Our voice counts: adolescents’ view on their future in South Africa

We focus on the impact of societal change and related societal problems on the youth of post-apartheid South Africa. Within the parameters of an eco-systemic model, it is argued that adolescents’ perspectives on their future in this country could be negatively influenced by the extent of societal problems that are currently experienced in South Africa. Amidst severe problems such as poverty, unemployment, HIV/AIDS, and violent crime the findings of an empirical investigation into the views 1,326 adolescents from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds indicate that a general spirit of optimism and independence exists, paired with a strong desire to escape the trappings of poverty and to fulfil their career and social expectations. The findings indicate that a new, non-racial generation is emerging, but also highlight a formidable ethical dilemma: not societal factors, but ironically the ailing education system, is blocking the future ideals of thousands of South African adolescents.Keywords: adolescents; future expectations; societal problems; yout

Isotopic Production Cross Sections in Proton-Nucleus Collisions at 200 MeV

Intermediate mass fragments (IMF) from the interaction of $^{27}$Al, $^{59}$Co and $^{197}$Au with 200 MeV protons were measured in an angular range from 20 degree to 120 degree in the laboratory system. The fragments, ranging from isotopes of helium up to isotopes of carbon, were isotopically resolved. Double differential cross sections, energy differential cross sections and total cross sections were extracted.Comment: accepted by Phys. Rev.

How diverse is the diet of adult South Africans?

The original publication is available at http://www.nutritionj.com/content/10/1/33Abstract. Background. The objective of the current study was to measure dietary diversity in South Africans aged 16 years and older from all population groups as a proxy of food security. Methods. A cross-sectional study representative of adults from all specified ages, provinces, geographic localities, and socio-economic strata in South Africa was used (n = 3287). Trained interviewers visited participants at their homes during the survey. Dietary data was collected by means of a face validated 24 hour recall which was not quantified. A dietary diversity score (DDS) was calculated by counting each of 9 food groups. A DDS <4 was regarded as reflecting poor dietary diversity and poor food security. Results The provinces with the highest prevalence of poor dietary diversity (DDS <4) were Limpopo (61.8%) and the Eastern Cape (59.6%). By contrast, only 15.7% of participants in Western Cape had a low score. Participants in tribal areas (63.9%) and informal urban areas (55.7%) were by far the worst affected. There were significant differences in DDS by Living Standards Mean (LSM) analysis (p < 0.05) with the lowest LSM group having the lowest mean DDS (2.93).The most commonly consumed food groups were cereals/roots; meat/fish; dairy and vegetables other than vitamin A rich. Eggs, legumes, and vitamin A rich fruit and vegetables were the least consumed. Conclusion. Overall the majority of South Africans consumed a diet low in dietary variety. The tribal areas and informal urban areas were worst affected and eggs, legumes and vitamin A rich fruit and vegetables, were the least consumed.Publishers' versio

No evidence of an 11.16 MeV 2+ state in 12C

An experiment using the 11B(3He,d)12C reaction was performed at iThemba LABS at an incident energy of 44 MeV and analyzed with a high energy-resolution magnetic spectrometer, to re-investigate states in 12C published in 1971. The original investigation reported the existence of an 11.16 MeV state in 12C that displays a 2+ nature. In the present experiment data were acquired at laboratory angles of 25-, 30- and 35- degrees, to be as close to the c.m. angles of the original measurements where the clearest signature of such a state was observed. These new low background measurements revealed no evidence of the previously reported state at 11.16 MeV in 12C

Aggregated Mycobacterium tuberculosis Enhances the Inflammatory Response

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) bacilli readily aggregate. We previously reported that Mtb aggregates lead to phagocyte death and subsequent efficient replication in the dead infected cells. Here, we examined the transcriptional response of human monocyte derived macrophages to phagocytosis of aggregated Mtb relative to phagocytosis of non-aggregated single or multiple bacilli. Infection with aggregated Mtb led to an early upregulation of pro-inflammatory associated genes and enhanced TNFα signaling via the NFκB pathway. These pathways were significantly more upregulated relative to infection with single or multiple non-aggregated bacilli per cell. Phagocytosis of aggregates led to a decreased phagosome acidification on a per bacillus basis and increased phagocyte cell death, which was not observed when Mtb aggregates were heat killed prior to phagocytosis. Mtb aggregates, observed in a granuloma from a patient, were found surrounding a lesion cavity. These observations suggest that TB aggregation may be a mechanism for pathogenesis. They raise the possibility that aggregated Mtb, if spread from individual to individual, could facilitate increased inflammation, Mtb growth, and macrophage cell death, potentially leading to active disease, cell necrosis, and additional cycles of transmission

Wavelet signatures of KK-splitting of the Isoscalar Giant Quadrupole Resonance in deformed nuclei from high-resolution (p,p′') scattering off 146,148,150^{146,148,150}Nd

The phenomenon of fine structure of the Isoscalar Giant Quadrupole Resonance (ISGQR) has been studied with high energy-resolution proton inelastic scattering at iThemba LABS in the chain of stable even-mass Nd isotopes covering the transition from spherical to deformed ground states. A wavelet analysis of the background-subtracted spectra in the deformed 146,148,150Nd isotopes reveals characteristic scales in correspondence with scales obtained from a Skyrme RPA calculation using the SVmas10 parameterization. A semblance analysis shows that these scales arise from the energy shift between the main fragments of the K = 0, 1 and K = 2 components.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Second T = 3/2 state in 9^9B and the isobaric multiplet mass equation

Recent high-precision mass measurements and shell model calculations~[Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 108}, 212501 (2012)] have challenged a longstanding explanation for the requirement of a cubic isobaric multiplet mass equation for the lowest $A = 9$ isospin quartet. The conclusions relied upon the choice of the excitation energy for the second $T = 3/2$ state in $^9$B, which had two conflicting measurements prior to this work. We remeasured the energy of the state using the $^9{\rm Be}(^3{\rm He},t)$ reaction and significantly disagree with the most recent measurement. Our result supports the contention that continuum coupling in the most proton-rich member of the quartet is not the predominant reason for the large cubic term required for $A = 9$ nuclei

Studying the effects of thalamic interneurons in a thalamocortical neural mass model

Neural mass models of the thalamocortical circuitry are often used to mimic brain activity during sleep and wakefulness as observed in scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) signals [1]. It is understood that alpha rhythms (8-13 Hz) dominate the EEG power-spectra in the resting-state [2] as well as the period immediately before sleep [3]. Literature review shows that the thalamic interneurons (IN) are often ignored in thalamocortical population models; the emphasis is on the connections between the thalamo cortical relay (TCR) and the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN). In this work, we look into the effects of the IN cell population on the behaviour of an existing thalamocortical model containing the TCR and TRN cell populations [4]. A schematic of the extended model used in this work is shown in Fig.1. The model equations are solved in Matlab using the Runge-Kutta method of the 4th/5th order. The model shows high sensitivity to the forward and reverse rates of reactions during synaptic transmission as well as on the membrane conductance of the cell populations. The input to the model is a white noise signal simulating conditions of resting state with eyes closed, a condition well known to be associated with dominant alpha band oscillations in EEG e.g. [5]. Thus, the model parameters are calibrated to obtain a set of basal parameter values when the model oscillates with a dominant frequency within the alpha band. The time series plots and the power spectra of the model output are compared with those when the IN cell population is disconnected from the circuit (by setting the inhibitory connectivity parameter from the IN to the TCR to zero). We observe (Fig. 2 inset) a significant difference in time series output of the TRN cell population with and without the IN cell population in the model; this in spite of the IN having no direct connectivity to and from the TRN cell population (Fig. 1). A comparison of the power spectra behaviour of the model output within the delta (1-3.5Hz), theta (3.75-7.5Hz), alpha (7.75-13.5Hz) and beta (13.75-30.5Hz) bands is shown in Fig. 2. Disconnecting the IN cell population shows a significant drop in the alpha band power and the dominant frequency of oscillation now lies within the theta band. An overall ‘slowing’ (left-side shift) of the power spectra is observed with an increase within the delta and theta bands and a decrease in the alpha and beta bands. Such a slowing of EEG is a signature of slow wave sleep in healthy individuals, and this suggests that the IN cell population may be centrally involved in the phase transition to slow wave sleep [6]. It is also characteristic of the waking EEG in Alzheimer’s disease, and may help us to understand the role of the IN cell population in modulating TCR and TRN cell behaviour in pathological brain conditions