People Of African Origin Research Articles

The African Liver Tissue Biorepository Consortium: Capacitating Population-Appropriate Drug Metabolism, Pharmacokinetics, and Pharmacogenetics Research in Drug Discovery and Development.

Pharmaceutical companies subject all new molecular entities to a series of in vitro metabolic characterizations that guide the selection and/or design of compounds predicted to have favorable pharmacokinetic properties in humans. Current drug metabolism research is based on liver tissue predominantly obtained from people of European origin, with limited access to tissue from people of African origin. Given the interindividual and interpopulation genomic variability in genes encoding drug-metabolizing enzymes, efficacy and safety of some drugs are poorly predicted for African populations. To address this gap, we have established the first comprehensive liver tissue biorepository inclusive of people of African origin. The African Liver Tissue Biorepository Consortium currently includes three institutions in South Africa and one in Zimbabwe, with plans to expand to other African countries. The program has collected 67 liver samples as of July 2023. DNA from the donors was genotyped for 120 variants in 46 pharmacogenes and revealed variants that are uniquely found in African populations, including the low-activity, African-specific CYP2C9*5 and *8 variants relevant to the metabolism of diclofenac. Larger liver tissue samples were used to isolate primary human hepatocytes. Viability of the hepatocytes and microsomal fractions was demonstrated by the activity of selected cytochrome P450s. This resource will be used to ensure the safety and efficacy of existing and new drugs in African populations. This will be done by characterizing compounds for properties such as drug clearance, metabolite and enzyme identification, and drug-drug and drug-gene interactions. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Standard optimization of the drug metabolism of new molecular entities in the pharmaceutical industry uses subcellular fractions such as microsomes and isolated primary hepatocytes, being done mainly with tissue from donors of European origin. Pharmacogenetics research has shown that variants in genes coding for drug-metabolizing enzymes have interindividual and interpopulation differences. We established an African liver tissue biorepository that will be useful in ensuring drug discovery and development research takes into account drug responses in people of African origin.

Introduction: African International Migration to the West: Insights from Canada, Australia and Nigeria

Introduction: African International Migration to the West: Insights from Canada, Australia and Nigeria

Afrofuturism and Quest for Black Redemption in Nnedi Okorafor’s The Book of Phoenix

Nnedi Okorafor’s The Book of Phoenix follows the trajectory of many Afrofuturist texts in the exploration of the Black fortunes in the contested futuristic space. Using science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction, Okorafor appropriate futuristic space as a locale for negotiating the redemption of black bodies. She also contextualises the experiences of Africans or people of African origin in known world history. This, apparently, show that the futuristic space is neither detached from the past nor the contemporary period but rather it is an opportunity to map an optimistic future through a keen reappraisal of history from an Afrocentric perspective. This article uses a close reading of Nnedi Okorafor’s novel The Book of Phoenix to examine how prosthetically enhanced future is appropriated to re-enact the black struggle for redemption and relevance in the face of ruthless oppression through exploitation, dehumanisation, and slavery. The analysis is also guided by postulations of some prominent Afrofuturists like Mark Dery and Ytasha L. Womack. Data has been analysed using content and thematic analysis. This article finds that Afrofuturism can indeed portend optimism for black people in the sense that it utilises futuristic space to reconstruct the past and contemporary tribulations facing the black people in order to implement an ultimate solution and initiate the process of redemption. It can thus be concluded that The Book of Phoenix indeed lives up to Afrofuturist and Afro-optimist spirit by not only illuminating black challenges but also highlighting positive aspects of blackness like strength, resilience, humanity, and longevity. This article could benefit scholars in the field of postcolonial and diasporic studies by exposing the complex and dynamic nature of race, exploitation, and technology. It benefits the African/ Afro-diasporic literary studies as Afrofuturism is creating an impact in the domain of sci-fi which has traditionally been dominated by the West

