Establishing African genomics and bioinformatics programs through annual regional workshops.

The African BioGenome Project (AfricaBP) Open Institute for Genomics and Bioinformatics aims to overcome barriers to capacity building through its distributed African regional workshops and prioritizes the exchange of grassroots knowledge and innovation in biodiversity genomics and bioinformatics. In 2023, we implemented 28 workshops on biodiversity genomics and bioinformatics, covering 11 African countries across the 5 African geographical regions. These regional workshops trained 408 African scientists in hands-on molecular biology, genomics and bioinformatics techniques as well as the ethical, legal and social issues associated with acquiring genetic resources.

Female sex work and international sport events - no major changes in demand or supply of paid sex during the 2010 Soccer World Cup: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Important unanswered questions remain on the impact of international sporting events on the sex industry. Speculation about increased demand and supply of sex work often generates significant attention, but also additional funding for HIV programmes. This study assessed whether changes occurred in the demand and supply of paid sex during the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa.

Impact of blood processing variations on natural killer cell frequency, activation, chemokine receptor expression and function.

Understanding the role of natural killer (NK) cells in human disease pathogenesis is crucial and necessitates study of patient samples directly ex vivo. Manipulation of whole blood by density gradient centrifugation or delays in sample processing due to shipping, however, may lead to artifactual changes in immune response measures. Here, we assessed the impact of density gradient centrifugation and delayed processing of both whole blood and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) at multiple timepoints (2-24 h) on flow cytometric measures of NK cell frequency, activation status, chemokine receptor expression, and effector functions.

Tubular ectasia of the rete testis associated with azoospermia: a case report.

Tubular ectasia of the rete testis (TERT) is a rare benign condition of the testis due to dilatation of the tubules of the rete testis. It must be differentiated from neoplastic disease of the testis clinically by patient's age, mode of presentation, tumour marker status and characteristic ultrasound and colour Doppler findings. Awareness and diagnosis of TERT should prevent unnecessary surgical intervention such as orchidectomy or biopsy.