Assessment of entrepreneurial awareness as a factor of attitude of final year undergraduate students’ choice of entrepreneurship as a career option

A study that was designed to assess entrepreneurial awareness of final year undergraduate students as a factor of their attitude towards adopting entrepreneurship as a career choice was conducted at a rural area-based university in Limpopo Province of South Africa. A survey questionnaire was administered to 310 final year students registered for various degrees in the eight schools that constituted the university. The stratified random sampling technique was used to select the respondents. Crosstabulation, correlation analysis and Mann Whitney tests were carried out using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0. Entrepreneurial awareness among the students marginally influenced their attitudes towards a career in entrepreneurship. Overall, male and female students held similar views with respect to the influence of awareness of entrepreneurship among final year undergraduate students on their attitude towards self-employment (P > 0.05). It was recommended that management and policy interventions that created enabling conditions for nurturing students to become entrepreneurs should be adopted. Among the recommended interventions was the integration of entrepreneurship education into curricula, irrespective of areas of specialisation. This would equip the students with knowledge and develop positive attitude towards venturing into entrepreneurship

Contribution of food security projects on poverty alleviation to the communities of Limpopo province, South Africa.

Despite South Africa’s economic growth having been accelerated considerably in the country, poverty levels have not decreased as one would have experienced. Food Security Projects initiated by the government of South Africa in order to help alleviate poverty within Limpopo Province have proved unsustainable and difficult to provide for what they were mandated to provide to the satisfaction of the government, which is to create jobs and alleviate poverty. The purpose of this study was to assess the contribution of food security projects on poverty alleviation in the communities. The study was conducted in the five districts of Limpopo Province, namely; Mopani, Vhembe, Capricorn, Sekhukhune and Waterberg. Qualitative design was used in this study. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interview guide which was administered to 50 chairpersons of the food security projects. The study also followed audit components such as economic components, political components, health and education components, environmental components and social components which were used to assess the economic and material characteristics of the communities. The results affirmed that food security projects are contributing to poverty alleviation to the beneficiaries and to a lesser extent to the community members.Key words: Food Security projects; Poverty alleviation, audit component

Aerosol particle morphology of residential coal combustion smoke

A study carried out at the University of Pretoria characterised aerosol particle morphology of residential coal combustion smoke. The general approach in this study was on individual particle conglomerations because the radiative, environmental, and health effects of particles may depend on specific properties of individual particles rather than on the averaged bulk composition properties. A novel, miniature denuder system, developed and tested at the University of Pretoria, was used to capture particle emissions from the coal fires. The denuder consists of two silicone rubber traps (for gas phase semi-volatile organic compound monitoring) in series separated by a quartz fibre filter (for particle collection). The denuders were positioned 1 m away from the fire and were connected to pumps that sampled ~5 litres of air over a 10 min sampling interval. A JSM 5800LV Scanning Electron Microscope with a Thermo Scientific EDS was used to analyse the structure and morphology of different aerosol samples from the quartz fibre filters. Eight samples from the different fire lighting methods were selected for SEM analysis. The punched samples were sputter coated with gold for ~15 minutes using a K550 Emitech Sputter Coater. Results show that apart from the fine and ultra-fine particles, coal smoke from domestic burning also contains aerosols greater than 5 μm in diameter. Consequently, we describe the potential for generation of ‘giant’ carbonaceous soot conglomerates with outer diameters of 5 to 100 μm. However, the exact mechanism for formation of such large soot conglomerates remains to be determined. We also describe the presence of spherules and solid ‘melted toffee’ irregular surfaces. Circumstantial evidence is used to postulate and discuss the possible modes of formation in terms of condensation, and partial melting. This work provides a description of the modes of formation and transformation of conglomerates originating from low temperature (<8000C) coal combustion.The University of Johannesburg for financial support through a URC/Faculty of Science grant to the SeTAR Centre and a grant from the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (GACC) to the SeTAR Centre as a Regional Stove Testing and Development Centre.http://www.cleanairjournal.org.zaam201

Recommendations for dealing with waste contaminated with Ebola virus: a Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points approach

