7. An interdisciplinary approach for groundwater management in area contaminated by fluoride in East African Rift System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Da Pelo, Stefania; Melis, M. Teresa; Dessì, Francesco; Pistis, Marco; Funedda, Antonio; Oggiano, Giacomo; Carletti, Alberto; Soler Gil, Albert; Barbieri, Manuela; Pittalis, Daniele; Ghiglieri, Giorgio

    2017-04-01

    Groundwater is the main source of fresh water supply for most of the rural communities in Africa (approximately 75% of Africans has confidence in groundwater as their major source of drinking water). Many African countries has affected by high fluoride concentration in groundwater (up to 90 mg/L), generating the contamination of waters, soils and food, in particular in the eastern part of the continent. It seems that fluoride concentration is linked to geology of the Rift Valley: geogenic occurrence of fluoride is often connected to supergenic enrichment due to the weathering of alkaline volcanic rocks, fumaric gases and presence of thermal waters. The H2020 project FLOWERED (de-FLuoridation technologies for imprOving quality of WatEr and agRo-animal products along the East African Rift Valley in the context of aDaptation to climate change) wish to address environmental and health (human and animal) issues associated to the fluoride contamination in the African Rift Valley, in particular in three case study area located in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya. FLOWERED aims to develop an integrated, sustainable and participative water and agriculture management at a cross-boundary catchment scale through a strong interdisciplinary research approach. It implies knowledge of geology, hydrogeology, mineralogy, geochemistry, agronomy, crop and animal sciences, engineering, technological sciences, data management and software design, economics and communication. The proposed approach is based on a detailed knowledge of the hydrogeological setting, with the identification and mapping of the specific geological conditions of water contamination and its relation with the different land uses. The East African Rift System (EARS) groundwater circulation and storage, today already poorly understood, is characterized by a complex arrangement of aquifers. It depends on the type of porosity and permeability created during and after the rock formation, and is strongly conditioned by the

  8. Fundamental Flaws in the Architecture of the European Central Bank: The Possible End of the Euro Zone and its Effects to East African Community (EAC Countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nothando Moyo

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available European countries embarked on a European integration programme that saw the formation of the Euro, which has emerged as a major currency (Blair, 1999 that was introduced in 1998. With the Euro, came the establishment of the European Central Bank. Thus this study seeks to investigate the flaws in the formation of the European Central Bank that surfaced during the major economic crisis in Europe. The crisis revealing the gaps in the formation and structure of the European central bank have created major challenges for the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU. Through an extant review of literature the study will examine the East African Community Countries, investigating the ties they have to the euro zone to analyse how the crisis has affected them. Furthermore, the study will analyse what would happen to the growth patterns of the East African Countries and the various prospects they may have should the Eurozone come to an end.

  9. The African oil industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ford, Mark; Griffiths, Thalia

    1999-10-01

    Contains Executive Summary and Chapters on: Adding value to African hydrocarbons in a global energy market; North Africa; East Africa; West Africa; Central Africa; Southern Africa; Strategies for Africa; Outlook. (Author)

  10. Spatial Distribution of Bactrocera dorsalis and Thaumatotibia leucotreta in Smallholder Avocado Orchards along Altitudinal Gradient of Taita Hills and Mount Kilimanjaro

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James J. Odanga

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Avocado (Persea americana fruits are an important source of income and a nutritious food for small-scale growers and other stakeholders involved in farming along the Afrotropical highlands of Taita Hills and Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya and Tanzania, respectively. Avocado fruits are infested by several insect pests, namely the Asian invasive fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel (Diptera: Tephritidae, and the false codling moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae. However, there is inadequate information on the distribution patterns of these pests in small-scale avocado cropping systems in the East African highlands. This study was initiated to generate a spatial distribution map of B. dorsalis and T. leucotreta in avocado orchards at Taita Hills and Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya and Tanzania, respectively. The two pests were monitored by using their respective parapheromone lures for two years between August 2012 and July 2014. Fruit damage was assessed by computing the proportion of infested fruits for B. dorsalis, whereas the damage score was used for T. leucotreta. Our results indicated that the mean number of B. dorsalis per trap per day differed significantly across elevation, being highest in lowland zone for both Taita Hills (15.90 and Mount Kilimanjaro (24.45. Similarly, the percentage infestation of ground collected fruits by B. dorsalis varied with altitude, being lowest at highlands above 1500 m.a.s.l. (0.66% and 0.83% for Taita Hills and Mount Kilimanjaro, respectively. Conversely, the mean number of T. leucotreta did not vary with altitude in either study area. However, the damage score for T. leucotreta infestation was significantly lower in the highlands of both transects (7.0% and11.1% for Taita Hills and Mount Kilimanjaro, respectively. These findings describe spatial trends that are important in formulating strategies aimed at suppressing the populations of B. dorsalis and T. leucotreta in East African

  11. Fertility of the Small East African goat following pre-pubertal infection with Trypanosoma congolense

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Hara, H.B.; Gombe, S.

    1991-01-01

    Pre-pubertal male and female Small East African goats were infected with Trypanosoma congolense at 4-5 months of age. Changes in body weight and haemogram were monitored weekly. Progesterone and testosterone measurements were made three times weekly until the goats either reached puberty or 18 months of age. Onset of puberty was determined from observation of oestrus behaviour, mating or increase in libidio; this was confirmed by elevation in plasma progesterone or testosterone levels. Trypanosomiasis affected pre-pubertal goats by reducing body weight gain and delaying onset of puberty. Histological examination of the gonads showed pronounced pathological changes. These effects were reversed by treatment with isometamidium chloride (Samorin, May and Baker). It was concluded that early treatment of infected goats before serious gonadal damage could occur allowed full restoration of reproductive function. (author). 6 refs, 4 figs, 1 tab

  12. Revolutionary and Christian Ecumenes and Desire for Modernity in the Vietnamese Highlands

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Salemink, Oscar

    2015-01-01

    Inspired by a critical reading of James Scott's The Art of Not Being Governed (2009) which argued that Highlanders in Southeast Asia have intentionally evaded ‘state capture and state formations’, I offer a contrasting vision of Highlander motivations and desires from the Central Highlands...... in scholarship but in such phrases as ‘remote and backward areas’. For postcolonial Vietnam, I show that Highlanders were often motivated by the desire to become modern, and enacted such desires by joining ecumenes that embody modern universals, in particular revolutionary and Christian ecumenes, exemplifying...... oppositional pathways to modernity that contrast with those offered by authors Tania Li and Holly High....

  13. "Getting tested is almost like going to the Salem witch trials": discordant discourses between Western public health messages and sociocultural expectations surrounding HIV testing among East African immigrant women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Jesus, Maria; Carrete, Claudia; Maine, Cathleen; Nalls, Patricia

    2015-01-01

    Washington, DC, has the highest AIDS diagnosis rate in the USA, and Black women are disproportionately affected. Although HIV testing is the first entryway into vital treatment services, evidence reveals that foreign-born blacks have a lower rate of recent HIV testing than US-born blacks. To date, however, there are no studies that examine the culture-specific perceptions of HIV testing among East African immigrant women (who comprise a large share of Black Africans in DC) to better understand their potential barriers to testing. Adopting the PEN-3 cultural model as our theoretical framework, the main objective of this study was to examine East African women's HIV testing perceptions and partner communication norms. Between October 2012 and March 2013, trained interviewers conducted a total of 25 interviews with East African women in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. For triangulation purposes, data collection consisted of both in-depth, semi-structured interviews and cognitive interviews, in which participants were administered a quantitative survey and assessed on how they interpreted items. Qualitative thematic analysis revealed a systematic pattern of discordant responses across participants. While they were aware of messages related to Western public health discourse surrounding HIV testing (e.g., Everyone should get tested for HIV; One should talk to one's spouse about HIV testing), divergent sociocultural expectations rooted in cultural and religious beliefs prevailed (e.g., Getting an HIV test brings shame to the person who got tested and to one's family; it implies one is engaging in immoral behavior; One should not talk with one's spouse about HIV testing; doing so breaks cultural norms). Implications of using a culture-centered model to examine the role of sociocultural expectations in HIV prevention research and to develop culturally responsive prevention strategies are discussed.

  14. Landslide monitoring in the Atlantic Highlands area, New Jersey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reilly, Pamela A.; Ashland, Francis X.; Fiore, Alex R.

    2017-08-25

    Shallow and deep-seated landslides have occurred episodically on the steep coastal bluffs of the Atlantic Highlands area (Boroughs of Atlantic Highlands and Highlands) in New Jersey. The oldest documented deep-seated landslide occurred in April 1782 and significantly changed the morphology of the bluff. However, recent landslides have been mostly shallow in nature and have occurred during large storms with exceptionally heavy rainfall. These shallow landslides have resulted in considerable damage to residential property and local infrastructure and threatened human safety.The recent shallow landslides in the area (locations modified from New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection) consist primarily of slumps and flows of earth and debris within areas of historical landslides or on slopes modified by human activities. Such landslides are typically triggered by increases in shallow soil moisture and pore-water pressure caused by sustained and intense rainfall associated with spring nor’easters and late summer–fall tropical cyclones. However, the critical relation between rainfall, soil-moisture conditions, and landslide movement has not been fully defined. The U.S. Geological Survey is currently monitoring hillslopes within the Atlantic Highlands area to better understand the hydrologic and meteorological conditions associated with shallow landslide initiation.

  15. At the Crossroads : ICT Policy Making in East Africa | CRDI - Centre ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    At the Crossroads : ICT Policy Making in East Africa. Couverture du livre At the Crossroads : ICT Policymaking in East Africa. Directeur(s) : Florence Etta et Laurent Elder. Maison(s) d'édition : East African Educational Publishers, CRDI. 1 janvier 2005. ISBN : 9966254390. 336 pages. e-ISBN : 1552502198. Téléchargez le ...

  16. African Journals Online (AJOL)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    reviewed, African-published scholarly journals. Historically, scholarly information has flowed from North to South and from West to East. It has also been difficult ... Featured Country: Egypt, Arab Rep. Featured Journal: Alexandria Journal of Medicine ...

  17. Content of a novel online collection of traditional east African food habits (1930s-1960s): data collected by the Max-Planck-Nutrition Research Unit, Bumbuli, Tanzania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raschke, Verena; Oltersdorf, Ulrich; Elmadfa, Ibrahim; Wahlqvist, Mark L; Cheema, Birinder Sb; Kouris-Blazos, Antigone

    2007-01-01

    Knowledge of traditional African foods and food habits has been, and continues to be, systematically extirpated. With the primary intent of collating data for our online collection documenting traditional African foods and food habits (available at: www.healthyeatingclub.com/Africa/), we reviewed the Oltersdorf Collection, 75 observational investigations conducted throughout East Africa (i.e. Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda) between the 1930s and 1960s as compiled by the Max Planck Nutrition Research Unit, formerly located in Bumbuli, Tanzania. Data were categorized as follows: (1) food availability, (2) chemical composition, (3) staple foods (i.e. native crops, cereals, legumes, roots and tubers, vegetables, fruits, spices, oils and fats, beverages, and animal foods), (4) food preparation and culture, and (5) nutrient intake and health status indicators. Many of the traditional foods identified, including millet, sorghum, various legumes, root and tubers, green leafy vegetables, plant oils and wild meats have known health benefits. Food preparatory practices during this period, including boiling and occasional roasting are superior to current practices which favor frying and deep-frying. Overall, our review and data extraction provide reason to believe that a diversified diet was possible for the people of East Africa during this period (1930s-1960s). There is a wealth of knowledge pertaining to traditional East African foods and food habits within the Oltersdorf Collection. These data are currently available via our online collection. Future efforts should contribute to collating and honing knowledge of traditional foods and food habits within this region, and indeed throughout the rest of Africa. Preserving and disseminating this knowledge may be crucial for abating projected trends for non-communicable diseases and malnutrition in Africa and abroad.

  18. Perceptions and Misperceptions: The Middle East and South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Michael; Tyson, G. A.

    1990-01-01

    Reports findings of a study examining the opinions and awareness level of South African, Israeli, and United States undergraduates about conflicts in either the Middle East or South Africa. Finds religious and racial characteristics determining differences in knowledge level and political support. Reveals South African Blacks and U.S. students…

  19. Anorexia nervosa in Kenya | Njenga | East African Medical Journal

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Anorexia nervosa is a rare disorder in Africans, inspite of posing a serious public health hazard in the West. Whereas it is possible that African psychiatrists lack the skills to diagnose the disorder, other possible explanations for its apparent rarity must be sought in view of emerging evidence, which suggests a ...

  20. ISSN 2073 ISSN 2073 9990 East Cent. Afr. J. s 9990 East Cent. Afr ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Hp 630 Dual Core

    East & Central African Journal of Surgery. Nov/Dec 2014 Vol. 19 (3). Pattern and and Outcome of Surgical Management of Postrenal cute Renal Failure Over. Three Years Period at Tikur nbessa Specialized Hospital. L. Samodai, D. ndualem, . Getasew. Addis Ababa University, School of Medicine, Department of Surgery.

  1. ‘Getting tested is almost like going to the Salem witch trials’: Discordant discourses between western public health messages and sociocultural expectations surrounding HIV testing among East African immigrant women

    Science.gov (United States)

    DE JESUS, Maria; CARRETE, Claudia; MAINE, Cathleen; NALLS, Patricia

    2015-01-01

    Washington, DC has the highest AIDS diagnosis rate in the United States and Black women are disproportionately affected. Although HIV testing is the first entryway into vital treatment services, evidence reveals that foreign-born blacks have a lower rate of recent HIV testing than U.S.-born blacks. To date, however, there are no studies that examine the culture-specific perceptions of HIV testing among East African immigrant women (who comprise a large share of Black Africans in DC) to better understand their potential barriers to testing. Adopting the PEN-3 cultural model as our theoretical framework, the main objective of this study was to examine East African women’s HIV testing perceptions and partner communication norms. Between October 2012 and March 2013, trained interviewers conducted a total of 25 interviews with East African women in the Washington DC Metropolitan area. For triangulation purposes, data collection consisted of both in-depth, semi-structured interviews and cognitive interviews, in which participants were administered a quantitative survey and assessed on how they interpreted items. Qualitative thematic analysis revealed a systematic pattern of discordant responses across participants. While they were aware of messages related to western public health discourse surrounding HIV testing (e.g., Everyone should get tested for HIV; One should talk to one’s spouse about HIV testing), divergent sociocultural expectations rooted in cultural and religious beliefs prevailed (e.g., Getting an HIV test brings shame to the person who got tested and to one’s family; it implies one is engaging in immoral behavior; One should not talk with one’s spouse about HIV testing; doing so breaks cultural norms). Implications of using a culture-centered model to examine the role of sociocultural expectations in HIV prevention research and to develop culturally responsive prevention strategies are discussed. PMID:25616443

  2. ISSN 2073 ISSN 2073-9990 East Cent. Afr. J. surg. (Online) 90 East ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DELL

    2005-04-12

    Apr 12, 2005 ... East and Central African Journal of Surgery. .... Any man who is over 40 years with a positive family history (Especially one with HPC-1 gene) warrants a ..... effects of fluid retention, venous & arterial thrombosis, cardiac toxicity, stroke. .... with insertion of an indwelling catheter or intermittent catheterization ...

  3. Towards improving highland ban.anas

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The most fertile land races belonged to 'Nakabululu' and 'Nfuuka' clone sets. Viable seeds were obtained from several land races indicating that genetic improvement ofthese highland bananas through cross breeding is possible. The fertile Iandraces should be cross-pollinated with improved diploids to produce resistant ...

  4. Exploring Pacific Climate Variability and Its Impacts on East African Water Resources and Food Security

    Science.gov (United States)

    Funk, C. C.; Hoerling, M. P.; Hoell, A.; Liebmann, B.; Verdin, J. P.; Eilerts, G.

    2014-12-01

    In 8 out the past 15 boreal springs (1999, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2013), substantial parts of eastern East Africa experienced very low boreal spring rains. These rainfall deficits have triggered widespread food insecurity, and even contributed to the outbreak of famine conditions in Somalia in 2011. At both seasonal and decadal time scales, new science supported by the USAID Famine Early Warning Systems Network seeks to understand the mechanisms producing these droughts. We present research suggesting that the ultimate and proximate causes of these increases in aridity are i) stronger equatorial Pacific SST gradients and ii) associated increases in the strength of the Indo-Pacific Walker circulation. Using observations and new modeling ensembles, we explore the relative contributions of Pacific Decadal Variability (PDV) and global warming under warm and cold east Pacific Ocean states. This question is addressed in two ways: by using atmospheric GCMs forced with full and ENSO-only SSTs, and ii) by decomposing coupled ocean-atmosphere climate simulations into PDV and non-PDV components. These analyses allow us to explore the Walker circulation's sensitivity to climate change under various PDV states, and inform a tentative bracketing of 2030 climate conditions. We conclude by discussing links to East African development. Regions of high rainfall sensitivity are delineated and intersected with recent changes in population and land cover/land use. The interaction of elevation and climate is shown to create climatically secure regions that are likely to remain viable even under drier and warmer conditions; such regions may be logical targets for agricultural intensification. Conversely, arid low elevation regions are likely to experience substantial temperature impacts. Continued expansion into these areas may effectively create more 'drought' even if rainfall increases.

  5. Proceedings: Onderstepoort Centenary Pan-African Veterinary Conference : foreword

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Editorial Office

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available In 1908 a Pan-African Veterinary Conference formed part of the inauguration ceremony of the Onderstepoort Veterinary Laboratory. Attended by 18 delegates from 12 countries in southern Africa, including the four colonies and three protectorates forming British South Africa, Rhodesia, German South West Africa, Portuguese East Africa, Madagascar and the Belgian Congo, discussions focussed on the animal diseases of the region with the emphasis on trypanosomosis (nagana and East Coast fever. The successful meeting was followed by a series of similar conferences held in different African countries during the first half of the 20th Century.

  6. A Scoring Tool to Identify East African HIV-1 Serodiscordant Partnerships with a High Likelihood of Pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heffron, Renee; Cohen, Craig R; Ngure, Kenneth; Bukusi, Elizabeth; Were, Edwin; Kiarie, James; Mugo, Nelly; Celum, Connie; Baeten, Jared M

    2015-01-01

    HIV-1 prevention programs targeting HIV-1 serodiscordant couples need to identify couples that are likely to become pregnant to facilitate discussions about methods to minimize HIV-1 risk during pregnancy attempts (i.e. safer conception) or effective contraception when pregnancy is unintended. A clinical prediction tool could be used to identify HIV-1 serodiscordant couples with a high likelihood of pregnancy within one year. Using standardized clinical prediction methods, we developed and validated a tool to identify heterosexual East African HIV-1 serodiscordant couples with an increased likelihood of becoming pregnant in the next year. Datasets were from three prospectively followed cohorts, including nearly 7,000 couples from Kenya and Uganda participating in HIV-1 prevention trials and delivery projects. The final score encompassed the age of the woman, woman's number of children living, partnership duration, having had condomless sex in the past month, and non-use of an effective contraceptive. The area under the curve (AUC) for the probability of the score to correctly predict pregnancy was 0.74 (95% CI 0.72-0.76). Scores ≥ 7 predicted a pregnancy incidence of >17% per year and captured 78% of the pregnancies. Internal and external validation confirmed the predictive ability of the score. A pregnancy likelihood score encompassing basic demographic, clinical and behavioral factors defined African HIV-1 serodiscordant couples with high one-year pregnancy incidence rates. This tool could be used to engage African HIV-1 serodiscordant couples in counseling discussions about fertility intentions in order to offer services for safer conception or contraception that align with their reproductive goals.

  7. ISSN 2073 ISSN 2073-9990 East Cent. Afr. J. surg. (Online) 90 East ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DELL

    East and Central African Journal of Surgery. ... as the 3D cone beam CT machines which reduce exposure to irradiations, .... effect is closely related to the depth of impaction and height of the body of the mandible. ... extraction based on mere speculation or expectation of a sequelae, however a joint committee on third molar.

  8. Identification of four novel HLA-B alleles, B*1590, B*1591, B*2726, and B*4705, from an East African population by high-resolution sequence-based typing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, M; Mao, X; Plummer, F A

    2005-02-01

    We report here four novel HLA-B alleles, B*1590, B*1591, B*2726, and B*4705, identified from an East African population during sequence-based HLA-B typing. The novel alleles were confirmed by sequencing two separate polymerase chain reaction products, and by molecular cloning and sequencing multiple clones. B*1590 is identical to B*1510 at exon 2 and exon 3, except for a difference (GCCGTC) at codon 158. Sequence differences at codon 152 (GAGGTG) and codon 167 (TGGTCG) differentiate B*1591 from B*1503 at exon 3. B*2726 is identical to B*2708 at exon 2 and exon 3, except for a difference (AAGCAG) at codon 70. B*4705 was identified in three Kenyan women. The allele is identical to B*47010101/02 at exon 2 and exon 3, except for differences at codon 97 (AGGAAT) and codon 99 (TTTTAT). These new alleles have been named by the WHO Nomenclature Committee. Identification of these novel HLA-B alleles reflects the genetic diversity of this East African population.

  9. Scopus: Journal of East African Ornithology: Contact

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Principal Contact. Darcy Ogada Dr Bird Committee of the East Africa Natural History Society. Editors,. Scopus,. c/o Nature Kenya,. P.O. Box 44486,. G.P.O. 00100,. Nairobi, Kenya. Email: scopus@naturekenya.org ...

  10. The Climate-Population Nexus in the East African Horn: Emerging Degradation Trends in Rangeland and Pastoral Livelihood Zones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pricope, N. G.; Husak, G. J.; Funk, C. C.; Lopez-Carr, D.

    2014-12-01

    Increasing climate variability and extreme weather conditions along with declining trends in both rainfall and temperature represent major risk factors affecting agricultural production and food security in many regions of the world. We identify regions where significant rainfall decrease from 1979-2011 over the entire continent of Africa couples with significant human population density increase. The rangelands of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia in the East African Horn remain one of the world's most food insecure regions, yet have significantly increasing human populations predominantly dependent on pastoralist and agro-pastoralist livelihoods. Vegetation in this region is characterized by a variable mosaic of land covers, generally dominated by grasslands necessary for agro-pastoralism, interspersed by woody vegetation. Recent assessments indicate that widespread degradation is occurring, adversely impacting fragile ecosystems and human livelihoods. Using two underutilized MODIS products, we observe significant changes in vegetation patterns and productivity over the last decade all across the East African Horn. We observe significant vegetation browning trends in areas experiencing drying precipitation trends in addition to increasing population pressures. We also found that the drying precipitation trends only partially statistically explain the vegetation browning trends, further indicating that other factors such as population pressures and land use changes are responsible for the observed declining vegetation health. Furthermore, we show that the general vegetation browning trends persist even during years with normal rainfall conditions such as 2012, indicating potential long-term degradation of rangelands on which approximately 10 million people depend. These findings have serious implications for current and future regional food security monitoring and forecasting as well as for mitigation and adaptation strategies in a region where population is expected

  11. Imaging rifting at the lithospheric scale in the northern East African Rift using S-to-P receiver functions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavayssiere, A.; Rychert, C.; Harmon, N.; Keir, D.; Hammond, J. O. S.; Kendall, J. M.; Leroy, S. D.; Doubre, C.

    2017-12-01

    The lithosphere is modified during rifting by a combination of mechanical stretching, heating and potentially partial melt. We image the crust and upper mantle discontinuity structure beneath the northern East African Rift System (EARS), a unique tectonically active continental rift exposing along strike the transition from continental rifting in the Main Ethiopian rift (MER) to incipient seafloor spreading in Afar and the Red Sea. S-to-P receiver functions from 182 stations across the northern EARS were generated from 3688 high quality waveforms using a multitaper technique and then migrated to depth using a regional velocity model. Waveform modelling of data stacked in large conversion point bins confirms the depth and strength of imaged discontinuities. We image the Moho at 29.6±4.7 km depth beneath the Ethiopian plateaux with a variability in depth that is possibly due to lower crustal intrusions. The crust is 27.3±3.9 km thick in the MER and thinner in northern Afar, 17.5±0.7 km. The model requires a 3±1.2% reduction in shear velocity with increasing depth at 68.5±1.5 km beneath the Ethiopian plateaux, consistent with the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB). We do not resolve a LAB beneath Afar and the MER. This is likely associated with partial melt near the base of the lithosphere, reducing the velocity contrast between the melt-intruded lithosphere and the partially molten asthenosphere. We identify a 4.5±0.7% increase in velocity with depth at 91±3 km beneath the MER. This change in velocity is consistent with the onset of melting found by previous receiver functions and petrology studies. Our results provide independent constraints on the depth of melt production in the asthenosphere and suggest melt percolation through the base of the lithosphere beneath the northernmost East African rift.

  12. Mapping International University Partnerships Identified by East African Universities as Strengthening Their Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yarmoshuk, Aaron N; Guantai, Anastasia Nkatha; Mwangu, Mughwira; Cole, Donald C; Zarowsky, Christina

    International university partnerships are recommended for increasing the capacity of sub-Saharan African universities. Many publications describe individual partnerships and projects, and tools are available for guiding collaborations, but systematic mappings of the basic, common characteristics of partnerships are scarce. To document and categorize the international interuniversity partnerships deemed significant to building the capacity of medicine, nursing, and public health programs of 4 East African universities. Two universities in Kenya and 2 in Tanzania were purposefully selected. Key informant interviews, conducted with 42 senior representatives of the 4 universities, identified partnerships they considered significant for increasing the capacity of their institutions' medicine, nursing, and public health programs in education, research, or service. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed. Partners were classified by country of origin and corresponding international groupings, duration, programs, and academic health science components. One hundred twenty-nine university-to-university partnerships from 23 countries were identified. Each university reported between 25 and 36 international university partners. Seventy-four percent of partnerships were with universities in high-income countries, 15% in low- and middle-income countries, and 11% with consortia. Seventy percent included medicine, 37% nursing, and 45% public health; 15% included all 3 programs. Ninety-two percent included an education component, 47% research, and 24% service; 12% included all 3 components. This study confirms the rapid growth of interuniversity cross-border health partnerships this century. It also finds, however, that there is a pool of established international partnerships from numerous countries at each university. Most partnerships that seek to strengthen universities in East Africa should likely ensure they have a significant education component. Universities should make

  13. The Map of General Wade’s Clans (1731, or Map of the Highlands Loyalties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MALKIN S.G.

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The article is prepared with the support of London School of Economics and Political Sciences in the scope of implementation of research projects “Imperial Identity in Britain and Russia: Scotland and Ukraine, 1707–1914” (2010 and “Modernizing Empires: Regular State on the Margins of Europe – Britain and Russia in the Age of Reason” (2013. The article analyzes the attempts of the British Military responsible for the appeacement of the Scottish Highlands in the first half of the 18th century, to localize rebellion with the help of military topography and ethnic cartography. The material deals with the representation, interpretation and use of cartographic information about the Highlands. Rhetoric strategies of the military cartographers, their aims and role are also the objects of the analysis.In the light of the evidence provided by the most famous analysts on the state of Scottish Highlands and, respectively, on the “the Highland Problem” (support for the second restoration of the Stuart dynasty on the British throne from the disaffected clans which were armed and loyal only to their chiefs, with the help of the analysis of official and non-official documentary on the “Highland Problem” and keeping in mind sense of active corporative unity which was spread among the Military during the first half of the XVIII century, respecting colonial questions and policy on the other imperial margins, the author sought to concentrate research of military topography and ethnic cartography of the “Highland Problem”, represented in this article, on the data represented in “The Description of the Highlands of Scotland” (1731 by Clement Lemprière. In the end it is possible to conclude that the data collected and arranged by Clement Lemprière was not sufficient for the military aims during campaigns against the rebels in the Highlands and served as a frame for account of General Wade on his deeds as Commanderin-Chief in Scotland

  14. Complex population structure in African village dogs and its implications for inferring dog domestication history.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyko, Adam R; Boyko, Ryan H; Boyko, Corin M; Parker, Heidi G; Castelhano, Marta; Corey, Liz; Degenhardt, Jeremiah D; Auton, Adam; Hedimbi, Marius; Kityo, Robert; Ostrander, Elaine A; Schoenebeck, Jeffrey; Todhunter, Rory J; Jones, Paul; Bustamante, Carlos D

    2009-08-18

    High genetic diversity of East Asian village dogs has recently been used to argue for an East Asian origin of the domestic dog. However, global village dog genetic diversity and the extent to which semiferal village dogs represent distinct, indigenous populations instead of admixtures of various dog breeds has not been quantified. Understanding these issues is critical to properly reconstructing the timing, number, and locations of dog domestication. To address these questions, we sampled 318 village dogs from 7 regions in Egypt, Uganda, and Namibia, measuring genetic diversity >680 bp of the mitochondrial D-loop, 300 SNPs, and 89 microsatellite markers. We also analyzed breed dogs, including putatively African breeds (Afghan hounds, Basenjis, Pharaoh hounds, Rhodesian ridgebacks, and Salukis), Puerto Rican street dogs, and mixed breed dogs from the United States. Village dogs from most African regions appear genetically distinct from non-native breed and mixed-breed dogs, although some individuals cluster genetically with Puerto Rican dogs or United States breed mixes instead of with neighboring village dogs. Thus, African village dogs are a mosaic of indigenous dogs descended from early migrants to Africa, and non-native, breed-admixed individuals. Among putatively African breeds, Pharaoh hounds, and Rhodesian ridgebacks clustered with non-native rather than indigenous African dogs, suggesting they have predominantly non-African origins. Surprisingly, we find similar mtDNA haplotype diversity in African and East Asian village dogs, potentially calling into question the hypothesis of an East Asian origin for dog domestication.

