Small and micro enterprises – aspects of knowledge, attitudes and practices of managers\' and food handlers\' knowledge of food safety in the proximity of Tygerberg Academic Hospital, Western Cape

Objective. This study determined hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) awareness among managers of food-producing small and micro enterprises (SMEs) as well as selected aspects of the knowledge, attitude and practices of respective food handlers regarding food safety. Setting. SMEs within a 30 km range of Tygerberg Academic Hospital. Methods. SMEs were divided into two categories: those providing food to clients at risk of illness (N = 64) and to clients free of illness (N = 81). SMEs were randomly selected and managers/employees completed validated questionnaires regarding HACCP (145 managers) and food safety (159 food handlers). Results. Only 6% of managers reported awareness of HACCP being mandatory in South Africa. More than 70% of managers and food handlers had received no formal training regarding food safety. The perception that food safety control should focus on general cleanliness still prevailed among 57.2% of managers. Food handlers achieved an unsatisfactory score (46.0%) on the basic principles of food safety. Ignorance among food handlers regarding important risk factors was as follows: ways of identifying contaminated food likely to cause food poisoning (77.5%), period of keeping prepared food safe (50.9%), correct way of cooling food (63.1%) or reheating food (84.9%), reason for checking date codes (68.1%) and use of a thermometer (90.6%). There was no significant difference in the results obtained between food handlers in SMEs providing food to healthy clients or clients at risk of illness. Conclusion. Creating awareness and understanding of HACCP among managers of SMEs and education regarding the control of risk factors remain crucial.South African Journal Clinical Nutrition Vol. 20 (2) 2007: pp. 50-6

Development and testing of recipes suitable for patients with chronic renal failure

Objectives: The main objectives of the study were to develop and test recipes that meet the nutritional requirements of and are acceptable to patients with chronic renal failure. The secondary objectives were to  determine gender and racial differences in the participants’ responsesduring consumer sensory testing. Design: This was a descriptive study with an analytical component. Materials and methods: Patients on haemodialysis (n = 42) and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (n = 3) from Tygerberg Academic Hospital were included. Data were collected in three phases with census sampling: 1) the development and adaptation of recipes; 2) sensory testing with the nine-point hedonic scale; and 3) the rating of recipes, final nutritional analysis and the allocation of renal exchanges. Results: Recipes were developed and adapted to suit the needs of the target population. Forty-five patients took part in the sensory evaluation (acceptance, appearance, smell, texture and taste) of 30 recipes. Twenty-three recipes were deemed acceptable (> 80% of the participants scored ≥ 6 out of 9). Significant differences were found between the male and female subgroups for Fish and Vegetable Pie (p = 0.031), Chicken Pilaf (p = 0.008) and Date Fingers (p = 0.002) and between the black and Westernised subgroups for Rice Salad (p = 0.006), Wheat and Mushroom Casserole (p = 0.022), Curried Wheat Salad (p = 0.043) and Coconut Ice (p = 0.005). The 23 recipes were nutritionally analysed and renal exchanges were allocated. Conclusion: The 23 recipes that were acceptable to the study participants are recommended for inclusion in the RenalSmart software program. The recipes are suitable for patients following a Westernised diet.Keywords: sensory evaluation, chronic renal failure, 9-point Hedonic scal

What inspires birders to migrate South towards Africa? A quantitative measure of international avitourist motivation

Despite the rapid growth of avitourism (birding) globally, the international market potential of avitourism is not fully utilised. This research endeavoured to develop a multidimensional measure of avitourist motivation and to investigate the relative importance of the different dimensions or factors of avitourist motivation. Based on an in-depth review of the literature, a measure of birder motivation was developed. The research instrument was evaluated by a group of birding experts. The instrument was further evaluated and refined based on primary data gathered from 439 visitors to the British Birdwatching Fair and the Dutch Vogelfestival. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the dimensionality and fit of the instrument based on the proposed factorial structure. Finally, a second-order confirmatory factor analysis model for avitourist motivation revealed higher-order constructs, namely wellbeing, intellectual activity, social interaction and photography. The results suggest that the photography dimension could be excluded as a motivational factor, and that birders consider aspects of wellbeing (emotional, spiritual, physical and mental stimulation) as the most important factors that motivate birding.Keywords: avitourism (birding tourism), bird fairs, travel motivations, second-orderconfirmatory factor analysi

An unusual case of acute pulmonary embolism

Patiant with a history of hypertension presented to the emergency room with progressive dyspnoea over afew weeks. There was no relevant past history. Clinical examination revealed an elevated jugular venous pressure, pedal oedema and tenderness in the right hypochondrium

