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Marantaceae forests are tropical rainforests characterized by a continuous understory layer of perennial giant herbs and a near absence of tree regeneration. Although widespread in West‐Central Africa, Marantaceae forests have rarely been considered in the international literature. Yet, they pose key challenges and opportunities for theoretical ecology that transcend the borders of the continent. Specifically, we ask in this review whether open Marantaceae forests and dense closed‐canopy forests can be considered as one of the few documented examples of alternative stable states in tropical forests. First, we introduce the different ecological factors that have been posited to drive Marantaceae forests (climate, soil, historical and recent anthropogenic pressures, herbivores) and develop the different hypotheses that have been suggested to explain how Marantaceae forests establish in relation with other vegetation types (understory invasion, early succession after disturbance, and intermediate successional stage). Then, we review the underlying ecological mechanisms that can explain the stability of Marantaceae forests in the long term (tree recruitment inhibition, promotion of and resilience to fire, adaptive reproduction, maintenance by megaherbivores). Although some uncertainties remain and call for further empirical and theoretical research, we found converging evidence that Marantaceae forests are associated with an ecological succession that has been deflected or arrested. If verified, Marantaceae forests may provide a useful model to understand critical transitions in forest ecosystems, which is of particular relevance to achieve sustainable forest management and mitigate global climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To determine the overall prevalence of diabetic foot at risk according to the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot stratification. Materials and methods: We searched PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase. We included cross-sectional studies or cohorts from 1999 to March 2022. We performed a meta-analysis of proportions using a random-effects model. We assessed heterogeneity through subgroup analysis by continent and other characteristics. Results: We included 36 studies with a total population of 11,850 people from 23 countries. The estimated overall prevalence of diabetic foot at risk was 53.2% (95% CI: 45.1–61.3), I2 = 98.7%, p < 0.001. In the analysis by subgroups, South and Central America had the highest prevalence and Africa the lowest. The factors explaining the heterogeneity were the presence of chronic kidney disease, diagnostic method for peripheral arterial disease, and quality. The estimates presented very low certainty of evidence. Conclusions: The overall prevalence of diabetic foot at risk is high. The high heterogeneity between continents can be explained by methodological aspects and the type of population. However, using the same classification is necessary for standardization of the way of measuring the components, as well as better designed general population-based studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seagrass habitats are declining worldwide, placing several seagrass‐associated animals at risk of extinction. The Critically Endangered limpet Siphonaria compressa is one of the rarest molluscs in Africa, and has been reported from only two disjunctive lagoons in South Africa. Being a highly specialized grazer that lives exclusively on the narrow blades of Cape eelgrass, Zostera capensis, which is itself listed as Endangered in the South African Red List and has decreased in abundance, conservation initiatives are urgently needed to ensure the long‐term survival of S. compressa.Molecular data (sequence data from the mitochondrial genome and single nucleotide polymorphism data of the nuclear genome) and morphological data were analysed to determine whether the two populations are conspecific, with implications for whether translocation between localities could be a viable management strategy to restore either population in the event of a collapse, or to maintain the genetic diversity of each population.Strong evidence emerged for the distinctness of the two populations, including a lack of shared mtDNA haplotypes that indicate an absence of contemporary gene flow, a divergence time that dates to the late Pleistocene, and a number of morphological characters that distinguish their shells. These findings indicate that the two populations are distinct cryptic subspecies.As the two populations occur in different temperature‐defined marine biogeographical regions, they are probably adapted to different thermal environments. Translocations are not recommended, as this management strategy has considerable potential to result in outbreeding depression and exacerbate the extinction risk. Instead, each population should be managed separately, and several alternative conservation measures are discussed, including the protection and restoration of seagrass beds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar irradiation prediction including Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI) and Direct Normal Irradiation (DNI) is a useful technique for assessing the solar energy potential at specific locations. This study used five Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) to predict GHI and DNI in Africa. Additionally, a hybrid model combining MLR and ANNs was proposed to predict both GHI and DNI and improve the accuracy of individual ANN models. Solar radiation (GHI and DNI) and global meteorological data from 85 cities with different climatic conditions over Africa during 2001-2020 were used to train and test the models developed. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to identify the most influential input variables to predict GHI and DNI. Two scenarios were proposed to achieve the goal, each with different input variables. The first scenario used influential input parameters, while the second incorporated geographical coordinates to assess their impact on solar radiation prediction accuracy. The results revealed that the suggested linear-nonlinear hybrid models outperformed all other models in terms of prediction accuracy. Moreover, the investigation revealed that geographical coordinates have a minimal impact on the prediction of solar radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ebola virus (EBOV) causes Ebola virus disease (EVD), which is characterized by hemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in humans. EBOV sexual transmission has been a concern since the 2014–2016 outbreak in Africa, as persistent infection in the testis and transmission to women was demonstrated. The only study related to establishing an intravaginal small animal infection model was recently documented in IFNAR−/− mice using wild-type and mouse-adapted EBOV (maEBOV), and resulted in 80% mortality, supporting epidemiological data. However, this route of transmission is still poorly understood in women, and the resulting EVD from it is understudied. Here, we contribute to this field of research by providing data from immunocompetent BALB/c mice. We demonstrate that progesterone priming increased the likelihood of maEBOV vaginal infection and of exhibiting the symptoms of disease and seroconversion. However, our data suggest subclinical infection, regardless of the infective dose. We conclude that maEBOV can infect BALB/c mice through vaginal