ABSTRACT In South African (and other) English classrooms, students are expected to study poetry. However, students often find this to be both challenging and of little relevance to their lives. To ameliorate this challenge, we used a qualitative, interpretive action research study, using popular music, to support the study of poetry. This paper considers students’ gendered responses in cycle five of the study where the song Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys was used to study the poem Women by Alice Walker. Findings generated from written work, class discussions, and a research journal indicate that, although the song was a suitable choice to support the teaching of the poem, male and female students reflected contrasting responses and emotions. Some males felt marginalised, whilst most females felt inspired and empowered. It became clear that studying poetry (or any literary genre) needs to be underpinned by inclusion and openness to diverse voices.

Despite increasing research on gender-based violence (GBV) in higher education, a critical gap persists in understanding GBV prevention strategies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This scoping review aims to identify and synthesize existing evidence on GBV prevention interventions in higher education institutions within LMICs. A scoping review was conducted following Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines and reported following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews guidelines, identifying 14 manuscripts across LMIC higher education contexts. The review included 14 manuscripts published between 2017 and 2023, detailing ten distinct interventions. Studies were conducted in sub-Saharan Africa (n = 7), East Asia (n = 4), South Asia (n = 2), and South America (n = 1). Interventions focused on primary and secondary prevention. No study focused on tertiary prevention. Most of the studies aimed to pilot test and develop interventions, with only one study employing a randomized controlled trial. The scope of the interventions encompassed participants' education about gender inequalities, consent, healthy relationships, and bystander behavior. The most consistent findings included improved knowledge, attitudes, and bystander self-efficacy. Current GBV prevention interventions in higher education institutions within LMICs are still evolving, revealing significant gaps in long-term efficacy and survivor support. These findings highlight the necessity for future culturally grounded, sustainable interventions and rigorous evaluation of long-term impact.

Tuberculosis is once again the most fatal global infectious disease and has killed many more humans than any other pathogen. Despite the identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) over 140 years ago, we have yet to control the epidemic. A central issue is the complexity of the host-pathogen interaction, with multiple underlying pathways leading to tuberculosis disease. This intricate relationship stems from the prolonged co-evolution of the pathogen with humans, resulting in diverse immunological processes leading to tuberculosis disease. Conversely, Mtb exposure may give a survival advantage through innate immune training, thereby providing selective pressure over millennia. Emerging methodologies, such as single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, offer a golden opportunity to understand the immunology unpinning this host-pathogen interaction at unprecedented resolution. However, these analyses will be fundamentally flawed if they do not consider the intricacies of human Mtb infection. Here, we propose that attempts to find single immunological mechanisms leading to tuberculosis are hindering progress, and we must embrace the complexity of multiple paths to disease to allow the systems biology era to deliver transformative solutions.

Salinity is a major abiotic stressor limiting the productivity of legume crops, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea L.), a climate-resilient legume, holds great promise for food and nutritional security but remains underutilized and poorly studied under saline conditions. This study investigated the impact of magnesium nitrate Mg(NO₃)₂ seed priming on the morphological, physiological, and biochemical responses of two Bambara groundnut genotypes (BGN-14 and BGN-25) under salinity stress. Seeds were primed with 0.03% Mg(NO₃)₂ and exposed to 200 mM NaCl, with treatments including "control", "primed", "salt-stressed", and "primed + salt" conditions. The results revealed that salinity significantly impaired plant growth, reduced relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll and carotenoid levels, and increased oxidative damage through superoxide radical accumulation and cell death. However, Mg(NO₃)₂ priming significantly enhanced growth parameters, photosynthetic pigment concentration, water retention, and antioxidant activity, particularly in the "primed + salt" treatment. Notably, BGN-14 exhibited greater photosynthetic resilience and root-level antioxidant activity, while BGN-25 showed superior water conservation and shoot-based antioxidant responses. The study highlights nitrate priming as a low-cost, effective strategy to mitigate salinity-induced damage in Bambara groundnut, with genotype-specific mechanisms contributing to stress tolerance. The results provide a foundation for integrating Mg(NO₃)₂ seed priming into salinity management strategies aimed at improving the growth performance and stress resilience of Bambara groundnut in salt-affected agroecosystems.

The current global headwinds of trade wars triggered by the imposition of tariffs have rattled the geopolitical landscape, with policymakers having to repurpose their leadership acumen in the context of innovation within the public sector. The contemporary era of the 5th Industrial Revolution, characterised by fast-advancing innovative technologies, has spurred the leaders to take the public spaces to the forefront and centre of their decision-making. These uncertainties and predictabilities have exerted more pressure on policy-makers and authorities to prioritise their leadership and innovative prowess to embrace the new normal of e-commerce, big data and cloud computing pervasiveness in the organisational environment. The study examined the collaboration of the transformational leadership perspective within the demands and challenges of the innovation culture and corresponding permutations within the public sector for the optimisation and maximisation of public value and social good. The study adopted an interpretivist research philosophy predicated on the inductive solicitation of the participants' inputs based on theoretical insights, expertise and experiences within the challenges juxtaposing leadership and innovation assimilation. A rigorous analysis of the extraction of contributions within the study findings revealed unbalanced nuances of innovation as an integral organisational inevitable culture, processes and intervention which should be led by the decision-makers and practitioners. The implications indicate the urgent priority for the public sector entities to invest in innovations in infrastructure, facilities and software coupled with capabilities to drive this integral deliverable. Furthermore, findings presented that the adopted innovations demonstrated to be beneficial in terms of advancing service delivery expectations.

