Changing students’ moral reasoning ability – is it at all possible?

Background. Ethics training at tertiary level is important to facilitate an understanding of patient dignity and respect. Traditionally, ethics has been taught in the form of didactic lectures; however, the authors are of the opinion that practical applications are more useful.Objective. To measure students’ moral reasoning frameworks before and after an intensive course in medical ethics. Methods. The study cohort was given a pre- and post-test of the moral behaviour scale (MBS). The t-test for matched scores was performed to determine the presence of significant differences between the mean pre- and post-test scores for the 5 scales of the MBS.Results. The study showed that there was a change in the students’ moral behaviour when a specific course structure was evaluated.Conclusion. A combination of didactic and Socratic methodology of training had some effect on the moral reasoning ability of healthcare students

Sense of humour and adolescents’ cognitive flexibility

Objective: There is a lack of research on humour among adolescents in South Africa. This article examines cognitive flexibility and humour. The objective was to investigate the roles of gender and language as possible moderating variables in the relationship between adolescents’ cognitive flexibility and sense of humour. Design: A correlational research design was used in which pupils were asked to complete the Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale to assess their sense of humour. In order to determine the cognitive flexibility of the sample group, Martin and Rubin’s Cognitive Flexibility Scale was applied. Setting and subjects: The initial sample comprised 1 203 adolescents (Grade 11 and 12 pupils) randomly selected from the Eastern Cape, Gauteng and Mpumalanga. Of these, a final 392 adolescents qualified after eliminating criteria had been applied.Results: No significant correlations were found between the total group or for the two genders. Significant positive correlations were found between cognitive flexibility and two of the scores for humour (creating and expressing humour), as well as for the total score for Afrikaans-speaking participants. Significant negative correlations were found between cognitive flexibility and all five of the scores for humour for the Nguni language speakers. Conclusion: This study recommends that culturally sensitive measuring instruments should be developed.Keywords: sense of humour, cognitive flexibility, adolescents, psychological well-being, language, gende

Depression among Sesotho speakers in Mangaung, South Africa

Objective: Depression will be the most common mental disorder by 2020, and it is also expected to be the second leading cause of disability, after cardiac diseases. Moreover, depression is likely to be a major public health burden in the future. This study evaluates the influences of culture on the symptoms of depression among Sesotho speakers. Method: An evaluation of a sample of 100 participants diagnosed with depression was conducted, using the Psychiatric Interview Questionnaire. Results: It was found that depression among Sesotho speakers is manifested in three areas: somatic symptoms, perceptual disturbances and disturbances of the thought processes. Conclusion: Since it has become clear, on the basis of the investigation, that depression is a culturally diverse phenomenon, the authors also recommend that research in this regard should be conducted from a multidisciplinary perspective, so that other paradigms, including those of sociology and anthropology, can also be included.African Psychiatry Review Vol. 11 (1) 2008: pp. 35-4

Job satisfaction amongst teachers at special needs schools

The aim of this study was to establish the level of job satisfaction amongst teachers at special schools. Teachers in special schools need to cope with curriculum changes, the administrative duties that come with these changes, and the learners with their diverse needs. Learners with special needs require a specific educational programme and also schools that cater for the needs of learners with emotional, social, neurological or physical problems. The research group consisted of 101 teachers working at six different special schools situated in various parts of the Bloemfontein area, two in the Mangaung area, and four were situated in suburban areas. The group consisted of English- and Afrikaans-speaking teachers of both genders and from different race groups. The data for this study were compiled by means of a short biographical questionnaire and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. The results indicated that the teachers experienced an average level of job satisfaction. In addition to this finding, differences were also found in the levels of job satisfaction between different races, but not between genders.Keywords: job satisfaction; Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire; South African education; special school

Revival of the magnetar PSR J1622-4950: observations with MeerKAT, Parkes, XMM-Newton, Swift, Chandra, and NuSTAR

