Genome-Wide snp analysis of southern african populations provides new insights into the dispersal of bantu-Speaking groups

The expansion of Bantu-speaking agropastoralist populations had a great impact on the genetic, linguistic, and cultural variation of sub-Saharan Africa. It isgenerally accepted that Bantulanguages originated inanarea around thepresent borderbetweenCameroon and Nigeria approximately 5,000 years ago, from where they spread South and East becoming the largest African linguistic branch. The demic consequences of this event are reflected in the relatively high genetic homogeneity observed acrossmost of sub-Saharan Africapopulations. Inthiswork, weexploredgenome-wide singlenucleotidepolymorphismdata from28populations to characterize the genetic components present in sub-Saharan African populations. Combining novel data from four SouthernAfrican populations withpreviouslypublishedresults,we reject the hypothesis that the" non-Bantu" geneticcomponent reported inSouth-Eastern Africa (Mozambique) reflects extensive gene flow between incoming agriculturalist and resident hunter-gatherer communities.We alternatively suggest that this novel component is the result of demographic dynamics associated with the Bantu dispersal

Venous bicarbonate and creatine kinase as diagnostic and prognostic tools in the setting of acute traumatic rhabdomyolysis

Background. Myorenal or crush syndrome often develops following soft-tissue traumatic injury. It is a spectrum of disease that may result in severe renal dysfunction and kidney injury requiring renal replacement therapy.Objectives. To review a large cohort of patients with so-called myorenal or crush syndrome and assess the biochemical markers of venous bicarbonate and creatine kinase as predictors for the development of acute kidney injury (AKI).Methods. All patients with myorenal syndrome who presented to Khayelitsha District Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa (SA), and Ngwelezana Hospital, Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal, SA, between January and December 2017 were identified and reviewed.Results. A total of 212 patients were included in the study. At both hospitals, 94% of the patients were male. Using the Pearson correlation coefficient, we compared creatinine kinase (CK) against serum creatinine. The mean CK level was 5 311.8 U/L and the mean creatinine level 133.457 μmol/L. The r-value was 0.2533. Although this is a technically positive correlation, the relationship between the variables is weak. Using the Pearson R Calculator, we inserted the r-value to calculate the p-value. The p-value was 0.000208. When comparing venous bicarbonate (HCO3) against creatinine, the mean HCO3 level was 22.296 mmol/L and the mean creatinine level 162.053 μmol/L. The r-value was –0.3468. Although this is a technically negative correlation, the relationship between the variables is weak. Using the Pearson R Calculator, we inserted the r-value to calculate the p-value. The p-value was 0.000013. The inverse ratio shown with HCO3 v. creatinine, although still a weak correlation, is significantly better in predicting an increase in creatinine compared with the weak positive correlation of CK v. creatinine.Conclusions. Although both venous HCO3 and CK showed a weak correlation with creatinine, the former performed significantly better in predicting AKI. In a resource-constrained system, we recommend that HCO3 be measured to assess patients with crush injury and that CK be regarded as a complementary modality

Static and Moving Frontiers: The Genetic Landscape of Southern African Bantu-Speaking Populations

A consensus on Bantu-speaking populations being genetically similar has emerged in the last few years, but the demographic scenarios associated with their dispersal are still amatter of debate. The frontier model proposed by archeologists postulates different degrees of interaction among incoming agropastoralist and resident foraging groups in the presence of "static" and "moving" frontiers. By combining mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome data collected from several southern African populations, we show that Bantu-speaking populations from regions characterized by amoving frontier developing after a long-term static frontier have larger hunter-gatherer contributions than groups from areas where a static frontier was not followed by further spatial expansion. Differences in the female and male components suggest that the process of assimilation of the long-term resident groups into agropastoralist societies was gender biased. Our results show that the diffusion of Bantu languages and culture in Southern Africa was a process more complex than previously described and suggest that the admixture dynamics between farmers and foragers played an important role in shaping the current patterns of genetic diversity

Satellite tracking of leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles on the Southeast African coastline

The waters of southeast Africa contain important habitats for several sea turtle species, including the leatherback Dermochelys coriacea, loggerhead Caretta caretta, hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata, green Chelonia mydas, and olive ridley turtle Lepidochelys olivacea. Many of these species are of conservation concern (Rakotoniria & Cooke, 1994; Thorson et al., 2012; Nel et al., 2013) and vulnerable to regional threats such as fisheries by-catch or boat-strikes (Bourjea et al., 2008; Grantham et al., 2008; Pusineri & Quillard, 2008). To help in the development of effective conservation plans for these species, many conservation or research organisations have used satellite transmitters to help identify critical habitats for sea turtles (Harris et al., 2015; Robinson et al., 2016). Here, we review the movement patterns of sea turtles that have been tracked through satellite telemetry from their nesting beaches on the east coast of South Africa

A raised serum lactate level is an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality in patients with isolated cerebral gunshot wounds

