Taeniid infections pose a significant threat to both animal and public health, as certain tapeworms within this group can also infect humans, potentially leading to severe health conditions. Therefore, this calls for preventive and control measures, such as regular deworming of dogs. While the efficacy of deworming has been established in developed countries, there is a paucity of reported deworming practices in rural areas of developing countries, such as Tanzania. This study aims to understand determinants for helminth treatment-seeking behavior towards control of cestodial taeniid infections in rural settings in northern Tanzania. A cross-sectional study was undertaken in agropastoral and pastoral areas of northern Tanzania. Comprehensive data from household surveys in selected sub-villages were collected to ascertain dog ownership, dog deworming practices, and the availability of dewormers. Analytical methods were employed to discern how various determinants influenced deworming practices among dog owners in these communities. Awareness of dewormers specifically formulated for dogs emerged as a pivotal factor affecting dog deworming practices. Dog owners who were informed about appropriate dog dewormers were nearly two times more likely to engage in deworming compared to those with limited knowledge (OR = 1.78, 95% CI 1.77 - 4.18, p < 0.001). A majority 32(51.6%, 95% CI: 38.7-64.3) acknowledged accessing dewormers for livestock within their wards. Praziquantel a potent dewormer on cestodes was least known to most dog owners 2(13%, 95% CI: 2.3-41.6). Praziquantel, a potent and common dewormer effective against cestodial taeniid infections, remains relatively unknown in rural areas of northern Tanzania. Therefore, more awareness on appropriate deworming agents against taeniids in dogs should be raised in rural dog-keeping communities.

Introduction Livestock abortigenic agents, which are microorganisms that lead to premature foetal death and expulsion before completion of the gestation period, are common in Africa and Asia. Abortion events cause economic losses by lowering reproduction (and hence herd/flock sizes) and effects on milk production. Despite the importance of livestock production for food security and livelihoods of millions of the world’s poorest communities, very little is known about the scale, magnitude or causes of livestock abortion in Africa. The aim of this review was to determine the current status of the burden of livestock abortion and surveillance measures adopted for livestock abortigenic pathogens in Africa and Asia, and to explore feasible surveillance technologies. Methodology A systematic literature search was conducted using Preferred Reporting of Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines in four databases for studies published between 1 Jan 1990 and 31 July 2021 that reported epidemiological surveys of livestock abortigenic pathogens in cattle, goats and sheep in Africa and Asia including; Brucella spp., Neospora caninum, Toxoplasma gondii, Rift valley fever virus, Coxiella burnetii, Chlamydia, Leptospira and Bovine viral Diarrhoea Virus. A meta-analysis was used to estimate the species-specific prevalence of the abortigenic diseases and the region where they were detected. Results In the systematic literature search, 48 full papers were included which in total included 50 species-specific surveillance reports from Africa and 19 from Asia. Adjusted median seroprevalence calculations estimated Brucella at 6.85% (range 1.2-11.6) of 9071 sheep, 3.35% (range 0.90-5.40) of 17,007 goats, 8.95% (range 0.50-63.60) of 171,733 cattle, Neospora at 6.80% (range 6.80 -6.80) of 555 sheep, 10.80 (range 10.80-10.80) of 185 goats, 12.65% (range 3.40- 25.60) of 3775 cattle, Toxoplasma at 27.50% (range 1.40 – 75.90) of 2284 sheep, 32.0% (range 20.00- 64.80) of 1226 goats, 7.50% (range 7.50 - 7.50) of 174 cattle, Coxiella at 9.20 (range 9.20 – 9.20) of 184 sheep, 24.20% (range 24.20-24.20) of 91 goats, 13.80% (range 13.80-13.80) of 217 cattle, Rift valley fever virus at 7.70 (2.40-40.00) of 874 sheep, 20.95 (range 2.50-40.00) of 547 goats, 7.45% (range 3.60-11.30) of 309 cattle, Bovine viral diarrhea virus at 78.90 (range 78.90 – 78.90) of 398 cattle, Leptospira at 70.50 (range 70.50 – 70.50) of 373 cattle and Chlamydia at 6.60 (6.60-6.60) of 803 sheep. We found that most studies, 45 (89%) used serological surveys, 1 (2%) used molecular and 1 (2%) reported to have used Mobile-phone based surveillance approach. Three studies (6.25%) of the 48 included were embedded in the national surveillance programs of the respective countries they were conducted, majority 89% were stand-alone cross-sectional studies. Conclusion In conclusion, livestock abortigenic pathogens are still a burden in many African and Asian countries.

Nanomaterials have shown significant promise for enhancing the performance of composite materials and increasing their functionality for various industrial applications. This review explores the unique properties of nanomaterials, particularly carbon-based nanomaterials, and provides key findings in utilizing them to enhance composite performance. It highlights specific nano-based composite materials and their significant potential in advancing the field of nanocomposites. Challenges associated with nanocomposite production and utilization are also discussed, along with possible solutions to address them. Finally, the study provides recommendations for continued research and innovation in nanocomposites to fully unlock the benefits of these advanced materials for broader future applications.

Shigella and Salmonella have been implicated in neonatal sepsis, food poisoning, and bacteremia. Their increasing resistance to antibiotics has undermined treatment options, constituting a public health crisis. Also, the scarcity of new antibiotics in the development pipeline compounds multidrug-resistance (MDR). Hence, there is a need to potentiate antibiotics to mitigate resistance. This study leveraged riboflavin to re-sensitize fluoroquinolones and carbapenems against MDR Shigella and Salmonella spp. Disk diffusion, microbroth-dilution, chequerboard, and time-kill assays were used to determine resistance profiles and riboflavin-antibiotic activity. Biofilm-formation and bacterial viability (after riboflavin-antibiotic challenge) was determined with crystal-violet and Macrophage infection assays, respectively. Strains exhibited &gt;80% resistance to fluoroquinolones and carbapenems, with 160–320 µg MIC ranges and 0.5–2 FIC, indicating no synergy. At 40–80 µg riboflavin, there was two-fold reduction in bacterial survival, with meropenem-riboflavin exhibiting significant reduction and FIC of 0.075 indicating high synergistic activity. Biofilm-formation was altered (from strong to weak phenotype) with 40 µg riboflavin-antibiotic treatment. There was a 40–70% reduction in bacterial survival in THP-1 cells treated with meropenem-riboflavin after 3 hours, and complete clearance between 24-48 hpi. Riboflavin potentiated fluoroquinolones and meropenem, leading to modulation of the host immune response for the clearance of the strains.

Nose mask is a fomite and its usage was mandatory during the COVID-19 outbreak. Its effectiveness has been established; however, as a fomite, it can harbor opportunistic respiratory pathogens such as Streptococcus spp., which could complicate COVID-19 infections. This study profiled Streptococcus species resident on nose masks obtained from consenting participants. Phenotypic assays and 16S rRNA sequencing were used to identify Streptococcus spp. resident on the interior and exterior of 100 nose masks analyzed. Antibiotic resistance (AMR) was determined with disc diffusion and broth microdilution assays. AMR and virulence makers were profiled with primer-specific PCR amplification. 23% of the analyzed samples had Streptococcus isolates. The isolates were highly resistant to the antimicrobials, including conventional, last-resort antibiotics, disinfectants and antiseptics. All the isolates are multidrug resistant with 80-100% levels of AMR to the 16 antibiotics tested with a Multiple-Antibiotic Resistance index greater than 0.2, indicative of potential pathogens. The isolates harbored tetB, ermB, pbp2B, pbp2b1 (resistance) and lytA, lytA1, ply1, cbpA, lytA, pavA (virulence) markers, which might constitute a serious public health risk. Overall, the study emphasizes the need to assess mask usage and the risks associated with opportunistic pathogens that are resident on frequently used nose masks in the COVID-19 era.

The study assessed the trapping efficacy of locally-modified 1) Gravid Aedes Trap(GAT) lined with insecticide-treated net (ITN) as a killing agent, 2) Autocidal Gravid Ovitrap(AGO) with sticky board in the semi-field system (SFS) and field setting. Fully-balanced Latin square experiments were conducted to compare GAT lined with ITN vs AGO, both with either yeast or grass infusion. Biogents-Sentinel (BGS) with BG-Lure and no CO2 was used as standard trap for Aedes mosquitoes. In the SFS, GAT outperformed AGO in collecting both nulliparous (65% vs 49%,OR=2.22,[95%CI:1.89-2.60],p

Managing a portfolio whose value closely tracks an index by trading only in a subset of the index constituents involves an NP-hard optimisation problem. In the prior literature, it has been suggested to solve this problem using sequential Monte Carlo (SMC, a.k.a. particle filter) methods. However, this literature does not take transaction costs into account, although transaction costs are the primary motivation for attempting to replicate the index by trading in a subset, rather than the full set of index constituents. This paper extends the SMC approach to index tracking to allow for proportional transaction costs and implements this extended method on empirical data for a variety stock indices. In addition to providing a more practically useful tracking strategy by allowing for transaction costs, we find that including a penalty for transaction costs in the optimisation objective can actually lead to better tracking performance.

The B169L protein (pB169L) of African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a structural protein with an unidentified function during the virus replication. The sequences of the B169L gene and the downstream B438L gene are separated by short intergenic regions. However, the regulatory mode of the gene transcription remains unknown. Here, we identified two distinct promoter regions and two transcription start sites (TSS) located upstream of the open reading frame (ORF) of B438L. Using the promoter reporter system, we demonstrated that the cis activity of the ORF proximal promoter exhibited significantly higher levels compared with that of the distal promoter located in the B169L gene. Furthermore, transfection with the plasmids with two different promoters for B438L could initiate the transcription and expression of the B438L gene in HEK293T cells, and the cis activity of the ORF proximal promoter also displayed the higher activities compared with the distal promoter. Interestingly, the B438L distal promoter also initiated the transcription of the alternatively spliced B169L mRNA (B169L mRNA2) encoding a truncated pB169L (tpB169L) (amino acids 92–169), and the gene transcription efficiency was increased upon mutation of the initiation codon located upstream of the alternatively spliced B169L gene. Taken together, we demonstrated that the distal promoter of B438L gene initiates the transcription of both the B438L mRNA and B169L mRNA2. Comprehensive analysis of the transcriptional regulatory mode of the B438L gene is beneficial for the understanding of the association of B438L protein and pB169L and the construction of the gene-deleted ASFV.

The rest-breaking agent, hydrogen cyanamide (HC), can substitute insufficient chill unit accumulation in Vitis vinifera and induce uniform bud-break; however, due to its toxicity it is being banned. In South Africa, red seedless grapes, including V. vinifera Crimson Seedless (CS), are the largest table grape export group; therefore, replacing HC in V. vinifera CS is crucial. This study aimed to confirm the molecular triggers induced by HC and assess the bud-break-enhancing abilities of commercial plant biostimulants. Forced bud-break assay experiments using V. vinifera CS single-node cuttings and a small-scale field trial were performed. Results demonstrated that increased chill unit accumulation (CUA), reduced HC efficacy. Bud-break started between 10 and 20 days after treatment, irrespective of final CUA. The small-scale field trial found that HC3 % resulted in a slightly delayed bud-break rate, whilst biostimulants were similar to the negative control. The treatment of dormant grapevine compound buds with nitric oxide (NO), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and hypoxia trigger dormancy-release to a certain extent, supporting the molecular models proposed for HC action. NO, H2O2, and hypoxia, in combination with PBs, may potentially replace HC; however, this needs to be confirmed in future experiments.

Snakebite envenomation remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in rural populations. This study aimed to identify factors associated with complications from snakebite envenomation reported in health facilities in the Cascades region of Burkina Faso. This cross-sectional study used routine data of patients admitted for snakebite envenomation in five health facilities between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2021. Data were collected on sociodemographic, clinical, and therapeutic characteristics of patients showing signs of envenomation. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to determine factors associated with complications. Among the 846 patients with envenomation, 355 (42%) experienced complications. Local complications at the bite site included wounds (21.5%) and skin necrosis (12.5%). Systemic complications included hemorrhage (30.5%), shock (16.3%), and coma (4.3%), with a mortality rate of 3.2%. Factors significantly associated with complications were rural residence (AOR: 4.80; 95% CI: 2.21-11.4), incision at the bite site (AOR: 4.31; 95% CI: 2.51-7.52), tourniquet application (AOR: 5.52; 95% CI: 1.42-30.8), bleeding (AOR: 14.2; 95% CI: 8.80-23.4), abnormal vital signs (AOR: 14.3; 95% CI: 9.22-22.7), and non-administration of antivenom serum (AOR: 2.92; 95% CI: 1.8-4.8). These findings highlight the importance of antivenom availability and public awareness to reduce complications from snakebite envenomation.

Grain trade plays a pivotal role in international trade, serving not only as a primary component of the global agricultural market but also as a crucial factor in ensuring global food security and price stability. This study utilizes panel data from Russia, one of the largest players in the grain market, to investigate the determinants of cereal exports. The results of the gravity model estimation reveal a positive impact of demand factors, population differences, and the level of economic openness of importing countries, while distance and tariffs exert a negative influence on exports. The findings also indicate that Russia possesses significant untapped potential for cereal export growth, which has only increased in the context of geopolitical instability. The paper identifies regions with potential for export expansion and outlines the conditions necessary for realizing this potential. The results of this study contribute to the development of evidence-based policies aimed at enhancing the sustainability of regional export flows in global systems.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and its enablers would shape community uptake of non-covid vaccines such as oral cholera vaccine (OCV) in the post-COVID-19 era. This study assessed the impact of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and its drivers on OCV hesitancy in a cholera endemic region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. We conducted a community-based survey in Bukavu. The survey included characteristics, intention to take OCV and COVID-19, reasons for COVID-19 hesitancy, and thinking and feeling about COVID-19 vaccines. Poisson regression analyses were performed. Of the 1708 respondents, 84.66% and 77.57% were hesitant to OCV alone and to both OCV and COVID-19, respectively. Hesitancy to COVID-19 vaccines rose OCV hesitancy by 12% (crude Prevalence Ratio, [cPR]=1.12, 95%CI[1.03-1.21]). Independent predictors of OCV hesitancy were living in semi-urban area (adjusted Prevalence Ratio [aPR]=1.10, 95%CI[1.03-1.12]), religious refusal of vaccines (aPR=1.06, 95%CI[1.02-1.12]), concerns about vaccine safety (aPR=1.05, 95%CI[1.01-1.11]) and adverse effects (aPR=1.06, 95%CI[1.01-1.12]), as well as poor knowledge (aPR=1.07, 95%CI[1.01-1.14]). Conversely, the belief about COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness reduced OCV hesitancy (aPR=0.76, 95%CI[0.62-0.93]). COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and its drivers exhibiting a significant domino effect on OCV uptake. Addressing vaccine hesitancy through community-based health literacy interventions would likely improve the introduction of novel non-COVID-19 vaccines in post-COVID-19 era.

