Incarcerated students' experiences of UNISA’s open distance e-learning at one Medium Correctional Centre

Technology mediated pedagogies of the 21st century present new and unprecedented challenges for incarcerated tertiary students. The researchers, employing a qualitative exploratory research design, sought to explore the learning experiences of UNISA students incarcerated at Baviaanspoort Medium Correctional Centre. Six participants were sampled purposively and recruited to participate during a focus group interview. Qualitative content analysis revealed the ever-changing landscape of higher education due to the advent of digitised e-learning; the unique challenges encountered by incarcerated students studying at tertiary level; strategies for overcoming barriers associated with ODeL; and that lastly, in the context of imprisonment, student-centeredness is still primarily informed by a constructivist approach to ODL. The study concluded that students’ learning experiences, and by extension, academic success, can be enhanced provided learner support is augmented for incarcerated tertiary students

A mathematical model for assessing the impact of poverty on yaws eradication

AbstractA neglected disease with a nearly forgotten name is making a comeback following a global control programme that almost eradicated it more than forty years ago. Until the 1970s the prevalence of non-venereal treponematosis, including yaws, was greatly reduced after worldwide mass treatment. In 2005, cases were again reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A deterministic model is formulated to investigate the impact of poverty on yaws eradication. Threshold parameters are determined and stabilities analysed. The reproductive number was also used to assess the impact of birth rate in resource-constrained families on the dynamics of yaws. The model was shown to be globally stable whenever the associated reproductive number is less than a unity. Using the Lyapunov function it was proved that whenever the associated reproductive number is greater than a unity an endemic equilibrium exists and is globally asymptotically stable. Results from this theoretical study suggests that if the population of children in the community is dominated by those from resource-constrained families, then yaws eradication will remain difficulty to attain. Thus, more needs to be done in addressing issues such as high fertility rate, overcrowding, poor sanitation, etc. and poverty in general so that yaws epidemic which was successfully controlled several decades ago will cease to reemerge and can easily be eradicated

Linear and nonlinear optical absorption characterization of natural laccaic acid dye

We report on the optical performances of laccaic acid dye in solution at different concentrations and dye–poly(methyl methacrylate) composite thin films. The linear spectral characteristics including optical constants, i.e. refractive index (n) and extinction coefficient (k), were carried out in a comprehensive way through absorbance, fluorescence and ellipsometric studies. The nonlinear optical parameters such as nonlinear absorption coefficient β eff (or β 2), the imaginary third-order susceptibility (Im[χ (3)]) and the imaginary part of second-order hyperpolarizability (γ) of the samples were evaluated using the open-aperture Z-scan technique with a laser pulse duration of 10 ns at 532 nm wavelength. The corresponding numerical values of these parameters were of 10−10, 10−11 and 10−32 order, respectively. Two-photon absorption was revealed to be the main driving physical mechanism in the nonlinear response. This suggests that laccaic acid dye can be a potential candidate for NLO materials application

The Dynamics of Luminescence

Domestic light providing devices have always been an important component of life and continue to provide us light beyond sunset. These devices continue to be improved frequently to allow ease of use and to enhance their efficiency. The tungsten electric light bulbs are widely used, which are based on incandescence of a continuously heated tungsten element. However, their use will soon be short lived because of the increased usage of fluorescent tubes and light-emitting diode (LED) devices, which are based on luminescence emission. These emission materials that display luminescence are called phosphors, and their emission is based on electron transitions. In the following chapter, we shall look into photoluminescence from both intrinsic and extrinsic defects, covering both down- and upconversion (UP). We will look into the concept of energy transfer and persistent luminescence and lastly provide related applications of luminescence in the modern days

Quality of care provided to patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Tshwane, South Africa

