Phyllis Nabangi, Abdul-Jalil Zakaria, Jema David Ndibwile
The rise of digital technology has dramatically increased the potential for cyberbullying and online abuse, necessitating enhanced measures for detection and prevention, especially among children. This study focuses on detecting abusive obfuscated language in Swahili, a low-resource language that poses unique challenges due to its limited linguistic resources and technological support. Swahili is chosen due to its popularity and being the most widely spoken language in Africa, with over 16 million native speakers and upwards of 100 million speakers in total, spanning regions in East Africa and some parts of the Middle East. We employed machine learning models including Support Vector Machines (SVM), Logistic Regression, and Decision Trees, optimized through rigorous parameter tuning and techniques like Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique (SMOTE) to handle data imbalance. Our analysis revealed that, while these models perform well in high-dimensional textual data, our dataset's small size and imbalance limit our findings' generalizability. Precision, recall, and F1 scores were thoroughly analyzed, highlighting the nuanced performance of each model in detecting obfuscated language. This research contributes to the broader discourse on ensuring safer online environments for children, advocating for expanded datasets and advanced machine-learning techniques to improve the effectiveness of cyberbullying detection systems. Future work will focus on enhancing data robustness, exploring transfer learning, and integrating multimodal data to create more comprehensive and culturally sensitive detection mechanisms.
We present a method for analyzing general time series by employing the history state formalism of quantum mechanics. This formalism allows us to describe a complete evolution based on a single quantum state, the history state, which simultaneously includes -also as a quantum system- the reference clock. It naturally leads to the concept of system-time entanglement, with the ensuing entanglement entropy constituting a measure of the effective number of distinguishable states visited in the history. Through a quantum coherent state embedding of the time series data, it is then possible to associate a quantum history state to the series. The gaussian overlap between these coherent states provides thus a smooth measure of distinguishability between the series data. The eigenvalues of the corresponding overlap matrix determine in fact the entanglement spectrum and entropy of the history state, which provide a rigorous characterization of the evolution. As illustration, the formalism is applied to typical financial time-series data. Through the entanglement entropy and spectrum, different evolution regimes can be identified. Entanglement based volatility indicators are also derived, and compared with standard volatility measures.
Gabbroic and poikilitic shergottites are intrusive igneous rocks on Mars, providing significant insights into the igneous processes within the Martian crust. However, questions remain regarding the chemical signatures of their source reservoirs and the petrogenetic links among shergottites of different subtypes. In this study, we present petrological and mineralogical analyses of the intermediate shergottite Northwest Africa (NWA) 12241. Quantitative textural analysis and pyroxene chemistry indicate that, despite minor differences such as the accumulation of intermediate-sized olivine and smaller pyroxene oikocrysts, NWA 12241 has experienced a similar emplacement history as typical poikilitic and gabbroic shergottites. The estimated parent melt of NWA 12241 is consistent with derivation from an intermediate source reservoir, resulting from the mixing of enriched and depleted mantle end-members at depth, prior to magma ascent. Similar emplacement histories of variable poikilitic and gabbroic shergottites suggest the common presence of multiple staging magma chambers with different compositions at the crust–mantle boundary, coupled with prolonged ponding at this depth. Our study highlights that, in addition to magma mixing and assimilation, magmatic differentiation and cooling conditions at shallow depths are crucial processes leading to textural and compositional variations among shergottites of different subtypes.
Mohamed Dhia Eddine Hammami, Delphine Madur, Zayneb Kthiri
et al.
Based on history, maize was first introduced into Tunisia and northern Africa, at large, from the south of Spain. Several subsequent introductions were made from diverse origins, generating new landraces by recombination and selection for adaptation to arid environments. This study aimed to investigate the phylogenetic relationships among Tunisian maize landraces with possible sources of introduction from neighboring countries. Ten Tunisian landraces were genotyped with 23656SNPs along with a panel of diversity of 171 landraces originating from Algeria, Europe, and America. The Tunisian maize landraces were very diverse and distinct from those from neighboring countries, and they were classified into three main clusters that could be the basis for investigating heterotic groups. The phylogenetic relationships among Tunisian and other landraces from neighboring countries supported the hypothesis of a first introduction from the south of Spain and subsequent introductions from other countries. These germplasm groups could be the basis for studying heterotic patterns and sample maize germplasm from Tunisia and North Africa in general. The Tunisian maize germplasm could be a basis for identifying sources of favorable alleles to improve tolerance to abiotic stresses.
