Waterleaf is an important leafy vegetable in many parts of West and Central Africa, which can survive long periods of water deficit owing to its succulence and induced crassulacean acid metabolism. However, it is not known whether harvesting during the offseason i.e. under water-limited conditions can alter the resilience of the plant to adverse environmental conditions. To investigate this, a pot experiment was set up in the screen house in which, uniform-sized cuttings of waterleaf were planted in 10-L pots filled with field soil and irrigated as needed until the plants were established. Ten days from planting, irrigation was withheld in two groups of plants, while one group (control plants) continued to receive water regularly as needed. In the water deficit groups, one group (T1) received water every two weeks coinciding with a period of harvest, while the other group received no water till the end. The shoot fresh and dry mass, height, leaf area, chlorophyll concentration, and leaf mass area ratio of the plants were recorded before and after harvesting. The results showed that at the first harvest, the fresh mass decreased by 33 % and 2.1 folds under T1 and T2 treatments, respectively, while at the second harvest, the decrease was 2.4 and 4.6 folds under T1 and T2 respectively. The dry mass remained unaltered in T1, but dropped by 34 % in T2 at the first harvest, while at the second harvest, the reduction was more pronounced (39 % and 3.1 fold for T1 and T2, respectively). In addition, the leaf area did not change with an increase in leaf thickness for T1, but decreased with a drop in leaf thickness for T2; meanwhile Chl a, Chl b and Chl a+b increased in T1, but remained unaltered in T2. Taken together these results indicate that harvesting reduces the ability of waterleaf to adapt to water deficit, leading to a marked reduction in shoot production especially under severe stress (T2) due probably to downregulation of photosynthesis following source (leaf area) size reduction. Therefore minimal irrigation of water leaves after every harvest in the offseason could improve production.

Key words: Water leaf, water deficit, yield, leaf area, leaf thickness, biomass

Environmental protection from ongoing hazards geared towards sustainable development of natural species the world over has become a topical issue affecting the human environment today. Humanity in this dispensation is living in a world characterized by mankind’s unquenchable thirst to reign as King of Creation with the desire to be considered superior to all other non-human species. This study is intended to condemn such a practice and rather intensify education on the possibilities to which mankind, as evident in Nkengasong’s Ancestral Earth needs to review his/her strategies towards relating with environmental non-human species as a way to ensure effective species management and sustainability. The research is predicated on the contention that Mankind, through his arrogance towards nature, either consciously or unconsciously, is the cause of his own predicament, especially in this era of environmental hazards and degradation. The work is informed by ecocriticism as a theory of literary criticism. It argues that the continuous prowess of environmental natural species on the one hand and humanity’s unethical Behavior towards the environment on the other, as well as the possible way forward towards ameliorating mankind’s thorny environmental hazards, are the crux of the matter in this study and in all human responsibilities towards ensuring a more sustainable species development.

Keywords:Anthropomorphism, Green Economy, Sustainable development, Environmental ethics, Anthropocentrism, Greenhouse gases, Global Warming.

A curious aspect of the theory of evolution is that everybody thinks he understands it. I mean philosophers, social scientists, the humanists, and so on. While, in fact, very few people (scholars) actually/really understand it as it stands, even as it stood when Charles Darwin expressed it, and even less as we now are able to understand it. At a meeting of the Linnean Society of London on July 1, 1858, Darwin proposed a theory of evolution by means of natural selection. His monumental treatise, The Origin of Species, was published a year later. Darwin’s theory revolutionized not only biological thinking, but also politics, sociology and moral philosophy. The weakest part of Darwin’s theory was its inability to account for the transfer of biological information from generation to generation. Although it was clear to him that natural selection could be meaningfully defined only in terms of heritable traits, the nature of heredity was poorly understood at that time. All the biological sciences (including genetic history, my own area of specialization) rest on two central principles. One is that all processes have an entire physical and chemical basis. The other is that all organisms and their characteristics are products of evolution. Hence, evolution provides a framework for understanding all the features of living things, and illuminates all the biological disciplines, from molecular biology and biochemistry to philosophy, behaviour and ecology. Evolution has important social implications in the health science, agriculture, conservation and other human endeavours. Moreover, evolution has profound implications for anthropology, sociology and philosophy – in short, for how we view ourselves. Everyone (scholar) should know something about evolution, and for anyone who envisions a career in the life sciences, an understanding of evolution is indispensable. This paper argues that man is an evolved being, a stark contrast of the Christian view that man was created by God according to the book of genesis. The paper further argues that Africa is the cradle of humanity taking into consideration the several archaeological hotspots found in the north, East and South Africa.

Keywords: Human evolution, Africa, Genetic variation, Biology, Ape, Species.

The aim of this study is to demonstrate that the meaning of a number of speech acts in Cameroon English (CamE) cannot be got from the linguistic elements used but from the context of use. The data are analysed using the speech act theory as propounded by Austin (1962) and defended by pragmaticians such as Searle (1969), Mey (1993), and Martinez-Flor and Uso-Juan (2010). Using the above theory, a number of speech acts were collected from the day to day interactions of Cameroonians between 2020 and 2023 and were analysed following their locutionary aspects, their illocutionary effects, and their perlocutionary force. The analysis shows that as the years go by, English speaking Cameroonians become even more and more creative in the way they construct and use their utterances. The meaning of these utterances is never dependent on the surface meaning of the wordings used but on the shared contextual knowledge of both the speaker and the audience. For example, in the sentence “has Fame Ndongo spoken to you?”, one might be tempted to think that the Cameroonian Minister of higher education (at least by the time this article was being written) had to talk to someone. Interestingly, this has nothing to do with someone speaking (verbally) to another. Rather, from the context of university lecturers in Cameroon, it is about the payment of research allowance by the government. The findings of the study therefore intimate that in order to understand most of the speech acts in CamE, we have to rely more on the intentions of the speaker and the shared contextual knowledge of both the speaker and the listener.

Keywords: Cameroon English, Pragmatics, Speech acts, semantics

This research studies and designs a topology for battery charge controller that interfaces four ports: two DC sources ports, one bi-directional storage port and one load port. In order to ensure the continuity in charging the battery and improving the efficiency of energy conversion, two comparators are used respectively to select and to send the higher value of the two voltages to the battery through MOSFETs. To ease the design of the prototype, the system has been broken down into four main parts which are: the input voltage regulation system, the five-volt voltage generator, the battery protection system and peripheral power supply and the battery level control system. The proposed prototype supports an input voltage varying from 12V to 24V and a maximum input of 10A. To finalize the design, the software Autodesk Fusion 360 was used to come out with the two dimensions (2D) printed circuit board and the three dimensions (3D) printed circuit board.Key words: Input voltage regulation system, Five volts voltage regulator, Battery protection system, Battery level control system.

The poor level of public water supply gives the water Wells an important place in the life of the population of Kumba. Unfortunately, its quality is a major challenge. With the present population growth rate estimated at about 4% annually, more inhabitants turn to these sources of water. The objective of this study is to geolocate the water wells and their contaminants sources at Anglican Quarter, Kumba I Subdivision, and also to realize the chemical analyses of the water collected. By so doing, helping the sanitation authorities to realize the health map of Anglican and to show the importance of GIS in health. The coordinates of the wells and the contaminants sources were taken with a GPS receiver and their depths through a plumb bulb and a tape. The chemical analyses of the sample water collected were done in a laboratory. The tape was used to obtain the proximity of wells and the contaminants falling between 0 to 15m and above. The result shows that 3.3% of wells have good pH according to WHO, 16,7% in nitrate, and concerning electrical conductivity, no well met the WHO norms when 3,3% in chloride. This result can directly help the health authorities to identify the types of water diseases located in the quarters studied.Keys words: Contaminants, Wells, WHO norms, Geolocation.

Due to the increasing demand of milk alternatives, related to both health and ethics needs, plant-based yoghurt-like products are increasing in demand. This work sought to compare yoghurt made from skimmed milk with that from plant-based alternatives such as corn milk-banana, soy milk-banana and soy milk, corn milk-banana combinations. Fermentation at controlled condition was carried out. Data collected from sensory analysis with the aid of a hedonic scale were statistically analysed, and results presented. The results from four main samples comprising of yoghurt made from skimmed milk, corn milk enriched with banana, soy milk enriched with banana and a combination of corn milk and soy milk enriched with banana is presented. Mean values calculated from the hedonic scale for all the different attributes, such as taste, flavour, general acceptability, texture and colour, showed sample A > Sample C > sample D > sample B. The results showed yoghurt products can be produced from, corn milk, soy milk and a blend of soy milk. Yoghurt product from soy milk enriched with banana flavour has the highest quality which is preferred over normal yoghurt from skimmed milk. Results showed plant-based yoghurts can conveniently substitute for animal-based yoghurts.

Key words: soy milk, corn milk, Sensory analysis.

The objective of this Project was to formulate an enriched snail-protein rich maize based food from locally and readily available raw materials. Through an experimental design, dried snails, maize, soy beans and crayfish were transformed by grinding into flour and content mixed to homogeneity following proportions of (%w/w) 40:30:25:5, 43:33:20:4 and 20:55:20:5 of carbohydrate, protein soybeans, snails and crayfish respective, considering FAO/WHO standards for infant food formulations. Evaluation of the sensory properties by a trained sensory analysis panel was carried out on the final product. Proximate analysis on the nutrient properties of the product was studied and quantified as described in ANFOR 1981 and 1984 with protein assayed following colorimetric techniques. Determination of shelf life of the product was done by assessment of the microbial load over time using several dilutions of samples as described by APHA. Coliform counts determined with violet red bile (VRB), Total Bacterial load with Nutrient Agar (Sigma –Aldrich) and Total Fungal load by ISO horizontal methods as described by ISO 8786.1 USING Sabouraud Dextrose agar. Appropriate packaging was realized as per ISO standards of 9001. 2005 to ensure quality, safety and efficiency of the product. Results show that the carbohydrate content of the best sample following sensory analysis (Sample 1) was 48.26g/100g Pdt, the protein content, 21.97g/100g Pdt, the fat content, 10.93g/100g Pdt, the Ash (mineral) content, 2.97mg/100g Pdt, the Energy content 15.4Kcal and the Dry matter, 86.60mg/100g Pdt. The most abundant mineral was calcium 87.03mg/100g Pdt, followed by Magnesium, 16.00mg/100g Pdt, Iron, 3.20mg/100gPdt. Sample one which was the best sample was assessed for its microbial and shelf-life quality. The weaning food had no microbe at week zero. After six weeks, the bacterial load ranged from 7.7 to 227.2 x 10-5 Cfu/g, coliform load from 2.2 to 70.4 x 10-5 Cfu/g and fungal load from 1 to 6 x 10-6 Cfu/g. and continued progressively to Lethal point. The product is packaged following the Codex Standards to preserve the hygienic and other qualities of the food.

Keywords: Weaning food, Proximal composition, Minerals, Microbiological load, Packaging

The mechanical behaviour of local wood specie (Bilinga) in the south west region of Cameroon under the bending loading condition during the rainy and dry seasons are studied. The objective of this study was to determine the response of the wood (Bilinga) under mechanical stress in both weather conditions and also to study the crack initiation and its propagation of this wood of any of the species using the finite element analysis and compare its result using the stochastic model.