inoculation, but that this route of infection causes significantly less disease compared to intraperitoneal injection at a similar dose, which is consistent with previous studies using other peripheral routes of inoculation in that animal model. Our data are inconsistent with the disease severity described in female patients, therefore suggesting that BALB/c mice are unsuitable for modeling typical EVD following vaginal challenge with maEBOV. Further studies are required to determine the mechanisms by which EVD is attenuated in BALB/c mice, using maEBOV via the vaginal route, as in our experimental set-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a mosquito-borne zoonosis endemic to Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, which causes large outbreaks among humans and ruminants. Single dose vaccinations using live-attenuated RVF virus (RVFV) support effective prevention of viral spread in endemic countries. Due to the segmented nature of RVFV genomic RNA, segments of vaccine strain-derived genomic RNA could be incorporated into wild-type RVFV within co-infected mosquitoes or animals. Rationally designed vaccine candidate RVax-1 displays protective epitopes fully identical to the previously characterized MP-12 vaccine. Additionally, all genome segments of RVax-1 contribute to the attenuation phenotype, which prevents the formation of pathogenic reassortant strains. This study demonstrated that RVax-1 cannot replicate efficiently in orally fed Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, while retaining strong immunogenicity and protective efficacy in an inbred mouse model, which were indistinguishable from the MP-12 vaccine. These findings support further development of RVax-1 as the next generation MP-12-based vaccine for prevention of Rift Valley fever in humans and animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Hennediella Paris is a globally distributed genus comprising 15 species, of which two are presently known from southern Africa. Field studies in the Cape winter-rainfall area yielded a specimen that could not be assigned to any of the known species of the genus and is here described as new. Methods. Specimens collected using standard bryological field techniques were rehydrated in the laboratory, dissected, and mounted in Hoyer's solution. Observations and measurements were made using standard stereo and compound microscopy. Key results and conclusions. Hennediella austroafricana Hedd. & M.J.Cano is a new species that is currently known only from the type locality in the Cape winter-rainfall region at Drie Kuilen, where it grew in Matjiesfontein Renosterveld. It is distinct from all other members of the genus in the combination of leaves with a border of short-rectangular, thick-walled, smooth (or at least less papillose) cells, and sporophytes with a thick seta, and a peristome with a high basal membrane and relatively short, straight to slightly twisted, filiform teeth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As a widely distributed and aerial migratory bird, the Common Swift (Apus apus) flies over a wide geographic range in Eurasia and Africa during migration. Although some studies have revealed the migration routes and phenology of European populations, A. a. apus (from hereon the nominate apus), the route used by its East Asian counterpart A. a. pekinensis (from hereon pekinensis) remained a mystery. Methods: Using light level geolocators, we studied the migration of adult pekinensis breeding in Beijing from 2014 to 2018, and analysed full annual tracks obtained from 25 individuals. In addition, we used the mean monthly precipitation to assess the seasonal variations in humidity for the distribution ranges of the nominate apus and pekinensis. This environmental variable is considered to be critically relevant to their migratory phenology and food resource abundance. Results: Our results show that the swifts perform a round-trip journey of ca 30,000 km each year, representing a detour of 26% in autumn and 15% in spring compared to the shortest route between the breeding site in Beijing and wintering areas in semi-arid south-western Africa. Compared to the nominate apus, pekinensis experiences drier conditions for longer periods of time. Remarkably, individuals from our study population tracked arid habitat along the entire migration corridor leading from a breeding site in Beijing to at least central Africa. In Africa, they explored more arid habitats during non-breeding than the nominate apus. Conclusions: The migration route followed by pekinensis breeding in Beijing might suggest an adaptation to semi-arid habitat and dry climatic zones during non-breeding periods, and provides a piece of correlative evidence indicating the historical range expansion of the subspecies. This study highlights that the Common Swift may prove invaluable as a model species for studies of migration route formation and population divergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid environmental change can lead to population extinction or evolutionary rescue. The global staple crop sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) has recently been threatened by a global outbreak of an aggressive new biotype of sugarcane aphid (SCA; Melanaphis sacchari). We characterized genomic signatures of adaptation in a Haitian breeding population that had rapidly adapted to SCA infestation, conducting evolutionary population genomics analyses on 296 Haitian lines versus 767 global accessions. Genome scans and geographic analyses suggest that SCA adaptation has been conferred by a globally rare East African allele of RMES1, which spread to breeding programs in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. De novo genome sequencing revealed potential causative variants at RMES1. Markers developed from the RMES1 sweep predicted resistance in eight independent commercial and public breeding programs. These findings demonstrate the value of evolutionary genomics to develop adaptive trait technology and highlight the benefits of global germplasm exchange to facilitate evolutionary rescue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Modelling African great ape distribution has until now focused on current or past conditions, while future scenarios remain scarcely explored. Using an ensemble forecasting approach, we predicted changes in taxon‐specific distribution under future scenarios of climate, land use and human populations for (1) areas outside protected areas (PAs) only (assuming complete management effectiveness of PAs), (2) the entire study region and (3) interspecies range overlap. Location: Tropical Africa. Methods: We compiled occurrence data (n = 5,203) on African apes from the IUCN A.P.E.S. database and extracted relevant climate‐, habitat‐ and human‐related predictors representing current and future (2050) conditions to predict taxon‐specific range change under a best‐ and a worst‐case scenario, using ensemble forecasting. Results: The predictive performance of the models varied across taxa. Synergistic interactions between predictors are shaping African ape distribution, particularly human‐related variables. On average across taxa, a range decline of 50% is expected outside PAs under the best scenario if no dispersal occurs (61% in worst scenario). Otherwise, an 85% range reduction is predicted to occur across study regions (94% worst). However, range gains are predicted outside PAs if dispersal occurs (52% best, 21% worst), with a slight increase in gains expected