  15. ISSN 2073-9990 East Cent. Afr. J. s 9990 East Cent. Afr. J. s

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Prof Kakande

    COSECSA/ASEA Publication -East and Central African Journal of Surgery. .... Only the manner of skin closure varied. ... Table 1. Wound Closure Time. Mean wound closure time in group A was 244+8.20 seconds whereas mean wound ... They have been used on skin, bone, cartilage graft, and middle ear surgery, repair of.

  16. Urban and rural risks of Lyme disease in the Scottish Highlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mavin, S; Hopkins, P C; MacLennan, A; Joss, A W L; Ho-Yen, D O

    2009-05-01

    This paper investigates the pattern of Lyme disease testing and infection within the Highland region of Scotland. Data from all Highland samples tested during 2004-2006 were analysed according to result and patient's residence in relation to the eight fold Scottish Executive's urban/rural classification, and distance from woodland. In total, 1602 patients were tested for Lyme disease, 0.71% of the Highland population. From these, 104 (6.5%) were seropositive. There were more patients tested, and seropositive patients from rural than urban locations, 1113 vs 489, and 79 vs 25 respectively. There were also significantly more seropositive patients per patients tested from rural locations (chi2, prural areas become more remote. The likelihood of being tested for Lyme disease also increased as the distance between a patient's residence and woodland decreased. The relative risk of being tested elevated by 74% for those patients living within 200 metres of woodland. Those living in the most rural areas of Highland and those living closest to woodland have an increased risk of being tested and having Lyme disease.

  17. Evaluation of the comparative growth and reproductive performance of West African dwarf goats in the western highlands of Cameroon[(AFRA - African Regional Co-operative Agreement for Research, Development and Training related to Nuclear Science and Technology)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tedonkeng Pamo, E; Tendonkeng, F; Kadjio, J T.T.; Kwami, H N; Taboum, R K; Kana, J R; Tegodjeu, A [University of Dschang, FASA, Department of Animal Sciences, Dschang (Cameroon)

    2002-06-01

    On-farm and on-station evaluations of the comparative growth performance of West African Dwarf Goats supplemented at an iso-nitrogenous level (6 g/animal/day) with leguminous browse Calliandra calothyrsus, Leucaena leucocephala, or Gliricidia sepium, or with cotton seed cake, were conducted around Dschang in the Western Highlands of Cameroon and at the University Experimental Farm. The animals were weighed every 21 days during the rainy season and every 14 days during the dry season for three months to evaluate their response to supplementation. Cotton seed cake, L. leucocephala, C. calothyrsus were the most accepted supplements. The weight gain of the animals fed with these supplements was significantly higher compared to that of the control animals. Mean weight of animals supplemented with G. sepium was not significantly different (P>0.05) from that of the control group during the rainy season. The average daily weight gains during the rainy period were 20.6, 19.1, 13.8, 4.5, and 3.1 g for L. leucocephala, cotton seed cake, C. calothyrsus, G. sepium and the control animals respectively, during the rainy season and 19.9, 16.1 and 1.7 g for cotton seed cake, L. leucocephala and the control animal respectively, during the dry season. Progesterone profiles were low and were unaffected by supplementation during the dry season. (author)

  18. Toxoplasma encephalitis in HIV: case report | Ng'walali | East ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    P. M. Ng'walali, K. Kibayashi, M. P. Mbonde, A. M. Makata, J. N. Kitinya, S. Tsunenari. Abstract. (East African Medical Journal: 2001 78(5): 275-276). Full Text: EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT · http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/eamj.v78i5.9055 · AJOL African ...

  19. Turbocharging Normalization in Highland Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. V. Filippov

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available To ensure many production processes are used compressors of various types, including turbochargers, which produce compressed air. The actual performance values of turbochargers used in highlands are significantly different from the certified values, and parameters of compressed air do not always guarantee the smooth and efficient functioning for consumers.The paper presents research results of the turbochargers of 4CI 425MX4 type, a series of "CENTAC", manufactured by INGERSOL – RAND Company. The research has been conducted in industrial highland conditions in difficult climatic environment. There were almost no investigations of turbochargers running in highland conditions. The combination of low atmospheric pressure with high temperature of the intake air causes the abnormal operating conditions of a turbocharger. Only N. M. Barannikov in his paper shows the results of theoretical studies of such operating conditions, but as to the practical research, there is no information at all.To normalize the turbocharger operation an option of the mechanical pressurization in the suction pipe is adopted. As a result of theoretical research, a TurboMAX blower MAX500 was chosen as a supercharger. The next stage of theoretical research was to construct characteristics of the turbocharger 4CI 425MX4 with a mechanical supercharger in the suction pipe. The boost reduces to the minimum the time of using additional compressors when parameters of the intake air are changed and ensures the smooth and efficient functioning for consumers.To verify the results of theoretical studies, namely, the technique for recalculation of the turbocharger characteristics under the real conditions of suction, were carried out the experimental researches. The average error between experimental and theoretical data is 2,9783 %, which confirms the validity of the technique used for reduction of the turbocharger characteristics to those under the real conditions of suction.

  20. Participatory soil and water conservation planning using an erosion mapping tool in the central highlands of kenya

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Okoba, B.O.; Tenge, A.J.M.; Sterk, G.; Stroosnijder, L.

    2007-01-01

    Despite several approaches that aimed at mobilising East African farmers to embrace soil and water conservation (SWC) activities, farmers hardly responded since they were seldom involved in the planning of SWC activities. Two tools that employ farmers' participation were developed and applied at

  1. East and Central African Journal of Surgery

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    health institutions. Thus many patients present with advanced malignancies when surgery for cure is impossible and only palliative care can be offered. Unfortunately many African countries lack both facilities and specialists in palliative care. Until recently palliative care was not even included in the curriculum for medical.

  2. Continuous miner and friction bolts play key roles in Highland's move underground

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scott, J.J.; Jackson, D.

    1977-01-01

    Exxon has added underground mining operations to the open pits at its Highland uranium mine and mill complex 60 mi northeast of Casper in the Powder River Basin and has, in the process, adopted some innovative mining techniques. A continuous shield miner is being used in conjunction with continuous ground support--thought to be the first truly successful combination of these techniques in a US uranium mine. Highland miners are also making extensive use of ''Split Sets,'' a patented friction rock bolt system invented in 1973, which has proven to be a successful cost-saving substitute for timber supports in Highland's soft, water-saturated, extremely unstable sediments. Initial mine production at Highland began in July 1972, and the mill started up the following October. Design capacity at startup was 2,000 tpd, a figure that has since been expanded to 3,000 tpd through mill modifications but without a major construction program. Current production is about 2 million lb per year of U 3 O 8

  3. New records of Anopheles arabiensis breeding on the Mount Kenya highlands indicate indigenous malaria transmission

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Githure John I

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Malaria cases on the highlands west of Mount Kenya have been noticed since 10 – 20 years ago. It was not clear whether these cases were introduced from the nearby lowland or resulted from local transmission because of no record of vector mosquitoes on the highlands. Determination of presence and abundance of malaria vector is vital for effective control and epidemic risk assessment of malaria among both local residents and tourists. Methods A survey on 31 aquatic sites for the malaria-vector mosquitoes was carried out along the primary road on the highlands around Mount Kenya and the nearby Mwea lowland during April 13 to June 28, 2005. Anopheline larvae were collected and reared into adults for morphological and molecular species identification. In addition, 31 families at three locations of the highlands were surveyed using a questionnaire about their history of malaria cases during the past five to 20 years. Results Specimens of Anopheles arabiensis were molecularly identified in Karatina and Naro Moru on the highlands at elevations of 1,720 – 1,921 m above sea level. This species was also the only malaria vector found in the Mwea lowland. Malaria cases were recorded in the two highland locations in the past 10 years with a trend of increasing. Conclusion Local malaria transmission on the Mount Kenya highlands is possible due to the presence of An. arabiensis. Land use pattern and land cover might be the key factors affecting the vector population dynamics and the highland malaria transmission in the region.

  4. Potential Predictability of the Sea-Surface Temperature Forced Equatorial East Africa Short Rains Interannual Variability in the 20th Century

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bahaga, T. K.; Gizaw, G.; Kucharski, F.; Diro, G. T.

    2014-12-01

    In this article, the predictability of the 20th century sea-surface temperature (SST) forced East African short rains variability is analyzed using observational data and ensembles of long atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) simulations. To our knowledge, such an analysis for the whole 20th century using a series of AGCM ensemble simulations is carried out here for the first time. The physical mechanisms that govern the influence of SST on East African short rains in the model are also investigated. It is found that there is substantial skill in reproducing the East African short rains variability, given that the SSTs are known. Consistent with previous recent studies, it is found that the Indian Ocean and in particular the western pole of the Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) play a dominant role for the prediction skill, whereas SSTs outside the Indian Ocean play a minor role. The physical mechanism for the influence of the western Indian Ocean on East African rainfall in the model is consistent with previous findings and consists of a gill-type response to a warm (cold) anomaly that induces a westerly(easterly) low-level flow anomaly over equatorial Africa and leads to moisture flux convergence (divergence) over East Africa. On the other hand, a positive El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) anomaly leads to a spatially non-coherent reducing effect over parts of East Africa, but the relationship is not strong enough to provide any predictive skill in our model. The East African short rains prediction skill is also analyzed within a model-derived potential predictability framework and it is shown that the actual prediction skill is broadly consistent with the model potential prediction skill. Low-frequency variations of the prediction skill are mostly related to SSTs outside the Indian Ocean region and are likely due to an increased interference of ENSO with the Indian Ocean influence on East African short rains after the mid-1970s climate shift.

  5. A Scoring Tool to Identify East African HIV-1 Serodiscordant Partnerships with a High Likelihood of Pregnancy.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renee Heffron

    Full Text Available HIV-1 prevention programs targeting HIV-1 serodiscordant couples need to identify couples that are likely to become pregnant to facilitate discussions about methods to minimize HIV-1 risk during pregnancy attempts (i.e. safer conception or effective contraception when pregnancy is unintended. A clinical prediction tool could be used to identify HIV-1 serodiscordant couples with a high likelihood of pregnancy within one year.Using standardized clinical prediction methods, we developed and validated a tool to identify heterosexual East African HIV-1 serodiscordant couples with an increased likelihood of becoming pregnant in the next year. Datasets were from three prospectively followed cohorts, including nearly 7,000 couples from Kenya and Uganda participating in HIV-1 prevention trials and delivery projects.The final score encompassed the age of the woman, woman's number of children living, partnership duration, having had condomless sex in the past month, and non-use of an effective contraceptive. The area under the curve (AUC for the probability of the score to correctly predict pregnancy was 0.74 (95% CI 0.72-0.76. Scores ≥ 7 predicted a pregnancy incidence of >17% per year and captured 78% of the pregnancies. Internal and external validation confirmed the predictive ability of the score.A pregnancy likelihood score encompassing basic demographic, clinical and behavioral factors defined African HIV-1 serodiscordant couples with high one-year pregnancy incidence rates. This tool could be used to engage African HIV-1 serodiscordant couples in counseling discussions about fertility intentions in order to offer services for safer conception or contraception that align with their reproductive goals.

  6. Blood vitamins and trace elements in Northern-East African cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus soemmeringii) in captivity in the Middle East.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beckmann, Katie M; O'Donovan, Declan; McKeown, Sean; Wernery, Ulli; Basu, Puja; Bailey, Tom A

    2013-09-01

    There are few published data regarding the endangered Northern-East African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus soemmeringii), held in captivity in the Middle East and Europe. Studies have demonstrated a high incidence of disease in captive cheetahs, in which vitamin and trace element imbalances have often been implicated. Blood vitamin and trace element reference values in cheetahs merit further investigation. In this study, blood samples were opportunistically collected from apparently healthy A. j. soemmeringii from two collections (A and B) with successful breeding programs in the United Arab Emirates. The cheetahs were fed whole prey of mixed species (and, in Collection B, goat muscle and bone as well) dusted with vitamin and mineral supplements. Mean serum vitamin and trace element values (for cheetahs > 4 mo in age) were as follows: vitamin A (retinol), 2.20 microM/L (n = 27); vitamin B1, 0.0818 microM/L (n = 45); vitamin C, 28.6 microM/L (n=10); vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol), 35.6 microM/L (n = 27); copper (Cu), 12.53 microM/L (n = 27); selenium (Se), 3.10 microM/L (n = 27); and zinc (Zn), 10.87 microM/L (n = 27). Mean values of vitamin A, vitamin E, Cu, and Zn fell within ranges of published cheetah mean values, and mean Se was lower than range values for cheetahs presented in one previous study; blood vitamin B1 and vitamin C values of cheetahs have not previously been published. The values were taken to indicate that the cheetahs' nutritional status was adequate with regard to those nutrients analyzed. Serum vitamin E was particularly high in cheetahs fed fresh whole prey, and on this basis vitamin E supplementation of fresh whole prey appeared to have been unnecessary. There were differences (P < 0.05) between collections in serum vitamin B1, vitamin E, Cu, and 10 other hematologic and biochemical parameters. Nine hematologic and blood biochemical parameters differed among age categories.

  7. Hydrogeology and groundwater quality of Highlands County, Florida

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spechler, Rick M.

    2010-01-01

    Groundwater is the main source of water supply in Highlands County, Florida. As the demand for water in the county increases, additional information about local groundwater resources is needed to manage and develop the water supply effectively. To address the need for additional data, a study was conducted to evaluate the hydrogeology and groundwater quality of Highlands County. Total groundwater use in Highlands County has increased steadily since 1965. Total groundwater withdrawals increased from about 37 million gallons per day in 1965 to about 107 million gallons per day in 2005. Much of this increase in water use is related to agricultural activities, especially citrus cultivation, which increased more than 300 percent from 1965 to 2005. Highlands County is underlain by three principal hydrogeologic units. The uppermost water-bearing unit is the surficial aquifer, which is underlain by the intermediate aquifer system/intermediate confining unit. The lowermost hydrogeologic unit is the Floridan aquifer system, which consists of the Upper Floridan aquifer, as many as three middle confining units, and the Lower Floridan aquifer. The surficial aquifer consists primarily of fine-to-medium grained quartz sand with varying amounts of clay and silt. The aquifer system is unconfined and underlies the entire county. The thickness of the surficial aquifer is highly variable, ranging from less than 50 to more than 300 feet. Groundwater in the surficial aquifer is recharged primarily by precipitation, but also by septic tanks, irrigation from wells, seepage from lakes and streams, and the lateral groundwater inflow from adjacent areas. The intermediate aquifer system/intermediate confining unit acts as a confining layer (except where breached by sinkholes) that restricts the vertical movement of water between the surficial aquifer and the underlying Upper Floridan aquifer. The sediments have varying degrees of permeability and consist of permeable limestone, dolostone, or

  8. Applying East Asian Media Diplomacy Models to African Media: A ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The last two decades have seen the extensive expansion of South African and Nigerian media on the African continent. However, while the link between media and diplomacy, and the role of media in visualising the state for foreign audiences have received a lot of scholarly attention internationally, relatively little work has ...

  9. Ethnic entrepreneurship and internationalisation in East Africa

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Leendert de Bell; Hein Roelfsema; Khalidi Swabiri

    Using the World Bank Enterprise Surveys panel data for the East African Community, this paper analyses the influence of ethnic origin of entrepreneurs on internationalisation and firm performance. Using traditional probit and OLS estimation techniques in combination with matching strategies to

  10. The influence of inherited structures on magmatic and amagmatic processes in the East African Rift.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biggs, J.; Lloyd, R.; Hodge, M.; Robertson, E.; Wilks, M.; Fagereng, A.; Kendall, J. M.; Mdala, H. S.; Lewi, E.; Ayele, A.

    2017-12-01

    The idea that crustal heterogeneities, particularly inherited structures, influence the initiation and evolution of continental rifts is not new, but now modern techniques allow us to explore these controls from a fresh perspective, over a range of lengthscales, timescales and depths. In amagmatic rifts, I will demonstrate that deep fault structure is controlled by the stress orientation during the earliest phase of rifting, while the surface expression exploits near-surface weaknesses. I will show that pre-existing structures control the storage and orientation of deeper magma reservoirs in magmatic rifts, while the tectonic stress regime controls intra-rift faulting and shallow magmatism and stresses related to surface loading and cycles of inflation and deflation dominate at volcanic edifices. Finally, I will show how cross-rift structures influence short-term processes such as deformation and seismicity. I will illustrate the talk throughout using examples from along the East African Rift, including Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia.

  11. East and Central African Journal of Surgery

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    cough, diphtheria and measles. These no longer reach epidemic proportions in Africa as they did 30 years ago. But against a background of over- population, war and malnutrition, malaria and the diarrhoea1 diseases take an increasing toll of African children. In the cities, the diseases associated with affluence and gluttony ...

  12. The Use Of Information And Communication Technology And Social Networking Sites In Political Governance Of East African Legislative Assembly Parliament

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ainebyona Robert

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This research project was carried out to ascertain the use of Information and Communication Technologies and Social Networking Sites in political governance of East African Legislative Assembly Parliament. The research project was based on the conviction that in this era of globalization use of ICTs and SNSs are fundamentally important and will have tremendous impact on governance leadership and legislation now and in the near future. The specific objective of this study was intended a To evaluate the use of Social Networking Sites in enhancing the political governance of East African Legislative assembly Parliament. The findings from the research showed that that all the respondents 100 were subscribed to social networking sites and used them from time to time. Additionally the EALA parliamentarians had a disparity when it came to use of SNSs to interact with constituents 73.3 of the respondents indicated that they have used SNSs to interact with constituents on matters affecting the community from time to time however 26.7 showed that they did not use Social Networking sites to interact with constituents. Lastly the use of ICTs and SNSs by EALA has also made it possible for citizens to view Assembly proceedings in real time and hence where able to view their representatives in the course of carrying out their duties in the political arena.Lastly the world is changing in a dynamic fashion SNSs are among the tools leading the transformation and it is about time Parliamentarians in Africa embrace SNSs as major tools in changing how leaders interact and remain accountable to their constituents a practice thats been a myth in Africa.

  13. Natural hybrids in the genus of Aloe (Aloeaceae) in East Africa ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Natural hybrids can arise in the genus Aloe because their chief pollinators, sunbirds, are not species-specific when feeding on nectar. From literature and the observations of the writer and others, 16 cases of known or suspected natural interspecific hybrids in East Africa are recorded. Journal of East African Natural History ...

  14. Assessing the Role of Climate Change in Malaria Transmission in Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. T. Ngarakana-Gwasira

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The sensitivity of vector borne diseases like malaria to climate continues to raise considerable concern over the implications of climate change on future disease dynamics. The problem of malaria vectors shifting from their traditional locations to invade new zones is of important concern. A mathematical model incorporating rainfall and temperature is constructed to study the transmission dynamics of malaria. The reproduction number obtained is applied to gridded temperature and rainfall datasets for baseline climate and future climate with aid of GIS. As a result of climate change, malaria burden is likely to increase in the tropics, the highland regions, and East Africa and along the northern limit of falciparum malaria. Falciparum malaria will spread into the African highlands; however it is likely to die out at the southern limit of the disease.

  15. Feeding East Africa : are genetically modified crops part of the solution?

    OpenAIRE

    Tarjem, Ida Arff

    2017-01-01

    The African continent is faced with enormous challenges of poverty, hunger and food insecurity, which is exacerbated by climatic and environmental change, and a rapidly increasing population; and in the midst of it all is the smallholder and subsistence African farmer. Some believe that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and GM crops may offer part of the solution to some of these challenges. The GMO debate has gained considerable traction in the East African region, as recent regulat...

  16. Eye Munchausen's Syndrome: Case Report | Atipo-Tsiba | East ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Medical Journal. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS ... Munchausen's syndrome is a psychiatric disorder characterised by a need to simulate a disease or trauma self-mutilation, in order to attract attention or sympathy. Patients with this ...

  17. THE IDIOSYNCRASY OF EAST AFRICAN ENGLISH Maria Tsilimos ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    maria tsilimos

    officer of the Consortium for Independent Education Providers in Sub-Saharan Africa, ... African English has to be studied systematically in order that its unique characteristics can be ..... the contextualisation of the event that is narrated. Also ...

  18. Farm management in mixed crop-livestock systems in the Northern Highlands of Ethiopia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Abegaz Yimer, A.

    2005-01-01

    Key Words: nutrient dynamics, fertility management, feed availability and quality and livestock production, Northern Highlands of EthiopiaIn the Northern Highlands of Ethiopiaone of the

  19. Efficacy of highland production of strawberry transplants

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2009-04-20

    Apr 20, 2009 ... Figure 1. Number of runners per mother plant with bare root propagation system under lowland and highland conditions. ... Containerized plugs (58 x 29 cm, 32 cells), filled with .... and Utilization for a New Century. Larson KD ...

  20. Ozark-Ouachita Highlands Assessment: Aquatic Conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forest Service U.S. Department of Agriculture

    1999-01-01

    This publication provides citizens, private and public organizations, scientists, and others with information about the aquatic conditions in or near national forests in the Ozark-Ouachita Highlands: the Mark Twain in Missouri, the Ouachita in Arkansas and Oklahoma, and the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests in Arkansas. This report includes water quality analyses,...

  1. Vitamin D intake, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D status and response to moderate vitamin D3 supplementation: a randomised controlled trial in East African and Finnish women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adebayo, Folasade A; Itkonen, Suvi T; Öhman, Taina; Skaffari, Essi; Saarnio, Elisa M; Erkkola, Maijaliisa; Cashman, Kevin D; Lamberg-Allardt, Christel

    2018-02-01

    Insufficient vitamin D status (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (S-25(OH)D)0·05 for differences between ethnic groups). In conclusion, high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency existed among East African women living in Finland, despite higher vitamin D intake than their Finnish peers. Moderate vitamin D3 supplementation was effective in increasing S-25(OH)D in both groups of women, and no ethnic differences existed in the response to supplementation.

  2. Gastric outlet obstruction in Northwestern Ethiopia | Kotisso | East ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East and Central African Journal of Surgery. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 5, No 2 (2000) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

  3. ISSN 2073-9990 East Cent. Afr. J. surg. (Online)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    dell

    COSECSA/ASEA Publication -East and Central African Journal of Surgery April .... toward skeletal muscle, cartilage, fibrous tissue, and sometimes fat, and most ... ipsilateral lobes of the lung, the central nervous system including the spinal ...

  4. African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology. ... of edible locally produced dry season leafy vegetables cultivated in south east Enugu, Nigeria ... Cross-seasonal analysis of bacteriological profile of water sources as a disease risk ...

  5. Integrated Natural Resource Management in the Highlands of ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    1 janv. 2012 ... Integrated Natural Resource Management in the Highlands of Eastern Africa: ... goal of implementing an integrated approach to natural resource ... and the International Water Management Institute in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

  6. ISSN 2073-9990 East Cent Afr J Surg

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    72 COSECSA/ASEA Publication -- East & Central African Journal of Surgery 2017; Vol. ... A 60-year-old man presented with a 6-month history of persistent difficulty in ... injury is due to the fact that jejunum is located relatively far away from the.

  7. AfricaArray seismological studies of the structure and evolution of the African continent

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Durrheim, RJ

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available and Madagascar. Brandt and Mulibo elucidated the relationship between the African Superplume, Superswell and the East African Rift System by studying the seismic velocity structure of the mantle. Kgaswane jointly inverted P-wave receiver functions (PRFs...

  8. Genomic Ancestry of North Africans Supports Back-to-Africa Migrations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gravel, Simon; Wang, Wei; Brisbin, Abra; Byrnes, Jake K.; Fadhlaoui-Zid, Karima; Zalloua, Pierre A.; Moreno-Estrada, Andres; Bertranpetit, Jaume; Bustamante, Carlos D.; Comas, David

    2012-01-01

    North African populations are distinct from sub-Saharan Africans based on cultural, linguistic, and phenotypic attributes; however, the time and the extent of genetic divergence between populations north and south of the Sahara remain poorly understood. Here, we interrogate the multilayered history of North Africa by characterizing the effect of hypothesized migrations from the Near East, Europe, and sub-Saharan Africa on current genetic diversity. We present dense, genome-wide SNP genotyping array data (730,000 sites) from seven North African populations, spanning from Egypt to Morocco, and one Spanish population. We identify a gradient of likely autochthonous Maghrebi ancestry that increases from east to west across northern Africa; this ancestry is likely derived from “back-to-Africa” gene flow more than 12,000 years ago (ya), prior to the Holocene. The indigenous North African ancestry is more frequent in populations with historical Berber ethnicity. In most North African populations we also see substantial shared ancestry with the Near East, and to a lesser extent sub-Saharan Africa and Europe. To estimate the time of migration from sub-Saharan populations into North Africa, we implement a maximum likelihood dating method based on the distribution of migrant tracts. In order to first identify migrant tracts, we assign local ancestry to haplotypes using a novel, principal component-based analysis of three ancestral populations. We estimate that a migration of western African origin into Morocco began about 40 generations ago (approximately 1,200 ya); a migration of individuals with Nilotic ancestry into Egypt occurred about 25 generations ago (approximately 750 ya). Our genomic data reveal an extraordinarily complex history of migrations, involving at least five ancestral populations, into North Africa. PMID:22253600

  9. Genomic ancestry of North Africans supports back-to-Africa migrations.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brenna M Henn

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available North African populations are distinct from sub-Saharan Africans based on cultural, linguistic, and phenotypic attributes; however, the time and the extent of genetic divergence between populations north and south of the Sahara remain poorly understood. Here, we interrogate the multilayered history of North Africa by characterizing the effect of hypothesized migrations from the Near East, Europe, and sub-Saharan Africa on current genetic diversity. We present dense, genome-wide SNP genotyping array data (730,000 sites from seven North African populations, spanning from Egypt to Morocco, and one Spanish population. We identify a gradient of likely autochthonous Maghrebi ancestry that increases from east to west across northern Africa; this ancestry is likely derived from "back-to-Africa" gene flow more than 12,000 years ago (ya, prior to the Holocene. The indigenous North African ancestry is more frequent in populations with historical Berber ethnicity. In most North African populations we also see substantial shared ancestry with the Near East, and to a lesser extent sub-Saharan Africa and Europe. To estimate the time of migration from sub-Saharan populations into North Africa, we implement a maximum likelihood dating method based on the distribution of migrant tracts. In order to first identify migrant tracts, we assign local ancestry to haplotypes using a novel, principal component-based analysis of three ancestral populations. We estimate that a migration of western African origin into Morocco began about 40 generations ago (approximately 1,200 ya; a migration of individuals with Nilotic ancestry into Egypt occurred about 25 generations ago (approximately 750 ya. Our genomic data reveal an extraordinarily complex history of migrations, involving at least five ancestral populations, into North Africa.

  10. Quantification of African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) and East African cassava mosaic virus (EACMV-UG) in single and mixed infected Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) using quantitative PCR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naseem, Saadia; Winter, Stephan

    2016-01-01

    The quantity of genomic DNA-A and DNA-B of African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) and East African cassava mosaic virus Uganda (Uganda variant, EACMV-UG) was analysed using quantitative PCR to assess virus concentrations in plants from susceptible and tolerant cultivars. The concentrations of genome components in absolute and relative quantification experiments in single and mixed viral infections were determined. Virus concentration was much higher in symptomatic leaf tissues compared to non-symptomatic leaves and corresponded with the severity of disease symptoms. In general, higher titres were recorded for EACMV-UG Ca055 compared to ACMV DRC6. The quantitative assessment also showed that the distribution of both viruses in the moderately resistant cassava cv. TMS 30572 was not different from the highly susceptible cv. TME 117. Natural mixed infections with both viruses gave severe disease symptoms. Relative quantification of virus genomes in mixed infections showed higher concentrations of EACMV-UG DNA-A compared to ACMV DNA-A, but a marked reduction of EACMV-UG DNA-B. The higher concentrations of EACMV-UG DNA-B compared to EACMV DNA-A accumulation in single infections were consistent. Since DNA-B is implicated in virus cell-to-cell spread and systemic movement, the abundance of the EACMV-UG DNA-B may be an important factor driving cassava mosaic disease epidemic. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Come together : African universities collaborate to improve bandwidth

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    test

    Telecommunications Union], government people, and donor groups.” ... could be vitally useful for information-strapped universities and post-secondary institutions. They ... to purchase a stake in the East African Submarine System (EASSy).

  12. Forecasting The Onset Of The East African Rains

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacLeod, D.; Palmer, T.

