Vernacular discourse about science reveals theorizations of it as a power-laden, morally charged experimentation with the world guided by (often implicit) ethical orientations. Applying these vernacular theorizations to interpret professional class science on the continent, the author argues that this science has been shaped most profoundly by the politics of independence. While indigenous projects, European imperialism, and neoliberalism shape scientific institutions, African independence continues to inform the moral and political ends toward which science is thought to work. Understanding the alignment of professional class science with nation-building can help guide the recalibration of science toward the goal of substantive independence.

Cadra cautella is a serious insect pest of stored figs and dates. The irradiation sensitivity of different development stages of C. cautella and large-scale testing of the proposed irradiation quarantine doses (50–500 Gy), were investigated. The impact of a PI dose of 400 Gy on the physiochemical and microbiological quality of dry dates (Bartamoda cv.) stored at room temperature was also investigated. An irradiation dose of 100 Gy prevented egg hatching in the F1 generation when 1–3 days old eggs were irradiated. Irradiation doses of 200 and 300 Gy prevented adult emergence when 2nd and 4th instar larvae were irradiated. When the pupae stage was irradiated, an irradiation dose of 400 Gy prevented the hatchability of F1 generation, indicating that this stage was the most radio-tolerant. The results of large-scale testing of the proposed phytosanitary irradiation dose (400 Gy) applied to 18, 0000 pupae resulted in no reproduction (zero hatching of F1 generation). There were no significant differences in the physiochemical properties of stored dates during the storage period at room temperature. Stable ESR signal intensity was recorded for 6 months in all parts of the irradiated fruits, and the intensity was highest in the kernel. The PI dose of 400 Gy also slightly reduced all microorganisms' counts. In conclusion, the dose level of 400 Gy stopped the reproduction potential of C. cautella. and they maintained the quality characteristics of dry date Bartamoda fruits during storage at room temperature for 6 months in tightly closed packages.

Let $[a_1(x),a_2(x),\ldots ,a_n(x),\ldots ]$ be the continued fraction expansion of $x\in [0,1)$ and $q_n(x)$ be the denominator of its nth convergent. The irrationality exponent and Khintchine exponent of x are respectively defined by

$$ \begin{align*} \overline{v}(x)=2+\limsup_{n\to\infty}\frac{\log a_{n+1}(x)}{\log q_n(x)} \quad \text{and}\quad \gamma(x)=\lim_{n\to\infty}\frac{1}{n}\sum_{i=1}^{n}\log a_i(x). \end{align*} $$

We study the multifractal spectrum of the irrationality exponent and the Khintchine exponent for continued fractions with nondecreasing partial quotients. For any $v>2$, we completely determine the Hausdorff dimensions of the sets $\{x\in [0,1): a_1(x)\leq a_2(x)\leq \cdots , \overline {v}(x)=v\}$ and

$$ \begin{align*}\bigg\{x\in[0,1): a_1(x)\leq a_2(x)\leq\cdots, \lim\limits_{n\to\infty}\frac{\log a_1(x)+\log a_2(x)+\cdots+\log a_n(x)}{\psi(n)}=1\bigg\},\end{align*} $$

where $\psi :\mathbb {N}\rightarrow \mathbb {R}^+$ is a function satisfying $\psi (n)\to \infty $ as $n\to \infty $.