Modelling risk exposure of BTEX emissions from a diesel refuelling station in Johannesburg, South Africa

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, August 2015.Petrol and diesel fumes are known to be anthropogenic sources of air pollutants that have a negative impact on both environmental and human health. In developing countries, attendants are still employed to pump fuel for customers. In South Africa gas pump attendants refuel vehicles with various octane unleaded petrol, lead replacement petrol (LRP) and diesel on a daily basis. Attendants are particularly at risk to adverse health effects associated with inhalation of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). Of increasing concern in recent years are the volatile organic compounds (VOCs), with particular reference to the six aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and three isomeric xylenes), namely the BTEX

Mobile Xhosa

Funded by Division of African Languages and Literatures, UCT.Mobile Xhosa is a resource for South African Medical Professionals - free and right on their cellphones - that will assist them when communicating with Xhosa-speaking patients. It is intended to facilitate a basic level of communication with Xhosa-speaking patients and should not be seen as a replacement to learning the Xhosa language, which would vastly improve communication. This resource is valuable to physicians and other medical practitioners who are not yet fluent in Xhosa but would like to be able to transmit basic medical concepts and ask questions in their patients' home language. Funded by Division of African Languages and Literatures, UCT

Mobile Zulu

Funded by Division of African Languages and Literatures, UCT.Mobile Zulu is a resource for South African Medical Professionals - free and right on their cellphones - that will assist them when communicating with Zulu-speaking patients. It is intended to facilitate a basic level of communication with Zulu-speaking patients and should not be seen as a replacement to learning the Zulu language, which would vastly improve communication. This resource is valuable to physicians and other medical practitioners who are not yet fluent in Zulu but would like to be able to transmit basic medical concepts and ask questions in their patients' home language

Case mix and workload of patients seen at three private emergency centres in Cape Town, South Africa

Objectives: To determine the case mix and workload of patients presenting to three private emergency centres in Cape Town Design: A Prospective cross sectional observational study was undertaken Setting and subjects: A convenience sample of all prospective patients that presented to three private emergency centres namely Melomed Gatesville, Melomed Bellville and Melomed Mitchell's plain during the month of September 2013 The outcome measures included the following:- ● Determining basic metrics across all three units over study time ● Determining the triage parameters for patients sampled across three units ● Direct time study of patients through unit ● Determining Doctor to patient workloads ● Determining Nurse to patient workloads ● Determining average number of patients receiving special investigations Results: Third party funding was responsible for 91 % of patients seen. The patient profiles consisted primarily of lower acuity presentations. There were clear peaks of attendance with lower acuity presentations decreasing after 10 pm. The majority of patients were discharged and very few required specialist follow up. Conclusions: This study provides valuable information with regards to private emergency centres in the predominantly low income and low socio economic sectors of the Western Cape, Cape town thus allowing a greater focus on the operational aspects of Emergency Centres In these areas and to assist with future planning of the management and running of similar Emergency Centres

An Investigation of Foundation Phase Teachers' Perceptions of Their Needs Within the Inclusive Classroom

Student Number : 9604227E - MEd research report - School of Human and Community Development - Faculty of HumanitiesThis study investigates the needs of Foundation Phase teachers within an inclusive education system. The policy of inclusion in education is currently being promoted in many countries and has over the last decade been part of the new educational movement in South Africa. The rationale for this study lies in the pivotal role of teachers in facilitating the success of an inclusive system. The study utilises a sample of eighteen female teachers in the Foundation Phase of six different township-based mainstream primary schools in Gauteng. The schools share similar socio-economic backgrounds, and are all dual medium of instruction (English and Afrikaans), co-ed schools. The participants range in age from 26-59 years old, having a tertiary qualification in education and a range of teaching experience from 1 year to over 10 years. The teachers were asked to participate in a guided interview that was designed to examine 1) their perceptions of what they need in order to be effective within their classrooms, 2) their perceptions of their competency in managing diversity within their classrooms, and 3) their perceptions of support services with regard to in-service training programmes, district-based support teams, school-based support teams, and within school resources. The findings revealed that the major needs of teachers within an inclusive setting relate to: smaller class size, less administrative paperwork, specialised support from professional experts within the field of education (e.g. psychologists, remedial teachers), greater support from support teams, and training programmes aimed at directly addressing their difficulty in adequately meeting the individual needs of learners. Further, the teachers feel that they do not possess the necessary skills that are needed to cope with meeting the demands of learner diversity within their classrooms. The results of this study provide reasons for concern regarding teachers who are viewed as the key role-players for the successful implementation of inclusive education. The research findings suggest that unless the needs of teachers are acknowledged and addressed through effective interventions, the implementation of inclusive education could encounter serious obstacles. The limitations of the present study are discussed and directions for future research are made

The role of redox-dependent CD4 isomerization and membrane re-distribution in HIV-1 infection