To meet these objectives, the three-point flexural tests were used to determine the mechanical properties of the wood studied. A finite element software ANSYS workbench 2020 R1 is used for the numerical simulation on macroscopic level by one of the most recent technologies called the Smart crack growth which was introduced from the 2019 version. The geometry was modelled in SolidWorks (2016) with initial cracks of 4mm and 8mm introduced in each sample and imported to ANSYS work which has all the tools to perform linear fracture and further analyses. The stress intensity factor (SIF) determines the fracture toughness of the material which is subjected to linear-elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) where the stress intensify variable is represented as K_IC. Fatigue crack growth has been modelled using Paris’ law. The crack growth was simulated based on Mode I crack specimen with initial crack length of 4mm and 8mm respectively. The stochastic quasi3D-modeling of crack growth on micro scale used for comparing the crack growth rate using the heterogeneous material approach and taking into account the microstructure and fracture mechanism of the Bilinga wood. After analysing 10 samples each of Bilinga from the rainy and the dry season, results for Bilinga of the rainy season shows an elasticity modulus of 8.828 MPa as compared to that of the dry season which is 6.7415 MPa, for the stress intensity factor, Bilinga of the rainy season was 16,347 MPa√m as compared to that of the dry season which is 9,478 MPa√m. For the energy release rate, Bilinga of the rainy season was 134428 J/m² as compared to that of the dry season which is 145575 J/m² and for the rupture energy, Bilinga of the rainy season was 1875.12 kJ/m^2, as compared to that of the dry season which is 1276.25 J/m^2. For the moisture content, Bilinga of the rainy season was 14% as compared to that of the dry season which is 12%and for the density, Bilinga of the rainy season was 780kg/m³ as compared to that of the dry season which is 680 kg/m³.

The result of stochastic modelling of the crack growth in the array of cracks and pores of characteristic size shows that the simulation is close to FE-modelling results. Therefore, stochastic simulation of crack growth in the wood at mesoscale and micro scale shows the lower local stress intensity factors and slower crack growth due to existence of the scale-time hierarchy. The crack growth rate at macroscale equals v_cr = 0.845-0.9·10^-3 which corresponds to macroscopic stress intensity variable K_IC.

Keywords: Viscoelastic, cracks, mechanical behaviour, Bilinga, FE-modelling, Stochastic modelling, structural approach.

Common Law Principles are postulates derived from judge made law, judicial precedence, case law or stare decisis enacted by judges during proceedings in situations that the laws are not clear, confusing, conflicting and ambiguous to appropriately cluster evidence for the prevalence of justice. It is worth noting that in Cameroon Common Law Principles are applicable only in areas that National laws have not been developed as it comes under the auspices of Received English law. This process in Cameroon is also depicted from the discretionary power bestowed to the judiciary by the constitution. Common Law Principles are not rooted from judicial decisions, rather from National legislations made by the parliament, policymakers and ombudsmen. This article seeks to provide a clear view on the level that technological advancement triggers the application of Common Law Principles inside the tribunals in Anglophone Cameroon, especially in the service sector.  To achieve the aforementioned objectives, the researcher makes use of an empirical study based-approach with data gathered using primary and secondary sources. With case study carried out on two main Common Law Principles which are Caveat Emptor, Contributing Negligence. The researcher equally came up with this specific question: what are the mechanisms put in place by the judiciary to solve the exigency brought by advanced technology that affects Common law Principles? The review of literature reveals that a harmonised scheme of both judicial and scientific method of gathering evidence is needed to yield suitable dispute resolution. Unfortunately, Common Law Principles cannot efficiently handle disputes with scientific aspect if they are not upgraded. Other gettable data’s encompasses inadequate method of gathering and interpreting scientific proofs by trier of fact, magistrates and legist in a lawsuit because of lack of experts as well as the limitation of case law and manual reporting system. This study will be significant to judges, magistrates and legal practitioners. It will be useful to students, lecturers and administrators.

Mobile money services have been dominating the financial environment of Cameroon for years. Many small businesses are using these services in their operations. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine the effect of mobile money services on the sales performance of SMEs in Kumba. Specifically, the research aims to assess the effect of mobile payments, and mobile financial services on the sales performance of SMEs in Kumba. An explanatory research design was employed to conduct the study. The quantitative data was collected using questionnaires administered to a sample of 75 respondents chosen through a combination of quota and purposive sampling techniques among the owners and/or Managers of small businesses. The findings indicate that there is a strong effect of mobile payments on the sales performance of SMEs in Kumba. The findings also indicate that only 10.7 percent (not enough to be analysed of SMEs in Kumba used mobile financial services. In light of the results, the researcher recommended that owners and managing directors of SMEs in Kumba should make full use of mobile money services. Also, the government should ease access to credit for SMEs. Finally, the researcher recommended mobile money services providers to educate users to only validate transactions that carry the name of the company so as to solve the issue of scamming.Keywords — mobile money services, sales performance, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.

