With the objective of clarifying some aspects of the biogeography, phylogeny, and taxonomy of the genus Androcymbium, we sequenced three chloroplastic DNA noncoding regions (trnL intron, trnLtrnF IGS, and trnY-trnD IGS). These data were analyzed with maximum parsimony and the ancestral areas methods following Bremer. Results show that Androcymbium is not monophyletic and that the origin of its ...

Genetic diversity of sub-Saharan African goats was assessed using 19 microsatellite markers. Breeds were sampled from eastern Africa (Maasai, Kigezi, Mubende, North West Highland, Arsi-Bale), southern Africa (Ndebele, Pafuri) and West Africa (West African Dwarf, Maure, Djallonke). European breeds (Grisons Striped, Toggenburg), Asian breeds (Mongolian Cashmere, Bandipur) and a Middle East breed ...

Salinity is a key abiotic property of inland waters; it has a major influence on biotic communities and is affected by many natural and anthropogenic processes. Salinity of inland waters tends to increase with aridity, and biota of inland waters may have evolved greater salt tolerance in more arid regions. Here we compare the sensitivity of stream macroinvertebrate species to salinity from a re...

In humans, the ability to digest lactose, the sugar in milk, declines after weaning because of decreasing levels of the enzyme lactase-phlorizin hydrolase, encoded by LCT. However, some individuals maintain high enzyme amounts and are able to digest lactose into adulthood (i.e., they have the lactase-persistence [LP] trait). It is thought that selection has played a major role in maintaining th...

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem in eastern Europe. Since 1990, the incidence rates of TB have continued to increase in Belarus, the Russian Federation, the Ukraine and the central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Eastern Europe, and in particular the Russian Federation and the Ukraine, also face the public health challenge of an escalating...

Introduction Goats are a particularly valuable livestock species in developing countries because of their ability to utilize many types of forages and tolerate unfavorable climates. Goats play a vital role in the rural economy of many countries in central and eastern Africa (Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, DRC, Congo, Cameroon, CAR, Sudan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Chad, Gabon, and Somalia)....

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is among the most neglected of the tropical diseases, afflicting the poorest of the poor. In eastern Africa, VL causes at least 4000 deaths annually, a loss of approximately 385,000 disability-adjusted life years. Due to the chronicity of underlying causes, it is likely that the caseload will increase in the foreseeable future. While efforts should be pursued to deve...

High rates of infant mortality in Africa continue to be a major public health concern today, despite the fact that most deaths can be prevented from well known, relatively low cost technologies. Using multiple years of DHS from four countries, we estimate the change in the relative risk of death as well as the main contributions to the change in mortality over time. We find significant declines...

The history of Eastern African hominids has been linked to a progressive increase of open grassland during the past 8 million years. This trend was explained by global climatic processes, which do not account for the massive uplift of eastern African topography that occurred during this period. Atmosphere and biosphere simulations quantify the role played by these tectonic events. The reduced t...