Doctoral training to support sustainable soil geochemistry research in Africa.

Africa's potential for scientific research is not yet being realized, for various reasons including a lack of researchers in many fields and insufficient funding. Strengthened research capacity through doctoral training programmes in higher education institutes (HEIs) in Africa, to include collaboration with national, regional and international research institutions, can facilitate self-reliant and sustainable research to support socio-economic development. In 2012, the Royal Society and the UK's Department for International Development (now the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) launched the Africa Capacity Building Initiative (ACBI) Doctoral Training Network which aimed to strengthen research capacity and training across sub-Saharan Africa.

Application of GPS occurrence data to understand African white-backed vultures spatial home range overlaps.

Understanding key overlap zones and habitats which are intensively shared by species in space and time is crucial as it provides vital information to inform spatial conservation with maximum benefits. The advent of high-resolution GPS technologies associated with new analytical algorithms is revolutionizing studies underpinning species spatial and social interaction patterns within ecosystems. Here, using a robust home range estimation algorithm, the autocorrelated kernel density estimator (AKDE) equipped with an equally powerful home range overlap metric, the Bhattacharyya's coefficient (BC), we provide one of the first attempts to estimate and delineate spatial home range overlap zones for critically endangered African white-backed vultures to inform conservation planning.

The impact and implications of COVID-19: Reflections on the Zimbabwean society.

The article is an attempt to provide a kaleidoscopic interpretation of how social science scholarship views the socio-cultural terrain of Zimbabwe during and after the global health crisis, and the societal and business haemorrhage induced by the coronavirus (COVID-19). Built through a multi-perspective and triangulation involving a modified Delphic approach that engages archival methods involving document and literature review, content analysis and expert interpretation; the article unveils the various effects of COVID-19 on Zimbabwe. It is concluded that COVID-19 by its nature is disruptive to everyday life, restrictive to human-social relations and is an instigator to tradition, spirituality and intellectuality in the country.

Spatial distribution of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis in metropolitan Harare, Zimbabwe.

Introduction: The contribution of high tuberculosis (TB) transmission pockets in propagating area-wide transmission has not been adequately described in Zimbabwe. This study aimed to describe the presence of hotspot transmission of TB cases in Harare city from 2011 to 2012 using geospatial techniques.

Methods: Anonymised TB patient data stored in an electronic database at Harare City Health department was analysed using geospatial methods.

Spatial overlaps in the distribution of HIV/AIDS and malaria in Zimbabwe.

Background: In most developing economies particularly in Africa, more people are likely to die of HIV/AIDS and malaria compared to other diseases. HIV/AIDS tends to be superimposed on the long standing malaria burden particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The detection and understanding of spatial overlaps in disease occurrence is important for integrated and targeted disease control.