Objective To assess, within communities experiencing Ebola virus outbreaks, the risks associated with the disposal of human waste and to generate recommendations for mitigating such risks. Methods A team with expertise in the Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points framework identified waste products from the care of individuals with Ebola virus disease and constructed, tested and confirmed flow diagrams showing the creation of such products. After listing potential hazards associated with each step in each flow diagram, the team conducted a hazard analysis, determined critical control points and made recommendations to mitigate the transmission risks at each control point. Findings The collection, transportation, cleaning and shared use of blood-soiled fomites and the shared use of latrines contaminated with blood or bloodied faeces appeared to be associated with particularly high levels of risk of Ebola virus transmission. More moderate levels of risk were associated with the collection and transportation of material contaminated with bodily fluids other than blood, shared use of latrines soiled with such fluids, the cleaning and shared use of fomites soiled with such fluids, and the contamination of the environment during the collection and transportation of blood-contaminated waste. Conclusion The risk of the waste-related transmission of Ebola virus could be reduced by the use of full personal protective equipment, appropriate hand hygiene and an appropriate disinfectant after careful cleaning. Use of the Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points framework could facilitate rapid responses to outbreaks of emerging infectious disease

Phytochemicals in prostate cancer: From bioactive molecules to upcoming therapeutic agents

Prostate cancer is a heterogeneous disease, the second deadliest malignancy in men and the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men. Traditional plants have been applied to handle various diseases and to develop new drugs. Medicinal plants are potential sources of natural bioactive compounds that include alkaloids, phenolic compounds, terpenes, and steroids. Many of these naturally-occurring bioactive constituents possess promising chemopreventive properties. In this sense, the aim of the present review is to provide a detailed overview of the role of plant-derived phytochemicals in prostate cancers, including the contribution of plant extracts and its corresponding isolated compounds.This work was supported by CONICYT PIA/APOYO CCTE AFB170007. N. Martins would like to thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT–Portugal) for the Strategic project ref. UID/BIM/04293/2013 and “NORTE2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte” (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012) and C. F. Rodrigues for the UID/EQU/00511/2019 Project—Laboratory of Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology, and Energy—LEPABE financed by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC)

Safety of Induced Sputum Collection in Children Hospitalized With Severe or Very Severe Pneumonia.

BACKGROUND.: Induced sputum (IS) may provide diagnostic information about the etiology of pneumonia. The safety of this procedure across a heterogeneous population with severe pneumonia in low- and middle-income countries has not been described. METHODS.: IS specimens were obtained as part a 7-country study of the etiology of severe and very severe pneumonia in hospitalized children <5 years of age. Rigorous clinical monitoring was done before, during, and after the procedure to record oxygen requirement, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, consciousness level, and other evidence of clinical deterioration. Criteria for IS contraindications were predefined and serious adverse events (SAEs) were reported to ethics committees and a central safety monitor. RESULTS.: A total of 4653 IS procedures were done among 3802 children. Thirteen SAEs were reported in relation to collection of IS, or 0.34% of children with at least 1 IS specimen collected (95% confidence interval, 0.15%-0.53%). A drop in oxygen saturation that required supplemental oxygen was the most common SAE. One child died after feeding was reinitiated 2 hours after undergoing sputum induction; this death was categorized as "possibly related" to the procedure. CONCLUSIONS.: The overall frequency of SAEs was very low, and the nature of most SAEs was manageable, demonstrating a low-risk safety profile for IS collection even among severely ill children in low-income-country settings. Healthcare providers should monitor oxygen saturation and requirements during and after IS collection, and assess patients prior to reinitiating feeding after the IS procedure, to ensure patient safety

Earth observation for sustainable urban planning in developing countries: needs, trends, and future directions

Abstract: Cities are constantly changing and authorities face immense challenges in obtaining accurate and timely data to effectively manage urban areas. This is particularly problematic in the developing world where municipal records are often unavailable or not updated. Spaceborne earth observation (EO) has great potential for providing up-to-date spatial information about urban areas. This article reviews the application of EO for supporting urban planning. In particular, the article overviews case studies where EO was used to derive products and indicators required by urban planners. The review concludes that EO has sufficiently matured in recent years but that a shift from the current focus on purely science-driven EO applications to the provision of useful information for day-to-day decision-making and urban sustainability monitoring is clearly needed

Standardization of Clinical Assessment and Sample Collection Across All PERCH Study Sites.