In the domain of engineering, laboratory practice is essential and with computer aided teaching tools, the transmission of knowledge to students become easily.  Induction motor been one of the electric machines taught for undergraduate programs, to analyse this machine to obtain its parameters, most of the calculations are done manually and time consuming. Also, representing the curves to observe the behaviour of the machine from starting to normal running condition is mostly kept aside which made it difficult for the learners to master the behaviour of the machine. The experiments which are been performed in the laboratory by students contains lots of iterations and lengthy calculations which make it difficult to solve mentally. To remedy these situations, three simulation platforms have been designed using MATLAB/GUI to facilitate the understanding of this machine. The design platforms are: three phase induction motor performances analysis platform (were  data from the no-load test, blocked rotor test and the DC test are inserted to calculate the machine parameters and visualized the  curves), three phase induction motor parameters platform (known machine parameters  are inserted here for observation of the curves only) and single phase induction motor platform: here, the platform is divided into two sections, a section for laboratory test data and a section for the calculated parameters to observe only the curve. With a simple mouse click on the corresponding pushbutton, the action is executed.

Keywords:Blocked rotor, Induction motor, GUI, Matlab and Platform.

Spatial information on solid waste management is essential in planning collection routes, apportioning legal dumpsites and siting of collection bins using ArcGIS and Golden Surfer software. Increased living standards, growing population and rapid urban development come with serious environmental threats on proper waste management in developing countries like Cameroon. Uncollected and improperly disposal of wastes pose serious risks to public health and groundwater. A systematic field traverse method was used to study household solid waste was conducted in this study between December 2016 and September 2017. 69 existing handcarts and 15 carriage bins provided by Buea Council were surveyed. Waste was categorized into kitchen waste/food waste, garden waste, plastic and polythene wastes, paper and cardboards, glass and ceramic waste and others. 109 handcart and 59 carriages of different capacities were proposed to be added to existing ones at defined positions. Collection and transportation route system linking neighbourhoods was realised.

KEYWORDS: GIS, Geospatial tool, Household waste, Buea, Solid waste

Developing new methods for quantifying low levels of radioactivity on geological samples is important especially where complex laboratory set up is not available. Digital autoradiography was used to obtain correlation plots for intensity against activity for ⁹⁰Sr and ¹³⁷Cs, taking gamma and beta emitters in consideration using quartz as the geological substrate. Storage phosphor imaging plates were used to obtain intensities at various activities at fixed exposure time and using the characteristic curve measured intensities in plates can be used to calculate the activity on the sample after a fixed exposure time.

KEYWORDS: Digital autoradiography, storage phosphor imaging, activity on substate

Sustainable development of natural environmental species has been a very pre-occupying issue in the 21^st Century characterized by the fight against logging, poaching, bush fires and other undesirable actions aimed at ameliorating the lot of humankind in the environment. This paper investigates and analyses the extent to which the Nso people have contributed in ensuring sustainable green economy in their environment. The study adopts ecocriticism as a theory of literary criticism in its analysis. It is based on the hypothetical contention that as time changes, the Nso environment which has been in fact for quite a long time faces disintegration due amongst other reasons to increase in population which has led to the opening of new farms to feed the increasing population, building of more houses for living homes and for recreational and other facilities. The achievement of such projects is often done without regard to protecting and sustaining the existing species. This paper therefore argues that humankind needs to take a radical stance to ensure that the 21^st Century environment is challenged, re-defined and re-positioned with regard to the changing realities like population growth, more technological advancements and their consequences. The paper further challenges the Nso people for exercising environmental skepticism in this era in which the preaching of human/environmental friendliness is nowadays common practice.

KEYWORDS: Green Economy, Sustainable Development, Ecological reading, Buffalo Rider, Natural Environmental species