Remote sensing and spatial analysis reveal unprecedented cyanobacteria bloom dynamics associated with elephant mass mortality.

The 2020 mass mortality of 350 African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Botswana sparked global concern, with cyanotoxins in watering holes (pans) being a suspected cause, though evidence remains inconclusive. Combining remote sensing and spatial analysis, we examined the relationship between the ecohydrology of ∼3000 pans and the locations of deceased elephants. Our analysis revealed a significant difference in the spatial distribution of fresh versus decayed carcasses (p < 0.

Childbearing after treatment for obstetric fistula: perspectives from survivors in Malawi.

Women who suffer from an obstetric fistula endure more than just physical pain. Their ability or desire to bear children may also be affected due to physical damage to their reproductive organs. In addition, they may suffer from emotional trauma which is likely to affect their decision to have children.

Developing comprehensive woman hand-held case notes to improve quality of antenatal care in low-income settings: participatory approach with maternal health stakeholders in Malawi.

Background: In the quest for quality antenatal care (ANC) and positive pregnancy experience, the value of comprehensive woman hand-held case notes cannot be emphasised enough. However, the woman's health passport book in Malawi presents gaps which hinder provision of quality care, especially during pregnancy. We aimed to develop a compressive updated woman hand-held case notes tool (health passport book) which reflects WHO 2016 ANC guidelines in Malawi.

Improving care pathways for children with severe illness through implementation of the ASPIRE mHealth primary ETAT package in Malawi.

Providing emergency care in low resource settings relies on delivery by lower cadres of health workers (LCHW). We describe the development, implementation and mixed methods evaluation of a mobile health (mHealth) triage algorithm based on the WHO Emergency, Triage, Assessment, and Treatment (ETAT) for primary-level care. We conducted an observational study design of implementation research.

Child acute illness presentation and referrals at primary health clinics in Malawi: a secondary analysis of ASPIRE.

Objectives: We aimed to assess the prevalence, presentation and referral patterns of children with acute illness attending primary health centres (PHCs) in a low-resource setting.

Design, Setting And Participants: We conducted a secondary analysis of ASPIRE. Children presenting at eight PHCs in urban Blantyre district in southern Malawi with both recorded clinician and mHealth (non-clinician) triage data were included, and patient records from different data collection points along the patient healthcare seeking pathway were consolidated and analysed.

Forgotten but not gone in rural South Africa: Urinary schistosomiasis and implications for chronic kidney disease screening in endemic countries.

Urinary schistosomiasis caused by infection with ( ) remains endemic in Africa and is associated with haematuria and albuminuria/proteinuria. Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes clinical guidelines recommend evaluating proteinuria/albuminuria and glomerular filtration rate for chronic kidney disease (CKD) diagnosis. The guidelines are informed by population data outside of Africa but have been adopted in many African countries with little validation.

The reintegration of obstetric fistula survivors in Malawi: Perspectives of healthcare providers.

Objective: In Malawi, women face a high risk of obstetric fistulas. There are many socio-cultural implications for women suffering from the condition, many of which continue to affect them even after they have undergone treatment and attempt to reintegrate into their lives. The focus of this study was to explore the socio-cultural factors that influence the reintegration of obstetric fistula survivors in Malawi from the perspectives of healthcare providers.

Chemical Composition, Analgesic and Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Essential Oils from Eastern Cape, South Africa.

species are native to South Africa, and they have a long history in medicinal use. This study aimed to extract essential oils from different parts of , determine the chemical composition of the essential oils, and assess the essential oils' biological potential as analgesic and anti-inflammatory agents. The essential oils were obtained by hydro-distilling different parts of , and the essential profile was determined by GC-FID and GC-MS.

Does distribution of menstrual products through community-based, peer-led sexual and reproductive health services increase use of appropriate menstrual products? Findings from the Yathu Yathu trial.

Background: Globally, millions of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) who menstruate have limited access to appropriate and comfortable products to manage their menstruation. Yathu Yathu was a cluster randomised trial (CRT) that estimated the impact of community-based, peer-led sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services on knowledge of HIV status among adolescents and young people aged 15-24 (AYP). Among the services offered through Yathu Yathu were free disposable pads and menstrual cups.

Resource availability and barriers to delivering quality care for newborns in hospitals in the southern region of Malawi: A multisite observational study.

Facility-based births have increased in low and middle-income countries, but babies still die due to poor care. Improving care leads to better newborn outcomes. However, data are lacking on how well facilities are prepared to support.

Guardians and research staff experiences and views about the consent process in hospital-based paediatric research studies in urban Malawi: A qualitative study.

Background: Obtaining consent has become a standard way of respecting the patient's rights and autonomy in clinical research. Ethical guidelines recommend that the child's parent/s or authorised legal guardian provides informed consent for their child's participation. However, obtaining informed consent in paediatric research is challenging.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and associated risk in rural South Africa: a population-based cohort study.

In Africa, true prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is unknown, and associated clinical and genetic risk factors remain understudied. This population-based cohort study aimed to investigate CKD prevalence and associated risk factors in rural South Africa. A total 2021 adults aged 20-79 years were recruited between 2017-2018 from the Agincourt Health and Socio-Demographic Surveillance System in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Factors impacting-stillbirth and neonatal death audit in Malawi: a qualitative study.