across study regions (66% best, 24% worst). Moreover, more than half of range losses and gains are predicted to occur outside PAs where interspecific ranges overlap. Main Conclusions: Massive range decline is expected by 2050, but range gain is uncertain as African apes will not be able to occupy these new areas immediately due to their limited dispersal capacity, migration lag and ecological constraints. Given that most future range changes are predicted outside PAs, Africa's current PA network is likely to be insufficient for preserving suitable habitats and maintaining connected ape populations. Thus, conservation planners urgently need to integrate land use planning and climate change mitigation measures at all decision‐making levels both in range countries and abroad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Southern Africa has a diverse large carnivore guild. When this large carnivore guild is confined to fenced protected areas, the degree of intraguild competition may increase. Dietary overlap is a notable point of competition and can have considerable effects on lower trophic levels. We considered the prey preferences, dietary overlap, and dietary niche breadth of the large carnivore guild in Madikwe Game Reserve through direct observations and scat analysis, over one year of sampling. These data were analysed using the Jacobs' index for prey preference, the Pianka's index for dietary overlap and Levin's index for dietary niche breadth. Leopards ( Panthera pardus), cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) and African wild dogs ( Lycaon pictus) had a high degree of dietary overlap and were specialized in their diet selection. Lions ( Panthera leo), brown ( Parahyaena brunnea) and spotted hyaenas ( Crocuta crocuta) also showed a high degree of dietary overlap and had broad diets. Our results show similarities to those of open systems, suggesting that large carnivore diet selection may not be negatively affected when they are confined by fences.We recommend further investigations into the variables which may affect site-specific carnivore diet selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four epitypes and three new species of Amanita (Amanitaceae, Agaricales, Agaricomycetes, Basidiomycota) are described from Guineo-Congolian rainforests of Cameroon. Amanita echinulata, A. fulvopulverulenta, A. robusta, and A. bingensis are epitypified based on collections that are the first since the species were described nearly a century ago. Morphological features of the epitypes are described and enumerated. Amanita minima, Amanita luteolamellata, and A. goossensfontanae are described as new and added to the known macromycota of tropical Africa. Habit, habitat, and known distribution are provided for each species. Sequence data for the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) locus are provided for types and other collections of all taxa, and a molecular phylogenetic analysis across the genus Amanita corroborates morphology-based infrageneric placement for each. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The major challenge in Africa is the growing prevalence of metabolic syndrome which has been attributed to changing lifestyles in developing countries. The impact of the commonly available staple starchy food; eaten in this environment may also be a factor contributing to growing concerns of metabolic syndrome. Hence, the need to assess the affordable staple starchy foods. Cassava is the most consumed staple starchy food in our environment; therefore, our study evaluated its impact on glycaemic and insulin response in consumers. Aim: To determine Insulin Index (II), glycaemic profile (GP), glycaemic load (GL) and Glycaemic Index (GI), incremental glucose peak value (IGPV), and glycaemic profile index (GPI) of cassava food meals. Methods: Participants ingested three cassava processed products (cassava dough [fufu], chips [Abacha], and flakes [garri] (the equivalent of 50g glucose) and 50 g of reference meal (glucose solution). Fasting and postprandial samples were taken for blood glucose and insulin however sample for glucose was taken at intervals of 30 mins to a maximum of 180mins and 120 mins for insulin, respectively. Result: The GI for cassava dough, flakes and chips were 93.26; 95.92 and 91.94, respectively. Their glycaemic load was 46.62; 47.96 and 45.97, respectively. The glycaemic profile index was 37.34; 41.41 and 46.19, respectively. In addition, the insulin index was 55.83; 69.36 and 97.02. The proximate analysis showed protein, moisture, fibre, fat, ash, and carbohydrate content as follows the cassava (%) (crude form) 1.075%; 72.00%; 0.80%; 0.58%; 0.35%; 25.07%, Chips 1.44%; 59.13%; 0.73%; 1.71%; 36.83%, flakes 1.82%; 67.36%; 0.15%; 0.91%; 0.25%; 39.64% and dough 1.56%; 67.51%; 0.21%; 0.52%; 0.20%; 30.22% respectively. Conclusion: II, GP, GL, and GI of cassava dough (fufu), cassava flakes(garri)and cassava chips (Abacha) were found to be high. Unregulated dietary intake in adults may lead to metabolic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bushmeat hunting is widely cited as cause for declines of wildlife populations throughout Africa. Forest duikers (Bovidae, Cephalophinae) are among the most exploited species. Whether current harvest rates imperil duikers is debated because of the difficulty of accurately assessing population trends. To assess population trends, we first reviewed literature for historical duiker population estimates. Second, we used systematic camera‐trap monitoring to assess population trends for 15 populations of nine duiker species in six national parks in Central and East Africa. We analysed annual monitoring data using Royle‐Nichols heterogeneity‐induced occupancy models to estimate abundance/sample point and derive occupancy estimates. Published density estimates indicate that duiker populations declined significantly throughout Africa between 1973 and 2013. There was a wide range of densities depending on species (x¯ range: 0.26–20.6 km−1) and whether populations were hunted (X¯ =6.3 km−1) or unhunted (X¯ = 16.3 km−1). More recent analysis of camera‐trap monitoring produced different results. Estimated mean point abundance over time was between 0 and 0.99 individuals/point for four populations, between 1.0 and 1.99 for six populations, and greater than 2.0 for five populations. We observed five populations of duikers with negative trends in point abundances, although only one trend was significant and point abundance estimates for three populations were above 2.0 in the final survey year. Six populations showed positive trends in point abundance (three significant), and the remaining populations displayed no trends. Average occupancy was high (Ψ > 0.60) except for three populations. While literature indicates that historical population declines have occurred, most duiker populations appear relatively healthy in monitored parks. Our results indicate that these parks are effective in protecting most duikers despite hunting pressure. We recommend that systematic, standardized camera‐trap monitoring be initiated in other African parks in combination with point‐abundance models to objectively assess forest ungulate population trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation change in eastern Africa during the Pliocene would have had an important impact on hominin adaptation and ecology, and it may have been a key driver of hominin macroevolution, including the extinction of Australopithecus and the emergence of Paranthropus and Homo. The Pliocene paleoanthropological site of Laetoli in Tanzania provides an opportunity to investigate the relationship between vegetation change and hominin turnover because it encompasses the time period when grass cover was spreading across eastern Africa and because hominin species turnover occurred locally at Laetoli, with Paranthropus aethiopicus in the Upper Ndolanya Beds (UNB) replacing Australopithecus afarensis in the Upper Laetolil Beds (ULB). However, it remains unresolved how the vegetation of the UNB and the ULB differed from each other. To examine differences between the two stratigraphic units, multiple proxies—hypsodonty, mesowear, and stable carbon isotopes of tooth enamel (δ13C enamel)—are used to infer the diets of large herbivores and compare the dietary guild structure of the large herbivore communities. All three proxies indicate an increase in the abrasiveness and C 4 -content in the diets of the large herbivores in the UNB relative to those in the ULB. After inferring the diets of species based on all three proxies, the large herbivore community of the UNB had a greater proportion of grazers and a smaller proportion of mixed feeders than in the ULB but maintained a similar proportion of browsers and frugivores. The ULB community has few modern-day analogs, whereas the UNB community is most closely analogous to those in modern African grasslands. Thus, hominin turnover at Laetoli is associated with an increase in grass cover within a woodland-grassland mosaic and is part of a broader transformation of the herbivore community structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Pollutant levels are generally higher in open dumps compared to sanitary landfills. • Most of the data were from Asian dumpsites, making the waste inputs heterogeneous. • It would be desirable for the future to create a global database. Using published data, this study examined differences in pollutant levels in the leachate between landfills and dumpsites in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It is the first to focus on the impacts of climate and the age of the site on the pollutants in these continents, from a holistic perspective. Differences between geographical regions were limited. While it was found that there were statistically significant differences in organic, inorganic loads and heavy metals between landfills and dumpsites, with higher concentration of pollutants in dumpsites. Links between selected metals were found, in particular for Cu, Cr, Zn, Pb and Mn. Contrary to the findings of others, climate and the age of the site generally did not have statistically significant impacts on pollutant levels. This suggests that the concentration of pollutants from sites in the three continents may be more influenced by local conditions, consumption patterns and the waste management habits of individuals. Implications for governance are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Question: The existence of monodominant forest in highly diverse tropical rainforest has been the subject of much debate. One hypothesis suggests that the combination of advantageous traits and long periods of low disturbance is key for this forest's persistence. Here we ask whether there is evidence for the long‐term presence of monodominant Gilbertiodendron forest in the absence of fire and climate change. Location: Republic of Congo. Methods: We extracted fossil pollen and macro‐charcoal from a sediment sequence collected in present‐day monodominant Gilbertiodendron forest stand that spans the last 2,700 years. Climatic changes were inferred using other published palaeoecological records from Central Africa. We also looked at Gilbertiodendron dewevrei's present‐day ecological tolerances. Results: Gilbertiodendron pollen was found in every sample covering the last 2,700 years in similar percentages to present‐day soil surface samples. In addition, no statistically significant change in pollen composition was found during this time despite vegetation changes being documented in nearby mixed and swamp forest cores over the same time period. No evidence of fire was found for a period of 2,400 years. Only minimal burning occurred over the last 300 years in this monodominant stand. The analysis of ecological tolerances shows G. dewevrei has a broad niche for precipitation (1,300–2,460 mm). Conclusions: Our pollen record is the first to describe the long‐term ecological history of an African monodominant forest. Our results show this monodominant stand existed over the past 2,700 years mostly in the absence of fire, providing support for the low disturbance hypothesis as an explanation for monodominance persistence. However, we show that the monodominant forest was continuous, at this site, despite climatic fluctuations in the immediate region. This combined with the broad tolerance of water requirements of the species suggests a potential resilience to future climate variability. However, additional pollen records from a wider area are needed to confirm this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of envisioning the future has deep roots in the past. Across the continent of Africa, there are traditions of oral storytelling, griots, folklore, and indigenous speculation that offer guidance on how to live in the present and orient towards better futures. Whilst these traditions can act as navigational compasses, they are not prevalent in conventional futuring methodologies. Rather, we are surrounded by perspectives of thinking about the future as a projection of current trends. In this perspective, we offer a new heuristic, the Entangled Time Tree, to the body of futuring approaches for how to acknowledge multiple pasts and alternative ways of conceptualizing futures. We recognise that in a decolonial approach, it is necessary to consider a multiplicity of pasts that lead to diverse presents and futures; a recognition that we see reflected in Africanfuturism and in traditional storytelling that further offer diverse ways of understanding temporality and futures. We propose that the diverse forms of storytelling across the African continent constitute critically underexplored forms of knowledge for enabling a decolonial approach to futuring through three mechanisms -stories as power, stories as healing, and stories as diversification. We argue that centering these stories will allow the exploration of more just and ecologically sustainable futures. We recognise that this is just a first, but we hope a promising, step towards a longer term commitment of creating more diverse, imaginative visions and pathways of a decolonial future that will be useful not only on the African continent, but globally. • The practice of envisioning the future has deep roots in the past. • In a decolonial approach, it is necessary to consider a multiplicity of pasts that lead to diverse presents and futures. • Africa has traditions of griots, folklore and speculation that offer guidance on to orient towards better futures. • We offer the Entangled Time Tree heuristic to acknowledge multiple pasts and alternative ways of conceptualizing futures. • Africanfuturism and traditional storytelling offer diverse ways of understanding temporality and futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the convergence of culture, myths, and taboos surrounding reproductive health issues African immigrant women, living in the United States, learned during childhood in their countries of origin. We also discuss how mothers’ perceptions of reproductive health education (RHE) influenced the education of their own daughters aged 10-14 years. This was a qualitative descriptive study. Data were collected via interviews and demographic survey. The sample size was 20 African immigrant mothers living in a mid-sized city in the U.S. Interviews were transcribed verbatim. Qualitative data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Myths and taboos related to menstruation, sexual intercourse, pregnancy, and HIV/AIDS were reported by the women interviewed. Discussion of these issues was largely taboo, and most myths the mothers learned growing up pertained to sexual intercourse, pregnancy prevention, and pregnancy termination using non-hormonal ingested substances. Myths and taboos about sexual issues are widespread in Africa and are propagated to control sexual behavior, especially that of unmarried people, particularly women. By examining these myths and taboos, we are able to somewhat contextualize the mothers’ immigrant experience regarding RHE. Although myths were reported, the majority of mothers did not appear to believe them. The most significant taboo reported was sexual intercourse. This in turn led to mothers’ overemphasis on abstinence for their daughters. It is also noteworthy that this sample contained mainly African women who overall were highly educated, spoke English, and could adequately navigate life in the U.S. It is unclear what the results would be if we were to examine African immigrant women with less achievements in these areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate and environmental change are considered important drivers of hominin speciation and diversification, including the emergence of Paranthropus and Homo. Therefore, making connections between potential drivers of hominin evolution on multiple spatial scales is a critical issue in hominin paleoecology. This is especially true in light of evidence that paleoenvironmental proxies operating at different spatial scales lead to divergent interpretations about whether environmental change in eastern Africa was primarily driven by regional-scale or local-scale factors. This study takes a novel approach to addressing issues of scale in hominin paleoecology by using linear mixed models to test the relative impact of local factors versus regional factors in driving variation in aridity and vegetation at important hominin paleontological sites across eastern Africa between 3.7 Ma and 2.3 Ma. Results indicate there are no significant trends in aridity as evidenced by stable oxygen isotopes of paleosol carbonates. However, the results for stable carbon isotopes of paleosol carbonates suggest regional-scale factors drove a uniform increase in grassy vegetation at nearly all sites. Additionally, we find that while regional-scale factors drive vegetation change, local-scale factors were important in determining the unique mix of trees/shrubs and grass that was present at each site and upon which vegetation change acted. Thus, while sites across eastern Africa experienced the same degree of vegetation change, at any given time the vegetation at each site would have differed from other sites. This result offers a possible resolution between regional-scale proxies which show an overall increase in C 4 photosynthesizing grasses and local-scale proxies which indicate that paleoenvironments at different sites were varied. It also connects regional-scale drivers to local-scale environmental change which would have had an important impact on hominin evolution and adaptation. This study introduces linear mixed models as a methodology which to date has not been widely applied to questions of hominin paleoecology and has the potential to address critical issues of scale. • Connecting environmental drivers on multiple scales is crucial to understanding hominin evolution. • Novel application of linear mixed models to paleosol carbonate stable isotopes. • No significant trends in δ18O PC over time. • Regional factors such as climate change drove uniform increases δ13C PC at nearly all fossil sites. • C 4 grasses spread over time, but at any given point local vegetation was varied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The development of valid measures of built environments relevant for physical activity is an important step toward controlling the global epidemic of physical inactivity-related noncommunicable diseases and deaths. This study assessed the construct validity of a self-report neighborhood environment walkability scale adapted for Africa (NEWS-Africa), by examining relationships with self-reported walking for transportation and recreation using pooled data from six sub-Saharan African countries. Methods: NEWS was systematically adapted to assess urban, periurban, and rural environments in sub-Saharan Africa. Adults (n = 469, 18-85 yr, 49.7% women) from Cameroon, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda were purposively recruited from neighborhoods varying in walkability and socioeconomic status, with some from villages. Participants completed the 76-item(13 subscales) NEWS-Africa by structured interview and reported weekly minutes of walking for transport and recreation using items from the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Results: The overall ''walkability'' index had a positive relationship with both walking for transportation (η² = 0.020, P = 0.005) and recreation ((η² = 0.013, P = 0.028) in the pooled analyses. The mixed-use access and stranger danger scales were positively related with transport walking ((η² = 0.020, P = 0.006 and (η² = 0.021, P = 0.040, respectively). Proximity of recreational facilities ((η² = 0.016, P = 0.015), road/path connectivity ((η² = 0.025, P = 0.002), path infrastructure ((η² = 0.021, P = 0.005), and overall places for walking and cycling (η² = 0.012, P = 0.029) scales were positively related to recreational walking. Country-specific results were mostly nonsignificant except for South Africa and Uganda. Conclusions: Of 14 NEWS-Africa scales, 7 were significantly related to walking behavior in pooled analyses, providing partial support for the construct validity of NEWS-Africa. However, effect sizes appeared to be lower than those from other continents. Further study with larger and more diverse samples is needed to determine whether the instrument performs well in each country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Didymodon vulcanicusJ.A.Jiménez, Hedd. & Frank Müll. is described and illustrated as a new species from volcanic regions of tropical Africa. The species is distinguished morphologically by its lanceolate or more rarely ovate-lanceolate leaves that are strongly incurved distally when dry, acute apices, upper and middle laminal cells arranged in longitudinal rows with a low dorsal papilla over the transverse walls which reaches the two immediate cells, basal cells not or hardly differentiated from the medial cells, and the presence of gemmae in the leaf axils. Drawings and light microscope photographs of the main characters are given, and possible confusion with other closely related taxa is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the lack of bookselling and publishing infrastructure in West Africa. It explores the article released by author Adabi Tricia Nwaubani in the "New York Times," which discussed the challenges faced by writers of Nigeria. It highlights Christopher Abani's "The Secret History of Las Vegas," which has moved a long way to a phantasmagoria of Las Vegas, Nevada from Nigeria.

