144 research outputs found
Polymorphisms in Immune Genes and Their Association with Tuberculosis Susceptibility: An Analysis of the African Population
No full textWycliff Wodelo,1 Eddie M Wampande,1,2 Alfred Andama,3 David Patrick Kateete,1 Kenneth Ssekatawa4,5 1Department of Immunology and Molecular Biology, School of Biomedical Science, College of Health Science, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; 2Department of Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Resources, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; 3Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Medicine, College of Health Science, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; 4Department of Science, Technical and Vocational Education, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; 5Africa Center Excellence in Materials Product Development and Nanotechnology (MAPRONANO ACE), Makerere University, Kampala, UgandaCorrespondence: Eddie M Wampande, Email [email protected]: Tuberculosis remains a global health concern, with substantial mortality rates worldwide. Genetic factors play a significant role in influencing susceptibility to tuberculosis. This review examines the current progress in studying polymorphisms within immune genes associated with tuberculosis susceptibility, focusing on African populations. The roles of various proteins, including Toll-like receptors, Dendritic Cell-Specific Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-3 Grabbing Non-Integrin, vitamin D nuclear receptor, soluble C-type lectins such as surfactant proteins A and D, C-type Lectin Domain Family 4 Member E, and mannose-binding lectin, phagocyte cytokines such as Interleukin-1, Interleukin-6, Interleukin-10, Interleukin-12, and Interleukin-18, and chemokines such as Interleukin-8, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, Regulated upon activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted are explored in the context of tuberculosis susceptibility. We also address the potential impact of genetic variants on protein functions, as well as how these findings align with the genetic polymorphisms not associated with tuberculosis. Functional studies in model systems provide insights into the intricate host-pathogen interactions and susceptibility mechanisms. Despite progress, gaps in knowledge remain, highlighting the need for further investigations. This review emphasizes the association of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms with diverse aspects of tuberculosis pathogenesis, including disease detection and Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.Keywords: tuberculosis, polymorphisms, immune genes, African populations, genetic variants, Mycobacterium tuberculosi
Author Correction: Lipoarabinomannan antigenic epitope differences in tuberculosis disease subtypes
No full textChanges of glaciation in the Sagarmatha National Park (Nepal) during the last 30 years
No full textAuthor, as a scientific participant of the first Czech-Slovak Expedition to the Mt. Everest in 1984, focuses on the glaciation in the Sagarmatha National Park (the Central Himalayas, Nepal) in 1978 (Fig. 1 and Table 1) and compares it with the present-day state. Despite overwhelming majority of the papers bearing data on the fastest retreat of the Mt. Everest’s glaciers it can be stated that obvious changes of the covering glaciers were not recorded in the Sagarmatha National Park (34.2% in the year of 1978 and 39.8% in the year of 2009). At present, for 59 sections of 18 valley glaciers (Nangpa, Melung, Lunag, Chhule, Sumna, Langmoche, Ngozumpa, Gyubanar, Lungsampa, Khumbu, Lobuche, Changri Shar, Imja, Nuptse, Lhotse Nup, Lhotse, Lhotse Shar andAma Dablam) their length of retreat during 30 years was recorded: at 5 sections from 267 m to 1,804m (the width of retreat on 24sections being from 1 m to 224m), while for 7 sections an increase in length from 12 m to 741 m was noted (the increase of glacier width at 23 sections being from 1 m to 198 m). More important than changes in length and/or width of valley glaciers are both the depletion of ice mass and an intensive growth of the number lakes: small supraglacial ponds, as well as dam moraine lakes situated below the snowline (289 lakes compared to 165 lakes in the year of 1978)
Quality Assurance of Higher Education Governance and Management: An Exploration of the Minimum Imperative for the Envisioned African Common Higher Education Space
No full textIn 2018, as part of the African higher education harmonisation drive, the African Union Commission (AUC) issued the African Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ASG-QA). Within the ASG-QA, the AUC commits to promoting good governance and management in higher education institutions and provides governance and management as the second standard. However, there is a dearth of knowledge about the governance and management architecture for higher education institutions in the African higher education landscape that is either implicit or explicit in the ASG-QA. Against the above backdrop—using the ASG-QA as a source of data and content analysis as a data analysis method—the paper examines the governance and management imperative for higher education institutions in the African higher education landscape from the perspective of the AUC. Six themes relating to Africa’s higher education governance and management landscape emerged from the data: the role of the state (or government) in higher education, the internal governance framework, focus on quality and quality enhancement, observance of values of higher education, adherence to the principles of good governance, and capable leadership. The findings suggest that the governance and management architecture under the ASG-QA leans more towards providing common standards for quality assessment of governance and management than creating an identical national higher education governance and management ecosystem across Africa