Nowi Portugalczycy? Afrodescendentes i ich miejsce w społeczeństwie

THE ‘NEW PORTUGUESE’? AFRODESCENDANTS AND THEIR ROLE IN THE SOCIETY The aim of this article is to show the role that representatives of the complex category of Afrodescendants play in contemporary Portuguese society. It is a vast topic, interpretable from different perspectives and covering many issues, such as: hybrid identities and models of integration, educational paths and experiences in the labor market, political agency and civic engagement, activity in the field of culture, art (i.a. their increasingly important role in the music market) or sport. In this work, I refer to selected examples of socio-cultural activity of Afrodescendants within non-governmental organizations, as well as to their activity on the political scene in recent years. The background for the analyses concerning the people of African origins are postcolonial relations and ideas of decolonizing space and memory. An important context is also the International Decade for People of African Descent established by UNESCO (2015-2024) and the impact of this initiative on the emergence of different projects related to Afrodescendants in Portugal.

The haematology of Jamaicans: red cell indices in HbAA, HbAS, HbAC, and HbA-HPFH genotypes.

Based in the parish of Manchester in central Jamaica, the Manchester Project offered free detection of haemoglobin genotype to senior classes in 15 secondary schools between 2008 and 2013. Restricting the database to 15,103 students aged 15.0-19.9years provided an opportunity to examine the red cell characteristics of the different haemoglobin genotypes, including normal (HbAA) in 85.0%, the sickle cell trait (HbAS) in 9.7%, HbC trait (HbAC) in 3.5% and hereditary persistence of foetal haemoglobin (HbA-HPFH) in 0.4%. Compared to the normal HbAA phenotype, HbAS had significantly increased mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), red cell count (RBC), and red cell distribution width (RDW) and decreased mean cell volume (MCV) and mean cell haemoglobin (MCH), these differences being even more marked in HbAC. Compared to HbAA, the HbA-HPFH had significantly increased RDW, but there were no consistent differences in other red cell indices, and there were no significant differences in haematological indices between the two common deletion HPFH variants, HPFH-1 and HPFH-2. Although these changes are unlikely to be clinically significant, they contribute to an understanding of the haematological spectrum of the common haemoglobin genotypes in peoples of African origin.

Lizbona afrykańska

African Lisbon. Difficult Heritage, Postcolonial Relations, and Crosscultural Challenges The aim of this article is to synthetically capture African cultural influences from former colonies and various manifestations of the „African presence” in today’s Lisbon. This „African presence”, in a broad sense, includes a number of phenomena such as the living conditions and customs of the African diaspora in Lisbon, African elements in the cultural and tourist offer of the city, the activities of afrodescendentes (people of African origin) in the area of postcolonial relations, African traces in the topography of the city, and others. African cultural heritage is presented as dissonant, ambivalent, subject to various interpretations, also through the practices of post-memory. To illustrate these issues, I refer to a few examples of artistic projects and initiatives dealing with the topic of postcolonial relations in the Portuguese context.

Serological screening and genetic analysis of RhCE variants in the Chinese Southern Han donors.

To screen RhCE variants in the Chinese Southern Han donors for molecular genetic analysis. More than hundreds of RhCE variant alleles have been described to resulting in weak and/or partial expression of RhCE antigens, generation of low-prevalence antigens and/or absence of a high-prevalence antigen of Rh system, which mainly reported in the people of African origin. In this study, the serological screening and molecular genetic analysis of RhCE variants were performed in the Chinese Southern Han donors. The blood samples of E(+) donors were preliminarily collected. Then, RhCE antigens of the E(+) samples were further typed by using two sets of monoclonal anti-C, anti-c, anti-e and another anti-E. When weak expression of RhCE antigens was found, direct sequencing for 10 exons of RHCE gene, RH genotyping analysis by using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification, flow cytometric analysis and even cDNA sequencing were performed. A total of 4487 E(+) samples were collected and four samples with weak expression of antigens were detected. RHCE*Ce375G and RHCE*Ce667T variant alleles were identified in two samples with weak expression of e antigen, respectively. But no variant alleles were found in another two samples with weak expression of C antigen. The variant RHCE*Ce375G validated by mRNA sequencing and the deduced RHCE*Ce667T alleles were firstly identified in the Chinese population. The DCE haplotype might account for the weak expression of C antigen in two donors.

