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RNA-sequencing in elucidating immune responses to Haemonchus contortus infection infection in small ruminants : systematic review
Ndaba, Bongeka Sylvia; Faber, Erika; Marufu, Munyaradzi Christopher; Pretorius, Alri; Tshilwane, Selaelo Ivy (Wiley, 2025-05)
Haemonchus contortus poses a major threat to small ruminant production in subtropical regions worldwide. Unfortunately, there is growing anthelmintic resistance, and the only licensed vaccine has limitations. This paper aims to review the use of RNA‐sequencing in understanding the immune responses of small ruminants to H. contortus infection, focusing on identifying differentially expressed genes and elucidating key immune pathways associated with resistance and susceptibility. This review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses Statement guidelines and Population, Intervention, Control, and Outcome framework covering publications from January 2015 to December 2023. RNA‐seq identified the activation of key immune pathways, such as Th1/Th2, NK cell, B cell receptor signalling, MAPK, CAMs, and TNF signalling. There was upregulation of a range of PRRs, including TLRs and CLECs, in the resistant sheep, suggesting a crucial role for trained innate immune cells in resistance. However, there are no direct comparisons of TLR and CLEC expression between resistant and susceptible goats. This shows that there is a gap in understanding of the immune response mechanisms in goats. Addressing these knowledge gaps will lead to the development of more effective and sustainable control strategies.
Diversity of haemosporidian parasites in cranes : description of Haemoproteus balearicae and its phylogenetic position within the H. antigonis clade
Chaisi, Mamohale E.; Mabunda, Ndzalama; Gey, Delphine; Modise, Nkitseng Oageng; De Bruyn, Marli; Lécu, Alexis; Laidebeure, Sylvie; Saillier, Anaïs; Thorel, Milan; Iezhova, Tatjana; Valkiunas, Gediminas; Mwale, Monica; Duval, Linda (EDP Open, 2025-10-13)
ENGLISH : Haemosporidian parasites from the genera Haemoproteus, Plasmodium, and Leucocytozoon are significant avian pathogens. This study aimed to identify and characterize these parasites in cranes (family Gruidae), using combined morphological and molecular methods. The results confirmed the presence of Haemoproteus balearicae, redescribed here from Balearica regulorum and associated with cytb lineage hBAREGI210. This lineage, previously assigned to Haemoproteus antigonis, is reassigned to H. balearicae, suggesting possible cryptic speciation within the H. antigonis complex. The findings broaden the known host range and geographic distribution of H. balearicae, detected in captive-born cranes in France and captive cranes housed in conservation facilities in South Africa. Phylogenetic analyses revealed three distinct Haemoproteus clades in Gruidae, corresponding to at least three species, including H. balearicae and lineages representing H. antigonis. These crane-specific parasites may require taxonomic revision as a separate subgenus or genus, pending further studies on their life cycles and vectors. Additionally, several novel cytb lineages of Plasmodium and Leucocytozoon were detected, many unassigned to morphospecies. Notably, the pCATUS05 lineage, a member of the Plasmodium lutzi group previously reported only in the Americas, was detected for the first time in South African cranes, along with Leucocytozoon aff. californicus (lCIAE02), a widespread lineage lacking morphological description. Together, these findings reveal underestimated genetic diversity of haemosporidian parasites in cranes and highlight the importance of combining morphological and molecular data to clarify parasite taxonomy and host associations. This study advances our understanding of avian parasite ecology and systematics, with implications for crane conservation and disease management.
Tuberculosis treatment adherence and associated factors in the Butha-Buthe district, Lesotho : a retrospective cohort study
Rangoanana, Motlatsi; Ngah, Veranyuy; Tamuzi, Jacques Lukenze; Maphalale, Sele; Molete, Mabatho; Ratikoane, Retselisitsoe; Maama, Llang; Fwemba, Isaac; Daramola, Olawande; Ogunrombi, Modupe; Nyasulu, Peter Suwirakwenda (Pan African Medical Journal, 2025-04-02)
INTRODUCTION : Lesotho remains one of the world's 30 high-tuberculosis (TB) burden countries. In Butha-Buthe district, unfavourable TB treatment outcomes were higher than those set forth by the WHO. This study's objective was to evaluate TB treatment adherence and treatment resistance among patients enrolled in the 12 health facilities in Butha-Buthe. METHODS : data were collected from the medical records of patients with sputum smear-positive TB and extra-pulmonary forms of TB between January 2015 and December 2020. Results were presented in frequencies and percentages. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with treatment adherence. RESULTS : among 1,792 patients who were enrolled, 1,320 were included in the study. The overall mean TB treatment adherence rate was estimated at 37.20%. Factors found to be associated with treatment adherence in multivariate analysis were age ≥60 years (aOR: 0.59, 95%CI: 0.54- 0.66; P<0.001), being a mine worker (aOR 1.09, 95%CI: 1.03-1.14; P<0.001), having pulmonary TB (aOR: 1.23, 95%CI: 1.17-1.29, P<0.001), being in the continuation phase of the treatment (aOR 1.38, 95%CI: 1.33, 1.45; P<0.001) and category 2 (aOR 0.93, 95%CI: 0.88-0.99; P = 0.016). Regarding TB contact support, family members (aOR: 1.08, 95%CI: 1.03-1.14; P<0.001), friends (aOR 1.30, 95%CI: 1.19-1.41; P<0.001), spouses (aOR: 1.24, 95%CI 1.16-1.34; P<0.001), and unreported contacts (aOR 1.18, 95%CI: 1.09-1.27; P = 0.015) all showed increased TB adherence. CONCLUSION : the overall adherence to TB therapy was poor in Butha-Buthe district. Lesotho urgently needs district-level strategies to improve TB treatment adherence and reduce treatment resistance.
Die latere Ystertydperk in Suidoos- en Sentraal-Marico
Boeyens, Jan C. A. (University of Pretoria, 2026)
Abstract available on PDF
Evaluating a human-machine student intervention framework in higher education from legacy data
Combrink , Herkulaas Morkel van Eyssen (University of Pretoria, 2026)
This study aims to answer the question: “Can education be abstracted in a framework and conceptually studied for a student intervention process?” To do so, it designs and tests a student intervention framework that uses a systems approach and complexity theory to learn from different student contexts and recommend and apply systemic interventions for students. The framework is based on the assumption that education is a complex system that involves multiple interacting elements, such as students, teachers, curriculum, policies, and resources. The specific interventions and their impact on student success are not assessed in this work, as they depend on the expertise in the education domain. Rather, this work focuses on the framework that can be used to apply and evaluate different contexts and interventions. The study applies complexity theory and systemic intervention theory to understand the lens and the methods for studying the system. It also explains the education system in South Africa as the context of the study. One of the main challenges of the study is data sharing and data handling. To address this challenge, the study generates synthetic data from openly available tabular data and evaluates its conditional interdependence using different machine learning classification tasks. Then, it applies the same methods to a real-world education dataset from the University of the Free State. The study contextualizes the student intervention framework as a multi-armed bandit (MAB) stateless reinforcement learning problem and tests its performance and viability using probabilistic models. The results show that the probabilistic models yield the best results with the minimum required fine-tuning, and that they scale well to the real-world dataset. The results also indicate that the framework is viable for student intervention recommendations within the context of contextual bandits. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications and limitations of the framework, and suggests areas for future research.