The rearing temperature of the immature stages can have a significant impact on the life-history traits and the ability of adult mosquitoes to transmit diseases. This review assessed published evidence of the effects of temperature on the immature stages, life-history traits, insecticide susceptibility, and expression of enzymes in the adult Anopheles mosquito. Original articles published through 31 March 2021 were systematically retrieved from Scopus, Google Scholar, Science Direct, PubMed, ProQuest, and Web of Science databases. After applying eligibility criteria, 29 studies were included. The review revealed that immature stages of An. arabiensis were more tolerant (in terms of survival) to a higher temperature than An. funestus and An. quadriannulatus. Higher temperatures resulted in smaller larval sizes and decreased hatching and pupation time. The development rate and survival of An. stephensi was significantly reduced at a higher temperature than a lower temperature. Increasing temperatures decreased the longevity, body size, length of the gonotrophic cycle, and fecundity of Anopheles mosquitoes. Higher rearing temperatures increased pyrethroid resistance in adults of the An. arabiensis SENN DDT strain, and increased pyrethroid tolerance in the An. arabiensis SENN strain. Increasing temperature also significantly increased Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS) expression and decreased insecticide toxicity. Both extreme low and high temperatures affect Anopheles mosquito development and survival. Climate change could have diverse effects on Anopheles mosquitoes. The sensitivities of Anopeheles mosquitoes to temperature differ from species to species, even among the same complex. Notwithstanding, there seem to be limited studies on the effects of temperature on adult life-history traits of Anopheles mosquitoes, and more studies are needed to clarify this relationship.

Climate‐smart agriculture (CSA) serves as a credible mechanism to simultaneously address food security, climate change, and agricultural productivity. Despite the widespread adoption of CSA approaches across West Africa, many countries have still not been able to resolve the problems of food insecurity and rural poverty. This systematic review evaluates published evidence on the types of CSA practices, the determinants and benefits of adoption, and the barriers confronting the adoption of CSA practices across West Africa, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses statement checklist. Articles published in English from January 2010 to March 2023 investigating the benefits of and barriers to the adoption of CSA practices in West Africa were retrieved from ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. The methodological quality of studies was assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools for use in systematic reviews. The themes emerging from the articles were extracted, and a summary was provided to illustrate each theme. After applying the eligibility criteria, 12 articles were included in the final review. The studies reviewed revealed that farmers used more knowledge‐, water‐, carbon‐, and nitrogen‐smart practices, compared to weather‐ and energy‐smart practices. Across the reviewed papers, factors such as the education level of farmers, age, gender, household size, membership of a social group, agricultural extension services, and access to credit/financial resources influenced CSA adoption. The reviewed studies identified that farmers who used CSA practices reported benefits such as improved soil fertility, higher yield, improved household income, climate resilience (such as overcoming the effects of drought and extreme temperatures), and food security. Some farmers adopted CSA practices to reduce the effect of droughts and high temperatures on their crops, and thus increase their resilience to climate variability and change. However, farmers’ adoption is confronted with challenges related to the technicality of some CSA practices, high cost of labor for CSA implementation, lack of credit and government support, limited access to weather and climate information, limited information about CSA options, high illiteracy level of smallholder farmers, and incompatibility of some practices with farmers’ crop of interest. Our findings show that most CSA practices in the studies we reviewed are not well targeted to meet farmers’ crop of interest, and that governments should provide more practical training to enhance farmers’ understanding of CSA practices, especially those related to weather‐ and energy‐smart initiatives. There should also be more robust financial and institutional support to improve the adoption and usage of CSA practices at all levels. Additionally, socio‐cultural factors such as values, customs, and beliefs should be properly integrated into CSA plans as they influence the adoption of CSA practices.

Informal electronic waste (e-waste) recycling in Africa has become a major public health concern. This review examined studies that report on the association between e-waste exposure and adverse human health outcomes in Africa. The review was conducted following the updated version of the Preferred Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA 2020) statement checklist. We included papers that were original peer-reviewed epidemiological studies and conference papers, written in English, and reported on e-waste exposure among human populations and any health-related outcome in the context of Africa. Our results from the evaluation of 17 studies found an association between informal e-waste recycling methods and musculoskeletal disease (MSD) symptoms and physical injuries such as back pains, lacerations, eye problems, skin burns, and noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). In addition, the generation and release of particulate matter (PM) of various sizes, and toxic and essential metals such as cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), etc., during the recycling process are associated with adverse systemic intermediate health outcomes including cardiopulmonary function and DNA damage. This systematic review concludes that the methods used by e-waste recyclers in Africa expose them to increased risk of adverse health outcomes. However, there is a need for more rigorous research that moves past single pollutant analysis.

