Genome-wide association mapping of bruchid resistance loci in soybean.

Soybean is a globally important industrial, food, and cash crop. Despite its importance in present and future economies, its production is severely hampered by bruchids (Callosobruchus chinensis), a destructive storage insect pest, causing considerable yield losses. Therefore, the identification of genomic regions and candidate genes associated with bruchid resistance in soybean is crucial as it helps breeders to develop new soybean varieties with improved resistance and quality.

Narratives of incarcerated women in a Prison in Malawi: a qualitative study.

Background: In Malawi, women in prisons make up 2.7% of the total prison population. However, the experiences of women incarcerated are not well documented in the literature.

Impact and copying mechanisms towards retakes: A case study of five health training institutions in Sub Saharan Africa.

Background: Academic examination retakes are significant challenges in health professions education. With rigorous clinical assessments and high-stakes examinations, many students struggle to meet academic requirements, resulting in retakes. The voices and experiences of such students have often been absent within the broader discussion of health professions education.

Evaluation of the Development, Implementation, Maintenance, and Impact of 3 Digital Surveillance Tools Deployed in Malawi During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Modified Delphi Expert Consensus Study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of strengthening national monitoring systems to safeguard a globally connected society, especially those in low- and middle-income countries. Africa's rapid adoption of digital technological interventions created a new frontier of digital advancement during crises or pandemics. The use of digital tools for disease surveillance can assist with rapid outbreak identification and response, handling duties such as diagnosis, testing, contact tracing, and risk communication.

The role of indigenous knowledge in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in Chikwawa, Malawi.

Unlabelled: The role of indigenous knowledge in disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation cannot be underestimated. It acts as a preparedness and response tool to climate change-related impacts such as floods, droughts and strong winds. However, inadequate studies about indigenous knowledge in Malawi is a major challenge when dealing with extreme climatic conditions.

Factors associated with retakes in health Professions Courses: A case study of Five selected Universities in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Academic examination retakes are significant challenges in health professions education. With rigorous clinical assessments, limited training resources and high-stakes examinations, students struggle to meet academic requirements which cab result in retakes. This study aimed to assess the proportion of medical and nursing students with retakes across five Sub-Saharan African universities and to explore factors contributing to the retakes.

Defining and Characterizing the Nursing Student-Faculty Relationship in Clinical Practice: A Concept Analysis.

Purpose: This paper aimed to define and characterize the nursing student-faculty (NS-F) relationship in clinical practice.

Methods: An integrated literature review was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL from December 6th to 25th, 2023. The final review included 15 articles.

Tracing the urbanisation of risk in Malawi: A multilevel analysis.

Unlabelled: Cities in Malawi have long been outside the focus of disaster risk reduction. As a result, urban risks remain poorly understood, and urban governments and disaster risk reduction (DRR) practitioners working in cities struggle to adequately support vulnerable urban populations. This is evidenced by recent disasters such as Cyclone Freddy, which devastated the city of Blantyre in 2023, and increasingly common small-scale events in urban areas.

The State of Stroke Research in Malawi: Results from a Mapping Review Study.

Introduction: Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability globally, and low-income countries such as Malawi bear a heavy burden. Tailored, high-quality research is essential for bridging existing gaps and improving the healthcare provided in low-resource settings while maximizing available resources.

Aim: This mapping study aimed to synthesize the current state of stroke research in Malawi.

Doctoral training to support sustainable soil geochemistry research in Africa.

Africa's potential for scientific research is not yet being realized, for various reasons including a lack of researchers in many fields and insufficient funding. Strengthened research capacity through doctoral training programmes in higher education institutes (HEIs) in Africa, to include collaboration with national, regional and international research institutions, can facilitate self-reliant and sustainable research to support socio-economic development. In 2012, the Royal Society and the UK's Department for International Development (now the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) launched the Africa Capacity Building Initiative (ACBI) Doctoral Training Network which aimed to strengthen research capacity and training across sub-Saharan Africa.

Respiratory syncytial virus-associated pneumonia in primary care in Malawi.

Objective: To identify the prevalence of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in a cohort of children under 5 years of age with World Health Organization (WHO)-defined pneumonia and the factors associated with developing severe RSV-associated community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in primary care in a single centre in Northern Malawi.

Methods: The BIOmarkers TO diagnose PnEumonia (BIOTOPE) study was a prospective cohort study conducted from March to June 2016 that took place in a primary care centre in Northern Malawi. Data from this study was used to identify the characteristics of children under 5 years of age who presented with RSV and WHO-defined CAP.

Chronic illness experience in the context of resource-limited settings: a concept analysis.

Aim: This review describes the ways in which individuals experience chronic illnesses in resource-limited settings; to define the concept and understand its attributes, antecedents and consequences.

