Transformasíe soos deur vuur

In sy boek Sons of Adam stel dr. S. M. Zwemer in hoofstuk 5 Moses en Simson naas en teenoor mekaar

Wetenskaplike beoefening van die teologie aan die teologiese skool.

Hierdie artikel kan, weens verskillende oorsake wat hier nie genoem hoef te word nie, slegs ’n vlugtige terugblik in die verlede wees, om dan na te speur wat die moontlikhede vir die toekoms is

The relationship of overweight and obesity to the motor performance of children living in South Africa

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the relationship between overweight and obesity and the motor performance of nine- to 13-year-old South African children.Design: The study used a one-way cross-sectional design based on baseline measurements.Settings and subjects: The research group comprised 280 Grade 4, 5 and 6 learners (128 boys and 152 girls) from two schools that represented a distribution of socio-economic status, race and gender.Outcome measures: Anthropometric [(body mass index (BMI) and fat percentage] and motor performance measurements (fine manual control, manual coordination, body coordination and strength and agility) were obtained by means of the Fitnessgram and the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-II. International age-specific cut-off points were used to classify the children’s body composition as normal weight, overweight or obese. Data were analysed by means of descriptive statistics, correlation matrices and analysis of variance, followed by a Tukey post hoc analysis.Results: The results showed that running speed and agility decreased significantly with an increase in BMI. Muscular strength also decreased significantly with a smaller practical significance, while fine manual control, manual coordination, and body coordination showed the weakest relationship to BMI. Analysis of variance showed significant relationships between BMI and running speed and agility (p-value < 0.05). These relationships were influenced differently by gender and ethnicity.Conclusion: The motor performance of young South African children was negatively influenced by overweight and obesity. Intervention strategies are recommended to reduce the consequences of overweight and obesity in the overall development of such children.S Afr Fam Pract 2012;54(5):429-43

Traumatic superior mesenteric arteriovenous fistula

CITATION: Du Toit, D.F & Rademan, F. 1987. Traumatic superior mesenteric arteriovenous fistula - a case report. S Afr Med J, 71(9):587-588.The original publication is available at http://www.samj.org.zaENGLISH ABSTRACT: In a case of traumatic superior mesenteric arteriovenous fistula resulting from a stab wound in the abdomen clinical signs of high-output cardiac failure or portal hypertension were absent. Selective angiography was useful in confirming and locating the fistula. The patient made a good recovery after resection of the aneurysm and fistula and insertion of a prosthetic graft.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geen opsomming beskikbaarPublisher’s versio

Investigating the business value of information management

Research on the effect of information management on organizational performance is an important issue. The primary problem of the business value of information is embedded in the following reasoning: information management creates business value indirectly but creates business costs directly, making the evaluation and measurement of information management and the benefits thereof difficult for organizations. In this study an empirical survey was conducted in ten large South African organizations to establish practices and norms in managing the business value of information management, information management investment and benefits evaluation. The most common criteria considered to be important were the ability to adapt and support business changes and the stability and quality of information management services to the user community

Browsing lawns? Responses of Acacia nigrescens to ungulate browsing in an African savanna

We measured browsing-induced responses of Acacia trees to investigate browsing lawns as an analogy to grazing lawns in a semiarid eutrophic African savanna. During the two-year field study, we measured plant tolerance, resistance, and phenological traits, while comparing variation in leaf nitrogen and specific leaf area (SLA) across stands of Acacia nigrescens, Miller, that had experienced markedly different histories of attack from large herbivores. Trees in heavily browsed stands developed (1) tolerance traits such as high regrowth abilities in shoots and leaves, high annual branch growth rates, extensive tree branching and evidence of internal N translocation, and (2) resistance traits such as close thorn spacing. However, phenological escape responses were weak even in heavily browsed stands. Overall, browsing strongly affected plant morpho-functional traits and decreased both the number of trees carrying pods and the number of pods per tree in heavily browsed stands. Hence, there is experimental evidence that tolerance and resistance traits may occur simultaneously at heavily browsed sites, but this comes at the expense of reproductive success. Such tolerance and resistance traits may coexist if browsers trigger and maintain a positive feedback loop in which trees are continually investing in regrowth (tolerance), and if the plant\u27s physical defenses (resistance) are not nutritionally costly and are long-lived. Our results confirm that chronic browsing by ungulates can maintain A. nigrescens trees in a hedged state that is analogous to a grazing lawn. Further research is needed to fully understand the long-term effects of chronic browsing on reproduction within such tree populations, as well as the overall effects on nutrient cycling at the ecosystem level

The friend at midnight : a ‘realistic’ reading as a feminist tool

The voices of women have historically been muted in biblical texts from their ancient to more modern interpretations. This article will attempt to 'unhide' the voices of women in the Parable of the Friend at Midnight by using a combination of social-scientific criticism and a 'realistic' reading as a methodology to inform an understanding of how 1st-century Mediterranean audiences would have understood women to be present in the parable where modern audiences might not. In the 1st-century Mediterranean world, women were key figures in facilitating group hospitality values, the baking and supply of bread, and caring for children. These women, however, are not directly mentioned in the parable and often excluded in modern commentaries. This contribution aims to pave a way forward for modern New Testament commentaries to not only include but also focus on the roles and importance of women in the parable of the Friend at Midnight. INTRADISCIPLINARY AND/OR INTERDISCIPLINARY IMPLICATIONS : The interdisciplinary nature of this article contributes to the debate on the roles and importance of women in the church by investigating the value that women had in the parables of Jesus. By reading women as present in the text, emphasis is given to the voices of women in the Bible and the importance of their representation today.http://www.ve.org.zaam2023New Testament Studie

Diabetes mellitus in pregnancy, still changing

Objective: The management of pregnant women with diabetes mellitus places a significant burden on healthcare systems. Significant global changes have been proposed with regard to the diagnosis and management of women with diabetes mellitus in pregnancy. The study aims were to document the contemporary numbers, treatments and outcomes of diabetes mellitus in pregnancy, with particular focus on gestational and type 2 diabetes mellitus.Design, subjects and setting: A retrospective audit was performed of pregnant women (n = 278) with diabetes mellitus, managed over a 12-month period in a combined secondary and tertiary unit in South Africa.Results: Of the 278 cases analysed, 60% had gestational and 33% type 2 diabetes mellitus. The perinatal mortality ratio for all diabetes mellitus in pregnancy was 52.6:1 000, with only one early neonatal death. Ninety-five per cent and 70% of women with gestational and type 2 diabetes mellitus, respectively, were overweight or obese. Chronic hypertension was present in 23% of women with gestational and in 42% of women with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The glycosylated haemoglobin decreased from 6.7% at diagnosis to 6.4% at delivery in the gestational diabetes mellitus group, and from 7.5% at booking to 6.6% at delivery in the type 2 diabetes mellitus subjects. Lifestyle modification and metformin sufficed in 88% of women with gestational diabetes mellitus. Insulin was only required in 12% of pregnancies with gestational and in 53% of pregnancies with type 2 diabetes mellitus.Conclusion: Pregnancies complicated by gestational and type 2 diabetes mellitus are common and challenging. The addition of the oral agent, metformin, lowers the need for insulin therapy.Keywords: diabetes mellitus, glucose threshold, maternal and foetal health, pregnanc