Comment on: Funke N and Nienaber S (2012) Promoting uptake and use of conservation science in South Africa by government (Water SA 38 (1) 105-113)

No Abstract

Medical students using the technique of 55-word stories to reflect on a 6-week rotation during the integrated primary care block

Background. Reflection and reflective practice are identified as a core competency for graduates in health professions education. Students are expected to be in a position to process experiences in a variety of ways through reflective learning. In doing so, they can explore the understanding of their actions and experiences, and the impact of these on themselves and others. Objectives. To draw on 5-weekly reflections by final-year medical students during the integrated primary care block placement. These reflections explore the learning that occurred during the rotation and the change in experiences during this period, and illustrate the use of reflection as a tool to support the development of professional practice. Methods. This descriptive qualitative study analysed students’ 55-word reflective stories during a 6-week preceptorship in either a rural or urban primary healthcare centre. The writing technique of short 55-word reflective stories was used to record student experiences. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted using MAXQDA software. This involved identifying the most commonly used words for each week through a word cloud, highlighting each week’s most notable focus for learning to generate themes and sub-themes. Results. Analysis of 127 logbook entries generated 464 stories on a range of experiences that had a significant impact on learning. Students’ reflections in the first 2 weeks were linked to personal experiences and views about the block. In subsequent weeks, reflections focused on the individual responses of students to the learning experiences regarding the curriculum, patient care, ethics, professionalism and the health system. Conclusions. The reflections highlighted the key learning experiences of the medical students and illustrated how meaning is constructed from these experiences. The 55-word stories as a reflection tool have potential to support reflection for students, and provide valuable insight into medical students’ learning journey during their clinical training

Early-stage venture capital in South Africa: Challenges and prospects

The aim of this paper is to assess which factors impact the development of early-stage venture capital in South Africa. Factors identified for other markets and countries are explored and their relative importance in South Africa determined from the perspective of market participants. These include venture capital and private equity fund managers, government institutions, intermediaries and university research coordinators. The study used both an online survey, to capture a broad representation of opinion, and interviews, for in-depth responses. There was broad consensus among respondents with regards to the key factors requiring attention, which include the lack of funds targeted at early-stage investments, the lack of specialised fund managers, and the low entrepreneurial skillsets in the country. Through a detailed analysis of the responses, certain measures are proposed that can enhance the development of early-stage venture capital in South Africa such as engaging more with angel investors and improving the cooperation between the different market players in the sector

Field efficacy of hermetic and other maize grain storage options under smallholder farmer management

Household grain storage continues to be of paramount importance in improving food security in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where maize postharvest losses of 10-20 % are reported. On-farm trials to compare alternative solutions for reducing household maize storage losses were conducted in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 storage seasons in two contrasting agro-ecological zones in Hwedza district of Zimbabwe. A wide range of treatments including a commercial synthetic pesticide (Shumba super dust®1), unregistered but commonly used botanical pesticides (Aloe ash, Colophospermum mopane leaves, Eleusine coracana (rapoko) chaff, and Ocimum gratissimum), hermetic storage facilities (metal silos, GrainPro Super Grain Bags (SGB) IVR™, Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags), and storage bags with pesticide incorporated into their fabric (ZeroFly® bags), were evaluated. The results demonstrated the superiority of hermetic storage facilities (PICS bags, SGBs, and metal silos) in suppressing insect pest build up, insect grain damage and weight loss in stored maize grain. A newly introduced synthetic pesticide on the Zimbabwean market, Actellic gold dust®, was also evaluated in the 2015/16 season and was found to be highly effective. The following grain storage technologies; hermetic metal silos, SGB bags, PICS bags, and Actellic gold dust® pesticide are therefore recommended for smallholder farmer use to reduce stored grain losses due to insect pests

Blanket application rates for synthetic grain protectants across agro-climatic zones: Do they work? Evidence from field efficacy trials using sorghum grain

Many smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa rely on synthetic pesticides for protecting stored-grain. Recommendations on use of these grain protectants are typically based on “blanket” application rates which are fixed rates that are not varied according to grain type, pest range or agro-climatic regions. There are numerous anecdotal reports of storage pesticide failure or reduced efficacy from farmers. Might rising global temperatures be a contributory factor? Smallholder farmers are responding by over-applying pesticides, increasing the application frequency or switching to non-recommended pesticides; leading to a pesticide treadmill. Trials to determine the efficacy and persistence of five commercially-available synthetic pesticides applied at manufacturer's recommended rates on stored sorghum grain under contrasting climatic conditions were conducted in Mbire (mean temperatures of 32–42°C and 30–50% rh) and Harare (18–32°C; 42–75% rh) districts in Zimbabwe. Grain samples were collected at 8-week intervals throughout a 10 month period in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 storage seasons. The samples were analyzed for insect grain damage, weight loss, total number of storage insects by species and grain moisture content. Results showed significant differences in the performance of treatments (p<0.001). Grain damage was consistently higher in Harare than in Mbire. Tribolium castaneum was the dominant pest in Mbire, while Sitotroga cerealella and Sitophilus oryzae were dominant in Harare. Tribolium castaneum populations were high in the Shumba Super dust⁠® (fenitrothion 1%+deltamethrin 0.13%) treatment in Mbire, while S. cerealella was dominant in Super guard⁠® (pirimiphos-methyl 1.6%+permethrin 0.4%) and Actellic Gold dust⁠® (pirimiphos-methyl 1.6%+thiamethoxam 0.36%) treated grain in Harare. Grain moisture content varied with ambient conditions, and was high in treatments with high insect pest levels. The results show that differences in climatic conditions influence insect pest species dynamics and response to pesticide treatments. Storage pesticides are not equally effective across different climatic conditions; thus more context-specific application recommendations are required