    2017-12-01

    The timing of the rainy seasons is critical for East Africa, where many livelihoods depend on rain-fed agriculture. The exact onset date of the rains varies from year to year and a delayed start has significant implications for food security. Early warning of anomalous onset can help mitigate risks by informing farmer decisions on crop choice and timing of planting. Onset forecasts may also pre-warn governments and NGOs of upcoming need for financial support and humanitarian intervention. Here we assess the potential to forecast the onset of both the short and long rains over East Africa at subseasonal to seasonal timescales. Based on operational reforecasts from ECMWF, we will demonstrate skilful prediction of onset anomalies. An investigation to determine potential sources of this forecast skill will also be presented. This work has been carried out as part of the project ForPAc: "Towards forecast-based preparedness action".

  13. African Journals Online: Browse Alphabetically -- letter E

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Items 1 - 39 of 39 ... The East African Journal of Sciences (EAJS) publishes original ... The objects of the Association journal shall be the advancement of the science and art of ..... Economics, Business Management, and Public Administration and ...

  14. Histopathological study of malignant melanoma in highlanders ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Histopathological study of malignant melanoma in highlanders. AZ Mohammed, AN Manasseh, BM Mandong, ST Edino. Abstract. Background:Malignant melanoma is a fatal skin cancer that is curable when detected and treated early. Recent reports indicate a rising incidence globally. This study aims at identifying the ...

  15. Creating opportunities for youth in East Africa | IDRC - International ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2016-06-30

    Jun 30, 2016 ... Youth employment is crucial to the development of the East African ... Even those with university degrees and college diplomas often fall ... However, the study shows that there is limited awareness of the benefits of career ...

  16. Menstruation in Rural Igbo Women of South East Nigeria: Attitudes ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Menstruation in Rural Igbo Women of South East Nigeria: Attitudes, Beliefs and Practices. ... African Journal of Reproductive Health ... Some respondents observed self-imposed restrictions on exercises, food items, visits and sex in order to ...

  17. Gastric cancers at Kibogora Hospital | Ntakiyiruta | East and Central ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East and Central African Journal of Surgery. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 14, No 1 (2009) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

  18. Changes in northeast African hydrology and vegetation associated with Pliocene–Pleistocene sapropel cycles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Cassaundra; Polissar, Pratigya J.; Tierney, Jessica E.; Filley, Timothy

    2016-01-01

    East African climate change since the Late Miocene consisted of persistent shorter-term, orbital-scale wet–dry cycles superimposed upon a long-term trend towards more open, grassy landscapes. Either or both of these modes of palaeoclimate variability may have influenced East African mammalian evolution, yet the interrelationship between these secular and orbital palaeoclimate signals remains poorly understood. Here, we explore whether the long-term secular climate change was also accompanied by significant changes at the orbital-scale. We develop northeast African hydroclimate and vegetation proxy data for two 100 kyr-duration windows near 3.05 and 1.75 Ma at ODP Site 967 in the eastern Mediterranean basin, where sedimentation is dominated by eastern Sahara dust input and Nile River run-off. These two windows were selected because they have comparable orbital configurations and bracket an important increase in East African C4 grasslands. We conducted high-resolution (2.5 kyr sampling) multiproxy biomarker, H- and C-isotopic analyses of plant waxes and lignin phenols to document orbital-scale changes in hydrology, vegetation and woody cover for these two intervals. Both intervals are dominated by large-amplitude, precession-scale (approx. 20 kyr) changes in northeast African vegetation and rainfall/run-off. The δ13Cwax values and lignin phenol composition record a variable but consistently C4 grass-dominated ecosystem for both intervals (50–80% C4). Precessional δDwax cycles were approximately 20–30‰ in peak-to-peak amplitude, comparable with other δDwax records of the Early Holocene African Humid Period. There were no significant differences in the means or variances of the δDwax or δ13Cwax data for the 3.05 and 1.75 Ma intervals studied, suggesting that the palaeohydrology and palaeovegetation responses to precessional forcing were similar for these two periods. Data for these two windows suggest that the eastern Sahara did not experience the

  19. African Sandalwood or Nepalese Sandalwood: a Brief Synthesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaime A. TEIXEIRA DA SILVA

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available African sandalwood or East African sandalwood (Osyris lanceolata Hochst. & Steud.; Santalaceae, also known as Nepalese sandalwood (Osyris wightiana var. rotundifolia P.C. Tam, is a hemi-parasitic tree known for its fragrant wood. The essential oil is extracted from the root bark for the perfume industry and different parts of the tree have various medicinal uses. African sandalwood contains an array of phytochemicals such as dihydro-β-agarofuran polyesters, agarofuranases, polyesters, other sesquiterpenes and bisabolanes. This mini-review focuses on the general biology, traditional uses, phytochemical properties, propagation for conservation, and hemiparasitism of O. lanceolata.

  20. Mechanisms of Vowel Variation in African American English.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holt, Yolanda Feimster

    2018-02-15

    This research explored mechanisms of vowel variation in African American English by comparing 2 geographically distant groups of African American and White American English speakers for participation in the African American Shift and the Southern Vowel Shift. Thirty-two male (African American: n = 16, White American controls: n = 16) lifelong residents of cities in eastern and western North Carolina produced heed,hid,heyd,head,had,hod,hawed,whod,hood,hoed,hide,howed,hoyd, and heard 3 times each in random order. Formant frequency, duration, and acoustic analyses were completed for the vowels /i, ɪ, e, ɛ, æ, ɑ, ɔ, u, ʊ, o, aɪ, aʊ, oɪ, ɝ/ produced in the listed words. African American English speakers show vowel variation. In the west, the African American English speakers are participating in the Southern Vowel Shift and hod fronting of the African American Shift. In the east, neither the African American English speakers nor their White peers are participating in the Southern Vowel Shift. The African American English speakers show limited participation in the African American Shift. The results provide evidence of regional and socio-ethnic variation in African American English in North Carolina.

  1. 27 CFR 9.122 - Western Connecticut Highlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... Highlands. 9.122 Section 9.122 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE... (Litchfield-Hartford-New Haven County line); (6) The boundary then travels approximately 7 miles west along the Litchfield-New Haven County line to Connecticut Route #8 at Waterville in the Town of Waterbury...

  2. The impact of environment change on culture evolution in east Ancient Silk Road.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, G.; Liu, F.; Li, G.; Zhang, D. D.; Lee, H. F.; Chen, F.

    2017-12-01

    Ancient Silk Road played an important role in culture communication between west and east parts of the Eurasia during Bronze Age and historical period. Tens of archaic civilizations rise and fall in east parts of the Ancient Silk Road, climate change is attributed as one of the most important driving forces, while the process and mechanism for the impact of environmental change on culture evolution in the area has not been well-understood. Here we report new paleoclimate data based on multi-proxy analysis from two well-dated aeolian deposit sequences in the Hexi Corridor and Qaidam basin, where locate at the throat position of the Ancient Silk Road. Comparing with high-resolution tree rings from Qilian Mountain nearby, and archaeological evidence and historical documents, we proposed that two desertification events occurred in west Hexi Corridor between 3400-3100 BP and post 1450 AD, which induced two cultural discontinuity in that area. Climate was dry between 3400-2900 BP and wet between 2900-2000 BP in lowlands of east Qaidam basin, mismatching with the development of Nuomuhong Bronze culture in the area during 3400-2450 BP. We propose culture evolution in east Ancient Silk Road was mainly influenced by precipitation change of highlands in mountain areas,which was further influenced by large-scale vapor transport.

  3. Bamboo mapping of Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda for the year 2016 using multi-temporal Landsat imagery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yuanyuan; Feng, Duole; Jayaraman, Durai; Belay, Daniel; Sebrala, Heiru; Ngugi, John; Maina, Eunice; Akombo, Rose; Otuoma, John; Mutyaba, Joseph; Kissa, Sam; Qi, Shuhua; Assefa, Fiker; Oduor, Nellie Mugure; Ndawula, Andrew Kalema; Li, Yanxia; Gong, Peng

    2018-04-01

    Mapping the spatial distribution of bamboo in East Africa is necessary for biodiversity conservation, resource management and policy making for rural poverty reduction. In this study, we produced a contemporary bamboo cover map of Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda for the year 2016 using multi-temporal Landsat imagery series at 30 m spatial resolution. This is the first bamboo map generated using remotely sensed data for these three East African countries that possess most of the African bamboo resource. The producer's and user's accuracies of bamboos are 79.2% and 84.0%, respectively. The hotspots with large amounts of bamboo were identified and the area of bamboo coverage for each region was estimated according to the map. The seasonal growth status of two typical bamboo zones (one highland bamboo and one lowland bamboo) were analyzed and the multi-temporal imagery proved to be useful in differentiating bamboo from other vegetation classes. The images acquired in September to February are less contaminated by clouds and shadows, and the image series cover the dying back process of lowland bamboo, which were helpful for bamboo identification in East Africa.

  4. ISSN 2073-9990 East Cent Afr J Surg

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    57 COSECSA/ASEA Publication -- East & Central African Journal of Surgery 2017; Vol. 22 (3) ... traumatic injury is an enormous public health problem throughout the world. ... In Nigeria, the annual report of the Federal Road Safety Corps in 2014 .... and unemployed individuals accounted for most of the occupational groups.

  5. Building Effective Water Governance in the Asian Highlands | IDRC ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    This project seeks to facilitate effective water resource management in the Asian Highlands by integrating climate ... Journal articles ... Adaptation strategies for two Colombian cities were discussed at ADAPTO's second international workshop.

  6. Conservation priorities in the Apache Highlands ecoregion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dale Turner; Rob Marshall; Carolyn A. F. Enquist; Anne Gondor; David F. Gori; Eduardo Lopez; Gonzalo Luna; Rafaela Paredes Aguilar; Chris Watts; Sabra Schwartz

    2005-01-01

    The Apache Highlands ecoregion incorporates the entire Madrean Archipelago/Sky Island region. We analyzed the current distribution of 223 target species and 26 terrestrial ecological systems there, and compared them with constraints on ecosystem integrity (e.g., road density) to determine the most efficient set of areas needed to maintain current biodiversity. The...

  7. Do African microfinance institutions need efficiency for financial stability and social outreach?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Md A.K. Azad

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Microfinance institutions (MFIs have the dual objective of providing social welfare and financial stability. We evaluated the financial efficiency of MFIs in sub-Saharan African countries by comparing their regional performances during the period 2004-2013. We addressed prevailing MFI heterogeneity by using the concept of "metafrontier". The results showed that on an average, more than half the MFIs showed a drop in productivity. The measure of how much one country gets closer to or further away from world frontier technology is commonly known as the TGC score. In world frontier technology, East and South Asian countries have taken the lead (TGC score 1.0048 while sub-Saharan African countries lag behind (TGC score 1.0020. Most East and South Asian countries have a TGC score of 1, and most sub-Saharan African countries have a TGC score less than 1. This signifies that Asian countries lead world frontier technology and most African countries do not. The decomposition of efficiency scores showed that with regard to technical changes, African nations had progressed on average only 0.01%, and efficiency change scores had regressed by 0.59% annually.

  8. Mainstreaming road safety in the regional integration of the East ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    one context-specific keyword (synonym of) or have one topic related word. It had also to be ..... injuries in Iran. (Unpublished doctoral thesis), Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. ... East and Central African Journal of Surgery, 7(1), 23-26. Nzioki, T.

  9. Prediction of East African Seasonal Rainfall Using Simplex Canonical Correlation Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ntale, Henry K.; Yew Gan, Thian; Mwale, Davison

    2003-06-01

    A linear statistical model, canonical correlation analysis (CCA), was driven by the Nelder-Mead simplex optimization algorithm (called CCA-NMS) to predict the standardized seasonal rainfall totals of East Africa at 3-month lead time using SLP and SST anomaly fields of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans combined together by 24 simplex optimized weights, and then `reduced' by the principal component analysis. Applying the optimized weights to the predictor fields produced better March-April-May (MAM) and September-October-November (SON) seasonal rain forecasts than a direct application of the same, unweighted predictor fields to CCA at both calibration and validation stages. Northeastern Tanzania and south-central Kenya had the best SON prediction results with both validation correlation and Hanssen-Kuipers skill scores exceeding +0.3. The MAM season was better predicted in the western parts of East Africa. The CCA correlation maps showed that low SON rainfall in East Africa is associated with cold SSTs off the Somali coast and the Benguela (Angola) coast, and low MAM rainfall is associated with a buildup of low SSTs in the Indian Ocean adjacent to East Africa and the Gulf of Guinea.

  10. Indigenous abundances of siderophile elements in the lunar highlands: implications for the origin of the Moon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Delano, J.W.; Ringwood, A.E.

    1978-01-01

    Substantial indigeneous abundances of siderophile elements have been found to be present in the lunar highlands. The abundances of 13 siderophile elements in the parental magma were estimated by using a simple model. It is shown that metal/silicate fractionation within the Moon cannot have been the cause of the siderophile element abundances in the parental highlands magma and primitive, low-Ti mare basalts. The relative abundances of the indigenous siderophile elements in highlands and mare samples seem, instead, to be the result of complex processes which operated prior to the Moon's accretion. The abundances of the relatively involatile, siderophile elements in the parental highlands magma are strikingly similar to the abundances observed in terrestrial oceanic tholeiites. Furthermore, the abundances of the relatively volatile, siderophile elements in the parental highlands magma are also systematically related to the corresponding abundances in terrestrial oceanic tholeiites. In fact, the parental magma of the lunar highlands can be essentially regarded as having been a volatile-depleted terrestrial oceanic tholeite. The origin of the moon is discussed in the context of the results. The probability that depletion of siderophile elements occurred in an earlier generation of differentiated planetesimals similar to those which formed the basaltic achondrites, stony-irons, and irons is examined but can be dismissed on several grounds. It seems that the uniquely terrestrial 'siderophile signature' within the Moon can be explained only if the Moon was derived from the Earth's mantle subsequent to core-formation. (Auth.)

  11. Phytosterols from Dombeya torrida (J. F. Gmel.) | Ndwigah | East and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 16, No 2 (2013) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

  12. ISSN 2073-9990 East Cent. Afr. J. surg. (Online) 60

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Hp 630 Dual Core

    East and Central African Journal of Surgery. August/September 2016 Volume 21 Number 2. 60. Spontaneous pneumothorax in a Neonate with .... scientific &research publication vol.4, issue 3,Mar 2014. 3. G.W. Holcomb, J.P. Murphy Ashcraft s ...

  13. Building Effective Water Governance in the Asian Highlands | CRDI ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Building Effective Water Governance in the Asian Highlands ... This project is funded through IDRC's Adaptation Research Initiative in Asia (ARI-Asia) ... Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences as represented by Sun Hang.

  14. determination of the power law exponent for southern highlands

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Mgina

    site located in the southern highland zone of Tanzania, was established using wind speeds measured at heights ... distribution, turbulence and wind gusts at the ... mathematical models, which normally .... other locations that have similar wind.

  15. Rural income and forest reliance in highland Guatemala

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Córdova, José Pablo Prado; Wunder, Sven; Smith-Hall, Carsten

    2013-01-01

    This paper estimates rural household-level forest reliance in the western highlands of Guatemala using quantitative methods. Data were generated by the way of an in-depth household income survey, repeated quarterly between November 2005 and November 2006, in 11 villages (n = 149 randomly selected...

  16. An exceptional case of historical outbreeding in African sable antelope populations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pitra, C.; Hansen, Anders J.; Lieckfeldt, D.

    2002-01-01

    ) sequences analysed from 95 individuals representing 17 sampling locations scattered through the African miombo (Brachystegia) woodland ecosystem] and phylogeographical statistical procedures (gene genealogy, nested cladistic and admixture proportion analyses), we (i) give a detailed dissection...... of the geographical genetic structure of Hippotragus niger; (ii) infer the processes and events potentially involved in the population history; and (iii) trace extensive introgressive hybridization in the species. The present-day sable antelope population shows a tripartite pattern of genetic subdivision representing...... West Tanzanian, Kenya/East Tanzanian and Southern Africa locations. Nested clade analysis revealed that past allopatric fragmentation, caused probably by habitat discontinuities associated with the East African Rift Valley system, together with intermediary episodic long-distance colonization...

  17. Editorial : Emerging issues of measles | Obimbo | East African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Metrics powered by PLOS ALM · http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/eamj.v78i1.9102 · AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors. OTHER RESOURCES... for Researchers · for Journals · for Authors · for Policy Makers · about Open Access · FAQ's · News · AJOL jobs · More about ...

  18. Seismic activity maps for the Armenian Highlands

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Karapetyan, N.K.; Manukyan, Zh.O.

    1976-01-01

    Seismic activity maps for the periods 1952 to 1967 and 1952 to 1968 were compiled for the Armenian Highlands in order to study the spatial distribution of earthquake recurrence and to construct maps in isolines of seismic activity. Diagrams are presented illustrating such seismic activity maps for the indicated periods. 4 references, 3 figures, 1 table.

  19. Feed resources and livestock production situation in the highland ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Feed resources and livestock production situation in the highland and mid altitude areas ... production constraints, major feed resources and their potential contribution. A single-visit multi subject formal survey method was used in the survey.

  20. Determinants of the accuracy of rapid diagnostic tests in malaria case management: evidence from low and moderate transmission settings in the East African highlands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rapuoda Beth

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The accuracy of malaria diagnosis has received renewed interest in recent years due to changes in treatment policies in favour of relatively high-cost artemisinin-based combination therapies. The use of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs based on histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2 synthesized by Plasmodium falciparum has been widely advocated to save costs and to minimize inappropriate treatment of non-malarial febrile illnesses. HRP2-based RDTs are highly sensitive and stable; however, their specificity is a cause for concern, particularly in areas of intense malaria transmission due to persistence of HRP2 antigens from previous infections. Methods In this study, 78,454 clinically diagnosed malaria patients were tested using HRP2-based RDTs over a period of approximately four years in four highland sites in Kenya and Uganda representing hypoendemic to mesoendemic settings. In addition, the utility of the tests was evaluated in comparison with expert microscopy for disease management in 2,241 subjects in two sites with different endemicity levels over four months. Results RDT positivity rates varied by season and year, indicating temporal changes in accuracy of clinical diagnosis. Compared to expert microscopy, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the RDTs in a hypoendemic site were 90.0%, 99.9%, 90.0% and 99.9%, respectively. Corresponding measures at a mesoendemic site were 91.0%, 65.0%, 71.6% and 88.1%. Although sensitivities at the two sites were broadly comparable, levels of specificity varied considerably between the sites as well as according to month of test, age of patient, and presence or absence of fever during consultation. Specificity was relatively high in older age groups and increased towards the end of the transmission season, indicating the role played by anti-HRP2 antibodies. Patients with high parasite densities were more likely to test positive with RDTs than

  1. Cosmologic principles of Moche-highland interactions during the Middle Horizon period in Jequetepeque

    OpenAIRE

    Swenson, Edward

    2014-01-01

    In this chapter, I argue that developments characterizing the Late Moche Period in the Jequetepeque Valley, including both the adoption of highland artistic styles at San José de Moro and Huaca Colorada, as well as the proliferation of Moche religious architecture throughout the hinterland, were significantly influenced by interactions with highland societies, including Wari and Cajamarca. I support this thesis by examining the reconfiguration of the chicha-based political economy and the int...

  2. Gaining ground : land reform and the constitution of community in the Tojolabal Highlands of Chiapas, Mexico

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haar, van der G.

    2001-01-01

    This study reconstructs the process of land redistribution in an indigenous region of Chiapas, the Tojolabal Highlands, situated between the better known Central Highlands and the Lacandona Rainforest. Until 1930 this region was dominated by large private estates or fincas ,

  3. Maintainability in a manpower system | Owino | East African Journal ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    : EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT · http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/eajosta.v1i1.39173 · AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors ...

  4. Regional Integration: A Political Federation of the East African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    sulaiman.adebowale

    2006-06-13

    Jun 13, 2006 ... He suggested that the countries of the East Africa Community (EAC) together with .... tries engaged in free trade for local produce. This was .... First, he averred that economic integration is not enough because of political ...

  5. Determination of Sediment Profile for 210Pb, Pb, U and Th from Sultan Abu Bakar Dam Due to Soil Erosion from Highland Agriculture Area, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

    OpenAIRE

    Zaini Hamzah; Seh D. Riduan; Ahmad Saat

    2011-01-01

    Problem statement: Sultan Abu Bakar Dam in Cameron Highlands act as a catchments to accumulate all eroded soil carried by the run off flow through Bertam River, the main river that passes through the highland agriculture area. All suspended solid that carried out by the river contain various kind of hazard potential to the environment. U, Th and Pb are the potential hazard elements carried out by water and accumulate at the dam. Approach: Five sampling point were selected where five 30cm core...

  6. Improving Food Security in the Highlands of Ethiopia through ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    ... in the Highlands of Ethiopia through Improved and Sustainable Agricultural Productivity and ... Women will be involved as agents of change in the adoption of improved ... IDRC and key partners will showcase critical work on adaptation and ...

  7. Cultural Astronomy in the Armenian Highland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farmanyan, S. V.; Suvaryan, Yu. M.; Mickaelian, A. M. (Eds.)

    2016-12-01

    The book contains 29 articles of the Proceedings of the Young Scientists Conference "Cultural Astronomy in the Armenian Highland" held at the Armenian National Academy of Sciences on 20-23 June 2016. It consists of 4 main sections: "Introductory", "Cultural Astronomy", "Archaeoastronomy", "Scientific Tourism and Journalism, Astronomical Education and Amateur Astronomy". The book may be interesting to astronomers, culturologists, philologists, linguists, historians, archaeologists, art historians, ethnographers and to other specialists, as well as to students.

  8. Adaptation is.... Predicting malaria's changing course in East Africa

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    IDRC

    Health experts say controlling malaria is crucial if the three East African nations are to achieve the UN Millennium. Development Goal of halving the incidence of infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS by 2015. Looking ahead:Prevention and treatment. Improved malaria prediction will be an.

  9. Annals of African Surgery - Vol 12, No 2 (2015)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Incidence of Early Post Operative Infection after Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty at an East African Centre · EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. JWM Kigera, P Kimpiatu ...

  10. The earliest evidence for Upper Paleolithic occupation in the Armenian Highlands at Aghitu-3 Cave.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kandel, Andrew W; Gasparyan, Boris; Allué, Ethel; Bigga, Gerlinde; Bruch, Angela A; Cullen, Victoria L; Frahm, Ellery; Ghukasyan, Robert; Gruwier, Ben; Jabbour, Firas; Miller, Christopher E; Taller, Andreas; Vardazaryan, Varduhi; Vasilyan, Davit; Weissbrod, Lior

    2017-09-01

    With its well-preserved archaeological and environmental records, Aghitu-3 Cave permits us to examine the settlement patterns of the Upper Paleolithic (UP) people who inhabited the Armenian Highlands. We also test whether settlement of the region between ∼39-24,000 cal BP relates to environmental variability. The earliest evidence occurs in archaeological horizon (AH) VII from ∼39-36,000 cal BP during a mild, moist climatic phase. AH VI shows periodic occupation as warm, humid conditions prevailed from ∼36-32,000 cal BP. As the climate becomes cooler and drier at ∼32-29,000 cal BP (AH V-IV), evidence for occupation is minimal. However, as cooling continues, the deposits of AH III demonstrate that people used the site more intensively from ∼29-24,000 cal BP, leaving behind numerous stone artifacts, faunal remains, and complex combustion features. Despite the climatic fluctuations seen across this 15,000-year sequence, lithic technology remains attuned to one pattern: unidirectional reduction of small cores geared towards the production of bladelets for tool manufacture. Subsistence patterns also remain stable, focused on medium-sized prey such as ovids and caprids, as well as equids. AH III demonstrates an expansion of social networks to the northwest and southwest, as the transport distance of obsidian used to make stone artifacts increases. We also observe the addition of bone tools, including an eyed needle, and shell beads brought from the east, suggesting that these people manufactured complex clothing and wore ornaments. Remains of micromammals, birds, charcoal, pollen, and tephra relate the story of environmental variability. We hypothesize that UP behavior was linked to shifts in demographic pressures and climatic changes. Thus, by combining archaeological and environmental data, we gain a clearer picture about the first UP inhabitants of the Armenian Highlands. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Distribution of Early, Middle, and Late Noachian cratered surfaces in the Martian highlands: Implications for resurfacing events and processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irwin, Rossman P.; Tanaka, Kenneth L.; Robbins, Stuart J.

    2013-02-01

    Most of the geomorphic changes on Mars occurred during the Noachian Period, when the rates of impact crater degradation and valley network incision were highest. Fluvial erosion around the Noachian/Hesperian transition is better constrained than the longer-term landscape evolution throughout the Noachian Period, when the highland intercrater geomorphic surfaces developed. We interpret highland resurfacing events and processes using a new global geologic map of Mars (at 1:20,000,000 scale), a crater data set that is complete down to 1 km in diameter, and Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter topography. The Early Noachian highland (eNh) unit is nearly saturated with craters of 32-128 km diameter, the Middle Noachian highland (mNh) unit has a resurfacing age of ~4 Ga, and the Late Noachian highland unit (lNh) includes younger composite surfaces of basin fill and partially buried cratered terrain. These units have statistically distinct ages, and their distribution varies with elevation. The eNh unit is concentrated in the high-standing Hellas basin annulus and in highland terrain that was thinly mantled by basin ejecta near 180° longitude. The mNh unit includes most of Arabia Terra, the Argyre vicinity, highland plateau areas between eNh outcrops, and the Thaumasia range. The lNh unit mostly occurs within highland basins. Crater depth/diameter ratios do not vary strongly between the eNh and mNh units, although crater losses to Noachian resurfacing appear greater in lower lying areas. Noachian resurfacing was spatially non-uniform, long-lived, and gravity-driven, more consistent with arid-zone fluvial and aeolian erosion and volcanism than with air fall mantling or mass wasting.

  12. Maize production in the central Kenya highlands using cattle ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Mo

    effective in the production of maize, compared to singular application of manures (5 t ha-1) and mineral fertilizer alone applied at rates below ...... A Handbook of Methods, 2nd. Edition. ... Manure management in the Kenya highlands: Practices.

  13. Early human speciation, brain expansion and dispersal influenced by African climate pulses.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susanne Shultz

    Full Text Available Early human evolution is characterised by pulsed speciation and dispersal events that cannot be explained fully by global or continental paleoclimate records. We propose that the collated record of ephemeral East African Rift System (EARS lakes could be a proxy for the regional paleoclimate conditions experienced by early hominins. Here we show that the presence of these lakes is associated with low levels of dust deposition in both West African and Mediterranean records, but is not associated with long-term global cooling and aridification of East Africa. Hominin expansion and diversification seem to be associated with climate pulses characterized by the precession-forced appearance and disappearance of deep EARS lakes. The most profound period for hominin evolution occurs at about 1.9 Ma; with the highest recorded diversity of hominin species, the appearance of Homo (sensu stricto and major dispersal events out of East Africa into Eurasia. During this period, ephemeral deep-freshwater lakes appeared along the whole length of the EARS, fundamentally changing the local environment. The relationship between the local environment and hominin brain expansion is less clear. The major step-wise expansion in brain size around 1.9 Ma when Homo appeared was coeval with the occurrence of ephemeral deep lakes. Subsequent incremental increases in brain size are associated with dry periods with few if any lakes. Plio-Pleistocene East African climate pulses as evinced by the paleo-lake records seem, therefore, fundamental to hominin speciation, encephalisation and migration.

  14. Early human speciation, brain expansion and dispersal influenced by African climate pulses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shultz, Susanne; Maslin, Mark

    2013-01-01

    Early human evolution is characterised by pulsed speciation and dispersal events that cannot be explained fully by global or continental paleoclimate records. We propose that the collated record of ephemeral East African Rift System (EARS) lakes could be a proxy for the regional paleoclimate conditions experienced by early hominins. Here we show that the presence of these lakes is associated with low levels of dust deposition in both West African and Mediterranean records, but is not associated with long-term global cooling and aridification of East Africa. Hominin expansion and diversification seem to be associated with climate pulses characterized by the precession-forced appearance and disappearance of deep EARS lakes. The most profound period for hominin evolution occurs at about 1.9 Ma; with the highest recorded diversity of hominin species, the appearance of Homo (sensu stricto) and major dispersal events out of East Africa into Eurasia. During this period, ephemeral deep-freshwater lakes appeared along the whole length of the EARS, fundamentally changing the local environment. The relationship between the local environment and hominin brain expansion is less clear. The major step-wise expansion in brain size around 1.9 Ma when Homo appeared was coeval with the occurrence of ephemeral deep lakes. Subsequent incremental increases in brain size are associated with dry periods with few if any lakes. Plio-Pleistocene East African climate pulses as evinced by the paleo-lake records seem, therefore, fundamental to hominin speciation, encephalisation and migration.

