The dynamics of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) have been extensively researched in many settings around the world, but little is known about these patterns in Africa. A total of 7540 complete nucleotide genomes from 51 African nations were obtained and analysed using the National Center for Biotechnology Information and Global Initiative on Sharing Influenza Data databases to examine the genetic diversity and spread dynamics of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) lineages circulating in Africa. Using various clade and lineage nomenclature schemes, we examined their diversity and used maximum parsimony inference methods to reconstruct the evolutionary hypotheses about the spread of the virus in Africa.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIncreased awareness of environmental pollution has changed focus to the use of biodegradable materials because they lack persistence in the environment. This article focused on the production of cellulose nanocrystals from Zhombwe, Neorautanenia brachypus (Harms) CA Sm. bagasse using steam explosion, alkaline treatment, bleaching, purification, and acid hydrolysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe advent of single-cell resolution sequencing and spatial transcriptomics has enabled the delivery of cellular and molecular atlases of tissues and organs, providing new insights into tissue health and disease. However, if the full potential of these technologies is to be equitably realised, ancestrally inclusivity is paramount. Such a goal requires greater inclusion of both researchers and donors in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Banana production is increasingly under threat due to harsh weather conditions as a result of climate change and different diseases. As such there is a need for the preservation and the characterization of the banana cultivar population for the purposes of crop improvement. The identification of collected banana germplasm in Zimbabwe was conducted based on the Inter-transcribed spacer region as well as morphology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntimicrobial drug resistance (AMR) from improper use of antibiotics in various livestock products is a growing hazard for humans worldwide, with current death rate in excess of 700,000 per annum linked to the problem. Microorganisms are a rich source of structurally distinct bioactive compounds designed to protect the microbes and can offset AMR challenge. A study was conducted at Chinhoyi University of Technology to isolate, identify and characterize biosurfactant secreting microbes from broiler bird's gastrointestinal tract.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Mastitis is a disease of economic importance in dairy production systems. The common management regime for mastitis is the use of synthetic antibiotics, giving a new problem of antibiotic resistance. There is, therefore, a need to prospect for alternatives to conventional antibiotics from herbal plants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPain is a common cause of hospitalization in sickle cell disease (SCD) patients. Failure to effectively control pain remains a challenge in patient care. The authors conducted a cross-sectional study to determine the effect of and polymorphisms on pain management in 106 Zimbabwean SCD patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF6-mercaptopurine usage is associated with myelotoxicity and increased risk in patients carrying metabolism-related genetic variations. This study aimed to determine the frequency of candidate gene polymorphisms and their association with 6-mercaptopurine intolerance. A total of 41 patients on acute lymphoblastic leukaemia treatment were genotyped for and (rs116855232) alleles, and their association with dose intensity was analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFluoropyrimidines are commonly used in the treatment of colorectal cancer. They are, however, associated with adverse events (AEs), of which gastrointestinal, myelosuppression and palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia are the most common. Clinical guidelines are used for fluoropyrimidine dosing based on dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase () genetic polymorphism and have been shown to reduce these AEs in patients of European ancestry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: Doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity (DIC) is a significant cause of mortality in cancer care. This study was conducted to establish the frequency of DIC in Zimbabwean breast cancer patients on doxorubicin and to test the DIC predictive power of genetic biomarkers.
Methods: A cohort of 50 Zimbabwean breast cancer patients treated with doxorubicin were followed up for 12 months with serial echocardiography and genotyped for UGTA1A6*4, SLC28A3 and RARG.
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a popular molecular tool for detection of bacteria. PCR allows millions of copies of a target segment of DNA to be produced. The DNA is extracted from overnight grown cultures of pure bacterial isolates using either the organo-solvent method or a commercial DNA extraction kit.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Ecol
March 2019
Background: Local communities in the South Eastern Lowveld of Zimbabwe have adopted the feeding of livestock with Neorautanenia brachypus (Harms) C.A. tuber to mitigate against climate change.
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