Predicting Prostephanus truncatus (Horn) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) populations and associated grain damage in smallholder farmers’ maize stores: a machine learning approach

Prostephanus truncatus is a notorious pest of stored-maize grain and its spread throughout sub-Saharan Africa has led to increased levels of grain storage losses. The current study developed models to predict the level of P. truncatus infestation and associated damage of maize grain in smallholder farmer stores. Data were gathered from grain storage trials conducted in Hwedza and Mbire districts of Zimbabwe and collated with weather data for each of the sites. Insect counts of P. truncatus and other common stored grain insect pests had a strong correlation with time of year with highest recorded numbers from January to May. Correlation analysis showed insect-generated grain dust from boring and feeding activity to be the best indicator of P. truncatus presence in stores (r = 0.70), while a moderate correlation (r = 0.48) was found between P. truncatus numbers and storage insect parasitic wasps, and grain damage levels significantly correlated with the presence of Tribolium castaneum (r = 0.60). Models were developed for predicting P. truncatus infestation and grain damage using parameter selection algorithms and decision-tree machine learning algorithms with 10-fold cross-validation. The P. truncatus population size prediction model performance was weak (r = 0.43) due to the complicated sampling and detection of the pest and eight-week long period between sampling events. The grain damage prediction model had a stronger correlation coefficient (r = 0.93) and is a good estimator for in situ stored grain insect damage. The models were developed for use under southern Africa climatic conditions and can be improved with more input data for greater precision models to build decision-support tools for maize-based production systems

Field evaluation of hermetic and synthetic pesticide-based technologies in smallholder sorghum grain storage in hot and arid climates

Field evaluation of six grain storage technologies under hot and arid conditions (32–42 oC; rainfall < 450 mm/year) in two locations in Zimbabwe were conducted over two storage seasons. The treatments included three hermetic technologies (Purdue Improved Crop Storage bags, GrainPro Super Grainbags, metal silos); three synthetic pesticide-based treatments; and an untreated control, all using threshed sorghum grain. Sampling was at eight-week intervals for 32 weeks. Highly significant differences (p<0.01) occurred between hermetic and non-hermetic treatments regarding grain damage, weight loss, insect pest populations, and grain moisture content; with the hermetic containers exhibiting superior grain protection. Weight losses were low (<3%) in hermetic treatments compared to pesticide-based treatments (3.7 to 14.2%). Tribolium castaneum developed in metal silos, deltamethrin-incorporated polypropylene bags and a pesticide treatment containing deltamethrin 0.13% and fenitrothion 1% while Sitotroga cerealella developed in a pesticide treatment containing pirimiphos-methyl 0.16% + thiamethoxam 0.036%. Mechanisms of survival and development of these pests in the tested treatments and under similar climatic conditions need further elucidation. These hermetic technologies can be successfully used by smallholder farmers in developing countries as alternatives to synthetic pesticides for protecting stored-sorghum grain under hot and arid climatic conditions to attain household food security. To our knowledge, this is the first published study on modern hermetic storage of sorghum grain under typical smallholder storage conditions and involving stakeholders

An evaluation of psychometric properties of caregiver burden outcome measures used in caregivers of children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review protocol

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common, life-long paediatric disability. Taking care of a child with CP often results in caregiver burden/strain in the long run. As caregivers play an essential role in the rehabilitation of these children, it is therefore important to routinely screen for health outcomes in informal caregivers. Consequently, a plethora of caregiver burden outcome measures have been developed; however, there is a dearth of evidence of the most psychometrically sound tools. Therefore, the broad objective of this systematic review is to evaluate the psychometrical properties and clinical utility of tools used to measure caregiver burden in caregivers of children with CP. Methods/design: This is a systematic review for the evaluation of the psychometric properties of caregiver burden outcome tools. Two independent and blinded reviewers will search articles on PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsychINFO and Africa-Wide Google Scholar. Information will be analysed using predefined criteria. Thereafter, three independent reviewers will then screen the retrieved articles. The methodological quality of studies on the development and validation of the identified tools will be evaluated using the four point COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist. Finally, the psychometric properties of the tools which were developed and validated from methodological sound studies will then be analysed using predefined criteria. Discussion: The proposed systematic review will give an extensive review of the psychometrical properties of tools used to measure caregiver burden in caregivers of children with CP. We hope to identify tools that can be used to accurately screen for caregiver burden both in clinical setting and for research purposes

Structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of Schottky diodes based on CBD deposited ZnO : Cu nanorods

Undoped and copper doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods have been synthesized by a simple chemical bath deposition (CBD) method at a temperature of 90 C. Structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of the synthesized ZnO nanorods were found to be dependent on the Cu doping percentage. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns revealed strong diffraction peaks of hexagonal wurtzite of ZnO, and no impurity phases from metallic zinc or copper. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed changes in diameter and shape of nanorods, where by those doped with 2 at.% and 3 at.% aggregated and became compact. Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns indicates high quality, single crystalline wurtzite structure ZnO and intensities of bright spots varied with copper doping concentration. UVevisible absorption peaks of ZnO red shifted with increasing copper doping concentration. Raman studies demonstrated among others, strong and sharp E2 (low) and E2 (high) optical phonon peaks confirming crystal structure of ZnO. Current-voltage measurements based on the gold/ZnO nanorods/ITO showed good rectifying behavior of the Schottky diode. The predicted Schottky barrier height of 0.60 eV was obtained which is not far from the theoretical Schottky-Mott value of 0.80 eVThe University of Pretoria and National Research Foundation (NRF), South Africa, Grant No: 91550 and 94166.http:// www.elsevier.com/locate/superlattices2018-07-31hb2017Physic