  15. Genomic footprints of dryland stress adaptation in Egyptian fat-tail sheep and their divergence from East African and western Asia cohorts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mwacharo, Joram M; Kim, Eui-Soo; Elbeltagy, Ahmed R; Aboul-Naga, Adel M; Rischkowsky, Barbara A; Rothschild, Max F

    2017-12-15

    African indigenous sheep are classified as fat-tail, thin-tail and fat-rump hair sheep. The fat-tail are well adapted to dryland environments, but little is known on their genome profiles. We analyzed patterns of genomic variation by genotyping, with the Ovine SNP50K microarray, 394 individuals from five populations of fat-tail sheep from a desert environment in Egypt. Comparative inferences with other East African and western Asia fat-tail and European sheep, reveal at least two phylogeographically distinct genepools of fat-tail sheep in Africa that differ from the European genepool, suggesting separate evolutionary and breeding history. We identified 24 candidate selection sweep regions, spanning 172 potentially novel and known genes, which are enriched with genes underpinning dryland adaptation physiology. In particular, we found selection sweeps spanning genes and/or pathways associated with metabolism; response to stress, ultraviolet radiation, oxidative stress and DNA damage repair; activation of immune response; regulation of reproduction, organ function and development, body size and morphology, skin and hair pigmentation, and keratinization. Our findings provide insights on the complexity of genome architecture regarding dryland stress adaptation in the fat-tail sheep and showcase the indigenous stocks as appropriate genotypes for adaptation planning to sustain livestock production and human livelihoods, under future climates.

  16. The megalithic complex of highland Jambi: An archaeological perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mai Lin Tjoa-Bonatz

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available The highlands of Sumatra remain one of the most neglected regions of insular Southeast Asia in terms of history and archaeology. No comprehensive research program incorporating both a survey and excavations within a defined geographical or environmental zone has been carried out there since Van der Hoop (1932 conducted his study of the megaliths on the Pasemah plateau in the 1930s. Meanwhile, Van der Hoop’s investigations and several other archaeological research activities at places such as northwest Lampung (McKinnon 1993, Pasemah (Sukendar and Sukidjo 1983-84; Caldwell 1997; Kusumawati and Sukendar 2000, Kerinci (Laporan 1995a, 1996a, and the Minangkabau heartland (Miksic 1986, 1987, 2004 have placed special emphasis on the megalithic remains. As a result, the megaliths are by far the bestknown archaeological attraction of the Sumatran highlands.

  17. A report from the first regional pain medicine symposia in East ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A report from the first regional pain medicine symposia in East, Central and Southern African ... Definition and concept of the Rhino model in pain education in Africa ... pain medicine among residents to stimulate their ideas for pain research ...

  18. Household-Level Determinants of Soil and Water Conservation Adoption Phases: Evidence from North-Western Ethiopian Highlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Teshome, Akalu; Graaff, de J.; Kassie, M.

    2016-01-01

    Soil and water conservation (SWC) practices have been promoted in the highlands of Ethiopia during the last four decades. However, the level of adoption of SWC practices varies greatly. This paper examines the drivers of different stages of adoption of SWC technologies in the north-western highlands

  19. East African Medical Journal - Vol 87, No 8 (2010)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Association of the ENPP1 rs997509 polymorphism with obesity in South African mixed ancestry learners · EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. T Matsha, B Fanampe, Y Yako, S Hassan, M Hoffmann, L Van der Merwe, RT Erasmus ...

  20. Some third order rotatable designs in five dimensions | Mutiso | East ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... performed according to our dimensional designs need not be discarded. These deisgns require a smaller number of points than most of the available five dimensional third order rotatable designs. Keywords: third order; rotatable designs; four dimensions; five dimensions; sequential > East African Journal of Statistics Vol.

  1. East African refugees adapting to life in the UK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samuel Bekalo

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available This article reflects on the first-hand life experiences of refugees ofEast/Horn of Africa origin on arrival in the UK. The experiences – someof which could be seen as humorous or sad – may be informative andrelevant for other practitioners.

  2. Advancing the Structural Use of Earth-based Bricks: Addressing Key Challenges in the East African Context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mang Tia

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available The research discussed in this paper is a subset of a bigger, NSF funded research project that is directed at investigating the use of sustainable building materials. The deployment context for the research is the hot and humid climate using selected cases from the East African region. The overarching goal for the research is advancing the structural use of earth-based technologies. Significant strides can be made through developing strategies for countering the adverse factors that affect the structural performance of the resulting wall, especially ones related to moisture dynamics. The research was executed in two phases. The first phase was a two-day NSF supported workshop which was held in Tanzania in July 2009. It provided a forum for sharing best practices in earth-based building technologies and developing a research and development roadmap. The priority research areas were broadly classified as optimizing the physio-mechanical properties of earth as a building material and managing socio-cultural impediments. In the second phase of the research, the authors collaborated with researchers from East Africa to conduct experimental work on the optimization of physio-mechanical properties. The specific research issues that have been addressed are: (1 characterizing the chemical reactions that can be linked to deterioration triggered by hygrothermal loads based on the hot and humid context, and; (2 developing a prototype for a simpler, portable, affordable and viable compressed brick production machine. The paper discusses the results from the characterization work that ultimately will be used to design bricks that have specific properties based on an understanding of how different stabilizers affect the hydration process. It also describes a cheaper, portable and more efficient prototype machine that has been developed as part of the follow-up research activities.

  3. A review of visceral leishmaniasis during the conflict in South Sudan and the consequences for East African countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Salem, Waleed; Herricks, Jennifer R; Hotez, Peter J

    2016-08-22

    Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), caused predominantly by Leishmania donovani and transmitted by both Phlebotomus orientalis and Phlebotomus martini, is highly endemic in East Africa where approximately 30 thousands VL cases are reported annually. The largest numbers of cases are found in Sudan - where Phlebotomus orientalis proliferate in Acacia forests especially on Sudan's eastern border with Ethiopia, followed by South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and Uganda. Long-standing civil war and unrest is a dominant determinant of VL in East African countries. Here we attempt to identify the correlation between VL epidemics and civil unrest. In this review, literature published between 1955 and 2016 have been gathered from MSF, UNICEF, OCHA, UNHCR, PubMed and Google Scholar to analyse the correlation between conflict and human suffering from VL, which is especially apparent in South Sudan. Waves of forced migration as a consequence of civil wars between 1983 and 2005 have resulted in massive and lethal epidemics in southern Sudan. Following a comprehensive peace agreement, but especially with increased allocation of resources for disease treatment and prevention in 2011, cases of VL declined reaching the lowest levels after South Sudan declared independence. However, in the latest epidemic that began in 2014 after the onset of a civil war in South Sudan, more than 1.5 million displaced refugees have migrated internally to states highly endemic for VL, while 800,000 have fled to neighboring countries. We find a strong relationship between civil unrest and VL epidemics which tend to occur among immunologically naïve migrants entering VL-endemic areas and when Leishmania-infected individuals migrate to new areas and establish additional foci of disease. Further complicating factors in East Africa's VL epidemics include severe lack of access to diagnosis and treatment, HIV/AIDS co-infection, food insecurity and malnutrition. Moreover, cases of post-kala-azar dermal

  4. Firm Productivity and Infrastructure Costs in East Africa

    OpenAIRE

    Iimi, Atsushi; Humphrey, Richard Martin; Melibaeva, Sevara

    2015-01-01

    Infrastructure is an important driving force for economic growth. It reduces trade and transaction costs and stimulates the productivity of the economy. Africa has been lagging behind in the global manufacturing market. Among others, infrastructure is an important constraint in many African countries. Using firm-level data for East Africa, the paper reexamines the relationship between firm ...

  5. The interbelic Germans from the Banat Highland. Coal, steel, mines and forges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rudolf, C.; Micliuc, D. M.; Nedeloni, M. D.; Birtarescu, E.; Varga, A.

    2018-01-01

    The difficulties of the reconstruction era, following World War I had been increased by the cessation of some activities in the industrial centres of the Banat Highland. For instance, the copper mines were closed in 1921, the Romanian state forbidding the extraction of this ore. Only in Ocna de Fier a special dispensation had been given. The copper mines from Moldova Nouă, Sasca Montană, Ciclova, Dognecea had also been shut down. This fact caused the acid reaction of some writers. We recall that one of the main ways for improving the material condition, embraced by the ethnic Germans, was working abroad. Many German workers of the Banat Highland had emigrated, taking up an offer of well-paid work during the crisis years: 1929-1933. The miners of the Banat Highland, especially those of German origin, travelled to the areas rich in iron ore and coal of France, namely Alsace and Loraine. Considering that German was spoken there by a significant percentage of the population, the integration into the new working environment did not represent a problem.

  6. Journal of East African Natural History - Vol 89 (2000)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    10.2982/0012-8317(2000)89[73:ASOTSM]2.0.CO;2 · Status of the cheetah in Tanzania in the mid 1990's · EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. PM Gros, 85-100. Germination of important East ...

  7. East African Crisis Response: Shaping Ethiopian Peace Force for Better Participation in Future Peace Operations

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Amdemichael, Haile A

    2006-01-01

    .... This thesis analyzes the Organization of African Unity/African Union (OAU/AU) efforts after the Cold War to restore security and ensure stability in the region and outlines the process of creating African Standby Forces (ASF...

  8. African financial systems: A review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Franklin Allen

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available We start by providing an overview of financial systems in the African continent. We then consider the regions of Arab North Africa, West Africa, East and Central Africa, and Southern Africa in more detail. The paper covers, among other things, central banks, deposit-taking banks, non-bank institutions, such as the stock markets, fixed income markets, insurance markets, and microfinance institutions.

  9. Risk factors for placenta praevia in Southern Nigeria | Eniola | East ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Design: A prospective case control study. Setting: A tertiary center - Obafemi Awolowo ... Conclusions: From our study, the risk factors for placenta praevia are a history of retained placenta, previous caesarean section, previous abortion, grand multiparity and maternal age over 35 years. (East African Medical Journal: 2002 ...

  10. Spatial vegetation patterns and neighborhood competition among woody plants in an East African savanna.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dohn, Justin; Augustine, David J; Hanan, Niall P; Ratnam, Jayashree; Sankaran, Mahesh

    2017-02-01

    The majority of research on savanna vegetation dynamics has focused on the coexistence of woody and herbaceous vegetation. Interactions among woody plants in savannas are relatively poorly understood. We present data from a 10-yr longitudinal study of spatially explicit growth patterns of woody vegetation in an East African savanna following exclusion of large herbivores and in the absence of fire. We examined plant spatial patterns and quantified the degree of competition among woody individuals. Woody plants in this semiarid savanna exhibit strongly clumped spatial distributions at scales of 1-5 m. However, analysis of woody plant growth rates relative to their conspecific and heterospecific neighbors revealed evidence for strong competitive interactions at neighborhood scales of up to 5 m for most woody plant species. Thus, woody plants were aggregated in clumps despite significantly decreased growth rates in close proximity to neighbors, indicating that the spatial distribution of woody plants in this region depends on dispersal and establishment processes rather than on competitive, density-dependent mortality. However, our documentation of suppressive effects of woody plants on neighbors also suggests a potentially important role for tree-tree competition in controlling vegetation structure and indicates that the balanced-competition hypothesis may contribute to well-known patterns in maximum tree cover across rainfall gradients in Africa. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

  11. East Africa Evaluation Hub - Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Outcome Mapping is a planning, monitoring and evaluation methodology developed by IDRC and its partners. There is an active ... This project will adapt training resources to the East African context and build the capacity of IIRR to become a regional centre of Outcome Mapping training and support. It will also promote the ...

  12. Plasmodium falciparum parasite prevalence in East Africa: A Review ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objectives: Empirical data on malaria endemicity are rarely available for public domain use to guide effective malaria control. This paper describes the work carried in East Africa since 1997 as part of a pan-African collaboration to map the risk of malaria, Mapping Malaria Risk in Africa (MARA) aimed at redressing deficiency ...

  13. Snake Bite: A review of Current Literature | Dreyer | East and Central ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East and Central African Journal of Surgery ... Snake bite most commonly affects those living in the tropical and sub-tropical areas of Africa, Asia, the ... (WHO) recently recognised snake bite as a neglected tropical disease and this has led to a ...

  14. Temperature suitability for malaria climbing the Ethiopian Highlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyon, Bradfield; Dinku, Tufa; Raman, Anita; Thomson, Madeleine C.

    2017-06-01

    While the effect of climate change on the prevalence of malaria in the highlands of Eastern Africa has been the topic of protracted debate, temperature is widely accepted as a fundamentally important environmental factor constraining its transmission. Air temperatures below approximately 18 °C and 15 °C, respectively, prohibit the development of the Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax parasites responsible for the majority of malaria cases in Ethiopia. Low temperatures also impede the development rates of the Anopheles mosquito vectors. While locations of sufficiently high elevation have temperatures below these transmission thresholds, a fundamental question is how such temperature ‘threshold elevations’ are changing with time. A lack of high quality, high spatial resolution climate data has previously prohibited a rigorous investigation. Using a newly developed national temperature dataset for Ethiopia that combines numerous in-situ surface observations with downscaled reanalysis data, we here identify statistically significant increases in elevation for both the 18 °C and 15 °C thresholds in highland areas between 1981-2014. Substantial interannual and spatial variations in threshold elevations are identified, the former associated with the El Niño Southern-Oscillation and the latter with the complex climate of the region. The estimated population in locations with an upward trend in the 15 °C threshold elevation is approximately 6.5 million people (2.2 million for 18 °C). While not a direct prediction of the additional population made vulnerable to malaria through a shift to higher temperature, our results underscore a newly acquired ability to investigate climate variability and trends at fine spatial scales across Ethiopia, including changes in a fundamental constraint on malaria transmission in the Ethiopian Highlands.

  15. East African Medical Journal - Vol 83, No 9 (2006)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    An overview of health financing patterns and the way forward in the who african region · EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. JM Kirigia, A Preker, G Carrin, C Mwikisa, AJ Diarra-Nama, S1-S28. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/eamj.v83i9.9492 ...

  16. Interrill and rill erodibility in the northern andean highlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Romero, C.; Stroosnijder, L.; Baigorria, G.A.

    2007-01-01

    There is a lack of quantitative information describing the physical processes causing soil erosion in the Andean Highlands, especially those related to interrill and rill erodibility factors. To assess how susceptible are soils to erosion in this region, field measurements of interrill (Ki) and rill

  17. Feed resources and livestock production situation in the highland ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A survey was conducted in the highland and mid altitude areas of Horro and Guduru districts of Horro Guduru Wollega Zone of Oromia Regional State, western Ethiopia with the objectives of assessing livestock production situation, livestock production constraints, major feed resources and their potential contribution.

  18. Retention among ART patients in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea: evaluating the PAPUA model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Sarthak; Carmone, Andy; Franke, Molly F; Frank, Dale; Kiromat, Hannelly; Kaima, Petronia; Kiromat, Mobumo

    2014-02-01

    Despite more than 10,000 patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART), there remains a dearth of operational research in Papua New Guinea related to HIV service delivery. This study examined the effectiveness of a locally developed model of HIV service delivery called PAPUA (Patient and Provider Unified Approach) in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. The model emphasizes coordinated patient and provider support along with decentralized services to rural districts in the Highlands. We conducted a chart review among HIV-infected adults on ART at clinics in Eastern Highlands Province, where the PAPUA model was implemented in addition to the standard of care, and in Western Highlands Province, where the standard of care was implemented. We calculated yearly retention rates and used multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analyses to compare retention rates across the provinces. Data for 2457 patients from the 2 provinces were analyzed. Among patients receiving ART under the PAPUA model in Eastern Highlands, the 12-, 24-, 36-, and 48-month retention proportions were 0.79, 0.73, 0.68, and 0.63, respectively. When we compared retention probabilities across the 2 provinces, patients receiving care under the PAPUA model had a 15% lower rate of attrition from care during the first 4 years of ART (hazard ratio, 0.85; 95% confidence interval: 0.74 to 0.99; P = 0.03), after adjusting for age, gender, and year of enrollment. The PAPUA model seems to be a promising intervention although it is inextricably linked to the limitations posed by a resource-constrained health system.

  19. Role of mantle flow in Nubia-Somalia plate divergence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stamps, D. S.; Iaffaldano, G.; Calais, E.

    2015-01-01

    Present-day continental extension along the East African Rift System (EARS) has often been attributed to diverging sublithospheric mantle flow associated with the African Superplume. This implies a degree of viscous coupling between mantle and lithosphere that remains poorly constrained. Recent advances in estimating present-day opening rates along the EARS from geodesy offer an opportunity to address this issue with geodynamic modeling of the mantle-lithosphere system. Here we use numerical models of the global mantle-plates coupled system to test the role of present-day mantle flow in Nubia-Somalia plate divergence across the EARS. The scenario yielding the best fit to geodetic observations is one where torques associated with gradients of gravitational potential energy stored in the African highlands are resisted by weak continental faults and mantle basal drag. These results suggest that shear tractions from diverging mantle flow play a minor role in present-day Nubia-Somalia divergence.

  20. Human group C rotaviruses identified in Kenya | Mwenda | East ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Medical Journal. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 80, No 2 (2003) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register · Download this PDF file. The PDF file you selected should ...

  1. Cystic Medulloblastoma in a child | Agrawal | East and Central ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East and Central African Journal of Surgery. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 14, No 1 (2009) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register. Cystic Medulloblastoma in a child. A Agrawal ...

  2. Reducing the Burden of Cancer in East Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    The mission of CGH is to advance global cancer research, build expertise, and leverage resources across nations to reduce cancer deaths worldwide. To carry out that mission, we facilitate the sharing of knowledge and expertise. CGH's latest effort, the East Africa Cancer Control Leadership Forum, carried out this mission by helping African partners develop their own individual cancer control programs.

  3. 'Dar' + gerund in Ecuadorian Highland Spanish: contact-induced grammaticalization?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Olbertz, H.

    2008-01-01

    The benefactive construction dar + gerund is used in the North Andean region only and is unknown elsewhere in the Spanish-speaking world. Based on the analysis of spontaneous data from Ecuadorian Highland Spanish, this paper provides a linguististic description of dar + gerund and of the social and

  4. Extra-territorial African police and soldiers in Southern Rhodesia ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Southern Rhodesia were dominated by African men from neighbouring territories such as Nyasaland, Northern Rhodesia and Portuguese East Africa who had entered the regional migrant labour system. This included many with previous military experience. As the British South Africa Police (BSAP) evolved from a ...

  5. Household Density and Infant Care in an East African Society

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munroe, Ruth H.; Munroe, Robert L.

    1971-01-01

    A cross-cultural relationship between household density and infant indulgence was investigated among Logoli infants in East Africa. Findings were taken as supportive of the view that socialization practices are influenced by ecological variables. (Author/JB)

  6. Relevance of pottery on traditional African economy: an ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study probes the relevance of potteries in archaeological records in the reconstruction of traditional African economy as shown among the people of North-East Yoruba land of Nigeria. The use of ethnoarchaeological paradigms in the study of potteries, which has been employed in this study, can shed immense lights ...

  7. Nile perch fish processing waste along Lake Victoria in East Africa ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Nile perch fish processing waste along Lake Victoria in East Africa: Auditing and characterization. ... African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology ... If you would like more information about how to print, save, and work with PDFs, Highwire Press provides a helpful Frequently Asked Questions about PDFs.

  8. Interest groups, the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase 1

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    interest groups can bring about changes in the water policy arena. ... Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase 1 as a case study. ... attempts to influence public policy and their representation ... ties concern the relations between state actors and non-state ..... 'bears responsibility here [LHWP], since it is the sponsor of.

  9. Estimates of clear night sky emissivity in the Negev Highlands, Israel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang Runsheng; Etzion, Y.; Meir, I.A.

    2004-01-01

    A simple method was introduced to estimate the atmospheric emissivity of clear night skies based on the water temperature variation inside an open shallow pond. The method used the pond as an absorber of atmospheric radiation by measuring the water evaporation rate from the pond to ambient air and then calculating the heat loss inside the pond due to the radiative heat exchange between the pond and sky dome. An empirical correlation for the calculations of clear night sky emissivity in the Negev Highlands, Israel, was found. It showed that the emissivity of clear night sky in the Negev Highlands is slightly lower than that expected by Berdahl et al. and Clark's correlations under the climatic conditions during the period of measurements

  10. ISSN 2073 ISSN 2073-9990 East Cent. Afr. J. surg. (Online) 9990 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DELL

    COSECSA/ASEA Publication East and Central African Journal of Surgery. ... Bisphosphonates are currently widely used in the treatment of osteoporosis. ... Subtrochanteric fracture, lateral cortical thickening (solid black arrows), .... Schilcher J, Aspenberg P.Incidence of stress fractures of the femoral shaft in women treated.

  11. ISSN 2073-9990 East Cent. Afr. J. surg. (Online) 89

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Hp 630 Dual Core

    (Online). Publication COSECSA/ASEA -East and Central African Journal of Surgery. ... Vein Thrombosis – a Management ilemma – a Case Report. S G Mungazi, D .... A 67 year old hypertensive female patient initially presented to the Physicians with a history of .... survival in the absence of an IVC catheter. Whilst no major ...

  12. Tropical South-East Atlantic response to ENSO as an ecosystem ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Cases were selected based on indices of Pacific sea surface temperature and South-East African rainfall. ... an El Niño event, and higher sardine Sardinops sagax catches tend to follow a La Niña event, through the northward and southward shift respectively of the South Atlantic anticyclone and attendant coastal upwelling.

  13. Three new fern records for Kilimanjaro | Hemp | Journal of East ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Working on the flora and vegetation of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, three ferns in three families were found that are not yet recorded for the floral region T2. The altitudinal range, localities and habitat description are given for Adiantum reniforme, Azolla africana and Trichomanes radicans. Journal of East African Natural History ...

  14. Seasonal variations in the availability of fodder resources and practices of dairy cattle feeding among the smallholder farmers in Western Usambara Highlands, Tanzania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maleko, David; Ng, Wai-Tim; Msalya, George; Mwilawa, Angello; Pasape, Liliane; Mtei, Kelvin

    2018-05-08

    The aim of this study was to assess the seasonal effects on quantity and quality of fodder resources and associated utilization practices among smallholder dairy farmers in Western Usambara Highlands (WUHs) in Tanzania. The WUHs are among the major milk producing areas under smallholder dairy farming systems (SDFS) in Tanzania. Dry season fodder scarcity is a widespread problem affecting the East African SDFS and has been shown to contribute to over 40% reduction in milk yield. There is limited information with regard to seasonal fodder fluctuation and its effects on productivity of dairy cows in different landscape levels of Tanzania. Field and household surveys were conducted in 150 dairy cattle farming households from five villages in three wards located in WUHs. Survey data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 21. In addition, remote sensing techniques were employed on gap-filled and smoothed Landsat data to generate land cover maps and bimonthly normalized difference vegetation index-time series for the 2009-2016. SDFS landscape was highly heterogeneous typified by crops, bushes, and forests. On average, the household landholding was 1.3 ha, while herd size was three cattle. About 87% of household land was devoted to crop growing with limited pasture along the farm margins and contour strips. Fodder scarcity was the major challenge during the dry season (July to October) as indicated by 87% of the respondents. On-farm fodder resources contributed most of the cattle diet (73%) while rangeland, forest, and purchased feed provided small amount. Natural pasture and napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) were the most important feeds in wet season while maize stover was most significant during the dry season. Maize stover was profusely stored for dry season feeding and neither silage nor hay making was practiced. The nutritional values of the fibrous feeds declined during the dry season, whereby the metabolizable energy and crude protein contents were 6.0 MJ/kg and

  15. Morphological dynamics of gully systems in the subhumid Ethiopian Highlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zegeye, Assefa D.; Langendoen, Eddy J.; Stoof, C.R.; Tilahun, Seifu A.; Dagnew, Dessalegn C.; Zimale, Fasikaw A.; Guzman, C.D.; Yitaferu, B.; Steenhuis, T.S.

    2016-01-01

    Gully expansion in the Ethiopian Highlands dissects vital agricultural lands with the eroded materials adversely impacting downstream resources, for example as they accumulate in reservoirs. While gully expansion and rehabilitation have been more extensively researched in the semiarid region of

  16. Mapping of government land encroachment in Cameron Highlands using multiple remote sensing datasets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zin, M H M; Ahmad, B

    2014-01-01

    The cold and refreshing highland weather is one of the factors that give impact to socio-economic growth in Cameron Highlands. This unique weather of the highland surrounded by tropical rain forest can only be found in a few places in Malaysia. It makes this place a famous tourism attraction and also provides a very suitable temperature for agriculture activities. Thus it makes agriculture such as tea plantation, vegetable, fruits and flowers one of the biggest economic activities in Cameron Highlands. However unauthorized agriculture activities are rampant. The government land, mostly forest area have been encroached by farmers, in many cases indiscriminately cutting down trees and hill slopes. This study is meant to detect and assess this encroachment using multiple remote sensing datasets. The datasets were used together with cadastral parcel data where survey lines describe property boundary, pieces of land are subdivided into lots of government and private. The general maximum likelihood classification method was used on remote sensing image to classify the land-cover in the study area. Ground truth data from field observation were used to assess the accuracy of the classification. Cadastral parcel data was overlaid on the classification map in order to detect the encroachment area. The result of this study shows that there is a land cover change of 93.535 ha in the government land of the study area between years 2001 to 2010, nevertheless almost no encroachment took place in the studied forest reserve area. The result of this study will be useful for the authority in monitoring and managing the forest

  17. Mapping of government land encroachment in Cameron Highlands using multiple remote sensing datasets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zin, M. H. M.; Ahmad, B.

    2014-02-01

    The cold and refreshing highland weather is one of the factors that give impact to socio-economic growth in Cameron Highlands. This unique weather of the highland surrounded by tropical rain forest can only be found in a few places in Malaysia. It makes this place a famous tourism attraction and also provides a very suitable temperature for agriculture activities. Thus it makes agriculture such as tea plantation, vegetable, fruits and flowers one of the biggest economic activities in Cameron Highlands. However unauthorized agriculture activities are rampant. The government land, mostly forest area have been encroached by farmers, in many cases indiscriminately cutting down trees and hill slopes. This study is meant to detect and assess this encroachment using multiple remote sensing datasets. The datasets were used together with cadastral parcel data where survey lines describe property boundary, pieces of land are subdivided into lots of government and private. The general maximum likelihood classification method was used on remote sensing image to classify the land-cover in the study area. Ground truth data from field observation were used to assess the accuracy of the classification. Cadastral parcel data was overlaid on the classification map in order to detect the encroachment area. The result of this study shows that there is a land cover change of 93.535 ha in the government land of the study area between years 2001 to 2010, nevertheless almost no encroachment took place in the studied forest reserve area. The result of this study will be useful for the authority in monitoring and managing the forest.

  18. Predation drives nesting success in moist highland grasslands: the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    By focusing on process-oriented data rather than inventory-type data, this study provides a robust understanding of the effects of agricultural management on grassland bird reproductive output in the moist highland grasslands (MHGs) of South Africa. Four-hundred and four nests of 12 grassland-breeding bird species were ...

  19. African Peace and Security Architecture: A Strategic Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-16

    International Development Agency DDR Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration EAC East African Community EASBRICOM Africa Standby Brigade...children, drug control, population, migration, labour and employment, sports and culture); Human resources, science and technology (education...disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR), security sector reform (SSR), and responsibility to protect (R2P) to peacebuilding, peacekeeping, and

  20. Contemporary Journal of African Studies - Vol 1, No 1 (2013)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    African Lion Cities: Deflating the MDG success of East Asian Tigers to a Worldwide Success Story of Dense Urban Areas with Greater Capacity · EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. A Krauss, 105-110 ...

  1. Clothing Matters: Asian-African Businessmen in European Suits 1880-1980

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    G. Oonk (Gijsbert)

    2011-01-01

    textabstractSummary Asian businessmen in East Africa supplied goods, services and capital to African, Arabic, Asian and European customers, traders and other businessmen. In this complex cultural environment, they had to choose what to wear on any given what occasion. Expressing dignity, wealth,

  2. Mapping and quantification of organic agro-industrial residues in East Africa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jungersen, G. [Dansk Teknologisk Inst. (Denmark); Kivaisi, A.; Rubindamayugi, M. [Univ. of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania, United Republic of)

    1998-05-01

    The East-African agro-industries generate very large quantities of organic residues from production and processing of different crops. These residues form a major contribution to the pollution of air, soil and water ways, but, at the same time they constitute a large potential for production of bioenergy through anaerobic digestion as well as potential substrate for other biological fermentation processes. The utilization of these resources for production of valuable products would contribute significantly to: Improvement of the local energy supply, through production of bio-energy; Improvement of the economy of the East African agro-industry; Reduction of the environmental impact from the agro-industrial sector. Except for production of cane sugar, most agro-industrial residues are generated from cash crops, which are produced and processed in the developing countries and where the final products mainly are used for export. In the East-African Region the most important of these crops are: Sisal, coffee, Cashew nuts and Pineapple. In addition significant quantities of organic residues are generated from other food processing activities like breweries, consumption of bananas etc. The total potential methane production of the residues available for use in biomethanization systems in East Africa is 189.61 million m{sup 3} of methane per year. Converted to diesel oil equivalents and including the residues only feasible for combustion systems, the total bioenergy potential of agro-industrial residues in Eastern Africa is 279,176 TOE. If this potential was fully utilized for production of electricity, it would correspond to installed effects of 37,68 and 31 MW in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, respectively, equivalent to 10%, 11% and 18% of the currently installed effect is these countries. Residues from sisal and coffee processing constitute the main part of the bioenergy potential, on average approximately 75%, while the remaining 25% of the potential are formed by the

  3. Intraplate Earthquakes and Deformation within the East Antarctic Craton

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lough, A. C.; Wiens, D.; Nyblade, A.