Background. Cerebral gunshot wounds (CGSWs) represent a highly lethal form of traumatic brain injury, and triaging these patients is difficult. The prognostic significance of the serum lactate level in the setting of CGSWs is largely unknown.Objectives. To examine the relationship between elevated serum lactate levels and mortality in patients with isolated CGSWs.Methods. A retrospective review of the regional trauma registry was undertaken at the Pietermaritzburg Metropolitan Trauma Service, South Africa, over a 5-year period from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2014. All patients with an isolated CGSW were included.Results. A total of 102 patients with isolated CGSWs were identified. Of these, 92.2% (94/102) were male. The mean age (standard deviation) was 29 (8) years, and the in-hospital mortality rate was 21.6% (22/102). The mean serum lactate level was significantly higher among non-survivors than among survivors (6.1 mmol/L v. 1.3 mmol/L; p<0.001). Lactate levels among non-survivors were <2 mmol/L in 4.5%, 2 - 3.99 mmol/L in 9.1%, 4 - 5.99 mmol/L in 36.4% and ≥6 mmol/L in 50.0%. The odds ratio for mortality with a lactate level of 4 - 5.99 mmol/L was 67 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.7 - 2 674.2), while for a lactate level of ≥6 mmol/L it was 1 787 (95% CI 9.0 - 354 116.1). The serum lactate level accurately predicted mortality even after adjustment for other variables. Based on a receiver operating curve analysis, an optimal cut-off of 3.3 mmol/L for serum lactate as a predictor for mortality was identified (area under the curve = 0.957).Conclusions. CGSWs are associated with significant mortality, and a raised serum lactate level appears to be an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality. It is a potentially useful adjunct in the resuscitation room for identifying patients with a very poor prognosis.

Assessing the efficacy of a modified assertive community-based treatment programme in a developing country

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A number of recently published randomized controlled trials conducted in developed countries have reported no advantage for assertive interventions over standard care models. One possible explanation could be that so-called "standard care" has become more comprehensive in recent years, incorporating some of the salient aspects of assertive models in its modus operandi. Our study represents the first randomised controlled trial assessing the effect of a modified assertive treatment service on readmission rates and other measures of outcome in a developing country.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>High frequency service users were randomized into an intervention (n = 34) and a control (n = 26) group. The control group received standard community care and the active group an assertive intervention based on a modified version of the international model of assertive community treatment. Study visits were conducted at baseline and 12 months with demographic and illness information collected at visit 1 and readmission rates documented at study end. Symptomatology and functioning were measured at both visits using the PANSS, CDSS, ESRS, WHO-QOL and SOFAS.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At 12 month follow-up subjects receiving the assertive intervention had significantly lower total PANSS (p = 0.02) as well as positive (p < 0.01) and general psychopathology (p = 0.01) subscales' scores. The mean SOFAS score was also significantly higher (p = 0.02) and the mean number of psychiatric admissions significantly lower (p < 0.01) in the intervention group.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results indicate that assertive interventions in a developing setting where standard community mental services are often under resourced can produce significant outcomes. Furthermore, these interventions need not be as expensive and comprehensive as international, first-world models in order to reduce inpatient days, improve psychopathology and overall levels of functioning in patients with severe mental illness.</p

Poverty and Well-being in Post-Apartheid South Africa: An Overview of Data, Outcomes and Policy

WP 2006-03 January 2006This is an overview of poverty and well-being in the first decade of post-apartheid South Africa. It is an introduction to a volume that brings together some of the most prominent academic research done on this topic for the 10-year review process in South Africa. This overview highlights three key aspects of the picture that the detailed research paints. First, data quality and comparability has been a constant issue in arriving at a consensus among analysts on the outcomes for households and individuals in postapartheid South Africa. Second, while the outcomes on unemployment, poverty and inequality are indeed bad, the outcomes on social indicators and access to public services are much more encouraging. Third, the prospects for rapid and sustained economic growth, without which poverty and well-being cannot be addressed in the long run, are themselves negatively affected by increasing inequality, poverty and unemployment

The Effect of Genetic and Environmental Variation on Genital Size in Male Drosophila: Canalized but Developmentally Unstable

The genitalia of most male arthropods scale hypoallometrically with body size, that is they are more or less the same size across large and small individuals in a population. Such scaling is expected to arise when genital traits show less variation than somatic traits in response to factors that generate size variation among individuals in a population. Nevertheless, there have been few studies directly examining the relative sensitivity of genital and somatic traits to factors that affect their size. Such studies are key to understanding genital evolution and the evolution of morphological scaling relationships more generally. Previous studies indicate that the size of genital traits in male Drosophila melanogaster show a relatively low response to variation in environmental factors that affect trait size. Here we show that the size of genital traits in male fruit flies also exhibit a relatively low response to variation in genetic factors that affect trait size. Importantly, however, this low response is only to genetic factors that affect body and organ size systemically, not those that affect organ size autonomously. Further, we show that the genital traits do not show low levels of developmental instability, which is the response to stochastic developmental errors that also influence organ size autonomously. We discuss these results in the context of current hypotheses on the proximate and ultimate mechanisms that generate genital hypoallometry