In line with previous instalments of analysis from this ongoing study to monitor 'Covid Seroprevalence' among blood donors in South Africa, we report on an analysis of 3395 samples obtained in mid-March 2022 from all provinces of South Africa - a timepoint just after the fourth (primarily omicron) wave of infections. As in our previous analyses, we see no evidence of age and sex dependence of prevalence, but significant variation by race. Differences between provinces have largely disappeared, as prevalence appears to have saturated. In contrast to previous estimates from this study, which reported only prevalence of anti-nucleocapsid antibodies, this present work also reports results from testing for anti-spike antibodies. This addition allows us to categorise those donors whose only antibodies are from vaccination. Our race-weighted national extrapolation is that 98% of South Africans have some antibodies, noting that 10% have anti-spike antibodies but not anti-nucleocapsid antibodies - a reasonable proxy for having both 1) been vaccinated and 2) avoided infection.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1687679/v1 | DOI Listing |
Sci Total Environ
January 2025
Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Poor water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are the primary risks of exposure to enteric viral infection. Our study aimed to describe the role of WASH conditions and practices as risk factors for enteric viral infections in children under 5. Literature on the risk factors associated with all-cause diarrhea masks the taxa-specific drivers of diarrhea from specific pathogens, limiting the application of relevant control strategies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMod Br Hist
January 2025
International Studies Group, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa.
The histories of the global anti-apartheid struggle, and particularly the British Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), have predominantly been examined through a transnational and national prism, creating an inaccurate impression of a highly centralized and homogeneous movement. We argue, however, that refining the analysis to focus on the local setting reveals a more complex and diverse movement, which has not been fully captured in the existing scholarship. Using Dundee as a case study, this article charts the emergence, character, and evolution of anti-apartheid sentiment and activity in this small, peripheral industrial Scottish city.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFScience
January 2025
Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Conventionally, the size, shape, and biomechanics of cartilages are determined by their voluminous extracellular matrix. By contrast, we found that multiple murine cartilages consist of lipid-filled cells called lipochondrocytes. Despite resembling adipocytes, lipochondrocytes were molecularly distinct and produced lipids exclusively through de novo lipogenesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Sports Med Phys Fitness
January 2025
Sport, Exercise Medicine and Lifestyle Institute (SEMLI), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa -
Background: Medical clearance is often recommended for athletes prior to endurance exercise. The primary aim was to determine the percentage (%) of race entrants that sought medical clearance prior to participation in endurance running events, describe the diagnostic modalities used by doctors to assess entrants seeking medical clearance, and the clearance advice given. Secondary aims were to investigate the factors associated with seeking and outcome of clearance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Physiol Cell Physiol
January 2025
Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
Very-low-carbohydrate diets (LCHF; <50g/day) have been debated for their potential to lower pre-exercise muscle and liver glycogen stores and metabolic efficiency, risking premature fatigue. It is also hypothesized that carbohydrate ingestion during prolonged exercise delays fatigue by increasing carbohydrate oxidation, thereby sparing muscle glycogen. Leveraging a randomized crossover design, we evaluated performance during strenuous time-to-exhaustion (70%⩒O) tests in trained triathletes following 6-week high-carbohydrate (HCLF, 380g/day) or very-low-carbohydrate (LCHF, 40g/day) diets to determine (i) if adoption of the LCHF diet impairs time-to-exhaustion performance, (ii) whether carbohydrate ingestion (10g/hour) 6-12x lower than current CHO fuelling recommendations during low glycogen availability (>15-hour pre-exercise overnight fast and/or LCHF diet) improves time-to-exhaustion by preventing exercise-induced hypoglycemia (EIH; <3.
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