    2017-12-01

    The apparent lack of tectonic seismicity within Antarctica has long been discussed. Explanations have ranged from a lack of intraplate stress due to the surrounding spreading ridges and low absolute plate velocity (Sykes, 1978), to the weight of ice sheets increasing the vertical normal stress (Johnston, 1987). The 26 station GAMSEIS/AGAP array deployed in East Antarctica from late 2008 to early 2010 provides the first opportunity to study the intraplate seismicity of the Antarctic interior using regional data. Here we report 27 intraplate tectonic earthquakes that occurred during 2009. Depth determination together with their corresponding uncertainty estimates, show that most events originate in the shallow to middle crust, indicating a tectonic and not a cryoseismic origin. The earthquakes are primarily located beneath linear alignments of basins adjacent to the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains (GSM) that have been denoted as the East Antarctic rift system (Ferraccioli et al, 2011). The geophysical properties of the `rift' system contrast sharply with those of the GSM and Vostok Subglacial Highlands on either side. Crustal thickness, seismic velocity, and gravity anomalies all indicate large lateral variation in lithospheric properties. We propose the events outline an ancient continental rift, a terrain boundary feature, or a combination of the two where rifting exploited pre-existing weakness. It is natural to draw parallels between East Antarctica and the St. Lawrence depression where rifting and a collisional suture focus intraplate earthquakes within a craton (Schulte and Mooney, 2005). We quantify the East Antarctic seismicity by developing a frequency-magnitude relation, constraining the lower magnitudes with the 2009 results and the larger magnitudes with 1982-2012 teleseismic seismicity. East Antarctica and the Canadian Shield show statistically indistinguishable b-values (near 1) and seismicity rates as expressed as the number of events with mb > 4 per

  4. Oral hygiene practices and risk of oral leukoplakia | Macigo | East ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    East African Medical Journal. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 83, No 4 (2006) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register · Download this PDF file. The PDF file you selected should ...

  5. ISSN 2073-9990 East Cent. Afr. J. surg. (Online) 99

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Hp 630 Dual Core

    East and Central African Journal of Surgery. August/September 2016 Volume 21 Number 2. 99. Case of Osteosarcoma Presenting Primarily .... РЖЛГР ЗЖ ГЗЖЛГЦФ РЕСО 31 (1): 18 20, Jan Mar 2010. 2. Mana M, Houda A: Low Grade Central ...

  6. Mainstreaming road safety in the regional integration of the East ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The East African Community (EAC) comprising of five states: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda bear a disproportionate burden of the global public health burden for road traffic injuries (RTIs). In response to this, each state has devised its own road safety measures, but not at the EAC level. This paper aims to ...

  7. Relevance of East African Drill Cores to Human Evolution: the Case of the Olorgesailie Drilling Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potts, R.

    2016-12-01

    Drill cores reaching the local basement of the East African Rift were obtained in 2012 south of the Olorgesailie Basin, Kenya, 20 km from excavations that document key benchmarks in the origin of Homo sapiens. Sediments totaling 216 m were obtained from two drilling locations representing the past 1 million years. The cores were acquired to build a detailed environmental record spatially associated with the transition from Acheulean to Middle Stone Age technology and extensive turnover in mammalian species. The project seeks precise tests of how climate dynamics and tectonic events were linked with these transitions. Core lithology (A.K. Behrensmeyer), geochronology (A. Deino), diatoms (R.B. Owen), phytoliths (R. Kinyanjui), geochemistry (N. Rabideaux, D. Deocampo), among other indicators, show evidence of strong environmental variability in agreement with predicted high-eccentricity modulation of climate during the evolutionary transitions. Increase in hominin mobility, elaboration of symbolic behavior, and concurrent turnover in mammalian species indicating heightened adaptability to unpredictable ecosystems, point to a direct link between the evolutionary transitions and the landscape dynamics reflected in the Olorgesailie drill cores. For paleoanthropologists and Earth scientists, any link between evolutionary transitions and environmental dynamics requires robust evolutionary datasets pertinent to how selection, extinction, population divergence, and other evolutionary processes were impacted by the dynamics uncovered in drill core studies. Fossil and archeological data offer a rich source of data and of robust environment-evolution explanations that must be integrated into efforts by Earth scientists who seek to examine high-resolution climate records of human evolution. Paleoanthropological examples will illustrate the opportunities that exist for connecting evolutionary benchmarks to the data obtained from drilled African muds. Project members: R. Potts, A

  8. Prevalence of Iodine deficiency disorder in a highland district in Tigray

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Preferred Customer

    , Ethiopia. Brief Communication. Prevalence of Iodine deficiency disorder in a highland district in Tigray. Teklay Kidane1, Aregai Woldegebriel2. Abstract. A cross-sectional community based goiter prevalence survey was conducted in February ...

  9. East Africa, an oil geopolitics at high risk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Auge, Benjamin

    2012-11-01

    As the Sub-Saharan African oil production has been concentrated in the Guinea Gulf countries since the 1950's, as this region remains the main African oil producer (Maghreb excluded), and as new discoveries has been made in Uganda in 2006 and exploration has been extended to neighbouring countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique), this report first questions the situation of the exploration of the Albert Lake by proposing an overview of intervening actors, by commenting the political use of the debate about oil, by commenting the situation on the Congolese side of the lake, and by commenting how the lake is shared between Uganda and the Republic of Congo. In the next part, the author discusses the use and future of the Ugandan oil by outlining the role of the Essar company in the regional refining, and by evoking projects of regional pipelines. The last part addresses the status of exploration in other East African countries (Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Mozambique)

  10. Teachers’ Perceptions on the Use of African Languages in the Curriculum: A Case Study of Schools in Kenya, East Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin C. Njoroge

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available In order to revitalize African languages and advocate for their use as media of instruction in Kenyan schools, it is important to investigate and document the teachers’ attitude towards the use of these languages in teaching. The research on which this paper is based set forth to explore teachers’ perceptions on the use of the mother tongue as the language of instruction in Kenya, East Africa. Six schools out of 54 public schools in the Gatundu district were randomly sampled. 32 teachers of Grades 1-3 were interviewed to find out the actual practices in their classrooms, the challenges they faced, and the perceptions they held in relation to the use of the mother tongue in their teaching. The data were qualitatively analyzed and the emergent findings support the claim that the use of learners’ mother tongue is beneficial to learners. In addition, the paper discusses the findings and proposes recommendations for pedagogy.

  11. Giant fat containing breast masses: report of six cases | Hanna | East ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Six patients with giant fat containing breast masses encountered over a 20 year period are presented including a brief review of the literature. These benign tumours especially the giant varieties are rare but are likely to be increasingly diagnosed because of the widespread use of mammography. (East African Medical ...

  12. the effect of drought in south east ethiopia: study of pediatric ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Balcha Girma

    BACK GROUND: The East African region of the continent, particularly Ethiopia experienced prolonged drought during 1997-2000 resulting in severe food shortage especially in southeast part of the country. As a result people, mostly children suffered from malnutrition, which is associated cause of death for more than half of ...

  13. Agricultural Commercialisation, Diversification, and Conservation of Renewable Resources in Northern Thailand Highlands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guy Trébuil

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available The process of commercialisation-diversification in the highlands of upper northern Thailand and the accompanying dismissal of self-subsistence are documented based on the findings from seven case studies carried out in different agricultural and social situations during the past decade. The characteristics of the key driving forces powering this agrarian transition such as rapid economic growth, decrease in the share of labour employed in the agriculture, urbanization and changes in food consumption patterns, and improved communication infrastructures, are presented in the Thai context. The environmental impact of these profound agrarian transformations on the degradation of key renewable resources, particularly soil erosion, is assessed. Their socio-economic consequences on an extensive differentiation among farming households and equity issues are also discussed. Finally the authors draw several lessons from this Thai experience that illustrate the very strong adaptive capacity of small highland farmers. They could be useful in similar agro-ecological zones of neighbouring countries that are presently experiencing the same kind of agricultural transition in the Montane Mainland Southeast Asia ecoregion. Particularly, the article underlines the need for more holistic and integrated approaches to agricultural development and the management of renewable resources in highland agro-ecosystems to alleviate poverty while conserving the resource base.

  14. Two new species of shrews (Soricidae) from the western highlands of Guatemala

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodman, Neal

    2010-01-01

    The broad-clawed shrews (Soricomorpha: Soricidae: Cryptotis) encompass a clade of 5 species—Cryptotis alticolus (Merriam), C. goldmani (Merriam), C. goodwini Jackson, C. griseoventris Jackson, and C. peregrinus (Merriam)—that is known collectively as the Cryptotis goldmani group and is characterized by broadened forefeet, elongated and broadened fore claws, and broadened humeri. These shrews are distributed in highland regions from central Mexico to Honduras. Two broad-clawed shrews, C. goodwini and C. griseoventris, occur in southern Mexico and Guatemala and are presumed sister species whose primary distinguishing feature is the larger size of C. goodwini. In an investigation of variation within and between these 2 species, I studied characteristics of the postcranial skeleton. Statistical analyses of a variety of character suites indicate that the forelimb morphology in this group exhibits less intraspecific variation and greater interspecific variation than cranio-mandibular morphology, although most skull characters support groupings based on forelimb characters. Together, these characters define 4 distinct groups among the specimens examined. C. griseoventris is restricted to the northern highlands of Chiapas, Mexico, and C. goodwini occurs in the southern highlands of Chiapas and Guatemala. Herein, I describe 2 new species of broad-clawed shrews from the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, Guatemala.

  15. Participatory policy development for integrated watershed management in Uganda's highlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mutekanga, F.P.

    2012-01-01

    Soil erosion is a serious problem in the densely populated Uganda highlands and previous interventions were ineffective. This study, on the Ngenge watershed, Mount Elgon, was aimed at developing policy for the implementation of a new strategy for solving the problem, Integrated Watershed

  16. Changes in farmers' knowledge of maize diversity in highland Guatemala

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Etten, van J.

    2006-01-01

    Small-scale studies on long-term change in agricultural knowledge might uncover insights with broader, regional implications. This article evaluates change in farmer knowledge about crop genetic resources in highland Guatemala between 1927/37 and 2004. It concentrates on maize (Zea mays ssp. mays

  17. Further characterization of computed tomographic and clinical features for staging and prognosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in West Highland white terriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thierry, Florence; Handel, Ian; Hammond, Gawain; King, Lesley G; Corcoran, Brendan M; Schwarz, Tobias

    2017-07-01

    Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is an interstitial lung disease of unknown etiology resulting in progressive interstitial fibrosis, with a known predilection in West Highland white terriers. In humans, computed tomography (CT) is a standard method for providing diagnostic and prognostic information, and plays a major role in the idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis staging process. Objectives of this retrospective, analytical, cross-sectional study were to establish descriptive criteria for reporting CT findings and test correlations among CT, clinical findings and survival time in West Highland white terriers with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Inclusion criteria for affected West Highland white terriers were a diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and available CT, bronchoscopy, bronchoalveolar lavage, echocardiography, and routine blood analysis findings. Clinically normal West Highland white terriers were recruited for the control group. Survival times were recorded for affected dogs. The main CT lung pattern and clinical data were blindly and separately graded as mild, moderate, or severe. Twenty-one West Highland white terriers with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and 11 control West Highland white terriers were included. The severity of pulmonary CT findings was positively correlated with severity of clinical signs (ρ = 0.48, P = 0.029) and negatively associated with survival time after diagnosis (ρ = -0.56, P = 0.025). Affected dogs had higher lung attenuation (median: -563 Hounsfield Units (HU)) than control dogs (median: -761 HU), (P idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in West Highland white terriers and providing prognostic information for owners. © 2017 The Authors. Veterinary Radiology & Ultrasound published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American College of Veterinary Radiology.

  18. Late Cenozoic Samtskhe-Javakheti Volcanic Highland, Georgia:The Result of Mantle Plumes Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okrostsvaridze, Avtandil

    2017-04-01

    Late Cenozoic Samtskhe-Javakheti continental volcanic highland (1500-2500 m a.s.l) is located in the SW part of the Lesser Caucasus. In Georgia the highland occupies more than 4500 km2, however its large part spreads towards the South over the territories of Turkey and Armenia. One can point out three stages of magmatic activity in this volcanic highland: 1. Early Pliocene activity (5.2-2.8 Ma; zircons U-Pb age) - when a large part of the highland was built up. It is formed from volcanic lava-breccias of andesite-dacitic composition, pyroclastic rocks and andesite-basalt lava flow. The evidences of this structure are: a large volume of volcanic material (>1500 km3); big thickness (700-1100 m in average), large-scale of lava flows (length 35 km, width 2.5-3.5 km, thickness 30-80 m), big thickness of volcanic ash horizons (300 cm at some places) and big size of volcanic breccias (diameter >1 m). Based on this data we assume that a source of this structure was a supervolcano (Okrostsvaridze et al., 2016); 2. Early Pleistocene activity (2.4 -1.6 Ma; zircons U-Pb age) - when continental flood basalts of 100-300 m thickness were formed. The flow is fully crystalline, coarse-grained, which mainly consist of olivine and basic labradorite. There 143Nd/144Nd parameter varies in the range of +0.41703 - +0.52304, and 87Sr/88Sr - from 0.7034 to 0.7039; 3. Late Pleistocene activity (0.35-0.021 Ma; zircons U-Pb age) - when intraplate Abul-Samsari linear volcanic ridge of andesite composition was formed stretching to the S-N direction for 40 km with the 8-12 km width and contains more than 20 volcanic edifices. To the South of the Abul-Samsari ridge the oldest (0.35-0.30 Ma; zircons U-Pb age) volcano Didi Abuli (3305 m a.s.l.) is located. To the North ages of volcano edifices gradually increase. Farther North the youngest volcano Tavkvetili (0.021-0. 030 Ma) is located (2583 m a.s.l.). One can see from this description that the Abul-Samsari ridge has all signs characterizing

  19. Maritime vessels carry more than half of growing U.S.-East Africa trade

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-03-01

    Trade between the United States and East African countries (defined in this special report as Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda) has grown substantially in recent years, reaching $1.3 billion in value in 2007. Between 1997 and 2007, U.S. e...

  20. Maize Diversity, Market Access, and Poverty Reduction in the Western Highlands of Guatemala

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jon Hellin

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The western highlands of Guatemala lie within the area where maize was first domesticated, and maize remains central to farmers' livelihood security. Over 50% of the population in the region are in poverty, and over 48% suffer from chronic malnutrition. Development efforts have focused on improved land management, crop diversification, and improved access to markets, especially for high-value vegetable crops such as snow peas. As a result of successful initiatives worldwide, more attention is being directed at the extent to which farmers can benefit from market opportunities for indigenous crops by receiving a price premium for providing the environmental service of conserving agricultural biodiversity. Such an approach bridges the gap between poverty alleviation and in situ conservation. We explored this potential development pathway through both qualitative and quantitative research. Focus groups were conducted in 5 communities in the maize-growing highlands of Guatemala, followed by a survey of 989 farm households in 59 locations. Our results show that most farmers in the western highlands of Guatemala are severely maize deficient; on average, farm households produce enough maize for only 6.9 months of consumption a year and are forced to purchase maize to meet basic consumption needs. The results are in sharp contrast to research conducted in highland communities in neighboring Mexico, where many farmers are able to sell their maize in relatively lucrative specialty maize markets. In the context of renewed interest in reducing poverty in Central America, our research suggests that rather than focus on market development for local maize varieties, development efforts should target other types of interventions.

  1. Survey of gastrointestinal parasite infection in African lion ( Panthera ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Little is known about gastrointestinal parasite infections in large carnivores in Africa and what is available is largely from East Africa. We collected faecal samples from nine spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta), 15 lions (Panthera leo) and 13 African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) from Luangwa Valley, Zambia. The most common ...

  2. Composition of soil microbiome along elevation gradients in southwestern highlands of Saudi Arabia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yasir, Muhammad; Azhar, Esam I; Khan, Imran; Bibi, Fehmida; Baabdullah, Rnda; Al-Zahrani, Ibrahim A; Al-Ghamdi, Ahmed K

    2015-03-14

    Saudi Arabia is mostly barren except the southwestern highlands that are susceptible to environmental changes, a hotspot for biodiversity, but poorly studied for microbial diversity and composition. In this study, 454-pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene hypervariable region V6 was used to analyze soil bacterial community along elevation gradients of the southwestern highlands. In general, lower percentage of total soil organic matter (SOM) and nitrogen were detected in the analyzed soil samples. Total 33 different phyla were identified across the samples, including dominant phyla Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria. Representative OTUs were grouped into 329 and 508 different taxa at family and genus level taxonomic classification, respectively. The identified OTUs unique to each sample were very low irrespective of the altitude. Jackknifed principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) revealed, overall differences in the bacterial community were more related to the quantity of specific OTUs than to their diversity among the studied samples. Bacterial diversity and soil physicochemical properties did not show consistent changes along the elevation gradients. The large number of OTUs shared between the studied samples suggest the presence of a core soil bacterial community in the southwestern highlands of Saudi Arabia.

  3. Hantavirus strains in East Africa related to Western African hantaviruses

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Těšíková, Jana; Bryjová, Anna; Bryja, Josef; Lavrenchenko, L. A.; Goüy de Bellocq, Joëlle

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 17, č. 4 (2017), s. 278-280 ISSN 1530-3667 R&D Projects: GA ČR GCP502/11/J070 Institutional support: RVO:68081766 Keywords : bats * East Africa * hantavirus * phylogeny * rodents Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology OBOR OECD: Infectious Diseases Impact factor: 2.045, year: 2016

  4. HPV infection and EGFR activation/alteration in HIV-infected East African patients with conjunctival carcinoma.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Jie Yu

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available There has been substantial growth in the numbers of patients with conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma infected with HIV in East Africa. The natural history of the conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma appears to be unique in this region of the world, but the etiologic mechanism unclear and therapeutic options limited. This research was carried out to determine if conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma harbors human papillomavirus DNA and is associated with activation of the EGFR signaling pathway. Positive findings would identify etiologic causes and provide clinical guidance to improve treatment.Expression of p-MAPK/MAPK, p-Akt/Akt and p-EGFR/EGFR in cell nuclei and cytoplasm of 38 FFPE specimens were assessed by immunohistochemistry; HPV genotype was detected by qPCR assay; EGFR mutation was assessed by DNA sequencing analysis; and EGFR mRNA expression was measured using relative qPCR. Statistical analyses included two-sided Fisher exact test or chi-square test, Spearman correlation coefficient and ANOVA. HPV 18 was found in 61% of samples, with HPV 16 double-genotype in 6 patients (16%. Immunohistochemistry and qPCR data suggest that activation and expression of the EGFR signaling pathway is related to disease progression of conjunctival cancer. The associations between cytoplasmic p-MAPK, cytoplasmic p-Akt and tumor invasiveness were significant (p = 0.05 or 0.028. Nuclear p-EGFR appeared only in invasive tumors. A significant positive association between EGFR expression and disease invasiveness was observed (p = 0.01. A SNP in 10 patients and one missense mutation were found within EGFR tyrosine kinase domain. Statistical analysis indicates that patients with measurable EGFR expression more likely harbor EGFR mutations, compared to those with negative EGFR expression (35.3% vs. 0%.We conclude that HPV types 16/18 infection is frequent in East African patients with AIDS-associated squamous cell carcinoma of the conjunctiva. EGFR activation

  5. A mantle plume model for the Equatorial Highlands of Venus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiefer, Walter S.; Hager, Bradford H.

    1991-01-01

    The possibility that the Equatorial Highlands are the surface expressions of hot upwelling mantle plumes is considered via a series of mantle plume models developed using a cylindrical axisymmetric finite element code and depth-dependent Newtonian rheology. The results are scaled by assuming whole mantle convection and that Venus and the earth have similar mantle heat flows. The best model fits are for Beta and Atla. The common feature of the allowed viscosity models is that they lack a pronounced low-viscosity zone in the upper mantle. The shape of Venus's long-wavelength admittance spectrum and the slope of its geoid spectrum are also consistent with the lack of a low-viscosity zone. It is argued that the lack of an asthenosphere on Venus is due to the mantle of Venus being drier than the earth's mantle. Mantle plumes may also have contributed to the formation of some smaller highland swells, such as the Bell and Eistla regions and the Hathor/Innini/Ushas region.

  6. Analysis of the genetic diversity of selected East African sweet potato

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Aghomotsegin

    Taiwan. Orange. 65. Mugande x New kawogo 2. Uganda. Cream. 66. Bungoma. Uganda .... African countries is still very slow due to financial and technical .... IPGRI, Rome,. Italy and Institute for Genetic Diversity, Ithaca, New York, USA. ISBN:.

  7. Three-dimensional geometric morphometric analysis of talar morphology in extant gorilla taxa from highland and lowland habitats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knigge, Ryan P; Tocheri, Matthew W; Orr, Caley M; Mcnulty, Kieran P

    2015-01-01

    Western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) are known to climb significantly more often than eastern gorillas (Gorilla beringei), a behavioral distinction attributable to major differences in their respective habitats (i.e., highland vs. lowland). Genetic evidence suggests that the lineages leading to these taxa began diverging from one another between approximately 1 and 3 million years ago. Thus, gorillas offer a special opportunity to examine the degree to which morphology of recently diverged taxa may be "fine-tuned" to differing ecological requirements. Using three-dimensional (3D) geometric morphometrics, we compared talar morphology in a sample of 87 specimens including western (lowland), mountain (highland), and grauer gorillas (lowland and highland populations). Talar shape was captured with a series of landmarks and semilandmarks superimposed by generalized Procrustes analysis. A between-group principal components analysis of overall talar shape separates gorillas by ecological habitat and by taxon. An analysis of only the trochlea and lateral malleolar facet identifies subtle variations in trochlear shape between western lowland and lowland grauer gorillas, potentially indicative of convergent evolution of arboreal adaptations in the talus. Lastly, talar shape scales differently with centroid size for highland and lowland gorillas, suggesting that ankle morphology may track body-size mediated variation in arboreal behaviors differently depending on ecological setting. Several of the observed shape differences are linked biomechanically to the facilitation of climbing in lowland gorillas and to stability and load-bearing on terrestrial substrates in the highland taxa, providing an important comparative model for studying morphological variation in groups known only from fossils (e.g., early hominins). © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. Social capital in water user organizations of the Ecuadorian Highlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoogesteger van Dijk, J.D.

    2013-01-01

    In this article, I explore how new water user organizations have developed in formerly state managed irrigation systems in the Ecuadorian highlands since the 1990s. The article is based on an in-depth case study of the Pillaro irrigation system and illustrations of other cases. These water user

  9. Grass survey of the Itremo Massif records endemic central highland ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Twenty species are endemic to the central highlands, and a further 1 4 species are restricted to Madagascar. Five ecological groups of grasses were identified in the Itremo Massif: shade species in gallery forests, open wet area species, fire grasses, anthropogenic disturbance associated grasses and rock-dwelling grasses.

  10. Tectonics, orbital forcing, global climate change, and human evolution in Africa: introduction to the African paleoclimate special volume.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maslin, Mark A; Christensen, Beth

    2007-11-01

    The late Cenozoic climate of Africa is a critical component for understanding human evolution. African climate is controlled by major tectonic changes, global climate transitions, and local variations in orbital forcing. We introduce the special African Paleoclimate Issue of the Journal of Human Evolution by providing a background for and synthesis of the latest work relating to the environmental context for human evolution. Records presented in this special issue suggest that the regional tectonics, appearance of C(4) plants in East Africa, and late Cenozoic global cooling combined to produce a long-term drying trend in East Africa. Of particular importance is the uplift associated with the East African Rift Valley formation, which altered wind flow patterns from a more zonal to more meridinal direction. Results in this volume suggest a marked difference in the climate history of southern and eastern Africa, though both are clearly influenced by the major global climate thresholds crossed in the last 3 million years. Papers in this volume present lake, speleothem, and marine paleoclimate records showing that the East African long-term drying trend is punctuated by episodes of short, alternating periods of extreme wetness and aridity. These periods of extreme climate variability are characterized by the precession-forced appearance and disappearance of large, deep lakes in the East African Rift Valley and paralleled by low and high wind-driven dust loads reaching the adjacent ocean basins. Dating of these records show that over the last 3 million years such periods only occur at the times of major global climatic transitions, such as the intensification of Northern Hemisphere Glaciation (2.7-2.5 Ma), intensification of the Walker Circulation (1.9-1.7 Ma), and the Mid-Pleistocene Revolution (1-0.7 Ma). Authors in this volume suggest this onset occurs as high latitude forcing in both Hemispheres compresses the Intertropical Convergence Zone so that East Africa

  11. DECISION TOOL FOR RIPARIAN ECOSYSTEM MANAGMENT IN THE MID-ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS

    Science.gov (United States)

    In the Canaan Valley Highlands of the Mid-Atlantic, riparian zone restoration has been identified as a critical watershed management practice not only for the ecosystem services provided but also for the potential socioeconomic growth from environmental investment and job creatio...

  12. The ecology of large carnivores in the highlands of northern Ethiopia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yirga, Gidey; De Iongh, Hans H.; Leirs, Herwig

    2013-01-01

    The degradation and fragmentation of the northern Ethiopian highlands has resulted in frequent encounters of large carnivores with humans and their livestock. We interviewed 500 randomly selected households to estimate economic impact of livestock predation by spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta...

  13. Characteristics of US-Born Versus Foreign-Born Americans of African Descent With Chronic Hepatitis B.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassan, Mohamed A; Kim, W Ray; Li, Ruosha; Smith, Coleman I; Fried, Michael W; Sterling, Richard K; Ghany, Marc G; Wahed, Abdus S; Ganova-Raeva, Lilia M; Roberts, Lewis R; Lok, Anna S F

    2017-08-01

    Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is more common in African Americans than in white Americans. We compared the epidemiologic, clinical, and virological characteristics of US-born African Americans (USAAs) to those of foreign-born African Americans (FBAAs) with chronic hepatitis B. The adult cohort study of the Hepatitis B Research Network enrolls patients with HBV infection from 21 clinical sites in the United States and Canada. A total of 237 (15%) of the adult participants with chronic HBV infection that were enrolled from January 20, 2011, to October 2, 2013, were of African descent, including 57 USAAs and 180 FBAAs (76%). Compared with FBAAs, USAAs were older and more likely to have acquired HBV through sexual exposure, to be HBeAg-positive, to have higher HBV DNA levels, and to be infected with HBV genotype A2. FBAAs from West Africa were more likely to have elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (72% vs. 50%; P < 0.01) and higher HBV DNA levels (median, 3.2 log10 IU/mL vs. 2.8 log10 IU/mL; P = 0.03) compared with East African FBAAs. The predominant HBV genotype among West African FBAAs was E (67%), whereas genotypes A (78%) and D (16%) were common in East African FBAAs. Significant differences were found between USAAs and FBAAs, highlighting the need for tailored strategies for prevention and management of chronic HBV infection for African Americans. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  14. East and Central African Journal of Surgery Volume 15 Number 2 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DELL

    population live10 and own about 20% of the world's vehicles. The WHO African ... used as a base line for future progression and comparison, these are Motorization index (Vehicle .... Motor vehicle crash. 782. 0. 0. 0 ... Electric accident. 36. 0. 0.

  15. The African Health Profession Regulatory Collaborative for Nurses and Midwives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    McCarthy Carey F

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background More than thirty-five sub-Saharan African countries have severe health workforce shortages. Many also struggle with a mismatch between the knowledge and competencies of health professionals and the needs of the populations they serve. Addressing these workforce challenges requires collaboration among health and education stakeholders and reform of health worker regulations. Health professional regulatory bodies, such as nursing and midwifery councils, have the mandate to reform regulations yet often do not have the resources or expertise to do so. In 2011, the United States of America Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began a four-year initiative to increase the collaboration among national stakeholders and help strengthen the capacity of health professional regulatory bodies to reform national regulatory frameworks. The initiative is called the African Health Regulatory Collaborative for Nurses and Midwives. This article describes the African Health Regulatory Collaborative for Nurses and Midwives and discusses its importance in implementing and sustaining national, regional, and global workforce initiatives. Discussion The African Health Profession Regulatory Collaborative for Nurses and Midwives convenes leaders responsible for regulation from 14 countries in East, Central and Southern Africa. It provides a high profile, south-to-south collaboration to assist countries in implementing joint approaches to problems affecting the health workforce. Implemented in partnership with Emory University, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the East, Central and Southern African College of Nursing, this initiative also supports four to five countries per year in implementing locally-designed regulation improvement projects. Over time, the African Health Regulatory Collaborative for Nurses and Midwives will help to increase the regulatory capacity of health professional organizations and ultimately improve regulation and

  16. African Heath Sciences Vol 8 No 1.p65

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Harriet

    2008-03-01

    Mar 1, 2008 ... 12: 59. 7. Ejele OA, Nwauche CA, Erhabor O. Seroprevalence of HIV infection among Blood donors in port Harcourt, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Medicine 2005; 14:287-89. 8. Zachariah et al. HIV prevalence and demographic risk fac- tors in blood donors. East African Medical Journal. 2002;. 79: 88-91. 9.