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is a public health challenge, affecting 90% of all patients with diabetes, globally. Compliance to treatment guidelines among healthcare professionals (HCPs) is low, thus resulting in inadequate quality of patient care and poor health outcomes among patients. Aim: To examine the availability of equipment, guidelines, screening and education offered to patients with T2D and compare between clinics and community health centres (CHCs). Setting: Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study utilised a self-administered questionnaire to collect data from nurses and doctors responsible for treating patients with T2D, from May to June 2022. About 250 eligible HCPs were recruited during routine morning meetings in 22 clinics and six CHCs. Results: More than 80% of HCPs reported having basic equipment except for ophthalmoscopes, Snellen charts (67%), tuning forks (64%), electrocardiograms (ECG) (46%) and monofilaments (12%). SEMDSA guidelines were reported by 16% of the participants, Diabetic Foot Care Guidelines were reported by 54% and Dietary Guidelines for Diabetic Patients by 55%. Furthermore, 91%, 71% and 69% of HCPs reported that ECG, microalbumin-creatinine and foot examinations were not always performed, respectively. About 66% and 17% always offered individual educational and group sessions, respectively. Conclusion: Equipment availability and compliance with treatment guidelines, patient education and screening of chronic complications are inadequate. Contribution: The study highlights the poor adherence to treatment guidelines and inadequate equipment in health facilities. These shortcomings could lead to missed opportunities for early diagnosis of complications and ultimately poorer patient outcomes

Optical properties of biosynthesized nanoscaled Eu2O3 for red luminescence applications

This contribution reports on the optical properties of biosynthesised Eu2O3 nanoparticles bioengineered for the first time by a green and cost effective method using aqueous fruit extracts of Hyphaene thebaica as an effective chelating and capping agent. The morphological, structural, and optical properties of the samples annealed at 500°C were confirmed by using a high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM), x-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), UV–Vis spectrocopy, and photoluminescence spectrometer. The XRD results confirmed the characteristic body-centered cubic (bcc) structure of Eu2O3 nanoparticles with an average size of 20 nm. HR-TEM revealed square type morphology with an average size of ∼6nm. Electron dispersion energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy spectrum confirmed the elemental single phase nature of pure Eu2O3. Furthuremore, the Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy revealed the intrinsic characteristic peaks of Eu−O bond stretching vibrations. UV–Vis reflectance proved that Eu2O3 absorbs in a wide range of the solar spectrum from the VUV–UV region with a bandgap of 5.1 eV. The luminescence properties of such cubic structures were characterized by an intense red emission centered at 614 nm. It was observed that the biosynthesized Eu2O3 nanoparticles exhibit an efficient red-luminescence and hence a potential material as red phosphor

Towards Establishment of a Rice Stress Response Interactome

Rice (Oryza sativa) is a staple food for more than half the world and a model for studies of monocotyledonous species, which include cereal crops and candidate bioenergy grasses. A major limitation of crop production is imposed by a suite of abiotic and biotic stresses resulting in 30%–60% yield losses globally each year. To elucidate stress response signaling networks, we constructed an interactome of 100 proteins by yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assays around key regulators of the rice biotic and abiotic stress responses. We validated the interactome using protein–protein interaction (PPI) assays, co-expression of transcripts, and phenotypic analyses. Using this interactome-guided prediction and phenotype validation, we identified ten novel regulators of stress tolerance, including two from protein classes not previously known to function in stress responses. Several lines of evidence support cross-talk between biotic and abiotic stress responses. The combination of focused interactome and systems analyses described here represents significant progress toward elucidating the molecular basis of traits of agronomic importance

May Measurement Month 2018: a pragmatic global screening campaign to raise awareness of blood pressure by the International Society of Hypertension

Aims Raised blood pressure (BP) is the biggest contributor to mortality and disease burden worldwide and fewer than half of those with hypertension are aware of it. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global campaign set up in 2017, to raise awareness of high BP and as a pragmatic solution to a lack of formal screening worldwide. The 2018 campaign was expanded, aiming to include more participants and countries. Methods and results Eighty-nine countries participated in MMM 2018. Volunteers (≥18 years) were recruited through opportunistic sampling at a variety of screening sites. Each participant had three BP measurements and completed a questionnaire on demographic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg, or taking antihypertensive medication. In total, 74.9% of screenees provided three BP readings. Multiple imputation using chained equations was used to impute missing readings. 1 504 963 individuals (mean age 45.3 years; 52.4% female) were screened. After multiple imputation, 502 079 (33.4%) individuals had hypertension, of whom 59.5% were aware of their diagnosis and 55.3% were taking antihypertensive medication. Of those on medication, 60.0% were controlled and of all hypertensives, 33.2% were controlled. We detected 224 285 individuals with untreated hypertension and 111 214 individuals with inadequately treated (systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg) hypertension. Conclusion May Measurement Month expanded significantly compared with 2017, including more participants in more countries. The campaign identified over 335 000 adults with untreated or inadequately treated hypertension. In the absence of systematic screening programmes, MMM was effective at raising awareness at least among these individuals at risk