Showing papers by "University of Zimbabwe published in 1986"

Field trials of baits to control populations of Glossina morsitans morsitans Westwood and G. pallidipes Austen (Diptera: Glossinidae)

Abstract: An island of 4·5 km2 in Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe, was stocked with cattle and infested with Glossina morsitans morsitans Westwood and G. pallidipes Austen in 1979. From February 1980 to April 1981, the tsetse populations, estimated by mark, release and recapture, increased about ten times, to contain about 3000 males of G. m. morsitans and 2000 males of G. pallidipes. From May 1981 to May 1983, six traps, with carbon dioxide and acetone as odour attractants, were used to capture 0·1–0·3% per day of the G. m. morsitans population and 1–4% per day of the G. pallidipes population. Captured flies were retained and killed, or were automatically sterilized with metepa and released. In May 1983, when the populations of G. m. morsitans and G. pallidipes had declined by about 90 and 99%, respectively, the traps were replaced by 20 targets with acetone and 1-octen-3-ol as attractants. The targets were coated with dieldrin or, later, deltamethrin and killed about 2% per day of G. m. morsitans and 5% per day of G. pallidipes. Both populations then declined rapidly, G. pallidipes disappearing in 11 weeks and G. m. morsitans in nine months. Targets offer a cheap, simple and effective means of eliminating isolated populations of tsetse.

Application of the eating disorders inventory to a sample of black, white, and mixed race schoolgirls in zimbabwe

Abstract: This paper describes the application of Garner's Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI) to 399 black, white, and mixed race schoolgirls attending private schools in Zimbabwe. To the authors' knowledge the instrument has not been applied previously on the African continent. The results obtained indicate concern with eating and weight amongst the black and mixed race groups when compared with previous studies of indigenous subjects in de- veloping countries (Buhrich, 198 1). High scorers are isolated on the basis of obtaining scores on or above the 90th percentile (normative sample com- prised of North American female college students N = 770)on the “drive for thinness” subscale of the ED/. There are 80 high scorers of which 12.5% are black and 17.5% of mixed race, the remainder are white. There is a bulimic tendency amongst the high-Scoring black and mixed race groups. The results of the high scores are further evaluated on the remaining dimensions of the EDI, namely, body dissatisfaction, ineffectiveness, interpersonal distrust, per- fectionism, interoceptive awareness and maturity fears. Finally, a small sample of black, white, and mixed race are engaged in a semistructured interview—-EAT. (The EAT was constructed by Dr. C. Szmukler, Maudsley Hospital, London). This semistructured interview assesses attitudes towards (inter alia) increased interest in certain foods and avoidance of others, de- tailed calorie counting, bingeing, dieting, fear of loss of control over eating, overactivity, etc. The results are reviewed against a background of traditional and evolving cultural values which are juxtaposed within this developing so- ciety.

Changing patterns of population distribution in Zimbabwe.

Abstract: "This paper critically evaluates the causes and consequences of changes in population distribution in Zimbabwe during the colonial period and since independence in 1980. Five main aspects of population geography are examined. Firstly...the history of tenure policies is outlined. Secondly, the distribution of the African population as revealed in the 1982 census is described and major changes between the census years of 1962, 1969, and 1982 are discussed. Thirdly, changing patterns of settlement and land use within the peasant farming areas (Communal Lands) are examined in the context of increasing population pressures. Fourthly, trends in the...urbanisation of the African population are described. Fifthly, post-independence development policies directed at effecting changes in the distribution of population are discussed with particular reference to the land resettlement programme."