BACKGROUND.: Variable adherence to standardized case definitions, clinical procedures, specimen collection techniques, and laboratory methods has complicated the interpretation of previous multicenter pneumonia etiology studies. To circumvent these problems, a program of clinical standardization was embedded in the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) study. METHODS.: Between March 2011 and August 2013, standardized training on the PERCH case definition, clinical procedures, and collection of laboratory specimens was delivered to 331 clinical staff at 9 study sites in 7 countries (The Gambia, Kenya, Mali, South Africa, Zambia, Thailand, and Bangladesh), through 32 on-site courses and a training website. Staff competency was assessed throughout 24 months of enrollment with multiple-choice question (MCQ) examinations, a video quiz, and checklist evaluations of practical skills. RESULTS.: MCQ evaluation was confined to 158 clinical staff members who enrolled PERCH cases and controls, with scores obtained for >86% of eligible staff at each time-point. Median scores after baseline training were ≥80%, and improved by 10 percentage points with refresher training, with no significant intersite differences. Percentage agreement with the clinical trainer on the presence or absence of clinical signs on video clips was high (≥89%), with interobserver concordance being substantial to high (AC1 statistic, 0.62-0.82) for 5 of 6 signs assessed. Staff attained median scores of >90% in checklist evaluations of practical skills. CONCLUSIONS.: Satisfactory clinical standardization was achieved within and across all PERCH sites, providing reassurance that any etiological or clinical differences observed across the study sites are true differences, and not attributable to differences in application of the clinical case definition, interpretation of clinical signs, or in techniques used for clinical measurements or specimen collection

Microscopic Analysis and Quality Assessment of Induced Sputum From Children With Pneumonia in the PERCH Study.

BACKGROUND.: It is standard practice for laboratories to assess the cellular quality of expectorated sputum specimens to check that they originated from the lower respiratory tract. The presence of low numbers of squamous epithelial cells (SECs) and high numbers of polymorphonuclear (PMN) cells are regarded as indicative of a lower respiratory tract specimen. However, these quality ratings have never been evaluated for induced sputum specimens from children with suspected pneumonia. METHODS.: We evaluated induced sputum Gram stain smears and cultures from hospitalized children aged 1-59 months enrolled in a large study of community-acquired pneumonia. We hypothesized that a specimen representative of the lower respiratory tract will contain smaller quantities of oropharyngeal flora and be more likely to have a predominance of potential pathogens compared to a specimen containing mainly saliva. The prevalence of potential pathogens cultured from induced sputum specimens and quantity of oropharyngeal flora were compared for different quantities of SECs and PMNs. RESULTS.: Of 3772 induced sputum specimens, 2608 (69%) had 25 PMNs per LPF, measures traditionally associated with specimens from the lower respiratory tract in adults. Using isolation of low quantities of oropharyngeal flora and higher prevalence of potential pathogens as markers of higher quality, 25 PMNs per LPF) was the microscopic variable most associated with high quality of induced sputum. CONCLUSIONS.: Quantity of SECs may be a useful quality measure of induced sputum from young children with pneumonia

Adolescent self-harm in Ghana: a qualitative interview-based study of first-hand accounts

Background: Recent prevalence studies suggest that self-harm among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa is as common as it is in high income countries. However, very few qualitative studies exploring first-person accounts of adolescent self-harm are available from sub-Saharan Africa. We sought to explore the experiences and first-person perspectives of Ghanaian adolescents reporting self-harm - for deeper reflections on the interpretive repertoires available in their cultural context for making sense of self-harm in adolescents. Methods: Guided by a semi-structured interview protocol, we interviewed one-to-one 36 adolescents (24 in-school adolescents and 12 street-connected adolescents) on their experiences of self-harm. We applied experiential thematic analysis to the data. Results: Adolescents’ description of the background to their self-harm identified powerlessness in the family context and unwanted adultification in the family as key factors leading up to self-harm among both in-school and street-connected adolescents. Adolescents’ explanatory accounts identified the contradictory role of adultification as a protective factor against self-harm among street-connected adolescents. Self-harm among in-school adolescents was identified as a means of “enactment of tabooed emotions and contestations”, as a “selfish act and social injury”, as “religious transgression”, while it was also seen as improving social relations. Conclusions: The first-person accounts of adolescents in this study implicate familial relational problems and interpersonal difficulties as proximally leading to self-harm in adolescents. Self-harm in adolescents is interpreted as an understandable response, and as a strong communicative signal in response to powerlessness and family relationship difficulties. These findings need to be taken into consideration in the planning of services in Ghana and are likely to be generalisable to many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa