Phylogenetic diversity of cassava green mite, Mononychellus progresivus from different geographical sites in East Africa

Cassava green mite (CGM) of the Mononychellus genus is an invasive species in Africa, introduced from South America. Its phylogenetic diversity over geographical localities has never been assessed in East Africa, where mite density dynamics oscillate from few individuals to a peak of hundreds. The objective of this study was to determine CGM species comparative phylogenetic diversity from seven distinct geographical sites in East Africa. Six sites were sampled for CGM races, two samples from each country. DNA was extracted on internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) and cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI), and compared for phylogenetic variations of CGM from different locations of East African region. A comparative search from the NCBI Gene bank resulted into identical species nucleotides from Congo and Benin. Sequences from the two sites in Kenya were 99-100% similar to CGM nucleotide from the Congo-Benin accessions (X79902.1) on ITS2 gene region. On COI, a 98-99% site sequences similarity was observed on M. progresivus accession X79901.1. A closely related divergence of specimens collected from Tanzania and Uganda was determined. Both Uganda and Tanzania had 99% match to X79901.1 on COI region. Similarly, the Uganda and Tanzania samples had 99% match to emb/X79902.1 on the 18Sr RNA region. The CGM sequence from coastal Kenya had the highest phylogenetic divergence from the Congo-Benin sequences. A small biogeographic phylogenetic divergence (0-1%) was evident from the analyses among the six collection sites. The results confirm M. progresivus identity in East Africa it also indicates intra-species phylogenetic variations on the COI gene region of interest.L\u2019acarien vert du manioc (CGM) du genre Mononychellus est espece invasive Introduite de l\u2019Amerique du Sud en Afrique. Sa diversite phyllogenetique au sein et entre les localites n\u2019a jamais ete evaluee en Afrique de l\u2019Est, ou la densite d\u2019acarien varie de quelques individus a plusieurs centaines. L\u2019objectif de cette etude etait de determiner la diversite phyllogenetiques des especes CGM et de comparer sept sites geographiquement differents en Afrique de l\u2019Est. six sites ont ete echantillonnes pour des races de CGM, a raison de deux echantillons par pays. De l\u2019AND a ete extrait sur l\u2019espaceur interne transcrit 2 (ITS2) et sous-unite I de cytochrome oxidase (COI), ces echantillons ont ete compares pour les variations phyllogenetiques de CGM provenant de localites differentes de la region Est Africaine. Une etude comparee a la banque de gene de NCBI a revele des especes identiques en provenance de Congo et du Benin, de point de vue de leur nucleotides. Des sequences provenant des deux sites au Kenya ont exhibe 99-100% de similarite avec les nucleotides de CGM provenant des accessions Congo-Benin (X79902.1) sur la region genetique ITS2. Sur COI, une similarite de 98-99% a ete observee sur l\u2019accession M. progresivus X79901.1. Une divergence de sujets genetiquement proches a ete observe chez des specimens collectes en Tanzannie et en Ouganda. Ouganda et Tanzanie ont exhibe 99% de similitude a X79901.1 sur la region COI. De meme, les echantillons provenant de Ouganda et de Tanzannie presentaient 99% de similitude avec emb/X79902.1 sur la region 18Sr RNA. La sequence de CGM provenant de cote kenyane avait la divergence phyllogenique la plus elevee d\u2019avec les sequences Congo-Benin. Une legere divergence phyllogenetique geographiaque (0-1%) a ete note des analyses dans les sites de collection. Les resultats conferment l\u2019identite de M. progresivus identity en Afrique de l\u2019Est. l\u2019etude a aussi revele des variations phyllogenetiques sur la region de gene d\u2019interet COI

Global Public Health exploring the impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on informal settlements in Tshwane Gauteng Province, South Africa

Informal settlements remain a public health problem as they lack basic infrastructure. Furthermore, it is challenging to enforce public health regulations and protocols to prevent the spread of infection during a pandemic. This paper was set out to explore the impact of lockdown during COVID-19 among people living in informal settlements. An exploratory qualitative design was utilised. Purposive sampling was used to select research participants. In-depth one-to-one interviews were held involving 30 research participants through a WhatsApp online telephone platform. A thematic approach underpinned by the four stages of data analysis in interpretive phenomenological analysis was utilised to analyse the data. The study found that during the the research participants were affected by lack of space to practice social distancing, over-burdened infrastructure, lack of savings, loss of income and shortage of food, hunger and diseases, anxiety and depression and poor access to education. There is a need to prioritise the needs of informal settlers and endeavour to establish permanent homes. Health promotion and communication initiatives and pandemic awareness programmes are needed to mitigate the impact of lockdown during a pandemic in informal settlements

Linking diet switching to reproductive performance across populations of two critically endangered mammalian herbivores.

Optimal foraging theory predicts that animals maximise energy intake by consuming the most valuable foods available. When resources are limited, they may include lower-quality fallback foods in their diets. As seasonal herbivore diet switching is understudied, we evaluate its extent and effects across three Kenyan reserves each for Critically Endangered eastern black rhino (Diceros bicornis michaeli) and Grevy's zebra (Equus grevyi), and its associations with habitat quality, microbiome variation, and reproductive performance. Black rhino diet breadth increases with vegetation productivity (NDVI), whereas zebra diet breadth peaks at intermediate NDVI. Black rhino diets associated with higher vegetation productivity have less acacia (Fabaceae: Vachellia and Senegalia spp.) and more grass suggesting that acacia are fallback foods, upending conventional assumptions. Larger dietary shifts are associated with longer calving intervals. Grevy's zebra diets in high rainfall areas are consistently grass-dominated, whereas in arid areas they primarily consume legumes during low vegetation productivity periods. Whilst microbiome composition between individuals is affected by the environment, and diet composition in black rhino, seasonal dietary shifts do not drive commensurate microbiome shifts. Documenting diet shifts across ecological gradients can increase the effectiveness of conservation by informing habitat suitability models and improving understanding of responses to resource limitatio

Conservation research in times of COVID-19 - the rescue of the northern white rhino

COVID-19 has changed the world at unprecedented pace. The measures imposed by governments across the globe for containing the pandemic have severely affected all facets of economy and society, including scientific progress. Сonservation research has not been exempt from these negative effects, which we here summarize for the BioRescue project, aiming at saving the northern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni), an important Central African keystone species, of which only two female individuals are left. The development of advanced assisted reproduction and stem-cell technologies to achieve this goal involves experts across five continents. Maintaining international collaborations under conditions of national shut-down and travel restrictions poses major challenges. The associated ethical implications and consequences are particularly troublesome when it comes to research directed at protecting biological diversity – all the more in the light of increasing evidence that biodiversity and intact ecological habitats might limit the spread of novel pathogens

Amyloid precursor protein drives down-regulation of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation independent of amyloid beta

Amyloid precursor protein (APP) and its extracellular domain, soluble APP alpha (sAPPα) play important physiological and neuroprotective roles. However, rare forms of familial Alzheimer’s disease are associated with mutations in APP that increase toxic amyloidogenic cleavage of APP and produce amyloid beta (Aβ) at the expense of sAPPα and other non-amyloidogenic fragments. Although mitochondrial dysfunction has become an established hallmark of neurotoxicity, the link between Aβ and mitochondrial function is unclear. In this study we investigated the effects of increased levels of neuronal APP or Aβ on mitochondrial metabolism and gene expression, in human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. Increased non-amyloidogenic processing of APP, but not Aβ, profoundly decreased respiration and enhanced glycolysis, while mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) transcripts were decreased, without detrimental effects to cell growth. These effects cannot be ascribed to Aβ toxicity, since higher levels of endogenous Aβ in our models do not cause oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) perturbations. Similarly, chemical inhibition of β-secretase decreased mitochondrial respiration, suggesting that non-amyloidogenic processing of APP may be responsible for mitochondrial changes. Our results have two important implications, the need for caution in the interpretation of mitochondrial perturbations in models where APP is overexpressed, and a potential role of sAPPα or other non-amyloid APP fragments as acute modulators of mitochondrial metabolism

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Knowledge of Faculty on Interprofessional Education at a Public University in Kenya

Background: Training health professionals in a way that ensures teamwork, collaborative practice and eventually improving quality of care is important. Interprofessional Education (IPE) is one such approach to training. Having faculty that understand and support IPE ensures its uptake and implementation. Objective: To describe the knowledge of faculty on IPE at a Kenyan public university. Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study. Setting: Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenya. Subjects: A total of 71 faculty members of the five schools at the college of health sciences, JKUAT were enrolled into the study between July 2020 and September 2020. Outcome: Comparison of means of knowledge among schools, academic position, and expertise level. Results: This study had more males (41, 57.7%) than females, almost half(33, 46.5%) of the respondents held the Lecturer position and the mean age of the respondents was 42 years (SD,6.5). Faculty in this survey had good knowledge on IPE with a score 9.62±0.12. When asked to define IPE using an open-ended question, 42 (59%) defined it as shared learning. More than half of the respondents 42(59.2%) were novices on IPE. There was no statistically significant relationship between faculty’s characteristics and their knowledge on IPE in this survey. Conclusion: The respondents had favorable knowledge on IPE by score however, when asked to define IPE directly participants misinterpreted IPE to mean shared learning. The participants school, academic position and expertise level did not significantly influence knowledge. It is recommended that there should be sensitization among faculty on IPE

Psychiatric morbidity among sexually abused children and adolescents

No Abstract. East African Medical Journal Vol. 85 (2) 2008 pp. 85-9

Changing rural urban linkages in Africa in a globalizing economy

The role of rural-urban linkages is critically vital for Africa‟s development in this era of rapid socio-economic transformation. A better understanding of cities and how they relate both to the rural and urban development is needed in view of the continuous changes in development. This paper argues that many of Africa‟s development  problems such as poverty and food insecurity are best tackled through approaches that recognise the links between the two. Further, the paper proposes the “Kizuna” approach, which emphasises strong symbiotic bonds between rural and urban communities to addressing most problems that face the African society. Moreover, the paper argues that elements of „Kizuna‟ are already evident in the various social networks and kinships that guide the interactions between rural and urban dwellers in Africa. However, these bonds still need formal recognition and deliberate policy interventions aimed at enhancing their potential to foster poverty reduction and sustainable development.Keywords: Rural-urban-continuum, livelihood options, environmental damage, sustainable development, Kizun