This paper presents new empirical evidence from four emerging economies on the relationship between educational assortative mating and household income inequality. Using a methodological approach that allows for studying marital sorting patterns without imposing restrictive assumptions about search frictions, the study finds that people in Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, and South Africa tend to sort into internally homogeneous marriages based on education level. While educational sorting has a noticeable impact on household income inequality in any given year, changes in the degree of sorting over time barely have any impact on inequality. Further analysis reveals that this counterintuitive result is due to different dynamics within educational groups. The inequality-decreasing impact from reduced sorting among the highly educated is almost entirely offset by the inequality-increasing impact from increased sorting among the least educated. While it is certainly reassuring that concerns about educational assortative mating having a potentially large effect on income disparities between households appear to be unwarranted, these findings suggest another concerning narrative. Marginalization processes are occurring at low levels of the educational distribution. The least educated are being left behind, facing limited labor market opportunities and diminished chances of achieving upward socioeconomic mobility through marriage to more educated partners.
This article discusses the charitable medical activities of the African Hungarian Union (AHU) – a Hungarian not-for-profit organization – in Africa and highlights one of the Ear-Nose-Throat (ENT) missions to Malawi. This paper also reviews food security issues in correlation with health and features the mission’s anaesthetic procedures in details. As an aim, it also tries to draw attention to the positive effects of such medical operations.
AHU was established in 2006. Since 2009 the organisation has coordinated XXIV doctors’ missions to different African countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mali, Madagascar, Guinea, Uganda and Malawi. These missions were sponsored mainly by AHU and its individual sponsors and companies, as well as the participating doctors, who sometimes devoted not only their precious time but fundraised money to contribute to the budget. The XIX mission was one of the seven special surgical missions. Out of all the recipient countries—due to mainly logistical reasons from AHU’s side—only Malawi ended up in the fortunate situation to host surgical missions. This Medical Mission focused on Ear-Nose-Throat (ENT) surgeries, and general health care. The four Hungarian doctors, together with the local medical staff, performed 35 ENT operations in two operating theatres in two weeks. No postoperative Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission was needed among the patients. Neither surgical nor anaesthesiologic complications occurred during the perioperative period, resulting in an overall very successful medical mission.
One of the contended issues in Pentecostal studies is the exclusion or inclusion of African Independent Churches (AICs) as part of the Pentecostal tradition. This article resuscitates this old debate by looking specifically into the inclusion or exclusion of Zionist AICs in the Pentecostal tradition to make a theological contribution. This will be achieved by briefly discussing the Zionist AICs in the South African context. The various factors that contribute to who or what qualifies to be Pentecostal will be discussed by conceptualising Pentecostal identity. In other words, the research question to be answered is on top of which mountain do we stand to include or exclude Zionist AICs in the Pentecostal tradition? Therefore, this article will discuss the theological criteria used to include the Zionist AICs in Pentecostalism. Similarly, the theological criteria for the exclusion of the Zionist AICs will be discussed in detail. The aim and objective of this article are to attempt to answer the question are Zionist AICs Pentecostal? This will have implications for the study of Pentecostal theology in the South African context. Data was collected by reviewing and analysing literature on the AICs and their relationship with the Pentecostal tradition within a theological framework.
