University of the Western Cape

Association between early sexual debut and HIV infection among adolescent girls and young women in Cameroon: does motherhood modify the relationship?

Abstract Background In Cameroon, where HIV prevalence among Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) remains nearly double that of their male peers, limited evidence exists on how early sexual debut and motherhood jointly shape HIV risk. This study examines the association between...

Association between gestational diabetes mellitus and periodontal inflammation in a South African cohort

Abstract Objectives To investigate the association between gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), periodontal status, and systemic inflammatory gene expression among pregnant women in South Africa. Materials and methods This case–control study included 105 pregnant women, comprisin...

PredKlebAMR: A machine learning framework prioritizing sensitivity in Klebsiella pneumoniae resistance profiling

The global increase in carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) has undoubtedly changed the management of infectious diseases. Meropenem resistance in K. pneumoniae is a response to bacterial strategies, these includes production of carbapenemases (KPC, NDM, OXA-48), a r...

The Effect of Maternal Cigarette Smoking and Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy on Cardio-Metabolic Risk Factors in Infants, Children, and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: The studies on the direct and indirect effects of maternal cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption during pregnancy on cardiometabolic risk in offspring have been rather inconsistent. This review evaluated the associations between maternal cigarette smoking and alco...

Bayesian power spectrum estimation with modelling of systematic effects in delay-fringe rate space

Abstract Observing the Epoch of Reionisation using 21cm radio interferometry has proven to be a challenging task. Extraction of the extremely faint redshifted signal is complicated by the presence of bright foregrounds, radio frequency interference (RFI), and systematic artefacts...

Early insights into predicted efficacy of Ebola monoclonal antibodies for the 2026 Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak

The 2026 Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) outbreak in the DRC and Uganda raises urgent questions about the efficacy of existing Ebola virus (EBOV) monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against Bundibugyo virus (BDBV). Here, we perform genomic and structural analyses of 44 BDBV sequences, in...

Assessing readiness for a register-based census: Institutional preconditions and evidence from Malawi

There is scanty evidence on the readiness to implement register-based censuses in developing countries despite their continued global adoption. Using 30 key informant interviews and document review across Malawi's statistical system, we assess the readiness to transition from tra...

Climate change and the rising threat of Macrophomina phaseolina: implications for food security, food safety, and sustainable crop health management

Abstract Macrophomina phaseolina is a destructive soil-borne necrotrophic fungal pathogen that causes substantial yield losses in a wide range of economically important crops worldwide. Disease severity is strongly enhanced under drought, high temperature, and salinity stress, co...

Seasonal and interannual surface water variability in the Okavango River Basin using multi-satellite data and machine learning

Surface water resources in arid regions are increasingly vulnerable to climate variability and growing demand, which calls for accurate, timely, and spatially explicitly monitoring approaches. This study developed a machine learning-based framework for quantifying seasonal and in...

The trophic ecology of 12 mesopelagic fish species in the northern Benguela Current ecosystem contributes to species coexistence

Mesopelagic fishes are abundant and play an important role, even if incompletely understood, in the ecology and functioning of the global ocean. Mesopelagic fishes are predominantly carnivorous, and assemblages may comprise species that feed on similar zooplankton resources. Yet,...

Infection by Cardiodectes bellottii (Copepoda: Pennellidae) on Lampanyctodes hectoris (Actinopterygii: Myctophidae) in the southern Benguela Current upwelling ecosystem

Hector’s lanternfish Lampanyctodes hectoris is an abundant mesopelagic fish found in the Benguela Current marine ecosystem and is frequently parasitised by the copepod Cardiodectes bellottii. This parasite is relatively large compared with its fish host, and negative impacts of i...

Targeted Strategies for Treatment of Colorectal Cancer: Exploring the Use of Aptamers and Gold Nanoparticles

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-associated mortality and accounts for ~10% of all cancer cases. Global CRC cases were estimated at 1.9 million and 930,000 deaths in 2022. Despite improved access to CRC screening and treatment, death rates are expecte...

Studies of Two Post Common Envelope Binary Stars

Abstract New time series photometry of the short period (P < 0.2 d) binary stars ZTF J032906.36+070408.3 (ZTF 0329) and ATO J090.7238+00.5996 (ATL 0602) is presented. The primary (hotter) stars in both systems are white dwarfs, while the cooler stars are M dwarfs. Archival photom...

Design-guided synthesis of customizable carbonized electrodes for maximizing charge storage in carbon-based supercapacitors

3D carbon foams, CarboHIPEs, were successfully developed as self-standing electrodes for supercapacitor applications through the sulfonation and pyrolysis of polymerized High Internal Phase Emulsions. The fabrication process was systematically optimized by investigating the influ...

Low-cost decorated biochar derived from sweet sorghum stalks as catalyst support potential for PEMFCs

The utilisation of Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) requires costly, durable carbon support materials to replace the traditional carbon black materials and reduce Pt loading. Biochar serves as an environmentally benign and economic alternative material produced from t...

The promise of self-supervised and active learning for Strong Lens discovery: Astronomaly applied to KiDS

Abstract Strong gravitational lenses (SGLs) are rare systems whose discovery currently relies primarily on supervised machine learning methods trained on large simulated datasets. We present the first application of Astronomaly:PROTEGE to SGL discovery, demonstrating that a human...

Unlocking undergraduate access to higher education: Recognition of prior learning in South Africa

Abstract This research note presents the University of the Western Cape’s Portfolio Development Hybrid Programme (PDHP) as a nationally recognised, pedagogically grounded model of recognition of prior learning (RPL) for undergraduate access in South Africa. Designed to enable adu...

Anisotropy of Satellite Galaxies. I. Contrasting Correlations with Central Galaxy, Host Halo, and Large-scale Filament Structures

Abstract Using the SIMBA, EAGLE, and IllustrisTNG-100 galaxy formation simulations, we examine the anisotropy of the satellite distribution and its dependencies on central galaxies, host halos, and cosmic filaments. We find that in all simulations, the satellite anisotropy is rob...

Migration and Remittances: Digital Technologies, Social Media and Directions for Future Empirical Research in Southern Africa

The rapid adoption and expansion of digital and mobile technologies, financial technology and social media have transformed migration dynamics in Africa, influencing decision-making, integration, social networking and remittance transfers. The surge in the usage of smartphones, d...

Biochemical defence of plants: redox molecules and their role in the alleviation of heavy metal stress

Abstract Heavy metal contamination poses a major constraint to plant growth and agricultural productivity by disrupting cellular metabolism and inducing oxidative stress. Exposure to toxic metals results in excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which damage bio...