Variants of WDR36 in Cameroonian glaucoma patients

In Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG), the most common form of glaucoma in people of African origin, it is established that retinal ganglion cells are lost due to apoptosis.

English

Previous research studies had suggested that low serum calcidiol could lead to the onset of chronic inflammatory conditions (CIC). This study used the dataset of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2006 to investigate whether serum calcidiol can predict CIC. The linear correlation between serum calcidiol and body mass index (BMI) was explored for therapeutic purposes. A point prevalence of serum calcidiol deficiency was 84.0% in each CIC group. People of African origin were eleven times more likely to suffer from vitamin-D deficiency (crude ORc=10.57[7.98-13.99]). Linear regression elicited strong negative correlation between calcidiol and C-reactive protein (CRP) after adjustment (R2=0.33; r=-0.57; p<0.001). Logistic regression showed non-significant association between calcidiol and CIC after adjustment ORa=1.16[0.93-1.44], 1.03[0.81-1.31] and 0.76[0.55-1.05] for asthma, arthritis and malignancy, respectively. Linear regression study showed a strong linear negative correlation between calcidiol and (BMI) after adjustment R2=0.27; r=-0.52; p<0.001. Although serum calcidiol is not an ideal predictor of CIC; however, we cannot completely rule out an association due to the complexity related to the presence of confounding, intermediate, and regulatory factors. Additional findings may suggest the potential for tailoring vitamin-D supplementation to individual’s weight. Key words: Calcidiol, NHANES 2005-2006, chronic inflammatory conditions, C-reactive protein, body max index.

Belgian National Survey on Tinea Capitis: Epidemiological Considerations and Highlight of Terbinafine-Resistant T. mentagrophytes with a Mutation on SQLE Gene.

Background: In this last decade, a huge increase in African anthropophilic strains causing tinea capitis has been observed in Europe. The Belgian National Reference Center for Mycosis (NRC) conducted a surveillance study on tinea capitis in 2018 to learn the profile of circulating dermatophytes. Methods: Belgian laboratories were invited to send all dermatophyte strains isolated from the scalp with epidemiological information. Strain identification was confirmed by ITS (Internal Transcribed Spacer) sequencing. Mutation in the squalene epoxidase (SQLE) gene was screened by PCR. Results: The main population affected by tinea capitis was children from 5–9 years. Males were more affected than females. The majority of the strains were collected in the Brussels area followed by the Liege area. Among known ethnic origins, African people were more affected by tinea capitis than European people. The major aetiological agent was Microsporum audouinii, followed by Trichophyton soudanense. One strain of Trichophyton mentagrophytes has been characterized to have a mutation on the squalene epoxidase gene and to be resistant to terbinafine. Conclusions: African anthropophilic dermatophytes are mainly responsible for tinea capitis in Belgium. People of African origin are most affected by tinea capitis. The monitoring of terbinafine resistance among dermatophytes seems necessary as we have demonstrated the emergence of resistance in T. mentagrophytes.

The importance of the epithelial sodium channel in determining salt sensitivity in people of African origin.

Hypertension is highly prevalent in Black Africans and has been found to be associated with worse blood pressure (BP) control and more cardiovascular disease. Black Africans are more salt sensitive with low renin and aldosterone levels. This can be explained in part by variants in the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) causing an increase in channel activity resulting in sodium and water retention. These variants in the ENaC are increased in the Black African populations presumably due to selective pressure for sodium retention in traditionally low-salt diets. Furthermore, increased endothelial sodium channel activity contributes to the risk of vascular stiffness, which may also result in more difficult to control hypertension. Patients with increased activity of the ENaC are more likely to respond to amiloride (a selective sodium channel antagonist), which has implications for the management of severe and resistant hypertension in Black Africans. A large-scale controlled trial on the use of amiloride compared to usual care is warranted in Blacks with severe or resistant hypertension.