Numerous protected areas (PAs) have been created in Africa to safeguard wildlife and other natural resources. However, significant threats from anthropogenic activities and decline of wildlife populations persist, while conservation efforts in most PAs are still minimal. We assessed the impact level of the most common threats to wildlife within PAs in tropical Africa and the relationship of conservation activities with threat impact level. We collated data on 98 PAs with tropical forest cover from 15 countries across West, Central and East Africa. For this, we assembled information about local threats as well as conservation activities from published and unpublished literature, and questionnaires sent to long-term field workers. We constructed general linear models to test the significance of specific conservation activities in relation to the threat impact level. Subsistence and commercial hunting were identified as the most common direct threats to wildlife and found to be most prevalent in West and Central Africa. Agriculture and logging represented the most common indirect threats, and were most prevalent in West Africa. We found that the long-term presence of conservation activities (such as law enforcement, research and tourism) was associated with lower threat impact levels. Our results highlight deficiencies in the management effectiveness of several PAs across tropical Africa, and conclude that PA management should invest more into conservation activities with long-term duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of physical barriers as protection of rock art against the threats of graffiti, vandalism, encroachment, deforestation, quarrying, and other human activity is rarely effective. The best barrier is a community which has an emotional or economic link to the heritage. Engaging local communities in the management, conservation, and valorization of sites and ensuring that they are beneficiaries of the heritage lays the foundations of those protective barriers. One of the ways the Trust for African Rock Art (TARA) has been doing this is through the development of responsible rock art tourism. In 2008, TARA's partnership in a project with the people of Mfangano Island, Kenya, led to the official opening of the Abasuba Community Peace Museum, the gateway to the Island's rock art and other heritage. The project provided a community project model which TARA has subsequently used in Kenya, Malawi, Niger, Tanzania, and Uganda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We examine the relationship between tree cover and indicators of dietary quality for children under 5. [•] We use Demographic Health Survey data on dietary intake from 21 African countries and MODIS data on tree cover. [•] We find a statistically significant positive relationship between tree cover and dietary diversity. [•] We find a statistically significant inverted-U shaped relationship between tree cover and fruit and vegetable consumption. [•] Our findings suggest that children in Africa who live in areas with more tree cover have more nutritious diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report above-ground biomass (AGB), basal area, stem density and wood mass density estimates from 260 sample plots (mean size: 1.2 ha) in intact closed-canopy tropical forests across 12 African countries. Mean AGB is 395.7 Mg dry mass ha-1 (95% CI: 14.3), substantially higher than Amazonian values, with the Congo Basin and contiguous forest region attaining AGB values (429 Mg ha-1) similar to those of Bornean forests, and significantly greater than East or West African forests. AGB therefore appears generally higher in palaeo-compared with neotropical forests. However, mean stemdensity is low(426±11 stems ha-1 greater than or equal to 100 mm diameter) compared with both Amazonian and Bornean forests (cf. approx. 600) and is the signature structural feature of African tropical forests. While spatial autocorrelation complicates analyses, AGB shows a positive relationship with rainfall in the driest nine months of the year, and an opposite association with the wettest three months of the year; a negative relationship with temperature; positive relationshipwith clay-rich soils; and negative relationships with C :N ratio (suggesting a positive soil phosphorus--AGB relationship), and soil fertility computed as the sum of base cations. The results indicate that AGB is mediated by both climate and soils, and suggest that the AGB of African closed-canopy tropical forests may be particularly sensitive to future precipitation and temperature changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the love-money-power-gender labyrinth, we conducted 10 in-depth interviews with students involved in sugar daddy relationships for conspicuous consumption on an urban university campus in South Africa. We had anticipated that these relationships were not devoid of love and that girls would carve out moments of agency within power dynamics that favoured sugar daddies. However, the students exerted degrees of agency in all phases of the sugar daddy relationship and despite the instrumental relationship imperative; love existed in a variety of manifestations in these relationships. Although students had instigated sugar daddy relationships for conspicuous consumption, during the course of the relationship sugar daddies were transformed from abstract providers to friends, confidants and lovers. Further, if the sugar daddy could no longer provide resources, students would most likely end the romantic relationship, but the friendship would not be terminated. Our analysis demonstrates that an ‘either or’ analysis that situates ‘agency as opposed to power’ or ‘love as opposed to money’ is superficial. It flattens the complexities raised in the vignettes of the girls involved in sugar daddy relationships and is blind to the messy contradictions that girls creatively navigate within structures in their quest for both money and love “at the same time”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the international African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA) project, stratospheric balloons carrying gondolas called driftsondes capable of dropping meteorological sondes were deployed over West Africa and the tropical Atlantic Ocean. The goals of the deployment were to test the technology and to study the African easterly waves, which are often the forerunners of hurricanes. Between 29 August and 22 September 2006, 124 sondes were dropped over the seven easterly waves that moved across Africa into the Atlantic between about 10° and 20°N, where almost no in situ vertical information exists. Conditions included waves that developed into Tropical Storm Florence and Hurricanes Gordon and Helene. In this study, a selection of numerical weather prediction model outputs has been compared with the dropsondes to assess the effect of some developments in data assimilation on the quality of analyses and forecasts. By comparing two different versions of the Action de Recherche Petite Echelle Grande Echelle (ARPEGE) model of Météo-France with the dropsondes, first the benefits of the last data assimilation updates are quantified. Then comparisons are carried out using the ARPEGE model and the Integrated Forecast System (IFS) model of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. It is shown that the two models represent very well the vertical structure of temperature and humidity over both land and sea, and particularly within the Saharan air layer, which displays humidity below 5%-10%. Conversely, the models are less able to represent the vertical structure of the meridional wind. This problem seems to be common to ARPEGE and IFS, and its understanding still requires further investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To explore East African refugees' perceptions, ideas, and beliefs about health and health care, as well as the ways in which health information is shared within their communities. Meth­ods: This study consisted of 2 focus groups with a total of 15 participants, in­cluding East African community leaders and health professionals. Results: East African refugees in the United States have strong cultural, religious, and tra­ditional health practices that shape their health behavior and influence their in­teractions with Western health care sys­tems. Conclusions: Health care providers who understand refugees' beliefs about health may achieve more compliance with refugee patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts on medical topics which include the use of summon, a discovery tool, by Librarians; the role of Quality Improvement Systems in the improvement of Health Library Services and application of mobile services in libraries.