  17. Clinical malaria case definition and malaria attributable fraction in the highlands of western Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Afrane, Yaw A; Zhou, Guofa; Githeko, Andrew K; Yan, Guiyun

    2014-10-15

    In African highland areas where endemicity of malaria varies greatly according to altitude and topography, parasitaemia accompanied by fever may not be sufficient to define an episode of clinical malaria in endemic areas. To evaluate the effectiveness of malaria interventions, age-specific case definitions of clinical malaria needs to be determined. Cases of clinical malaria through active case surveillance were quantified in a highland area in Kenya and defined clinical malaria for different age groups. A cohort of over 1,800 participants from all age groups was selected randomly from over 350 houses in 10 villages stratified by topography and followed for two-and-a-half years. Participants were visited every two weeks and screened for clinical malaria, defined as an individual with malaria-related symptoms (fever [axillary temperature≥37.5°C], chills, severe malaise, headache or vomiting) at the time of examination or 1-2 days prior to the examination in the presence of a Plasmodium falciparum positive blood smear. Individuals in the same cohort were screened for asymptomatic malaria infection during the low and high malaria transmission seasons. Parasite densities and temperature were used to define clinical malaria by age in the population. The proportion of fevers attributable to malaria was calculated using logistic regression models. Incidence of clinical malaria was highest in valley bottom population (5.0% cases per 1,000 population per year) compared to mid-hill (2.2% cases per 1,000 population per year) and up-hill (1.1% cases per 1,000 population per year) populations. The optimum cut-off parasite densities through the determination of the sensitivity and specificity showed that in children less than five years of age, 500 parasites per μl of blood could be used to define the malaria attributable fever cases for this age group. In children between the ages of 5-14, a parasite density of 1,000 parasites per μl of blood could be used to define the

  18. Climatic controls of ecohydrological responses in the highlands of northern Ethiopia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tesfaye, Samuale; Birhane, Emiru; Leijnse, Toon; Zee, van der S.E.A.T.M.

    2017-01-01

    Climate variability and recurrent droughts have a strong negative impact on agricultural production and hydrology in the highlands northern Ethiopia. Since the 1980s, numerous mitigation and land rehabilitation measures have been implemented by local and national authorities to reduce these impacts,

  19. Automated high resolution mapping of coffee in Rwanda using an expert Bayesian network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukashema, A.; Veldkamp, A.; Vrieling, A.

    2014-12-01

    African highland agro-ecosystems are dominated by small-scale agricultural fields that often contain a mix of annual and perennial crops. This makes such systems difficult to map by remote sensing. We developed an expert Bayesian network model to extract the small-scale coffee fields of Rwanda from very high resolution data. The model was subsequently applied to aerial orthophotos covering more than 99% of Rwanda and on one QuickBird image for the remaining part. The method consists of a stepwise adjustment of pixel probabilities, which incorporates expert knowledge on size of coffee trees and fields, and on their location. The initial naive Bayesian network, which is a spectral-based classification, yielded a coffee map with an overall accuracy of around 50%. This confirms that standard spectral variables alone cannot accurately identify coffee fields from high resolution images. The combination of spectral and ancillary data (DEM and a forest map) allowed mapping of coffee fields and associated uncertainties with an overall accuracy of 87%. Aggregated to district units, the mapped coffee areas demonstrated a high correlation with the coffee areas reported in the detailed national coffee census of 2009 (R2 = 0.92). Unlike the census data our map provides high spatial resolution of coffee area patterns of Rwanda. The proposed method has potential for mapping other perennial small scale cropping systems in the East African Highlands and elsewhere.

  20. Rust and schreibersite in Apollo 16 highland rocks - Manifestations of volatile-element mobility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, R. H.; Taylor, L. A.

    Rust is a manifestation of halogen and volatile-metal mobility in the lunar environment. Schreibersite is stable as the primary phosphorus-bearing phase in the highland rocks, a consequence of the inherently low oxygen fugacity within impact-generated melts. Apatite and whitlockite are subordinate in these rocks. The partitioning of P into phosphide in impact-generated melts, and the failure of phosphate to crystallize, effects a decoupling of the halogens and phosphorus. Of the Apollo 16 rocks, 63% contain rust, 70% contain schreibersite, and 52% contain both phases, thereby establishing the pervasiveness of volatile-elements throughout the highland rocks. The major portion of these volatile-bearing phases occur in impact melt-rocks or in breccia matrices. Rhabdites of schreibersite in some of the FeNi grains indicate that there is a meteoritic contribution to the phosphorus in these rocks. Cl/P2O5 ratios in lunar highland rocks are a function of secondary effects, with any apparent Cl-P correlations being coincidential. The present observations preclude the validity of models based on such elemental ratios in these rocks. The presence of rust in the clast laden matrices of pristine rocks indicates fugitive element localization. Pristine clasts may have been contaminated. The basis for a pristine volatile chemistry is questioned.

  1. Assessing Future Ecosystem Services: a Case Study of the Northern Highlands Lake District, Wisconsin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Garry D. Peterson

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available The Northern Highlands Lake District of Wisconsin is in transition from a sparsely settled region to a more densely populated one. Expected changes offer benefits to northern Wisconsin residents but also threaten to degrade the ecological services they rely on. Because the future of this region is uncertain, it is difficult to make decisions that will avoid potential risks and take advantage of potential opportunities. We adopt a scenario planning approach to cope with this problem of prediction. We use an ecological assessment framework developed by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment to determine key social and ecological driving forces in the Northern Highlands Lake District. From these, we describe three alternative scenarios to the year 2025 in which the projected use of ecological services is substantially different. The work reported in this paper demonstrates how scenarios can be developed for a region and provides a starting point for a participatory discussion of alternative futures for northern Wisconsin. Although the future is unknowable, we hope that the assessment process begun in this paper will help the people of the Northern Highlands Lake District choose the future path of their region.

  2. Journal of East African Natural History - Vol 86, No 1 (1997)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    1997)86[1:ACIT]2.0.CO;2 · New fern records for Kilimanjaro · EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. Andreas Hemp, 37-42. Zoogeography and biodiversity of syrphidae (Diptera) in East Africa ...

  3. Soil heterogeneity and soil fertility gradients in smallholder agricultural systems of the east african highlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tittonell, P.A.; Muriuki, A.; Klapwijk, C.J.; Shepherd, K.D.; Coe, R.; Vanlauwe, B.

    2013-01-01

    Heterogeneity in soil fertility in these smallholder systems is caused by both inherent soil-landscape and human-induced variability across farms differing in resources and practices. Interventions to address the problem of poor soil fertility in Africa must be designed to target such diversity and

  4. Journal of East African Natural History - Vol 88, No 1 (1999)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Canthariphilous insects in east Africa · EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. C Hemp, A Hemp, K Dettner, 1-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.2982/0012-8317(1999)88[1:CIIEA]2.0.CO;2 ...

  5. Loci associated with skin pigmentation identified in African populations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crawford, Nicholas G.; Kelly, Derek E.; Hansen, Matthew E. B.; Beltrame, Marcia H.; Fan, Shaohua; Bowman, Shanna L.; Jewett, Ethan; Ranciaro, Alessia; Thompson, Simon; Lo, Yancy; Pfeifer, Susanne P.; Jensen, Jeffrey D.; Campbell, Michael C.; Beggs, William; Hormozdiari, Farhad; Mpoloka, Sununguko Wata; Mokone, Gaonyadiwe George; Nyambo, Thomas; Meskel, Dawit Wolde; Belay, Gurja; Haut, Jake; Rothschild, Harriet; Zon, Leonard; Zhou, Yi; Kovacs, Michael A.; Xu, Mai; Zhang, Tongwu; Bishop, Kevin; Sinclair, Jason; Rivas, Cecilia; Elliot, Eugene; Choi, Jiyeon; Li, Shengchao A.; Hicks, Belynda; Burgess, Shawn; Abnet, Christian; Watkins-Chow, Dawn E.; Oceana, Elena; Song, Yun S.; Eskin, Eleazar; Brown, Kevin M.; Marks, Michael S.; Loftus, Stacie K.; Pavan, William J.; Yeager, Meredith; Chanock, Stephen; Tishkoff, Sarah

    2017-01-01

    Despite the wide range of skin pigmentation in humans, little is known about its genetic basis in global populations. Examining ethnically diverse African genomes, we identify variants in or near SLC24A5, MFSD12, DDB1, TMEM138, OCA2 and HERC2 that are significantly associated with skin pigmentation. Genetic evidence indicates that the light pigmentation variant at SLC24A5 was introduced into East Africa by gene flow from non-Africans. At all other loci, variants associated with dark pigmentation in Africans are identical by descent in southern Asian and Australo-Melanesian populations. Functional analyses indicate that MFSD12 encodes a lysosomal protein that affects melanogenesis in zebrafish and mice, and that mutations in melanocyte-specific regulatory regions near DDB1/TMEM138 correlate with expression of UV response genes under selection in Eurasians. PMID:29025994

  6. Four new bat species (Rhinolophus hildebrandtii complex) reflect Plio-Pleistocene divergence of dwarfs and giants across an Afromontane archipelago.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Peter J; Stoffberg, Samantha; Monadjem, Ara; Schoeman, Martinus Corrie; Bayliss, Julian; Cotterill, Fenton P D

    2012-01-01

    Gigantism and dwarfism evolve in vertebrates restricted to islands. We describe four new species in the Rhinolophus hildebrandtii species-complex of horseshoe bats, whose evolution has entailed adaptive shifts in body size. We postulate that vicissitudes of palaeoenvironments resulted in gigantism and dwarfism in habitat islands fragmented across eastern and southern Africa. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences recovered two clades of R. hildebrandtii senso lato which are paraphyletic with respect to a third lineage (R. eloquens). Lineages differ by 7.7 to 9.0% in cytochrome b sequences. Clade 1 includes R. hildebrandtii sensu stricto from the east African highlands and three additional vicariants that speciated across an Afromontane archipelago through the Plio-Pleistocene, extending from the Kenyan Highlands through the Eastern Arc, northern Mozambique and the Zambezi Escarpment to the eastern Great Escarpment of South Africa. Clade 2 comprises one species confined to lowland savanna habitats (Mozambique and Zimbabwe). A third clade comprises R. eloquens from East Africa. Speciation within Clade 1 is associated with fixed differences in echolocation call frequency, and cranial shape and size in populations isolated since the late Pliocene (ca 3.74 Mya). Relative to the intermediate-sized savanna population (Clade 2), these island-populations within Clade 1 are characterised by either gigantism (South African eastern Great Escarpment and Mts Mabu and Inago in Mozambique) or dwarfism (Lutope-Ngolangola Gorge, Zimbabwe and Soutpansberg Mountains, South Africa). Sympatry between divergent clades (Clade 1 and Clade 2) at Lutope-Ngolangola Gorge (NW Zimbabwe) is attributed to recent range expansions. We propose an "Allometric Speciation Hypothesis", which attributes the evolution of this species complex of bats to divergence in constant frequency (CF) sonar calls. The origin of species-specific peak frequencies (overall range = 32 to 46 kHz) represents the

  7. Aspects of size and geography of an African cyberspace

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Williams Nwagwu

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available In this study, data on web links collected from 15 African countries, three with the highest Internet penetration in each of North, West, Central, East, and South regions were used to study the number and origins of links to Africa. The sample has a ratio of one Internet user per 12 persons. Altogether, all African countries generated a total of 124,047,702 Web pages and 30,546,967 inlinks to the pages, an average of about 0.25 links per page. But the sample constituted which 28% of all the countries in the region generated 98,629,700 pages and 21,272,500 inlinks, an average of about 0.21 inlinks per page. South Africa ranked highest in web pages and web links per population and also received the highest number of inlinks from other African countries and the G8. However, Kenya linked other African countries more than the others did. Population size does not relate to number of web pages, self-inlinks, and inlinks or penetration, but relates positively with number of Internet users. Among others, a major step in boosting use of Internet resources in Africa will be in developing policies that will encourage African countries to use information developed by other African countries.

  8. [Claw size of Scottish Highland Cows after pasture and housing periods].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nuss, K; Kolp, E; Braun, U; Weidmann, E; Hässig, M

    2014-09-01

    The claws of pastured Scottish Highland Cattle are large and this may raise the question if regular claw trimming is necessary. Therefore, the claws of the right thoracic and pelvic limbs were measured in 22 Scottish Highland cows 4 times 8 weeks apart. The cows were kept on various alpine pastures before the first measurement, on a two-hectare low-land pasture before the second measurement, in a welfare-compliant straw-bedded free stall before the third measurement and on alpine pasture before the fourth measurement. Housing conditions significantly affected claw dimensions. The claws were composed of dry, hard horn during pasture periods, and had prominent weight-bearing hoof-wall borders and soles with a natural axial slope. Long dorsal walls and heels and a greater symmetry were common. Claw lesions were absent. In contrast, free-stall housing was associated with shorter toes and steeper toe angles, but white line deterioration, heel horn erosion, wearing of the axial slope and hoof wall edges were common.

  9. Littoral sedimentation of rift lakes: an illustrated overview from the modern to Pliocene Lake Turkana (East African Rift System, Kenya)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuster, Mathieu; Nutz, Alexis

    2015-04-01

    Existing depositional models for rift lakes can be summarized as clastics transported by axial and lateral rivers, then distributed by fan-deltas and/or deltas into a standing water body which is dominated by settling of fine particles, and experiencing occasional coarser underflows. Even if known from paleolakes and modern lakes, reworking of clastics by alongshore drift, waves and storms are rarely considered in depositional models. However, if we consider the lake Turkana Basin (East African Rift System, Kenya) it is obvious that this vision is incomplete. Three representative time slices are considered here: the modern Lake Turkana, the Megalake Turkana which developed thanks to the African Humid Period (Holocene), and the Plio-Pleistocene highstand episodes of paleolake Turkana (Nachukui, Shungura and Koobi Fora Formations, Omo Group). First, remarkable clastic morphosedimentary structures such as beach ridges, spits, washover fans, lagoons, or wave-dominated deltas are very well developed along the shoreline of modern lake Turkana, suggesting strong hydrodynamics responsible for a major reworking of the fluvial-derived clastics all along the littoral zone (longshore and cross-shore transport) of the lake. Similarly, past hydrodynamics are recorded from prominent raised beach ridges and spits, well-preserved all around the lake, above its present water-level (~360 m asl) and up to ~455 m. These large-scale clastic morphosedimentary structures also record the maximum extent of Megalake Turkana during the African Humid Period, as well as its subsequent regression forced by the end of the Holocene climatic optimum. Several hundreds of meters of fluvial-deltaic-lacustrine deposits spanning the Pliocene-Pleistocene are exposed in the Turkana basin thanks to tectonic faulting. These deposits are world famous for their paleontological and archeological content that documents the very early story of Mankind. They also preserve several paleolake highstand episodes with

  10. An integrated risk and vulnerability assessment framework for climate change and malaria transmission in East Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onyango, Esther Achieng; Sahin, Oz; Awiti, Alex; Chu, Cordia; Mackey, Brendan

    2016-11-11

    Malaria is one of the key research concerns in climate change-health relationships. Numerous risk assessments and modelling studies provide evidence that the transmission range of malaria will expand with rising temperatures, adversely impacting on vulnerable communities in the East African highlands. While there exist multiple lines of evidence for the influence of climate change on malaria transmission, there is insufficient understanding of the complex and interdependent factors that determine the risk and vulnerability of human populations at the community level. Moreover, existing studies have had limited focus on the nature of the impacts on vulnerable communities or how well they are prepared to cope. In order to address these gaps, a systems approach was used to present an integrated risk and vulnerability assessment framework for studies of community level risk and vulnerability to malaria due to climate change. Drawing upon published literature on existing frameworks, a systems approach was applied to characterize the factors influencing the interactions between climate change and malaria transmission. This involved structural analysis to determine influential, relay, dependent and autonomous variables in order to construct a detailed causal loop conceptual model that illustrates the relationships among key variables. An integrated assessment framework that considers indicators of both biophysical and social vulnerability was proposed based on the conceptual model. A major conclusion was that this integrated assessment framework can be implemented using Bayesian Belief Networks, and applied at a community level using both quantitative and qualitative methods with stakeholder engagement. The approach enables a robust assessment of community level risk and vulnerability to malaria, along with contextually relevant and targeted adaptation strategies for dealing with malaria transmission that incorporate both scientific and community perspectives.

  11. Characterising East Antarctic Lithosphere and its Rift Systems using Gravity Inversion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaughan, Alan P. M.; Kusznir, Nick J.; Ferraccioli, Fausto; Leat, Phil T.; Jordan, Tom A. R. M.; Purucker, Michael E.; Golynsky, A. V. Sasha; Rogozhina, Irina

    2013-04-01

    Since the International Geophysical Year (1957), a view has prevailed that East Antarctica has a relatively homogeneous lithospheric structure, consisting of a craton-like mosaic of Precambrian terranes, stable since the Pan-African orogeny ~500 million years ago (e.g. Ferracioli et al. 2011). Recent recognition of a continental-scale rift system cutting the East Antarctic interior has crystallised an alternative view of much more recent geological activity with important implications. The newly defined East Antarctic Rift System (EARS) (Ferraccioli et al. 2011) appears to extend from at least the South Pole to the continental margin at the Lambert Rift, a distance of 2500 km. This is comparable in scale to the well-studied East African rift system. New analysis of RadarSat data by Golynsky & Golynsky (2009) indicates that further rift zones may form widely distributed extension zones within the continent. A pilot study (Vaughan et al. 2012), using a newly developed gravity inversion technique (Chappell & Kusznir 2008) with existing public domain satellite data, shows distinct crustal thickness provinces with overall high average thickness separated by thinner, possibly rifted, crust. Understanding the nature of crustal thickness in East Antarctica is critical because: 1) this is poorly known along the ocean-continent transition, but is necessary to improve the plate reconstruction fit between Antarctica, Australia and India in Gondwana, which will also better define how and when these continents separated; 2) lateral variation in crustal thickness can be used to test supercontinent reconstructions and assess the effects of crystalline basement architecture and mechanical properties on rifting; 3) rift zone trajectories through East Antarctica will define the geometry of zones of crustal and lithospheric thinning at plate-scale; 4) it is not clear why or when the crust of East Antarctica became so thick and elevated, but knowing this can be used to test models of

  12. Spatial modelling of malaria risk factors in Ruhuha sector in the east of Rwanda

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tuyishimire, J.; Kateera, F.; Mugisha, J.; Amer, S.; Mens, P.

    2017-01-01

    Malaria is a vector borne disease posing a severe health risk to the population of Sub Saharan Africa and particularly in the East African Rift-Valley Region. The fact that malaria is still killing hundreds of thousands of people annually is due to insufficient researchers about its causing factors

  13. A-B-O and Rh affinities between highland and lowland Quechua-speaking Peruvian populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frisancho, A R; Klayman, J E

    1975-09-01

    According to the accounts of the Spanish chronicles and various historical analyses the Quechua-speaking population inhabiting the Province of Lamas in the Eastern Tropical Lowlands of Peru are descendants of the Chanca Tribes that migrated from the highlands about 500 years ago. The results of the present study indicate that in terms of the A-B-O and Rh systems the lowland Quechua-speaking population from the Province of Lamas and the highland Quechua population from the Province of Junin are more similar to each other than to other tropical tribes. Therefore, it is quite possible that the present lowland Quechua-speaking population from the Province of Lamas may be descendants of Andean populations.

  14. Trading or coercion? Variation in male mating strategies between two communities of East African chimpanzees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaburu, Stefano S K; Newton-Fisher, Nicholas E

    2015-06-01

    Across taxa, males employ a variety of mating strategies, including sexual coercion and the provision, or trading, of resources. Biological market theory (BMT) predicts that trading of commodities for mating opportunities should exist only when males cannot monopolize access to females and/or obtain mating by force, in situations where power differentials between males are low; both coercion and trading have been reported for chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ). Here, we investigate whether the choice of strategy depends on the variation in male power differentials, using data from two wild communities of East African chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii ): the structurally despotic Sonso community (Budongo, Uganda) and the structurally egalitarian M-group (Mahale, Tanzania). We found evidence of sexual coercion by male Sonso chimpanzees, and of trading-of grooming for mating-by M-group males; females traded sex for neither meat nor protection from male aggression. Our results suggest that the despotism-egalitarian axis influences strategy choice: male chimpanzees appear to pursue sexual coercion when power differentials are large and trading when power differentials are small and coercion consequently ineffective. Our findings demonstrate that trading and coercive strategies are not restricted to particular chimpanzee subspecies; instead, their occurrence is consistent with BMT predictions. Our study raises interesting, and as yet unanswered, questions regarding female chimpanzees' willingness to trade sex for grooming, if doing so represents a compromise to their fundamentally promiscuous mating strategy. It highlights the importance of within-species cross-group comparisons and the need for further study of the relationship between mating strategy and dominance steepness.

  15. Land - Ocean Climate Linkages and the Human Evolution - New ICDP and IODP Drilling Initiatives in the East African Rift Valley and SW Indian Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zahn, R.; Feibel, C.; Co-Pis, Icdp/Iodp

    2009-04-01

    The past 5 Ma were marked by systematic shifts towards colder climates and concomitant reorganizations in ocean circulation and marine heat transports. Some of the changes involved plate-tectonic shifts such as the closure of the Panamanian Isthmus and restructuring of the Indonesian archipelago that affected inter-ocean communications and altered the world ocean circulation. These changes induced ocean-atmosphere feedbacks with consequences for climates globally and locally. Two new ICDP and IODP drilling initiatives target these developments from the perspectives of marine and terrestrial palaeoclimatology and the human evolution. The ICDP drilling initiative HSPDP ("Hominid Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project"; ICDP ref. no. 10/07) targets lacustrine depocentres in Ethiopia (Hadar) and Kenya (West Turkana, Olorgesailie, Magadi) to retrieve sedimentary sequences close to the places and times where various species of hominins lived over currently available outcrop records. The records will provide a spatially resolved record of the East African environmental history in conjunction with climate variability at orbital (Milankovitch) and sub-orbital (ENSO decadal) time scales. HSPDP specifically aims at (1) compiling master chronologies for outcrops around each of the depocentres; (2) assessing which aspects of the paleoenvironmental records are a function of local origin (hydrology, hydrogeology) and which are linked with regional or larger-scale signals; (3) correlating broad-scale patterns of hominin phylogeny with the global beat of climate variability and (4) correlating regional shifts in the hominin fossil and archaeological record with more local patterns of paleoenvironmental change. Ultimately the aim is to test hypotheses that link physical and cultural adaptations in the course of the hominin evolution to local environmental change and variability. The IODP initiative SAFARI ("Southern African Climates, Agulhas Warm Water Transports and Retroflection

  16. Volume Tables and Point-Sampling Factors for Shortleaf Pines in Plantation on Abandoned Fields in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia Highlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glendon W. Smalley; David R. Bower

    1968-01-01

    The tables and equations published here provide ways to estimate total and merchantable cubic-foot volumes, both inside and outside bark, of shortleaf pines (Pinus echinata Mill.) planted on abandoned fields in the Ridge and Valley, Cumberland Plateau, Eastern Highland Rim, and Western Highland Rim regions of Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia (fig. 1). There already are...

  17. Descartes highlands: Possible analogs around the Orientale Basin, part D

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carroll, A. H.

    1972-01-01

    Two possible analogs, although not entirely satisfactory, offer reasonable alternatives to the volcanic interpretation of the Descartes highlands. Reconsideration of this complex terrain, prompted by the preliminary results of the Apollo 16 mission, will lead to the revision of some theories on lunar volcanism and also to a better understanding of the landforms caused by the formation of multi-ring basins.

  18. The Challenges of Bottom-up Approach of Natural-Social Integration in China Highland Pasture Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ai, Likun

    2017-04-01

    The pasture land covers two fifth of total Chinese land area, which is mainly distributed in western highland of Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan Provinces. China pasture land is not only in charge of providing food resource to regional people, but also plays important role in highland ecosystem services and biodiversity. Along with global warming and enhanced grazing activity, 90% of China pasture land is facing the threat of land degradation. From middle 1990's, Chinese government has released a series of pasture land conservation policies to prevent further environmental degradation. In the same time, lots of pasture ecosystem and environment change researches are supported by national and regional funding agencies. In this study, by monitoring and investigating this top-down approach of pasture land research and policy making processes, we would like to find out the gaps and problems of current research and policy making on China pasture land conservation, especially focusing on the possibility of establishing the bottom-up approach of natural-social sciences integration to support the pasture land conservation and sustainable pasture land management in highland China.

  19. Report on stakeholder evaluation of highland aquatic resources

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lund, Søren

    This report gives an overview of completed research activities on the value ascribed by users, local communities and stakeholders to functions, goods and services (including non‐use values) derived from the aquatic resources in the study areas. The perceived impact of factors such as environmental...... degradation, changing demand for goods and services and modified highland aquatic resources management practices on these values has also been assessed. To help structure this analysis stakeholder Delphi studies have been undertaken in each country involving representatives from all stakeholder groups...

  20. Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) Contributions to Strengthening Resilience and Sustainability for the East African Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Budde, M. E.; Galu, G.; Funk, C. C.; Verdin, J. P.; Rowland, J.

    2014-12-01

    The Planning for Resilience in East Africa through Policy, Adaptation, Research, and Economic Development (PREPARED) is a multi-organizational project aimed at mainstreaming climate-resilient development planning and program implementation into the East African Community (EAC). The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) has partnered with the PREPARED project to address three key development challenges for the EAC; 1) increasing resiliency to climate change, 2) managing trans-boundary freshwater biodiversity and conservation and 3) improving access to drinking water supply and sanitation services. USGS FEWS NET has been instrumental in the development of gridded climate data sets that are the fundamental building blocks for climate change adaptation studies in the region. Tools such as the Geospatial Climate Tool (GeoCLIM) have been developed to interpolate time-series grids of precipitation and temperature values from station observations and associated satellite imagery, elevation data, and other spatially continuous fields. The GeoCLIM tool also allows the identification of anomalies and assessments of both their frequency of occurrence and directional trends. A major effort has been put forth to build the capacities of local and regional institutions to use GeoCLIM to integrate their station data (which is not typically available to the public) into improved national and regional gridded climate data sets. In addition to the improvements and capacity building activities related to geospatial analysis tools, FEWS NET will assist in two other areas; 1) downscaling of climate change scenarios and 2) vulnerability impact assessments. FEWS NET will provide expertise in statistical downscaling of Global Climate Model output fields and work with regional institutions to assess results of other downscaling methods. Completion of a vulnerability impact assessment (VIA) involves the examination of sectoral consequences in identified climate "hot spots". FEWS NET

  1. Dietary trends in the Middle East and North Africa: an ecological study (1961 to 2007).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golzarand, Mahdieh; Mirmiran, Parvin; Jessri, Mahsa; Toolabi, Karamollah; Mojarrad, Mehdi; Azizi, Fereidoun

    2012-10-01

    Middle Eastern and North African countries are undergoing nutrition transition, a transition which is associated with an increased burden of non-communicable diseases. This necessitates the evaluation of dietary patterns in these regions. The present study aimed to assess changes in dietary patterns in Middle Eastern and North African countries between 1961 and 2007. Availability of energy and fifteen main food items during 1961-2007 was examined using FAO food balance sheets from the FAOSTAT database. Fifteen countries including nine in the Middle East and six in North Africa were selected and the average availability of total energy and different food items in these regions were compared. Over the 47 years studied, energy and food availability (apart from animal fats and alcoholic beverages) has increased in the Middle East and North Africa. In both regions the proportion of energy derived from meat and vegetable oils has increased significantly while that from cereals decreased significantly. In addition, the proportion of energy from milk and dairy products and vegetables has shown an ascending trend in North Africa while the proportion of energy from fruits has shown a descending trend in the Middle East. The study results reveal an unfavourable trend towards a Westernized diet in the Middle East and, to a certain extent, in North Africa. Tailored nutritional education encouraging healthy eating for prevention of the burden of chronic diseases in these countries seems essential.

  2. Deposition of eroded soil on terraced croplands in Minchet catchment, Ethiopian Highlands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alemtsehay Subhatu

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available In the Ethiopian Highlands, soil and water conservation practices are of utmost importance to conserve eroded soil and combat soil loss. This study provides detailed results on on-site sediment deposition and net soil loss in terraced croplands in a catchment in the sub-humid Ethiopian Highlands. Sediment deposition was measured on horse bean and maize fields during the crop growing seasons of 2014 and 2015. Measurements took place on observation plots on terraced cropland with varying spacing between terraces and varying slope gradients. Net soil loss, in this case the amount leaving the terraced cropland, was calculated by modelling the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE for the whole observation field and subtracting the measured sediment deposition. The study result showed about 8–11 t ha−1 sediment was deposited in the deposition zone of the terraced cropland, with greater sediment deposition on terraces with narrow spacing and steeper slope gradients. Sediment deposition was highest in July and August, and relatively low in September. Annual soil loss ranged from 32 to 37 t ha−1 in the terraced cropland of the study area. From the total soil loss in the crop growing season, about 54–74% sediment was deposited on the deposition zone of terraced crop fields. Implementation of soil and water conservation with narrow spacing, especially on the steep slopes of the sub-humid Ethiopian Highlands or other similar area, are thus highly recommended as they enable conservation of the eroded soil in the cropland.