Polycentric governance, as conceptualized by the Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom, has been widely celebrated as a promising approach to fostering inclusive innovation ecosystems in the Global South. By emphasizing the coordination of multiple decision-making centers and the engagement of diverse stakeholders, polycentric systems are believed to enhance the inclusivity and responsiveness of innovation processes, crucial for addressing societal challenges and promoting equitable development. However, this article argues that the theoretical and practical application of polycentric governance may not adequately address the inherent power structures and complexities within inclusive innovation ecosystems. Drawing on critical analysis, empirical evidence, and complementary theoretical perspectives, this paper interrogates the limitations of polycentric governance and proposes a more nuanced, multidimensional framework for inclusive innovation governance in the context of the Global South.

The goal of the project was to understand how topography/bathymetry is imported and used in GeoFlood with an aim towards improving efficiency and computational cost of bathymetry handling in GeoFlood.GeoFlood is a software to simulate overland flooding basing on shallow water equations.Numerical methods and programming were used for this study.The GeoFlood was ran on a given data set (Malpasset data) and it was found out that indeed topography handling during simulations has to be improved to minimise the computational time and also improve the efficiency.Through this research, we also looked at the the shallow water equations, and the numerical techniques used to solve the equations

The establishment of a well characterized non-human primate model of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection is critical for the development of medical interventions. In this study, challenging Indian rhesus macaques (IRMs) with ZIKV strains of the Asian lineage resulted in dose dependent peak viral loads between days 2 and 5 post infection; and a robust immune response which protected the animals from homologous and heterologous re-challenge. In contrast, viremia in IRMs challenged with an African lineage strain was below the assays lower limit of quantitation and the immune response was insufficient to protect from re-challenge. These results corroborate previous observations but are contrary to reports using other African strains obviating the need for additional studies to elucidate the variables contributing to the disparities. Nonetheless, the utility of an Asian lineage ZIKV IRM model for countermeasures development was verified by vaccinating animals with a formalin inactivated reference vaccine and demonstrating sterilizing immunity against a subsequent subcutaneous challenge.

Dearth of information on extent of genetic variability in cassava limits the genetic improvement of cassava in Sierra Leone. This study aimed at assessing the genetic variability and relationships within 103 cassava genotypes using agro-morphological and culinary markers. A field trial was conducted in the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences research site. The experiment was laid in an augmented randomized block design. Morphological classification based on qualitative and quantitative traits categorized the germplasm into three different groups. A total of ten principal components (PCs) in the qualitative and six PCs in the quantitative trait sets accounted for 66.74% and 67.27% of the total genetic variation, respectively. Traits with significantly strong and positive correlations included presence of fruit (PFRT) and presence of seed (PSE)(r = 0.86***),root yield per plant (RYPP) and number of storage root (NSR) (r = 0.76***), RYPP and number of commercial root (NCR) (r = 0.68***), length of leaf lobe (LLL) and width of leaf lobe (WLL) (r = 0.66***),and between NSR and NCR (0.84***). Cooking time, cooking percentage, texture, mealiness, taste and aroma varied widely among the accessions. Findings established that the cassava germplasm possess useful genetic variability that could be exploited through selection for short term release programme, genetic conservation of valuable germplasm and genetic improvement of the crop.

Cercospora beticola Sacc. is an ascomycete pathogen that causes Cercospora leaf spot in sugar beets (Beta vulgaris L.) and other related crops. The disease symptoms are characterized by circular lesions with an ash-gray centre and dark brown to purple margins on the leaves. It can lead to significant yield losses if not effectively managed. This study aims to characterize and assess the impact of bacterial biological control agents against C. beticola. Following a dual-culture screening, 18 bacteria exhibiting over 50% inhibition were selected, with six of them demonstrating more than 80% control. Identification of the bacteria was carried out through sequencing of the16S rDNA, revealing potentially 12 species belonging to six genera including Bacillus which was represented by four species. Additionally, the bacteria underwent in-depth characterization of biochemical and molecular properties, as well as plant-growth promotion. PCR detection of genes responsible for producing antifungal metabolites revealed that 83%, 78%, 89%, and 56% of the selected bacteria possessed the bacillomycin, iturin, fengycin, and surfactin encoding genes, respectively. Infrared spectroscopy analysis confirmed the presence of lipopeptide structure in the bacteria supernatant filtrate. Subsequently, the bacteria were assessed for their effect on sugar beet plants in controlled conditions. The bacteria exhibited notable capabilities, promoting growth in both roots and shoots, resulting in significant increases in root length, weight, and shoot length. The field experiment with four bacterial candidates demonstrated good performance against C. beticola compared to difenoconazole fungicide. These bacteria played a significant role in disease control, achieving a maximum efficacy of 77.42%, slightly below the 88.51% efficacy attained by difenoconazole. Additional field trials are necessary to verify the protective and growth-promoting effects of these candidates, whether applied individually, combined in consortia, or integrated with chemical inputs in sugar beet crop production.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The use of biomass for cooking carries significant health implications and can lead to adverse environmental issues such as deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and erosion. Despite these concerns, there is a lack of information about the nature and extent of cooking emissions in many developing countries. To address this gap, a study was conducted to assess cooking emission levels and their associated health effects among households in Dodoma City, Tanzania. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional design was conducted, involving 285 households in the peri-urban area of Dodoma City, Tanzania. A combination of questionnaires, observational checklists, and sampling devices (Aeroqual series 500 for Carbon Monoxide and Temptop PMD 351 for Particulate Matters) were employed for data collection, adhering to established protocols. Additionally, lung function tests were conducted with consent from the primary household cooks. Collected data were entered into an Excel spreadsheet and analyzed using STATA 17 software. FINDINGS: Out of 285 participants, 74.7% predominantly use charcoal for cooking, with 68.4% having outdoor kitchen setups. Significant differences in pollutant concentrations were observed across various fuel types (P=0.0001), with firewood emitting higher levels of particulate matter and carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide concentrations during cooking were 6 times higher for firewood, 5 times higher for charcoal-gas, and 3 times higher for charcoal compared to WHO daily average limits. Additionally, a positive correlation between pollutant concentrations was noted (P-value = 0.0000). Lung problems 17.8% followed by eye irritation 15.7% were mentioned by those who claimed to know the health effects associated with cooking emissions. In addition, the spirometry test indicated that the majority of the participants had % predicted >80 while only 19% had % predicted below 50. CONCLUSION: Charcoal and firewood remain the primary cooking fuels in the study area despite their significant negative impacts. Our findings highlight a lack of awareness among community members regarding the health effects of biomass cooking emissions and insufficient guidance on constructing healthy kitchens. To address this, enforcing building standards, raising health awareness, and ensuring affordable access to modern fuels are crucial steps. These measures are essential for promoting healthier cooking practices and mitigating the adverse effects on households.

Brucellosis is a zoonoses caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella, which causes economic losses in livestock and threatens public health. A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Brucella species and risk factors in smallholder dairy cattle in six regions of Tanzania from July 2019 to October 2020. Dairy cattle (n=2048) were sampled from 1371 farms. DNA ex-tracted from blood and vaginal swabs was tested for Brucella using qPCR targeting the IS711 gene and positives were tested for the alkB marker for B. abortus and BMEI1172 marker for B. melitensis. The molecular prevalence was 3.5% (95% CI: 2.8-4.4) with the highest prevalence 8.1% (95%CI: 4.6-13.0) in Njombe region. B. melitensis was the predominant species detected (66.2%). Logistic regression revealed PCR positivity in dairy cattle was higher in the animals with a history of abortion (OR: 3.17, 95%CI: 1.05-9.62) and farms without dogs around (OR: 2.68, 95%CI: 1.12-5.90). Further studies are recommended to understand the source of B. melitensis and the implications to veterinary public health. Livestock keepers should be informed of the risks and biosecurity practices to reduce introduction and control Brucella. Cattle and small ruminant vaccination pro-grams could be implemented to control brucellosis in high-risk populations in the country.

The high transmissibility, rapid evolution, and immune escape of SARS-CoV-2 variants can influence the course of infection and, in turn, morbidity and mortality in COVID-19, posing a challenge in controlling transmission rates and contributing to the emergence and spread of new variants. The factors that shape viral genetic variation are consequently essential for understanding the evolution and transmission of SARS-CoV-2, especially in vaccinated individuals where immune response plays a role in the progression and spread of this disease. This study assessed. In this context, we evaluated the impact of immunity induced by the CoronaVac vaccine (Butantan/Sinovac) on intra-host genetic diversity, analyzing 118 whole-genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 from unvaccinated and vaccinated patients infected with the Gamma variant. Vaccination with CoronaVac favors negative selection at the intra-host level in different genomic regions and prevent greater genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2, which may help reduce the emergence of new mutations, reinforcing the importance of vaccination in reducing virus transmission.

Despite global efforts to improve vaccination coverage, the number of zero dose and under immunized children has increased in the African continent, particularly in Nigeria where more than 2.3 million unvaccinated children currently reside, making it the country with highest number of unvaccinated children on the African continent. It is thus imperative to identity barriers and facilitators of immunization in Nigeria with a view to formulate and design targeted interventions that can effectively bridge the immunization gap in Nigeria. In this review, we systematically mapped and summarized existing literature and data on key barriers to vaccine uptake, and facilitators influencing immunization practices in Nigeria. The electronic databases were systematically searched and articles that reported determinants of routine immunization uptake in Nigeria from inception of the databases up till October 2023 were included. The eligible articles were evaluated using a set of pre-defined criteria and the extracted data were analysed and visualized. This scoping review identified barriers spanning logistical, socio-economic, cultural, and healthcare system-related aspects, highlighting the need for a multi-pronged approach to address these challenges. While considerable progress has been made over the years, persistent barriers like distance between area of residence of caregivers and immunization centers, vaccine shortages, poor interpersonal relationship between healthcare workers and caregivers and cultural/religious influences persist. Lastly, collaborative efforts among stakeholders and communities remain paramount in ensuring improved routine immunization coverage across the Nigeria’s diverse socio-cultural landscape.

The healthcare situation in Africa is characterized by limited resources and a high burden of disease, presenting significant challenges to the healthcare systems in the region. The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in African healthcare holds immense potential for addressing these challenges and improving health outcomes. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current healthcare landscape in Africa and the urgent need for AI-driven solutions.In addition to discussing the potential applications of AI in African healthcare, such as disease diagnosis, treatment planning, and medical imaging analysis, this manuscript seeks to shed light on the specific challenges hindering the implementation of AI in the region. By providing detailed examples and case studies, we aim to offer insights into the obstacles that need to be overcome and potential solutions that can be pursued.By leveraging AI technologies, Africa has the opportunity to revolutionize its health systems, bridging the gap in access to quality healthcare across the continent. The objective of this review article is to not only highlight the potential benefits that AI can bring to African healthcare but also to emphasize the urgent need for action and collaboration in implementing and scaling up AI innovations in the region. By doing so, African countries can pave the way for improved health outcomes and ensure that their populations receive the healthcare services they deserve.

Analysis of immediate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on SMEs in Rwanda aims to assess and quantify the economic and financial impacts of the pandemic during the lockdown and presents options adopted by SMEs to reopen their business opera-tions. It also seeks to recommend options for sustainable and resilient economic recovery from the scars of COVID-19. This analysis used data collected from nearly 220 SMEs located across the country and applied an Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) and multivariate linear regression models to measure the pandemic effects. The study revealed that firms downsized employment by 36.4 per cent, but data depict significant deviation within SMEs by their size. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a greater magni-tude of negative effects on sales levels among small businesses. Tax amounts were reduced amidst the crisis however, data do not show any significant variations among SMEs. Additionally, SMEs owners applied various coping mechanisms during re-opening. The study used firm-level data, providing detailed and reliable effects of the shocks on business performance. This analysis recommends establishing the medium-term financing and technical support for SMEs to ensure steady and sustainable recovery from pandemic effects as well as strengthening their resilience to any other socio-economics shocks.

Unlike fowl pox, pigeon pox virus (PPV) has not been described in Ghana. This is the first report of the disease and virus in Ghana based on gross necropsy, histopathological analysis and molecular techniques. This index case was presented as the occurrence of both cutaneous (dry) and diphtheritic (wet) forms of the pigeon pox disease in a 5-month-old female pigeon. Although the observation of Bollinger bodies during histology is confirmatory of pox viruses, the amplification of the p4b gene using polymerase chain reaction and its visualisation by gel electrophoresis confirmed the presence of an avian pox virus. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the isolates from this case showed 100% relatedness to the reference PPV isolate FeP2. Thus, confirming the presence of PPV. The discovery of this virus in the Ghana raises the need for surveillance of both wild and domestic avian populations in preparation for any future outbreak, protection of the production birds and decision on the need for other pox viruses in the country.

Climate simulations in West Africa have been attributed with large uncertainties. Global climate projections are not consistent with changes in observations at the regional or local level of the Niger basin, making management of hydrological projects in the basin uncertain. This study evaluates the potential of using the quantile mapping bias correction to improve the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) outputs for use in hydrology impact studies. Rainfall and temperature projections from 8 CMIP5 Global Climate Models (GCM) were bias corrected using the quantile mapping approach. Impacts of climate change was evaluated with bias corrected rainfall, temperature and potential evapotranspiration (PET). The IHACRES hydrological model was adapted to the Niger basin and used to simulate impacts of climate change on discharge under present and future conditions. Bias correction significantly improved the accuracy of rainfall and temperature simulations compared to observations. Nash coefficient (NSE) for monthly rainfall comparisons of 8 GCMs to the observed was improved by bias correction from 0.69 to 0.84. The standard deviations among the 8 GCM rainfall data were significantly reduced from 0.13 to 0.03. Increasing rainfall, temperature, PET and river discharge were projected for all GCMs used in this study under the RCP8.5 scenario. These results will help improving projections and contribute to the development of sustainable climate change adaptation strategies.

Vegetative desiccation tolerance has evolved within the genus Craterostigma and Lindernia. A centre of endemism and diversification for these plants appears to occur in ancient tropical montane rainforests of east Africa in Kenya and Tanzania. Lindernia subracemosa, a desiccation-sensitive relative of C. plantagineum, occurs in these rainforests and experiences adequate rainfall and thus does not require desiccation tolerance. However, sharing this inselberg habitat, another species Lindernia brevidens does retain vegetative desiccation tolerance and is also related to the resurrection plant C. plantagineum found in South Africa. Leaf material was collected from all three species at different stages of hydration: fully hydrated, half-dry (ca. 45% relative water content), and fully desiccated. Cell wall monosaccharide datasets were collected from all three species. Comprehensive microarray polymer profiling (CoMPP) was performed using ca. 27 plant cell wall specific antibody and carbohydrate binding module probes. Global datasets do not show significant differences between the selected species suggesting that cell wall modifications in response to vegetative desiccation involve subtle cell wall remodelling not reflected by compositional analysis and that the plants and their walls are constitutively protected against desiccation.

The African continent has the highest prevalence of hypertension globally, with South Africa reporting the highest prevalence in Southern Africa. While the influence of genetic variability in the pathogenesis of hypertension is well described internationally, limited reports are available for African populations. This study aimed to assess the association of genetic variants and essential hypertension in a cohort of two ethnic South African population groups. Two hundred and seventy-seven hypertensive and one hundred and seventy-six normotensive individuals were genotyped for 79 variants. Genotyping was performed using the Illumina GoldenGate Assay and allele-specific polymerase chain reaction. The association of variants was assessed using the Fisher Exact test under the additive and allelic genetic models, while multivariate logistic regression was used to predict the development of hypertension. Five variants (CYP11B2 rs179998, AGT rs5051 and rs699, AGTR1 rs5186 and ACE rs4646994) were significantly associated with essential hypertension in the cohort under study. Furthermore, AGTR1 rs5186 and AGT rs699 were identified as risk factors for the development of hypertension in both ethnic groups. In two ethnic South African populations an association was observed between Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAAS) related genes and the development of hypertension.

Given the opportunities offered by foreign investment in energy infrastructure mostly by Chinese firms, the Government of Cambodia is giving high priority to developing hydropower resources for reducing energy poverty and powering economic growth. Using a “Political ecology of the Asian drivers” framework, this paper assesses China’s involvement in the development of large dams’ in Cambodia and its impacts on the access of natural resources such as water and energy by dam builders, local communities and the government. This analysis is based on 61 interviews and 10 focus group discussions with affected communities, institutional actors, Chinese dam builders and financiers in relation to the first large Chinese dam built in Cambodia, the Kamchay dam. Based on the results of the analysis this paper makes recommendations on how to improve the planning, implementation and governance of large dams to ensure that the dams’ benefits are shared more equally.

This study presents PlanteSaine, a novel mobile application powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) models explicitly designed for maize, tomato, and onion farmers in Burkina Faso. Agriculture in Burkina Faso, like many developing nations, faces substantial challenges from plant pests and diseases, posing threats to both food security and economic stability. PlanteSaine addresses these challenges by offering a comprehensive solution that provides farmers with real-time identification of pests and diseases. Farmers capture images of affected plants with their smartphones, and PlanteSaine's AI system analyzes these images to provide accurate diagnoses. The application's offline functionality ensures accessibility even in remote areas with limited internet connectivity, while its messaging feature facilitates communication with agricultural authorities for guidance and support. Additionally, PlanteSaine includes an emergency alert mechanism to notify farmers about pest and disease outbreaks, enhancing their preparedness to deal with these threats. An AI-driven framework, featuring an image feature extraction phase with EfficientNetB3 and an artificial neural network (ANN) classifier, was developed and integrated into PlanteSaine. The evaluation of PlanteSaine demonstrates its superior performance compared to baseline models, showcasing its effectiveness in accurately detecting diseases and pests across maize, tomato, and onion crops. Overall, this study highlights the potential of PlanteSaine to revolutionize agricultural technology in Burkina Faso and beyond. Leveraging AI and mobile computing, PlanteSaine provides farmers with accessible and reliable pest and disease management tools, ultimately contributing to sustainable farming practices and enhancing food security. The success of PlanteSaine underscores the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in addressing pressing challenges in global agriculture

The lack of quality formulated feeds as supplements or replacements for live feeds has negatively impacted the growth performance and survival rates in the larvae of many fish species, notably African catfish (C. gariepinus). Successful larval rearing relies on the availability of suitable diets that are readily consumed, easily digested, and provide the essential nutrients necessary for optimal growth and health of the fish. This study evaluated the growth performance and survival rates of C. gariepinus larvae when fed locally formulated diets. The experiment was conducted using 12 basins, each with a capacity of 20 liters. Each basin was stocked with 60 larvae in four replicates, averaging 0.03 g in weight. The experimental diets were formulated to contain three different levels of crude protein: 40%, 45%, and 50%. The larvae were fed these diets at a rate of 10-20% of their body weight over 70 days. Initially, the larvae were fed artemia at the onset of feeding in hatchling basins immediately after yolk sac absorption for the first seven days. This was followed by a blend of artemia and formulated feeds for 14 days. After 28 days, the larvae were transitioned to be exclusively fed the formulated dry feeds. The results indicated that the larvae fed on diets containing 45% and 50% crude protein exhibited significantly better overall growth performance compared to those fed on a 40% crude protein diet. Specifically, the larvae that received the 45% and 50% crude protein diets showed higher final mean weight, increased daily weight gain, and improved survival rates, which ranged from 80% to 81.5%. Notably, there was no significant difference in growth performance and survival rates between the larvae fed on 45% and 50% crude protein diets, suggesting that a 45% crude protein-formulated diet is sufficient to achieve the best growth performance and survival rates for C. gariepinus larvae. This study supports the recommendation of feeding C. gariepinus larvae with a dry diet containing 45% crude protein starting from 14 days post-hatching to enhance their growth and survival rates. However, further research is recommended to explore the effects of this feeding regimen across different agroecological zones and aquaculture systems to validate and potentially refine these findings.

Lineage plasticity, the switching of cells from one lineage to another has been recognized to be a cardinal property essential for embryonic development, tissue repair and homeostasis. However, such a highly regulated process goes awry when cancer cells exploit this inherent ability to their advantage, resulting in tumorigenesis, relapse, metastasis and therapy resistance. In this review, we summarize our current understanding on the role of lineage plasticity in tumor progression and therapeutic resistance in multiple cancers. Lineage plasticity can be triggered by treatment itself and is reported across various solid as well as liquid tumors. Here we focus on the importance of lineage switching in tumor progression and therapeutic resistance of solid tumors such as the prostate, lung, hepatocellular and colorectal carcinoma and the myeloid and lymphoid lineage switch observed in leukemias. Besides this, we also discuss the role of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) in facilitating the lineage switch in biphasic cancers such as aggressive carcinosarcomas. We also discuss the mechanisms involved, current therapeutic approaches and challenges that lie ahead in taming the scourge of lineage plasticity in cancer.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), a mosquito-borne alphavirus of the family Togaviridae, has recently emerged in the Americas from lineages from two continents, Asia and Africa. Historically, CHIKV circulated as at least four lineages worldwide with both enzootic and epidemic transmission cycles. To understand the recent patterns of emergence and the current status of the CHIKV spread, updated analyses of the viral genetic data and metadata are needed. Here, we performed phylogenetic and comparative genomics screens of CHIKV genomes, taking advantage of the public availability of many recently sequenced isolates. Based on these new data and analyses, we derive a revised phylogeny from nucleotide sequences in coding regions. Using this phylogeny, we uncover the presence of several distinct lineages in Africa that were previously considered a single one. In parallel, we performed thermodynamic modeling of CHIKV untranslated regions (UTRs), which revealed evolutionarily conserved structured and unstructured RNA elements in the 3'UTR. We provide evidence for duplication events in recently emerged American isolates of the Asian CHIKV lineage and propose the existence of a flexible 3'UTR architecture among different CHIKV lineages.

Lineage diversity can refer to the number of genetic lineages within species or to the number of deeper evolutionary lineages, such as genera or families, within a community. Community lineage diversity (CLD) is of interest to ecologists, evolutionary biologists, biogeographers, and those setting conservation priorities. Despite its relevance, it is not clear how to best quantify CLD. With North American tree communities as an example, we test which taxonomic and phylogenetic metrics best measure CLD. We find that phylogenetic metrics outperform taxonomic metrics. Faith’s phylogenetic diversity performs well, but is skewed towards the number of lineages in recent time. The best metric is newly derived here, and termed time integrated lineage diversity (TILD). Mapping the lineage diversity of tree communities across the contiguous United States, we find a spatial pattern differing from that of species richness in key areas. The Pacific Northwest, Great Lakes Region, state of Maine, and south-eastern piedmont and coastal plain forests all emerge as areas high in lineage diversity, but relatively lower in species richness. We urge the consideration of lineage diversity, as well as species richness, when setting conservation priorities.

The use of ARPIs has led to an increase in the proportion of AR-null prostate cancer, including NEPC and DNPC, but the mechanism underlying this lineage transition has not been elucidated. We found that ID2 expression was increased in AR-null prostate cancer. In vitro and in vivo studies confirmed that ID2 promotes PCa malignancy and can confer resistance to enzalutamide in PCa cells. We generated a ID2 UP50 signature, which is capable to determine resistance to enzalutamide and also valuable for predicting patient prognosis. Functional experiments showed that ID2 could activate the stemness-associated JAK/STAT and FGFR signaling while inhibiting the AR signaling pathway. Our study indicates that ID2 promotes the acquisition of a stem-like phenotype in adenocarcinoma cells, leading to resistance to ADT and next-generation ARPIs in prostate cancer.

The study investigated farmers’ perception on pests and diseases management strategies, agricultural practices, production constraints and selection criteria of elite varieties using a survey research design. A total of 700 questionnaires were administered to smallholder farmers who were farming for household consumption, those producing for sale and household consumption and those who were mainly producing for sale because their primary goal was to produce for the market. Findings revealed that the most prevalent pests identified were whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci), grasshoppers (Zonocerus variegatus), aphids (Aphis gossypii), mealybugs (Phenacoccus manihoti), termites (Isoptera), and grasscutters (Thryonomys swinderianus). The three most common diseases of cassava limiting growth and yield with mixed infection include viral, bacterial, and fungal. The study also revealed that only 12.5% of farmers cultivated improved cassava varieties. The management practices implemented encompassed field sanitation and the application of pesticides. Lack of capital and no availability of market were the most important production and marketing constraints faced by farmers in the study area, whereas poundability and high storage root yield are the most preferred traits farmers consider in selecting a new variety. Results suggest that smallholder farmers should endeavor to undergo various developmental programs to develop themselves to increase their competitive advantage in their locality and in the local and global agricultural sectors. In addition, governments and other policy makers should strategize plans and programs that would contribute to smallholder farmers’ agriculture, community and national development.

In the past two decades, several floods have affected people and their properties in Burkina Faso, with the unprecedented flooding occurring in Ouagadougou in September 2009. So far, most studies have focused on Ouagadougou and surrounding localities and have paid little attention to other flood-prone regions in Burkina Faso. Specifically, there is a data and knowledge gap about the flood risk in the Haut-Bassins region, which in turn hampers the development of mitigation strategies and risk reduction measures in communities. This study demonstrates how data collected at the household level can be used to understand flood risk and its components at the village level in this data-scarce region. Using an indicator-based method, we analyze both flood risk and flood risk perception at the village level. Moreover, we determine the factors influencing flood risk perception at the household level using an ordered logit model. We find that 12 out of the 14 villages considered, experience high levels of flood risk. The management of runoff from the nearest urban areas and poorly designed civil engineering infrastructures, such as roads, were highlighted by the households as significant factors that increase their vulnerability. Hence, dependencies in space and between urban and rural areas may play a substantial role in modifying risk. The perceived flood risk consistently exceeds the estimated flood risk, with an insignificant positive correlation between both risk indices. Regression results indicate that flood risk perception is mainly influenced by informational and behavioral factors of the households. The findings of this study can provide valuable information to municipal and regional authorities involved in disaster risk management in the study area. Moreover, the method is transferable to other data-scarce regions

Road traffic accidents are associated with different factors, such as non-signalized road networks, inexperienced drivers, lack of communication skills, distraction, and visual or cognitive impairment of road users, which have led to this increase in traffic accidents. Understanding these factors in alignment with road user communication skills can provide solutions that can reduce traffic fatalities. Road users’ communication is predominantly formal in nature, but informal means of communication also exist but are not given proper attention during the driving training and licence testing processes. Therefore, this study investigated communication skills between drivers as a factor contributing to traffic accidents in South African cities. Consequently, 16 traffic scenarios of communication between drivers were simulated using PTV Vissim and Blender software, and a semistructured interview questionnaire was used to collect data from South African road users. The questionnaire was further used to evaluate the confidence level of road users concerning informal communication. The data were analysed via regression analysis to establish the relationship between traffic accidents and miscommunication between drivers. The information gathered and analysed from this study helps to understand the informal communication types between drivers and establish where communication loss exists, which ultimately leads to a traffic accident. The results also show that misinterpretation of communication signals can present the possibility of traffic safety risk.

Candidate vaccines against African swine fever virus (ASFV) based on naturally attenuated or genetically modified viruses have the potential to generate protective immune responses, although there is no consensus on what defines a protective immune response against ASFV. Studies, espe-cially in sensible host species, focused on unravelling protective mechanisms will contribute to the development of safer and more effective vaccines. The present study provides a detailed analysis of phenotypic and functional data on cellular responses induced by intradermal immunization and subsequent boosting of domestic pigs with the naturally attenuated field strain Lv17/WB/Rie1, as well as the mechanisms underlying protection against intramuscular challenge with the virulent genotype II Armenia/07 strain. The transient mild to moderate increase of IL-8 and IL-10 in serum observed after immunization might be directly correlated with survival. Protection was also associated with a robust ASFV-specific polyfunctional memory T cell response, where CD4CD8 and CD8 T cells were identified as the main cellular sources of virus-specific IFNγ and TNFα. In parallel to cytokine response, these T-cell subsets also showed specific cytotoxic activity as evidenced by the increased expression of the CD107a degranulation marker. Along with virus-specific multifunctional CD4CD8 and CD8 T responses, the increased levels of antigen experienced cytotoxic CD4 T cells observed after challenge in immunized pigs might also contribute to control virulent infection by killing mechanisms targeting infected antigen-presenting cells. Future studies should elucidate whether the memory T-cell responses evidenced in the present study persist and provide long-term protection against further ASFV infections.

