Clinical experience with amikacin, a new aminoglycoside antibiotic

CITATION: Theron, F. P. & De Kock, M. A. 1977. Clinical experience with amikacin, a new aminoglycoside antibiotic. South African Medical Journal, 51(21):746-8.The original publication is available at http://www.samj.org.za[No abstract available]Publisher’s versio

Pulmonary Embolism Complicating Permanent Cardiac Pacing

Pulmonary embolism arising from intracardiac electrodes in permanently-paced patients, is fortunately rare. The serious nature of the complication is illustrated by a case report

The psychological selection profile for civil-military coordination officers in peace-support operations: The results of field research in the Sudan

The introduction of a multidimensional approach towards peace missions in complex emergencies emphasises the importance of coordination between the military and humanitarian components at all levels of interaction. Cooperation and coordination between the military and humanitarian components are critical in achieving a common goal for these operations: to alleviate suffering and prevent loss of life. The challenge of finding suitable personnel who can develop, enhance and sustain effective working relationships and overcome the potential for conflict in civil-military coordination, has not been addressed in practice and research. The military needs to identify personnel who, firstly, conform to the generic psychological peacekeeping profile and secondly, portray the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the coordination function satisfactorily. Due to the absence of a psychological selection profile for civil-military coordination officers, the selection and screening of competent military personnel members remain a challenge. Through this descriptive field research (conducted in the Sudan), a psychological selection profile for civil-military coordination officers is developed and defined. The theoretical foundation and primary data from field research are integrated into a job competency model for civil-military coordination officers, useful for future selection purposes. The results of this research are presented as a model of provisional selection criteria for civil-military coordination officers. Preliminary predictor and criterion data were collected to describe the relationship between selection measures and performance ratings of job incumbents. Areas for further research are discussed. Are these events indicative of a militarised SADC strategic culture as opposed to the declared pacifist preferences to resolve conflicts

A closer look at the measurement of dispositional reasoning: dimensionality and invariance across assessor groups

Despite the growing interest in dispositional reasoning as a construct and determinant of good raters ("good judges"), its measurement still requires attention. We address two measurement issues in the present study. First, this study tests a hierarchical model as a more parsimonious account for dispositional reasoning than component- or general factor-models that were examined in earlier studies. So, this provides a more comprehensive test of the different measurement models underlying dispositional reasoning data. Second, we assess the measurement invariance of dispositional reasoning measure scores across two different populations of assessors that are often trained and used in workplace assessments, namely psychology students (N = 161) and managers (N = 160). Results showed that dispositional reasoning is well represented as componential in nature, with a higher-order construct underlying three lower-order components. A comparison of managers and psychology students through measurement invariance analysis showed relatively similar factor structures underlying dispositional reasoning scores across these groups, but metric invariance could be only partially established

Gain of 20q11.21 in human pluripotent stem cells impairs TGF-β-dependent neuroectodermal commitment

Gain of 20q11.21 is one of the most common recurrent genomic aberrations in human pluripotent stem cells. Although it is known that overexpression of the antiapoptotic gene Bcl-xL confers a survival advantage to the abnormal cells, their differentiation capacity has not been fully investigated. RNA sequencing of mutant and control hESC lines, and a line transgenically overexpressing Bcl-xL, shows that overexpression of Bcl-xL is sufficient to cause most transcriptional changes induced by the gain of 20q11.21. Moreover, the differentially expressed genes in mutant and Bcl-xL overexpressing lines are enriched for genes involved in TGF-beta- and SMAD-mediated signaling, and neuron differentiation. Finally, we show that this altered signaling has a dramatic negative effect on neuroectodermal differentiation, while the cells maintain their ability to differentiate to mesendoderm derivatives. These findings stress the importance of thorough genetic testing of the lines before their use in research or the clinic

Review - Understanding β-lactamase Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae

Klebsiella pneumoniae is a nosocomial pathogen commonly implicated in hospital outbreaks with a propensity for antimicrobial resistance towards mainstay β-lactam antibiotics and multiple other antibiotic classes. The successful proliferation, transmission and infection of the Gram-negative bacterium can be attributed to a myriad of factors including host factors, environmental factors, virulence factors and a large repertoire of antibiotic resistance mechanisms. The poor treatment outcomes and limited treatment options are consequences of the successful pathogenesis and spread of antibiotic resistance in the increasingly common β-lactamase producing K. pneumoniae bacterium. The review briefly explores the biology, successful pathogenesis and antibiotic resistance of K. pneumoniae as well as the detection and characterisation techniques of important strains

Will the COVID-19 crisis trigger a One Health coming-of-age?

International audienc

Boson-fermion mappings for odd systems from supercoherent states

We extend the formalism whereby boson mappings can be derived from generalized coherent states to boson-fermion mappings for systems with an odd number of fermions. This is accomplished by constructing supercoherent states in terms of both complex and Grassmann variables. In addition to a known mapping for the full so(2$N$+1) algebra, we also uncover some other formal mappings, together with mappings relevant to collective subspaces.Comment: 40 pages, REVTE

Lithostratigraphy of the Palaeoproterozoic Hekpoort formation (Pretoria Group, Transvaal Supergroup), South Africa

The Palaeoproterozoic Hekpoort Formation of the Pretoria Group is a lava-dominated unit that has a basin-wide extent throughout the Transvaal sub-basin of South Africa. Additional correlative units may be present in the Kanye sub-basin of Botswana. The key characteristic of the formation is its general geochemical uniformity. Volcaniclastic and other sedimentary rocks are relatively rare throughout the succession but may be dominant in some locations. Hekpoort Formation outcrops are sporadic throughout the basin and mostly occur in the form of gentle hills and valleys, mainly encircling Archaean domes and the Palaeoproterozoic Bushveld Complex (BC). The unit is exposed in the western Pretoria Group basin, sitting unconformably either on the Timeball Hill Formation or Boshoek Formation, which is lenticular there, and on top of the Boshoek Formation in the east of the basin. The unit is unconformably overlain by the Dwaalheuwel Formation. The type-locality for the Hekpoort Formation is the Hekpoort farm (504 IQ Hekpoort), ca. 60 km to the west-southwest of Pretoria. However, no stratotype has ever been proposed. A lectostratotype, i.e., the Mooikloof area in Pretoria East, that can be enhanced by two reference stratotypes are proposed herein. The Hekpoort Formation was deposited in a cratonic subaerial setting, forming a large igneous province (LIP) in which short-termed localised ponds and small braided river systems existed. It therefore forms one of the major Palaeoproterozoic magmatic events on the Kaapvaal Craton.http://sajg.geoscienceworld.orgam2021Geolog

A systematic literature review of sustainable urban planning challenges associated with developing countries

CITATION: Jooste, A. F., De Kock, I. H. & Musango, J. K. 2019. A systematic literature review of sustainable urban planning challenges associated with developing countries. South African Journal of Industrial Engineering, 30(3):253-261, doi:10.7166/30-3-2247.The original publication is available at http://sajie.journals.ac.zaENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to uncover the most prominent challenges that urban planners face when tackling sustainable practices in developing countries. The time frame was set to after the 2012 Rio +20 global summit. Therefore, only articles that were produced from 1 January 2013 till 31 March 2019 were included, as they would have adhered to the contributions and protocols set forth at the largest UN Earth Summit conference. In this study, a review of the sustainable urban planning challenges was conducted. The challenges are then grouped into topics that align with the theme of the type of challenge. Finally, the challenges are analysed to identify the most well-known and disruptive challenges that restrict urban planners in developing countries.http://sajie.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/2247Publisher's versio