  3. Century scale climate change in the central highlands of Sri Lanka

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    In this study, an analysis of century scale climate trends in the central highlands of Sri Lanka is presented. Monthly rainfall and temperature records of the period 1869–2006 from five climatological stations were analyzed. The trend is calculated by the least square regression analysis and the significance of the observed ...

  4. Microrefugia and species persistence in the Galápagos highlands: A 26,000-year paleoecological perspective.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aaron F Collins

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The Galápagos Islands are known to have experienced significant drought during the Quaternary. The loss of mesophytic upland habitats has been suggested to underlie the relatively lower endemism of upland compared with lowland plant assemblages. A fossil pollen record spanning the last 26,000 years from an upland bog on Santa Cruz Island, revealed the persistent presence of highland pollen and spore types during the last glacial maximum and a millennial-scale series of droughts in the mid Holocene. The absence of lowland taxa and presence of mesic taxa led to the conclusion that the highland flora of the Galápagos persisted during both these periods. The resiliency of the highland flora of the Galápagos to long-term drought contradicts an earlier hypothesis that an extinction of highland taxa occurred during the last glacial maximum and that rapid Holocene speciation created the modern plant assemblage within the last 10,000 years. Based on the palynological data, we suggest that, even during the height of glacial and Holocene droughts, cool sea-surface temperatures and strong trade-wind activity would have promoted persistent ground level cloudiness that provided the necessary moisture inputs to maintain microrefugia for mesophytic plants. Although moist conditions were maintained, the lack of precipitation caused the loss of open water habitat during such events, and accounts for the known extinctions of species such as Azolla sp., and Elatine sp., while other moisture dependent taxa, i.e. Cyathea weatherbyana, persisted.

  5. Population of Aedes sp in Highland of Wonosobo District and Its Competence as A Dengue Vector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martini, Martini; Widjanarko, Bagoes; Hestiningsih, Retno; Purwantisari, Susiana; Yuliawati, Sri

    2017-02-01

    The increased cases of dengue fever have occurred in the highland of Wonosobo District, and the epidemic taken place in 2009 had 59.3 cases per 100,000 populations. This study aimed to describe of vector competence of the mosquitoes as a dengue vector in the highland of Wonosobo District, Central Java Province. The serial laboratory work was done to measure of vector competence complementary with vector bionomic study. The samples were 20 villages, which were located at Wonosobo sub district. Every village was observed about 15-20 houses. The observed variables were vector competition, bionomic and transovarial infection level, and titer of virus on the mosquitoes after injection. Immunohistochemistry or IHC methods were used to identify transovarial infection status. The number of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus were almost similar and both were found indoors or outdoors. Based on HI and OI index, the larvae density in the highland was enough high than standard of the program. Transovarial infection was found on Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. Environment parameters such as temperature and relative humidity fulfilled the optimum requirement to support the vectors’ life cycle. Transovarial infection has been proven, thus, it indicates that the local transmission has been occurred in this area. Titer of virus was also increasing after day per day. This indicate that the mosquitoes has the ability being vector. As used to do in other area, it is important to conduct breeding places elimination (PSN) indoors as well as outdoors, through active participation of the community in highland area.

  6. Miners, peasants and entrepreneurs : Regional development in the Central Highlands of Peru

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Long, N.; Roberts, B.

    1984-01-01

    This volume traces the development of the central highlands, one of Peru's major mining regions. It draws on extensive fieldwork carried out in Peru between 1970 and 1982, spanning a reforming military government, reaction and a return to civilian politics under Belaunde. Through historical material

  7. Climate change as an amplifier of health risks: highland malaria in Africa.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huynen, Maud; Martens, Pim

    2016-01-01

    The interactions between climate and non-climate factors are of vital importance in shaping human vulnerability to global warming. In this chapter, this is illustrated for an important health risk induced by climate change, namely highland malaria in Africa. Despite the known causal links between

  8. Towards integrated watershed management in highland Ethiopia: the Chemoga watershed case study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bewket, W.

    2003-01-01

    Resource degradation is a critical problem in highland Ethiopia. Past soil and water conservation efforts did not bring about significant results. Hence, there is an urgent need to tackle the problem through new conservation approaches and technologies. This thesis discusses the need for and

  9. Prevalence and risk factors of malaria among children in southern highland Rwanda

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gahutu, J.B.; Steininger, C.; Shyirambere, C.; Zeile, I.; Cwinya-Ay, N.; Danquah, I.; Larsen, C.H.; Eggelte, T.A.; Uwimana, A.; Karema, C.; Musemakweri, A.; Harms, G.; Mockenhaupt, F.P.

    2011-01-01

    Background: Increased control has produced remarkable reductions of malaria in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa, including Rwanda. In the southern highlands, near the district capital of Butare (altitude, 1,768 m), a combined community-and facility-based survey on Plasmodium infection was conducted

  10. Prevalence and risk factors of malaria among children in southern highland Rwanda

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gahutu, Jean-Bosco; Steininger, Christian; Shyirambere, Cyprien; Zeile, Irene; Cwinya-Ay, Neniling; Danquah, Ina; Larsen, Christoph H.; Eggelte, Teunis A.; Uwimana, Aline; Karema, Corine; Musemakweri, Andre; Harms, Gundel; Mockenhaupt, Frank P.

    2011-01-01

    Increased control has produced remarkable reductions of malaria in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa, including Rwanda. In the southern highlands, near the district capital of Butare (altitude, 1,768 m), a combined community-and facility-based survey on Plasmodium infection was conducted early in

  11. Using Eucalyptus for Soil & Water Conservation on the highland Vertisols of Ethiopia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kidanu, S.

    2004-01-01

    Resource degradation is a critical problem in the highlands of Ethiopia. With agricultural productivity lingering behind population growth the gap between the availability and the demand for agricultural land continues to grow. This results in severe land-use conflicts. Thus, high potential and more

  12. Crustal and mantle structure and anisotropy beneath the incipient segments of the East African Rift System: Preliminary results from the ongoing SAFARI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Y.; Reed, C. A.; Gao, S. S.; Liu, K. H.; Massinque, B.; Mdala, H. S.; moidaki, M.; Mutamina, D. M.; Atekwana, E. A.; Ingate, S. F.; Reusch, A.; Barstow, N.

    2013-12-01

    Despite the vast wealth of research conducted toward understanding processes associated with continental rifting, the extent of our knowledge is derived primarily from studies focused on mature rift systems, such as the well-developed portions of the East African Rift System (EARS) north of Lake Malawi. To explore the dynamics of early rift evolution, the SAFARI (Seismic Arrays for African Rift Initiation) team deployed 50 PASSCAL broadband seismic stations across the Malawi, Luangwa, and Okavango rifts of the EARS during the summer of 2012. The cumulative length of the profiles is about 2500 km and the planned recording duration is 2 years. Here we present the preliminary results of systematic analyses of data obtained from the first year of acquisition for all 50 stations. A total of 446 high-quality shear-wave splitting measurements using PKS, SKKS, and SKS phases from 84 teleseismic events were used to constrain fast polarization directions and splitting times throughout the region. The Malawi and Okavango rifts are characterized by mostly NE trending fast directions with a mean splitting time of about 1 s. The fast directions on the west side of the Luangwa Rift Zone are parallel to the rift valley, and those on the east side are more N-S oriented. Stacking of approximately 1900 radial receiver functions reveals significant spatial variations of both crustal thickness and the ratio of crustal P and S wave velocities, as well as the thickness of the mantle transition zone. Stations situated within the Malawi rift demonstrate a southward increase in observed crustal thickness, which is consistent with the hypothesis that the Malawi rift originated at the northern end of the rift system and propagated southward. Both the Okavango and Luangwa rifts are associated with thinned crust and increased Vp/Vs, although additional data is required at some stations to enhance the reliability of the observations. Teleseismic P-wave travel-time residuals show a delay of about

  13. Brief communication: Drought likelihood for East Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Yang

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The East Africa drought in autumn of year 2016 caused malnutrition, illness and death. Close to 16 million people across Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya needed food, water and medical assistance. Many factors influence drought stress and response. However, inevitably the following question is asked: are elevated greenhouse gas concentrations altering extreme rainfall deficit frequency? We investigate this with general circulation models (GCMs. After GCM bias correction to match the climatological mean of the CHIRPS data-based rainfall product, climate models project small decreases in probability of drought with the same (or worse severity as 2016 ASO (August to October East African event. This is by the end of the 21st century compared to the probabilities for present day. However, when further adjusting the climatological variability of GCMs to also match CHIRPS data, by additionally bias-correcting for variance, then the probability of drought occurrence will increase slightly over the same period.

  14. Brief communication: Drought likelihood for East Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Hui; Huntingford, Chris

    2018-02-01

    The East Africa drought in autumn of year 2016 caused malnutrition, illness and death. Close to 16 million people across Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya needed food, water and medical assistance. Many factors influence drought stress and response. However, inevitably the following question is asked: are elevated greenhouse gas concentrations altering extreme rainfall deficit frequency? We investigate this with general circulation models (GCMs). After GCM bias correction to match the climatological mean of the CHIRPS data-based rainfall product, climate models project small decreases in probability of drought with the same (or worse) severity as 2016 ASO (August to October) East African event. This is by the end of the 21st century compared to the probabilities for present day. However, when further adjusting the climatological variability of GCMs to also match CHIRPS data, by additionally bias-correcting for variance, then the probability of drought occurrence will increase slightly over the same period.

  15. The ‘complete gospel’ revisited: Middle East and African influences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Glenna S. Jackson

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The author focuses on the historically-reliable gospel pericopes in which a woman is the lead character. She argues that these women provide the complete gospel − Jesus teaches, heals, preaches and is anointed in the context of female-based stories and, of course, the women take him from conception to resurrection. Jackson argues, not only from an analysis of the texts themselves, but also from her personal experiences in the Middle East and Africa.

  16. Assessing vulnerability of urban African communities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Karlsson Nyed, Patrik; Jean-Baptiste, Nathalie; Herslund, Lise Byskov

    2014-01-01

    East African cities are in the process of assessing their vulnerabilities to climate change, but face difficulties in capturing the complexity of the various facets of vulnerability. This holistic approach, captures four different dimensions of vulnerability to flooding - Assets, Institutions......, Attitudes and the Physical environment, with Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, as a case city. The methodology is actively involving the expertise of the stakeholders, and uses GIS to analyze and compile the data. The final output is presented as a comprehensible map, delineating the varying vulnerability...

  17. East and Central African Journal of Surgery http://www.bioline.org.br ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Patrick

    populations in Asia, far-east, and North America. By far reported cases ... Zomba Central hospital with long standing history of a giant scalp cutenous horn for about 28 years .Excision ... educative pathologies goes under reported. Case Report.

  18. Incorporating Scottish Highland Games and Activities into Your Physical Education Classes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prewitt, Steven L.; Hannon, James C.; Brusseau, Timothy

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to introduce a potentially new and exciting group of activities that can be taught in physical education. Activities based on Scottish Highland Games can be an interesting way to incorporate history and literature into the curriculum, as well as introduce students to a variety of unique physical activities. This…

  19. A Developmental Assets Approach in East Africa: Can Swahili Measures Capture Adolescent Strengths and Supports?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drescher, Christopher F.; Johnson, Laura R.; Kurz, A. Solomon; Scales, Peter C.; Kiliho, Ray P.

    2018-01-01

    Background: Assets-based approaches are well-suited to youth living in majority world contexts, such as East Africa. However, positive psychology research with African adolescents is rare. One hindering factor is the lack of translated measures for conducting research. Objective: This study builds capacity for positive youth development research…

  20. Agrobiodiversity of cactus pear (Opuntia, Cactaceae in the Meridional Highlands Plateau of Mexico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Antonio Reyes-Agüero

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Mexico is characterized by a remarkable richness of Opuntia, mostly at the Meridional Highlands Plateau; it is also here where the greatest richness of Opuntia variants occurs. Most of these variants have been maintained in homegardens; however, the gathering process which originated these homegardens has been disrupted over the past decades, as a result of social change and the destruction of large wild nopaleras. If the variants still surviving in homegardens are lost, these will be hard to recover, that is, the millenary cultural heritage from the human groups that populated the Mexican Meridional Highland Plateau will be lost forever. This situation motivated the preparation of a catalogue that records the diversity of wild and cultivated Opuntia variants living in the meridional Highlands Plateau. To this end, 379 samples were obtained in 29 localities, between 1998 and 2003. The information was processed through Twinspan. All specimens were identified and preserved in herbaria. Botanical keys and descriptions were elaborated. The catalogue includes information on 126 variants comprising 18 species. There were species with only one variant (Opuntia atropes, O. cochinera, O. jaliscana, O. leucotricha, O. rzedowskii and O. velutina, two (O. durangensis, O. lindheimeri, O. phaeacantha and O. robusta, five (O. joconostle and O. lasiacantha, seven (O. chavena, 12 (O. hyptiacantha and O. streptacantha, 15 (O. ficus-indica, 22 (O. albicarpa, and up to 34 (O. megacantha. Additionally, 267 common cactus pear names were related to those variants.

  1. Photogeology: Part D: Descartes highlands: possible analogs around the Orientale Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hodges, Carroll Ann

    1972-01-01

    The Descartes highlands are adjacent to the terra plain on which the Apollo 16 lunar module landed (fig. 29-13). A variety of volcanic origins was proposed for the highlands before the mission (refs. 29-4, 29-21, and 29-35 to 29-37), but the returned samples of the area consist almost exclusively of nonvolcanic breccias. The breccias obtained from Stone Mountain have not been identified conclusively as sample materials of the Descartes Mountains (ref. 29-35). A volcanic origin is thus not yet precluded (sec. 6 of this report), but a review of possible impact-related origins seems to be appropriate. The orbital photography acquired during the Apollo 16 mission provides excellent imagery on which geomorphic interpretations may be based. No obvious local crater is a plausible source of the material, but there may be a relation to either the Nectaris or Imbrium Basin. The less degraded Orientale Basin (fig. 29-24) provides a model by which these comparisons can be made (part F of this section).

  2. A spring forward for hominin evolution in East Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuthbert, Mark O; Ashley, Gail M

    2014-01-01

    Groundwater is essential to modern human survival during drought periods. There is also growing geological evidence of springs associated with stone tools and hominin fossils in the East African Rift System (EARS) during a critical period for hominin evolution (from 1.8 Ma). However it is not known how vulnerable these springs may have been to climate variability and whether groundwater availability may have played a part in human evolution. Recent interdisciplinary research at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, has documented climate fluctuations attributable to astronomic forcing and the presence of paleosprings directly associated with archaeological sites. Using palaeogeological reconstruction and groundwater modelling of the Olduvai Gorge paleo-catchment, we show how spring discharge was likely linked to East African climate variability of annual to Milankovitch cycle timescales. Under decadal to centennial timescales, spring flow would have been relatively invariant providing good water resource resilience through long droughts. For multi-millennial periods, modelled spring flows lag groundwater recharge by 100 s to 1000 years. The lag creates long buffer periods allowing hominins to adapt to new habitats as potable surface water from rivers or lakes became increasingly scarce. Localised groundwater systems are likely to have been widespread within the EARS providing refugia and intense competition during dry periods, thus being an important factor in natural selection and evolution, as well as a vital resource during hominin dispersal within and out of Africa.

  3. Large-scale landslide triggering mechanisms in Debre Sina area, Central Ethiopian Highlands at the western Afar rift margin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiros, T.; Wohnlich, S.; Hussien, B.

    2017-12-01

    The Central Highlands of Ethiopia have repeatedly experiencing large-scale landslide events. Debre Sina area is one of the most landslide prone areas located along the western Afar rift margin of Ethiopia, which is frequently affected by large-scale and deep-seated landslides. Despite that, urban and rural development is currently taking place in almost all constricted valleys as well as on the imposing cliffs. Therefore, understanding the major triggering factors and failure mechanisms in the Debre Sina area and surroundings is of critical importance. In the present study, we investigate the landslide in the area using geological and topographic analysis, structural settings, geophysical investigation (seismic refraction), rainfall data and seismicity. Furthermore, petrographical as well as X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis are conducted to explain the mineral composition of parent rock and its weathering products. The topographic analysis result revealed that the slope range from 100 - 400, with elevation of 1,800 - 2,500m, with aspect to east and southeast are highly prone to landslide. The seismic refraction method identified four main layers of geomaterials which contained a subsurface landslides anomaly within the layers. The results consist of clay, loosely cemented colluvial sediments and highly weathered agglomerates (1000-1500m/s) 7-15m, highly to moderately fractured porphyritic basalt, ignimbrite, rhyolite/trachyte and volcanic ash (1500-2500m/s) 10-30m, moderately to slightly fractured ignimbrite, rhyolite/trachyte and basalt (2500-3500m/s) 30-50m and very strong, massive, fresh rock/bed rock (>3500m/s) from 45m depth. The large-scale and deep-seated landslides problem in the study area appears to be caused by heavy rainfall, complex geology and rugged topography, the presence of geological structures oriented parallel to the rift margin N-S fault (NNE-SSW trending) of the central Ethiopian highlands and coinciding with the head scarp of the slides and

  4. Land management in the north-western highlands of Ethiopia: adoption and impact

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Akalu Teshome Firew,; Firew, A.T.

    2014-01-01

    Abstract

    Over the last four decades, the government of Ethiopia and various a consortium of donors have been promoting different land management (LM) practices in the highlands of Ethiopia to halt land degradation. However, the adoption rate of these practices has been

  5. Economic Determinants of Academic Failure and School Desertion in the Guatemala Highlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carvajal, Manuel J.; And Others

    1993-01-01

    Explores, from an economic perspective, elementary school system adequacy in the rural, indigenous Guatemalan highlands. Estimates least-squares coefficients and elasticities separately for academic failure and school abandonment for each of four indigenous groups. The model explains academic failure better than school desertion. A national policy…

  6. Patterns of distribution, diversity and endemism of larger African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    1992-11-17

    Nov 17, 1992 ... and provides a useful means of comparison, within and. S.-Afr. Tydskr. ... Savanna, Southern Savanna and Somali Arid Subregions, of which the ..... of Algeria, the Guinea highlands and Cameroon Highlands. Higher than ...

  7. Mosaic maternal ancestry in the Great Lakes region of East Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomes, Verónica; Pala, Maria; Salas, Antonio; Álvarez-Iglesias, Vanesa; Amorim, António; Gómez-Carballa, Alberto; Carracedo, Ángel; Clarke, Douglas J; Hill, Catherine; Mormina, Maru; Shaw, Marie-Anne; Dunne, David W; Pereira, Rui; Pereira, Vânia; Prata, Maria João; Sánchez-Diz, Paula; Rito, Teresa; Soares, Pedro; Gusmão, Leonor; Richards, Martin B

    2015-09-01

    The Great Lakes lie within a region of East Africa with very high human genetic diversity, home of many ethno-linguistic groups usually assumed to be the product of a small number of major dispersals. However, our knowledge of these dispersals relies primarily on the inferences of historical, linguistics and oral traditions, with attempts to match up the archaeological evidence where possible. This is an obvious area to which archaeogenetics can contribute, yet Uganda, at the heart of these developments, has not been studied for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation. Here, we compare mtDNA lineages at this putative genetic crossroads across 409 representatives of the major language groups: Bantu speakers and Eastern and Western Nilotic speakers. We show that Uganda harbours one of the highest mtDNA diversities within and between linguistic groups, with the various groups significantly differentiated from each other. Despite an inferred linguistic origin in South Sudan, the data from the two Nilotic-speaking groups point to a much more complex history, involving not only possible dispersals from Sudan and the Horn but also large-scale assimilation of autochthonous lineages within East Africa and even Uganda itself. The Eastern Nilotic group also carries signals characteristic of West-Central Africa, primarily due to Bantu influence, whereas a much stronger signal in the Western Nilotic group suggests direct West-Central African ancestry. Bantu speakers share lineages with both Nilotic groups, and also harbour East African lineages not found in Western Nilotic speakers, likely due to assimilating indigenous populations since arriving in the region ~3000 years ago.

  8. The political economy of oil and gas extraction: imperatives for fiscal and legal regimes in East Africa

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Owiso, Michael Omondi

    2018-01-01

    , cultural and environmental implications of this? This contribution examines the Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) that result in the models for sharing production as envisaged by the three East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Against these models the study unearths the interests...

  9. Réponse de deux variétés de tournesol (Helianthus sp. à la fertilisation à base de fiente de poule sur un Hapli-Humic Ferralsol du Yongka Western Highlands Research Garden Park (YWHRGP Nkwen-Bamenda, Cameroun, Afrique centrale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yerima, BPK.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Response of Two Sunflower (Helianthus sp. Varieties to Poultry Manure Fertilization on a Hapli-Humic Ferralsol at the Yongka Western Highlands Research Garden-Park (YWHRGP Nkwen-Bamenda, Cameroon, Central Africa. An experiment on a Hapli-Humic Ferralsol was conducted at the YWHRGP, Nkwen-Bamenda, to evaluate the response of two sunflower varieties (Helianthus sp. to five levels of poultry manure (0; 1.2; 2.8; 4.2 and 5.6 Tons/ha. Italian White and African Giant varieties were used. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three and six replications for African Giant and Italian White varieties, respectively. Poultry manure was analyzed and growth, development and yield parameters were collected. The acid soil (pH≤5.5 showed nutrient deficiencies. The poultry manure (pH=7.8 is rich in essential nutrients and had a significant effect on sunflower growth parameters. The 4.2 Tons/ha manure level maximised growth and yield parameters of the African Giant variety. For the Italian White variety, 5.6 Tons/ha manure level gave a head weight yield (0.74 Tons/ha lower than that of the African Giant (1.33 Tons/ha. Significant differences were also observed between the two varieties. However, the African Giant variety appears to be more adapted for seed production, while the Italian White variety appears to be best indicated for use as an ornamental plant or to produce cut flowers.

  10. Contrasted continental rifting via plume-craton interaction: Applications to Central East African Rift

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Koptev

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The East African Rift system (EARS provides a unique system with the juxtaposition of two contrasting yet simultaneously formed rift branches, the eastern, magma-rich, and the western, magma-poor, on either sides of the old thick Tanzanian craton embedded in a younger lithosphere. Data on the pre-rift, syn-rift and post-rift far-field volcanic and tectonic activity show that the EARS formed in the context of the interaction between a deep mantle plume and a horizontally and vertically heterogeneous lithosphere under far-field tectonic extension. We bring quantitative insights into this evolution by implementing high-resolution 3D thermo-mechanical numerical deformation models of a lithosphere of realistic rheology. The models focus on the central part of the EARS. We explore scenarios of plume-lithosphere interaction with plumes of various size and initial position rising beneath a tectonically pre-stretched lithosphere. We test the impact of the inherited rheological discontinuities (suture zones along the craton borders, of the rheological structure, of lithosphere plate thickness variations, and of physical and mechanical contrasts between the craton and the embedding lithosphere. Our experiments indicate that the ascending plume material is deflected by the cratonic keel and preferentially channeled along one of its sides, leading to the formation of a large rift zone along the eastern side of the craton, with significant magmatic activity and substantial melt amount derived from the mantle plume material. We show that the observed asymmetry of the central EARS, with coeval amagmatic (western and magmatic (eastern branches, can be explained by the splitting of warm material rising from a broad plume head whose initial position is slightly shifted to the eastern side of the craton. In that case, neither a mechanical weakness of the contact between the craton and the embedding lithosphere nor the presence of second plume are required to

  11. Historical volcanism and the state of stress in the East African Rift System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geoffrey Wadge

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Crustal extension at the East African Rift System (EARS should, as a tectonic ideal, involve a stress field in which the direction of minimum horizontal stress is perpendicular to the rift. A volcano in such a setting should produce dykes and fissures parallel to the rift. How closely do the volcanoes of the EARS follow this? We answer this question by studying the 21 volcanoes that have erupted historically (since about 1800 and find that 7 match the (approximate geometrical ideal. At the other 14 volcanoes the orientation of the eruptive fissures/dykes and/or the axes of the host rift segments are oblique to the ideal values. To explain the eruptions at these volcanoes we invoke local (non-plate tectonic variations of the stress field caused by: crustal heterogeneities and anisotropies (dominated by NW structures in the Protoerozoic basement, transfer zone tectonics at the ends of offset rift segments, gravitational loading by the volcanic edifice (typically those with 1-2 km relief and magmatic pressure in central reservoirs. We find that the more oblique volcanoes tend to have large edifices, large eruptive volumes and evolved and mixed magmas capable of explosive behaviour. Nine of the volcanoes have calderas of varying ellipticity, 6 of which are large, reservoir-collapse types mainly elongated across rift (e.g. Kone and 3 are smaller, elongated parallel to the rift and contain active lava lakes (e.g. Erta Ale, suggesting different mechanisms of formation and stress fields. Nyamuragira is the only EARS volcano with enough sufficiently well-documented eruptions to infer its long-term dynamic behaviour. Eruptions within 7 km of the volcano are of relatively short duration (<100 days, but eruptions with more distal fissures tend to have greater obliquity and longer durations, indicating a changing stress field away from the volcano. There were major changes in long-term magma extrusion rates in 1977 (and perhaps in 2002 due to major along

  12. Energy consumption, economic growth and CO2 emissions in Middle East and North African countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arouri, Mohamed El Hedi; Ben Youssef, Adel; M'henni, Hatem; Rault, Christophe

    2012-01-01

    This article extends the recent findings of , , and by implementing recent bootstrap panel unit root tests and cointegration techniques to investigate the relationship between carbon dioxide emissions, energy consumption, and real GDP for 12 Middle East and North African Countries (MENA) over the period 1981–2005. Our results show that in the long-run energy consumption has a positive significant impact on CO 2 emissions. More interestingly, we show that real GDP exhibits a quadratic relationship with CO 2 emissions for the region as a whole. However, although the estimated long-run coefficients of income and its square satisfy the EKC hypothesis in most studied countries, the turning points are very low in some cases and very high in other cases, hence providing poor evidence in support of the EKC hypothesis. CO 2 emission reductions per capita have been achieved in the MENA region, even while the region exhibited economic growth over the period 1981–2005. The econometric relationships derived in this paper suggest that future reductions in CO 2 emissions per capita might be achieved at the same time as GDP per capita in the MENA region continues to grow. - Highlights: ► We study the links between CO 2 emissions, energy consumption and GDP in MENA region. ► Energy consumption has a positive correlation with CO 2 emissions. ► GDP exhibits a quadratic relationship with CO 2 emissions for the region as a whole. ► However, the turning points are low in some cases and high in other cases. ► Thus, not all countries need to sacrifice economic growth to decrease CO 2 emissions.

  13. the composition of the milk of the african dwarf goat, springbok and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    OF THE AFRICAN DWARF GOAT,. SPRINGBOK AND BLUE DUIKER. H. F. VON KETELHODT. Queen's Park Zoo, East London. Accepted: May, 1976. The rearing of animals in captivity involves many factors of which one of the most important is to ensure that conditions are suitable for the development of young. Ideally, the ...

  14. East coast fever caused by Theileria parva is characterized by macrophage activation associated with vasculitis and respiratory failure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Respiratory failure and death in East Coast Fever (ECF), a clinical syndrome of African cattle caused by the apicomplexan parasite Theileria parva, has historically been attributed to pulmonary infiltration by infected lymphocytes. However, immunohistochemical staining of tissue from T. parva infect...

  15. Danish Interests in Regional Security Institutions in East Africa

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nordby, Johannes Riber; Jacobsen, Katja

    2013-01-01

    For the past decade, peace and security in East Africa have gained increasing focus internationally. The region has experienced armed conflicts, civil wars, rebellion, drought and famine. Yet, at the same time, there is an emerging ambition among a number of African states to handle security issues...... on the continent independently. Such ambitions have fostered a variety of military capacity building programmes supported by external donors. The present report explores how up until now Denmark has sought to contribute to strengthening political and military security in East Africa. This has mainly been done...... through capacity building projects anchored in different regional security institutions. The report illuminates some of the risks that such capacity building projects might confront. Furthermore the report points out some of the challenges that exist in the cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign...

  16. Strengthening African Union for African Integration: An African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. ... in the international state system and seek for African initiative in solving African problems. ... of the African Union by examining the efforts of African Leaders towards African integration, ...

  17. The April 2017 M6.7 Botswana Earthquake: Implications for African Intraplate Seismicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gardonio, B.; Calais, E.; Jolivet, R.