Methods: A comprehensive analysis of the databases CINAHL, PubMed and Google Scholar was conducted. During literature search the following limits were applied: articles published in English with available full-text; articles that focused on living with chronic illness in adults from the patient's perspective.

Evaluation of knowledge, attitude, practices and effectiveness of menstrual hygiene interventions in rural schools from Lilongwe, Malawi.

Background: Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is associated with the menstrual process in women and adolescent girls who face cultural and financial challenges in rural areas of many developing countries. As part of the pilot study, we assessed the sustainability and effectiveness of the approaches and lessons learned from the MHM project intervention in rural areas of Lilongwe, Malawi.

Methods: Rural primary schools (n = 4) were purposively selected where an MHM intervention was implemented in Lilongwe, Malawi.

Chemokines in diabetic eye disease.

Background: Diabetic eye disease is a common micro-vascular complication of diabetes and a leading cause of decreased vision and blindness in people of working age worldwide.Although previous studies have shown that chemokines system may be a player in pathogenesis of diabetic eye disease, it is unclear which chemokines play the most important role.To date, there is no meta-analysis which has investigated the role of chemokines in diabetic eye disease.

Ophthalmological conditions among elderly patients attending a private eye care facility in Malawi: A retrospective study.

Background: The elderly comprises the fastest-expanding age group globally, with the greatest increase occurring in developing countries. The elderly populace is prone to develop various ocular morbidities.

Purpose: To determine the distribution of ocular morbidities among the elderly population visiting a private eye care facility in Malawi.

Prevalence of Ocular Morbidity and Associated Factors Among Hearing Impaired Children at Embangweni School of the Deaf in Mzimba District, Malawi.

Purpose: To assess the prevalence of ocular morbidities and associated factors among hearing-impaired (HI) students at the Embangweni School for the Deaf in Mzimba, Malawi.

Methods: This was an institutional cross-sectional study of HI students at Embangweni School for the Deaf. A series of optometric and audiometric tests was performed, and the results were exported to the Statistical Package for Social Science for statistical analysis (SPSS) version 25.

Eye Care Service Use and Associated Health-Seeking Behaviors Among Malawian Adults: Secondary Analysis of the Malawi Fifth Integrated Household Survey 2019-2020.

Background: The use of eye care services varies among different population groups.

Objective: This study aimed to assess self-reported eye care use (ECU) and associated demographic factors among Malawian adults.

Methods: This study used secondary data from the Malawi Fifth Integrated Household Survey 2019-2020, a nationally representative survey.

Natural zeolite for heavy metal, ammonia removal, and physiological responses in European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) juveniles tanks with different densities.

The present study aims to investigate the influence of zeolite usage and stocking densities on various parameters, including ammonia removal from water, accumulation of heavy metals in fish organs, water quality, growth performance, feed efficiency, muscle composition, as well as hematological and biochemical parameters in European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) over a 90-day duration. A total of 2400 D. labrax with an initial weight of 9.

Assessing the implementation fidelity, feasibility, and sustainability of community-based house improvement for malaria control in southern Malawi: a mixed-methods study.

Background: Despite significant success in the fight against malaria over the past two decades, malaria control programmes rely on only two insecticidal methods: indoor residual spraying and insecticidal-treated nets. House improvement (HI) can complement these interventions by reducing human-mosquito contact, thereby reinforcing the gains in disease reduction. This study assessed the implementation fidelity, which is the assessment of how closely an intervention aligns with its intended design, feasibility, and sustainability of community-led HI in southern Malawi.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices on COVID-19 Vaccination among General Adult Population in Malawi: A Countrywide Cross-Sectional Survey.

Vaccination is one of the essential measures in reducing transmission, morbidity, and mortality rates of a disease. However, the COVID-19 vaccination is facing hesitancy across the globe, Malawi included. A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Malawi to document knowledge, attitudes, and practices on COVID-19 vaccination.

Barriers Associated with Adherence to Cervical Cancer Screening Among Women Living with HIV in Nkhatabay District, Malawi: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Background: Cervical cancer (CC) incidence among Women Living with HIV (WLHIV) is high compared to the general population of women. As such, the Malawi National CC guideline recommends yearly screening among WLHIV. However, only 15.

Establishing the profile of eye diseases among elderly patients attending a tertiary hospital in Northern Malawi.

Globally, there has been a dramatic increase in the geriatric population. Sadly, this populace is highly prone to develop various ocular morbidities putting pressure on the strained eye care delivery system especially in low-income countries. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the distribution of ocular morbidities among elderly.

Integrative metabolomics highlights gut microbiota metabolites as novel NAFLD-related candidate biomarkers in children.

Unlabelled: Altered gut microbiota and metabolites are important for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in children. We aimed to comprehensively examine the effects of gut metabolites on NAFLD progression. We performed integrative metabolomics (untargeted discovery and targeted validation) analysis of non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and obesity in children.