A long history of extractive industries and activities have shaped the societies of northern Mozambique, and the Cabo Delgado province in particular. For centuries, the growing international demand on local resources had a great impact on the northern micro-societies. The demand for cheap labour and natural resources, ranging from ivory and cotton, to timber, rubies, land, gas and more, involved thousands of local actors in its extraction, reproducing systems of local power. The persistence of poverty, inequality and conflicts, as well as simmering and sometimes grand-scale violence, fits into a long-term trend of extractivism. Through a historical approach and field observations, we focus on the political economy of extracting natural resources. We point out the persisting basic patterns of extractivism that accompanied Mozambique's integration into global markets, and continued or even deepened, in the post-independence period. These activities are oriented towards foreign markets. They are instigated by foreign investment, but invariably carried out in collaboration with a chain of national gatekeepers. In a clientelist system, local elites resort to their proximity to the state to reproduce their power, often at the expense of state expropriation. Weak state institutions have the functional effect of reproducing the elites, also serving the interests of extractivist capital. It is, however, a system with many and profound contradictions, producing conflict and violence, which also recurrently put those interests at risk.
Algebraic quantum field theory (AQFT) puts forward three "causal axioms" that aim to characterize the theory as one that implements relativistic causation: the spectrum condition, microcausality, and primitive causality. In this paper, I aim to show, in a minimally technical way, that none of them fully explains the notion of causation appropriate for AQFT because they only capture some of the desiderata for relativistic causation I state or because it is often unclear how each axiom implements its respective desideratum. After this diagnostic, I will show that a fourth condition, local primitive causality (LPC), fully characterizes relativistic causation in the sense of fulfilling all the relevant desiderata. However, it only encompasses the virtues of the other axioms because it is implied by them, as I will show from a construction by Haag and Schroer (1962). Since the conjunction of the three causal axioms implies LPC and other important results in QFT that LPC does not imply, and since LPC helps clarify some of the shortcomings of the three axioms, I advocate for a holistic interpretation of how the axioms characterize the causal structure of AQFT against the strategy in the literature to rivalize the axioms and privilege one among them.
Extended reality can weave together the fabric of the past, present, and future. A two-day design hackathon was held to bring the community together through a love for history and a common goal to use technology for good. Through interviewing an influential community elder, Emile Pitre, and referencing his book Revolution to Evolution, my team developed an augmented reality artifact to tell his story and preserve on revolutionary's legacy that impacted the University of Washington's history forever.
Tchadine Djaogol, Lauren Périères, Fabienne Marcellin
et al.
Abstract Background Although mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is prevalent in West Africa, epidemiological data on HBV infection in women remain scarce. We studied i) hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) prevalence and its correlates, ii) HBV screening history and serological status awareness, iii) MTCT risk and treatment needs in Senegalese women. Methods A cross-sectional population-based serosurvey for HBsAg positivity was conducted in 2018–2019 in the rural area of Niakhar (Fatick region, Senegal). Participants were offered home-based HBV screening and answered face-to-face questionnaires. HBsAg-positive participants underwent clinical and biological assessments. Data were weighted and calibrated to be representative of the area’s population. Logistic regression models helped identify factors associated with HBsAg-positivity in adult women (> 15 years old). Results HBsAg prevalence in adult women was 9.2% [95% confidence interval: 7.0–11.4]. Factors associated with HBsAg-positivity were being 15–49 years old (ref: ≥ 50), living in a household with > 2 other HBsAg-positive members, and knowing someone with liver disease. Only 1.6% of women had already been tested for HBV; no one who tested HBsAg positive was already aware of their serological status. In women 15–49 years old, 5% risked MTCT and none were eligible for long-term antiviral treatment. Conclusions Adult women have a high HBsAg prevalence but a low MTCT risk. Low rates of HBV screening and serological status awareness argue for the adoption of systematic screening during pregnancy using free and rapid diagnostic tests. Additionally, screening household members of HBsAg-positive women may greatly improve the cascade of care in rural Senegal. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT03215732.
Leila Malekyan, Hadi Khoshab, Mohammad Ghazanfarabadi
et al.
