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Microplastic (MP) (plastic <5 mm) pollution in South Africa is widespread but few studies have been done in catchments and estuaries of the country. The aim of this study was to investigate the abundance, characteristics and risks posed by microplastics in the Zandvlei Catchment and Estuary in Cape Town, South Africa. Water and sediment were sampled between 2019 and 2021, during wet and dry seasons, MPs extracted and identified using microscopy and fourier-transformed infrared...

The Sudan-Sahel region has long been vulnerable to environmental change. However, the intensification of global warming has led to unprecedented challenges that require a detailed understanding of climate change for this region. This study analyzes the impacts of climate change for Burkina Faso using ten climate indices that are highly relevant to Sudan-Sahelian societies. The full ensemble of statistically downscaled NEX-GDDP-CMIP6 models (25 km) is used to determine the projected changes...

To mitigate ecological and health risks, implementing a comprehensive multidisciplinary monitoring strategy is imperative. This approach aims to effectively identify and record potential declines in water quality and ecological conditions. Utilizing cost-effective and efficient monitoring tools is crucial, especially for developing nations. Despite the previously reported uMlalazi River's pristine status within a protected natural reserve at South Africa's eastern coast, our findings...

Pastoral and agro-pastoral communities are among the most vulnerable groups in the world for increased drought risk caused by climate change. Risk preferences play a key role in drought adaptation decisions, but little research has been done on risk preferences in (agro-)pastoral communities. This study therefore examines risk attitudes among Kenyan (agro-)pastoralists, which can inform the development of effective adaptation policies. A hypothetical multiple price list experiment, framed as...

Objective The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, causes of ocular disorders and visual impairment among preterm children previously admitted to neonatal intensive care units in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods and analysis A prospective screening survey was conducted from February to June 2019 at the paediatric eye clinic of Menelik II Hospital. Children who were preterm at birth and who attended the eye clinic were included in the study. Data on demographic and neonatal...

Cheleka Watershed, lower Awash River Basin, Ethiopia. The lower part of Awash River (Cheleka Watershed) with an area of 1744.48 km2 has limited rainfall temporal variability and drought incidence data. So, the study analyzed the temporal rainfall variability and drought incidence from five meteorological station starting from1988 up to 2017. Coefficient of variation, precipitation concentration index, mean and standard deviation were computed to analysis the temporal variations of rainfall;...

Ethiopia is a rainfall-based agricultural country that is susceptible to the impacts of climate change and risk. Floods and droughts, which happen more frequently and intensely, significantly and negatively influence agricultural production. The objective of the meta-analysis is to identify impacts on various sectors, adaptation strategies, and the challenges of climate change in the Ethiopian context. Twenty-three peer-reviewed articles were identified from ScienceDirect and Web of Science,...

Africa stands at a critical crossroads, grappling with the complex interplay between global climate targets and urbanization dynamics. The rapid growth of urban populations coupled with unsustainable urban planning practices exacerbates inherent conflicts, impeding our collective efforts to mitigate carbon emissions. In this context, we systematically decompose the key demographic, economic, and technological drivers of emissions, evaluating their contributions and spatial variations within...

Tin mineralization at Mayo-Darlé in the Cameroon Volcanic Line is associated with highly evolved anorogenic ferroan granite magmatism with a pervasive hydrothermal overprint. Mineralization occurs as cassiterite-quartz-muscovite stockwork and disseminated in quartz-mica and quartz-topaz greisen in low-Ca alkali feldspar granite with a composition near the 1 kbar haplogranitic thermal minimum. The trace element composition of zircon indicates elevated temperature (880 ± 55 °C) and very low...

Over recent decades, the integration of technological resources in education increased growingly. However, studies about the assessment of information and communications technology integration in primary school mathematics activities remained few. This research intended to comparatively examine the aspects of classroom practices observed during the implementation of the Interactive Mathematics (IM) Software in primary schools in Rwanda. Designed as quasi-experimental, it involved the...

Situated within a 1.07 million-year-old meteorite crater, Lake Bosumtwi in Ghana stands as a pivotal location for comprehending climatic, ecological and environmental fluctuations within the sub-Saharan region of West Africa. The region's susceptibility to seasonal environmental shifts and climate oscillations is heightened by the annual movements of the tropical rain belt driven by atmospheric circulation. Yet, there is no satisfying age-depth model available for the entire sedimentary...

As a new intelligent optimization algorithm, the African vultures optimization algorithm (AVOA) has been widely used in various fields today. However, when solving complex multimodal problems, the AVOA still has some shortcomings, such as low searching accuracy, deficiency on the search capability and tendency to fall into local optimum. In order to alleviate the main shortcomings of the AVOA, a nonlinear African vulture optimization algorithm combining Henon chaotic mapping theory and...

Political scientists strive to be “real” scientists. This ambition to imitate the natural sciences, however, has its limitations. Politics has its own dynamic, one that is not really captured once and for all in a single theory. Instead, theories come and go. Comparativists cannot sit back and enjoy more than a moment of “normal science”. Their search for fresh knowledge is open-ended and as reliant on new theoretical insights as it is on already established theory. The temptation to...

The study on the learning disabilities and associated psychosocial problems among children in South Sudan started in 2022 to 2024. The deepening loneliness and vulnerability of the children with the learning disabilities that influence the psychosocial problems among children resulted from the conflict in Sudan, which scattered families, social fabric, community structures, and pushed the families to seek international protection. The families have limited access to livelihood and highly...

This study explored the effects of social cultural factors on women’s participation level in leadership positions. The study adopted a descriptive research design. Data was collected using questionnaires. A sample of a total of 72 respondents was used in this study. These included 72 female teachers of 5 IPRCs in Rwanda. The data obtained through questionnaires were analyzed quantitatively using SPSS. The findings showed that socio-cultural factors were affecting women in IPRCs and resulting...