Most cervical cancer cases are a result of persistent high-risk Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections. Cervical cancer is prevalent in LMICs especially in SSA where it is second most prevalent cancer. In South Africa, it is the second most common cancer affecting women aged between 15 and 44 years. The host immune response has been shown as an important factor in controlling the progression or regression of high-risk HPV infection of the cervix to cervical cancer. The risk of cervical cancer is known to be influenced by the host's genetic diversity, particularly by immune response-regulating genes such as the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) class I and II genes. HLA class I genes present viral peptides to CD8+ T cells which are restricted and pre-programmed for cytotoxic functions. There is very little known about the HLA genes of South African women and how these influence outcome of HPV infections. This review aims to understand the role and influence of HLA class I genes in HPV clearance, persistence, and CD8+ T cell mediated immunity in African women by examining existing literature in this area. Understanding this role can influence and inform therapeutic vaccine design that is population specific.

Breast cancer represents the most common neoplasm worldwide. Viral infections are involved with carcinogenesis, especially those caused by oncogenic Human Papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes. The relationship between HPV and various types of cancer, such as breast and lung, still requires further studies. After infection with HPV, there is a remodeling of the tumor microenvironment, providing a post-infection alteration with immunosuppressive characteristics. This study evaluated the role of HPV in breast adenocarcinoma cell lineage (MDA-MB-231), transfected with the HPV16 E5, E6, and E7 oncogenes and co-cultured with PBMCs. Immunophenotyping was performed. There was an increase in CD4+ T cells number when compared with non-transfected and transfected MDA-MB-231, especially the Treg profile. Moreover, proinflammatory intracellular cytokines, such as IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-17 were impaired by transfected cells and a decrease in the cytolytic ac-tivity of the CD8+ and CD56+ lymphocytes was also observed in the presence of HPV oncogenes, mainly with E6 and E7 in NK and TCD8+ cells. In conclusion, MDA-MB-231 breast cell lineage transfected with HPV oncogenes can downregulate the number and function of lymphocytes and monocytes.

Kisspeptin (KISS1) and its cognate receptor (KISS1R) are implicated in the progression of various cancers. However, a theranostic radiopharmaceutical targeting the KISS1 receptor (KISS1R) has yet to be explored. A gallium-68 labelled kisspeptin-10 (KP10) has potential as a pan-tumor radiopharmaceutical for the detection of cancers. Furthermore, a lutetium-177 labelled KP10 could find therapeutic application in treating oncological diseases. We attached DOTA to the NH2-terminus of KP10 as we posited that this modification would not impair biological activity and showed that receptor stimulation of inositol phosphate accumulation in HEK293 transfected with the KISS1R gene was similar for KP10 and DOTA-KP10. We describe optimization of radiolabeling with gallium-68 and lutetium-177 and stability in serum, plasma, and whole blood. Pharmacokinetics was established with µPET/CT and ex vivo measurements. Dynamic studies with µPET/CT demonstrated that background clearance for the radiopharmaceutical was rapid with a blood half-life of 18 ± 3 minutes. DOTA-KP10 demonstrated preserved functionality at KISS1R and good blood clearance. These promising results advocate the further development of KP10 structures which have high binding affinity along with proteolytic resistance.

Introduction: Hospitalization in a COVID-19 unit represents a significant source of stress and psychological distress for patients. Our study aims to determine the factors of psychological distress in the therapeutic and psychosocial management of patients hospitalized with a COVID-19 infection. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out over 8 months at the COVID-19 zone of the CHU HASSAN II of FES. 99 patients were evaluated within days of diagnosis by psychometric scales of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. In the course of this follow-up, we found the presence of psychological impacts in these patients, and we tried to find correlating factors between the occurrence of psychiatric disorders and the set of factors related to sociodemographic data, hospitalization course and treatments taken, as well as family support. Results: 35% of patients had scores in favor of post-traumatic stress disorder, 37% of the patients had definite depression and 50% had anxiety. Post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety were correlated with sociodemographic factors, hospitalization, treatments received, and length of stay. Conclusion: The prevalence of anxiety-depressive disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder was high in patients with COVID-19, hence the interest in providing psychological and psychosocial care in the emergency department.

The identification and molecular characterization of cellular hierarchies in complex tissues is key to understanding both normal cellular homeostasis and tumorigenesis. The mammary epithelium is a heterogeneous tissue consisting of two main cellular compartments, an outer basal layer containing myoepithelial cells and an inner luminal layer consisting of estrogen receptor-negative (ER⁻) ductal cells and secretory alveolar cells (in the fully functional differentiated tissue) and hormone-responsive estrogen receptor-positive (ER⁺) cells. Recent publications have used single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis to decipher epithelial cell differentiation hierarchies in human and murine mammary glands, and reported the identification of new cell types and states based on the expression of the luminal progenitor cell marker KIT (c-Kit). These studies allow for comprehensive and unbiased analysis of the different cell types that constitute a heterogeneous tissue. Here we discuss scRNA-seq studies in the context of previous research in which mammary epithelial cell populations were molecularly and functionally characterized, and identified c-Kit⁺ progenitors and cell states analogous to those reported in the recent scRNA-seq studies.

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is clearly taking a firmer grip on South Africa and more podiatrists will face the potential transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Government response was swift with the implementation of a travel ban, strict national lockdown as well as social distancing and hygiene protocols in line with international health regulations. Co-morbidities such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, endemic to South Africa, are considered a dangerous combination with COVID-19, making many South Africans vulnerable to contracting the COVID-19. Patients with diabetes as well as the aged are vulnerable, both in terms of potential combined complications and challenges in continuity in foot care. The demands of the pandemic may outstrip the ability of the health systems to cope. Should this time arrive, all healthcare practitioners, including podiatrists, would have to step in and take on a role beyond their scope of practice in order to ensure that the healthcare system does not get overwhelmed. It is important for podiatrists to keep abreast with the developments around the COVID-19, in order that they may institute appropriate clinical practice which will ensure maximum protection for themselves, staff and patients as well as providing quality foot health care.

Understanding the motivations and decisions behind COVID-19 vaccine acceptance is crucial for designing targeted public health interventions to address vaccine hesitancy. We conducted a qualitative analysis to explore COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among diverse ethnic subgroups of Black Americans in the United States. This study investigates the responses of 79 African American, Afro-Caribbean, and African respondents over the age of 18 in Washington State and Texas between 2021-2022. Qualitative responses were analyzed by content category and ethnic subgroup. Of the 79 responses, 60 expressed favorable perceptions, 16 unfavorable, and 3 neutral. Dominant categories among participants in favor of the vaccine included personal health (26), concern for health of family/or community members (13), and desire to protect others (11). Among the 42 vaccinated African American respondents, the primary motivation was personal health (20). The 12 unvaccinated African American respondents cited fear of side-effects as the dominate motivation. Caribbean respondents cited family or elders as motivation for their decision. African respondents were nearly unanimous in taking the vaccine (13/16), citing trust in healthcare, protecting friends and family, and personal health as reasons. Community and personal relationships were critical decision-making factors in accepting the COVID-19 vaccine with African Americans having the strongest hesitancy.

The study examines projected changes in dry- and wet-spell probabilities in West Africa using a Markov chain approach. Four simulations of regional climate models from the CORDEX-Africa program were used to analyze projected changes in intraseasonal variability. The results show an increase in the probability of having a dry day, a dry day preceding a wet day and a dry day preceding a dry day, and a decrease in the probability of wet days in the Sahel region under anthropogenic forcing scenarios RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. The decrease in wet days is stronger in the far future and under the RCP8.5 scenario (up to -30%). The study also finds that the probability of consecutive dry days (lasting at least 7 days and 10 days) is expected to increase in the Western Sahel, the Central Sahel, and the Sudanian Area under both scenarios, with stronger increases in the RCP8.5 scenario. In contrast, the decrease is expected over the Guinea Coast, with the changes more important under the RCP4.5. These changes in dry- and wet-spell probabilities are important for water management decisions and risk reduction in the energy and agricultural sectors. The study also highlights the need for decision-makers to implement mitigation and adaptation policies to minimize the adverse effects of climate change.

During the recent pandemics of COVID-19, sequencing technics became powerful tool for gaining information about the SARS-CoV-2 virus and using this knowledge in our advantage. Thanks to this advantage, scientists over the world were able to search for emerging variations, watching the virus evolving in real time. Assembly of the virus genomes is crucial part of getting this kind of useful information. In our study, we sequenced 79 samples from nasopharyngeal swabs of COVID-19 patients. Positivity on disease was evaluated by qRT-PCR. By studying assembly success rate, we noticed, that Ct-value of qRT-PCR can predict success of genome assembly and SARS-CoV-2 lineage assignment. In this work we described the relationship between Ct-value and further steps of genome construction and its assignment to specific viral strain.

Geckos demonstrate a remarkable variability in sex determination systems, but our limited knowledge prohibits accurate conclusions on the evolution of sex determination in this group. Eyelid geckos (Eublepharidae) are of particular interest, as they encompass species with both environmental and genotypic sex determination. We identified for the first time the X-specific gene content in the Yucatán banded gecko, Coleonyx elegans, possessing X1X1X2X2/X1X2Y multiple sex chromosomes by comparative genome coverage analysis between sexes. The X-specific gene content of Coleonyx elegans was revealed to be partially homologous to genomic regions linked to the chicken autosomes 1, 6 and 11. A qPCR-based test was applied to validate a subset of X-specific genes by comparing the difference in gene copy numbers between sexes, and to explore the homology of sex chromosomes across 11 eublepharid, two phyllodactylid and one sphaerodactylid species. Homologous sex chromosomes are shared between Coleonyx elegans and Coleonyx mitratus, two species diverged approximately 34 million years ago, but not with other tested species. As far as we know, the X-specific gene content of Coleonyx elegans / Coleonyx mitratus was never involved in the sex chromosomes of other gecko lineages, indicating that the sex chromosomes in this clade of eublepharid geckos evolved independently.

Enterococcus faecalis is a growing cause of nosocomial and antibiotic-resistant infections. Treating drug-resistant E. faecalis requires novel approaches. The use of bacteriophages (phages) against multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria has recently garnered global attention. Biofilms play a vital role in E. faecalis pathogenesis as they enhance antibiotic resistance. Phages eliminate biofilms by producing lytic enzymes, including depolymerases. In this study, Enterococcus phage vB_Efs8_KEN04 (ФKEN04), isolated from a sewage treatment plant in Nairobi, Kenya, was tested against clinical strains of MDR Enterococcus faecalis. This phage had a broad host range against 100% (26/26) of MDR E. faecalis clinical isolates and cross-species activity against Enterococcus faecium. It was able to withstand acidic and alkaline conditions, from pH 3 to 11, as well as temperatures between -80ᵒC and 37ᵒC. It could inhibit and disrupt the biofilms of MDR E. faecalis. Its linear double-stranded DNA genome of 142,402 bp contains 238 coding sequences with a G+C content and coding gene density of 36.01% and 91.46%, respectively. Genomic analyses showed that ФKEN04 belongs to the genus Kochikohdavirus in the family Herelleviridae. It lacked antimicrobial resistance, virulence, and lysogeny genes, and its stability, broad host range, and cross-species lysis indicate strong potential for the treatment of Enterococcus infections.

In July 2017, a family of three members; a 46-year-old male, a 45-year-old female and their 8-year-old daughter, returned to South Africa from Thailand. They presented symptoms consistent with mosquito-borne diseases, including fever, headaches, severe body aches and nausea. Mosquito bites in all family members suggested recent exposure to arthropod-borne viruses. Dengue virus 1 (Genus Orthoflavivirus) was isolated (isolate no. SA397) from the serum of the 45-year-old female via intracerebral injection in neonatal mice and subsequent passage in VeroE6 cells. Phylogenetic analysis of this strain indicated close genetic identity with cosmopolitan genotype 1 DENV1 strains from Southeast Asia, assigned to major lineage K, minor lineage 1 (DENV1I_K.1), such as GZ8H (99.92%) collected in November 2018 from China and DV1I-TM19-74 isolate (99.72%) identified in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2019. Serum samples from the 46-year-old male yielded a virus isolate that could not be confirmed as DENV1, prompting unbiased metagenomic sequencing for virus identification and characterization. Illumina sequencing identified multiple segments of a Mammalian orthoreovirus (MRV), designated Human/SA395/SA/2017. Genomic and phylogenetic analysis classified Human/SA395/SA/2017 as MRV-3 and assigned a tentative genotype MRV-3d based on the S1 segment. Genomic analyses suggested Human/SA395/SA/2017 may have originated from reassortments of segments among swine, bat, and human MRVs. The closest identity of the viral attachment protein σ1 (S1) was related to a human isolate identified from Tahiti, French Polynesia, in 1960. This indicates ongoing circulation and cocirculation of Southeast Asian and Polynesian strains, but detailed knowledge is hampered by limited availability of genomic surveillance. This case represents a rare concurrent importation of two distinct viruses with different transmission routes in the same family with similar clinical presentations. It highlights the complexities of diagnosing diseases with similar sequelae in travellers returning from tropical areas.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major public health threat globally, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Both human and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTBC) genetic variation affect TB outcomes, but few studies have examined if and how the two genomes interact to affect disease. We hypothesize that long-term coexistence between human genomes and MTBC lineages modulate disease to affect its severity. We examined this hypothesis in our TB household contact study in Kampala, Uganda, in which we identified 3 MTBC lineages of which one, L4.6-Uganda, is clearly derived and hence recent. We quantified TB severity using the Bandim TBscore and examined the interaction between MTBC lineage and human single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) genome-wide, in two independent cohorts of TB cases (N=149 and N=127). We found a significant interaction between a SNP in PPIAP2 and the Uganda lineage (combined p=4x10-8). PPIAP2 is a pseudogene that is highly expressed in immune cells. Pathway and eQTL analyses indicated potential roles between coevolving SNPs and cellular replication and metabolism as well as platelet aggregation and coagulation. This finding provides further evidence that host-pathogen interactions affect clinical presentation differently than host and pathogen genetic variation independently, and that human-MTBC coevolution is likely to explain patterns of disease severity.

African swine fever virus (ASFV), a highly contagious pathogen characterized by a complex structure and a variety of immunosuppression proteins, causes hemorrhagic, acute, and aggressive infectious disease that severely injure the pork product and industry. However, there is no effective vaccine or treatment. The main reasons are not only the complex mechanisms that lead to immunosuppression, but also the unknown functions of various proteins. This review summarizes the interaction between ASFV and host immune system, along with the involvement of virulence related genes and proteins, as well as the corresponding molecular mechanism of immunosuppression of ASFV, encompassing pathways such as cGAS-STING, NF-κB, JAK/STAT, apoptosis, and other modulation. The aim is to summarize the dynamic process during the ASFV infection and entry into host cell, provide a rational insight into development of vaccine and a better clear knowledge of how ASFV impacts host.

Motivated by South Africa's need in the transition to a net-zero economy; this study 10 investigates the integration of renewable energy sources (RES) into oil refineries, considering 11 therein unique challenges and opportunities. The research focuses on optimizing RES allocation 12 using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), a data-driven approach that adapts to real-time 13 operational conditions. Traditional energy management systems often struggle with the inherent 14variability of RES, leading to suboptimal energy distribution and increased emissions. Therefore, 15 this study proposes a PSO-based renewable energy allocation strategy specifically designed for oil 16 refineries. It considers factors like the levelized cost of energy, geographical location, and available 17 technology. The methodology involves formulating the optimization problem, developing a PSO 18 model, and implementing it in a simulated oil refinery environment. The results demonstrate 19 significant convergence of the PSO algorithm, leading to an optimal configuration for integrating 20 RES and achieving cost reductions and sustainability goals. The optimization result of 4,457,527.00 21 Rand achieved by iterations is much better than the result of 4,829,638.88 Rand acquired using 22Linear Programming as the baseline model. The mean cost, indicating consistent performance, has 23 remained at its original value of 4,457,527.00 Rand, highlighting the convergence. Key findings 24 include the average distance measure decreasing from 4.2 to 3.4, indicating particle convergence; 25 swarm diameter decreasing from 4.7 to 3.8, showing swarm concentration on promising solutions; 26 average velocity decreasing from 7.8 to 4.25, demonstrating refined particle movement; and the 27 optimum cost function achieved at 4,457,527 Rand with zero standard deviation, highlighting 28 stability and optimal solution identification. This research offers a valuable solution for oil 29 refineries seeking to integrate RES effectively, contributing to South Africa's transition to a 30sustainable energy future.

The extent of access to energy of displaced populations in settlements and camps in Africa is largely 14 unknown. A multitude of contextual factors, such as the location and the characteristics of housing, 15 the legal status, the socio-cultural background, and the availability of humanitarian and public ser- 16 vices impact the living conditions and the needed energy services. Limitations in accessing energy 17 services have direct, multilayered, and far-reaching implications, including impacts on health, nu- 18 trition, education, protection, and livelihood. The objective of this article is to contribute to a more 19 comprehensive overview of the current state of energy access in displacement contexts on the Afri- 20 can continent by identifying and utilizing existing data. After a screening of the vast and various 21 available information, setting up of a database, consolidating the gathered data as well as assessing 22 the quality through a quality assessment method, the currently available information is visualized 23 and discussed. Considerable differences in the access to electricity for displaced persons across the 24 countries are found. For both electricity and clean cooking, the availability for displaced persons 25 ranges from nearly no access at all up to an access rate of 100%. More strikingly, the results also 26 show that besides South Africa and countries in the Maghreb region, the access to both clean cook- 27 ing and electricity for displaced persons is very low. At the same time, the fragmented data availa- 28 bility, the poor data quality, and the questionable expediency of available data allows neither solid 29 theoretical conclusions nor planning of effective practical implementation measures. Novel inter- 30 disciplinary research, conceptual frameworks and indicators are needed for the purpose of compa- 31 rability and consistency. Future research has the potential to more comprehensively capture the 32 current state of access to energy in displacements contexts and in a next step to examine how energy 33 is interwoven in the lives of displaced people to derive a set of more detailed context-sensitive en- 34 ergy indicators. It is essential that the concerned persons, the displaced persons themselves are in- 35 cluded in the research in a meaningful way.

The worldwide outbreak of a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 has caused a pandemic of respiratory disease. Due to this emergency, researchers around the globe have been investigating the evolution of the genome of SARS-CoV-2 in order to design vaccines. Here I examined the evolution of GC content of SARS-CoV-2 by comparing the genomes of the members of the group Betacoronavirus. The results of this investigation revealed a highly significant positive correlation between the GC contents of betacoronaviruses and their divergence from SARS-CoV-2. The betacoronaviruses that are distantly related to SARS-CoV-2 have much higher GC contents than the latter. Conversely, the closely related ones have low GC contents, which are only slightly higher than that of SARS-CoV-2. This suggests a systematic reduction in the GC content in the SARS-CoV-2 lineage over time. The declining trend in this lineage predicts a much-reduced GC content in the coronaviruses that will descend/evolve from SARS-CoV-2 in the future. Due to the three consecutive outbreaks (MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2) caused by the members of the SARS-CoV-2, the scientific community is emphasizing the need for universal vaccines that are effective across many strains including those, that will inevitably emerge in the near future. The reduction in GC contents implies an increase in the rate of GC→AT mutations than that the mutational changes in the reverse direction. Therefore, understanding the evolution of base composition and mutational patterns of SARS-CoV-2 could be useful in designing broad-spectrum vaccines that could identify and neutralize the present and future strains of this virus.

HIV-associated cognitive dysfunction during combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) involves mitochondrial dysfunction, but the impact of contemporary cART on chronic metabolic changes in the brain and in latent HIV infection is unclear. We interrogated mitochondrial function in a human microglia (hμglia) cell line harboring inducible HIV provirus, and in SH-SY5Y cells, after exposure to individual antiretroviral drugs or cART, using the MitoStress assay. cART-induced changes in protein expression, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, mitochondrial DNA copy number, and cellular iron were also explored. Finally, we evaluated the ability of ROS scavengers or plasmid-mediated overexpression of the antioxidant iron-binding protein, Fth1, to reverse mitochondrial defects. Contemporary antiretroviral drugs, particularly bictegravir, depressed multiple facets of mitochondrial function by 20-30%, with most pronounced effects in latently infected-HIV+ hμglia and SH-SY5Y cells. Latently HIV-infected hμglia exhibited upregulated glycolysis. Increases in total and/or mitochondrial ROS, mitochondrial DNA copy number, and cellular iron accompanied mitochondrial defects in hμglia and SH-SY5Y cells. In SH-SY5Y cells, cART reduced mitochondrial iron-sulfur-cluster-containing supercomplex and subunit expression and increased Nox2 expression. Fth1 overexpression or pre-treatment with N-acetylcysteine prevented cART-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. Contemporary cART impairs mitochondrial bioenergetics in hμglia and SH-SY5Y cells, partly through cellular iron accumulation; some effects differ by HIV latency.

Background: Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacter cloacae complex (ECC) are increasingly identified in hospital-acquired infections. They usually belong to four main multilocus sequence types (STs) named ST114, ST93, ST90, and ST78. Instead, ST182 has been sporadically reported, and recently outbreaks of blaNDM-producing ST182 strains have emerged. Herein, we aimed to investigate the presence of ST182 and explore its evolution and modes of blaNDM acquisition. Methods: A phylogenetic analysis of 646 MLST STs identified among 4,685 E. hormaechei WGS assemblies deposited in public repositories was performed, as well as an in silico comparative and phylogenomic analyses for 55 WGS assemblies of ST182. blaNDM-harboring contigs were also compared to published plasmid sequences. Results: ST182 E. hormaechei strains were recovered from patients in five continents during 2011-2021. They were divided into three major genomic clusters, comprising a separate clonal complex with six other STs. In 30 out of 55 ST182 WGS assemblies, blaNDM-harboring structures were identified similar to plasmids predominant in Gram-negative bacteria, harboring resistance genes to multiple antibiotic classes and virulence genes. No associations between the genomic clusters and the country/continent of isolation, the presence and the plasmid types of the blaNDM-harboring contigs were observed. Conclusions: Our findings show that ST182 E. hormaechei strains were identified the past decade worldwide; 54.5% of them carried diverse blaNDM genetic structures, suggesting recent acquisition of the blaNDM alleles. Thus, blaNDM-producing ST182 is an emerging multidrug-resistant and virulent lineage in ECC that requires close monitoring.

PPR is a highly contagious viral disease and one of the deadliest affecting wild goats, sheep and small ruminants, however goats are generally more sensitive. The causative agent is the Peste des Petits Ruminants virus (PPRv) which is a single-stranded RNA virus of negative polarity belonging to the Paramyxoviridae family. In February 2020, an active outbreak of PPR was re-ported in a herd of a transhumant farmer in the village of Ngainth Pathé (department of Kounguel, Kaffrine region,Senegal). Of the ten (10) swabs collected from goats, eight (8) came back positive by real-time PCR. The most positive sample was amplified, purified and amplicon sent for sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the sequence of the PPR virus obtained belonged to lineage IV. These results confirm those found in the latter countries and reinforce the hypothesis of the importance of animal mobility between these neighboring countries. In perspective, following the discovery of this lineage IV in Senegal, a study on its dispersion is underway throughout the national territory. The results that will emerge from this study, asso-ciated with detailed data on animal movements and epidemiological data, will provide appro-priate and effective information to improve PPR surveillance and control strategies with a view to its eradication.

The existence of a common ancestor to all living organisms in Earth is a necessary corollary of Darwin idea of common ancestry. The Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) has been normally considered as the ancestor of cellular organisms that originated the three domains of life: Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya. Recent studies about the nature of LUCA indicate that this first organism should present hundreds of genes and a complex metabolism. Trying to bring another of Darwin ideas into the origins of life discussion, we went back into the prebiotic chemistry trying to understand how LUCA could be originated under gradualist assumptions. Along this line of reasoning, it became clear to us that the definition of another ancestral should be of particular relevance to the understanding about the emergence of biological systems. Together with the view of biology as a language for chemical translation, on which proteins are encoded into nucleic acids polymers, we glimpse a point in the deep past on which this Translation mechanism could have taken place. Thus, we propose the emergence of this process shared by all biological systems as a point of interest and propose the existence of this pre-cellular entity named FUCA, as the First Universal Common Ancestor. FUCA was born in the very instant on which RNA-world replicators started to be capable to catalyze the bonding of amino acids into oligopeptides. FUCA has been considered mature when the translation system apparatus has been assembled together with the establishment of a primeval, possibly error-prone genetic code. This is FUCA, the earliest ancestor of LUCA’s lineage.

Nutrient profiling (NP) models that assess nutrient density of foods can help remedy micronutrient deficiencies. We used NP methods to identify the most nutrient-rich foods in the 2019 FAO/INFOODS Western Africa Food Composition Table (WAFCT). The WAFCT had complete data for 909 foods. Three versions of the well-established Nutrient Rich Food (NRF) model were used: 1) the original NRF9.3; 2) a new NRF6.3 based on 6 priority micronutrients (iron, zinc, calcium, folate, vitamin A, vitamin B12); and 3) NRF 15.3, based on 15 nutrients to encourage (NRF6.3 nutrients + vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin C, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, vitamin B6, copper, and magnesium). Data analyses used one-way ANOVAs and independent t-tests, with significance at α=0.05. Animal-source foods were rated higher by NRF6.3 priority micronutrient and NRF15.3 NP models than by the NRF9.3 model. African indigenous vegetables had higher protein content and higher nutrient density compared to non-indigenous vegetables. African indigenous grains had higher nutrient density compared to non-indigenous grains. Though animal-source foods received some of the highest scores, NP models adapted to the West African context showed that African indigenous vegetables and grains were also nutrient rich. Indigenous foods could be important sources of priority micronutrients for the region.

Maize is an important staple food crop in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, the average grain yield on farmers’ fields falls considerably short of the demand of the region’s population. In addition, the normal endosperm maize widely consumed in SSA is deficient in vitamin A. Drought, a consequence of climate change, is a major constraint to maize production, resulting in seasonal low grain yield in farmers’ fields. The objectives of this study were to assess the performance of newly developed extra-early maturing provitamin A hybrids under managed drought and well-watered conditions, compare the outcomes of multiple trait base-index and multi-trait genotype-ideotype distance index selection procedures, and identify drought-tolerant hybrids with stable performance across contrasting environments for commercialization in SSA. One hundred and ninety provitamin A hybrids and six checks were evaluated under managed drought and well-watered conditions at Ikenne for two seasons between 2021 and 2023. A 14*14-lattice design was used for the field evaluations under both research conditions. Drought stress was achieved by the complete withdrawal of irrigation water 25 days after planting. Results revealed significant differences among the hybrids under drought and well-watered conditions. Grain yield, ears per plant, and plant aspect under managed drought were correlated to the same traits under well-watered conditions suggesting that the expression of these traits is governed by common genetic factors. Twenty-nine hybrids were identified as top-performing drought-tolerant hybrids by the multiple trait base index and multiple-trait genotype–ideotype distance index. Of the selected outstanding 29 hybrids, 34% were derived from crosses involving the tester TZEEIOR 197, demonstrating the outstanding genetic potential of this inbred line. Further analysis of the 29 selected hybrids revealed TZEEIOR 509 × TZEEIOR 197 as the hybrid that combined the most drought-tolerant adaptive traits. However, the hybrids TZEEIOR 526 × TZEEIOR 97, TZEEIOR 384 × TZEEIOR 30, TZEEIOR 515 × TZEEIOR 249, TZEEIOR 510 × TZEEIOR 197, TZEEIOR 479 × TZEEIOR 197, and TZEEIOR 458 × TZEEIOR 197 were identified as the most stable hybrids across drought and well-watered conditions. These hybrids should be extensively tested in multi-location trials for deployment and commercialization in SSA.

Blueberries (Vaccinium section Cyanococcus) are perennial shrubs widely cultivated for their edible fruits. In this study, we used admixture and genetic relatedness analysis of northern highbush (NHB, V. corymbosum) and southern highbush (SHB, V. darrowii) blueberry genotypes and F2 progenies of the V. corymbosum × V. darrowii cross. Using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS), we generated ~3.34 billion reads (75 bp). The GBS reads were aligned to the Vaccinium corymbosum cv. Draper v1.0 reference genome sequence, and ~2.8 million reads were successfully mapped. From the alignments, we identified 2,244,039 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which were used for principal component, haplotype, and admixture analysis. PCA formed three main groups: 1) NHB cultivars, 2) SHB cultivars, and 3) BNJ16-5 progenies. The overall fixation index (FST) and nucleotide diversity for NHB and SHB, indicated wide genetic differentiation, and haplotype analysis revealed that SHB cultivars are more genetically diverse than NHB cultivars. The admixture analysis identified a mix of various lineages of parental genomic introgression. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of GBS-derived SNP markers in genetic and admixture analyses to reveal genetic relatedness and to examine parental lineages in blueberry, which may be useful for future breeding plans.

This study investigates the adoption of ecological innovations and management of occupational health hazards among Nigerian paddy rice farmers in response to field contamination and climate risks. Conducted across four major rice-producing states—Ekiti, Kwara, Edo, and Ogun—the research employed a semi-structured questionnaire developed from a comprehensive literature review and validated through peer review. Data were collected from 192 farmers through face-to-face interviews and guided dialogues, focusing on ecological innovations, vulnerability assessments, satisfaction with implemented methods, occupational health hazards, and perceptions of sustainable rice cultivation. Findings reveal that only 29.69% of farmers have adopted new measures to address contamination and climate risks, while 70.31% have not. Work-related injuries, such as cuts and abrasions, affected 28% of farmers, with minimal participation (3.1%) in safety training and support from agricultural or government agencies (1%). Correlation analysis demonstrated weak relationships among variables such as farmers' education, adoption of ecological innovations, satisfaction with results, and use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Importantly, farmers who adopted ecological innovations expressed significantly higher satisfaction (odds ratio = 11.613), as did those with prior exposure to pesticides and chemicals (odds ratio = 4.084) regarding safety practices. The study emphasizes the critical need for increased awareness, training, and support to promote sustainable farming practices and improve occupational health outcomes among paddy rice farmers in Nigeria.

The Arbas cashmere goat is a unique biological resource that plays a vital role in livestock husbandry in China. LCDM is a medium with special small molecules (consisting of human LIF, CHIR99021, (S)-(+)-dimethindene maleate, and minocycline hydrochloride) for generation pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) with bidirectional developmental potential in mice, humans, pigs, and bovines. However, there is no report on whether LCDM can support for generation of PSCs with the same ability in Arbas cashmere goats. In this study, we applied LCDM to generation goat induced PSCs (giPSCs) from goat fetal fibroblasts (GFFs) by reprogramming. The derived giPSCs exhibited stem cell morphology, expressing pluripotent markers, and could differentiate into three germ layers. Moreover, the giPSCs differentiated into the trophectoderm lineage by spontaneous and directed differentiation in vitro. The giPSCs contributed to embryonic and extraembryonic tissue in preimplantation blastocysts and postimplantation chimeric embryos. RNA-sequencing analysis showed that the giPSCs were very close to goat embryos at the blastocyst stage and giPSCs have similar properties to typical extended PSCs (EPSCs). The establishment of giPSCs with LCDM provides a new way to generate high quality of PSCs from domestic animals and lays the foundation for basic and applied research in biology and agriculture.

African yam bean (Sphenostylis stenocarpa Hochst, Ex. A. Rich. Harms) is an important grain legume in sub-Saharan Africa because of its nutritional value and adaptability to various agroecological zones. To foster the varietal development of improved African yam bean (AYB) genotypes with economic traits, it is necessary to validate parental polymorphism for key markers in selecting progenies from crosses between desired parents. The study aims to analyze the genetic fidelity between parents and F1 progenies in African yam bean through putative cowpea Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Hence, a total of seventy-seven progenies were derived from four sets of biparental crossings using drought-susceptible (TSs-96, TSs-363, and TSs-274) and drought-tolerant (TSs-417, TSs-111, and TSs-78) AYB accessions. These were validated using 120 cowpea primers targeting SSR under optimal PCR conditions, and the size of the PCR-amplified DNA fragments was checked using gel electrophoresis. Twenty primers exhibited polymorphism in the parental lines, while ten displayed higher levels of the same polymorphism. The average polymorphism level for the surveyed SSR markers was 0.36. Given these findings, our study demonstrates that cowpea SSR markers are a reliable method for regular testing and clear identification of AYB crosses, indicating potential AYB improvements.

The Atlantic Goliath Grouper Epinephelus itajara (Lichtenstein, 1822) is thought to occur on both sides of the Atlantic, from the Carolinas (USA) to Brazil in the western Atlantic, and from North Senegal to North Angola off West Africa in the eastern Atlantic. While there are fairly good data on their distribution in the western Atlantic, genetic verification of species status, confirmed occurrences, population status, fishing reports, and trade data are almost non-existent off West Africa. Part of the problem is that tropical West African countries lack a network of marine reserves that might protect this species. Add to this destruction of mangrove forests and other coastal habitats on which the species depends when in the post-larval and juvenile stages coupled heavy pollution and intense overfishing and it becomes clear that their survival is deeply threatened. The focus of this paper is to describe all of the known historical data and examine all current data to better evaluate their present status.

African trypanosomes are an early branch in eukaryotic evolution and developed a unique endomembrane system as an adaptation to their parasitic life style. The key virulence mechanism of many pathogens is successful immune evasion to enable survival within the host, which is a feature requiring both genetic events and membrane transport in African trypanosomes. Intracellular trafficking not only plays a role in immune evasion, but also in homeostasis of intracellular and extracellular compartments and interactions with the environment. Significantly, historical and recent work has unravelled some of the connections between these processes and highlighted how immune evasion mechanisms associated with adaptations in membrane trafficking may have, paradoxically, provided specific sensitivity to drugs. Here we explore these advances in understanding the membrane composition of the trypanosome plasma membrane and organelles and provide a perspective for how transport could be exploited for therapeutic purpose.

An evaluation of emerging issues in One Health (OH) in Sub-Saharan Africa was undertaken to map the existing OH initiatives in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. Desk review, expert opinions survey, limited interviews and wider consultations with selected OH stakeholders were conducted. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to OH initiatives were identified. OH influence, interest and impacts were evaluated. One Health is transiting from multidisciplinary to transdisciplinary concepts and OH viewpoint should move from ‘proxy for zoonoses’, to include issues of climate change, nutrition and food safety, social sciences, geography, policy and planning, economics, welfare and well-being, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), vector-borne diseases, toxicosis and pesticides issues. While the identified major strengths should be boosted, the weaknesses should be addressed.OH Networks in SSA were spatially and temporally spread across SSA and stakeholders were classified as key, latent, marginal and OH defenders. Imbalance in stakeholders’ representation led to hesitation in buying-in from stakeholders who are outside the main networks. Theory of change, monitoring and evaluation frameworks, and tools to standardized evaluation of OH policies is needed for sustained future of OH and the future OH engagement should be outputs and outcomes-driven and not activity-driven.National roadmap for OH implementation and institutionalization is necessary and proofs of concepts in OH should be verified and scaled-up. Dependence on external funding is unsustainable and must be addressed. Necessary policy and legal instrument to support OH nationally and sub-nationally should be implemented taking cognizance of contemporary issues like urbanization, endemic poverty and other emerging issues. Utilizing current technologies and OH approach to address ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 and other emerging diseases is desirable. Finally, OH implementation should be anticipatory and not reactive to significantly benefit budgeting and contain disease outbreaks in animal sources before the risk of spillover to human can be envisaged.

Patients receiving hemodialysis are at risk of vascular access infections (VAIs) and particularly vulnerable to the opportunistic pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. Hemodialysis patients were also at increased risk of infection during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study determined the change in the molecular and antibiotic resistance profiles of S. aureus isolates from VAIs during the pandemic compared with before. 102 S. aureus isolates were collected from VAIs between November 2013 and December 2021. Before the pandemic, 69 isolates were collected, 58%, 39.1%, and 2.9% from arteriovenous grafts (AVGs), tunneled cuffed catheters (TCCs), and arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs), respectively. The prevalence of AVG and TCC isolates changed to 39.4% and 60.6%, respectively, of 33 isolates during the pandemic. Sequence type (ST)59 was the predominant clone in TCC-methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and AVG-MRSA before the pandemic, whereas the predominant clone was ST8 in AVG-MRSA during the pandemic. ST59 carrying the ermB gene was resistant to clindamycin and erythromycin. By contrast, ST8 carrying the msrA gene was exclusively resistant to erythromycin. The ST distribution for different VAIs changed from before to during the pandemic. The change in antibiotic resistance rate for different VAIs was closely related to the distribution of specific STs.

This study aims to characterize the molecular profile of hepatitis B virus (HBV) among socially vulnerable immigrants residing in Brazil to investigate the introduction of uncommon HBV strains into the country. Serum samples from 102 immigrants with positive serology for HBV core antibody (anti-HBc) were tested for the presence of HBV DNA by PCR assays. Among these, 24 were also positive for the HBV surface antigen (HBsAg). The full or partial genome was sequenced to determine genotype by phylogenetic analysis. Participants were from Haiti (79.4%), Guinea Bissau (11.8%), Venezuela (7.8%), and Colombia (1%). Of the 21 HBV DNA-positive samples, subgenotypes A1 (52.4%), A5 (28.6%), E (9.5%), F2 (4.8%), and F3 (4.8%) were identified. Among the 78 HBsAg-negative participants, four were positive for HBV DNA, resulting in an occult HBV infection rate of 5.1%. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that most strains were likely introduced to Brazil by migration. Importantly, 80% of A5 sequences had the A1762T/G1764A double mutation, linked to an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma development. In conclusion, this study is the first report of HBV subgenotype A5 in Brazil, shedding new light on the diversity of HBV strains circulating in the country. Understanding the genetic diversity of HBV in immigrant communities can lead to better prevention and control strategies, benefiting both immigrants and the broader society.

The rapid emergence and worldwide detection of the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant underscore the importance of robust genomic surveillance systems and prompt information sharing among global public health partners. The Omicron variant has rapidly replaced the delta variant as a dominating SARS-CoV-2 variant because of natural selection, favoring the variant with higher infectivity and more strong vaccine breakthrough ability. Omicron has three lineages or sub-variants, BA.1 (B.1.1.529.1), BA.2 (B.1.1.529.2), and BA.3 (B.1.1.529.3). Among them, BA.1 is the currently prevailing sub-variant. BA.2 is found to be able to alarmingly re-infect patients originally infected by omicron BA.1. BA.3 lineage is a combination of mutations in BA.1 and BA.2 spike proteins. Today any data are reported on BA.4 lineage. Here we describe the new emerging BA.4 lineage, first detected in Italy, and its genomic comparison with the other three lineages of the omicron variant, which harbor a deletion of the ORF1 ab gene never reported till now. We can speculate that omicron BA.4 will become a new dominating “variant of concern”. Besides that, we show also the capability of five different types of rapid antigenic tests to recognize it.

African swine fever has damaged the foundation of China’s hog industry, caused a serious decline in hog production, highlighted the contradiction between supply and demand in the pork market, and led to major economic and social impacts. This study measured the industrial resilience of 31 Chinese provinces which faced the African swine fever shock and its spatial and temporal differentiation characteristics from 2018-2021 in terms of the two dimensions of resistance and recoverability. Using Geodetector, the study explored the key factors influencing the resilience of China’s hog industry. The results showed that 2018-2019 and 2020-2021 were the resistance and recovery periods of the hog industry under the African swine fever shock, respectively, with poor resilience characterizing the resistance period and improved resilience exemplifying the recovery period. At the early stage of the African swine fever outbreak, Tianjin, Shanxi, Guangxi and Yunnan had robust resistance in the hog industry, and the slaughter rate, economic level, mortality rate, carcass weight and culling rate showed the highest explanation for the resistance. At the most severe stage of the outbreak, the resistance of the hog industry in all provinces was generally poor, and the slaughter rate, per capita consumption and scale level showed the highest explanation for the resistance. In the period of rapid recovery of hog production, the recoverability of each province was very strong, and the industrial structure, culling rate, economic level and resource carrying capacity showed the highest explanation for the recoverability. In the reasonable adjustment period of hog production capacity, the recoverability based on the breeding sow inventory in 13 provinces, including Henan, Shandong and other large hog breeding provinces, was negative, and the scale level, slaughter rate, per capita consumption and resource carrying showed the highest explanation for the recoverability. It is recommended to take measures to enhance the resilience of the hog industry, strengthen the prevention and control of hog epidemics, improve the monitoring and early warning mechanism, and strive to enhance the ability of the hog industry to cope with major animal epidemics.

eHealth applications are an essential component in achieving Universal Health Coverage. (1) Background: The lack of skilled healthcare personnel has hindered successful integration and use, especially in developing and low and middle-income countries. (2) Methods: A descriptive study was conducted using an online survey to collect quantitative data from 37 organizations to address this issue. (3) Results: The findings showed that there are limited training opportunities available for policymakers and eHealth specialists. Additionally, obstacles such as insufficient funds, inadequate infrastructure, poor leadership, and governance were identified and found to be context specific. To mitigate these challenges, the study proposed continuous in-service training, the implementation of computer-based systems, and the integration of academic modules. The importance of strong eHealth policies and committed leaders was also emphasized. (4) Conclusions: The results of this study support previous research and emphasize the importance of implementing practical and uncomplicated solutions to overcome eHealth barriers to capacity building in low- and middle-income countries. It is essential to recognize that the data collected for this study only pertains to BETTEReHEALTH.

African swine fever (ASF) is a notifiable viral disease of domestic and wild suids. Despite intensive re-search efforts, the pathogenesis of the disease is still far from being understood. Analysis of biomarkers in different body fluids may supplement traditional pathogenesis studies. As reliable protocols are often es-tablished in laboratories with lower biosafety, reliable inactivation of samples is crucial. The objective of this study was to find a procedure that inactivates the virus while preserving the biomarkers for down-stream analyses. To this means, three different inactivation protocols were employed, namely Tergitol-type NP-40 (NP-40) and polyoxyethylene-p-t-octylphenol (Triton X-100), respectively, and one with 95 °C heating. It could be demonstrated that all samples treated with 0.5% (v/v) concentration of both deter-gents showed absence of virus infectivity. The same was true for heated samples. However, heated serum was not suitable for analyses. Next, the treatment impact on biomarker readouts was assessed. While all protocols had an impact on the detection of biomarkers, correlation was retained. Especially NP-40 could be the desired detergent for more accurate measurements while achieving efficient virus inactivation. Based on these studies, samples can be reliably inactivated for most biomarker analyses and thus broader interdisciplinary cooperation is possible.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a lethal cancer with a characteristic dysregulated metabolism. Abnormal clinicopathological features linked to defective metabolic and inflammatory response pathways can induce PDAC development and progression. In this study, we investigated the metabolites and lipoproteins profiles of PDAC patients of African ancestry. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was conducted on serum obtained from consenting individuals (34 PDAC, 6 Chronic Pancreatitis, and 6 healthy participants). Seventy-five signals were quantified from each NMR spectrum. The Liposcale test was used for lipoprotein characterization. Spearman’s correlation and Kapan Meier tests were conducted for correlation and survival analyses respectively. In our patient cohort, the results demonstrated that levels of metabolites involved in the glycolytic pathway increased with the tumour stage. Raised ethanol and 3-hydroxybutyrate were independently correlated with a shorter patient survival time, irrespective of tumour stage. Furthermore, increased levels of bilirubin resulted in an abnormal lipoprotein profile in PDAC patients. Additionally, we observed that the levels of a panel of metabolites (such as glucose, lactate) and lipoproteins correlated with those of inflammatory markers. Taken together, the metabolic phenotype can help distinguish PDAC severity and be used in predicting patient survival and in informing treatment intervention.

The digital economy is a fundamental feature of sustainability. The economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainability stand up for digitalization and digital transformation projects. In order to understand and practice the digital economy, the goal of our paper is to evaluate accurate variables regarding fintech scope for discussing the efficient implication of these projects. The principal component analysis is used to investigate and evaluate the sustainable digital economy indicators. An empirical case from health care services in Africa from World Bank projects discusses this challenge. Results help produce an effective understanding of how the digital economy enables facing fintech challenges in Africa.

The study examined key socio-economic characteristics of smallholder farmers identified for their contribution to market participation. These variables include gender, age, marital status, level of education, household size, additional income, membership of cooperative, herd size and use of ICTs. Using a structured questionnaire, primary data was collected from a total of 129 respondents which was analysed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, and presented using cross-tabulations, percentages and count data. The result indicates that age, additional income, cooperative membership and use of ICTs were important variables which contributed to market participation among respondents. The study also made applicable recommendations as the findings may have relevance for future research, policy and practice for commercializing smallholder farmers.

Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) commonly known as sleeping sickness, is a neglected tropical vector borne disease caused by trypanosome protozoa. It is transmitted by bites of infected tsetse fly. In this paper we first present the vector-host model which describes the general transmission dynamics of HAT. In the tsetse fly population, the HAT is modelled by three compartments while in the human population, the HAT is modelled by four compartments. The next generation matrix approach is used to derive the basic reproduction number, R₀, and also it is proved that if R₀ ≤ 1 the disease free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable, which means the disease dies out. The disease persist in the population if the value of R₀ > 1. Furthermore, the optimal control model is determined by using the Pontryagin’s maximum principle with control measures such as education, treatment and insecticides used to optimize the objective function. The model simulations confirm that the use of the three control measures are very efficient and effective to eliminate HAT in Africa.

Agriculture stands as the cornerstone of Africa’s economy, supporting over 60% of the continent’s labor force. Despite its significance, the quality assessment of agricultural products remains a challenging task, particularly at large scale, consuming valuable time and resources. The African plum is an agricultural fruit that is widely consumed across West and Central Africa but remains underrepresented in AI research. In this paper, we collected a dataset of 2,892 African plum samples from fields in Cameroon representing the first dataset of its kind for training AI models. The dataset contains images of plums annotated with quality grades. We then trained and evaluated various state-of-the-art object detection and image classification models, including YOLOv5, YOLOv8, YOLOv9, Fast R-CNN, Mask R-CNN, VGG16, Detectron-121, MobileNet and ResNet, on this African plum dataset. Our experimentation resulted in mean average precision scores ranging from 88.2% to 89.9% and accuracies between 86% and 91% for the object detection models and the classification models respectively. We then performed model pruning to reduce model sizes while preserving performance, achieving up to 93.6% mean average precision and 99.09% accuracy after pruning YOLOv5, YOLOv8 and ResNet by 10-30%. We deployed the high-performing YOLOv8 system in a web application, offering an accessible AI-based quality assessment tool tailored for African plums. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first such solution for assessing this underrepresented fruit, empowering farmers with efficient tools. Our approach integrates agriculture and AI to fill a key gap.

Sirtuins (SIRTs) are a family of evolutionarily conserved enzymes, and the aim of this study was to disclose/re-annotate uncertain paralogs in gilthead sea bream, expanding from seven to ten the repertoire of Sirts in this Perciform fish. Such gene expansion revealed up to three copies of sirt3 (sirt3.1a/sirt3.1b/sirt3.2) and two of sirt5 (sirt5a/sirt5b). Phylogenetic and synteny attempts disclosed the duplication of SIRT3/Sirt3 branch as a process shaped by the 2R whole genome duplication (WGD) at the early vertebrate evolution, with still vestiges in all living fish, and some Sarcopterygii. In gilthead sea bream and other Percomorphaceae, this duplication was accompanied by short segmental duplications of sirt3.1 (clustered to the mammalian SIRT3 ortholog), making a conserved tandem-duplicated synteny block (psmd13-sirt3.1a/b-drd4-cdhr5-ctsd). Conversely, the expansion of the Sirt5 branch was shaped by the 3R WGD as a specific event of the teleost fish lineage. Intriguingly, gene expression profiling across tissues and developmental stages highlighted a conserved high expression of sirt3.1 and sirt5a in skeletal muscle, while the duplicated sirt3.2 and sirt5b displayed an overall muscle suppression of transcriptional activity, and an enhanced expression on immune-relevant tissues and gills, respectively. Altogether offers new insights about the function, regulation, and timing of Sirt expansion.

Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), a highly contagious viral disease, causes significant economic losses in sheep and goats. Laboratory diagnosis is crucial to disease control and eradication. Since PPRVs have recently adopted new hosts, genetic diversity within isolates of the same lineage is more likely than if they were host-specific, sheep and goats most often. ELISA detects antibodies and antigens in serology. However, mishandling, environmental conditions (temperature and humidity), storage, and sensitivity issues of commercially available ELISA kits prevent rapid PPR virus detection in third-world countries like Pakistan. In the 2020-21 outbreaks in Pakistan, 325 blood samples, 19 swabs, and 6 virus tissue samples of sheep and goats were collected from Gilgit, Islamabad, and Fateh Jang. These virus isolates were submitted to NCBI for partial N gene sequencing. Antigen was prepared from indigenous virus Using semi-purified antigen from PPRV, an indirect ELISA for the detection of PPR antibodies in goat and sheep serum was developed using MW600922 grown in Vero cells. Dilutions of 1:200 serums and 1:32 antigens improve antibody detection. The N-gene-based analysis revealed a better understanding of PPRV genetic characterization. This study develops an RT-PCR assay to detect PPRV by targeting the N-protein gene. This assay offers an accurate and affordable diagnostic tool for PPRV and partial genome sequencing. Results described that PPRV isolates from the current study have 99.73% and 99.4% similarity to previously published Lahore and Faisalabad isolates from Pakistan, respectively. Compared to previous isolates from NCBI data, the virus showed high divergence rates with the Turkish strain. The comparative analysis between Commercial kit (c-ELISA) and I-ELISA revealed that the former had a high sensitivity of 90.60% and specificity of 85.23% compared with the cELISA kit. By comparing I-ELISA and VNT, we find that the current assay is 100% specific and 82.14 % sensitive. Based on these results, serological surveys for PPR antibodies, on a larger scale, in small ruminants can be conducted with indirect ELISA rather than competitive ELISA. Furthermore, the cost and storage efficiency was highly significant because the currently developed method has a low production cost, which is much lesser than the commercially available kit. Our findings demonstrated a significant breakthrough in terms of cost-effectiveness and storage efficiency, and they are highly recommended for developing countries.

Lactobacillus plantarum is a bacterium with promising applications to the food industry and agriculture and probiotic properties. So far, bacteriophages of this bacterium have been moderately addressed. We examined the diversity of five new L. plantarum phages via whole genome shotgun sequencing and in silico protein predictions. Moreover, we looked into their phylogeny and their potential genomic similarities to other complete phage genome records through extensive nucleotide and protein comparisons. These analyses revealed a high degree of similarity among the five phages, which extended to the vast majority of predicted virion-associated proteins. Based on these, we selected one of the phages as a representative and performed transmission electron microscopy and structural protein sequencing tests. Overall, the results suggested that the five phages belong to the family Myoviridae, they have a long genome of 137.973-141.344 bp, a G/C content of 36,3-36,6% that is quite distinct from their host’s, and, surprisingly, seven to 15 tRNAs. Only an average 41/174 of their predicted genes were assigned a function. The comparative analyses unraveled considerable genetic diversity for the five L. plantarum phages of this study. Hence, the new genus “Semelevirus” was proposed, which comprises exclusively the five phages. This novel lineage of Lactobacillus phages provides further insight into the genetic heterogeneity of phages infecting Lactobacillus sp.. The five new Lactobacillus phages have a potential value for the development of more robust starters through, for example, the selection of mutants insensitive to phage infections. The five phages could also form part of phage cocktails, which producers would apply in different stages of L. plantarum fermentations in order to create a range of organoleptic outputs.

Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) is one of the most widespread and economically important virus infecting both crop and ornamental species of the family Brassicaceae. TuMV isolates can be classified to five phylogenetic lineages, basal-B, basal-BR, Asian-BR, world-B and Orchis. To understand the genetic structure of TuMV from radish in China, the 3′-terminal genome of 90 TuMV isolates were determined and analyzed with other Chinese isolates available. The results showed that the Chinese TuMV isolates from radish formed three groups: Asian-BR, basal-BR and world-B. More than half of these isolates (52.54%) were clustered to basal-BR group, and could be further divided into three sub-groups. The TuMV basal-BR isolates in the sub-groups I and II were genetically homologous with Japanese ones, while those in sub-group III formed a distinct lineage. Sub-populations of TuMV basal-BR II and III were new emergent and in a state of expansion. The Chinese TuMV radish populations were under negative selection. Gene flow between TuMV populations from Tai’an, Weifang and Changchun was frequent.

The roots of African grapes (Lannea microcarpa) have long been utilised in traditional medicine for their perceived therapeutic properties. However, their comprehensive proximate and mineral analysis remains largely unexplored. Proximate composition and mineral content of the roots were conducted. The sample was obtained from Katsayal, Katsina State, and analysed using standard procedures. The macro and micro metals were determined using Flame Photometer and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, respectively. The results revealed a moisture content of 28.0 ±2.0%, an ash content of 21.3±1.2%, and significant levels of crude fibre (29.0±0.50%), crude lipid (9.60±0.20%), crude protein (6.91±0.01%), and available carbohydrates (33.3±0.10%). The calorific value of the root was determined to be 245 ± 0.01 kcal/g. The micro-mineral analysis revealed the detection of copper (8.60 ± 0.002 mg/kg), magnesium (9.24 ± 0.004 mg/kg), manganese (41.9 ± 0.001 mg/kg), iron (405 ± 0.042 mg/kg), and zinc (9.46 ± 0.001 mg/kg). The macro-minerals, namely calcium (28400 mg/kg), potassium (1530 mg/kg), and sodium (45030 mg/kg), were found to be present in the sample. It is advisable to conduct additional research to examine the identified minerals' bioavailability, clarify the phytochemical profile, and investigate potential bioactive compounds.

The macro-litter (plastic) sea bottom pollution of 14 city harbors and marinas in North Africa and in the western Baltic Sea was investigated using a new simple mobile underwater camera system. The study was complemented by a harbor manager survey and 3D-hydrodynamic transport simulations. The average pollution in German marinas was 0.1 particles/m² sea floor (0.04–1.75). The pollution in North African marinas on average was 7 times higher (0.7 particles/m²) and exceeded 3 particles/m² in city center harbors. The resulting &gt;100,000 litter particles per harbor indicate the existence of a problem. With 73%-74%, plastic particles are dominating. Existing legal and management frameworks explain the lack of plastic bottles and bags on sea floors in Germany and are one reason for the lower pollution levels. Items that indicate the role of untreated sewage water were not found. Harbor festivals seem not to be quantitatively relevant for open sea bottom pollution. Our method tends to underestimate the pollution level. Model simulations indicate that storms can cause litter reallocations and sediment cleanings. However, marina sea floor monitoring is recommendable, because it addresses pollution hot-spots, is cost-effective and takes place close to emission sources. Further, the effectiveness of land-based pollution reduction measures can easily be assessed.

This review aimed to update the main aspects of aflatoxin production, occurrence and incidence in selected countries, and associated aflatoxicosis outbreaks. Means to reduce aflatoxin incidence in crops were also presented with an emphasis on the environment-friendly technology using atoxigenic strains of Aspergillus flavus. Aflatoxins are unavoidable widespread natural contaminants of foods and feeds with serious impact on health, agricultural and livestock productivity, and food safety. They are secondary metabolites produced by Aspergillus species distributed on three main sections of the genus (section Flavi, section Ochraceorosei, and section Nidulantes). Poor economic status of a country exacerbates the risk and the extent of crop contamination due to faulty storage conditions that are usually suitable for mold growth and mycotoxin production: temperature of 22 to 29°C and water activity of 0.90 to 0.99. This situation paralleled the prevalence of high liver cancer and the occasional acute aflatoxicosis episodes that have been associated with these regions. Risk assessment studies revealed that Southeast Asian and Sub-Saharan African countries remain at high risk and that, apart from the regulatory standards revision to be more restrictive, other actions to prevent or decontaminate crops are to be taken for adequate public health protection. Indeed, a review of publications on the incidence of aflatoxins in selected foods and feeds from countries whose crops are classically known for their highest contamination with aflatoxins, reveals that despite the intensive efforts made to reduce such an incidence, there has been no clear tendency, with the possible exception of South Africa, towards sustained improvements. Nonetheless, a global risk assessment of the new situation regarding crop contamination with aflatoxins by international organizations with the required expertise is suggested to appraise where we stand presently.