Background: Incivility behaviors in work environments are a serious threat and lead to shame and endanger the health of nurses and patients. Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate nurses' viewpoints on Incivility behaviors in clinical setting in Bam University of Medical Sciences. Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study was done on 221 nurses working in Pasteur Hospital in Bam. Data were collected through a demographic questionnaire and Nursing Incivility Scale by census sampling after obtaining the consent of the participants. Data were analyzed by SPSS 19 software using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Bonferroni post hoc and Spearman correlation tests with 95% confidence interval. Result: The results of this study showed that the mean score of uncivil behavior among nurses was 85.99 ± 27.26. The most uncivil behaviors in nurses were related to interaction with patients and visitors (20.79 ± 8.01), and the lowest uncivil behavior was related to interaction with supervisors (13.46 ± 6.29). Results indicated that nurses experience moderate levels of Incivility. Conclusion: Religious differences as one of the determinants of the occurrence of Incivility can lead to job pressures and job dissatisfaction. Therefore, specific attention should be paid to the factors that lead to the emergence of uncivil behavior in nurses' work environment. With training of religiosity, the strengthening of religious beliefs and religious conciliatory, it is possible to reduce the incidence of uncivil behaviors.
Webinar series co-hosted by the History Department, University of the Free State, and the Southern Journal for Contemporary History, with speaker Prof Thula Simpson from the University of Pretoria. His earlier research focused on the ANC's liberation struggle, and his first book, Umkhonto we Sizwe: The ANC's Armed Struggle, was published by Penguin Random House in 2016.
Cássia Bitencourt, Nicolai M. Nürk, Alessandro Rapini
et al.
Apocynaceae (the dogbane and milkweed family) is one of the ten largest flowering plant families, with approximately 5,350 species and diverse morphology and ecology, ranging from large trees and lianas that are emblematic of tropical rainforests, to herbs in temperate grasslands, to succulents in dry, open landscapes, and to vines in a wide variety of habitats. Despite a specialized and conservative basic floral architecture, Apocynaceae are hyperdiverse in flower size, corolla shape, and especially derived floral morphological features. These are mainly associated with the development of corolline and/or staminal coronas and a spectrum of integration of floral structures culminating with the formation of a gynostegium and pollinaria—specialized pollen dispersal units. To date, no detailed analysis has been conducted to estimate the origin and diversification of this lineage in space and time. Here, we use the most comprehensive time-calibrated phylogeny of Apocynaceae, which includes approximately 20% of the species covering all major lineages, and information on species number and distributions obtained from the most up-to-date monograph of the family to investigate the biogeographical history of the lineage and its diversification dynamics. South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia (potentially including Oceania), were recovered as the most likely ancestral area of extant Apocynaceae diversity; this tropical climatic belt in the equatorial region retained the oldest extant lineages and these three tropical regions likely represent museums of the family. Africa was confirmed as the cradle of pollinia-bearing lineages and the main source of Apocynaceae intercontinental dispersals. We detected 12 shifts toward accelerated species diversification, of which 11 were in the APSA clade (apocynoids, Periplocoideae, Secamonoideae, and Asclepiadoideae), eight of these in the pollinia-bearing lineages and six within Asclepiadoideae. Wind-dispersed comose seeds, climbing growth form, and pollinia appeared sequentially within the APSA clade and probably work synergistically in the occupation of drier and cooler habitats. Overall, we hypothesize that temporal patterns in diversification of Apocynaceae was mainly shaped by a sequence of morphological innovations that conferred higher capacity to disperse and establish in seasonal, unstable, and open habitats, which have expanded since the Eocene-Oligocene climate transition.
Raphael Watschinger, Michal Merta, Günther Of
et al.
We present a novel approach to the parallelization of the parabolic fast multipole method for a space-time boundary element method for the heat equation. We exploit the special temporal structure of the involved operators to provide an efficient distributed parallelization with respect to time and with a one-directional communication pattern. On top, we apply a task-based shared memory parallelization and SIMD vectorization. In the numerical tests we observe high efficiencies of our parallelization approach.