Benchmarking avi-tourism literacy rates among Gauteng school learners

Literacy on birds and the natural environment among young citizens is critical in addressing current and emerging environmental challenges. To improve the future awareness, involvement, knowledge, values and pro-environmental behaviour of young South Africans towards birds, the natural habitat of birds and avi-tourism, this article benchmarks avi-tourism literacy rates among secondary school learners. The study arrived at an avi-tourism literacy rate of 43.66% which presupposes passive behaviour of learners towards birds, bird habitat and avi-tourism activities. Besides lacking basic bird and environmental knowledge, learners have also not yet reached the desired levels of emotional affection towards birds and the natural environment. However, increased awareness and affinity, involvement, values and behavioural intention will most likely entice pro-avi and environmental behaviour. The research poses clear challenges to professionals and educators within the tourism industry of South Africa to increase learners’ willingness and motivation to act pro-environmentally through dedicated education. This supports the need to introduce an intervention programme in order to promote awareness, knowledge, values and pro-avi and environmental behaviour among learners

A call to action: Addressing the reproductive health needs of women with drug-resistant tuberculosis

Although there is substantial risk to maternal and neonatal health in the situation of pregnancy during treatment for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB), there is little evidence to guide clinicians as to how to manage this complexity. Of the 49 680 patients initiated on RR-TB treatment from 2009 to 2014 in South Africa, 47% were women and 80% of them were in their reproductive years (15 - 44). There is an urgent need for increased evidence of the safety of RR-TB treatment during pregnancy, increased access to contraception during RR-TB treatment, and inclusion of reproductive health in research on the prevention and treatment of TB

Exploring critical failure modes in the rail environment and the consequential costs of unplanned maintenance

CITATION: Conradie, P. D. F. & Treurnicht, N. F. 2012. Exploring critical failure modes in the rail environment and the consequential costs of unplanned maintenance. In CIE42 Proceedings, 15-18 July 2012, Cape Town, South Africa.This study explores in-service failure modes for rolling stock in the rail environment, identifies the most critical failures and explores the consequential cost of these failure modes. Rolling stock is maintained according to maintenance plans with a major goal being the prevention of in-service failures, but due to the nature of the equipment not all failures can be prevented. In-service failures normally result in train delays or the cancellations of trains not only disrupting commuter services but also causing financial losses. The typical failures of rolling stock are analysed using data from the facility maintenance management system. The critical failure modes are identified and classified according to cause, severity, consequence and frequency parameters. A decision model is employed to classify the criticality of the failure modes. The most prominent critical failure modes are analysed to determine root causes, to conclude the investigation. Areas are identified where the focus of future investigation and planned maintenance will have the most significant impact.Post prin

What inspires birders to migrate South towards Africa? A quantitative measure of international avitourist motivation

Despite the rapid growth of avitourism (birding) globally, the international market potential of avitourism is not fully utilised. This research endeavoured to develop a multidimensional measure of avitourist motivation and to investigate the relative importance of the different dimensions or factors of avitourist motivation. Based on an in-depth review of the literature, a measure of birder motivation was developed. The research instrument was evaluated by a group of birding experts. The instrument was further evaluated and refined based on primary data gathered from 439 visitors to the British Birdwatching Fair and the Dutch Vogelfestival. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the dimensionality and fit of the instrument based on the proposed factorial structure. Finally, a second-order confirmatory factor analysis model for avitourist motivation revealed higher-order constructs, namely wellbeing, intellectual activity, social interaction and photography. The results suggest that the photography dimension could be excluded as a motivational factor, and that birders consider aspects of wellbeing (emotional, spiritual, physical and mental stimulation) as the most important factors that motivate birding.http://www.unisa.ac.za/sabusinessreviewam201

Mechanism of virus attenuation by codon pair deoptimization

Codon pair deoptimization is an efficient virus attenuation strategy, but the mechanism that leads to attenuation is unknown. The strategy involves synthetic recoding of viral genomes that alters the positions of synonymous codons, thereby increasing the number of suboptimal codon pairs and CpG dinucleotides in recoded genomes. Here we identify the molecular mechanism of codon pair deoptimization-based attenuation by studying recoded influenza A viruses. We show that suboptimal codon pairs cause attenuation, whereas the increase of CpG dinucleotides has no effect. Furthermore, we show that suboptimal codon pairs reduce both mRNA stability and translation efficiency of codon pair-deoptimized genes. Consequently, reduced protein production directly causes virus attenuation. Our study provides evidence that suboptimal codon pairs are major determinants of mRNA stability. Additionally, it demonstrates that codon pair bias can be used to increase mRNA stability and protein production of synthetic genes in many areas of biotechnology

Distinct polymorphisms in a single herpesvirus gene are capable of enhancing virulence and mediating vaccinal resistance

Modified-live herpesvirus vaccines are widely used in humans and animals, but field strains can emerge that have a higher virulence and break vaccinal protection. Since the introduction of the first vaccine in the 1970s, Marek's disease virus overcame the vaccine barrier by the acquisition of numerous genomic mutations. However, the evolutionary adaptations in the herpesvirus genome responsible for the vaccine breaks have remained elusive. Here, we demonstrate that point mutations in the multifunctional meq gene acquired during evolution can significantly alter virulence. Defined mutations found in highly virulent strains also allowed the virus to overcome innate cellular responses and vaccinal protection. Concomitantly, the adaptations in meq enhanced virus shedding into the environment, likely providing a selective advantage for the virus. Our study provides the first experimental evidence that few point mutations in a single herpesviral gene result in drastically increased virulence, enhanced shedding, and escape from vaccinal protection