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Early pregnancy and motherhood among young women in Sub-Saharan African countries: analysis of trends and associated factors
(Elsevier, 2025) Mpilambo, Jacques Elengemoke; Abduraghiem, Latief; Susuman, Appunni Sathiya
This study examined the trends and factors associated with early pregnancies and motherhood among young women in three sub-Saharan African countries: Malawi, Mali, and Niger. Descriptive and multivariate analyses showed that the prevalence of early childbearing declined significantly in all three countries between 2006 and 2016. Moreover, the determinants of age at first childbearing varied across these nations. It is crucial to implement programmes that encourage delaying the age of the first sexual debut. In addition, providing adolescent women with comprehensive knowledge about responsible and safer sex practices and motherhood is paramount in addressing this challenge.
Healthcare-associated bloodstream infections caused by bacterial and fungal contamination of intravenous fluids and medicines in healthcare facilities in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review
(Elsevier, 2025) Ravinetto, Raffaella; Nyandwaro, Jemima Nyaboke; Hyland, Peter
Introduction: We reviewed culture-confirmed healthcare-associated outbreaks linked to bacterial and fungal contamination of intravenous fluids and medicines (further “infusates”) in low-income countries and lower and upper middle-income countries (LIC, Lower-MIC and Upper-MIC). We assessed the scope, impact, risks, and gaps in knowledge. Methodology: Literature search including PubMed, Web of Science, Worldwide Database for Nosocomial Outbreaks, Global Health, and Google Scholar. National essential medicine lists (NEMLs) of sub-Saharan countries were searched for listing of pediatric infusates. Results: Between 1975 and 2023, 50 articles were retrieved. Median (range) number of patients affected was 12 (3–185); 74.2% (761/1025) of all patients affected were children. All patients presented with bloodstream infections; median case fatality ratio was 21.1% (0.0–87.5%). Upper-MIC, Lower-MIC and LIC accounted for 21, 25 and 4 articles, respectively. Most frequently affected wards were neonatal and adult intensive care units (19 and 6 articles). The 50 articles revealed 59 contaminated infusates: IV fluids (n = 37), including TPN (n = 10, of which 8 were from Upper-MIC), and IV medicines (n = 22), comprising amongst others propofol (n = 4) and Water for Injection (n = 3). The 63 isolates included Enterobacterales (46.0% (29/63) of isolates), non-fermentative Gram-negative bacteria (NFGNB, 47.6% (30/63)), fungi (4.8%, 3/63)) and Bacillus circulans (1.6% (1/63)). Among the Enterobacterales, the genera Serratia, Klebsiella, and Enterobacter represented 82.8% (24/29) of isolates. Burkholderia cepacia was the most frequent NFGNB (53.3% (16/30) isolates). Excluding TPN, 18 IV fluids and 7 IV medicines (representing half (51.0%, (25/49) of these infusates) were incorrectly used as multidose vial. A third (33.9%, 20/59) of infusates in 40.0% (20/50) of articles was intrinsically contaminated. In LIC and LMIC, staff in neonatology units turned to in-ward preparation of infusates because of lack of access to pediatric IV formulations and sizes. Less than a third (31.8%, 18/44) of the NEMLs listed neonatal IV premixtures. Conclusion: Infusate contamination is a serious, underreported risk especially for children in LICs and Lower-MIC. Outstanding issues are access to pediatric infusates and preventing in-ward preparation of IV medicines in LIC and Lower-MIC, and safe preparation and administration of TPN in Upper-MIC.
