Baobab Index

Subclinical mastitis is still one of the most important health issues in dairy herds, leading to substantial economic losses due to reduced milk yield, treatment costs, and premature culling. Understanding the genetic basis of this disorder is essential in supporting selection strategies to enhance udder health and herd productivity. The aim of this study was to estimate the genetic and phenotypic parameters for subclinical mastitis occurrence using information from 748 lactations of 279 pasture-based Girolando cows from the Federal Institute of Triângulo Mineiro (IFTM)-Uberaba research herd, calved between 2012 and 2024. Variance components were obtained using a Bayesian approach under a complete animal model. The heritability estimates (posterior medians [highest posterior density interval]) for subclinical mastitis were 0.14 [0.09-0.20] and 0.15 [0.10-0.20] for the right (RF) and left (LF) front quarters, and 0.13 [0.08-0.18] and 0.15 [0.09-0.20] for the right (RR) and left (LR) rear quarters, respectively. The repeatabilities were 0.41 [0.37-0.45] and 0.35 [0.31-0.39] for RF and LF, and 0.35 [0.32-0.39] and 0.41 [0.37-0.45] for the RR and LR quarters, respectively. The low to moderate heritabilities indicate that subclinical mastitis is highly influenced by environmental factors, and the moderate repeatabilities estimates indicate that these traits will benefit from a more frequent data collection. The results suggest that the genetic progress for subclinical mastitis in pasture-based Girolando cows will be slow. Genetic and phenotypic correlations among quarters were also estimated using a multiple-trait model. Genetic correlations were consistently high, exceeding 0.80 for all quarter combinations, indicating a largely shared genetic background controlling susceptibility to subclinical mastitis across udder quarters. In contrast, phenotypic correlations were moderate ranging from 0.50 [0.47-0.54] between RF and LR, and 0.59 [0.56-0.62] between RF and LF, suggesting that environmental and management-related factors contribute more substantially to differences in mastitis occurrence among quarters than genetic effects. Overall, these results suggest that selection for reduced subclinical mastitis in one quarter is expected to result in favorable correlated responses in the others. However, given the limited dataset size, further studies using larger multiherd populations in tropical production systems, and genomic information, are necessary to validate these correlations and to investigate potential breed composition differences in udder and teat morphology that can affect mastitis susceptibility.

The membrane-bound proteins belonging to DUF677 (domain of unknown function 677) are found mainly in green plants. The function of the DUF677 gene (AT14A) has been investigated in Arabidopsis and tomato in relation to drought stress tolerance. Overexpression of AT14A improves drought tolerance in tomato, promotes growth in Arabidopsis during drought stress, and confers tolerance against oxidative damage caused by drought stress in suspension-cultured A. thaliana. However, the role of the DUF677 gene family has not yet been reported in cotton. We identified 148 DUF677 genes from 15 selected plant species using domain-based and homology-supported bioinformatics approaches and classified them into two major groups (I and II) based on phylogenetic analysis. Group I is further divided into two sub-groups (IA and IB). Structural analysis revealed the presence of a few introns in the DUF677 genes. The evolution and expansion of the DUF677 protein family were primarily driven by segmental duplication. Seventy-one miRNAs were predicted to target 29 GhDUF677 genes, including Ghi-MIR397, Ghi-MIR8722, and Ghi-MIRN1429. Several cis-elements, such as MBS, ABRE, TCA elements, and W-Box, which were known to play a role in abiotic stress response, were observed in the promoter region of GhDUF677 genes. RNA-seq data were analyzed for tissue-specific expression, and qRT‒PCR was performed on six selected genes. The outcomes revealed high levels of GhDUF677 gene expression across different tissues under abiotic stress conditions. This study provides a genome-wide bioinformatics and expression-based characterization of the DUF677 gene family in cotton, identifying candidate genes potentially associated with drought and salt stress responses. While the findings are based on evolutionary, regulatory, and transcriptomic evidence, they do not constitute direct functional validation. Instead, this study establishes a theoretical and genomic foundation for future functional studies aimed at elucidating the precise roles of DUF677 genes in cotton stress tolerance.

The 2017 Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation Roundtable (SRRR) consensus statement on biomarkers identified genetic and blood biomarkers as a developmental priority for stroke recovery and rehabilitation. While progress has been made, this nascent field still lags behind other medical disciplines. Further development is critical because molecular biomarkers hold great promise to provide key insights into the neurobiological mechanisms of both spontaneous and treatment-induced stroke recovery. Such insights could lead to effective recovery biotherapeutics and help optimize the timing and delivery of therapies.MethodsA multidisciplinary taskforce of international experts with expertise in omics and stroke recovery identified and prioritized key focus areas. Consensus opinion was developed across 15 virtual meetings, 2 rounds of anonymous polling and a 2-day in-person meeting. Key recommendations were iteratively refined until full consensus was achieved by all taskforce members.ResultsOur main recommendation is that there is a critical need for large-scale, multi-center, discovery-based omics studies to identify molecular targets in stroke recovery. To help achieve this goal we suggest ways to harmonize future studies including timepoints for data collection, outcome measures, and biospecimen selection. In addition, we address the limitations of current candidate biomarkers, translational challenges, emerging technologies, biomarker response to interventions, multi-site collaboration, and ethical concerns.ConclusionsThere is a great need for collaborative efforts by the international neurorehabilitation community to collect and harmonize molecular biomarker data. The resulting discoveries will be foundational to precision neurorehabilitation and the development of recovery biotherapeutics to enhance recovery for stroke survivors.

