Die bestuursbevoegdheid van persone wat as rampverpleegsters by die Pretoriase Burgerlike Beskerming geregistreer is

The essential management role of the disaster nurse during disaster action was outlined, researched and described. Her competency to execute effectively disaster relief tasks before, during and after a disaster occurring outside a hospital, was studied Management tasks were identified which nurses should have mastered regarding disaster situations occurring outside hospital boundaries. Research data were gathered by means of a questionnaire on the biographic detail of disaster nurses registered with Civil Defence in Pretoria, in order to recommend a course specially aimed at fulfilling their requirements. The research project identified requirements of the disaster nurse for appropriate further training, practise and guidance regarding the identified management tasks. It became evident that training is required in most of the tasks, and a training course for nurses in disaster management was designed

The mechanics of setting up a COVID-19 response: Experiences of the COVID-19 epidemic from Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has challenged the provision of healthcare in ways that are unprecedented in our lifetime. Planning for the sheer numbers expected during the surge has required public hospitals to de-escalate all non-essential clinical services to focus on COVID-19. Western Cape Province was the initial epicentre of the COVID-19 epidemic in South Africa (SA), and the Cape Town metro was its hardest-hit geographical region. We describe how we constructed our COVID-19 hospital-wide clinical service at Groote Schuur Hospital, the University of Cape Town’s tertiary-level teaching hospital. By describing the barriers and enablers, we hope to provide guidance rather than a blueprint for hospitals elsewhere in SA and in low-resource countries that face similar challenges now or during subsequent waves

Food Use and Health Effects of Soybean and Sunflower Oils

This review provides a scientific assessment of current knowledge of health effects of soybean oil (SBO) and sunflower oil (SFO). SBO and SFO both contain high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (60.8 and 69%, respectively), with a PUFA:saturated fat ratio of 4.0 for SBO and 6.4 for SFO. SFO contains 69% C18:2n-6 and less than 0.1% C18:3n-3, while SBO contains 54% C18:2n-6 and 7.2% C18:3n-3. Thus, SFO and SBO each provide adequate amounts of C18:2n-6, but of the two, SBO provides C18:3n-3 with a C18:2n-6:C18:3n-3 ratio of 7.1. Epidemiological evidence has suggested an inverse relationship between the consumption of diets high in vegetable fat and blood pressure, although clinical findings have been inconclusive. Recent dietary guidelines suggest the desirability of decreasing consumption of total and saturated fat and cholesterol, an objective that can be achieved by substituting such oils as SFO and SBO for animal fats. Such changes have consistently resulted in decreased total and low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, which is thought to be favorable with respect to decreasing risk of cardiovascular disease. Also, decreases in high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol have raised some concern. Use of vegetable oils such as SFO and SBO increases C18:2n-6, decreases C20:4n-6, and slightly elevated C20:5n-3 and C22:6n-3 in platelets, changes that slightly inhibit platelet generation of thromboxane and ex vivo aggregation. Whether chronic use of these oils will effectively block thrombosis at sites of vascular injury, inhibit pathologic platelet vascular interactions associated with atherosclerosis, or reduce the incidence of acute vascular occlusion in the coronary or cerebral circulation is uncertain. Linoleic acid is needed for normal immune response, and essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiency impairs B and T cell-mediated responses. SBO and SFO can provide adequate linoleic acid for maintenance of the immune response. Excess linoleic acid has supported tumor growth in animals, an effect not verified by data from diverse human studies of risk, incidence, or progression of cancers of the breast and colon. Areas yet to be investigated include the differential effects of n-6- and n-3-containing oil on tumor development in humans and whether shorter-chain n-3 PUFA of plant origin such as found in SBO will modulate these actions of linoleic acid, as has been shown for the longer-chain n-3 PUFA of marine oil

Comparison of phytoplankton assemblages in two differentially polluted streams in the Middle Vaal Catchment, South Africa

Phytoplankton is an important role player in the ecology of rivers and streams, and sensitive to changes in water quality. This study aimed to determine how pollution influenced phytoplankton composition in two streams and to confirm the dominant phytoplankton Classes and genera at each stream as indicators of the water quality. The water from the Vaal River in the Middle Vaal Catchment of South Africa is heavily polluted by the time it is abstracted for treatment by Midvaal Water Company. The Koekemoerspruit is an upstream tributary of the Vaal River and is considered a possible source of pollution. Physical and chemical water quality data were collected for 21 variables together with phytoplankton samples at five strategically selected sites over a two-year period (November 2012 to October 2014). The Vaal River showed extreme total chlorophyll concentrations associated with high pH levels compared to the Koekemoerspruit in which high ammonia, nitrate and nitrate and orthophosphate concentrations confirmed severe organic pollution. A total of 86 algal genera were identified and grouped into seven phytoplankton classes. Average phytoplankton cell concentrations of 1,410,069 cells/mL and 417,931 cells/mL were determined for the Vaal River and the Koekemoerspruit respectively. A redundancy analysis summarised and confirmed that water quality had a definite effect on the phytoplankton assemblages for the Vaal River and the Koekemoerspruit (p-value of 0.08). Both streams were eutrophic but Chlorophyceae dominated in the Vaal River (49%) and Cyanophyceae were predominant in the Koekemoerspruit (44%). The dominant presence of phytoplankton genera such as Scenedesmus spp. (42%) and Nitszchia spp. (84%) confirmed the main water quality characteristics of the two stream

Tourism innovation in the Western Cape, South Africa : evidence from wine tourism

Few wine tourism studies focus on innovation in this tourism niche market. However, implicit references to newness in wine tourism and the need for innovation in the light of competition to sustain the viability of firms and regions can be discerned in the literature. In addition, sustainability in relation to wine tourism is increasingly receiving research attention. This research aligns with the literature on sustainability in the wine industry and also wine tourism. It is not only the economic sustainability of firms which is of concern but also environmentally and socially responsible practices which for wineries include innovative ways to enhance biodiversity protection and social inclusion. This chapter outlines the innovations introduced by a sub-sample of firms involved in wine tourism which was part of a broader study of tourism innovation in the Western Cape, South Africa. This research identifies a suite of wine tourism innovations, and although these are largely incremental in character, they are significant for firm, and collectively, for destination competitiveness and importantly for enhancing sustainability in the sector