    2017-12-01

    The last decades have seen a rapidly increasing number of studies of interplate seismicity, revealing for instance the fundamental relationship between seismic and aseismic slip along plate boundary faults. To the contrary, intraplate earthquakes, occurring far from plate boundaries are still misunderstood and by far less studied. Key questions are the mechanisms through which elastic strain builds up and is released in the seismogenic crust in such contexts, in the absence of (yet) measurable intraplate strain rates. The April 2017 M6.7 Botswana earthquake was a surprise in many ways. This is the largest recorded event that struck this ordinarily seismically quiet region, West to the East-African Rift system where most of the usual southern seismicity occurs. It may also be the largest intraplate event recorded since the 1988 Tennant Creek earthquake in central Australia. No active structure can be mapped at the surface. Active extension related to the east African rifting may occur several hundreds of kilometers to the north-east with low rates of a few mm per year. Closer to the event, the Okavango delta, located at 20° of latitude and 23° of longitude is considered by some as an incipient rift with very low deformation rates, similar to a large part of the southern African continent. Interestingly, seismic activity in the area of the recent Botswana earthquake is more important than the world average intraplate activity, potentially due to rifting to the east and/or large stresses induced by lateral gradients in gravitational potential energy (this part of the world has an altitude of 1000 to 2000 m.). The aim of this study is to better constrain the tectonic setting and the dynamics of the Botswana earthquake area. To do so, we analyze a Sentinel 1 interferogram of the event to constrain the strike, dip, depth, magnitude and location of the earthquake. We also analyze continuous teleseismic signals during two months centered on the mainshock using a template

  18. Smallholder dairy systems in the Kenya highlands: cattle population dynamics under increasing intensification

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bebe, B.O.; Udo, H.M.J.; Rowlands, G.J.; Thorpe, W.

    2003-01-01

    A cross-sectional stratified random sample survey of 1755 households in the Kenya highlands was conducted between June 1996 and April 1998 to quantify cattle population dynamics in smallholder herds. The free-, semi-zero- and zero-grazing systems practised represented increasing levels of

  19. Pesticides and health in highland Ecuadorian potato production: assessing impacts and developing responses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cole, D.; Sherwood, S.G.; Crissman, C.; Barrera, V.H.; Espinosa, E.

    2002-01-01

    Pesticide use in highland Ecuador is concentrated in the high-risk, commercial production of potatoes. Small farm families experience considerable exposure and adverse health consequences. The authors describe a three-pronged strategy to reduce health impacts: 1) a community-based process of

  20. 78 FR 41891 - Proposed Establishment of the Upper Hiwassee Highlands Viticultural Area

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-07-12

    ... neither an approval nor an endorsement by TTB of the wine produced in that area. Requirements Section 4.25... gorges. To the west, below the Hiwassee Dam, are a series of lower ridges, mountains, and deep, narrow... Hiwassee Highlands viticultural area also has significantly shallower slope angles. According to the slope...

  1. Mapping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Genetic Diversity Profiles in Tanzania and Other African Countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mbugi, Erasto V.; Katale, Bugwesa Z.; Streicher, Elizabeth M.; Keyyu, Julius D.; Kendall, Sharon L.; Dockrell, Hazel M.; Michel, Anita L.; Rweyemamu, Mark M.; Warren, Robin M.; Matee, Mecky I.; van Helden, Paul D.; Couvin, David; Rastogi, Nalin

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess and characterize Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) genotypic diversity in Tanzania, as well as in neighbouring East and other several African countries. We used spoligotyping to identify a total of 293 M. tuberculosis clinical isolates (one isolate per patient) collected in the Bunda, Dar es Salaam, Ngorongoro and Serengeti areas in Tanzania. The results were compared with results in the SITVIT2 international database of the Pasteur Institute of Guadeloupe. Genotyping and phylogeographical analyses highlighted the predominance of the CAS, T, EAI, and LAM MTBC lineages in Tanzania. The three most frequent Spoligotype International Types (SITs) were: SIT21/CAS1-Kili (n = 76; 25.94%), SIT59/LAM11-ZWE (n = 22; 7.51%), and SIT126/EAI5 tentatively reclassified as EAI3-TZA (n = 18; 6.14%). Furthermore, three SITs were newly created in this study (SIT4056/EAI5 n = 2, SIT4057/T1 n = 1, and SIT4058/EAI5 n = 1). We noted that the East-African-Indian (EAI) lineage was more predominant in Bunda, the Manu lineage was more common among strains isolated in Ngorongoro, and the Central-Asian (CAS) lineage was more predominant in Dar es Salaam (p-value<0.0001). No statistically significant differences were noted when comparing HIV status of patients vs. major lineages (p-value = 0.103). However, when grouping lineages as Principal Genetic Groups (PGG), we noticed that PGG2/3 group (Haarlem, LAM, S, T, and X) was more associated with HIV-positive patients as compared to PGG1 group (Beijing, CAS, EAI, and Manu) (p-value = 0.03). This study provided mapping of MTBC genetic diversity in Tanzania (containing information on isolates from different cities) and neighbouring East African and other several African countries highlighting differences as regards to MTBC genotypic distribution between Tanzania and other African countries. This work also allowed underlining of spoligotyping patterns tentatively grouped within the newly designated EAI3-TZA

  2. Mapping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Genetic Diversity Profiles in Tanzania and Other African Countries.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erasto V Mbugi

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to assess and characterize Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC genotypic diversity in Tanzania, as well as in neighbouring East and other several African countries. We used spoligotyping to identify a total of 293 M. tuberculosis clinical isolates (one isolate per patient collected in the Bunda, Dar es Salaam, Ngorongoro and Serengeti areas in Tanzania. The results were compared with results in the SITVIT2 international database of the Pasteur Institute of Guadeloupe. Genotyping and phylogeographical analyses highlighted the predominance of the CAS, T, EAI, and LAM MTBC lineages in Tanzania. The three most frequent Spoligotype International Types (SITs were: SIT21/CAS1-Kili (n = 76; 25.94%, SIT59/LAM11-ZWE (n = 22; 7.51%, and SIT126/EAI5 tentatively reclassified as EAI3-TZA (n = 18; 6.14%. Furthermore, three SITs were newly created in this study (SIT4056/EAI5 n = 2, SIT4057/T1 n = 1, and SIT4058/EAI5 n = 1. We noted that the East-African-Indian (EAI lineage was more predominant in Bunda, the Manu lineage was more common among strains isolated in Ngorongoro, and the Central-Asian (CAS lineage was more predominant in Dar es Salaam (p-value<0.0001. No statistically significant differences were noted when comparing HIV status of patients vs. major lineages (p-value = 0.103. However, when grouping lineages as Principal Genetic Groups (PGG, we noticed that PGG2/3 group (Haarlem, LAM, S, T, and X was more associated with HIV-positive patients as compared to PGG1 group (Beijing, CAS, EAI, and Manu (p-value = 0.03. This study provided mapping of MTBC genetic diversity in Tanzania (containing information on isolates from different cities and neighbouring East African and other several African countries highlighting differences as regards to MTBC genotypic distribution between Tanzania and other African countries. This work also allowed underlining of spoligotyping patterns tentatively grouped within the newly designated EAI3

  3. Mapping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Genetic Diversity Profiles in Tanzania and Other African Countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mbugi, Erasto V; Katale, Bugwesa Z; Streicher, Elizabeth M; Keyyu, Julius D; Kendall, Sharon L; Dockrell, Hazel M; Michel, Anita L; Rweyemamu, Mark M; Warren, Robin M; Matee, Mecky I; van Helden, Paul D; Couvin, David; Rastogi, Nalin

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess and characterize Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) genotypic diversity in Tanzania, as well as in neighbouring East and other several African countries. We used spoligotyping to identify a total of 293 M. tuberculosis clinical isolates (one isolate per patient) collected in the Bunda, Dar es Salaam, Ngorongoro and Serengeti areas in Tanzania. The results were compared with results in the SITVIT2 international database of the Pasteur Institute of Guadeloupe. Genotyping and phylogeographical analyses highlighted the predominance of the CAS, T, EAI, and LAM MTBC lineages in Tanzania. The three most frequent Spoligotype International Types (SITs) were: SIT21/CAS1-Kili (n = 76; 25.94%), SIT59/LAM11-ZWE (n = 22; 7.51%), and SIT126/EAI5 tentatively reclassified as EAI3-TZA (n = 18; 6.14%). Furthermore, three SITs were newly created in this study (SIT4056/EAI5 n = 2, SIT4057/T1 n = 1, and SIT4058/EAI5 n = 1). We noted that the East-African-Indian (EAI) lineage was more predominant in Bunda, the Manu lineage was more common among strains isolated in Ngorongoro, and the Central-Asian (CAS) lineage was more predominant in Dar es Salaam (p-value<0.0001). No statistically significant differences were noted when comparing HIV status of patients vs. major lineages (p-value = 0.103). However, when grouping lineages as Principal Genetic Groups (PGG), we noticed that PGG2/3 group (Haarlem, LAM, S, T, and X) was more associated with HIV-positive patients as compared to PGG1 group (Beijing, CAS, EAI, and Manu) (p-value = 0.03). This study provided mapping of MTBC genetic diversity in Tanzania (containing information on isolates from different cities) and neighbouring East African and other several African countries highlighting differences as regards to MTBC genotypic distribution between Tanzania and other African countries. This work also allowed underlining of spoligotyping patterns tentatively grouped within the newly designated EAI3-TZA

  4. Genetic adaptation of giant lobelias (Lobelia aberdarica and Lobelia telekii to different altitudes in East African mountains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shu-Ying eZhao

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The giant lobelias in East African mountains are good models for studying molecular mechanisms of adaptation to different altitudes. In this study, we generated RNA-seq data of a middle-altitude species Lobelia aberdarica and a high-altitude species L. telekii, followed by selective pressure estimation of their orthologous genes. Our aim was to explore the important genes potentially involved in adaptation to different altitudes. About 9.3 Gb of clean nucleotides, 167,929 – 170,534 unigenes with total lengths of 159,762,099 – 171,138,936 bp for each of the two species were generated. OrthoMCL method identified 3,049 1:1 orthologous genes (each species was represented by one ortholog. Estimations of non-synonymous to synonymous rate were performed using an approximate method and a maximum likelihood method in PAML. 85 orthologous genes were under positive selection. At least 8 of these genes are possibly involved in DNA repair, response to DNA damage and temperature stimulus, and regulation of gene expression, which hints on how giant lobelias adapt to high altitudinal environment that characterised by cold, low oxygen and strong ultraviolet radiation. The negatively selected genes are over-represented in Gene ontology terms of hydrolase, macromolecular complex assembly among others. This study sheds light on understanding the molecular mechanism of adaptation to different altitudes, and provides genomic resources for further studies of giant lobelias.

  5. Effects of a deep-rooted crop and soil amended with charcoal on spatial and temporal runoff patterns in a degrading tropical highland watershed

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bayabil, Haimanote K.; Tebebu, Tigist Y.; Stoof, Cathelijne R.; Steenhuis, Tammo S.

    2016-01-01

    Placement and hence performance of many soil and water conservation structures in tropical highlands has proven to be challenging due to uncertainty of the actual location of runoff-generating areas in the landscape. This is the case especially in the (sub-)humid areas of the Ethiopian highlands,

  6. Geology of the Terra Cimmeria-Utopia Planitia Highland Lowland Transitional Zone: Final Technical Approach and Scientific Results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skinner, J. A., Jr.; Tanaka, K. L.

    2010-01-01

    The southern Utopia highland-lowland transitional zone extends from northern Terra Cimmeria to southern Utopia Planitia and contains broad, bench-like platforms with depressions, pitted cones, tholi, and lobate flows. The locally occurring geologic units and landforms contrast other transitional regions and record a spatially partitioned geologic history. We systematically delineated and described the geologic units and landforms of the southern Utopia-Cimmeria highland-lowland transitional zone for the production of a 1:1,000,000-scale geologic map (MTMs 10237, 15237, 20237, 10242, 15242, 20242, 10247, 15247, and 20247). Herein, we present technical and scientific results of this mapping project.

  7. Welding in the highlands of Papua New Guinea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dinon, Mike; Mendez, Alfredo; Ward, Jason

    2007-01-01

    This paper gives examples of the qualification of welding procedures intended for use in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Two examples are given of welding procedures which required the development of a unique approach in each case after an early attempt using inherited standard procedures failed. The main conclusions are the requirement for caution when converting ASMEIX welding procedures for use with AS 2885.2, the requirement under the Australian Code to 'design out' the risk of hydrogen assisted cold cracking, and the importance of choosing an upper-end carbon equivalent when welding high carbon equivalent fittings

  8. Tree seed rain and seed removal, but not the seed bank, impede forest recovery in bracken (Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn)-dominated clearings in the African highlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ssali, Fredrick; Moe, Stein R; Sheil, Douglas

    2018-04-01

    Considerable areas dominated by bracken Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn occur worldwide and are associated with arrested forest recovery. How forest recovery is impeded in these areas remains poorly understood, especially in the African highlands. The component processes that can lead to recruitment limitation-including low seed arrival, availability and persistence-are important determinants of plant communities and offer a potential explanation for bracken persistence. We investigated key processes that can contribute to recruitment limitation in bracken-dominated clearings in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. We examined if differences in seed rain (dispersal limitation), soil seed bank, or seed removal (seed viability and persistence) can, individually or in combination, explain the differences in tree regeneration found between bracken-dominated areas and the neighboring forest. These processes were assessed along ten 50-m transects crossing the forest-bracken boundary. When compared to the neighboring forest, bracken clearings had fewer seedlings (bracken 11,557 ± 5482 vs. forest 34,515 ± 6066 seedlings/ha), lower seed rain (949 ± 582 vs. 1605 ± 335 tree seeds m -2  year -1 ), comparable but sparse soil seed bank (304 ± 236 vs. 264 ± 99 viable tree seeds/m 2 ), higher seed removal (70.1% ± 2.4% vs. 40.6% ± 2.4% over a 3-day interval), and markedly higher rodent densities (25.7 ± 5.4 vs. 5.0 ± 1.6 rodents per 100 trapping sessions). Camera traps revealed that rodents were the dominant animals visiting the seeds in our seed removal study. Synthesis : Recruitment limitation contributes to both the slow recovery of forest in bracken-dominated areas, and to the composition of the tree species that occur. Low seed arrival and low persistence of unburied seeds can both explain the reduced density of seedlings found in bracken versus neighboring forest. Seed removal, likely due to rodents, in particular appears sufficient to

  9. 77 FR 68854 - Highland Associates, Inc. and Financial Investors Trust; Notice of Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-16

    ... shareholders, and does not involve a conflict of interest from which the Adviser or the Affiliated Subadviser... shareholder approval. Applicants: Highland Associates, Inc. (the ``Adviser'') and Financial Investors Trust... be issued unless the Commission orders a hearing. Interested persons may request a hearing by writing...

  10. Radionuclides at Descartes in the central highlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wrigley, R. C.

    1973-01-01

    Throium, uranium, potassium, aluminium-26, and sodium-22 were measured by nondestructive gamma ray spectrometry in six soil and two rock samples gathered by Apollo 16 in the lunar central highlands. The soil samples probably include both major geologic formations in the vicinity, the Cayley and Descartes Formations, although it is possible that the Descartes Formation is not represented. The rock samples have low concentrations of primordial radionuclides. The Al concentrations were lower than could be expected from the high abundance of alumina in the Apollo 16 soils reported earlier, but this could be due to lower concentrations of target elements in these soils, sampling depth variations, or regolithic mixing (exposure age variations).

  11. Prevalence and Severity of Oral Diseases in the Africa and Middle East Region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abid, A; Maatouk, F; Berrezouga, L; Azodo, C; Uti, O; El-Shamy, H; Oginni, A

    2015-07-01

    This review aims to determine the prevalence and severity of oral health diseases in the Africa and Middle East region (AMER). The profile of oral diseases is not homogeneous across the AMER. There are large disparities between groups. Reliable data are scarce. The prevalence and severity of oral diseases appear to be increasing in the African region, as does associated morbidity. There are substantial differences in inequalities in oral health. Dental caries prevalence is less severe in most African countries than in developed countries, but the high rate of untreated caries reflects the limited resources available and difficulties of access and affordability to essential oral health care services. The prevalence of gingival inflammation is very high in all age groups in several African countries. The prevalence of maxillofacial trauma has increased in many countries, with a wide variation of the incidence and high prevalence of traumatic dental injuries in primary and permanent teeth. Orofacial clefts are among the most common birth defects. Annual incidence of oral cancer is estimated as 25 cases per 100,000 people in Africa. Noma is a major public health problem for the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. Data about human immunodeficiency virus/AIDS are limited, particularly in the MENA region. According to the World Health Organization Regional Committee for Africa report, some fundamental key basic knowledge gaps need to be underlined. They include inequalities in oral health, low priority for oral health, lack of adequate funding, inadequate dental student training, obstacles to medical and dental research, and poor databases. There are very few effective public prevention and oral health promotion programs in the AMER. Universal health coverage is not achievable without scientific research on the effectiveness of health promotion interventions. © International & American Associations for Dental Research 2015.

  12. Paleoproterozoic (ca. 1.8 Ga) arc magmatism in the Lützow-Holm Complex, East Antarctica: Implications for crustal growth and terrane assembly in erstwhile Gondwana fragments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takahashi, Kazuki; Tsunogae, Toshiaki; Santosh, M.; Takamura, Yusuke; Tsutsumi, Yukiyasu

    2018-05-01

    The Lützow-Holm Complex (LHC) of East Antarctica forms a part of the latest Neoproterozoic-Cambrian high-grade metamorphic segment of the East African-Antarctic Orogen. Here we present new petrological, geochemical, and zircon U-Pb geochronological data on meta-igneous rocks from four localities (Austhovde, Telen, Skallevikshalsen, and Skallen) in the LHC, and evaluate the regional Paleoproterozoic (ca. 1.8 Ga) arc magmatism in this terrane for the first time. The geochemical features reveal a volcanic-arc affinity for most of the meta-igneous rocks from Austhovde and Telen, suggesting that the protoliths of these rocks were derived from felsic to mafic arc magmatic rocks. The protoliths of two mafic granulites from Austhovde are inferred as non-volcanic-arc basalt such as E-MORB, suggesting the accretion of remnant oceanic lithosphere together with the volcanic-arc components during the subduction-collision events. The weighted mean 206Pb/238U ages of the dominant population of magmatic zircons in felsic orthogneisses from Austhovde and Telen show 1819 ± 19 Ma and 1830 ± 10 Ma, respectively, corresponding to Paleoproterozoic magmatic event. The magmatic zircons in orthogneisses from other two localities yield upper intercept ages of 1837 ± 54 Ma (Skallevikshalsen), and 1856 ± 37 Ma and 1854 ± 45 Ma (Skallen), which also support Paleoproterozoic magmatism. The earlier thermal events during Neoarchean to Early Paleoproterozoic are also traced by 206Pb/238U ages of xenocrystic zircons in the felsic orthogneisses from Austhovde (2517 ± 17 Ma and 2495 ± 15 Ma) and Telen (2126 ± 16 Ma), suggesting partial reworking of the basement of a 2.5 Ga microcontinent during ca. 1.8 Ga continental-arc magmatism. The timing of peak metamorphism is inferred to be in the range of 645.6 ± 10.4 to 521.4 ± 12.0 Ma based on 206Pb/238U weighted mean ages of metamorphic zircon grains. The results of this study, together with the available magmatic ages as well as geophysical and

  13. Poverty and soil conservation efforts among smallholder farmers in the central highlands of Ethiopia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C Yirga

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available This study explores the influence of incidence of poverty and plot-level perception of soil degradation, on soil conservation behaviour of small subsistence farmers in the central highlands of Ethiopia. The study results confirm that poverty in assets significantly reduces the probability of soil-conservation efforts as measured by use of stone/soil bund structures in the highlands of Ethiopia. Perception of soil degradation, public assistance with sharing initial costs of constructing soil-conservation structures, improved security of land tenure and farmers’ education and access to information on soil degradation are essential for farmers making long-term investment in conserving soil resources. On the other hand, improved access to short-term credit for the purchase of inorganic fertilizers acts as a disincentive for long-term conservation practices, an important trade-off with serious policy implications that should be carefully evaluated.

  14. Plio-Pleistocene aardvarks (Mammalia, Tubulidentata from East Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Lehmann

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available The Tubulidentata are unique among mammals for being the only order represented nowadays by a single living species, Orycteropus afer: the aardvark. Nevertheless, it is one of the least studied mammalian orders. Aardvarks are currently distributed all over sub-Saharan Africa, but the fossil record extends their spatial range to Europe and Asia. The earliest known Tubulidentata are ca. 20 million years old. About 14 species and three to four genera have been recognised so far, but since the late Pliocene, aardvarks have only been represented by a single genus and are restricted to Africa. The extant aardvark is the only species of Tubulidentata with a large distribution area, i.e. the African continent. There are three known Plio-Pleistocene African species of aardvark: Orycteropus afer (Pallas, 1766, O. crassidens MacInnes, 1956, and O. djourabensis Lehmann et al., 2004. Fossils of these species have been discovered in North-Africa, Kenya, and Chad respectively. The present study is focused on the aardvark material found in the Plio-Pleistocene of East Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya. New specimens from Asa Issie (Ethiopia and East Turkana (Kenya are described, and published ones are re-examined in the light of the latest discoveries. This study demonstrates that Kenyan specimens identified as O. crassidens are in fact representatives of the Chadian O. djourabensis. Moreover, additional material from Ethiopia and Kenya shows a close relationship with the latter species too. The presence of specimens of O. djourabensis in Chad and in Kenya during the Plio-Pleistocene implies that this taxon is the oldest-known species of aardvark to have experienced a continental dispersal. It also shows that Tubulidentates were able to cross Africa from east-west during Plio-Pleistocene times, despite the presence of the Rift Valley. It is however not possible to infer the centre of origin of O. djourabensis. Finally, this study suggests that two species of aardvark

  15. 76 FR 80424 - Highland Capital Management, L.P., et al.; Notice of Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-23

    ... Portfolio Securities as a result of the rebalancing of an Underlying Index. A tradable round lot will be the... Highland Senior Loan Portfolio, (``Initial Fund'') whose performance will correspond generally to the price... a portfolio of securities (``Portfolio Securities'') selected to correspond generally to the price...

  16. Differential decay of the East-African Antarctic Orogen : an integrated examination of Northeastern Mozambique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ueda, K.; Jacobs, J.; Emmel, B.; Thomas, R. J.; Matola, R.

    2009-04-01

    In Northeastern Mozambique, the late Proterozoic - early Paleozoic East African-Antarctic Orogen can be subdivided into two major blocks that exhibit some relevant differences. The line of divide is represented by the Lurio Belt, a kinematically poorly constrained shear zone that also marks the conceptual northern limit of frequent late-tectonic granitoid intrusions. Moreover, far-travelled granulite-facies nappes cover a much larger area north of this belt (Viola et. al, 2008), giving rise to the assumption of different exhumation and present exposure levels. U/Pb data from previous surveys (e.g., Norconsult consortium, 2007) show coeval high-grade metamorphism in the whole region between c. 610 - 550 Ma, while the block south of the Lurio Belt also shows continuing metamorphism until c. 490 Ma that can be related to extension. Geothermobarometry for samples from within the Lurio Belt (Engvik et. al, 2007) indicates rapid exhumation after high-pressure granulite facies metamorphism and is consistant with the assumption of long tectonic activity. A possible model for the outlined pattern is the delamination of the orogenic root only in the southern part, followed by rapid mechanical thinning as well as by isostatic accommodation along the Lurio Belt. A valuable marker was identified in the metasedimentary Mecuburi group that overlies the southern basement. U/Pb analysis of detrital zircons have yielded a maximum deposition age of c. 600 Ma, while metamorphism is recorded until c. 505 Ma. Investigations of the relationship between metasediments and older basement show that the basal contact is a fairly preserved depositional contact, allowing to suppose a conjoint post-depositional evolution. It is notable that the timing of deposition shortly follows the onset of the main, widespread high-grade metamorphism. Relatively high but variable degrees of migmatisation in the Mecuburi Group require a phase of burial from surface to deep levels after 600 Ma, followed by

  17. Security Threats Emerging from the Middle East and North Africa

    OpenAIRE

    Çınar, Bekir

    2015-01-01

    The main security threats affecting the Middle East and North African (MENA) region arise from energy insecurity, immigration and terrorism. These threats would remain if authorities and other stake holders do not address the root causes of the problems, which are artificial national borders, authoritarian regimes and lack of pluralist education. This paper suggests that lifting state borders and setting up regional economic communities such as the EU may ease conflicts in the region which ca...

  18. Oral Health Inequalities between Rural and Urban Populations of the African and Middle East Region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogunbodede, E O; Kida, I A; Madjapa, H S; Amedari, M; Ehizele, A; Mutave, R; Sodipo, B; Temilola, S; Okoye, L

    2015-07-01

    Although there have been major improvements in oral health, with remarkable advances in the prevention and management of oral diseases, globally, inequalities persist between urban and rural communities. These inequalities exist in the distribution of oral health services, accessibility, utilization, treatment outcomes, oral health knowledge and practices, health insurance coverage, oral health-related quality of life, and prevalence of oral diseases, among others. People living in rural areas are likely to be poorer, be less health literate, have more caries, have fewer teeth, have no health insurance coverage, and have less money to spend on dental care than persons living in urban areas. Rural areas are often associated with lower education levels, which in turn have been found to be related to lower levels of health literacy and poor use of health care services. These factors have an impact on oral health care, service delivery, and research. Hence, unmet dental care remains one of the most urgent health care needs in these communities. We highlight some of the conceptual issues relating to urban-rural inequalities in oral health, especially in the African and Middle East Region (AMER). Actions to reduce oral health inequalities and ameliorate rural-urban disparity are necessary both within the health sector and the wider policy environment. Recommended actions include population-specific oral health promotion programs, measures aimed at increasing access to oral health services in rural areas, integration of oral health into existing primary health care services, and support for research aimed at informing policy on the social determinants of health. Concerted efforts must be made by all stakeholders (governments, health care workforce, organizations, and communities) to reduce disparities and improve oral health outcomes in underserved populations. © International & American Associations for Dental Research 2015.

  19. International trends in health science librarianship part 14: East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gathoni, Nasra; Kamau, Nancy; Nannozi, Judith; Singirankabo, Marcel

    2015-06-01

    This is the 14th in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship in the 21st century. This is the second of four articles pertaining to different regions in the African continent. The present issue focuses on countries in East Africa (Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda). The next feature column will investigate trends in West Africa. JM. © 2015 Health Libraries Group.

  20. Glucose intolerance associated with hypoxia in people living at high altitudes in the Tibetan highland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okumiya, Kiyohito; Sakamoto, Ryota; Ishimoto, Yasuko; Kimura, Yumi; Fukutomi, Eriko; Ishikawa, Motonao; Suwa, Kuniaki; Imai, Hissei; Chen, Wenling; Kato, Emiko; Nakatsuka, Masahiro; Kasahara, Yoriko; Fujisawa, Michiko; Wada, Taizo; Wang, Hongxin; Dai, Qingxiang; Xu, Huining; Qiao, Haisheng; Ge, Ri-Li; Norboo, Tsering; Tsering, Norboo; Kosaka, Yasuyuki; Nose, Mitsuhiro; Yamaguchi, Takayoshi; Tsukihara, Toshihiro; Ando, Kazuo; Inamura, Tetsuya; Takeda, Shinya; Ishine, Masayuki; Otsuka, Kuniaki; Matsubayashi, Kozo

    2016-02-23

    To clarify the association between glucose intolerance and high altitudes (2900-4800 m) in a hypoxic environment in Tibetan highlanders and to verify the hypothesis that high altitude dwelling increases vulnerability to diabetes mellitus (DM) accelerated by lifestyle change or ageing. Cross-sectional epidemiological study on Tibetan highlanders. We enrolled 1258 participants aged 40-87 years. The rural population comprised farmers in Domkhar (altitude 2900-3800 m) and nomads in Haiyan (3000-3100 m), Ryuho (4400 m) and Changthang (4300-4800 m). Urban area participants were from Leh (3300 m) and Jiegu (3700 m). Participants were classified into six glucose tolerance-based groups: DM, intermediate hyperglycaemia (IHG), normoglycaemia (NG), fasting DM, fasting IHG and fasting NG. Prevalence of glucose intolerance was compared in farmers, nomads and urban dwellers. Effects of dwelling at high altitude or hypoxia on glucose intolerance were analysed with the confounding factors of age, sex, obesity, lipids, haemoglobin, hypertension and lifestyle, using multiple logistic regression. The prevalence of DM (fasting DM)/IHG (fasting IHG) was 8.9% (6.5%)/25.1% (12.7%), respectively, in all participants. This prevalence was higher in urban dwellers (9.5% (7.1%)/28.5% (11.7%)) and in farmers (8.5% (6.1%)/28.5% (18.3%)) compared with nomads (8.2% (5.7%)/15.7% (9.7%)) (p=0.0140/0.0001). Dwelling at high altitude was significantly associated with fasting IHG+fasting DM/fasting DM (ORs for >4500 and 3500-4499 m were 3.59/4.36 and 2.07/1.76 vs intolerance. Socioeconomic factors, hypoxaemia and the effects of altitudes >3500 m play a major role in the high prevalence of glucose intolerance in highlanders. Tibetan highlanders may be vulnerable to glucose intolerance, with polycythaemia as a sign of poor hypoxic adaptation, accelerated by lifestyle change and ageing. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please