scholarly journals Authorship Patterns in Cancer Genomics Publications Across Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 747-755
Author(s):  
Solomon O. Rotimi ◽  
Oluwakemi A. Rotimi ◽  
Bodour Salhia
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Genomics ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Cancer Control ◽  
Research Capacity ◽  
The United States ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The North ◽  
Genomics Research ◽  
African Populations ◽  
Sub Saharan

PURPOSE Authorship is a proxy indicator of research capacity. Understanding the research capacity is imperative for developing population-specific cancer control strategies. This is particularly apropos for African nations, where mortality from cancer is projected to surpass that from infectious disease and the populations are critically under-represented in cancer and genomics studies. Here, we present an analysis and discussion of the patterns of authorship in Africa as they pertain to cancer genomics research across African countries. METHODS PubMed metadata of relevant cancer genomics peer-reviewed publications on African populations, published between January 1, 1990, and December 31, 2019, were retrieved and analyzed for patterns of authorship affiliation using R packages, RISmed, and Pubmed.mineR. RESULTS The data showed that only 0.016% (n = 375) of cancer publications globally were on cancer genomics of African people. More than 50% of the first and last authors of these publications originated from the North African countries of Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, and Algeria. South Africa (13.6% and 12.7%) and Nigeria (2.2% and 1.9%) were the Sub-Saharan African countries most represented by first and last authorship positions, respectively. The United States contributed 12.6% of first and last authored papers, and nearly 50% of all African countries had no contributing author for the publications we reviewed. CONCLUSION This study highlights and brings awareness to the paucity of cancer genomics research on African populations and by African authors and identifies a need for concerted efforts to encourage and enable more research in Africa, needed for achieving global equity in cancer outcomes.

Genomics and bioinformatics capacity in Africa: no continent is left behind

Genome ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Gerald Mboowa ◽  
Ivan Sserwadda ◽  
Dickson Aruhomukama
Keyword(s):  
Research Capacity ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Institutes Of Health ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Research Organizations ◽  
Genomics Research ◽  
African Populations ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

Despite the poor genomics research capacity in Africa, efforts have been made to empower African scientists to get involved in genomics research, particularly that involving African populations. As part of the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) Consortium, an initiative was set to make genomics research in Africa an African endeavor and was developed through funding from the United States’ National Institutes of Health Common Fund and the Wellcome Trust. H3Africa is intended to encourage a contemporary research approach by African investigators and to stimulate the study of genomic and environmental determinants of common diseases. The goal of these endeavors is to improve the health of African populations. To build capacity for bioinformatics and genomics research, organizations such as the African Society for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology have been established. In this article, we discuss the current status of the bioinformatics infrastructure in Africa as well as the training challenges and opportunities.

scholarly journals The state of cancer in Meru, Kenya: a retrospective study

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 167
Author(s):  
Francis Kobia ◽  
Jesse Gitaka ◽  
Francis Makokha ◽  
Moses Kamita ◽  
Joshua Kibera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Retrospective Study ◽  
Stomach Cancer ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Cancer Control ◽  
Cancer Registries ◽  
The State ◽  
Cancer Type ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Low Middle Income Countries ◽  
Cancer Rates

Background: It is projected that by 2030, 70% of all cancer related deaths will occur in low-middle income countries. However, data on the state of cancer in most African countries is scanty. Cancer estimates for Kenya are based on the Nairobi and Eldoret cancer registries, leaving most parts of the country unrepresented. Lacking national coverage, these data do not accurately reflect Kenya’s cancer burden. The paucity of reliable data impedes formulation of effective cancer control strategies and cancer research prioritization. Here, we report the findings of a retrospective study of the cancer state in Meru County, Kenya. Methods: A retrospective analysis of patient files at Meru hospice was carried out. 2349 cancer cases seen at the Meru hospice between 2003 and 2018 were analyzed. Data abstracted from the records included patient age, gender and cancer type. The abstracted data was analyzed by descriptive statistics. Results: Our results indicate that cancer is almost evenly distributed across genders, with men accounting for 49% and women 51%. Stomach cancer rates are strikingly elevated and equal to those in countries with the highest stomach cancer rates globally – making it the commonest cancer in this region (14%). Among men, the most common cancers affect the prostate (18%), stomach (17%), esophagus (14%), head & neck (12%), liver (8%) and colorectum (5%). Among women, the commonest are cancers of the breast (22%), cervix (20%), stomach (11%), esophagus (8%), head & neck (6%) and liver (5%). Breast cancer occurs at a notably early age, with 20% of those affected aged below 40. Lung cancer rates are notably low in this region (1.3%) relative to world estimates. Conclusion: Cancer distribution in Meru is nearly even between sexes. Our analysis suggests that the Meru region is a stomach cancer hotspot and that it also experiences elevated esophageal cancer levels.

Perspectives from Four Stages of Development

2019 ◽  
pp. 159-178
Author(s):  
Eleanor M. Fox ◽  
Mor Bakhoum
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Gold Standard ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
The European Union ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Developed Countries

This chapter identifies four clusters of nations based on state of development, in order to highlight significant qualitative differences that may call for different law and policies. The first cluster comprises the least developed sub-Saharan African countries with the most resource-challenged competition authorities, such as Benin and Togo. The second cluster compromises nations that have advanced economically to a perceptibly higher level. The third cluster is a “group” of one—South Africa. With all of its challenges, the South African competition regime is as close to a gold standard as there is in sub-Saharan Africa. Finally, for comparison, the fourth cluster comprises the developed countries, led in particular by the European Union and the United States. These nations have open economies, fairly robust markets, good infrastructure, and good institutions. The chapter proceeds to identify, from the point of view of each of the clusters, the most fitting competition framework nationally and globally. The chapter proposes how the divergences can be brought into sympathy.

No Longer Overlooked and Undervalued? The Evolving Dynamics of Endogenous Educational Research in Sub-Saharan Africa

2006 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
RICHARD MACLURE
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
Educational Research ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Research Capacity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Research Networks ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Local Research

Multilateral donors like the World Bank and bilateral agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the British Department for International Development exert a great deal of influence in international educational development — particularly in sub-Saharan Africa — both in the programs they fund and the types of research they engage in. In this article, Richard Maclure investigates educational research in Africa and juxtaposes research done by large, exogenous, Western, results-oriented organizations with research performed by smaller, endogenous, local researchers aided by local research networks. Maclure argues convincingly that research that falls into the exogenous "donor-control" paradigm far too often is irrelevant to the African educational policy context and does little to develop local research capacity. The cases of two African research networks — the Educational Research Network of West and Central Africa and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa—are presented as exemplars of organizations that promote an alternative type of research that is endogenous, relevant to policy and the process of policymaking, and controlled by Africans. Maclure concludes with a call for increased support for and development of these types of networks, and for the development of the long-term solution to educational research in Africa — the university.

scholarly journals Schistosomiasis and cancer: Experience from a zonal hospital in Tanzania and opportunities for prevention

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Lodhia ◽  
Alex Mremi ◽  
Jeremia J Pyuza ◽  
Nicholas Bartholomeo ◽  
Ayesiga M Herman
Keyword(s):  
Case Series ◽  
Cancer Control ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Control Programs ◽  
Treatment Services ◽  
Resource Setting ◽  
Low Resource Setting ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Cancer Experience

Abstract Schistosomiasis infection is endemic in many parts of Tanzania. The morbidity due to Schistosomiasis and its association with cancer remains to be of great concern and poses greater challenge that needs to be assessed. Cancer is an increasing public health problem in most sub-Saharan African countries, and yet, cancer control programs and the provision of early detection and treatment services are limited despite this increasing burden. This article aims to discuss case series of patients diagnosed with urinary bladder, prostate and colorectal cancer together with Schistosoma infection. We further highlight the opportunities for combating new Schistosomiasis infection, a potential to reduce its oncological complications particularly in low-resource setting.

Challenging the Orthodoxy: African Development in the Age of Openness

2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamee Moudud ◽  
Karl Botchway
Keyword(s):  
Trade Openness ◽  
Developmental State ◽  
Policy Position ◽  
Income Convergence ◽  
African Countries ◽  
African Development ◽  
The North ◽  
Empirical Level ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sub Saharan

AbstractDoes trade openness necessarily lead to income convergence between countries in the North and South and hence facilitates social development? This paper challenges this claim with regards to African development in the age of neo-liberalism. The paper argues that a one-sided reading of the history of an early phase of globalization by advocates of neo-liberalism seems to have turned trade openness into a mantra for African development. Furthermore the paper challenges the rhetoric of competitiveness that underpins the rationale for neo-liberalism by critiquing the neoclassical model of competition. The neo-liberal policy position, as the paper suggests is problematic at an empirical level also. In a test for convergence for eleven sub-Saharan African countries described as good adjusters by advocates of trade openness, the paper shows that a straightforward openness per se guarantees nothing as far their growth rates are concerned. Rather this paper suggests that the role of the “developmental state” needs to be brought back in order to facilitate the international competitiveness of African countries. It will be argued that such a role for the developmental state rests on a very different conceptualization of the nature of capitalist competition and growth. In the final instance, then, we suggest the need for building a theory of the developmental state that rests on non-neoclassical macro- and micro-foundations.

