A comparison of the response of PADC neutron dosemeters in high-energy neutron fields

Within the framework of the EURADOS Working Group 11, a comparison of passive neutron dosemeters in high-energy neutron fields was organised in 2011. The aim of the exercise was to evaluate the response of poly-allyl-glycol-carbonate neutron dosemeters from various European dosimetry laboratories to high-energy neutron fields. Irradiations were performed at the iThemba LABS facility in South Africa with neutrons having energies up to 66 and 100 Me

Establishing a South African national framework for COVID-19 surgical prioritisation

Background. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, surgical operations have been drastically reduced in South Africa (SA). Guidelines on surgical prioritisation during COVID-19 have been published, but are specific to high-income countries. There is a pressing need for context-specific guidelines and a validated tool for prioritising surgical cases during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the South African National Surgical Obstetric Anaesthesia Plan Task Team was asked by the National Department of Health to establish a national framework for COVID-19 surgical prioritisation.Objectives. To develop a national framework for COVID-19 surgical prioritisation, including a set of recommendations and a risk calculatorfor operative care.Methods. The surgical prioritisation framework was developed in three stages: (i) a literature review of international, national and local recommendations on COVID-19 and surgical care was conducted; (ii) a set of recommendations was drawn up based on the available literature and through consensus of the COVID-19 Task Team; and (iii) a COVID-19 surgical risk calculator was developed and evaluated.Results. A total of 30 documents were identified from which recommendations around prioritisation of surgical care were used to draw up six recommendations for preoperative COVID-19 screening and testing as well as the use of appropriate personal protective equipment. Ninety-nine perioperative practitioners from eight SA provinces evaluated the COVID-19 surgical risk calculator, which had high acceptability and a high level of concordance (81%) with current clinical practice.Conclusions. This national framework on COVID-19 surgical prioritisation can help hospital teams make ethical, equitable and personalised decisions whether to proceed with or delay surgical operations during this unprecedented epidemic

The first cyborg and First World War bodies as anti-war propaganda

This article discusses a play published in The Strand Magazine during the First World War which features a cyborg presenting anti-war and pacifist messages, used by The Strand to create anti-German propaganda. The article draws on theories of disability, cyborgs and the posthuman, and from new research on wartime fiction magazines. The importance of the cyborg character, Soldier 241, for the literary history of science fiction is explored by focusing on the relations between the mechanical and the impaired body, and on the First World War as a nexus for technological, surgical and military development. As a cyborg, this character reflects politicized desires that the wartime authorities did not acknowledge: a longing for the end of war, and refusal to countenance a society that rejected the impaired body

Reconstruction of major maternal and paternal lineages of the Cape Muslim population

The earliest Cape Muslims were brought to the Cape (Cape Town - South Africa) from Africa and Asia from 1652 to 1834. They were part of an involuntary migration of slaves, political prisoners and convicts, and they contributed to the ethnic diversity of the present Cape Muslim population of South Africa. The history of the Cape Muslims has been well documented and researched however no in-depth genetic studies have been undertaken. The aim of the present study was to determine the respective African, Asian and European contributions to the mtDNA (maternal) and Y-chromosomal (paternal) gene pool of the Cape Muslim population, by analyzing DNA samples of 100 unrelated Muslim males born in the Cape Metropolitan area. A panel of six mtDNA and eight Y-chromosome SNP markers were screened using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphisms (PCR-RFLP). Overall admixture estimates for the maternal line indicated Asian (0.4168) and African mtDNA (0.4005) as the main contributors. The admixture estimates for the paternal line, however, showed a predominance of the Asian contribution (0.7852). The findings are in accordance with historical data on the origins of the early Cape Muslims.Web of Scienc

Is the APLS formula used to calculate weight-for-age applicable to a Trinidadian population?

In paediatric emergency medicine, estimation of weight in ill children can be performed in a variety of ways. Calculation using the 'APLS' formula (weight = [age + 4] × 2) is one very common method. Studies on its validity in developed countries suggest that it tends to under-estimate the weight of children, potentially leading to errors in drug and fluid administration. The formula is not validated in Trinidad and Tobago, where it is routinely used to calculate weight in paediatric resuscitation

Establishing a South African national framework for COVID-19 surgical prioritisation

CITATION: Chu, K. M. et al. 2021. Establishing a South African national framework for COVID-19 surgical prioritisation. South African Medical Journal, 111(5):426-431, doi:10.7196/SAMJ.2021.v111i5.15603.The original publication is available at http://www.samj.org.zaBackground. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, surgical operations have been drastically reduced in South Africa (SA). Guidelines on surgical prioritisation during COVID-19 have been published, but are specific to high-income countries. There is a pressing need for context-specific guidelines and a validated tool for prioritising surgical cases during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the South African National Surgical Obstetric Anaesthesia Plan Task Team was asked by the National Department of Health to establish a national framework for COVID-19 surgical prioritisation. Objectives. To develop a national framework for COVID-19 surgical prioritisation, including a set of recommendations and a risk calculator for operative care. Methods. The surgical prioritisation framework was developed in three stages: (i) a literature review of international, national and local recommendations on COVID-19 and surgical care was conducted; (ii) a set of recommendations was drawn up based on the available literature and through consensus of the COVID-19 Task Team; and (iii) a COVID-19 surgical risk calculator was developed and evaluated. Results. A total of 30 documents were identified from which recommendations around prioritisation of surgical care were used to draw up six recommendations for preoperative COVID-19 screening and testing as well as the use of appropriate personal protective equipment. Ninety-nine perioperative practitioners from eight SA provinces evaluated the COVID-19 surgical risk calculator, which had high acceptability and a high level of concordance (81%) with current clinical practice. Conclusions. This national framework on COVID-19 surgical prioritisation can help hospital teams make ethical, equitable and personalised decisions whether to proceed with or delay surgical operations during this unprecedented epidemic.http://www.samj.org.za/index.php/samj/article/view/13237Publisher's versio

New nuclear structure and decay results in the 76Ge-76As system

The process of neutrinoless double beta decay plays a key role in modern neutrino physics. The experiments on the 76Ge neutrinoless double beta decay using germanium-semiconductors are at the forefront in this field. Due to the extremely low count rates expected for this rare decay, any kind of background event in the detector, especially at energies close to Q = 2039 keV has to be avoided. Therefore a careful investigation on the neutron-induced background was carried out. In this scope experiments investigating the inelastic-neutron-excitation of 76Ge and the de-exitation of its 69th level have been performed. The 70Ge(n,jn)68Ge crossection was measured with quasi-monoenergetic neutrons. In order to calculate the Matrixelement for the transition between the 76Ge-76As groundstates the Electron Capture at 76As has been measured for the first time.JRC.D.4-Standards for Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguard