The quality of specimens obtained by fine-needle aspiration biopsy: does training make a difference?

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the outcome of a one-hour training session on the correct technique of fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) by assessing adequacy of FNAB specimens received from clinicians at an academic hospital.Method: Six clinicians were recruited and their FNABs assessed, six months prior to, and then again after, a one-hour training session in correct technique. Questionnaires were completed prior to the training session and after the subsequent six-month period, to determine the subjective assessment of the clinicians’ perceived value of the training on their aspiration technique.Results: Five of the clinicians had never received training in FNAB technique. The adequacy of the aspirates for all six clinicians did not improve, although this was not statistically significant. They performed a median of 15.5 FNABs in the six months prior to training, and 13.5 FNABs in the six-month follow-up period. Five of the six clinicians subjectively perceived the quality of the aspirates to have improved, and all six recommended the training session to their colleagues.Conclusion: No improvement was noted after training, but the number of FNABs performed per clinician was suboptimal. Previous studies have shown that clinicians performing relatively few aspirates perform poorly, even if they have received adequate training. The fact that all six would recommend the training session to colleagues is encouraging, and the authors recommend that formal training in FNAB technique should be included in the undergraduate medical curriculum.S Afr Fam Pract 2012;54(5):425-42

Nuns, guns and nursing : an Anglican sisterhood and imperial wars in South Africa 1879-1902

Peer reviewedThe Community of St Michael and All Angels, an Anglican religious community of women, was established in Bloemfontein the Orange Free State in 1874. The sisterhood was established firstly in the context of the midnineteenth century catholic revival within Anglicanism, and secondly in the context of changing roles for women which saw their increased engagement in public philanthropy. This article focuses on the work of sisters and associates of the community as military nurses in the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879, the Transvaal war of 1880-1881 and the South African war of 1899-1902, and examines the extent to which community life allowed the sisters a degree of independence within a patriarchal church; analyses women’s role in the colonial and imperial enterprise in southern Africa; and explores the extent to which the sisters’ role as military nurses contributed to increased official and public recognition of a professional role for women.Research Institute for Theology and Religio

"The upholding of the sap from the tree": the reminiscences of Sister Monica Fanny SSJD

Peer reviewedThis article explores the life and work of Sister Monica Fanny of the Society of St John the Divine (SSJD), an Anglican religious community for women which was founded in Pietermaritzburg, Natal in 1887. The biographical text itself is a unique document, since records of religious communities tend to focus on the work of the community as a whole rather than on the life of an individual. The article examines Monica Fanny’s own representation of her life, as well as the particular personality and ministry of a woman in the context of the largely educational work of the community as a whole, and explores themes of race, class and gender both in the Anglican church and in colonial society in the first four decades of the 20th century. While the article indicates that membership of a religious community enabled women to exercise a more public ministry than that allowed to lay women, it also shows that this was not accompanied by the gender consciousness which would lead the sisters of the community to seek greater freedom of ministry for all women in the church.Research Institute for Theology and Religio

Anglican missionary policy in the diocese of Grahamstown under the first two bishops, 1853-1871

In 1843 a committee of the Colonial Bishroprics Fund appointed to investigate the state of the Church of England at the Cape of Good Hope, recommended the formation of a bishopric, and suggested that the bishop settle in the eastern districts of the colony, with an archdeacon in Cape Town. Three significant principles had been enunciated: the church was to grow under a bishop, the church would have a dual mission to blacks and whites, and the colony's eastern frontier, long a political and military headache, was seen as the focus of a new and spiritual battle. Contact between Nguni tribesmen and the eastward-moving European trekboer began in the region of the Fish River during the rule of the Dutch East India Company. Cattle and land were the main ingredients of the frontier conflict. From the point of view of the white settler, the growing cattle trade meant an increased need for pasture, but although the motive for expansion was economic, frontiersmen had come to regard large lands as their birthright. The semi-nomadic pastoral economy of the Nguni also required abundance of land, which was vested in the tribe. To the tribesmen, their cattle had a political, social and religious significance which transcended the economic. Cattle were sacrificed to the ancestors to propitiate the shades of the departed and to secure the prosperity of the tribe. The years of conflict, the constant threat to their herds and their land, undermined the basis of Nguni society, without providing it with a new foundation

Peyronie's disease - a perspective on the disease and the long-term results of radiotherapy

From 1966 to 1988, 98 of 108 patients with symptomatic Peyronie's disease received radiotherapy at our institution. In 11 of 61 patients (18%) who attended the clinic regularly for follow-up for longer than a year, new lesions distinct from the original lesions developed. This confirms that there is progression of the disease in a substantial number of cases after treatment. Long-term follow-up over an average of 111,5 months was achieved by means of a questionnaire in 47 of the 98 cases (48%). Forty-one of these patients (87,2%) had sexual intercourse after radiation. Twenty-eight of the 41 (68,3%) still have intercourse. Their average age at present is 59,6 years while the average age of the 13 patients (31,7%) not having intercourse is 70,9 years. The decline in sexual activity is thus age-related. Twenty-one of 25 patients (84%) experienced relief from pain, and angulation of the penis improved in 17 of 44 patients (38,6%) after radiotherapy. Radiotherapy may therefore be of benefit to patients with active Peyronie's disease and should be investigated in a randoIIlised controlled study

