In Ngandanjika (Democratic Republic of Congo), there has been a decline in sweet potato root yields, explained on the one hand by the lack of propagation materials, which are vines, and on the other hand by the old age of these cuttings, which have not undergone any varietal improvement for several years. The average yield there varies from 6 to 14 tons per hectare, whereas in research stations such as Yangambi, yields easily reach 40 tons. With a view to increasing crop yields, the Mbuaya variety, one of the most widely grown varieties, was selected and the effect of the length of the cuttings (vines) on growth and yield during the 2022-2023 growing season was evaluated. The trial was conducted at the MPASU Site on a randomised complete block design with three replicates, each of which was in turn divided into five elementary plots representing the experimental treatments. The treatments consisted of cuttings 20 cm long (T1), 25 cm (T2), 30 cm (T3), 35 cm (T4) and 40 cm (T5). The results show a higher yield (14.7 tons per hectare) of roots with 40 cm long cuttings, followed by 12.7 tons per hectare obtained with 35 cm long cuttings. The lowest average is 4.5 tons per hectare for 20 cm long cuttings.

The neuropsychiatric conditions; depression and anxiety develop from oxidative stress together with neuroinflammation. The research evaluates if lutein ameliorates anxiety and depression symptoms in rats exposed to scopolamine. 36 male Wistar rats (105g - 153g) were distributed randomly into six distinct groups. Group 1: Negative Control, Group 2: Scopolamine only treated group, Group 3: Scopolamine + Lutein (20mg/kg), Group 4: Scopolamine + Lutein (40mg/kg), Group 5: Scopolamine + Lutein (60mg/kg), Group 6: Scopolamine + Imipramine (standard drug - 10mg/kg). Scopolamine was administered intraperitoneally and lutein orally. Statistical analysis was conducted through one way ANOVA with Post hoc Fischer’s LSD. The experiment used P<0.05 for multiple comparison significance detection. Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), and Glutathione (GSH) levels in Group 2 decreased substantially (p < 0.01 and p < 0.0001) when compared to control, Groups 4, 5, 6 which improved the SOD and GSH levels toward normal levels. Catalase decreased dramatically (p < 0.0001) in Group 2 but treatment in Groups 4 and 5 elevated significantly (p < 0.01). These outcomes establish that Lutein protects against scopolamine induced oxidative stress, behavioral deficits and neurotoxicity. The research established that lutein treatment produced positive results for reversing both oxidative stress conditions and neurotoxicity effects and behavioral deficits provoked by scopolamine. Scopolamine caused a decrease in antioxidant enzymes levels which Lutein treatment at middle and high doses (40 and 60 mg/kg) successfully countered by restoring biomarkers, boosting neurotrophic signals for better behavioral results.

Middle Eastern cinema has received increasing attention in academia for its cultural and gendered narratives, but family systems' emotional architecture in such films has received little attention. Filling this gap in the literature, this research applies Murray Bowen’s Family Systems Theory to examine intergenerational emotional processes in Wadjda (2012), the first feature film by a Saudi woman. In this study, I utilized qualitative, doctrinal methodology and applied deductive scene-based codes from Bowen’s eight constructs, which focused primarily on emotional differentiation, triangulation, projection, and societal emotional process. Findings suggest Wadjda’s resistance extends beyond a symbolic or superficial act of defiance, whereby she is able navigate maternal fusion, paternal absence, and societal constraints through her emotional processes associated with features of agency, autonomy and relational clarity. In social and familial systems, her portrait of agency exemplified systemically embedded agency that serves as a form of supported emotion-regulated defiance. By drawing on cultural and feminist film analysis with Bowen’s clinical theory, I challenged traditional perceptions of social family systems, providing a different lens to view emotionally supportive family systems as active sites of gendered negotiation. The contribution from this study extends family systems theory beyond a therapeutic sense, offering another approach to understand how emotionally enabled dynamics provide resistance in patriarchal societies. Specifically, it became apparent that depictions of agency in patriarchal cultures through an emotional systems framework may provide a deeper analysis of resistance than only through a symbolic critique.