BackgroundThe prevalence of diabetes mellitus is increasing in sub-Saharan Africa. Data on the prevalence of diabetes in Zimbabwe are scarce, and the etiologic types of diabetes are not well characterized. Classification of diabetes in Zimbabwe relies on clinical criteria at the time of diagnosis, and more detailed phenotype data are lacking. Furthermore, the prevalence of complications at diagnosis of diabetes and the incidence of complications during follow-up are not well documented in Zimbabwe.ObjectiveThe primary aim of this study is to characterize the etiological types of diabetes in adult and adolescent patients with newly diagnosed diabetes in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The secondary objectives are to determine the prevalence of chronic complications of diabetes among adult and adolescent patients with newly diagnosed diabetes and to determine the incidence and risk factors for the development of diabetes complications after a 2-year follow-up in patients with type 2 diabetes who are free of complications at baseline.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional and prospective observational study. The cross-sectional (phase 1) study was conducted in patients presenting for the first time to the diabetes service at 2 referral hospitals and 2 diabetes clinics in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Data collected from consenting participants included demographic data, social and medical history, and clinical examination. Laboratory tests included serum urea, creatinine and electrolytes, liver function tests, lipids, plasma glucose, glycated hemoglobin, serum C-peptide, spot urine (dipstick, albumin, and creatinine), and β-cell antibodies (antiglutamic acid decarboxylase, anti-islet antigen, anti-insulin antibodies, anti-islet cell antibodies, and antizinc transporter 8 antibodies). All patients had retinal photography, a 12-lead electrocardiograph, and measurement of carotid intima-media thickness and arterial stiffness. Determination of the incidence of diabetes complications will be conducted through a 2-year follow-up (encompassing 6-mo review) of a subgroup of patients with type 2 diabetes and no diabetes complications at the time of enrollment. At each 6-month visit, in addition to all variables collected at baseline, data on diabetes management and drug therapy compliance will be obtained.ResultsData collection commenced in October 2021, with 323 participants recruited. Data analysis for phase 1 is ongoing. The study will be completed in October 2026. The results will describe the spectrum of diabetes and complications found at diagnosis (phase 1) and the incidence and risk factors associated with the development of complications of diabetes (phase 2).ConclusionsThe study will provide data on etiologic types of diabetes in patients presenting to health facilities in urban centers in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. In addition, data on diabetes complications at the time of diagnosis as well as incident complications over 2 years of follow-up will be compared with data from other studies. The data will be used to inform management strategies for patients diagnosed with diabetes in Zimbabwe.

Technology, innovation, and economic shocks have transformed global financial markets. The latest global health pandemic has been compared to the 2008 global financial crisis, as investors, lawmakers, and regulators worldwide worried about economic collapse. Johannesburg Stock Exchange is Africa's largest. The JSE names SIFIs, whose failure would threaten SA's economy. Uncertainty increases failure risk, as seen in the GFC and COVID-19. This study examined how economic shocks affected investor confidence in South Africa's growing financial market, the JSE 15 Index. Analysis of data from January 1999 to December 2023 examined short- and long-term stock market impacts, the role of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) in stability, and investor conduct during crises. The two economic shocks' effects on JSE 15 index stock prices were examined using Autoregressive Distributed Lags (ARDL) and correlation analysis. ARDL determines short- and long-term macroeconomic cointegration. Three macroeconomic variables—interest rates (T-Bills), inflation (CPI), and real effective exchange rate (REER)—are used to track their fluctuation during crises. The analysis shows a shift in investor confidence reflected in a considerable decline in financial performance throughout the crisis. As investors' risk tolerance differs, diversification benefits made abnormal returns unimportant. SARB's monetary and fiscal policies mitigated the pandemic. South African investors were also wary due to internal issues. The study shows that global commodity prices and currency rate volatility affect investor confidence more than domestic policy in emerging economies, adding to behavioural finance.

To explore the association of nutrition education and exercise with cardiometabolic health risk factors among overweight and obese adolescents. This quasi-experimental study utilised a pretest-posttest design to evaluate changes in body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, and fasting biochemical markers [(glucose, insulin, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C); low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C); triglycerides, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c); homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)] among 41 participants. The intervention combined supervised aerobic and resistance exercise sessions thrice weekly with a weekly nutrition education session over 10 weeks. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences was used for data analysis, with p<0.05 indicating statistical significance. Post-intervention, males had lower triglyceride (p=0.045) and LDL-C concentrations (p=0.043). In female adolescents, the intervention reduced diastolic blood pressure (p=0.045), LDL-C (p=0.012), insulin (p<0.001), and HOMA-IR concentrations (p=0.001). The intervention was a significant predictor of reduced LDL-C (p=0.003), HOMA-IR (p=0.010), blood glucose concentrations (p=0.020), and HbA1c levels (p=0.011). The improvements in CMD risk factors suggest potential long-term benefits supporting the usefulness of such an intervention. However, divergent sex-specific responses to the intervention underscore the importance of developing sex-specific intervention programs.

Tuberculosis (TB) typically causes lung destruction and fibrosis, leading to ∼1.3 million deaths annually. The cellular drivers of human TB immunopathology remain poorly defined. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics on lung tissues from TB-infected and TB-negative individuals, identifying 30 distinct immune, parenchymal, and stromal cell subsets. Several were linked to TB pathology and corroborated through immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, and independent human datasets. Fibroblasts were identified as major drivers in both active TB granuloma and TB-diseased lung tissue. In particular, the MMP1+CXCL5+ fibroblast subset, expressing a myofibroblast-like gene signature, was associated with severe disease and higher bacterial burden in nonhuman primate granulomas. Network analyses revealed cross talk between MMP1+CXCL5+ fibroblasts and SPP1+ macrophages within the granuloma cuff, which has been reported in other disease contexts, and may play an important role in TB immunopathology. Our findings highlight previously unappreciated cell populations and potential targets for novel TB therapies.