High dose-rate brachytherapy in the radical treatment of cervical cancer. An analysis of dose effectiveness and incidence of late radiation complications

Published ArticleWorldwide, uterine cervical cancer is one of the most frequently occurring cancers in women, with more than 80% of these cases occurring in developing countries. The South African screening policy and screening program, implemented in 2001, attempt to reduce this incidence of cervical cancer in South Africa. It is essential to treat these women with the best modalities available. This retrospective study focused specifically on the curative potential of radiotherapy administered to patients at the Oncology Department, Bloemfontein, since a new modality of high dose-rate intracavitary brachytherapy was implemented in 1994. Late radiation complications were also investigated

Primary pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma in a 12-year-old African child

Pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma is a rare malignant tumour predominantly occurring in Asian patients. It has identical histological features to nasopharyngeal carcinoma. To date, Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) in pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma has been limited to the Asian population. This manuscript presents an unusual case in a 12-year-old African boy in which the tumour tested positive for EBV

Predicting the throughput of grain products at the multipurpose terminal at the Port of Cape Town

CITATION: Goedhals-Gerber, L. L. 2016. Predicting the throughput of grain products at the multipurpose terminal at the Port of Cape Town. Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management, 10(1), a249, doi:10.4102/jtscm.v10i1.249.The original publication is available at http://www.jtscm.co.zaENGLISH SUMMARY : Background: Ports provide vital links in the maritime supply chains on which the trading of countries depend, and their efficiency and performance can contribute largely to the international competitiveness of those countries. However, to achieve and maintain such a contribution, port operators need to understand their role in a national economy and the factors that underlie the efficiency of the intermodal link that ports constitute in international supply chains. One such factor is the capacity of specialised cargo terminals. Objectives: This article described a possible technique for forecasting the throughput of grain imports through the bulk grain terminal at the Port of Cape Town. It determined whether the capacity in the bulk grain terminal is sufficient to handle current and forecasted volumes of imported grains or whether the volumes justify expansion or upgrading of the bulk grain terminal in the Port of Cape Town. Method: The Box–Jenkins methodology for autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models was applied. An ARIMA model – 2 parameter, 1 difference – was selected to do the forecast. Results: The average tonnage of all grains imported through the Port of Cape Town that can be expected in a month is approximately 90 000 tons. The maximum tonnage of all grains imported through the Port of Cape Town that can be expected in a month is approximately 180 000 tons. Conclusion: The analyses show that the demand for imports of grain products at the multipurpose terminal in the Port of Cape Town is not growing substantially. The analyses also identify that the current upper limits of grain imports are within the existing handling and storage capacities of the bulk grain terminal.http://www.jtscm.co.za/index.php/jtscm/article/view/249Publisher's versio

The measurement of supply chain efficiency : theoretical considerations and practical criteria

Thesis (PhD (Logistics))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.ENGLISH SUMMARY: In an effort to compete globally, South African supply chains must achieve and maintain a competitive advantage. One way of achieving this is by ensuring that South African supply chains are as efficient as possible. Consequently, steps must be taken to evaluate the efficiency levels of South African supply chains. This dissertation develops the composite supply chain efficiency model using variables specifically identified as problem areas experienced by South African supply chains. The composite supply chain efficiency model evaluates the overall efficiency of a supply chain based on three criteria, namely, reliability efficiency, cost efficiency and speed efficiency. It identifies bottlenecks along the supply chain and in so doing identifies key focus areas for firms if they want to improve their overall efficiency and become more competitive. 3AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In ’n poging om wˆereldwyd te kompeteer, moet Suid-Afrikaanse voorsieningskettings ’n mededingende voordeel behaal en handhaaf. Een manier om dit te bereik is om te verseker dat Suid-Afrikaanse voorsieningskettings so doeltreffend as moontlik funksioneer. Gevolglik moet stappe gedoen word om die doeltreffendheidsvlakke van die Suid-Afrikaanse voorsieningskettings te evalueer. Hierdie proefskrif het die saamgestelde voorsieningsketting doeltreffendheidsmodel ontwikkel wat veranderlikes gebruik wat spesifiek ge¨ıdentifiseer is as probleemgebiede in Suid-Afrikaanse voorsieningskettings. Die saamgestelde voorsieningsketting doeltreffendheidsmodel evalueer die algehele doeltreffendheid van ’n voorsieningsketting gebaseer op drie kriteria, naamlik, betroubaarheidsdoeltreffendheid, koste-doeltreffendheid en spoed-doeltreffendheid. Dit identifiseer knelpunte in die voorsieningsketting en identifiseer belangrike fokusareas vir ondernemings wat aangespreek moet word as hul algehele doeltreffendheid wil verbeter en meer mededingend raak.jfl201