Hasil untuk "History of Africa"

T. Murray, C. Sibley, Baird Amar Moolayil et al.

A. Alderson, A. Hoogvelt

J. Coetzer, R. Tustin

Iván Vicente Moreno Cencerrado, Arnau Padrés Masdemont, Anton Gonzalvez Hawthorne et al.

Do large language models (LLMs) anticipate when they will answer correctly? To study this, we extract activations after a question is read but before any tokens are generated, and train linear probes to predict whether the model's forthcoming answer will be correct. Across three open-source model families ranging from 7 to 70 billion parameters, projections on this "in-advance correctness direction" trained on generic trivia questions predict success in distribution and on diverse out-of-distribution knowledge datasets, indicating a deeper signal than dataset-specific spurious features, and outperforming black-box baselines and verbalised predicted confidence. Predictive power saturates in intermediate layers and, notably, generalisation falters on questions requiring mathematical reasoning. Moreover, for models responding "I don't know", doing so strongly correlates with the probe score, indicating that the same direction also captures confidence. By complementing previous results on truthfulness and other behaviours obtained with probes and sparse auto-encoders, our work contributes essential findings to elucidate LLM internals.

AbdelRahim Elmadany, Sang Yun Kwon, Hawau Olamide Toyin et al.

Africa's rich linguistic diversity remains significantly underrepresented in speech technologies, creating barriers to digital inclusion. To alleviate this challenge, we systematically map the continent's speech space of datasets and technologies, leading to a new comprehensive benchmark SimbaBench for downstream African speech tasks. Using SimbaBench, we introduce the Simba family of models, achieving state-of-the-art performance across multiple African languages and speech tasks. Our benchmark analysis reveals critical patterns in resource availability, while our model evaluation demonstrates how dataset quality, domain diversity, and language family relationships influence performance across languages. Our work highlights the need for expanded speech technology resources that better reflect Africa's linguistic diversity and provides a solid foundation for future research and development efforts toward more inclusive speech technologies.

Manitza Kotzé

Providence can be described as God’s ongoing and enduring relationship to creation, through which God preserves, guides and governs all that exists. Accordingly, it is one of the most personal doctrines through which Christians affirm that God not only remains present and involved in God’s creation but also in our own lives. In this article, I examine the doctrine of providence in the South African theological landscape prior to 1994. To start with (first section), I briefly look at the way in which some of the most influential doctrines of providence have been developed throughout history. Thereafter (second section), I then turn specifically to the South African context and the reception of the doctrine of providence in South African theologies prior to 1994. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The Reformed theology of the Cape colony of the late 1600s and onwards, as well as the later belief of the ‘Volk’ as a category with supernatural meaning through the doctrine of providence that developed in the 1900s, is examined in the third section, as well as different South African responses to these notions. In the conclusion, I turn to the importance and relevance of providence for doing theology in present-day South Africa.

Mariano Bonanno

Entre la multiplicidad de castigos en la Duat, la situación de los que aparecen en posición invertida tanto en los textos como en las representaciones es una de las más llamativas por cuanto no tiene un correlato con la realidad, como sí lo tienen la decapitación, la incineración de cuerpos o la inmovilización por sujeción. La variedad de castigos es amplia, pero por su característica, por las reiteradas menciones en los textos y por la diversidad de explicaciones que se han ensayado al respecto, la situación de estos sxd.w es particularmente interesante. Lo que este estudio se propone, además de un recorrido por los diferentes contextos funerarios en que se los cita, es explicar su significación para entender por qué era uno de los castigos más temidos por los condenados.

Federica Botta, Matteo Calafà, Pasquale C. Africa et al.

This work aims at presenting a Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) formulation employing a spectral basis for two important models employed in cardiac electrophysiology, namely the monodomain and bidomain models. The use of DG methods is motivated by the characteristic of the mathematical solution of such equations which often corresponds to a highly steep wavefront. Hence, the built-in flexibility of discontinuous methods in developing adaptive approaches, combined with the high-order accuracy, can well represent the underlying physics. The choice of a semi-implicit time integration allows for a fast solution at each time step. The article includes some numerical tests to verify the convergence properties and the physiological behaviour of the numerical solution. Also, a pseudo-realistic simulation turns out to fully reconstruct the propagation of the electric potential, comprising the phases of depolarization and repolarization, by overcoming the typical issues related to the steepness of the wave front.

Donald C. Chang

Science is about facts and truth. Yet sometimes the truth and facts are not obvious. For example, in the field of MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), there has been a long-lasting debate about who were the major contributors in its development. Particularly, there was a strong dispute between the followers of two scientists, R. Damadian and P. Lauterbur. In this review, we carefully trace the major developments in applying NMR for cancer detection starting almost 50 years ago. The research records show that the truth was beyond the claims of either research camps. The development of NMR for cancer detection involved multiple research groups, who made critical contributions at different junctures.

Kinyua Gikunda

This paper explores the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of sustainable agricultural development across diverse regions in Africa. Delving into opportunities, challenges, and impact, the study navigates through the dynamic landscape of AI applications in agriculture. Opportunities such as precision farming, crop monitoring, and climate-resilient practices are examined, alongside challenges related to technological infrastructure, data accessibility, and skill gaps. The article analyzes the impact of AI on smallholder farmers, supply chains, and inclusive growth. Ethical considerations and policy implications are also discussed, offering insights into responsible AI integration. By providing a nuanced understanding, this paper contributes to the ongoing discourse on leveraging AI for fostering sustainability in African agriculture.

Giovanni Viglietta

In the theoretical study of distributed communication networks, "history trees" are a discrete structure that naturally models the concept that anonymous agents become distinguishable upon receiving different sets of messages from neighboring agents. By conveniently organizing temporal information in a systematic manner, history trees have been instrumental in the development of optimal deterministic algorithms for networks that are both anonymous and dynamically evolving. This note provides an accessible introduction to history trees, drawing comparisons with more traditional structures found in existing literature and reviewing the latest advancements in the applications of history trees, especially within dynamic networks. Furthermore, it expands the theoretical framework of history trees in new directions, also highlighting several open problems for further investigation.

Bune GT

Girma Tenkolu Bune1,2 1School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Science, Dilla University, Dilla Town, SNNPR, Ethiopia; 2Departiment of Public Health, Rift Valley University, Hawassa Town, Sidama Regional State, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Girma Tenkolu Bune, Email girmatbune@gmail.com; girmatenkolu1973@gmail.comBackground: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), a chronic condition leading to glucose intolerance during pregnancy, is common in low- and middle-income countries, posing health risks to both the mother and fetus. Limited studies have been done in Ethiopia, especially using WHO’s 2013 universal screening criteria. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the risk factors linked to GDM in women attending antenatal (ANC) clinics in Hawassa town public health institutions, located in the Sidama regional state of Ethiopia.Methods: An Unmatched case-control study was carried out in Ethiopia’s Sidama Region from April 1st to June 10th, 2023, involving 510 pregnant women. The Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) was utilized for universal screening and diagnosing GDM based on the updated 2013 WHO diagnostic criteria. Data analysis included descriptive and analytical statistics, with variables having p-values below 0.1 deemed suitable for bivariate analysis. Statistical significance was assessed using the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval and a p-value < 0.05.Results: The study involved 633 participants (255 cases and 378 controls), resulting in a 100% response rate, with women having an average age of 29.03 years.Variables such as: age at first conception (AOR=0.97, P=0.01, 95% CI (0.95,0.99)), urban residency (AOR=1.66, P< 0.01, 95% CI(01.14,2.40)), widowed marital status (AOR=0.30, P=0.02, 95% CI (0.30,0.90)), parity (AOR=1.10, P< 0.01, 95% CI (1.03,1.17)), history of stillbirth (AOR=1.15, P=0.03, 95% CI(1.04,2.30)), and previous cesarean section (AOR=1.86, P=0.01, 95% CI (1.13,2.66)) were identified as independent factors associated with GDM.Conclusion: The study concluded that factors like age at first conception, place of residence, marital status, parity, history of Caesarian section, and stillbirth were independently associated with GDM. Surprisingly, upper arm circumference (MUAC), a proxy for pre-gestational BMI, was not identified as a risk factor for GDM. It is recommended that healthcare providers conduct comprehensive GDM risk assessments in pregnant women to identify and address risk factors, and propose specific screening and intervention strategies.Keywords: women, WHO, pregnancy, diabetes, DM, factors, screening, OGTT, glucose, SSA, Sub-Saharan Africa, SSA, Ethiopia, Sidama, Hawassa

Okoli Al Chukwuma

A new wave of geopolitical transformation is sweeping across the world, and Africa is not exempt from its dynamics. The evolving global geopolitical order is characterized by the realignments and counter-alignments of ties and interests at the multilateral and minilateral levels, with far-reaching consequences for nations. The study analyzes African sovereignty in the context of the geopolitical dynamics of the continent. Using the Sahel as a case study and secondary sources, the author identifies and substantiates the implications of the new geopolitical situation on the continent in terms of state sovereignty. Using a broad conceptual framework, the author views African sovereignty as the ability of the continent’s states to control their political, economic, military, and cultural destinies in the transition to multipolarity. Emphasizing the growing influence of China and Russia, as opposed to the countervailing influence of the United States, the author argues that the geopolitical struggle of the great powers in Africa is primarily driven by their geostrategic interests. Under the current balance of power and conditions, the countries of the continent can win or lose depending on how strategically active they are in terms of functional diplomatic relations with extra-regional geopolitical leaders. The article argues that such engagement should be pragmatic enough to advance the interests of Africa and all stakeholders on the basis of mutual respect and functional interdependence. Otherwise, Africa’s agency and self-determination are doomed to be objectified again, similar to the pre-colonial “scramble” for Africa.

N. McQuarrie, J. Stock, C. Verdel et al.

P. Matte

W. Cates, T. Farley, P. Rowe

P. Skoglund, I. Mathieson

The first decade of ancient genomics has revolutionized the study of human prehistory and evolution. We review new insights based on prehistoric modern human genomes, including greatly increased resolution of the timing and structure of the out-of-Africa expansion, the diversification of present-day non-African populations, and the earliest expansions of those populations into Eurasia and America. Prehistoric genomes now document population transformations on every inhabited continent-in particular the effect of agricultural expansions in Africa, Europe, and Oceania-and record a history of natural selection that shapes present-day phenotypic diversity. Despite these advances, much remains unknown, in particular about the genomic histories of Asia (the most populous continent) and Africa (the continent that contains the most genetic diversity). Ancient genomes from these and other regions, integrated with a growing understanding of the genomic basis of human phenotypic diversity, will be in focus during the next decade of research in the field.

Pasquale Claudio Africa, Ivan Fumagalli, Michele Bucelli et al.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is an important tool for the simulation of the cardiovascular function and dysfunction. Due to the complexity of the anatomy, the transitional regime of blood flow in the heart, and the strong mutual influence between the flow and the physical processes involved in the heart function, the development of accurate and efficient CFD solvers for cardiovascular flows is still a challenging task. In this paper we present lifex-cfd, an open-source CFD solver for cardiovascular simulations based on the lifex finite element library, written in modern C++ and exploiting distributed memory parallelism. We model blood flow in both physiological and pathological conditions via the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations, accounting for moving cardiac valves, moving domains, and transition-to-turbulence regimes. In this paper, we provide an overview of the underlying mathematical formulation, numerical discretization, implementation details and examples on how to use lifex-cfd. We verify the code through rigorous convergence analyses, and we show its almost ideal parallel speedup. We demonstrate the accuracy and reliability of the numerical methods implemented through a series of idealized and patient-specific vascular and cardiac simulations, in different physiological flow regimes. The lifex-cfd source code is available under the LGPLv3 license, to ensure its accessibility and transparency to the scientific community, and to facilitate collaboration and further developments.

Creeshen P. Muddapah, Lize Weich

Background: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a major public health concern in South Africa (SA). Abrupt cessation or reduction of alcohol intake in chronic users can result in withdrawal symptoms. Benzodiazepines are the treatment of choice but need to be used cautiously in patients with a lifetime history of substance abuse given their highly addictive potential. Symptom-triggered prescription of benzodiazepines during alcohol withdrawal using the Revised Clinical Institute Withdrawal for Alcohol Scale (CIWA-Ar) has been associated with improved safety and reduced benzodiazepines use. Aim: To investigate if implementation of the CIWA-Ar during alcohol detoxification impacted the dose of benzodiazepines used and withdrawal-related outcomes. Setting: Alcohol rehabilitation unit (ARU) at Stikland Psychiatric Hospital. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 135 admissions over a six-month period comparing two groups: before (2015) and after (2017) the implementation of the CIWA-Ar. Results: The study noted no differences in sociodemographic and alcohol-associated variables between the two groups, and there were no recorded complications in either group. The 2017 group had a lower percentage of patients that required benzodiazepines (33.8% vs. 51.4%, p = 0.04) and a lower median total amount of benzodiazepines used during alcohol withdrawal (0 mg vs. 5 mg, p = 0.01). Conclusions: The CIWA-Ar rating scale was an effective alternative to prescribing benzodiazepines pro re nata and decreased the total dose of benzodiazepines used during alcohol withdrawal. Contribution: The use of a symptom triggered regime, like the CIWA-Ar rating scale, during withdrawal can be implemented safely in a SA treatment setting for patients with low-risk AUD.

Niels C. M. Martens, Miguel Ángel Carretero Sahuquillo, Erhard Scholz et al.

Editorial of a special issue on dark matter & modified gravity, distributed across the journals Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics and Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. Published version of the open access editorial (in SHPS) available here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsa.2021.08.015. The six papers are collected here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/studies-in-history-and-philosophy-of-science-part-b-studies-in-history-and-philosophy-of-modern-physics/special-issue/10CR71RJLWM.