• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.24-30
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• 2018

In Botswana, mopane worms are widely harvested for household consumption. They are also traded for income generation. Urban based entrepreneurs' source mopane worms from rural areas to sell. The price of sourcing mopane worms from the harvesters has increased quite incredibly in villages. However, there is dearth of academic studies on the commercialisation of mopane worms in Botswana. This paper uses primary data collected from multiple sources to investigate the factors influencing the prices of mopane worms. Data collection involved administration of questionnaires to purposively selected harvesters in four campsites in the Central District, focus group discussions at each campsite and key informant interviews. The results show that there is declining population of mopane worms. The decline is attributable to such factors as over-harvesting and climate change which are the main factors influencing the price of mopane worms. In addition to physical scarcity of mopane worms, institutional weaknesses exist in the study area. The Agricultural Resources Conservation Act is ineffective and the majority of the harvesters are unaware of its existences. It is recommended that the regulations on the harvesting of mopane worms be reviewed. In order to benefit harvesters, mopane worms should be processed to add diversified economic value to rural communities.

• Bulletin of the Korea Photovoltaic Society
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.28-34
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• 2018

Botswana is a middle-income developing country in Southern Africa with an economy mainly reliant on mineral resources, particularly diamonds. Other sectors of the economy like energy are trailing behind in this country's development. For a long time, Botswana has been relying on imported energy from her neighboring countries. Due to this great dependence, the country has had little control over sufficiency of energy supply, especially during times of shortages in the neighboring countries. As a result, Botswana came up with a number of initiatives over the years to ensure security of supply and self-sufficiency in the energy sector. However, even with the efforts made, currently Botswana is still not self-sufficient and is facing challenges of energy shortages mainly in the power sector. This paper therefore, seeks to review the various policy instruments that have been adopted in Botswana from 1996 to date, identify challenges that come with them and make recommendations on the identified challenges.

• Mycobiology
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.452-462
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• 2023

Opportunistic infections due to Cryptococcus neoformans and C. gattii species complexes continue to rise unabated among HIV/AIDS patients, despite improved antifungal therapies. Here, we collected a total of 20 environmental and 25 presumptive clinical cryptococcal isolates from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples of 175 patients enrolled in an ongoing clinical trial Ambition 1 Project (Botswana-Harvard Partnership). Identity confirmation of the isolates was done using MALDI-TOF MS and PCR. We describe the diversity of the isolates by PCR fingerprinting and sequencing (Oxford Nanopore Technology) of the intergenic spacer region. Mating types of the isolates were determined by amplification of the MAT locus. We report an unusual prevalence of 42.1% of C. neoformans × C. deneoformans hybrids Serotype AD (n = 16), followed by 39.5% of C. neoformans Serotype A (n = 15), 5.3% of C. deneoformans, Serotype D (n = 2), 7.9% of C. gattii (n = 3), and 5.3% of C. tetragattii (n = 2) in 38 representative isolates that have been characterized. Mating type-specific PCR performed on 38 representative environmental and clinical isolates revealed that 16 (42.1%) were MATa/MAT𝛼 hybrids, 17 (44.7%) were MAT𝛼, and five (13.2%) possessed MATa mating type. We used conventional and NGS platforms to demonstrate a potential link between environmental and clinical isolates and lay a foundation to further describe mating patterns/history in Botswana.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.225-233
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• 2022

The recent outbreak of corona virus (COVID-19) infectious disease had made its forecasting critical cornerstones in most scientific studies. This study adopts a machine learning based time series model - Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model to forecast COVID-19 confirmed cases in Botswana over 60 days period. Findings of the study show that COVID-19 confirmed cases in Botswana are steadily rising in a steep upward trend with random fluctuations. This trend can also be described effectively using an additive model when scrutinized in Seasonal Trend Decomposition method by Loess. In selecting the best fit ARIMA model, a Grid Search Algorithm was developed with python language and was used to optimize an Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) metric. The best fit ARIMA model was determined at ARIMA (5, 1, 1), which depicted the least AIC score of 3885.091. Results of the study proved that ARIMA model can be useful in generating reliable and volatile forecasts that can used to guide on understanding of the future spread of infectious diseases or pandemics. Most significantly, findings of the study are expected to raise social awareness to disease monitoring institutions and government regulatory bodies where it can be used to support strategic health decisions and initiate policy improvement for better management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.5-15
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• 2018

Purpose - Nowadays customers have become empowered by information communication technologies. This state of customers has brought enormous pressure to bear on organizations, thus, organizations have to stay relevant, market-oriented and profitable. The insurance sector is one that is constantly challenged by its exposure to ICT and the associated need for e-services by myriad customers. With increasing competition in the health insurance environment, it is necessary for the sector to understand customer expectations and how they perceive the services offered. This study seeks to determine the role played by e-services in relation to customer satisfaction in health insurance industry in Botswana where a substantial investment has been made in the sector. Research design, data, and methodology - This study is conducted using two prominent medical aid schemes in Botswana namely BPOMAS and PULA. Subscribers of these medical schemes were the respondents whose views were sourced using both closed and open ended questionnaires. Systemic sampling technique was used to select the participants, while descriptive statistical techniques were mainly used to analyze socio-demographic data of the samples. Results - The results reveal that the level of usage of the medical insurance firm's website and email service is higher for PULA participants than for BPOMAS participants. Conclusions - The findings of this study have practical implications for managers who should understand customers' value perceptions regarding e-service quality in Botswana.

• Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.38-47
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• 2013

The proliferation of digital libraries (DL) in the twenty-first century has revolutionized the way information is generated and disseminated. This has led to various practical and research models of DLs. This paper discusses the concept and development of digital libraries, and examines various components and characteristics of DLs. It further identifies various models and theories of digital libraries with a special focus on the DELOS Reference Model and 5S Theory. The relationship between the two focused frameworks is analyzed for better understanding of their application in the DL universe.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.24-31
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• 2021

Objectives: Accumulation of cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) leads to oxidative stress. Increased production of ROS, such as superoxide anion, or a deficiency in their clearance by antioxidant defences, mediates cellular pathology. Grewia Spp fruits are a source of bioactive compounds and have notable antioxidant activity. Although the antioxidant capacity of Grewia Spp has been studied, there is very limited evidence that links the antioxidant activities of Grewia bicolor and Grewia flava to the inhibition of free radical formation associated with damage in biological systems. Methods: This study evaluated the protective effects of Grewia bicolor and Grewia flava extracts against free radical-induced oxidative stress and the resulting cytotoxicity effect using HeLa cells. Antioxidant properties determined using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and total phenolic content (TPC) assays showed significantly higher (p < 0.05) antioxidant activity in Grewia flava (ethanol extract) than Grewia flava (water extract) and Grewia bicolor (ethanol and water extracts). Results: Using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5diphenyltetrazolium bromide or MTT assay, cytotoxicity results showed that extracts of Grewia bicolor and Grewia flava were less toxic to HeLa cells at tested concentrations compared to the untreated control. This confirmed the low toxicity of these edible fruits at the tested concentrations in HeLa cells. Furthermore, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced cell loss was effectively reduced by pre-incubating HeLa cells with Grewia bicolor and Grewia flava extracts, with Grewia flava (ethanol extract) revealing better protection. Conclusion: The effect was speculated to be associated with the higher antioxidant activity of Grewia flava (ethanol extract). Additional studies will warrant confirmation of the mechanism of action of such effects.

• Nonlinear Functional Analysis and Applications
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.135-173
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• 2023

The purpose of this paper is to introduce and study a method for solving the split equality of variational inequality and f, g-fixed point problems in reflexive real Banach spaces, where the variational inequality problems are for uniformly continuous pseudomonotone mappings and the fixed point problems are for Bregman relatively f, g-nonexpansive mappings. A strong convergence theorem is proved under some mild conditions. Finally, a numerical example is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.21-29
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• 2013

Objective: The study was carried out to evaluate the hepatoprotective and antioxidant potential of Ziziphus mucronata (ZM) fruit extract. Methods: The different types of fruit extract were prepared by soaking the dry powdered fruit in different solvents followed by rotary evaporation. Each extract was tested for its phenol content and antioxidant activities. An in vivo study was performed in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Thirty adult male SD rats (aged 21 weeks) were divided into six groups of five rats each and treated as follows: The normal control (NC) received distilled water while the dimethoate control (DC) received 6 mg/kg.bw.day-1 dimethoate dissolved in distilled water. The experimental groups E1, E2, E3, and E0 received dimethoate (6 mg/kg.bw) + ZMFM (100 mg/kg.bw-1), dimethoate (6 mg/kg.bw) + ZMFM (200 mg/kg.bw-1), dimethoate (6 mg/kg.bw) + ZMFM (300 mg/kg.bw-1), and ZMFM (300 mg/kg.bw-1) only. Both the normal control and the dimethoate control groups were used to compare the results. After 90 days, rats were sacrificed, blood was collected for biochemical assays, and livers were harvested for histological study. Results: High phenol content was estimated, and 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl radical (DPPH) spectrophotometric, thin layer chromatography (TLC) and 2, 2-Azobis-3-ethyl benzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) assays showed a high antioxidant activity among the extracts. The preventive effects observed in the E1, E2 and E3 groups proved that the extract could prevent dimethoate toxicity by maintaining normal reduced glutathione (GSH), vitamin C and E, superoxide dismutase, catalase, cholineasterase and lipid profiles. The preventive effect was observed to be dose dependent. The EO group showed no extract-induced toxicity. Histological observations agreed with the results obtained in the biochemical studies. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that ZM methanol fruit extract is capable of attenuating dimethoate-induced toxicity because of its high antioxidant activity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.307-316
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• 2022

Yeasts play an important role in spontaneous fermentation of traditional alcoholic beverages. Our previous study revealed that a mixed-consortia of both Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces yeasts were responsible for fermentation of khadi, a popular, non-standardized traditional beverage with an immense potential for commercialization in Botswana. Functional characterization of isolated fermenting yeasts from mixed consortia is an indispensable step towards the selection of potential starter cultures for commercialization of khadi. In this study, we report the characterization of 13 khadi isolates for the presence of brewing-relevant phenotypes such as their fermentative capacity, ability to utilize a range of carbon sources and their ability to withstand brewing-associated stresses, as a principal step towards selection of starter cultures. Khadi isolates such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomycodes ludwigii and Candida ethanolica showed good brewing credentials but Lachancea fermentati emerged as the isolate with the best brewing attributes with a potential as a starter culture. However, we were then prompted to investigate the potential of L. fermentati to influence the fruity aromatic flavor, characteristic of khadi. The aroma components of 18 khadi samples were extracted using headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) and identified using a GC-MS. We detected esters as the majority of volatile compounds in khadi, typical of the aromatic signature of both khadi and L. fermentati associated fermentations. This work shows that L. fermentati has potential for commercial production of khadi.