The article is devoted to the analysis of Salafi islamism. Conservative Salafi Islamism during the events of the Arab spring received a new development. In particular, the fall of authoritarian regimes and the beginning of the democratic process in the Middle East and North Africa led to the creation of Salafi political parties. Salafi Islamism used to reject the idea of creation of political parties to fight for power. It is known for its doctrinal intransigence and strong condemnation of any Islamist groups and movements that do not share its religious views. Salafists saw politics as a tool for splitting Muslims. However, in a favorable political environment, the Salafists believed that they would be able to defend their legal status and gain some privileges by participating in parliamentary elections. United with moderate Islamists, the Salafists managed to achieve the desired results at first. However, financial and diplomatic pressure from Saudi Arabia forced Salafi parties to withdraw support from moderate Islamists, which led to a weakening of Islamist movements in general. Moreover, the creation of parties has deepened internal divisions within the Salafi movements. In particular, there were supporters among the Salafists who defended the combination of student and political activities against those who considered participation in the political struggle as a temporary tactical action. The result of the disagreement was the emergence of young reformists, which began to see participation in politics as a tool for strengthening the position of the Salafi movement.
History of Africa, Ethnology. Social and cultural anthropology
Samya Al Abdulla, Shahrad Taheri, Hadeel Zaghloul
et al.
Objectives Diabetes Intervention Accentuating Diet and Enhancing Metabolism-I (DIADEM-I) is the first randomised controlled trial (RCT) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region testing the effectiveness of an intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) for weight loss and diabetes remission. We report on the recruitment process and baseline characteristics of the DIADEM-I cohort based on origin (Middle East vs North Africa), and waist circumference.Design DIADEM-I is an open-label randomised, controlled, parallel group RCT recruiting young individuals (18–50 years) with early type 2 diabetes (≤3 years since diagnosis) originating from MENA. Individuals from primary care were randomised to usual medical care or ILI (total dietary replacement phase using meal replacement products, followed by staged food reintroduction and physical activity support). The primary outcome is weight loss at 12 months. Other outcomes are glycaemic control and diabetes remission.Setting Primary care, Qatar.Participants 147 (73% men) randomised within DIADEM-I who were included in the final trial data analysis.Outcome measures Recruitment metrics, and baseline clinical and metabolic characteristics.Results Of 1498 people prescreened, 267 (18%) were invited for screening and 209 (78%) consented. 173 (83%) were eligible. 15 (7%) withdrew before randomisation and the remaining 158 were randomised. Mean age was 42.1 (SD 5.6) years and mean body mass index was: 36.3 (5.5) kg/m2 (women) and 34.4 (5.4) kg/m2 (men). Mean diabetes duration was 1.8 (1.0) years and mean glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) was 7.0% (1.30) (52.5 mmol/mol (SD 14.3)). Participants originated from 13 countries. Those from North Africa reported greater physical activity and had lower family history of diabetes. 90% of subjects were taking diabetes medications and 31% antihypertensives. Those with greater waist circumference had significantly higher insulin resistance and lower quality of life.Conclusion Recruitment of participants originating from the MENA region into the RCT was successful, and study participation was readily accepted. While DIADEM-I participants originated from 13 countries, there were few baseline differences amongst participants from Middle East versus North Africa, supporting generalisability of RCT results.Trial registration number ISRCTN20754766; NCT03225339
This Handbook maps the contours of an exciting and burgeoning interdisciplinary field concerned with the role of language and languages in situations of conflict. It explores conceptual approaches, sources of information that are available, and the institutions and actors that mediate language encounters. It examines case studies of the role that languages have played in specific conflicts, from colonial times through to the Middle East and Africa today. The contributors provide vibrant evidence to challenge the monolingual assumptions that have affected traditional views of war and conflict. They show that languages are woven into every aspect of the making of war and peace, and demonstrate how language shapes public policy and military strategy, setting frameworks and expectations. The Handbook's 22 chapters powerfully illustrate how the encounter between languages is integral to almost all conflicts, to every phase of military operations and to the lived experiences of those on the ground, who meet, work and fight with speakers of other languages. This comprehensive work will appeal to scholars from across the disciplines of linguistics, translation studies, history, and international relations; and provide fresh insights for a broad range of practitioners interested in understanding the role and implications of foreign languages in war.