Proximity and Power Factors in Western Coverage of the Sub-Saharan AIDS Crisis

2003 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Alley Swain
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
New York Times ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Aids Crisis ◽  
World Report ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Relationship

This content analysis explores the relationship between proximity/power status factors and news coverage of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa in the elite press of the United States and Britain. Coverage from six publications— Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, The Economist, New York Times, and London Times—was compared with reported AIDS incidence in the hardest-hit African countries over two decades. AIDS coverage was related to year of publication, country of origin, and former colony status. Strongest predictors of coverage included military spending, scientific research, GDP, GNP, population, government type, and number of highways. Proximity and power status factors may mediate the flow of capital (information, money, and goods) between dominant and dependent nations.

scholarly journals Aids in Africa

Afrika Focus ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 3 (3-4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Goubau ◽  
Ignace Surmont ◽  
Peter Piot
Keyword(s):  
Biological Effects ◽  
The United States ◽  
Deficiency Syndrome ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Clinical Image ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Aids Epidemic ◽  
Keywords Aids ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Characteristic Features

AIDS (Acquired Immunization Deficiency Syndrome), first described in I 9 8 I in the United States, is at present ascertained on every continent. Since its description, our knowledge about AIDS has advanced with giant steps, with regard to its causal agent, clinical image, biological effects and epidemiology. Although it is everywhere the same disease, its epidemiology and impact on society vary from one continent to another depending on the human, social and economic conditions of the countries which are affected. The first African cases were noticed in 1983. Since then the presence of AIDS has been confirmed in numerous sub-Saharan African countries. Our goal is to present here some characteristic features of the AIDS-epidemic in Africa and to offer some points of reflection for future action. KEYWORDS : AIDS, Africa, diagnostics, epidemiology, treatment 

Antibiotics resistance in Sub Saharan Africa; literature review from 2010 – 2017

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 35-45
Author(s):  
A. Balala ◽  
T.G. Huong ◽  
S.G. Fenwick
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Antibiotic Use ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotics Resistance ◽  
Published Data ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Sub Saharan

Antibiotics saves millions of lives in human and animal from bacterial infections, but resistance has been occurred and spreading borderless which pose health and economic problems. This study aimed to describe epidemiology (prevalence) of antibiotic resistant bacteria in human and animals and describing risk factors with strategic control efforts in Sub-Sahara Africa countries. Total 72 articles published from 2010 to 2017 were reviewed which reported on bacterium resistance to commonly-used antibiotics of different groups. Majority of isolated bacteria were highly resistant to b-lactams, Tetracycline and Sulphonamide, moderate resistant to Gentamycine and Aminoglycoside with low resistant to cephalosporin and quinolones for bacteria isolated from human while isolates from animal have high resistance to majority of antibiotic. High antibiotic resistant was associated by presence of weak/no regulation and irrational antibiotics use in Animal and Human health system, despite there is paucity of published data from central and southern African countries, lack of data sharing among laboratories and presence of few initiatives on control strategies of antimicrobial resistance while most of them are faced by resource limitations (skilled personnel, Equipments and Fund allocation). This study recommend that awareness on rational antibiotic use must be created, strong regulation to limit accessibility of antibiotics over the counter prescription, strengthening laboratory based diagnosis and surveillance, Infection control and prevention in hospitals with strong biosafety and biosecurity in animal farms are crucial. Adoption of “One Health Approach” is very important through multisectoral involvement, information sharing and networking.

Control Strategies for Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) in No-Tillage Cropping Systems

2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron S. Franssen ◽  
James J. Kells
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Application Timing ◽  
The North ◽  
Sequential Treatments ◽  
Common Dandelion

Common dandelion has developed into a troublesome agronomic weed for no-tillage corn and soybean producers in Michigan and throughout the north central region of the United States. Field experiments were conducted on established populations of common dandelion in 2001 to 2002 and 2002 to 2003 to evaluate the effect of preplant and sequential herbicide applications on established populations of common dandelion. Preplant treatments of glyphosate or 2,4-D ester were applied early fall, late fall, early spring, and late spring. For both glyphosate and 2,4-D ester, the fall applications were more effective than the spring applications. Glyphosate at 840 gae/ha was more effective than 2,4-D ester at 1,120 gae/ha at each application timing. A single application of glyphosate or 2,4-D ester applied either in the fall or spring did not provide season-long control of common dandelion. Sequential treatments of glyphosate following preplant applications of either glyphosate or 2,4-D ester provided season-long control of common dandelion.

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