Montane plant communities of the Fynbos Biome

Abstract: The vegetation of the mountains of the Fynbos Biome is classified and described, mostly on the basis of vegetation structure and higher taxa. Various gradients can be recognized. A gradient in soil conditions runs from coarse textured, nutrient-poor soils in non-grassy fynbos (Mountain Fynbos) through grassy fynbos and grassy non-fynbos (Eastern Fynbos and Grasslands & Grassy Shrubland) to finer textured and less nutrient-poor soils in the non-fynbos Karroid & Renoster Shrubland. Another gradient of significance can be likened to the tropical gradient running from the dry conditions of hot semi-deserts to savannas or grasslands to woodlands. At the dry extreme an open shrubland occurs (Karroid & Renoster Shrubland, Asteraceous Fynbos), at intermediate positions a herbland occurs (Restioid Fynbos) and at the wet extreme another type of shrubland occurs (Ericaceous Fynbos). This kind of moisture gradient occurs on individual mountains with the xeric end being at the base of the north slopes, and the mesic end being on the upper south aspects. Soil characteristics are closely linked to this gradient; the better developed soils being found on the south aspects. Another moisture gradient is apparent in the vegetation. This gradient runs from the mesic southern coastal mountains to the north west where summer droughts are extremely severe although total rainfall may be similar.

Hippopotamus habitat relationships on the Lundi River, Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe

Abstract: Summary The hippopotamus population on the Lundi river, Gonarezhou National Park, increased by 330% between 1958 and 1980. This study investigated whether hippopotamus were over-utilizing their habitat during an optimal climatic period. Hippopotamus were utilizing an area of less than 1 km from the bank during the wet season and selecting for alluvial areas, including degraded sites on formerly cultivated fields. During the dry season they moved further inland. Impala selected for degraded sites during both wet and dry seasons. Hippopotamus and impala are responsible for maintaining the degraded nature of these formerly cultivated sites, but are not responsible for the initiation of degradation de novo. Resume La population d'hippopotames de la riviere Lundi (Parc National de Gonarezhou) a augmente de 330% entre 1958 et 1980. La presente etude a examine si l'hippopotame surexploitait son habitat au cours d'une periode climatique optimale. L'hippopotame exploite une bande de moins d'un kilometre a partir de la rive durant la saison des pluies et selectionne les zones alluviales y compris les sites degrades sur d'anciens champs cultives. Au cours de la saison seche, il se deplace plus a l'interieur des terres. Les impala choisissent des sites degrades aussi bien en saison seche qu'en saison des pluies. L'hippopotame et l'impala sont responsables du maintien de la nature degradee de ces sites anciennement cultives, mais pas de l'initiation d'une nouvelle degradation.

The use of termite mounds in Zimbabwe peasant agriculture

Abstract: Research on the nature and use of termite mounds in various parts of the World, especially Africa and more particularly in Zimbabwe, is outlined. Some of the land use patterns associated with termite mounds in Zimbabwe are described and the scientific rationale for such use is given, along with a summary of some of the important properties of termite mounds. Brief reference is made to on-going research in Zimbabwe to establish the possible influence of micronutrients on the growth of plants on termite mounds. Their use in Zimbabwe suggests that they could be very useful as a nutrient supplement in sandy soils.

Giardiasis and the nutritional status of Zimbabwean schoolchildren.

Abstract: SUMMARYStool specimens, obtained from 1813 schoolchildren from communal lands, commercial farms and urban areas in Zimbabwe, were examined for helminth and protozoan parasites. The findings were collated with anthropometric data on the same children to investigate the relationship between intestinal parasitism and nutritional status.Protozoan infections were common with Giardia lamblia being identified in 17·4% of children. There was a strong association between giardial infection and undernutrition, wasting and stunting in these children. There was no evidence of an association between helminth infection and under-nutrition. In view of the known impairment of absorption from the gut in giardiasis, it is suggested that giardial infection may be an important factor contributing to the low nutritional status of many primary schoolchildren in Zimbabwe.

Piped water supply and intestinal parasitism in Zimbabwean schoolchildren

Abstract: The prevalence of intestinal parasitism in primary schoolchildren in three areas, communal (peasant farm) lands, commercial farms and urban townships, was assessed by examination of concentrated and stained stool specimens to determine the effect of water supply on intestinal parasitism. Piped water in communal lands was associated with decreased frequency of schistosomiasis and hymenolepiasis, but not with decreased frequency of protozoa. Schistosomiasis was very common in commercial farm labour communities, particularly on farms adjoining the local river, despite the availability of stored borehole water supplied through communal taps. The prevalence of intestinal parasitism in children from urban areas with municipal water supplied to taps in each household was similar to that of children in communal areas who obtained water from surface streams. The frequency of Giardia lamblia infection was higher in urban than in rural schoolchildren, and within communal areas was higher in children with access to protected borehole water. The provision of piped water was, therefore, not found to be associated with reduced prevalence of intestinal parasitism, though additional factors such as frequency of contact with infected water, the provision of ancillary improvements and the actual usage of available water supplies would need to be more closely assessed.

The Role and Position of Women in Pre-Colonial and Colonial Zimbabwe

Abstract: A conference paper on the role of women in society in the pre-colonial and during the colonial period in Zimbabwe.

An institutional survey of tinea capitis in Harare, Zimbabwe and a trial of miconazole cream versus Whitfield's ointment in its treatment.

Abstract: Summary A study of the prevalence of tinea capitis at a residential school for physically handicapped children in Harare, Zimbabwe is reported. In the 7–12 year old age group the prevalence of ideologically proven fungus infection was 39%. It is suggested that this can be explained by their hygiene. Two species of dermatophyte were isolated: Trichophyton violaceum from 88% and Microsporum audouinii from 38% of cases which were positive following culture. Twenty-six per cent of these cases were mixed infections. There was a slightly higher rate of infection amongst boys. The effectiveness of the clinical and mycological examination was assessed. Affected children were treated with a 6-week course of either Whitfield's ointment or miconazole cream. Results are presented to show that neither treatment is fully effective.

The Front-line States South Africa and Southern African security: Military prospects and perspectives

Abstract: SINCE 1980 THE central strategic feature of Southern Africa has been the existence of two diametrically opposed political, economic and security groupings in the subcontinent. On one hand, there is South Africa and its Homeland satellite system which Pretoria has hoped, and continues to hope, will be the foundation stone for the much publicized, but as yet unfulfilled, Constellation of Southern African States (CONSAS) first outlined in 1979 and subsequently reaffirmed by the South African Minister of Defence, General Magnus Malan, in November 1983. On the other hand, there is the diplomatic coalition of independent Southern African Front-line States consisting of Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This grouping, originally containing the first five states mentioned, emerged in 1976 in order to crisis-manage the RhodesiaZimbabwe war, and it was considerably strengthened when the resolution of the conflict resulted in an independent Zimbabwe becoming the sixth Front-line State in 1980. Subsequently, the coalition of Front-line States was the driving force behind the creation of the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference (SADCC) and was primarily responsible for blunting South Africa's CONSAS strategy in 1979-80. The momentous rolling back of Pretoria's CONSAS scheme can, in retrospect, be seen as the opening phase in an ongoing struggle between the Front-line States and South Africa for diplomatic supremacy in Southern Africa in the 1980s. Increasingly, this struggle has become ominously militarized for the Front Line; therefore, it is pertinent to begin this assessment by attempting to define the regional conflictuai framework which evolved from the initial confrontation of 1979-80 between the Front-line States and South Africa. In this period the two rival power blocs were promoting SADCC and CONSAS respectively as future

Weighted function algebras on groups and semigroups

Abstract: For a locally compact topological group admitting a weight function, we establish necessary and sufficient criteria for all the weighted continuous functions to be weakly almost periodic. Among other results, we show that weak almost periodicity of all ω-weighed continuous functions on a discrete semigroup S, can be very different drom the phenomenon of regularity of multiplication in the weighted algebra ℓ1 (S, w).

Maternal deaths at Harare Maternity Hospital during 1983.

Abstract: There were 51 maternal deaths at Harare Maternity Hospital, Zimbabwe, during 1983, 25 among patients from the greater Harare area and 26 among patients referred from peripheral hospitals or clinics. The overall maternal mortality rate among patients within the greater Harare area was 56/100 000 (including deaths related to abortion). Among 'booked' patients the maternal mortality rate was 29/100 000. Puerperal sepsis, haemorrhage, post-abortal sepsis and hypertensive disease accounted for 78.4% of the deaths. Avoidable factors, considered to be present in 34 cases (66.7%), are discussed.