Making the university more international: An exploration of higher education internationalisation strategies in Africa from a continental perspective
No full textInternationalisation is one of the contemporary issues in the higher education (HE) academic and policy discourses. Since the 1990s, scholarship on the internationalisation of HE has burgeoned. Nevertheless, the internationalisation of HE in Africa is relatively under-researched. Using the African Quality Rating Mechanism (AQRM), an education framework of the African Union, this article explores the approaches to the internationalisation of HE in Africa. A qualitative descriptive design underpinned the study and the data was analysed using content analysis. The findings show that the AQRM comprises five dominant Eurocentric HE internationalisation strategies: student and faculty mobility, academic mobility, international research collaboration, dissemination of research at international conferences, and curriculum internationalisation. However, despite the similarity in the form, the substance of the internationalisation shows that attempts have been made to decolonise the Anglo-Saxon models of internationalisation. It can therefore be concluded that: (a) mobility (of persons and programmes), the elitist version of internationalisation, is integral to most internationalisation practices in the AQRM; (b) the AQRM was designed within the framework of the decolonial lens which repudiates the dominant colonial conception that what qualifies to be “international” must be associated with Europe and North America; and (c) political and academic rationales dominate the internationalisation discourse at the continental level.
Received: 30 November 2023Accepted: 11 February 202
A dataset of blood slide images for AI-based diagnosis of malariaDataverse
No full textMalaria is a major public health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa. Timely and accurate diagnosis of malaria is vital to reduce the caseload and mortality rates associated with malaria. The use of microscopy in malaria screening is the gold standard recommended method by the World Health Organisation (WHO). In Uganda, utilization of microscopy is challenged by insufficient expertise to interpret the images accurately, affecting the efficiency, effectiveness and accuracy of malaria detection and diagnosis. We present a benchmark dataset of thick and thin blood smear images for automatic malaria screening in Uganda. Mobile Microscopy data was collected from Mulago Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine, Makerere University and Kiruddu National Referral Hospital in Uganda. The labelled image data can be used to build computational models implemented with convolution neural networks. The dataset has 3000 labelled thick blood smear images and 1000 labelled thin blood smear images. The datasets will support robust and accurate deep learning models for malaria diagnosis using thick and thin blood smear images with reasonable detection accuracies
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Impact of hematocrit on point-of-care C-reactive protein-based tuberculosis screening among people living with HIV initiating antiretroviral therapy in Uganda
No full textPoint-of-care C-reactive protein (POC CRP) testing is a potential tuberculosis (TB) screening tool for people living with HIV (PLHIV). Unlike lab-based assays, POC assays do not routinely adjust CRP levels for hematocrit, potentially resulting in TB screening status misclassification. We compared the diagnostic accuracy of unadjusted and hematocrit-adjusted POC CRP for culture-confirmed TB among PLHIV with CD4 cell-count ≤350 cells/uL initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Uganda. We prospectively enrolled consecutive adults, measured POC CRP (Boditech; normal <8 mg/L), collected two spot sputum specimens for comprehensive TB testing, and extracted pre-ART hematocrit from clinic records. Of the 605 PLHIV included, hematocrit-adjusted POC CRP had similar sensitivity (80% vs 81%, difference +1% [95% CI -3 to +5], P= 0.56) and specificity (71% vs 71%, difference 0% [95% CI -1 to +1], P= 0.56) for culture-confirmed TB, relative to unadjusted POC CRP. When used for TB screening, POC CRP may not require adjustment for hematocrit. However, larger studies may be required if differences close to the clinically meaningful threshold are to be detected
Engineered Electroactive Solutions for Electrochemical Detection of Tuberculosis-Associated Volatile Organic Biomarkers
No full textOral Anti-Microbial Rinse Before Sputum Collection Reduces Culture Contamination, But Also Smear And Culture Positivity For Mycobacterium Tuberculosis
No full textImpact of hematocrit on point-of-care C-reactive protein-based tuberculosis screening among people living with HIV initiating antiretroviral therapy in Uganda
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