Despite Cameroon’s immense sand reserves, several enterprises continue to import standardized sands to investigate the properties of concretes and mortars and to guarantee the durability of built structures. The present work not only falls within the scope of import substitution but also aims to characterize and improve the properties of local sand (Sanaga) and compare them with those of imported standardized sand widely used in laboratories. Sanaga sand was treated with HCl and then characterized in the laboratory. The constituent minerals of Sanaga sand are quartz, albite, biotite, and kaolinite. The silica content (SiO₂) of this untreated sand is 93.48 wt.%. After treatment, it rose 97.5 wt.% for 0.5 M and 97.3 wt.% for 1 M HCl concentration. The sand is clean (ES, 97.67%–98.87%), with fineness moduli of 2.45, 2.48, and 2.63 for untreated sand and sand treated with HCl concentrations of 0.5 and 1 M respectively. The mechanical strengths (39.59–42.4 MPa) obtained on mortars made with untreated Sanaga sand are unsatisfactory compared with those obtained on mortars made with standardized sand and with the expected strengths. The HCl treatment used in this study significantly improved these strengths (41.12–52.36 MPa), resulting in strength deficiencies of less than 10% after 28 curing days compared with expected values. Thus, the treatment of Sanaga sand with a 0.5 M HCl concentration offers better results for use as standardized sand.

Through a comparative investigation of the function of socialist realism in the drama and law of Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, this research investigates the decolonization of neo-colonial hegemonies in Africa. Using the drama and legal systems of Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa as comparative case studies, the research explores how African societies can challenge and demolish oppressive systems of domination sustained by colonial legacies and contemporary neo-colonial forces. Relying on the Socialist Realism and Critical Postcolonial theoretical frameworks which both support literary and artistic genre that encourages social and political transformation, the research deploys the case study analysis, comparative literature analysis and focused group discussion methods. Data obtained are subjected to content and thematic analysis. The study emphasizes how important the relationship between the legal and artistic worlds is to the fight against neo-colonialism. It further reveals the transformational potential of socialist realism as a catalyst for social change by looking at themes of resistance, social justice, and the amplifying of disadvantaged voices in drama and legal discourse. The research contributes to ongoing discussions about de-neo-colonization through this comparative case study, and emphasizes the role socialist realism plays in overthrowing neo-colonial hegemonies. The study sheds light on the distinct difficulties and opportunities these nations—and indeed, all of Africa—face in their pursuit of decolonial justice by examining the experiences of Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.

Although dykes are a predominant and widely distributed phenomenon in S-Algeria, N-Mali and N-Niger, a systematic, standardized inventory of dykes covering these areas has not been published so far. Remote sensing and geo information system (GIS) tools offer an opportunity for such an inventory. This inventory is not only of interest for the mining industry as many dykes are related to mineral occurrence of economic value, but also for hydrogeologic investigations (dykes can form barriers for groundwater flow). Surface-near dykes, major fault zones, volcanic and structural features were digitized based on Landsat 8 and 9, Sentinel 2, Sentinel 1 and ALOS PALSAR data. High resolution images of World Imagery files/ESRI and Bing Maps Aerial/Microsoft were included into the evaluations. More than 14,000 dykes were digitized and analyzed. The evaluations of satellite images allow a geomorphologic differentiation of types of dykes and the description of their characteristics such as dyke swarms or ring dykes. Dykes are tracing zones of weakness like faults and zones with higher geomechanically strain. Dyke density calculations were carried out in ArcGIS to support the detection of dyke concentrations as stress indicator. Thus, when occurring concentrated, they might indicate stressed areas where further magmatic and earthquake activity might potentially happen in future.

Currently, important efforts are being made to improve governability and governance by combining the monopoly of state decisions with the collaboration of diverse actors in public practice. Based on the above, the purpose of this article is to analyze the evolution of conceptual approaches to both terms over the last 23 years, examining scientific production by author authors, journals, and countries. The methodology was based on a bibliometric analysis: First, the WoS and Scopus databases were searched. Subsequently, scientometric techniques and the Science Tree methodology were used to identify patterns, structures, and trends, to understand the progress and behavior of scientific production, and to measure the quantity and quality of research that has addressed these issues from different perspectives. This study examined governability and governance publications and their annual citations to assess their impact and analyzed the total output of both datasets to identify similarities and differences in governability and governance research. The findings reveal that the number of publications and citations in this field is increasing, with the United States being the most academically influential country and the journal Marine Policy being the most prominent in ranking. These data provide key information for decision-makers, researchers, and academics for future debate and discussion toward operationalizing the concepts at the practical level of action, management, and the functioning of government structures.

A large number of people of the fringe areas of Sundarban enter into the forests every year and encounter with the tigers simply for their livelihood. This study attempts to examine the extent and impact of human-animal conflicts in the Sundarban Reserve Forest (SRF) area in West Bengal, India. An intensive study of the data of the victims (both death and injury) between 1999 and 2014 reveals that, fishermen crab collector, honey collectors and woodcutters are generally victimized by the tiger attack. Pre monsoon period (April to June) and early winter period (Jan to March) are noted for the two-peak periods for casualties. Maximum casualty occurs between 8-10 am, and 2-4 pm. Jhilla (21.1%), Pirkhali (19.72 %), Chandkhali (11.72%), and Arbesi (9.35%) are the four most vulnerable forest blocks accounting more than 60 per cent occurrence of incidences. 67.24 per cent of the tiger attack victims were residents of Gosaba followed by Hingalganja (15%) and Basanti, (9.76%). The vulnerability rating puts the risk of tiger attack to 0.88 for every 10,000 residents of Gosaba block followed by 0.33 at Hingalganj Block and 0.11 at Bansanti Block. The majority of the victims (68%) were found to be males, aged between 30 and 50 years.

Studies related to the use of steel mill slag have become essential, because of the possibility of its use as a component of substrates in the production of seedlings and because this use minimizes the risk of environmental contamination, resulting from inadequate disposal. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of increasing levels of steel slag in substrates composed of soil with tanned bovine manure and sand, on the growth variables and the quality of “Dedo-de-moça” pepper (Capsicum baccatum L.) seedlings. A randomized block design was used with five slag concentrations (0%, 2.5%, 5%, 10% and 20%) and four repetitions. Evaluations occurred at 55 days after sowing, consisting of counting the number of leaves, measuring plant height and collar diameter, quantifying the dry mass of leaves and roots and determining the Dickson Quality Index. Regression models were fitted (P < 0.05) to treatments with increasing levels of steel slag. The addition around 10% of slag to the substrate provided the highest values of growth variables, in seedlings of Dedo-de-moça pepper.