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Johannesburg, 2016CD4, a key molecule of the immune system, is expressed on the surface of certain T lymphocytes (T cells) and participates in MHC class II driven lymphocyte activation. It is also the essential primary receptor for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) cell entry. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and other redox-active molecules are important components of the immunological response. They initiate cytocidal responses of the pathogen defence scheme, and redox-activated signalling events ensure appropriate induction of adaptive immunological responses. A redox imbalance can result in failure of essential regulatory mechanisms and the development of pathological immune conditions. An increasing amount of evidence suggests that redox active enzymes such as thioredoxin (Trx) are implicated in CD4 immunological function and in HIV entry at the cell surface, and the dynamic localization of CD4 in specific plasma membrane microdomains, like detergent resistant membrane microdomains (DRM) or lipid rafts, has been shown to play a key role in these regards. However, the biological utility of both the microdomain distribution and the disulphide reduction of CD4, together with the interplay between these processes and the role of cellular oxidoreductases therein remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated a cell surface-based Trx redox system, and asked whether a relationship exists between these two fundamental aspects of CD4 function by analysing how manipulating cell surface redox conditions affects CD4 membrane domain localization and HIV entry into host CD4-positive (CD4 +) cells. Our investigation of the role of a cell surface redox system in regulating CD4 function was prefaced by research into the membrane association of a variant of Thioredoxin reductase 1 (TrxR1), the enzyme responsible for reducing (and thereby recharging) the active site cysteines of Trx. These studies, carried out in the laboratory of Prof. E Arner (Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet), were the first to show that a TrxR1 variant called TXNRD1_v3 (henceforth v3) is targeted to DRM domains via N-terminal acylation. Although the role(s) of v3 in this context remains poorly understood, the evidence suggesting that TrxR can associate with the plasma membrane under certain circumstances alludes to the importance of redox capacity at the cell surface, which increasingly suggests it is essential for the function of CD4. To this end, using a transgenic cell line that has been extensively used to model HIV entry and various HIV pseudoviruses, we then analysed the effects of manipulating cell surface redox conditions on CD4 membrane domain distribution and HIV entry. Our results showed that under normal cell growth conditions, the majority of CD4 is associated with detergent soluble regions of the plasma membrane (non-raft regions). Intriguingly, we found that the inhibition of cellular oxidoreductases, and specifically Trx1, results in a redistribution of CD4 into DRMs. CD4 DRM redistribution appears to be targeted, as other cell surface molecules (such as the HIV co-receptor, CCR5) remain unaffected. Furthermore, the redistribution of CD4 to the DRM’s correlates with reduced CD4-dependent HIV infection. Overall, these findings provide evidence for the presence of cell surface-acting redox systems and demonstrate how redox exchanges influence CD4 localization and function. In the context of HIV, our data support previous findings that the thioredoxin system plays an important role in regulating viral entry, which may be related to uncoupled trafficking of CD4 and the HIV co-receptor. Trx-mediated regulation of CD4 membrane domain trafficking may represent a redox switch for functional CD4 clustering during T cell activation.MT201

Reconstructing educational psychology in the South African context : school systems consultation as a dimension of service delivery

Summary in English.Bibliography: leaves 92-99.This study aims to illustrate, explore and argue for school systems consultation as a dimension of educational psychology service deli very which is appropriate in the South African context. It connects with the principles which guide policy development in education, and particularly, education support services in the country. A qualitative inquiry approach was adopted, in which case study methodology was employed to illuminate systems analysis and intervention at a special school in Cape Town. The participants included all adults who were employed in the school, with focus on the management, teachers and teacher-assistants. A variety of methods were used including interviews, observation, role-play and facilitation of group process. A qualitative, thematic approach was employed in the analysis and interpretation of data, extrapolating patterns, themes and relations around communication, beliefs, change and power

Nuruddin Farah: A pas de deux across The World Republic of Letters

Nuruddin Farah’s life and work is used in Pascale Casanova’s The World Republic of Letters to exemplify the challenges of the dispossessed writer on the periphery of the hierarchical, binary, and highly agonistic world literary system she describes. However, precisely because of his unique position on the Somali literary periphery of the African periphery, Farah’s work and career represent the practice of Casanova’s theory in advance of its formulation. The Somali writer’s negotiation of entry into the dominant world literary order since the publication of his first novel in 1970 suggests an implicit understanding of the literary system Casanova outlines only towards the end of the twentieth century. In other words, Farah does not derivatively illustrate the theory, but his career and novels preempt through practice the major insights of Casanova’s theory. Farah’s career, furthermore, suggests a wider polycentrism of influence than allowed in the hierarchical binarism of Casanova’s model. Finally, the postcolonial aesthetic of “teacherliness”, clearer in the late realism of Farah’s mature work, signals a fundamental rewriting, rather than a derivative renewal, of modernist aesthetic modes privileging technique of the major cities of the global north. Keywords: Nuruddin Farah, Pascale Casanova, world systems, literary theory, postcolonial literature, translation

A subepidermal blistering disorder

A young woman presented with generalised tense blisters. A tentative diagnosis of linear IgA bullous dermatosis (LABD) was supported by biopsy findings. Dramatic improvement was noted after 5 days of treatment with dapsone