Background: Over one million babies are stillborn or die within the first 28 days of life each year due to preventable causes and poor-quality care in resource-constrained countries. Death audit may be a valuable tool for improving quality of care and decreasing mortality. However, challenges in implementing audit and their subsequent action plans have been reported, with few successfully implemented and sustained.

Polyphenolic Contents, Free Radical Scavenging and Cholinesterase Inhibitory Activities of Leaf Extracts.

A decoction of leaves has been used ethnomedicinally for the treatment of mental illness and inflammatory diseases amongst other diseases. In this study, the leaf methanol extract of and its partition fractions: n-hexane, ethyl acetate and aqueous, were tested and evaluated for their polyphenolic contents, free radical scavenging and cholinesterase inhibitory activities. The total phenolic (TPC), flavonoid (TFC) and proanthocyanidin (TPA) contents were determined using standard colorimetric methods.

Qualitative study of patient experiences of mental distress during TB investigation and treatment in Zambia.

Background: The mental health and TB syndemic is a topic that remains under-researched with a significant gap in acknowledging and recognizing patient experiences, particularly in the sub-Saharan African region. In this qualitative study conducted in Zambia, we aimed to explore the lived mental health experiences of TB patients focusing on their multi-layered drivers of distress, and by so doing highlighting contextual factors that influence mental distress in TB patients in this setting.

Methods: The study draws on qualitative data collected in 2018 as part of the Tuberculosis Reduction through Expanded Antiretroviral Treatment and Screening for active TB trial (TREATS) being conducted in Zambia.

Conceptualization, detection, and management of psychological distress and mental health conditions among people with tuberculosis in Zambia: a qualitative study with stakeholders' and TB health workers.

Background: In recent years, there has been increased recognition of the need to integrate mental health services into routine tuberculosis (TB) care. For successful integration, policymakers need to first understand the practices of TB health workers in the management of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, and psychological distress, and use this to decide how best mental health services could be delivered in tandem with TB services. In this qualitative study we aimed to understand how TB health workers and other stakeholders viewed mental health conditions linked to TB and how they screened and treated these in their patients.

Access to menstrual hygiene products through incentivised, community-based, peer-led sexual and reproductive health services before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: findings from the Yathu Yathu trial.

Background: Access to affordable and effective menstrual hygiene products (MHP) is critical to the menstrual health of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). In this mixed-methods analysis, we use data from a programme delivering comprehensive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to describe access to MHP and how COVID-19-related closures affected access to MHP; we use qualitative data to understand AGYW's experience accessing products during the study.

Methods: Between September 2019-January 2021, we used data routinely collected from ten Yathu Yathu hubs offering community-based, peer-led SRH services to adolescents and young people aged 15-24.

The Medicinal Natural Products of Linn.: A Review.

is known among many cultures for its medicinal potential. Its complexity contributes to the historical application of various parts of the plant in ethno-medicines and pharmacotherapy. has been used for the treatment of rheumatism, epilepsy, asthma, skin burns, pain, the management of sexually transmitted diseases, difficulties during child labor, postpartum hemorrhage, and gastrointestinal activity.

Phenology is the dominant control of methane emissions in a tropical non-forested wetland.

Tropical wetlands are a significant source of atmospheric methane (CH), but their importance to the global CH budget is uncertain due to a paucity of direct observations. Net wetland emissions result from complex interactions and co-variation between microbial production and oxidation in the soil, and transport to the atmosphere. Here we show that phenology is the overarching control of net CH emissions to the atmosphere from a permanent, vegetated tropical swamp in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, and we find that vegetative processes modulate net CH emissions at sub-daily to inter-annual timescales.

C methane source signatures from tropical wetland and rice field emissions.

The atmospheric methane (CH) burden is rising sharply, but the causes are still not well understood. One factor of uncertainty is the importance of tropical CH emissions into the global mix. Isotopic signatures of major sources remain poorly constrained, despite their usefulness in constraining the global methane budget.

From sink to source: high inter-annual variability in the carbon budget of a Southern African wetland.

We report on three years of continuous monitoring of carbon dioxide (CO) and methane (CH) emissions in two contrasting wetland areas of the Okavango Delta, Botswana: a perennial swamp and a seasonal floodplain. The hydrographic zones of the Okavango Delta possess distinct attributes (e.g.

Methane flux measurements along a floodplain soil moisture gradient in the Okavango Delta, Botswana.

Data-poor tropical wetlands constitute an important source of atmospheric CH in the world. We studied CH fluxes using closed chambers along a soil moisture gradient in a tropical seasonal swamp in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, the sixth largest tropical wetland in the world. The objective of the study was to assess net CH fluxes and controlling environmental factors in the Delta's seasonal floodplains.

Chemical Profiling, Toxicity and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Essential Oils from Three Grapefruit Cultivars from KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.

The medicinal potential and volatile composition of different parts of three cultivars of grapefruit () were evaluated for their toxicity and anti-inflammatory activities. Fresh leaf and fruit peel were separately isolated by hydrodistillation for 4 h. The essential oils were subjected to GC/GC-MS analysis for chemical profile.