Gaps in community-level surveillance continue to limit early detection of communicable diseases in Nigeria, particularly for zoonotic and emerging infections. Strengthening participatory, One-Health (OH)-oriented surveillance systems is critical for improving outbreak preparedness and response. The objective of this study is to evaluate the operational performance of Community Action Networks (CANs) in strengthening participatory, OH-oriented disease surveillance in Nigeria. This was a retrospective program evaluation of the implementation of CAN under the West Africa One Health (WAOH) project. The project was conducted in eight Local Government Areas (LGAs) in five states. Community members (12- 15 per site) were trained in disease recognition, reporting, and risk communication using standardised tools. Surveillance data collected between January 2023 and March 2025 were analysed using descriptive and comparative approaches. Eighty-six CAN members were trained. Between January 2023 and March 2025, 800 health events were reported across eight LGAs. Human health events accounted for 674 (84.2%), environmental events 62 (7.8%), and animal health events were infrequently reported. Reporting increased over time, with higher contributions from rural areas and substantial participation by female members (39, 45.4%). Most reports were channelled through District Surveillance and Notification Officers 559 (69.9%), indicating integration with existing surveillance structures. However, investigation and confirmation rates were higher for human health events compared to animal and environmental events. The CAN model demonstrates operational feasibility and potential to strengthen community-based surveillance and integration into national systems. Addressing gaps in animal and environmental health coordination will be essential for fully realising OH surveillance in Nigeria.

Leadership and mentorship play an important role in supporting the career development of health professionals. In many African countries, supervision activities focus on technical and operational aspects rather than catalysing career and leadership development. Thus, mentorship and coaching interventions need to be implemented in African healthcare institutions as components of health systems strengthening strategies. Due to its holistic nature, cancer care involves interprofessional collaborations to develop and provide a problem-solving mindset. It is therefore an area that would benefit from leadership and mentorship, mainly in a limited-resources context. The identified benefits from leadership development in cancer care in Africa led to the creation of the African Cancer Leaders Institute (ACLI) of the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), consisting of mentors and trainees from Africa and the USA. ACLI trainees are selected through a competitive application process. During the ACLI biennial meetings, coinciding with the AORTIC conference, trainees, including early-stage/mid-career investigators, oncologists, nurses, advocates and other health professionals, meet to learn about best practices in cancer research, grant writing, scientific reporting, mentor relationships, academic pressures and professional-personal life balance. This paper describes the goals of the ACLI, its mission and achievements, the vision behind creating such important programmes and the benefits of its participants in leadership, coaching and mentorship in improving cancer care in Africa.

Secondary use is now the ordinary condition of data science health research rather than an exception to it. Electronic health records collected for clinical care become prediction tools and inputs for generative AI; imaging archives become foundation-model corpora; genomic datasets become resources for polygenic risk scores; and legacy biospecimens become renewable, indefinitely distributable cell lines. Governance has responded by emphasizing verifiable instruments such as provenance logs, repository approvals, broad-consent forms, data-use agreements, model cards, records of processing, and locality-preserving architectures. These instruments are necessary, and they answer real questions about lineage, privacy, institutional responsibility, and accountability, but they are not sufficient to establish that a present use remains ethically justified. We define ethical continuity as the persistence of normatively relevant relationships between the original conditions of data generation or material collection and subsequent downstream uses, such that current uses remain justifiable in light of the expectations, permissions, meanings, and relational obligations present at entrustment. We then define the Continuity Trap as a review-stage governance error in which a salient signal of continuity in one domain is treated as sufficient evidence of ethical continuity overall, causing inquiry into the remaining domains to close prematurely. The trap is not ordinary noncompliance, ethics creep, or a demand for universal rereview; it is a cross-domain inference error that can arise even in careful, good-faith review. We distinguish it from proxy closure, of which it is a continuity-specific subtype, and from Goodhart's and Campbell's laws, which describe how measures degrade once they become targets. We operationalize ethical continuity across 4 domains: provenance, semantics, authorization, and relational standing, developed in our Representational Veracity framework, and we show that these domains can diverge as data are linked, transformed, modeled, and redeployed. We identify the institutional mechanisms-provenance privilege, descriptor sedimentation, authorization fossilization, and community effacement-that cause auditable signals to be overread, and we examine how the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, the General Data Protection Regulation, the European Health Data Space, US Food and Drug Administration guidance, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) AI Risk Management Framework, and federated-learning governance can reduce risk while still inducing continuity traps. We apply the framework to consent and nonconsent settings, including public health, immunization, syndromic, and wastewater surveillance, polygenic risk scores, induced pluripotent stem cells, federated learning, and health-related large language models. The policy implication is trigger-based continuity review: rather than rereviewing every reuse, investigators and reviewers should identify the weakest continuity domain at the present data stage and impose a domain-matched safeguard, recorded in a short continuity statement. This reframing is intended for the committees, repositories, funders, and governance bodies that decide whether reuse may proceed, and it matters most in cross-border and low-resource settings. Provenance should begin ethical review; it should not end it.

Unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are major public health issues in developing countries. While long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) effectively prevents unintended pregnancy, there is limited evidence from large multinational studies on its association with condom use and STI-related outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the association between LARC use, condom use and STIs among women in developing countries. This serial cross-sectional study extracted data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), a series of nationally representative household surveys conducted in developing countries. The analysis included women aged 15 to 49 years, with data on contraceptive methods and demographics. Generalised linear mixed effect models (GLMMs) were used to estimate adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) for condom use and self-reported STI-related outcomes, comparing LARC users with both non-LARC users and oral contraceptive users. Subgroup analyses were conducted at the individual level and at the country level. Data from 2 171 884 women across 31 countries were analysed. Overall, the prevalence of self-reported STI-related outcomes was 7.4%, 3.9% of participants used LARC, and 7.5% of participants reported consistent condom use. LARC users were significantly less likely to use condoms compared with non-LARC users (aPR=0.40, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.53) and compared with oral contraceptive users (aPR=0.61, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.78). LARC use was associated with a higher prevalence of STI-related outcomes compared with non-LARC users (aPR=1.19, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.28) and compared with oral contraceptives users (aPR=1.14, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.24). Associations were stronger in low-Human Development Index (HDI) countries, especially among younger women (15-19 years), but were not significant in high-HDI countries. Country-level heterogeneity was observed. LARC use is associated with reduced condom use and higher self-reported STI prevalence, particularly among younger women and in lower HDI developing countries. These findings support integrating STI prevention into LARC services and promoting dual-method use to prevent both unintended pregnancies and STIs.

Vaccines have transformed preparedness for Zaire ebolavirus disease, but East Africa still faces recurrent risk from Sudan virus and Bundibugyo virus, for which licensed and routinely deployable vaccines remain unavailable. Uganda's 2025 Sudan virus disease outbreak changed the field because it hosted the first clinical efficacy trial of a Sudan virus vaccine during an active outbreak. That was a major scientific achievement, yet it also exposed a more basic weakness: the region still relies too heavily on outbreak-triggered trial activation rather than on a standing preparedness architecture. We argue that East Africa now needs a pan-ebolavirus vaccine-readiness platform built around the threats it repeatedly faces, and we propose that such a platform should be embedded within the broader filovirus preparedness system rather than treated as a stand-alone vaccine project. Such a platform would link genomic surveillance, prototype vaccine libraries, harmonised ethics and regulatory pathways, adaptive ring-vaccination protocols, cold-chain corridors, community trust systems, African-led data stewardship, and manufacturing partnerships. We further argue that Sudan virus and Bundibugyo virus should no longer be treated as occasional vaccine gaps; they are regional preparedness priorities that also expose persistent therapeutic gaps. A sovereignty-oriented model would not replace global collaboration; it would make that collaboration more balanced by enabling East African institutions to lead trial readiness, deployment, evidence generation, and equitable access before the next spillover occurs.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing public health threat that disproportionately affects African countries due to high infectious disease burdens, widespread antimicrobial misuse, weak health systems, inadequate diagnostic capacity, and fragmented surveillance infrastructure. Effective AMR control requires coordinated strengthening of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), laboratory surveillance, and laboratory quality management systems. Therefore, the aim of this narrative review is to identify persistent challenges and structural barriers and to highlight opportunities for strengthening these systems as interconnected pillars of the continent's AMR response. This narrative review draws together published and gray literature on AMS, laboratory surveillance, and laboratory quality management across Africa. Sources spanning 2016-2026 were retrieved from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, supplemented by technical reports from the World Health Organization, Africa CDC, the ASLM, and the Fleming Fund. Findings were organized thematically to surface recurring implementation obstacles, examples of successful practice, and opportunities to strengthen integrated AMR control. The review identified persistent gaps across the three pillars of AMR control. AMS implementation remains inconsistent despite widespread adoption of national AMR action plans, with shortages of trained personnel, inadequate financing, and weak governance limiting effectiveness. Laboratory surveillance systems continue to face challenges related to insufficient diagnostic capacity, poor data sharing, fragmented reporting systems, and limited genomic surveillance infrastructure. Laboratory quality management programs such as SLIPTA and SLMTA have improved quality standards in several countries, but progress remains uneven because of resource constraints, workforce shortages, and sustainability challenges. The review further demonstrates that weaknesses in laboratory quality directly undermine surveillance reliability and stewardship decision-making. Strengthening laboratory quality management, surveillance systems, and AMS as interconnected components of a unified health-system response is essential for controlling AMR in Africa. Sustainable financing, workforce development, digital integration, and One Health collaboration are critical to achieving resilient and effective AMR control systems across the continent.

Mixed malaria infections, involving concurrent