In this paper, the validity of the Wagner’s law is investigated in tenth selected Sub- Saharan African countries, namely Botswana, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, Nigeria, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Madagascar, and DR Congo. Five variants of the Wagner’s law were tested for the period 2005-2014, using panel econometric approaches encompassing cointegration and causality. The study found a long run relationship between the public expenditure and the various explanatory variables used as proxies of income. The long-run causality tests indicate that there is bidirectional causality between expenditure and income in all models with the exemption of the Gupta model. It is concluded that for Sub-Saharan Africa, both the Wagner’s law the Keynesian hypothesis tend to be valid under the period of investigation. The explanation is that there has been the tendency for public expenditure to grow relative to national income (Wagner’s law) and that public expenditure is a policy instrument (an exogenous factor) for improving national income (Keynesian hypothesis) during the 10-year period.

Tamarix is native to Eurasia, plus the northern and southern territories of Africa, with some species being introduced into America and Oceania. They are usually found in arid, desertic or subdesertic areas, often on saline or subsaline soils, under Mediterranean, Temperate or Subtropical climates. The genus is renowned by its complex taxonomy, which has usually based on rather variable or unstable characters, which led to contrasting taxonomic treatments. As part of the taxonomic revision of Tamarix undertaken by the authors, nine names (i.e., T. africana, T. bounopoea, T. malenconiana, T. muluyana, T. tenuifolia, T. tingitana, T. trabutii, T. valdesquamigera, and T. weyleri) published from material collected in the southwestern parts of the Mediterranean basin are taxonomically and nomenclaturally discussed after analysing their original and/or type material. Seven intended holotypes are corrected here to lectotypes; one epitype is designated for T. africana to warrant current use of the name; and one isotype, 27 isolectotypes and 11 syntypes are also identified for the studied names. Further, the taxonomic identity of all names and their eventual synonymic placement are accordingly discussed.

Agriculture is the primary source of economic growth in many countries in West Africa. It provides food and livelihoods for the population. The purpose of this study is to review the digital agriculture status in five countries, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Coˆte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria. The study consisted of a bibliometric analysis using a database exported from the web of science through a well-defined search string. Additionally, the cases of digital technology deployment in the countries were assessed through a systematic review approach comparing the technologies used in the target countries. Representative articles from the bibliometric review published in the last five years were selected for the comparative analysis. The bibliometric analysis based on 3,249 publications revealed that the research interests have significantly increased since 2014. The top two countries in terms of authors’ nationality were Nigeria and Ghana, respectively. Climate change, Machine Learning (ML) and adoption were the hot topics of discussion. The digital agriculture survey showed that publications in Nigeria were focused on Internet of Things (IoT), Wireless Sensors Networks, blockchain, and Artificial Intelligence (IA) technologies. Ghana also has a strong interest in blockchain, AI, and big data, while Burkina Faso focused on IoT and AI. Cote d’Ivoire and Benin focused only on AI.

Drowning is a serious public health concern. Low middle income countries are mostly affected, as they carry 90% of the global drowning burden. The purpose of this epidemiological study is to provide a comprehensive overview of fatal drownings in South Africa between 2016 and 2021. The data used for the study was obtained from the South African Police Service. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise data. Statistical analysis included a t-test and chi-square test. The results indicate that the average fatal drownings per annum is 1477 in South Africa, with a drowning rate of 2.54 per 100 000 population from 2016 - 2021. The KwaZulu-Natal province had the highest incidence of drowning. The 0 – 4-year category has a high prevalence of drowning amongst all the age categories. More males drowned in South Africa compared to females. The study highlights key areas of concern these include age, sex, race, province, type of water body and time of day. This information is crucial to inform drowning prevention initiatives in South Africa.

There is a need for developmental screening that is easily administered in resource-poor settings. 1) We hypothesized that known risk factors would predict failed developmental screening on an adapted screening tool in East African children living in poverty. 2) The sample included 100 healthy Ugandan children aged 6-59 months. We adapted a parent-reported developmental screener based on the Child Development Review chart. The primary outcome was failure to meet age-appropriate milestones for any developmental domain. Venous blood was analyzed for lead, and caregivers completed a demographics questionnaire. We used multivariate logistic regression models to determine if elevated blood lead and stunting predicted failure on the screener, controlling for maternal education level, age in months past the lower bound of the child’s developmental age group, and absence of home electricity. 3) In the sample, 14% (n=14) of children failed one or more milestones on the screener. Lead levels or stunting did not predict failing the screener after controlling for covariates. 4) Though this tool was feasibly administered, it did not demonstrate preliminary construct validity and is not yet recommended for screening in high-risk populations. Future research should include a larger sample size and cognitive interviews to ensure it is contextually relevant.

The African society is one of the societies with rich culture and traditions. Apart from the indigenous religion of Africa, Christianity and Islam are worshiped as the major religions of the African society. Literature reflects a great amount of influence of religions on the existing societies, people and cultures. African literature often mirrors the clash of indigenous religion with Christianity. In the writings of African authors one can find the elements of Christian beliefs and practices. The present paper, however, is focused on the African woman novelist Buchi Emecheta’s selected four novels: Second-Class Citizen (1974), The Bride Price (1976), The Slave-Girl (1977) and The Joys of Motherhood (1979). The paper attempts to discuss the impact of Christianity on the social and cultural aspects of the African society with special focus on African women. The findings reveal the positive as well as negative impacts of the new religion on African people and on the position of African women through the characters present in the selected novels. With the medium of writing and through Christianity, Emecheta seek to educate her society and improve upon the position of the African women.

The rapid spread of African swine fever virus (ASFV), causing severe and often lethal disease in domestic pigs and Eurasian wild boar, continues to be a threat for pig populations and dependent industries. Despite scientific achievements that deepen our understanding of ASFV pathogenesis, alternative transmission routes for ASFV remain to be elucidated. We previously demonstrated the efficient transmission of ASFV from infected boars to naïve recipient gilts via artificial insemination, thereby highlighting the importance of surveillance in boar semen prior to shipment. Since accurate and reliable detection of even low amounts of ASFV in boar semen is key for disease prevention and control, we established a suitable diagnostic pipeline to efficiently detect ASFV genome in boar semen. Here, we assessed sensitivity, specificity and overall performance of various routine nucleic acid extraction kits as well as qPCR protocols in detecting ASFV genome in blood and semen of boars. Feasibility of respective kits and methods for future use in boar studs was also considered. Variability in sensitivity mostly concerned samples with low to very low amounts of ASFV genome. Ultimately, we defined a well-suited pipeline to precisely detect ASFV genome in boar semen, as early as 2 days post ASFV infection.

Background: The increase in the prevalence of obesity in South Africa is a problem and weight management play an important role in the treatment of the high prevalence. For this purpose, a quantitative study was carried out using a structured questionnaire to assess predictors of attempt and failure to lose weight. Methods: One thousand and fifty adults were enrolled in the study and 54% (n=562) were overweight and obese (BMI &gt;/25kg/m2). Descriptive statistics were analysed. Inferential statistical tests (chi-square tests, logistic regression, and Pearson’s correlation coefficients) were used to determine the relationship between variables. Results: The results revealed that age, sex, marital status, educational level, employment status, income level, area of residence, ethnic groups, and self-perceived BMI (normal weight, overweight, and obese) were predictors of attempt and failure to lose weight. There was a positive correlation between self-perceived BMI and the attempt and failure to lose weight. Conclusion: Weight management is important in the realm of public health and can be regarded as an investment in the population, as it leads people toward weight control strategies grounded in empirical evidence. Additionally, the findings can inform public health policies and interventions to improve weight management strategies at the population level.

Correlations between the Neoproterozoic belts surrounding the West African Craton and northern Brazilian cratons have long been a subject of interest and controversies. Due to the splitting of African and South American continents by the Atlantic oceanic domains, no direct links are preserved, requiring relying on various geological or geophysical characteristics to propose such correlations. In addition to the opening of the Atlantic oceanic domains, another difficulty arises from the covering of northern Brazilian belts by upper Paleozoic and Mesozoic basins, making these correlations speculative. Recently, four orogens have been evidenced in the Neoproterozoic belts of the western margin of the West Africa Craton, while the belts on the eastern side underwent only one orogeny. Similarities with the Pan-African I (900-650 Ma) and with the Pan-African II (650-480 Ma) orogenic events have been evidence in the western Brazilian belts (Araguay and Paraguay). The two first orogens on the western margin (Pan-African I and Pan-African II) can thus be extended to the western Brazilian belts and can be considered as parts of a single geodynamic system running from the Mauritania to the Paraguay including the “Gurupi rift” as an aulacogen connected to the NNW-SSE Panafrican I and II oceanic domains. Consequently, the eastern Brazilian belt should rather be linked the Eastern Trans-Saharan belts.

Anabantidae is a large and diverse group of fish cultured both under aquaculture conditions and as hobbyists. These fish share a common structural feature in the form of an additional respiratory organ. Despite the enormous availability of these fish worldwide, little is known to date about their feeding preferences in husbandry and their influence on homeostasis under both industrial and domestic conditions. This study describes, for the first time, the structure of the digestive tracts of two Anabantoidei fishes: African bushfish (Ctenopoma acutirostre) and paradise fish (Macropodus opercularis). The overall structure of the digestive tract and its histological structure were analyzed and compared in both fish species. In conclusion, it was shown that physiological predispositions indicate a predominance of omnivorous fish traits in the M. opercularis, in contrast to the C. acutirostre, which has several morphological traits indicating a greater adaptation to carnivory, particularly ichthyophagy. The results obtained will allow further research to be conducted in the future to optimize the nutrition and feeding of these fish and to develop appropriate dietary recommendations.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health problem threatening safe, effective healthcare delivery in all countries and settings. The ability of microorganisms to become resistant to the effects of antimicrobials is an inevitable evolutionary process. The misuse and overuse of antimicrobial agents has increased the importance of a global focus on antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). This review provides insight into the current AMS landscape and identifies contemporary actors and initiatives related to AMS projects in eight African countries (Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia), which form a network of countries participating in the Commonwealth Partnerships for Antimicrobial Stewardship (CwPAMS) programme. We focus on common themes across the eight countries, including the current status of AMR, infection prevention and control, AMR implementation strategies, AMS, antimicrobial surveillance, antimicrobial use, antimicrobial consumption surveillance, a one health approach, digital health, pre-service and in-service AMR & AMS training, access to and supply of medicines, and the impact of COVID-19. Recommendations suitable for adaptation are presented, including the development of a national AMS strategy and incorporation of AMS in pharmacists’ and other healthcare professionals' curricula for pre-service and in-service training.

Parasitic diseases continue represent a threat on a global scale, particularly among the poorest countries in the world. This is particularly because of the absence of vaccines, and in some cases, resistance against available drugs, currently being used for their treatment. In this review emphasis is laid on natural products and scaffolds from African medicinal plants (AMPs) for lead drug discovery and possible further development of drugs for the treatment of parasitic diseases. In the discussion, emphasis has been laid on alkaloids, terpenoids, quinones, flavonoids and narrower compound classes of compounds with micromolar range activities against Schistosoma, Trypanosoma and Leishmania species. Suggestions for future drug development from African medicinal plants have also been provided.

Poor therapeutic outcomes have been attributed to inter-individual and interethnic variability in cytochrome P450 (CYP450)-dependent metabolism and altered drug retention associated with P-glycoprotein (P-gp). An individualized pharmacotherapeutic approach would benefit the genetically diverse South African population. The study aim was to develop a validated, targeted, analytical method to quantify seven probe drugs and their metabolites in dried blood spots (DBS) using the Mitra™ volumetric absorptive micro-sampling device for blood collection. An Agilent liquid chromatography (LC) system coupled to a Sciex 4000 QTRAP tandem mass spectrometer (MS) was used for method optimization and validation. Targeted LC-MS/MS methods were validated according to ICH guidelines. The validated LC-MS/MS method met the required bioanalytical standards for specificity, sensitivity, linearity, accuracy, precision, carry-over, and stability. This study successfully validated the use of DBS, collected with the Mitra™ microsampling device, to measure expected probe drug and metabolite concentrations using the “Geneva phenotyping cocktail” for the purpose of simultaneous phenotyping of in vivo CYP450 metabolic activity of the CYP1A2, -2B6, -2C9, -2C19, -2D6, and -3A4 enzymes, and P-gp transport activity. However, statistical analysis using Bland-Altman plots showed that not all analytes exhibited linear distribution pharmacokinetics between DBS and plasma, which influenced the predicted vs real plasma concentrations based on measurements in a DBS matrix. These findings were attributed to the blood-to-plasma concentration ratio, the physicochemical properties and stability of the analytes, and the extraction efficiency of the Mitra™ sampler. More research is required before DBS sampling can be substituted for conventional plasma sampling

The preparation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) involves a variety of chemical and physical methods. These methods use toxic and environmentally harmful chemicals. Consequently, the synthesis of AuNPs using green chemistry has been under investigation to develop eco-friendly nanoparticles. One method to achieve this is the use of plant-derived phytochemicals capable of reducing gold ions to produce AuNPs. The aim of this study was to implement a facile microtitre-plate method to screen a large number of aqueous plant extracts to determine the optimum concentration (OC) to bio-synthesize the AuNPs. Several AuNPs of different sizes and shapes were successfully synthesized and characterized from seventeen South African plants. The characterization was done using Ultra Violet-Visible Spectroscopy, Dynamic Light Scattering, High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy and Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy. We also studied the effects of temperature on the synthesis of the nanoparticles and measured its effect on the particle size of the synthesized AuNPs and the data showed that changes in temperatures affect the size and dispersity of the generated AuNPs. Further, some of the synthesized AuNPs were stable upon incubation with different biological solutions in vitro.