Welcome to AfricArXiv
This initiative showcases UbuntuNet's commitment to fostering knowledge sharing, collaboration, and accessibility within the African research community. With AfricArxiv, researchers across the continent have a dedicated platform to disseminate their findings, making them accessible to a global audience. By facilitating open access to scholarly work, UbuntuNet Alliance plays a pivotal role in advancing the principles of open science, enhancing research visibility, and driving innovation across Africa.
Communities in AfricArXiv
Select a community to browse its collections.
- The general repository is open for individual submissions by researchers, librarians and research administrators.
- Showcase of project activities, presentations, and scholarly contributions curated by the AfricArXiv initiative.
- Scholarly items sorted by country > Institution > Department
- A Rapid Grant Fund to address research questions and implement science engagement activities associated with COVID-19
Recent Submissions
The Black British Racial Trauma Questionnaire (BBRTQ): A Culturally Grounded Framework for Assessing Racial Trauma Among Black People in the UK
(2025-11-14) Delroy Constantine-Simms
Racial trauma remains under-assessed in UK mental health practice, particularly among Black British individuals facing systemic, interpersonal, and historical racism. Standard diagnostic tools—such as the PCL-5, DASS-21, and ACE Questionnaire—fail to recognise racism as a distinct trauma source. U.S.-centric instruments like the RBTSSS and UnRESTS offer targeted assessments but lack cultural relevance in British contexts. This study introduces the Black British Racial Trauma Questionnaire (BBRTQ), a 60-item instrument designed to assess racialised distress within UK-specific institutional and historical frameworks. Forty-five Black British adults (aged 18–55) completed the BBRTQ online. Items were rated on a 5-point Likert scale, developed through qualitative interviews and expert review. Grounded in Helms’ racial identity theory, DeGruy’s post-traumatic slave syndrome, and Fricker’s epistemic injustice framework, exploratory factor analysis revealed a six-factor structure: Emotional Impact, Identity Conflict, Intergenerational Transmission, Systemic Exclusion, Resilience, and Survival Stress. These accounted for 71.2% of variance, with subscale reliability ranging from α = .84 to .91. Scoring yields a Total Trauma Index (TTI) and a Resilience Score, interpreted independently to distinguish trauma burden from culturally grounded coping. Their negative correlation (r = –.42, p < .001) supports the BBRTQ’s non-pathologising design. The BBRTQ demonstrates strong cultural specificity and psychometric robustness, supporting trauma-informed care and systemic reform in UK mental health services
Afroglobal History of Siyasa in the Central Sudan During the 19th Century
(Bibliothekserver Universität Leipzig, 2025-11-13) Duymus, Kerem
The Afroglobal history of siyasa in the Central Sudan during the 19 the century provides a very concrete and living picture of another global history that was created, transformed, and/or adjusted by the Central Sudanic actors. That was a globality with its own epistemology and actors, with its own visions and aspirations, with its own ambivalences and achievements. The century commenced with overarching radical reforms in the system of governance, being the first meaning of siyasa. In the south, the ambitious jihadist movement of the Sokoto Fodiwa elites, who sought to establish a riasa system, intersected with the tadbir reforms of al-Amin al-Kanemi in Bornu and Abdulkadir Sabun in Wadai. In the north, Yusuf paşa was preoccupied with a similar tadbir reform, soon intersecting with the tadbir reforms of the Ottoman Empire. A notable attribute of these reform movements was their decentralized yet interconnected nature. The actors involved in these reforms were driven by distinct agendas and motivations to implement change. The latter half of the nineteenth century witnessed a change in the focal point of discourse, with the core debates shifting from the system of governance to political and economic affairs, representing the secondary aspect of siyasa. In the Central Sudan, the legacy of tadbir prevailed, with a few notable exceptions such as the sultanate of Air and the western region of the Uthmaniyya Caliphate, which retained their idara system. This legacy led to an unparalleled expansion. This globality was so profoundly and systematically dismantled and destroyed that it is very hard for many to imagine its existence today. Still, this history offers invaluable insights that persist in guiding contemporary thought.
Hormonal Receptor Modulation by Lipid Phytoconstituents: The Role of Monounsaturated Fatty Acids and Folate Derivatives from Persea americana in Endometrial Carcinogenesis Prevention
(Publisher, 2025-11-13) Barack Ndenga
Endometrial cancer stands among the most prevalent gynecologic malignancies globally, driven by multifactorial interactions between hormonal imbalance, lipid dysregulation, and genetic susceptibility. Despite advances in targeted therapies, the prevention and management of hormonally driven endometrial carcinogenesis remain challenging due to metabolic side effects and resistance mechanisms.
This research introduces an innovative biochemical hypothesis suggesting that lipid-derived phyto-compounds from Persea americana (avocado) possess intrinsic capacities to modulate hormonal receptor dynamics and restore metabolic equilibrium at the cellular level. Leveraging AutoEvoChem™, a next-generation molecular modeling and quantum simulation platform developed by the author, we performed integrated computational analyses involving molecular docking, density functional theory (DFT), and hybrid molecular dynamics. These simulations focused on the interactions of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs)—particularly oleic and palmitoleic acids—and folate derivatives (folate and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate) with the binding domains of the estrogen receptor (ERα) and progesterone receptor (PR-B).
The computational results revealed a consistent pattern of receptor modulation. Oleic acid exhibited moderate but significant binding affinity to ERα, inducing partial destabilization of its active conformation and reducing ligand activation energy. In contrast, folate derivatives demonstrated high stability with PR-B, reinforcing its active conformation and enhancing its interaction with endogenous progesterone. When co-docked, oleic acid and folate formed a stabilized lipid–nucleotide complex that simultaneously downregulated ERα activation (−7.5 kcal/mol) and enhanced PR-B stability (−10.1 kcal/mol).
Dynamic simulation trajectories (200 ns) demonstrated a synergistic biochemical effect: the MUFA–folate system reduced estrogenic hyperactivation by ~28% while increasing progesterone-dependent transcriptional regulation by ~33%. System-level modeling further revealed decreased activation of estrogen-responsive oncogenes (MYC, CCND1) and upregulation of tumor-suppressor pathways (TP53, PTEN), supporting a protective, anti-proliferative phenotype.
Altogether, these findings point toward a novel mechanistic paradigm—the Hormonal Receptor Modulation Hypothesis (HRMH)—in which Persea americana-derived lipids and folate co-metabolites act as natural biochemical regulators of hormone receptors. Through lipid–nucleotide signaling crosstalk, these compounds contribute to membrane stability, receptor reprogramming, and homeostatic gene regulation, collectively mitigating the early molecular events of endometrial carcinogenesis.
This study represents the first computational evidence that avocado’s monounsaturated fatty acids and folate derivatives may synergistically influence estrogen–progesterone receptor equilibrium, offering a biochemical rationale for nutritional cancer prevention. Beyond its biomedical implications, this work highlights the potential of AutoEvoChem™ as an AI-driven molecular exploration platform capable of elucidating complex biochemical interactions relevant to oncology and reproductive health.
π as a Quantum Signature: Applications and Universal Implications
(Publisher, 2025-11-12) Barack Ndenga
In this final installment of the Quantum π Series, we explore the broad spectrum of applications and implications of π as a universal quantum signature. Moving beyond its classical mathematical definition, π is analyzed here as an emergent constant intrinsically linked to the structure of quantum systems and the probabilistic nature of physical space. By reinterpreting π as a ratio between spatial periodicity and quantized energy, we propose a unified framework that connects fundamental equations of quantum mechanics — including the Schrödinger, Fourier, and statistical distributions — to observable technological and cosmological phenomena.
In quantum technologies, π defines the phase coherence and error thresholds in quantum computation, cryptography, and metrology. In cosmology and quantum field theory, it shapes the vacuum energy density, Planck-scale fluctuations, and the quantization of spacetime itself. In mathematics, it offers a new epistemic perspective: π is not a fixed numerical artifact but an emergent geometric consequence of quantum boundary conditions.
Through numerical simulations and conceptual diagrams, we illustrate π’s recurrent appearance in wavefunction normalization, statistical ensembles, and field quantization. This leads us to propose that π constitutes a universal quantum signature, governing both the informational structure of the microscopic world and the macroscopic stability of the cosmos.
Keywords: Quantum π, emergent constant, wavefunction normalization, quantum technologies, cosmology, vacuum energy, quantum field theory, universal structure, mathematical physics.
Seismic Activation Model Reconciliation
(2025-11-10) Daniel S. Brox
A 2D strain energy diffusion model is presented as a means of reconciling differing time dependence of cumulative Benioff strain presented by previous seismic activation models. From the diffusion model point of view, decrease in shear modulus of mainshock fault occurs with anomalous diffusion of strain energy towards the mainshock critical slip nucleation zone.