This study was a preliminary analysis of the genetic structure of the ectomycorrhizal species Russula discopus, tL pseudocarmecina and R. ochraceorivulosa with disjunct distributions in continental Africa and Madagascar. Phylogenetic analyses of the nuclear ITS1/5.8S/ITS2 region and the mitochondrial atp6 gene were performed with specimens from both locations for each species along with a suitable outgroup for each of the three taxa. Additional analyses of the ITS1/5.8S/ITS2 region using the African and Malagasy specimens and additional taxa in the genus Russula also were performed. R. pseudocarmecina and R. discopus both exhibited genetic structure as shown by a relatively high percentage difference in ITS and atp6 sequences, high bootstrap support for African or Malagasy groups and the presence of indels in the ITS sequence that are unique to either Africa or Madagascar. African and Malagasy groups of each species were more closely related to each other than to other taxa in Russula. Genetic structure also existed in populations of R. ochraceorivulosa, but bootstrap support was weaker than in the other two species. In addition, there was less sequence divergence in R. ochraceorivulosa and this species was the only one for which the same atp6 haplotype was found in both Africa and Madagascar. Reciprocal monophyly for all three species was consistent with the hypothesis that the same vicariance event may be responsible for the genetic structure observed here, although shorter branch lengths, lower bootstrap support and the presence of the same atp6 haplotype in Africa and Madagascar for R. ochraceorivulosa suggested slower evolutionary rates or geographical isolation after the other two taxa. In addition to the geological events that separated Africa and Madagascar, environmental changes during the Miocene or later might have had an effect on the distribution of these species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper analyses the impact of the Komati Pilot Project (KPP) upon members and their neighbours. The KPP was a Government of Swaziland (GoS)-financed irrigation scheme that enabled 43 subsistence and semi-subsistence farmers to change from rain-fed maize and cotton to irrigated sugar cane. It provides an opportunity to evaluate the impact of Green Revolution technology upon an African rural community where adopters and non-adopters live close together and where little income differentiation existed prior to the development because the common experience was poverty. A baseline survey of the KPP was carried out in 1997 in advance of the Komati Downstream Development Project. Of concern are the extent and direction of any trickle-down effects from the KPP participants for their neighbours and the consequences of any such impacts 10 years after the project started producing sugar cane. The expectation of the GoS was that sugar cane would benefit KPP participants and neighbours creating a multiplier effect through increased demand for services and increased demand for agricultural labour. Ten years later, these expectations are unrealized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers an updated version of the historical background of SCOLMA, the UK Libraries and Archives Group on Africa, published initially in the 43rd issue, 1987, of the journal "African Research & Documentation." The authors provides details of the organization's structural changes, activities and conferences carried out from 1962 to 2012. They also offer a list of SCOLMA's officers.

This article proposes to examine the 1965 African Games in the context of the ideological struggle between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Games of the New Emerging Forces (GANEFO). I contend that the rise of GANEFO should be understood in the context of the Third World movement, and that it was a legitimate challenger to the Olympic movement in Africa. The IOC, faced with this threat, negotiated its sponsorship of the African Games according to what has been described as 'amoral universalism', ignoring its own rules and regulations in order to co-opt African states into the Olympic movement and maintain its dominant position in world sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay about the early days of John D. Hargrieves at the University of Aberdeen is presented. Hargreaves cites Aberdeen as seeming to be a special place with a strong provincial identity and the people being more generous in recognizing what he had done in Africa as the reasons why he opted to prolong his tenure at the University. Whereas research visits to Paris and the U.S. as the roots of his interest in African studies.

The article presents the author's reflections on the progress of the academic discipline of Africology, also known as Africana or Black studies, in the United States at the graduate level as of 2010 and discussing its possible future trajectories. Focus is given to the discipline's status in maintaining and cultivating new generations of scholars through its graduate programs. An overview is given to several programs offered in universities and research centers across the U.S., noting their strengths and weaknesses as departments.

Abstract: This is the second of two special issues in Progress in Planning exploring emerging research agendas in planning. It brings together scholars from diverse schools working on new areas of research and application in urban design and planning. Emergent research agendas include both novel areas of research and important shifts in the direction of a research area. The challenge for planning schools is to reflect critically on these changes and develop long-term research agendas that can better position our field in society and academia, and provide a basis from which to assess our academic programmes. The chapters in this issue display the different scales and fields of planning, including planning for: disaster recovery; climate change, especially opportunities for mitigation; shrinking cities in the First World; and rapidly urbanising informal and impoverished cities in the global South. At the same time, the chapters identify research areas that respond to major social and environmental changes. Olshansky and Chang highlight the increasing losses from catastrophic disasters, and address the need for disaster recovery planning. Wheeler, Randolph and London focus on climate change, and, noting the urgency of action now, their research agenda emphasises opportunities for planners to develop research and policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Hollander, Pallagst, Schwarz and Popper look at increasing economic and population trends in many First World cities that result in city ‘shrinkage’. They present new opportunities for improving cities’ green space networks and natural features, and for research. The trebling of urban population in African cities by 2050, in conditions of poverty and informality, is the major trend driving Parnell, Pietriese and Watson''s chapter. They present an agenda for new planning theories and for supporting empirical research to address the actual conditions of African cities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The dietary guild structure of ungulate communities is a useful paleoecological tool for understanding the context of hominin paleobiology and evolution. Ungulates are well represented in the fossil record, and their dietary preferences reflect those of major habitat types. However, paleoecology relies on modern ecological patterns as analogs for recreating ecologies of the past. It has previously been suggested that for much of the Pliocene, no such modern analogs exist for the herbivore communities associated with hominins in eastern Africa. This study aims to determine whether the ungulate community associated with A. afarensis at the Pliocene site of Laetoli, Tanzania, shares similarities with extant communities or whether it lacks a modern analog. Our multiproxy approach using mesowear, hypsodonty, and stable carbon isotopes of tooth enamel to infer the diets of ungulates in the Upper Laetolil Beds shows that this community is dominated by browsers and mixed feeders and has a very low prevalence of grazers and frugivores. This dietary guild composition distinguishes the Upper Laetolil Beds from modern African communities and suggests either that the Upper Laetolil Beds had a unique vegetation structure which was able to support a higher diversity of browsing ungulates than that exists in African ecosystems today or that it retained an ungulate community that was resilient to environmental change. The Upper Laetolil Beds ungulate community is also unique relative to other mid-Pliocene communities in eastern Africa, some of which are similar to extant communities, while others, such as Laetoli, lack modern counterparts. This suggests that A. afarensis was a eurytopic species that inhabited a variety of ecosystems, including those with and without modern analogs. The co-occurrence of both analog and nonanalog communities in the Pliocene suggests that the transformation toward ungulate communities of modern aspect occurred asynchronously in eastern Africa. • We use multiple proxies to infer diets of ungulates in the Upper Laetolil Beds. • The community is dominated by browsing and mixed-feeding species. • This sets it apart from modern African ungulate communities. • Both analog and nonanalog communities occur in the Pliocene of eastern Africa. • This has implications for the paleobiology of Australopithecus afarensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mixed semi-evergreen forests in lowland central equatorial Africa can contain many elements of secondary vegetation. This raises the question of what factors have determined the current forest composition in this region. Is this forest in the process of succession after natural climatic variation and/or anthropogenic disturbances in the past, or is it a stable forest type? This paper presents a multiproxy palaeoecological analysis of a sedimentary sequence taken from a small sedimentary basin located in logged semi-evergreen lowland forest in northern Congo-Brazzaville which addresses these questions. Analyses undertaken included fossil pollen, geochemical and microscopic charcoal. Geochemical results were interpreted as a proxy for rainfall, and showed that northern Congo has experienced changes in rainfall during the past 2580 years, while microscopic charcoal concentrations indicated increased burning from approximately 1240 cal. yr BP to the present. Analysis of the fossil pollen assemblages showed that although light-demanding taxa were a major constituent of this forest throughout the sequence, shade-tolerant taxa were more abundant in the forest prior to 1345 cal. yr BP. Increases in aridity and/or droughts after 1345 cal. yr BP, and an increase in fire after 1240 cal. yr BP resulted in a semievergreen forest with abundant pioneers that persisted with minor changes in composition during the last 900 years, even during a period of increased rainfall from 400 to 100 cal. yr BP. These data may guide conservation policy by predicting potential consequences of future climate change and the impact of logging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent developments in agricultural science and technology have the potential to transform the agricultural sector in the developing world. These technological advances constitute key drivers of economic growth and hold great promise for poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Agricultural research and development in Africa is undergoing a major paradigm shift. Until recently, public-sector institutions in Africa worked in isolation to create and disseminate agricultural technologies to smallholder farmers. However, they need access to improved proprietary technologies developed for the most part by the private sector in developed countries. These technologies are currently concentrated in the hands of a few large corporations and are protected by intellectual property rights. The African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) is a new initiative addressing the challenges associated with the access, development, and deployment of agricultural technologies to smallholder farmers in SSA. This article describes the AATF model of facilitating the creation of partnership alliances dedicated to promote and support collaboration among a wide variety of public- and private-sector organizations around shared agricultural research and development goals for the public good. It explains AATF's public–private partnership framework for technology delivery in the light of market failures, institutional constraints, and systemic weaknesses, which impede public-sector organizations from accessing and delivering pro-poor knowledge and technology to farmers. The article provides policy makers, research managers, and business decision makers with an understanding of how access to, and delivery of, proprietary technologies could contribute to food security and the improvement of farmers' livelihoods in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome (WHS) is a progressive paralysis that occurs in approximately 10% of pet African hedgehogs in North America. Clinical signs of WHS begin with mild ataxia, progress to more severe neurologic signs, and ultimately lead to complete paralysis. The onset of WHS commonly occurs under 2 years of age, but can occur at any age. Progression rate is variable, and the majority of hedgehogs are completely paralyzed by 15 months after the onset of clinical signs. WHS can only be definitively diagnosed by post-mortem examination of tissues from the central nervous system. The characteristic histopathology of WHS is vacuolization of the white matter of the brain and spinal cord, and associated neurogenic muscle atrophy. There is no inflammation of the central nervous system associated with WHS. The etiology of WHS is unknown, but pedigree analysis indicates a familial tendency to the disease. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The fossiliferous site of Mahenge, Tanzania, interpreted as a small lake that formed in a kimberlite intrusion, has yielded a vertebrate assemblage that includes scarce frog remains. Radiometric dating of the pipe indicates that the volcanic activity took place at 45·83 ± 0·17 Ma, whereas infilling of the crater was completed in 0·2–1·0 myr after emplacement. The frogs, described herein, are preserved as partially articulated skeletons that represent a new pipine taxon, Singidella latecostata gen. et sp. nov. A parsimony analysis of fossil and extant pipoid frogs indicates that Singidella is more closely related to African Hymenochirus and Pseudhymenochirus than to South American Pipa. It also provides weak support for the sister-group relationship of Singidella and the bizarre Late Cretaceous Pachycentrata taqueti (replacement name for Pachybatrachus taqueti) from Niger, although the incomplete preservation of Pachycentrata precludes thorough comparisons. This record indicates that prior to the rifting in the Miocene the distribution of pipines extended into eastern Africa where they do not occur today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]