Detection of fall armyworm infestation in maize fields during vegetative growth stages using temporal sentinel-2
(Elsevier, 2025) Dzurume, Tatenda; Dube, Timothy; Darvishzadeh, Roshanak
Fall Armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), poses a significant risk to global food and income security by attacking various crops, particularly maize. Early detection and management of FAW infestation are crucial for mitigating its impact on crop yields. This study investigated the effect of FAW infestation on the spectral signature of maize fields and classified infestation severity in Bangladesh using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and Random Forest (RF) classification. Field observations on FAW infestation severity (none, moderate, and severe), collected by the Bangladesh Department of Agricultural Extension during 2019 and 2020, were used to train the RF classifier. Six thousand nine hundred ninety-eight observations were collected from 579 maize fields through weekly scouting. The Kruskal-Wallis test and Dunn's post-hoc test were applied to identify the most significant spectral bands (P < 0.05) for detecting FAW incidence and severity across different maize growth stages. The results demonstrated that the spectral reflectance from Sentinel-2 bands varied significantly among different classes of FAW infestation, with noticeable differences observed during the early developmental stages of maize (vegetative growth stages 3 to 8). RF identified nine spectral bands and two spectral vegetation indices as important for FAW infestation discrimination. The RF classifier was evaluated using five-fold cross-validation, achieving an overall accuracy between 74 % and 84 %. The independent test set's accuracy ranged from 72 % to 82 %. The mean multiclass AUC ranged from 0.83 to 0.95. Moreover, the results demonstrated the feasibility of detecting the severity of FAW infestation using temporal Sentinel-2 data and machine learning techniques. These findings underscore the potential of remote sensing and machine learning techniques for effectively monitoring and managing crop pests. The study provides valuable insights for classifying FAW infestation using high-resolution multitemporal data.
Phenolic compounds profile and hypoglycaemic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of aqueous leaf extract of androstachys johnsonii prain: in vitro study
(Elsevier, 2025) Opuwari, Chinyerum Sylvia; Nethengwe, Murendeni; Kerebba, Nasifu
Androstachys johnsonii Prain has been identified through ethnobotanical studies as a medicinal plant used in traditional medicine to treat medical complications, including diabetes mellitus (DM). The development of DM complications involves hyperglycaemia and excessive production of free radicals and inflammatory cytokines. This study investigates the hypoglycaemic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties of the aqueous extract of A. johnsonii, to reveal the possible pathways through which the extract can possibly treat DM complications. A total of 34 phenolic compounds (majorly flavonoids) was identified in the plant extract through the Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) analysis. Total polyphenols were 403.28 ± 12.75 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g with 88.35 ± 2.16 mg catechin equivalent (CE)/g of flavanols and 6.96 ± 3.10 mg quercetin equivalent (QE)/g flavonols. For antioxidant capacity determination, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) (1342.68 ± 3.41 mg ascorbic acid equivalent (AAE)/g), 2,2-diphenyl-1-pycrylhydrazyl (DPPH) (571.57 ± 0.55 mg Trolox equivalent (TE)/g), and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) (478.88±0.09 mg Trolox equivalent (TE)/g) values were obtained. The extract demonstrated a concentration-dependent anti-inflammatory activity on RAW macrophage cells. The highest concentration of the extract increased glucose uptake and utilisation in C3A hepatocarcinoma cells. The extract showed a significant concentration-dependent (P < 0.05) increase in α-glucosidase inhibition and a significantly (P < 0.05) lower pancreatic lipase inhibition. These results suggest the potential therapeutic effect of A. johnsonii in the treatment of DM.
Euclid preparation: lxii. simulations and non-linearities beyond Lambda cold dark matter. 1. numerical methods and validation
(Elsevier, 2025) Karagiannis, Dionysios; Adamek, Julian; Fiorini, Bartolomeo
To constrain cosmological models beyond ACDM, the development of the Euclid analysis pipeline requires simulations that capture the non-linear phenomenology of such models. We present an overview of numerical methods and N-body simulation codes developed to study the non-linear regime of structure formation in alternative dark energy and modified gravity theories. We review a variety of numerical techniques and approximations employed in cosmological N-body simulations to model the complex phenomenology of scenarios beyond ACDM. This includes discussions on solving non-linear field equations, accounting for fifth forces, and implementing screening mechanisms. Furthermore, we conduct a code comparison exercise to assess the reliability and convergence of different simulation codes across a range of models. Our analysis demonstrates a high degree of agreement among the outputs of different simulation codes, typically within 2% for the predicted modification of the matter power spectrum and within 4% for the predicted modification of the halo mass function, although some approximations degrade accuracy a bit further. This provides confidence in current numerical methods of modelling cosmic structure formation beyond ACDM. We highlight recent advances made in simulating the non-linear scales of structure formation, which are essential for leveraging the full scientific potential of the forthcoming observational data from the Euclid mission.