Natural archives of long-range transported contamination at the remote lake Letšeng-la Letsie, Maloti Mountains, Lesotho

Naturally accumulating archives, such as lake sediments and wetland peats, in remote areas may be used to identify the scale and rates of atmospherically deposited pollutant inputs to natural ecosystems. Co-located lake sediment and wetland cores were collected from Letšeng-la Letsie, a remote lake in the Maloti Mountains of southern Lesotho. The cores were radiometrically dated and analysed for a suite of contaminants including trace metals and metalloids (Hg, Pb, Cu, Ni, Zn, As), fly-ash particles, stable nitrogen isotopes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and persistent organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated flame retardants (PBDEs) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB). While most trace metals showed no recent enrichment, mercury, fly-ash particles, high molecular weight PAHs and total PCBs showed low but increasing levels of contamination since c.1970, likely the result of long-range transport from coal combustion and other industrial sources in the Highveld region of South Africa. However, back-trajectory analysis revealed that atmospheric transport from this region to southern Lesotho is infrequent and the scale of contamination is low. To our knowledge, these data represent the first palaeolimnological records and the first trace contaminant data for Lesotho, and one of the first multi-pollutant historical records for southern Africa. They therefore provide a baseline for future regional assessments in the context of continued coal combustion in South Africa through to the mid-21st century

A critical analysis of labour leg islation on sexual harassment in the workplace

LLM (partial), North-West University, Mahikeng CampusThere is a recurring problem of sexual harassment in South African workplaces. The disclosures in 2017 and 2018 social media campaign of “#MeToo #Notokay #NotInMyName” demonstrates that there is a high rate of sexual harassment around the world, including in the workplace. This study raises concern about both the interpretation and labour laws and policies regulating sexual harassment in the workplace. This study strives to investigate whether South African labour laws provide adequate measures to curb sexual harassment in the workplace. The original Code of 1998 and the amended 2005 Code leans more on application of subjective approaches when dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace. The CCMA and court decisions bear testimony to this claim. Firstly, this study contends that a subjective approach may lead to malpractice in case law by overly sensitive employees who may interpret any situation as hostile despite the alleged conduct. Moreover, this mini-dissertation agues for the adoption of reasonable victim person tests based on the facts and lodge of complaint when dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace, taking into consideration that it comprises both the subjective test and objective test. Sexual harassment is defined as unwanted conduct that infringes upon the employee’s human right to dignity, privacy and bodily integrity. This analysis reflects on the nature and forms of sexual harassment, the factors that the court could consider in determining what constitutes unwanted conduct, the impact of sexual harassment on the employee and its effect on the human rights of employees. Furthermore, it examines the remedies that could be invoked by the victims of sexual harassment in the workplace. The analysis concludes with recommendations that may be adapted by South African labour laws in prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace.Master

Assessing wetland functionality using soil surface indicators in Letšengla-Letsie wetland in Quthing District, Lesotho

Wetlands are globally valuable ecosystems as they provide many important services to the human society, yet the ecology of some of them is yet to be understood. This study assessed the functionality of Letšeng-la-Letsie wetland in Lesotho, using the Landscape Function Analysis (LFA) technique and soil quality indicators. LFA threshold values for stability, infiltration and nutrient cycling were found to be >50%, >30% and >20%, respectively, whereas the mean surface stability, infiltration and nutrient cycling were 55.4 ± 1.9%, 28 ± 1.9%, and 15.5 ± 2% respectively. Although soil cover was high, the soil was unstable with low litter and low cryptogam cover. These rendered the soil less fertile, resulting in lower primary plant productivity and nutrient cycling potential. The three LFA indices were correlated with soil quality indicators, including pH, carbon, nitrogen, soil texture, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, cation exchange capacity and phosphorus. Clay content and CEC had a significant (p < 0.05) negative correlation with the LFA indices and soil organic carbon. Redundancy analysis showed that stability was positively correlated to soil carbon and potassium. Monitoring of this wetland ecosystem is deemed necessary for the early warning of possible landscape degradation, as a result of induced pressures on the ecosystem. Keywords: inter-patches, landscape function analysis indices, patches, soil quality, wetland ecosyste

Overview of endpoints.

BackgroundIn absence of contraindications, same-day initiation (SDI) of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is recommended for people testing HIV-positive who are ready to start treatment. Until 2021, World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines considered the presence of TB symptoms (presumptive TB) a contraindication to SDI due to the risk of TB-immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (TB-IRIS). To reduce TB-IRIS risk, ART initiation was recommended to be postponed until results of TB investigations were available, and TB treatment initiated if active TB was confirmed. In 2021, the WHO guidelines changed to recommending SDI even in the presence of TB symptoms without awaiting results of TB investigations based on the assumption that TB investigations often unnecessarily delay ART initiation, increasing the risk for pre-ART attrition from care, and noting that the clinical relevance of TB-IRIS outside the central nervous system remains unclear. However, this guideline change was not based on conclusive evidence, and it remains unclear whether SDI of ART or TB test results should be prioritized in people with HIV (PWH) and presumptive TB.Design and methodsSaDAPT is an open-label, pragmatic, parallel, 1:1 individually randomized, non-inferiority trial comparing two strategies for the timing of ART initiation in PWH with presumptive TB (“ART first” versus “TB results first”). PWH in Lesotho and Malawi, aged 12 years and older (re)initiating ART who have at least one TB symptom (cough, fever, night sweats or weight loss) and no signs of intracranial infection are eligible. After a baseline assessment, participants in the “ART first” arm will be offered SDI of ART, while those in the “TB results first” arm will be offered ART only after active TB has been confirmed or refuted. We hypothesize that the “ART first” approach is safe and non-inferior to the “TB results first” approach with regard to HIV viral suppression (Expected outcomesSaDAPT will provide evidence on the safety and effects of SDI of ART in PWH with presumptive TB in a pragmatic clinical trial setting.Trial registrationThe trial has been registered on clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05452616; July 11 2022).</div

SPIRIT schedule of enrolment, interventions, and assessments.

Timing of the TB results review is depending on local routine procedures. Tracing only applies to participants without documented HIV viral load between week 22 and 30. HIV viral load will be measured during tracing if participant was found and no viral load result between week 22 and 30 became available. SAE: Serious Adverse Event, AESI: Adverse Event of Special Interest, CrAg: Cryptococcal antigen test.</p

SPIRIT checklist.

BackgroundIn absence of contraindications, same-day initiation (SDI) of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is recommended for people testing HIV-positive who are ready to start treatment. Until 2021, World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines considered the presence of TB symptoms (presumptive TB) a contraindication to SDI due to the risk of TB-immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (TB-IRIS). To reduce TB-IRIS risk, ART initiation was recommended to be postponed until results of TB investigations were available, and TB treatment initiated if active TB was confirmed. In 2021, the WHO guidelines changed to recommending SDI even in the presence of TB symptoms without awaiting results of TB investigations based on the assumption that TB investigations often unnecessarily delay ART initiation, increasing the risk for pre-ART attrition from care, and noting that the clinical relevance of TB-IRIS outside the central nervous system remains unclear. However, this guideline change was not based on conclusive evidence, and it remains unclear whether SDI of ART or TB test results should be prioritized in people with HIV (PWH) and presumptive TB.Design and methodsSaDAPT is an open-label, pragmatic, parallel, 1:1 individually randomized, non-inferiority trial comparing two strategies for the timing of ART initiation in PWH with presumptive TB (“ART first” versus “TB results first”). PWH in Lesotho and Malawi, aged 12 years and older (re)initiating ART who have at least one TB symptom (cough, fever, night sweats or weight loss) and no signs of intracranial infection are eligible. After a baseline assessment, participants in the “ART first” arm will be offered SDI of ART, while those in the “TB results first” arm will be offered ART only after active TB has been confirmed or refuted. We hypothesize that the “ART first” approach is safe and non-inferior to the “TB results first” approach with regard to HIV viral suppression (Expected outcomesSaDAPT will provide evidence on the safety and effects of SDI of ART in PWH with presumptive TB in a pragmatic clinical trial setting.Trial registrationThe trial has been registered on clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05452616; July 11 2022).</div