Higher temperatures expected in a future warmer climate could adversely affect the growth and development of mosquitoes. This study investigated the effects of elevated temperatures on longevity, gonotrophic cycle length, biting rate, fecundity, and body size of Anopheles gambiae (s.l.) (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquitoes. Anopheles gambiae (s.l.) eggs obtained from laboratory established colonies were reared under eight temperature regimes (25, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, and 40°C), and 80 ± 10% RH. All adults were allowed to feed on a 10% sugar solution soaked in cotton wool; however, some mosquitoes were provided blood meal using guinea pig. Longevity was estimated for both blood-fed and non-blood-fed mosquitoes and analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier survival analysis. One-way ANOVA was used to test the effect of temperature on gonotrophic cycle length, biting rate, and fecundity. Adult measurement data were log-transformed and analyzed using ordinary least square regression with robust standard errors. Increasing temperature significantly decreased the longevity of both blood-fed (Log-rank test; X²(4) = 904.15, P < 0.001) and non-blood-fed (Log-rank test; X²(4) = 1163.60, P < 0.001) mosquitoes. In addition, the fecundity of mosquitoes decreased significantly (ANOVA; F(2,57) = 3.46, P = 0.038) with an increase in temperature. Body size (β = 0.14, 95% CI, 0.16, 0.12, P < 0.001) and proboscis length (β = 0.13, 95% CI, 0.17, 0.09, P < 0.001) significantly decreased with increasing temperature from 25 to 34°C. Increased temperatures expected in a future warmer climate could cause some unexpected effects on mosquitoes by directly influencing population dynamics and malaria transmission.

Objectives: Inappropriate processing and disposal of electronic waste (e-waste) expose workers and surrounding populations to hazardous chemicals, including clastogens and aneugens. Recently, considerable literature has grown around e-waste recycling, associated chemical exposures and intermediate health outcomes, including DNA damage. Micronuclei (MN) frequency has been widely used as a biomarker to investigate DNA damage in human populations exposed to genotoxic agents. We conducted a systematic review of published studies to assess DNA damage in e-waste-exposed populations and performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the association between e-waste exposure and DNA damage. Methods: This systematic review with meta-analysis was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement checklist. Articles published in English from January 2000 through December 2020 investigating the associations between e-waste exposure and DNA damage were retrieved from the following three major databases: MEDLINE, ProQuest, and Scopus. Studies that reported the use of MN assay as a biomarker of DNA damage were included for meta-analysis. Studies that also reported other DNA damage biomarkers such as chromosomal aberrations, comet assay biomarkers, 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), telomere length, apoptosis rate were reported using narrative synthesis. Results: A total of 20 publications were included in this review, of which seven studies were within the occupational setting, and the remaining 13 studies were ecological studies. The review found six biomarkers of DNA damage (micronuclei, comets assay parameters (tail length, % tail DNA, tail moment, and olive tail moment), 8-OHdG, telomere length, apoptosis rate and chromosomal aberrations) which were assessed using seven different biological matrices (buccal cells, blood, umbilical cord blood, placenta, urine and semen). Most studies showed elevated levels of DNA damage biomarkers among e-waste exposed populations than in control populations. The most commonly used biomarkers were micronuclei frequency (n=9) in peripheral blood lymphocytes or buccal cells and 8-OHdG (n=7) in urine. The results of the meta-analysis showed that electronic waste recycling has contributed to an increased risk of DNA damage measured using MN frequency with a pooled estimate of the standardized mean difference (SMD) of 2.30 (95% CI: 1.36, 3.24, p<0.001) based on 865 participants. Conclusions: Taken together, evidence from this systematic review with meta-analysis suggest that occupational and non-occupational exposure to e-waste processing is associated with increased risk of DNA damage measured through MN assay and other types of DNA damage biomarkers. However, more studies from other developing countries in Africa, Latin America, and South Asia are needed to confirm and increase these results’ generalizability.