Stellenbosch University

Fungal frontiers for sustainability: unlocking the hidden kingdom

Fungi have repeatedly delivered transformative advances across industries, from medicine to food to materials, yet these breakthroughs have emerged from a narrow base of organisms and well-studied systems. Although mycology has taken a big leap forward in the past decades because...

Patterns and drivers of beta diversity of Asteraceae across Africa: A taxonomic and phylogenetic approach

Unravelling the spatial and temporal dynamics of biodiversity is a central goal in ecology and evolutionary biology, requiring an integration of taxonomic and phylogenetic beta-diversity. However, a lack of comprehensive studies at continental scales for major ecologically divers...

Home visits following hospital discharge for families with preterm and low-birthweight infants

RATIONALE: Home visiting programmes are widely used to support families of preterm and low-birthweight (LBW) infants after hospital discharge, yet evidence on their effectiveness is limited and of variable quality, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). A compr...

Old Vines in the Southern Hemisphere: A Review of Their Viticultural, Enological and Cultural Significance

Old vines represent long-lived viticultural systems in which genetic resources, environmental adaptation, traditional management, territorial identity, and cultural heritage have developed over time. Old vineyards preserve historical germplasm and traditional production systems a...

Rethinking Diaspora Agency in Peace and Conflict

Diasporas’ versatile roles as victims of conflict, participants in conflict and agents of peacebuilding have been widely explored. We observe that diaspora contributions to ongoing conflicts and subsequent peacebuilding mechanisms have long been framed through a binary lens. Unti...

Migration and the Logic of Reverse Mission

The rejection of ‘metatheology’ and an accompanying hostility toward the term mission within the very subject of missiology resonates with what has been described as the postmodern rejection of metanarratives. The influence of this intellectual climate on understandings of missio...

Limited global awareness of invasive alien species and little support for their management

Invasive alien species (IAS) are one of the main drivers of global change and can cause a wide range of negative ecological and social impacts. Addressing these impacts requires management actions, which can fail to be effective when not supported by the public. Here, we conducte...

Health system and household costs of preventive treatment delivery for children exposed to multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in South Africa

Background Tuberculosis (TB) preventive treatment (TPT) is a core component of TB control. Levofloxacin was recently recommended by the World Health Organization as TPT in children exposed to multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). However, the affordability and feasibility of...

Phage Therapy and Phage-Derived Lytic Proteins in the One Health Era: Mechanisms, Challenges and Emerging Innovations

Antimicrobial resistance is a critical global health threat, as conventional antibiotics are increasingly ineffective against multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens, particularly ESKAPE organisms. In response, bacteriophages and their derived lytic proteins, including endolysins, ho...

From Divergent Pathogenesis to Precision Medicine: The Road to Targeted Therapy in HIV-Associated and HIV-Unrelated Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common and biologically heterogeneous subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. While immunochemotherapy has improved outcomes, survival remains variable due to substantial molecular diversity. In people living with HIV (PLWH), DLBCL is th...

Diversity assessment of Western Indian Ocean whiprays (Himantura spp.) through a molecular species delimitation approach

Abstract The Himantura species complex consists of large demersal whiprays vulnerable to coastal fisheries, yet unresolved taxonomy within the genus hinders conservation efforts, making molecular assessments crucial for effective fishery management. This study clarified genetic r...

Vascular device practices in extremely preterm infants: an international cross-sectional survey

Abstract Objective To explore global practices in vascular device selection, securement, and monitoring for extremely preterm infants, and to assess regional variation. Study design A web-based cross-sectional survey was completed by one respondent per neonatal unit. Result We re...

Epistemic violence and academic repression: Anti-Palestinian racism and the politics of knowledge production in the context of the Gaza genocide

This paper critically interrogates the institutionalized repression of pro-Palestinian scholarship in academia, particularly within psychology and allied social sciences, framing it within broader neoliberal and settler-colonial structures. Drawing on postcolonial and decolonial...

Product of Powers of Distinct Primes as Sums of Fibonacci Numbers

Abstract Let $$F_n$$ F n be the n -th Fibonacci number. In this paper, we study the Diophantine equation $$F_n+F_m=p^xq^y$$ F n + F m = p x q y in nonnegative integers $$n\ge m$$ n ≥ m , x and y , where p and q are fixed distinct prime numbers. We determine all pairs of primes (...

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Prevalence of Mental Disorders and Suicidality Among Children and Adolescents Living with HIV in South Africa

Abstract Despite progress in HIV prevention and treatment, global data suggests that youth living with HIV remain at risk of mental disorders and suicidality. However, reliable epidemiological data from South Africa (SA) are limited. We conducted a systematic review and meta-anal...

An Integrated Sustainability Evaluation of Waste-to-Energy Technologies for Energy Generation and Co-Benefits in South African Metropolitan Municipalities

This study assesses the integrated sustainability performance of waste-to-energy (WtE) technology pathways across eight of South Africa’s metropolitan municipalities, which are home to 40.14% of the country’s population. The assessment considers energy generation, GHG emission-re...

Polystyrene-Grafted Chain-Walking Polyethylene: Precision Synthesis and Multidimensional Analysis of Composition, Conformation, and Topology

Abstract Polystyrene-grafted chain-walking polyethylene graft copolymers were synthesized by grafting living polystyryl anions onto ester-functionalized chain-walking polyethylene backbones. Two complementary sample series were designed to address questions of synthetic precision...

Multi-omics analyses reveal key immunological and metabolic correlates of mortality in HIV-associated Pneumocystis pneumonia

Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) remains a major cause of life-threatening respiratory failure in people with advanced HIV, yet the biological factors associated with mortality are incompletely understood. We performed integrated transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic p...

Simulated Scattering Parameter Dataset for a Randomly Generated Non-Parameterized Microstrip Filter Between 1 and 10 GHz

High-frequency electromagnetic component design is often a complex and computationally expensive task. Analytical techniques are uncommon and frequently yield only approximate solutions. Design processes often necessitate expensive full-wave electromagnetic solvers and iterative...

Neuropsychiatry genetics in Africa

Across Africa, rising mental health needs coincide with rapid advances in genomics, digital health and continental policy reform. Yet research into the genetic, environmental and social determinants of neuropsychiatric illness remains sparse and underfunded. This review argues th...