A dilemma in South African vocational guidance - and a possible solution

The dilemma in vocational guidance in the new democratic South Africa is clear. The rapidly changing social, demographic and economic features of life in South Africa require the immediate provision of culturally relevant vocational services to historically disadvantaged individuals and groups - services which have been as yet non-existent because of the previous systematic and structural exclusion of persons of colour from the development of relevant vocational guidance tests and procedures. In this article the authors suggest the implementation of self-help vocational guidance instruments (SHI’s) as a possible solution to the dilemma. An example of a self-constructed SHI is given as an illustration of how teachers can construct self-help instruments for their schools

Career role modelling: a challenge to career education

The aim of this article is to determine to what extent a career role modelling programme as method of career information dissemination for all communities, but especially of service to the disadvantaged, can be instrumental in addressing the existing void in the career information dissemination system in South Africa. It was determined that a career role modelling programme can make a significant contribution to establishing an inexpensive and effective career information system in a diverse South African society

"Grootlamsiekte", a specific syndrome of prolonged gestation in sheep caused by a shrub Salsola tuberculata (Fenzl ex Moq) Schinz var. tomentosa C. A. Smith ex Aellen

A specific syndrome of prolonged gestation in sheep in South West Africa was studied and eventually reproduced by artificial feeding of the shrub, S. tuberculata var. tomentosa. lt was determined that the main period of insult occurred during the last 50 days of pregnancy. The trend of both progesterone and cortisol levels resembled those of normal ewes except for a considerable delay during this 50-day period. Apart from the abnormal length of gestation and concomitant features such as retarded udder development, no signs of toxicosis were manifested by the ewes. The most significant features in the postmature lambs were progressive hypophysial, adrenal and thymic atrophy; hypertrophy of the female genitalia, polyfollicularity of the ovaries and Leydig cell hypoplasia; long haircoat, erupted incisors and pigmentation especially of the kidneys and lymph nodes, but no abnormal a natomical features were found. ln rats, rations containing the shrub prolonged both gestation and the dioestrous phase of the oestrous cycle. The active ingredient of the plant is not an oestrogenic or a nti-oestrogenic substance. It was successfully extracted with alcoholic compounds.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 300dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.Veterinary Research Institute, Onderstepoor

Risk factors for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) death in a population cohort study from the Western Cape Province, South Africa

BACKGROUND. Risk factors for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) death in sub-Saharan Africa and the effects of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis on COVID-19 outcomes are unknown. METHODS. We conducted a population cohort study using linked data from adults attending public-sector health facilities in the Western Cape, South Africa. We used Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for age, sex, location, and comorbidities, to examine the associations between HIV, tuberculosis, and COVID-19 death from 1 March to 9 June 2020 among (1) public-sector “active patients” (≥1 visit in the 3 years before March 2020); (2) laboratory-diagnosed COVID-19 cases; and (3) hospitalized COVID-19 cases. We calculated the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for COVID-19, comparing adults living with and without HIV using modeled population estimates. RESULTS. Among 3 460 932 patients (16% living with HIV), 22 308 were diagnosed with COVID-19, of whom 625 died. COVID- 19 death was associated with male sex, increasing age, diabetes, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease. HIV was associated with COVID-19 mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 2.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.70–2.70), with similar risks across strata of viral loads and immunosuppression. Current and previous diagnoses of tuberculosis were associated with COVID-19 death (aHR, 2.70 [95% CI, 1.81–4.04] and 1.51 [95% CI, 1.18–1.93], respectively). The SMR for COVID-19 death associated with HIV was 2.39 (95% CI, 1.96–2.86); population attributable fraction 8.5% (95% CI, 6.1–11.1). CONCLUSIONS. While our findings may overestimate HIV- and tuberculosis-associated COVID-19 mortality risks due to residual confounding, both living with HIV and having current tuberculosis were independently associated with increased COVID-19 mortality. The associations between age, sex, and other comorbidities and COVID-19 mortality were similar to those in other settings.The Western Cape Provincial Health Data Centre from the Western Cape Department of Health, the US National Institutes for Health (grant numbers R01 HD0804, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development and the Wellcome Trust.https://academic.oup.com/cid/am2023Veterinary Tropical Disease