Building a near-infrared (NIR) soil spectral dataset and predictive machine learning models using a handheld NIR spectrophotometer.

This near-infrared spectral dataset consists of 2,106 diverse mineral soil samples scanned, on average, on six different units of the same low-cost commercially available handheld spectrophotometer. Most soil samples were selected from the USDA NRCS National Soil Survey Center-Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory (NSSC-KSSL) soil archives to represent the diversity of mineral soils (0-30 cm) found in the United States, while 90 samples were selected from Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria to represent available African soils in the same archive. All scanning was performed on dried and sieved (<2 mm) soil samples.

Predictors of Length of Hospitalization for Neonatal Sepsis at Kenyatta Nation Hospital, Kenya: A Prospective Cross-Sectional Study.

Background And Aims: Neonatal sepsis is a major cause of neonatal mortality worldwide. It remains a detrimental bottleneck to the WHO goal of eradicating preventable deaths for children below 5 years of age by 2030. Though the risk factors for adverse clinical outcomes for neonatal sepsis have been widely studied there is no universal consensus.

Malaria survey data and geospatial suitability mapping for understanding spatial and temporal variations of risk across Kenya.

Malaria remains a public health concern in Kenya where children and pregnant women are vulnerable groups. The common interventions in place to fight malaria include using insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs), knowledge and awareness about malaria, and intake of malaria anti-malaria drugs. Despite the availability of these interventions, Kenya still records more than 10,000 clinical cases annually.

Post-traumatic stress disorder: evolving conceptualization and evidence, and future research directions.

The understanding of responses to traumatic events has been greatly influenced by the introduction of the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this paper we review the initial versions of the diagnostic criteria for this condition and the associated epidemiological findings, including sociocultural differences. We consider evidence for post-traumatic reactions occurring in multiple contexts not previously defined as traumatic, and the implications that these observations have for the diagnosis.

The lived experience of postpartum depression and psychosis in women: a bottom-up review co-written by experts by experience and academics.

This is the first bottom-up review of the lived experience of postpartum depression and psychosis in women. The study has been co-designed, co-conducted and co-written by experts by experience and academics, drawing on first-person accounts within and outside the medical field. The material initially identified was shared with all participants in a cloud-based system, discussed across the research team, and enriched by phenomenological insights.

Investigator-Initiated Clinical Pharmacokinetic Studies in Resource-Limited Settings: Minimal Requirements and Practical Guidance.

Clinical pharmacology studies are critical for determining the efficacy and safety of drugs. Due to the resource-intensive nature of these studies, most have been conducted in high-income countries, leading to a significant gap in clinical pharmacology data for patients in low- and middle-income countries. This paper provides an overview of the minimal requirements for performing a clinical pharmacology investigator-initiated trial (IIT), including pharmacokinetic sampling.

Effective community engagement in one health research in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.

Background: The one health (OH) approach, linking human, animal, and environmental health, relies on effective community engagement (CE), education, stewardship, and effective regional and global partnerships. For real impact, communities should be at the centre of research agenda setting and program implementation. This review aimed at synthesizing empirical evidence on how communities are involved in one health research.

Intimate partner violence help-seeking norms: scale reliability and cross-sectional multilevel associations with intimate partner violence among youth in Nairobi, Kenya.

Objectives: Intimate partner violence (IPV) threatens women's health and safety. Support services can mitigate the impact, yet few survivors seek services in part due to social norms that discourage use. Little agreement exists on how to measure norms and attitudes related to IPV help-seeking.

Reducing fragmentation of primary healthcare financing for more equitable, people-centred primary healthcare.

Despite primary healthcare (PHC) being recognised in global declarations-Alma Ata in 1978 and Astana in 2018-and prioritised in national health strategies, chronic under-resourcing of PHC persists in most low-income and middle-income countries. More public spending is needed for PHC, but macrofiscal and political constraints often limit the ability of governments to allocate more public resources to PHC. Under-resourcing has been compounded by fragmented and rigid funding flows, which are inefficient and may erode equity, quality of care and public trust in PHC.

Reanalysis of Samburupithecus reveals similarities to nyanzapithecines.

Samburupithecus kiptalami is an ape found in Late Miocene deposits (ca. 9.5 Ma) of northern Kenya.

An evaluation of a community dementia screening program in rural Kenya: DEM-SKY.

Introduction: This study describes the implementation outcomes and evaluation of DEM-SKY, a community-based dementia screening program developed in rural Kenya with the support of community health care workers (CHWs).

Methods: DEM-SKY was delivered to 3546 older adults in Makueni County, Kenya, over a 6-month period. Using a mixed-methods design, we explored implementation outcomes with stakeholders through surveys and interviews.

Assessment of Treatment Outcomes and Associated Factors Among Pediatric Patients With Burkitt Lymphoma at Kenyatta National Hospital.

Background: In developing countries, the treatment outcomes of Burkitt lymphoma are poor due to the poorly equipped healthcare systems. In addition, there is limited comprehensive data within the African continent, including Kenya, about the outcomes of treatment for this cancer.

Aims: To assess treatment outcomes and variables associated with an increased risk of death from disease progression or treatment-related toxicities among Burkitt lymphoma pediatric patients at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).

Challenges of sharing individual participant data for secondary research on neglected tropical diseases: the experience of Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative and a call for action.

Introduction: The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is committed to maximising the scientific value of the individual participant data (IPD) it has collected during its 20 years of activity and the IPD it will collect in the future, while safeguarding research participants' privacy and their right to know how their data will be processed.

Objective: The objective of this article is to share what DNDi has learnt while working on its commitment to data sharing. It also aims to advance the debate about best practice in the research community to avoid 'IPD sharing paralysis', with a focus on multistakeholder projects involving patients and researchers based in countries with various levels of data privacy regulations and measures.

%diag_test: a generic SAS macro for evaluating diagnostic accuracy measures for multiple diagnostic tests.

Background: Measures of diagnostic test accuracy provide evidence of how well a test correctly identifies or rules-out disease. Commonly used diagnostic accuracy measures (DAMs) include sensitivity and specificity, predictive values, likelihood ratios, area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUROC), area under precision-recall curves (AUPRC), diagnostic effectiveness (accuracy), disease prevalence, and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) etc. Most available analysis tools perform accuracy testing for a single diagnostic test using summarized data.

Predictive equation derived from 6,497 doubly labelled water measurements enables the detection of erroneous self-reported energy intake.

Nutritional epidemiology aims to link dietary exposures to chronic disease, but the instruments for evaluating dietary intake are inaccurate. One way to identify unreliable data and the sources of errors is to compare estimated intakes with the total energy expenditure (TEE). In this study, we used the International Atomic Energy Agency Doubly Labeled Water Database to derive a predictive equation for TEE using 6,497 measures of TEE in individuals aged 4 to 96 years.

Albendazole-ivermectin co-formulation for the treatment of Trichuris trichiura and other soil-transmitted helminths: a randomised phase 2/3 trial.

Background: Treatments for soil-transmitted helminthiases face challenges, especially in addressing Trichuris trichiura. Combination regimens, particularly of ivermectin and albendazole, are promising. We aimed to assess the safety, efficacy, and palatability of a combination tablet for the treatment of T trichiura, hookworm, and Strongyloides stercoralis infections among school-aged children in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Mozambique.

Spiny mice (Acomys) have evolved cellular features to support regenerative healing.

Spiny mice (Acomys spp.) are warm-blooded (homeothermic) vertebrates whose ability to restore missing tissue through regenerative healing has coincided with the evolution of unique cellular and physiological adaptations across different tissue types. This review seeks to explore how these bizarre rodents deploy unique or altered injury response mechanisms to either enhance tissue repair or fully regenerate excised tissue compared to closely related, scar-forming mammals.

Molecular epidemiology and phylogenetic insights of lumpy skin disease in cattle from diverse agro-ecological regions of Punjab, Pakistan.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is an emerging, highly contagious transboundary disease of bovines caused by the Lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), responsible for substantial economic losses to the dairy, meat, and leather industries in Pakistan as well as various countries around the world. Epidemiological information on LSD is scarce in Punjab, Pakistan. Therefore, a molecular epidemiological study was conducted in two agro-ecologically diverse districts (Bhakkar and Jhang) of Punjab, Pakistan.

Sustainability of an evidence-based intervention supporting transition to independent care for youth living with HIV in Kenya.

Integrating and sustaining evidence-based interventions (EBIs) in routine care is crucial to improving HIV treatment outcomes among youth living with HIV (YLH). However, EBIs are often not sustained post clinical trial. An Adolescent Transition Package (ATP) delivered by health care workers (HCWs) and tested in Kenya in 2021 significantly improved YLH readiness to transition to independent care.

Identification of novel PfEMP1 variants containing domain cassettes 11, 15 and 8 that mediate the Plasmodium falciparum virulence-associated rosetting phenotype.

Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) is a diverse family of variant surface antigens, encoded by var genes, that mediates binding of infected erythrocytes to human cells and plays a key role in parasite immune evasion and malaria pathology. The increased availability of parasite genome sequence data has revolutionised the study of PfEMP1 diversity across multiple P. falciparum isolates.

Modeling maize aflatoxins and fumonisins in a Tanzanian smallholder system: Accounting for diverse risk factors improves mycotoxin models.

Human exposure to mycotoxins is common and often severe in underregulated maize-based food systems. This study explored how monitoring of these systems could help to identify when and where outbreaks occur and inform potential mitigation efforts. Within a maize smallholder system in Kongwa District, Tanzania, we performed two food surveys of mycotoxin contamination at local grain mills, documenting high levels of aflatoxins and fumonisins in maize destined for human consumption.

Comparison of a non-invasive point-of-care measurement of anemia to conventionally used HemoCue devices in Gambella refugee camp, Ethiopia, 2022.

Annual surveys of refugees in Gambella, Ethiopia suggest that anemia is a persistent public health problem among non-pregnant women of reproductive age (NP-WRA, 15-49 years). Measurement of anemia in most refugee camp settings is conducted using an invasive HemoCue 301. We assessed the accuracy and precision of a non-invasive, pulse CO-oximeter in measuring anemia among NP-WRA in four Gambella refugee camps.

Multifaceted barriers associated with clinical breast examination in sub-Saharan Africa: A multilevel analytical approach.

Objectives: Clinical breast examination (CBE) open the pathway to early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer. This study examined barriers to CBE uptake in seven sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries.

Methods: Data from the most current Demographic and Health Surveys of Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Kenya Mozambique, Senegal and Tanzania was used.

The impact of tuberculosis-induced hyperglycemia on pulmonary microbiota and airway mucus secretion in individuals not previously diabetic: A systematic review and meta-analysis protocol.

The lung environment harbours a community of microbes that play a significant role in health and disease, including innate protection against pathogenic microorganisms. Infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, psychological stress associated with the tuberculosis (TB) disease, and the metabolites from the rifampicin treatment regimen have been reported to induce hyperglycemia and consequently type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in individuals not previously diabetic. The high glucose concentration is proposed to alter the composition of the lung microbiota and airway homeostasis, exerting an influence on TB disease and treatment outcomes.