Application of a modified rotary rheometer to the investigation of slurries

Abstract: A new technique for investigating some of the rheological properties of slurries is proposed. A commercial concentric cylinder viscometer was modified so that a continuous coaxial flow could be superimposed on the Couette flow; this eliminated the influence of sedimentation of the solid particles. The influence of the changed strain was measured and found to be small. Relations between the shear stress and shear rate, temperature, mass fraction of solids and particle size were determined for a coal-oil slurry. The power-law coefficients were calculated. The influence of solid particles on the power-law coefficientskm andnm was determined and approximated by empirical equations.

Effect of Anticonvulsant Drugs In Vivo On Rat Pineal N‐Acetyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.5) and Hydroxyindole‐O‐Methyltransferase (EC 2.1.1.4)

Abstract: The effect of anticonvulsant drugs on daytime and nighttime N-acetyltransferase (NAT) and hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase (HIOMT) levels was investigated Some of the drugs caused a significant reduction in daytime NAT and HIOMT levels, possibly owing to beta-receptor blockade although other mechanisms cannot be excluded Sulthiame caused an increase in daytime NAT levels, and this may represent a compensatory mechanism by the pineal gland to allow normal melatonin production None of the drugs affected nocturnal HIOMT levels, and only phenobarbitone affected NAT levels, apparently causing a shift in the nocturnal peak later in the dark phase

Ultrastructure of the ileum of Locusta migratoria.

Abstract: The epithelium of the ileum of Locusta migratoria is composed of a single layer of columnar cells surrounded on the luminal side by cuticle and on the haemocoel side by a circular muscle layer. Where the circular muscles contact the epithelium, longitudinal muscles are present and the epithelium is slightly reduced. Elsewhere, a subepithelial sinus separates the epithelium from the circular muscle layer. The epithelial cells are characterised by extensive infoldings of the apical and basal cell membranes, which in the latter case, produce a maze of interconnecting channels and spaces. Mitochondria are closely associated with both apical and basal infoldings, although the bulk of these organelles is located in the cytoplasm underlying the infoldings of the apical plasma membrane. Vesicles of assorted sizes occur throughout the cytoplasm. They are particularly abundant in the apical region, where they appear to be produced by pinocytosis. Larger vesicles, containing either material of varying electron density or smaller vesicles, occur in the medial and basal regions of the cells. The contents of some of these vesicles have, in section, a lamellar appearance, composed of concentric layers of material. Similar vesicles are present in the basement membrane as well as the cells and connective tissue of the subepithelial sinus. Microtubules and groups of ribosomes commonly occur throughout the cytoplasm, and lipid-like droplets are also present in some of the cells. Ultrastructural features of the epithelial cells are discussed in relation to current knowledge of the function of the ileum.

Dactuliophora glycines, a sclerotial state of Pyrenochaeta glycines

Abstract: Dactuliophora glycines is shown to be a sclerotial state of Pyrenochaeta glycines , and the morphology and pathogenicity of the fungus on Glycine max and Neonotonia wightii in Zambia are described.

Black americans and united states policy towards africa

Abstract: Introduction WHILE EUROPE SCRAMBLED for Africa during the late l9th century, the United States seemed without colonial appetite, at least in so far as colonial possessions in Africa were concerned. Yet the United States then, as now, had perhaps the largest number of black people anywhere outside the African continent. 1 However, while America had little interest in Africa, black Americans as a national minority have always had a measure of affinity for, and interest in, Africa. This interest and affinity has not always been expressed in clear-cut terms; there has always existed an ambivalence of feeling, and a duality of thought, in relations between black America and Africa not readily amenable to comfortable and confident explanation. In a pithy statement, Elliot P. Skinner, former United States Ambassador to the Upper Volta, made this comment about the dynamics of relations between Afro-Americans and Africa: