Baobab Index

World Health Organization guidelines for control of soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) rely on coproscopic methods to assess population prevalence. In low-prevalence and light-intensity STH settings, quantitative PCR (qPCR) has higher sensitivity and specificity for detection. For qPCR to accurately identify transmissible infections of public health significance, it is essential to interpret qPCR cycle threshold (Ct) results. As part of the DeWorm3 community-based cluster-randomized trial on interrupting STH transmission, we conducted population-based surveys using high-throughput qPCR and aimed to establish appropriate Ct cutoffs to detect transmissible infections. Experimental approaches, including egg and genome-equivalent spiking experiments, were hindered by inefficient fecal DNA extraction despite optimization efforts. The Ct results for 29,980 samples (pre-intervention, cross-sectional surveys) revealed a bimodal distribution for two of the four species tested,

The impact of recent trends in the burden of myocarditis has not been reported in detail. This study aims to estimate the global, regional, and national burden of myocarditis from 1990 to 2023, using data from the GBD (Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study) 2023. As part of the GBD 2023, the authors used all available administrative health facility and vital registration data to estimate myocarditis prevalence, incidence, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), mortality, and mortality-to-incidence ratio (MIR) for every country, stratified by age, sex, and quintiles of a Socio-demographic Index (SDI). The MIR represents the relative mortality burden compared with disease incidence at the population level. The prevalence of heart failure attributable to myocarditis was estimated using a model-based attribution approach. In 2023, the global age-standardized rates of prevalence, incidence, DALY, and mortality of myocarditis were 4.84 (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 3.98-5.80), 12.46 (95% UI: 9.86-15.70), 8.41 (95% UI: 5.63-12.59) and 0.21 (95% UI: 0.14-0.29) per 100,000 population, respectively. Although global age-standardized prevalence and incidence rates remained stable from 1990 to 2023, the absolute number of incident cases increased by 54.28% from 0.67 million (95% UI: 0.52-0.85 million) to 1.04 million (95% UI: 0.83-1.32 million). Age-standardized DALYs and mortality rates decreased by 62.48% and 60.00%, respectively, over the same period. The MIR decreased across all age groups from 1990 to 2023 and remained highest among the youngest and oldest populations, with the ratio in those <5 years of age declining from 17.82% in 1990 to 6.32% in 2023. Across SDI strata, incidence rates remained stable from 1990 to 2023, while mortality rates declined in all quintiles and remained lowest in high SDI regions, whereas the MIR decreased from 2.33 in 1990 to 1.30 in 2023. In 2023, prevalence was highest in the high SDI quintile (6.30 [95% UI: 5.15-7.48] per 100,000 population) and lowest in the low-middle SDI quintile (4.10 [95% UI: 3.38-5.02]), reflecting disparities aligned with health resource availability. Age-standardized prevalence rates of heart failure attributable to myocarditis declined from 2.33 (95% UI: 1.90-2.90) per 100,000 population in 1990 to 1.76 (95% UI: 1.41-2.29) in 2023, with a U-shaped distribution across age groups showing the highest burden in those <5 years of age and >75 years of age in 2023. Although age-adjusted DALYs and mortality rates of myocarditis decreased globally from 1990 to 2023, incidence and prevalence remained stable, suggesting potential improvements in outcomes over time. However, absolute burden has grown due to population growth and aging, and important disparities persist across age groups and SDI strata. These findings highlight the need for targeted strategies to improve early diagnosis and reduce the burden of myocarditis, particularly in vulnerable populations and lower-resource settings, while being interpreted in the context of evolving diagnostic and coding practices.

San populations from Botswana and Namibia retain exceptional linguistic, cultural, and genetic diversity, but few Khoisan-speaking groups remain south of the Kalahari Desert. However, historically, far southern Africa was home to many San and Khoekhoe groups. Popular opinion often implies that such populations do not contribute to the ancestry of contemporary South Africans. Here, we characterize the genetic ancestry of self-identified South African Coloured groups and reconstruct precolonial and colonial population structures from 620 newly sampled individuals. These groups retain the majority of Khoe-San genetic ancestry (>48%), suggesting the persistence of Khoe-San ancestry to the present day. By isolating the Khoe-San ancestry component, we show that it is intermediate between the ≠Khomani San and Nama and distinct from Kalahari Khoe-San populations. We also find that signatures of the Indian Ocean slave trade can be traced to Indonesian islands such as Sulawesi, Java, and Flores, while the South Asian ancestry is regionally nonspecific.

Environmental dissemination of antimicrobial resistance is a growing global concern. This study investigated the occurrence, genetic context, and mobility of the oxazolidinone resistance genes in enterococci isolated from high-altitude river sediments in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. A total of 17 florfenicol-resistant enterococci were recovered from 3 of the 12 sampling sites analyzed. Four multidrug-resistant strains (two This study provides important insights into the environmental dissemination of antimicrobial resistance by demonstrating the occurrence and genetic diversity of clinically relevant resistance determinants in enterococci isolated from remote high-altitude river sediments. The findings emphasize that natural environments could serve as reservoirs and exchange hubs for antimicrobial resistance, even in ecosystems with limited direct anthropogenic impact. Therefore, integrated One Health surveillance strategies that include environmental compartments alongside human and animal populations are required to better monitor and mitigate the emergence of clinically significant resistant bacteria.

Marine deep-sea environments harbour microorganisms with extraordinary biosynthetic potential, yet their secondary metabolite repertoires remain largely uncharacterised. This study reports the isolation, phenotypic characterisation, and whole-genome analysis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain E1, recovered from deep Atlantic seawater (Gulf of Guinea, ~2500 m depth), which exhibits antifungal activity against multidrug-resistant Candida parapsilosis. Three presumptive P. aeruginosa isolates (E1, E17, and E44) showed > 99% 16S rRNA gene sequence identity to P. aeruginosa reference sequences, while whole-genome dDDH analysis of strain E1 yielded 95.2% (95% CI: 93.6-96.4%; formula d4) relative to the P. aeruginosa type strain DSM 50071ᵀ (= ATCC 10145ᵀ), supporting its species-level assignment. Antifungal screening and PCR-based detection of flavin-dependent halogenase genes identified strain E1 as the primary candidate for genomic investigation. Illumina whole-genome sequencing produced a 6.33 Mb draft genome assembly (113 contigs, 5862 protein-coding genes, 66.4% GC content). Genome mining with antiSMASH 8.0 identified 27 biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) spanning nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS), polyketide synthase (PKS), phenazine, terpene, and metallophore pathways. Region 7.1 of strain E1 harbours a predicted 50.8 kb pyoluteorin-associated BGC, comprising 34 genes, substantially larger than its terrestrial counterpart (~ 22 kb, ~ 17 genes), and featuring nine transport genes and three regulatory elements. Phylogenetic analysis resolved three halogenase genes: ctg7_146 showed 98.7% amino acid identity to PltA, and ctg7_149 showed 99.2% amino acid identity to PltM, supporting their annotation as PltA-like and PltM-like components of the predicted pyoluteorin biosynthetic pathway. Among the characterised reference enzymes included in this analysis, ctg7_143 showed the highest amino acid identity to PltM from P. fluorescens Pf-5. However, the identity remained low at approximately 30.4%, supporting its placement as a divergent FDH-like sequence rather than a close PltM orthologue. This study provides the first comprehensive genomic characterisation of a pyoluteorin-BGC-harbouring marine P. aeruginosa strain, demonstrating conservation of the core biosynthetic machinery alongside an expanded transport architecture and a divergent FDH-like sequence that may represent a candidate for future biochemical investigation. These findings expand current knowledge of FDH-like sequence diversity in deep-sea bacteria and support further investigation of Gulf of Guinea microorganisms as a potential source of biosynthetic and enzymatic diversity.

Preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction (FGR) are major causes of global morbidity and mortality. Both conditions are associated with impaired invasion of the uterus by extravillous trophoblast (EVT). We performed proteomics in maternal serum obtained at ~12 weeks of gestational age in a prospective pregnancy cohort (Pregnancy Outcome Prediction Study). Here we show that low maternal serum isthmin-2 (ISM2) was the strongest protein signal (out of 2,904) in the first trimester of pregnancy for preeclampsia or FGR. We validated the association in two independent cohorts (Pregnancy Outcome Prediction Study 2 and Improving Maternal Pregnancy And Child ouTcomes study). ISM2 protein and mRNA are almost exclusively produced in the placenta, and, within the placenta, ISM2 mRNA is highly enriched in EVT. Knocking down ISM2 in cultured human trophoblast stem cells profoundly inhibited EVT invasion. Conversely, expressing ISM2 in a cell line lacking endogenous ISM2 (HEK293 cells) promoted migration. We conclude that ISM2 may be causally involved in the early pathophysiology of failed trophoblast invasion and that the protein and its associated pathways are potential targets for the prediction and prevention of preeclampsia and FGR.

