WIReDSpace

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Recent Submissions

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    Adoption of Homotopy Perturbation Method (HPM) for non-Darcy Flow in Porous Media
    (Elsevier, 2023) Arvin, Amirhossein; Fattahi, Mohammad Hadi; Sedghi-Asl, Mohammad; Mohammadi, Seyyed Abbas
    For non-Darcy flow in coarse porous media, an analytical solution based on the Homotopy Perturbation Method (HPM) is proposed. Subsurface water profile data of a laboratory model are used for six different inlet discharges in both rounded and crushed coarse porous media types. The model slope is S = 0.00001 close to the horizon. Different upstream and downstream water level boundary conditions are considered. The results of the analytical solution of nonDarcy flow by the HPM method are compared with experimental data. The normal objective function (NOF) is used for better comparison between the results of analytical solutions and experimental data. Results depict that the HPM method provides acceptable solutions in both rounded and crushed media types. The analytical results of flow rates q = 26.25 lit/s with NOF of 0.000294586 percent in rounded porous media and q = 30 lit/s with NOF of 0.00028660 percent in crushed one are the most consistent with the experimental data. The proposed HPM solution performs very well, particularly at higher flow rates, in both rounded and crushed porous media.
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    The Unusual Architecture of RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase (RdRp)’s Catalytic Chamber Provides a Potential Strategy for Combination Therapy against COVID-19
    (MDPI, 2023-03) Metwally, Kamel; Abo-Dya, Nader E.; Alahmdi, Mohammed Issa; Albalawi, Maha Z.; Yahya, Galal; Aljoundi, Aimen; Salifu, Elliasu Y.; Elamin, Ghazi; Ibrahim, Mahmoud A. A.; Sayed, Yasien; Fanucchi, Sylvia; Soliman, Mahmoud E. S.
    The unusual and interesting architecture of the catalytic chamber of the SARS-CoV-2 RNAdependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) was recently explored using Cryogenic Electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM), which revealed the presence of two distinctive binding cavities within the catalytic chamber. In this report, first, we mapped out and fully characterized the variations between the two binding sites, BS1 and BS2, for significant differences in their amino acid architecture, size, volume, and hydrophobicity. This was followed by investigating the preferential binding of eight antiviral agents to each of the two binding sites, BS1 and BS2, to understand the fundamental factors that govern the preferential binding of each drug to each binding site. Results showed that, in general, hydrophobic drugs, such as remdesivir and sofosbuvir, bind better to both binding sites than relatively less hydrophobic drugs, such as alovudine, molnupiravir, zidovudine, favilavir, and ribavirin. However, suramin, which is a highly hydrophobic drug, unexpectedly showed overall weaker binding affinities in both binding sites when compared to other drugs. This unexpected observation may be attributed to its high binding solvation energy, which disfavors overall binding of suramin in both binding sites. On the other hand, hydrophobic drugs displayed higher binding affinities towards BS1 due to its higher hydrophobic architecture when compared to BS2, while less hydrophobic drugs did not show a significant difference in binding affinities in both binding sites. Analysis of binding energy contributions revealed that the most favorable components are the ∆Eele,∆Evdw, and ∆Ggas, whereas ∆Gsol was unfavorable. The ∆Eele and ∆Ggas for hydrophobic drugs were enough to balance the unfavorable ∆Gsol, leaving the ∆Evdw to be the most determining factor of the total binding energy. The information presented in this report will provide guidelines for tailoring SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors with enhanced binding profiles.
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    Health-Seeking Behaviour Among Men Aged 15–54 Years: An Analysis of Socio-Economic and Demographic Determinants Using 2015–16 Angola Demographic and Health Survey
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025) Choeu, Motlhaume M.
    Background: Health-seeking behaviour among men in Angola remains disturbingly low. According to the 2015–16 Angola Demographic and Health Survey, 87.2% of men did not seek medical care when ill or injured. Despite numerous national and international campaigns promoting the use of healthcare services to achieve good health and well-being for all, men as a distinct population group have received limited attention in Angola’s public health agenda . This study aims to investigate the socio-demographic factors influencing health-seeking behaviour among men aged 15–54 in Angola. Methodology: This quantitative study used secondary cross-sectional data from the 2015–16 Angola Demographic and Health Survey (ADHS), specifically the men's recode dataset (MR file), comprising a weighted sample of 5,684 men aged 15–54 years. The outcome variable was health-seeking behaviour, measured by whether respondents sought medical care in the past 30 days due to illness or accident. Data analysis was conducted using Stata version 14 and involved three stages: univariate analysis (frequencies and percentages), bivariate analysis (Pearson Chi-square test), and multivariate analysis (stepwise binary logistic regression) to assess associations between socio-demographic factors and health-seeking behaviour. Results: Majority of respondents were aged 15-24 years old, accounting for 43.8%. The proportion of men in Angola varied by region, with the majority residing in Luanda region 45,5% and 71,7% living in urban areas. Only 15.2 % of men sought medical care in the last 30 days due to an illness or accident. Most men, 90.5% of them did not have health insurance. The multivariate analysis indicated that age groups 35-44 (aOR=1.75; 95% CI: 1.28:2.37), affiliation with the Catholic religion (aOR=0.65; 95% CI: 0.46:0.91), converse in Portuguese (aOR=1.68; 95% CI: 1.17:2.39), some media exposure (aOR=2.48; 95% CI: 1.26:4.86), full media exposure (aOR=1.96; 95% CI: 1.03:3.71) proved to be associated with Health-seeking behaviour among men aged 15-54 years in Angola. Geographical disparities were also evident, with men in rural areas and certain regions like Cabinda, Huambo, and Bie were found to be less likely to seek Health than those in urban centers like the region of Luanda. The study also highlighted the positive influence of health insurance (aOR=2.88; 95% CI: 1.75:4.72) and those with richer wealth status (aOR=1.75; 95% CI: 1.00:3.05) on Health utilization. Conclusion: Health-seeking behaviour among men aged 15–54 in Angola is low, with factors such as religious affiliation, place of residence, region, wealth status, health insurance, and media exposure significantly influencing men's health-seeking behaviour. The findings ix highlight the need for the Angolan government to strengthen health policies aimed at improving men's health-seeking behaviour. This study contributes to a better understanding of men's health-seeking dynamics in Angola, and it underscores the need for more comprehensive data collection and further research in this area
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    Through My Lenz: The historical and cultural dynamics of Lenasia South, pre and present democracy
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025) Bhana, Aarti; Cowling, Lesley
    Lenasia South was established as a designated “group area” for Indians under the apartheid government. The first residents moved into this newly established area, 35km away from Johannesburg, in the 1980s, after they were forcibly removed from their homes in other parts of Johannesburg. They developed Lenasia South through businesses, religious institutions and traditions. It became a place of belonging. This long-form journalism project is a journey of my life as I navigate the familiarity of living in Lenasia South and the realities outside of it. It blends memoir and research, and uses theoretical frameworks of identity, race and community to reflect how Lenasia South evolved as South Africa transitioned. It further examines how post-apartheid social and economic shifts, such as land grabs and rising crime, fragmented Lenasia South’s community. As I remembered it, my home was beginning to disappear. “Through My Lenz” is a tribute and a critical reflection of Indian identity and belonging in a changing South Africa.
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    Rethinking the Impact of War on the Environment in IR: A Relational Ecological Exploration of Ecocide in Gaza
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025) Gandhi, Rahul
    Rethinking the impact of war on the environment in IR may be possible by advancing a relational ecological approach. To do so, this study evaluates how coloniality in thinking IR limits understandings of the impact of war on the environment which can be broadened by rethinking IR through the case study of Gaza. To do this rethinking, this study provides an overview of the literatures which aid in developing a critical appraisal of IR in terms of its thinking, its treatment of war and security, the impact of war on the environment, and the Gaza Strip. These critical viewpoints evaluate the colonial foundations of IR which operate through logics such as linearity, occlusion, and abstraction which marginalise the environment and subalterns as securitised objects. Based on this critique, a framework which understands the world as an ecology of relationality between all things can be advanced as an alternative. This could be strengthened by enquiries into history and grappling with the challenges of linearity and positionality. Rethinking IR in this relational way can platform marginalised subjects, promote new methods, and deconstruct the dualist boundaries enforced by IR which occlude a relational understanding of war and the environment. In discussing the case study of Gaza where war is currently unfolding, this study explores a discussion of Palestinian history and identity to appraise the roles of coloniality and relationality in shaping a complex reality of Palestinian being. This informs an understanding of how the environment, as a part of this being, can experience violence. Hence, the impact of war on the environment can be explored as co-constituted processes of ecocide and genocide. To discuss this in terms of the decolonial framework of relationality, the humanitarian impact of war in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is explicated. Furthermore, the impact on the environment is explored in terms of categories such as water, waste, energy infrastructure, marine environment, terrestrial environment, and air. This engages mixed-method research to source descriptions of the impact and quantify the loss of vegetation. Together, the impact on humans and the environment can be understood as ecocide and genocide in which the targeting of people has collateral damage in nature either directly from war or indirectly as a result of displacement and disruption of water and sanitation services. Furthermore, the environment may also experience destruction directly in severing the relations forming Palestinian being. Ecocide is thus resulting from a war of genocide in which life forms become dispensable to coloniality. Thinking relationally is thus able to grasp such complexities of war and violence and possibly imagine ways in which this could be disrupted to advance peace and respect for all forms of life.