Management Strategies and Satisfaction Levels in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease: Interim Results from the International Sickle Cell World Assessment Survey (SWAY)

Management Strategies and Satisfaction Levels in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease: Interim Results from the International Sickle Cell World Assessment Survey (SWAY)

An Ethics of Discomfort

This essay traces the evolution of Katherine Dunham’s relationship with Haiti through archival research and a consideration of her 1969 ethnographic memoir, Island Possessed. It argues that primitivist discourses framing Vodou as an instinctive capacity latent in all people of African origins provided interwar black artists such as Dunham with a tantalizing possibility of Pan-African solidarity through which they could mobilize their desire for connection with an obscured past and an imagined community in the present. When Dunham found her 1930s fieldwork inevitably run aground on the wall of cultural difference, however, her initial feelings of discomfort in Haiti transformed her writing into an interrogation of the supposedly innate and homogeneous nature of blackness. The language and praxis of Vodou proved flexible enough to provide her with the vocabulary to articulate a more nuanced version of diasporic blackness beyond her preconceived notions of an easy or automatic alliance between all black people.

"Molecular analysis of the rare S-s- red blood cell phenotype in blood donors and patients in south-east Brazil".

The rare S-s- phenotype has two main molecular backgrounds. GYPB deletions give rise to the S-s-U- phenotype, which loses the expression of the U antigen, while variant GYPB alleles usually lead to the S-s-U+var phenotype, which express a variant U antigen. The S-s- phenotype is typically found in people of African origin and represents a challenge in transfusion sets, especially when S-s- patients develop anti-U. Molecular analysis is the most reliable method for determining U antigen status. We studied the molecular basis of the S-s- phenotype in donors and patients at Regional Blood Center of Ribeirão Preto. Five patients and 25 donors with the S-s- phenotype were investigated through real-time PCR for the GYPB*S/s polymorphism, followed by an allele-specific/RFLP-PCR for GYPB deletion (GYPB*Null) and for its main variants: GYPB*P2 and GYPB*NY. DNA sequencing was conducted in one sample. Two samples were heterozygous GYPB*P2/GYPB*NY, eight were homozygous/hemizygous for GYPB*P2 and 19 samples were homozygous for GYPB*Null. A hybrid gene (GYPB-E-B.Ros) was found in one sample after discrepant results in the initial tests. GYPB deletion is the main mechanism responsible for the S-s- phenotype in our donors and patients. It is essential to evaluate the main GYPB variant alleles when genotyping in order to obtain the correct prediction of the phenotype. Hybrid genes lead to discrepancies between genotype and phenotype and may not be detected by conventional molecular assays.

Evaluation of agreement between hemoglobin A1c, fasting glucose, and fructosamine in Senegalese individuals with and without sickle-cell trait.

Fasting glucose (FG) and glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) perform sub-optimally in people of African origin, especially in individuals with sickle-cell trait (SCT). The purpose of this study was to compare the relationships between HbA1c, FG, and fructosamine in individuals from Senegal with and without SCT. HbA1c, FG, and fructosamine were measured in 203 adults from Senegal (100 control: 45 with type 2 diabetes (T2D); 103 SCT: 51 with T2D). Significant, positive correlations were observed between HbA1c and FG, fructosamine and FG, and fructosamine and HbA1c in both groups. The limits of agreement were inappropriately large in both groups for the Bland-Altman plots of HbA1c and FG (control: -95.97 to 83.97%; SCT: -115.9 to 91.52%), fructosamine and FG (control: -100.6 to 99.89%; SCT: -105.6 to 100.6%), and fructosamine and HbA1c (control: -52.03 to 38.98%; SCT: -88.04 to 71.41%). In both groups, the greatest proportion of subjects were considered above the clinical cut-point for hyperglycemia when fructosamine was used as the criterion (control: 33%; SCT: 44.6%), and the lowest percentage of subjects were classified as over the clinical cut-point when HbA1c was used as the criterion (control: 21%; SCT: 27.7%).Substantial disparities between HbA1c, FG, and fructosamine were observed in both groups, and these differences were exaggerated in the SCT group. Therefore, these three biomarkers should not be considered to be interchangeable measures of glycemic control. These biomarkers should be used thoughtfully, and special care should be taken when using them in individuals with SCT.