Suaeda salsa is a widely distributed annual euhalophyte that thrives under both saline and saline-alkaline conditions, making it a valuable model for understanding plant salt-tolerance mechanisms and a promising resource for saline agriculture. However, the integrated understanding of how its physiological, biochemical, molecular, and microbial responses collectively support salt tolerance remains fragmented. Moreover, how these traits contribute to soil restoration and agricultural use remains insufficiently understood. S. salsa achieves optimal growth at 200 mM NaCl and tolerates salinity up to 400 mM NaCl through coordinated salt-tolerance responses. These responses comprise Na+ uptake and vacuolar sequestration, maintenance of K+/Na+ homeostasis, osmotic adjustment via compatible solutes, and strong antioxidant defenses. Moderate salinity enhances shoot biomass, chlorophyll content, electron transport rates, and carbon-assimilation enzyme activity, while high salinity triggers betacyanin accumulation that protects photosystems I and II integrity. Seed dimorphism and salinity-responsive reproductive development further support establishment in fluctuating saline habitats. Rhizosphere and endophytic microorganisms further enhance nutrient acquisition and salt tolerance, while field cultivation of S. salsa supports saline-soil reclamation and phytoremediation. Its genetic resources also highlight its potential for salt-tolerance breeding, establishing S. salsa as both a model halophyte and a practical resource for saline agriculture.

Despite decades of intensive research and substantial clinical gains, malaria remains a major global health challenge exacerbated by the continued emergence of drug-resistant strains of the causative agent, Plasmodium parasites. Encouragingly, recent advances in functional genomics, chemical biology and computational science are reshaping antimalarial drug discovery. In this review, we examine the discovery and development of next-generation antimalarials, including advances in phenotypic and target-based screening, omics-enabled target discovery and emerging therapeutic modalities such as long-acting agents, targeted covalent inhibitors and host-directed therapies. We further evaluate the opportunities and limitations of drug repurposing and discuss how artificial intelligence and data-driven approaches are reshaping target identification, compound optimisation and clinical development. Finally, we argue that future success will depend not only on scientific innovation but also on interdisciplinary collaboration, equitable partnerships, open science and the development of accessible therapies tailored to malaria-endemic populations.

Amino acids are vital biomarkers necessary for many critical metabolic pathways and therefore many disorders result in perturbations in amino acid concentrations. Recurrent measurements of amino acids are often necessary for disease management, especially in the inborn errors of metabolism, however many barriers exist restricting patient access to monitoring, especially for those living in rural and low resource areas. Dried blood spots (DBS) do not require medical expertise to obtain, allowing for an expedient method for the collection of multiple time points useful for diagnosis, monitoring, and research. Amino acids in a DBS, however, are highly susceptible to heat and humidity which are often encountered during the multiple days of transport via mailing-in of the sample. Thus, we sought to improve the stability of amino acids in a DBS when exposed to harsh environmental conditions. We showed that pretreatment of the card with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), or a combination of phosphoric acid then EDTA (Phosphoric Acid-EDTA), significantly increased the consistency of sample recovery and accuracy, compared to untreated DBS. Sample precision was also significantly improved. EDTA pretreatment significantly reduced the amount of change in analyte concentration at high temperature and humidity, and Phosphoric Acid-EDTA pretreatment showed similar improvements at high heat without high humidity. Lastly, we evaluated EDTA pretreatment in "out-of-the-laboratory" collected samples compared to plasma. We show a significant improvement in the recovery and stability of amino acids exposed to harsh environmental conditions, even for multiple days, and thus allow for greater precision and accuracy of DBS sample analysis.

Freshwater wetlands in the Himalayan region are ecologically sensitive and microbiologically diverse ecosystems, yet their seasonal dynamics remain insufficiently characterised. This study investigated seasonal variations in physicochemical properties and bacterial diversity of two Ramsar wetlands in northwestern India, Renuka Ji Lake and Asan Conservation Reserve. Water samples were collected during pre-monsoon (June), monsoon (August) and post-monsoon (November) seasons. Physicochemical parameters were analysed using standardised IS:3025, APHA 24th Edition and SLS/SOP protocols. Bacterial isolation was performed by serial dilution-pour plating on nutrient agar, followed by Gram staining, biochemical characterisation and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Both wetlands exhibited pronounced seasonal fluctuations in water chemistry. At both sites, dissolved oxygen (Renuka Ji), turbidity and dissolved oxygen (Asan Conservation Reserve) exceeded CPCB permissible limits during specific seasons. Eleven bacterial isolates were identified, predominantly representing freshwater associated genera. Agrobacterium cavarae was comparatively uncommon in freshwater environments. No bacterial colonies were recovered from Renuka Ji Lake during post-monsoon sampling within the tested dilution range (10