New radio (MeerKAT and Parkes) and X-ray (XMM-Newton, Swift, Chandra, and NuSTAR) observations of PSR J1622-4950 indicate that the magnetar, in a quiescent state since at least early 2015, reactivated between 2017 March 19 and April 5. The radio flux density, while variable, is approximately 100x larger than during its dormant state. The X-ray flux one month after reactivation was at least 800x larger than during quiescence, and has been decaying exponentially on a 111+/-19 day timescale. This high-flux state, together with a radio-derived rotational ephemeris, enabled for the first time the detection of X-ray pulsations for this magnetar. At 5%, the 0.3-6 keV pulsed fraction is comparable to the smallest observed for magnetars. The overall pulsar geometry inferred from polarized radio emission appears to be broadly consistent with that determined 6-8 years earlier. However, rotating vector model fits suggest that we are now seeing radio emission from a different location in the magnetosphere than previously. This indicates a novel way in which radio emission from magnetars can differ from that of ordinary pulsars. The torque on the neutron star is varying rapidly and unsteadily, as is common for magnetars following outburst, having changed by a factor of 7 within six months of reactivation.Comment: Published in ApJ (2018 April 5); 13 pages, 4 figure

The bovine alveolar macrophage DNA methylome is resilient to infection with Mycobacterium bovis

DNA methylation is pivotal in orchestrating gene expression patterns in various mammalian biological processes. Perturbation of the bovine alveolar macrophage (bAM) transcriptome, due to Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) infection, has been well documented; however, the impact of this intracellular pathogen on the bAM epigenome has not been determined. Here, whole genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) was used to assess the effect of M. bovis infection on the bAM DNA methylome. The methylomes of bAM infected with M. bovis were compared to those of non-infected bAM 24 hours post-infection (hpi). No differences in DNA methylation (CpG or non-CpG) were observed. Analysis of DNA methylation at proximal promoter regions uncovered >250 genes harbouring intermediately methylated (IM) promoters (average methylation of 33-66%). Gene ontology analysis, focusing on genes with low, intermediate or highly methylated promoters, revealed that genes with IM promoters were enriched for immune-related GO categories; this enrichment was not observed for genes in the high or low methylation groups. Targeted analysis of genes in the IM category confirmed the WGBS observation. This study is the first in cattle examining genome-wide DNA methylation at single nucleotide resolution in an important bovine cellular host-pathogen interaction model, providing evidence for IM promoter methylation in bAM

Confronting historical legacies of biological anthropology in South Africa-Restitution, redress and community-centered science: The Sutherland Nine

We describe a process of restitution of nine unethically acquired human skeletons to their families, together with attempts at redress. Between 1925-1927 C.E., the skeletonised remains of nine San or Khoekhoe people, eight of them known-in-life, were removed from their graves on the farm Kruisrivier, near Sutherland in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. They were donated to the Anatomy Department at the University of Cape Town. This was done without the knowledge or permission of their families. The donor was a medical student who removed the remains from the labourers' cemetery on his family farm. Nearly 100 years later, the remains are being returned to their community, accompanied by a range of community-driven interdisciplinary historical, archaeological and analytical (osteobiographic, craniofacial, ancient DNA, stable isotope) studies to document, as far as possible, their lives and deaths. The restitution process began by contacting families living in the same area with the same surnames as the deceased. The restitution and redress process prioritises the descendant families' memories, wishes and desire to understand the situation, and learn more about their ancestors. The descendant families have described the process as helping them to reconnect with their ancestors. A richer appreciation of their ancestors' lives, gained in part from scientific analyses, culminating with reburial, is hoped to aid the descendant families and wider community in [re-]connecting with their heritage and culture, and contribute to restorative justice, reconciliation and healing while confronting a traumatic historical moment. While these nine individuals were exhumed as specimens, they will be reburied as people

Setting a baseline for global urban virome surveillance in sewage

The rapid development of megacities, and their growing connectedness across the world is becoming a distinct driver for emerging disease outbreaks. Early detection of unusual disease emergence and spread should therefore include such cities as part of risk-based surveillance. A catch-all metagenomic sequencing approach of urban sewage could potentially provide an unbiased insight into the dynamics of viral pathogens circulating in a community irrespective of access to care, a potential which already has been proven for the surveillance of poliovirus. Here, we present a detailed characterization of sewage viromes from a snapshot of 81 high density urban areas across the globe, including in-depth assessment of potential biases, as a proof of concept for catch-all viral pathogen surveillance. We show the ability to detect a wide range of viruses and geographical and seasonal differences for specific viral groups. Our findings offer a cross-sectional baseline for further research in viral surveillance from urban sewage samples and place previous studies in a global perspective