Necessity of Combined Spinal Epidural Technique Duringopen Abdominal Myomectomy for Huge Uterine Fibroids

Background: Open abdominal myomectomy is commonly done to remove uterine fibroids which plague several Africans and people of African origin especially at the prime of their reproductive careers. Various anaesthetic techniques have been described for this surgical procedure. Some of the techniques have disadvantages.
 Objective: The aim of this study was to demonstrate the necessity and safety of the combined spinal epidural technique during open abdominal myomectomy for huge uterine fibroids.
 Methodology. A 5 years prospective study of 100 women with huge uterine fibroids, who had open abdominal myomectomy with combined spinal epidural (CSE) technique at Nimley Medical Consultants hospital, Kelsey Harrison hospital and the University of Port-Harcourtteaching hospital, was done. Data collected were analyzed with statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 17.0.P value < 0.05 was regarded as statistically significant.
 Results. The mean age of the women was 32.53 ± 0.66 years. The mean fibroid size was 30.15 ± 0.68 weeks and the mean surgical duration was 178 .98 ±3.31 minutes. The epidural component of the CSE was activated after a meantime of 106.15±3.22minutes from the initiation of spinal anaesthesia at a mean numeric pain rating score (NRS) of ? 3cm. The rate of perioperative complications was low.
 Conclusion. Combined spinal epidural technique is a safe and necessary technique with relatively low rate of perioperative complications when used during open abdominal myomectomy for commonly found huge African fibroids.

Necessity of combined spinal epidural technique duringopen abdominal myomectomy for huge uterine fibroids

Background: Open abdominal myomectomy is commonly done to remove uterine fibroids which plague several Africans and people of African origin especially at the prime of their reproductive careers. Various anaesthetic techniques have been described for this surgical procedure. Some of the techniques have disadvantages.
 Objective: The aim of this study was to demonstrate the necessity and safety of the combined spinal epidural technique during open abdominal myomectomy for huge uterine fibroids. Methodology. A 5 years prospective study of 100 women with huge uterine fibroids, who had open abdominal myomectomy with combined spinalepidural (CSE) technique at Nimley Medical Consultants hospital, Kelsey Harrison hospital and the University of Port-Harcourtteaching hospital, was done. Data collected were analyzed with statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 17.0.P value < 0.05 was regarded as statistically significant.
 Results. The mean age of the women was 32.53 ± 0.66 years. The mean fibroid size was 30.15 ± 0.68 weeks and the mean surgical duration was 178 .98 ± 3.31 minutes. The epidural component of the CSE was activated after a mean time of 106.15 ± 3.22minutes from the initiation of spinal anaesthesia at a mean numeric pain rating score (NRS) of > 3cm. The rate of perioperative complications was low.
 Conclusion. Combined spinal epidural technique is a safe and necessary technique with relatively low rate of perioperative complications when used during open abdominal myomectomy for commonly found huge African fibroids.

How to think the world? Achille Mbembe on race, democracy and the African role in global thought

How to think the world? Achille Mbembe on race, democracy and the African role in global thought

Bound Together?

Abstract This introduction reviews the historiographical trajectory of the “slave community” and “resistance” paradigms and argues that the assumption of group solidarity underpinning them continues to inform much of the current-day scholarship on slaves and free people of African descent in the hemispheric Americas. After briefly reviewing the four contributions to this journal issue, this article proposes as an alternative the “unsentimental approach” to slavery studies and points to a number of recent publications that collectively stand as a harbinger of this historiographical seachange, one that does not shy away from evidence of economically exploitative slaveholding among free people of African origin, intra-slave violence, or alliances that linked enslaved and free people of African descent to other groups.

TERRITORY OF THE MARACATUS-NAÇÃO OF PERNAMBUCO: PRELIMINARY INTERPRETATION

The “Maracatu-Nação” is an important cultural expression found in Pernambuco, Brasil, in the cities of Recife, Olinda, Jaboatão dos Guararapes and Igarassu. It was creatade by people of African origin from the elections and coronations of Kings and Queens chosen from lay brotherhoods that brought together a wide ethnic diversity between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries.