Complex interaction between serum folate levels and genetic polymorphisms in folate pathway genes: biomarkers of prostate cancer aggressiveness

Little is known about the role of folate and polymorphisms associated with folate metabolism on prostate cancer risk in populations of African origin. We examined the relationship between serum folate and prostate cancer and whether any association was modified by genetic polymorphisms for folate metabolism. The study was case–control in design and consisted of 218 men 40–80 years old with newly diagnosed, histologically confirmed prostate cancer and 236 cancer-free men attending the same urology clinics in Jamaica, March 2005–July 2007. Serum folate was measured by an immunoassay method and genomic DNA evaluated for MTHR (C677T and A1298C), MTRR A66G, and MTR A2756G polymorphisms. Mean serum folate concentration was higher among cases (12.3 ± 4.1 nmol/L) than controls (9.7 ± 4.2 nmol/L). Serum folate concentration showed a positive association with prostate cancer (OR, 4.41; CI, 2.52–7.72 per 10 nmol/L) regardless of grade. No interactions were observed between genotype and folate concentration, but a weak gene effect was observed for MTHFR A1298C and low-grade prostate cancer. Larger studies to investigate the role of gene–gene/gene–diet interactions in Black men are needed.     

Predicted future distribution of the African skimmer in response to a changing climate,land cover and distance from water in the mid-Zambezi Valley

Climate models project a hot and dry future for Southern Africa. In this research, Maximum Entropy was used to model the extent to which climate change, land cover and distance from water edges may influence current and future distribution of the African skimmer in the mid-Zambezi Valley. Global Biodiversity Information Facility data collected between the years 2000–2019 were used to develop the models. Three models were built: one for current distribution and two for future distribution under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 2.6 and 6.0. Results revealed that annual precipitation and distance from water edges were the most important predictors of habitat suitability for the African skimmer under current and future climate. Temperature and land cover were least important in explaining current and future distribution of the species. The RCP 2.6 predicted future decrease in suitable habitat for the African skimmer in the mid-Zambezi Valley, while RCP 6.0 predicted future increase in suitable habitat for the species. This research conclusively revealed that precipitation and distance from water edges were consistently key predictors of suitable habitat for the African skimmer.     

Conservation Strategy for African Medicinal Species: <i>In Vitro</i> Biotechnological Approach

The use of medicinal plants for different therapeutic values is well documented in African continent. African diverse biodiversity hotspots provide a wide range of endemic species, which ensures a potential medicinal value. The feasible conservation approach and sustainable harvesting for the medicinal species remains a huge challenge. However, conservation approach through different biotechnological tools such as micropropagation, somatic embryogenesis, synthetic seed production, hairy root culture, molecular markers based study and cryopreservation of endemic African medicinal species is much crucial. In this review, an attempt has been made to provide different in vitro biotechnological approaches for the conservation of African medicinal species. The present review will be helpful in further technology development and deciding the priorities at decision-making levels for in vitro conservation and sustainable use of African medicinal species.     

Growth performance and feed conversion of Ruspolia differens on plant-based by-product diets

The use of food industry by-products in insect feeds has gained increasing attention recently. However, the understanding of how well the economically valuable edible insect Ruspolia differens (Serville) (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) can grow and develop with plant-based by-product feeds is currently lacking. It is important to determine the nutritional requirements, especially protein demand, of this species before developing artificial feeds for mass-rearing. We reared R. differens with four control diets and 12 plant-based by-product diets in which the major protein source came from food industry by-products, including potato-protein, barley mash, barley feed, turnip rape, a mix of broad bean and pea, and a mix of potato, carrot, and apple. We asked whether the performance (development time, survival, and weight), feed conversion, and fatty acid composition and content differed among diet treatments. Furthermore, the 12 experimental by-product diets were designed to reach six protein levels. We found that R. differens can be reared with various by-product diets, but development time, survival, and weight differed among diets. Barley feed, barley mash, and potato protein diets seem to be good options for rearing, and potato glycoalkaloids do not affect the performance of R. differens. Individuals fed on the various by-product diets also differed in their fatty acid composition and content. Increasing protein levels in diet up to 17% enhanced growth, development time, and survival, but no further enhancements were seen when fed diets with protein levels higher than this. The high protein levels decreased feed conversion rate. Our results can be valuable for designing feeds for insect mass-rearing technology. The use of food industry by-products in the diets for R. differens could increase the re-use of local resources and enhance circular economy.     

Ecosystem functions in natural and anthropogenic ecosystems across the East African coastal forest landscape

Habitat identity and landscape configuration significantly shape species communities and affect ecosystem functions. The conservation of natural ecosystems is of particular relevance in regions where landscapes have already been largely transformed into farmland and where habitats suffer under resource exploitation. The spillover of ecosystem functions from natural ecosystems into farmland may positively influence agricultural productivity and human livelihood quality. We measured three proxies of ecosystem functioning: Pollinator diversity (using pan traps), seed dispersal (with a seed removal experiment), and predation (using dummy caterpillars). We assessed these ecosystem functions in three forest types of the East African dry coastal forest (Brachystegia forest, Cynometra forest, and mixed forest), as well as in adjoining farmland and in plantations of exotic trees (Eucalyptus mainly). We measured ecosystem functions at 20 plots for each habitat type, and along gradients ranging from the forest into farmland. We also recorded various environmental parameters for each study plot. We did not find significant differences of ecosystem functions when combining all proxies assessed, neither among the three natural forest types, nor between natural forest and plantations. However, we found trends for single ecosystem functions. We identified highest pollinator diversity along the forest margin and in farmlands. Vegetation cover and blossom density affected the level of predation positively. Based on our findings, we suggest that flowering gardens around housings and woodlots across farmland areas support ecosystem functioning and thus improve human livelihood quality. We conclude that levels of overall ecosystem functions are affected by entire landscapes, and high landscape heterogeneity, as found in our case, might blur potential negative effects and trends arising from habitat destruction and degradation.     

Postfledging parental care and unexpected foraging behaviour of juvenile Sooty Terns Onychoprion fuscata in the southern Mozambique Channel

The Berlese funnel method, and its variations, is commonly used for the extraction of arthropods from various substrates such as nest material. However, little is known about its effectivity in extracting ectoparasites from penguin nests. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a modified Berlese funnel method in extracting ectoparasites from African Penguin Spheniscus demersus nests and to determine differences in extraction capacity across parasite taxa and life stages. African Penguin nests (n = 278) were sampled at five penguin colonies along the south-west coast of South Africa in 2017. Nest samples were subjected to a modified Berlese funnel method with naphthalene as a repellent. Thereafter, all remaining ectoparasites were removed by hand sorting. Ectoparasite abundance was positively correlated between the two extraction methods (Spearman’s r = 0.73–0.89). Compared to total counts, flea (combined life stages and larvae) and total ectoparasite abundance and prevalence were significantly lower with the modified Berlese funnel method. In addition, adult flea and tick prevalence (but not abundance) was significantly lower with the modified Berlese funnel method compared with total counts. The modified Berlese funnel method fails as a quantitative method and can only provide a crude indication of the incidence of ectoparasites in penguin nests.     

Population structure and ecology of the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer Sparrman, 1779) in Chebera Churchura National Park,Ethiopia

An investigation of population structure and ecology of the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer Sparrman, 1779) was carried out in the Chebera Churchura National Park, Ethiopia during the wet and dry seasons of 2005–2006. Sample counts of African buffaloes were carried out in an area of 1,215 km². The estimated population of buffalo was 2,617 individuals. Males comprised 35.0%, while females 52.8% of the population. The remaining 12% of the population was young of both sexes and of all ages of unknown sex. It was difficult to categorize the young into male and female in the field, as their primary sexual characteristics were not easily visible. Male to female sex ratio was 1.00 : 1.51. Age structure was dominated by adults, which constituted 72.06% of the total population. Subadults comprised 22.02%, and young accounted for 5.9% of the population. Larger herds of up to 27 individuals were observed during the wet season and smaller herds of eight individuals during the dry season. The mean herd size during wet and dry seasons was 24.81 and 7.77, respectively. The African buffaloes were distributed in four habitat types such as grasslands, woodlands, montane forests and riverine habitat in the study area. They were observed more in the riverine vegetation types during the dry season. Relative abundance of food resources, green vegetation cover and water availability in the area were the major factors governing their distribution in the present study area. They spent a greater proportion of the time in feeding and resting/ruminating activities. On the average, 49.7% of the daytime was spent in feeding, and 38.75% of the day on resting (lying down and standing). Morning and the late afternoon activity peaks were more pronounced during the dry season than the wet season.     

Gender and the dynamics of mobility: reflections on African migrant mothers and ‘transit migration’ in Morocco

By describing the everyday lives of African migrant mothers and their children in Morocco, this paper highlights how migration and ‘immobility’ in so-called ‘transit countries’ are gendering and gendered experiences. Relying on migrants' narratives, the paper demonstrates how migrants' transitions to motherhood create both specific and gendered spaces for agency and particular and gendered constraints upon agency that shape women migrants' mobility dynamics in space and time.     

Being black,foreign and woman: African immigrant identities in the United States

This paper contextualizes racial and ethnic identities in shaping African women’s work lives in the USA. While the literature on black immigrant groups has posited that ethnic identities are often deployed to shield black immigrants from racism, my findings indicate that for a group of African women, their racial and ethnic identities are viewed as potential sources of discrimination. As black immigrant women from middle-class backgrounds in their home countries, they also articulate experiences with racism and downward social and occupational mobility. Accounting for how race and ethnicity intersect in the lives of black immigrant groups can nuance our understanding of racial identities and highlight diversity in experiences among national and regional groups. Focusing on particular health-care settings further suggests the importance of professional contexts in shaping the identity formations of recent black immigrants.     

The minority culture of mobility of France's upwardly mobile descendants of North African immigrants

This article examines the challenges associated with the experience of upward educational mobility among descendants of North African immigrants in France. Drawing on in-depth, open-ended interviews with students and graduates of the prestigious grandes écoles, it sheds light on three specific ways in which class-based and ethno-racial inequalities intersect to shape the mobility costs that our respondents outline: (1) feelings of isolation resulting from being one of the only bursar recipients and ethno-racial minorities of their schools; (2) perceived conflation of their minority background with counter-elite dispositions; and (3) difficulties of adjusting to a student life reflecting the cultural styles of the predominantly white, upper-middle-class group. The article suggests that our respondents deploy a minority culture of mobility rooted in class and ethno-racial processes to overcome these challenges. It finally discusses implications for future research, stressing the need to examine the intersecting effect of multiple social categories in informing complex mobility experiences.