Muni University

Abstract Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is an important staple food in sub–Saharan Africa. Over 60% of the global cassava production occurs in Africa, with the southern African region contributing approximately 15% to this total. Compared to west and central Africa, the southern Africa region has not fully realised its potential for cassava production. This study examines cassava-related research in southern Africa focusing on current trends, challenges, and contributions of cassava to food security, economic development, and climate resilience. It also explores industrial applications, the implications for sustainable agriculture, and identifies critical policy and research gaps through a bibliographic network analysis. One hundred and ninety-two eligible research manuscripts published between 2000 and 2024 were retrieved from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Most cassava research has been conducted in South Africa, followed by Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi. Cassava pests and diseases, crop management, yield and food security were the most researched themes. The region’s average actual yield (9.5 t/ha) compared with the potential yield (75–80 t/ha) highlights the untapped potential in cassava production. Findings from climatic studies predict a substantial increase in the area suitable for cassava production in the region. Some studies have highlighted the potential of cassava as a raw material for biofuel and industrial starch. This study highlights the current body of knowledge and identifies research gaps concerning cassava, which various stakeholders can explore to achieve significant advancements in promoting cassava cultivation in the region.

The Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) provides global Radio Occultation (RO) measurements of ionospheric total electron content (TEC), but these values are systematically underestimated relative to ground-based Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-derived TEC due to the exclusion of the plasmaspheric contribution. This study presents a machine learning calibration framework that transforms COSMIC TEC into GNSS-equivalent values. Using co-located COSMIC and GNSS observations from 2006 to 2025, we developed neural network models (ROTEC-A and ROTEC-B) trained on (19 and 22) input features respectively, including COSMIC profile parameters, spatiotemporal descriptors, and optionally, solar and geomagnetic activity indices. Results show that the calibration effectively mitigates systematic underestimation, reducing mean bias from 6.97 TECU (uncalibrated COSMIC) to near zero (0.02-0.03 TECU). The calibrated products also substantially reduce skewness in residuals, yielding nearly symmetric error distributions suitable for data assimilation. Across various latitudinal, local time, and seasonal sectors, mean absolute errors were reduced by 50-75%, with the best performance at mid-latitudes and slightly elevated errors in high-latitude and equatorial regions. Although, the inclusion of solar and geomagnetic indices yielded marginal improvements, statistical tests confirmed no significant advantage over the baseline model. The operationally oriented framework outputs calibrated GNSS-equivalent TEC in near real-time, providing enhanced ionospheric monitoring capability, especially over GNSS-sparse regions such as oceans and deserts.These results demonstrate the potential of COSMIC RO data, once calibrated, to serve as a reliable complement to GNSS observations for ionospheric research, space weather monitoring, and operational applications. (c) 2026 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

Peer-led interventions can effectively improve sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge, promote safer sexual behaviors among adolescents and young people, especially where health system capacity is limited. To inform a planned pre-post study, we explored the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of a community-based, peer-led SRH intervention for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 15-24 years in northeastern Uganda. We designed a qualitative case study and collected data through focus group discussions across AGYW in six categories: in-school, out-of-school, ever given birth, and never given birth, aged 15-17 years, and aged ≥18 years. We also conducted key informant interviews with SRH officials in the district and at two health facilities. Data collection was guided by the socioecological model. We performed thematic analysis and reported findings using themes along with the participants' quotes mapped onto the socioecological model. A total of 51 adolescent girls and young women, and five key informant interviews with the district and health facility level officials were conducted. Findings show that the anticipated barriers and facilitators to implementation occur across socioecological levels. At the individual level, stigma and fear of judgment hindered participation, whereas trust in peers supported engagement. Limited autonomy hindered access at the interpersonal level, but support from family and friends helped. Institutional barriers included judgmental provider attitudes and confidentiality concerns; existing youth-friendly services and school clubs were facilitators. At the community level, myths, misconceptions, and restrictive cultural norms posed challenges, while community dialogues and champions encouraged acceptance. No major policy barriers were noted; however, supportive SRH policies and existing partnerships were facilitators. The implementation of the intervention may be influenced by several factors across individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and policy levels. Future implementation should consider addressing the barriers while leveraging the facilitators to enhance implementation outcomes among AGYW.

BACKGROUND:Hunger and malnutrition are major global issues particularly in conflict and disaster-affected areas. Own food production has been considered as effective strategy to improve nutrition outcomes. However, evidence on its contribution to dietary diversity and nutrient intake adequacy, especially in refugee settings with limited access to land remains limited. This study assessed the contribution of own food production to dietary diversity and nutrient intake adequacy among refugees in Palorinya settlement, northwestern Uganda. METHODS:A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 316 randomly selected households in Palorinya refugee settlement, northwestern Uganda. Current household dietary diversity score (HDDS) was assessed using a 24-hour dietary recall of food groups consumed. Nutrient intake adequacy was estimated using food composition tables based on annual food production and consumption. Poisson regression with robust standard errors and multiple linear regression were employed to identify factors associated with current HDDS and nutrient intake adequacy. Beta coefficients with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were presented. RESULTS:Own food production greatly contributed to vegetable consumption (85.0%) but was low for animal-sourced foods (3% for milk/dairy products; 7.5% for meat). Own food production contributed minimally to nutrient intake adequacy, with most households falling short of annual recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for calcium (100%), iron (95%), zinc and protein (95.2%), and energy (99%). Education level, access to agricultural land, and kitchen garden were key predictors of both HDDS and nutrient intake adequacy. Additionally, size of agricultural, household income and occupation also influenced HDDS and nutrient intake adequacy. CONCLUSION:Own food production contributes moderately to dietary diversity and minimally to nutrient intake adequacy. Education level, land access, and kitchen gardening play important roles in shaping HDDS and nutrient intake adequacy. Interventions should focus on promoting kitchen gardening, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, and improving refugee land policy to enhance nutrient intake in refugee settlements.

Rice feeds nearly half of the world’s population and underpins global food security. Climate change now poses a major threat to rice productivity worldwide. Genome editing has reshaped crop improvement strategies. Among these tools, the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/CRISPR-associated protein (CRISPR/Cas) system stands out for its precision, efficiency, and scalability. However, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation efficiency is often low, particularly in indica rice varieties. Here, we optimized an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation protocol for indica rice cultivars. The method was established in Lalat and MTU-1010. Seed-derived embryogenic calli were used to introduce the thermosensitive genic male sterile (OsTMS5) gene. A CRISPR/Cas9 vector carrying a gRNA and the selectable marker hptII was used for transformation. Callus induction reached 96.87