Observations on daily rainfall events in the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg

Five-minute rainfall data measured at different stations in the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg are presented and although the data are limited this paper is the first to analyse individual rainfall events in the area. The occurrence of rain days in the Drakensberg shows strong seasonality with most rain recorded during the summer months. Although the number of rain days as well as the number of rainfall events increases with an increase in altitude, the mean daily rainfall and mean rainfall generated from individual events is less on the escarpment than in the foothills. All stations show a high percentage of rain days with single rainfall events as well as a high proportion of rainfall received from events generating more than 10 mm, but the escarpment station receives less rainfall from these events than the stations in the foothills. It is known that rainfall in the Drakensberg is mostly generated from thunderstorms, and data presented here indicate that rainfall predominately occurs in the late afternoon/early evening when sufficient cooling has possibly taken place for condensation and cloud formation to occur.Keywords: daily rainfall, rainfall events, rain days, Drakensber

The NICE guideline on the treatment of child and adolescent depression : a meta-review of the evidence for individual CBT

This document is the accepted manuscript version of the following article: Pieter W. Nel, ‘The NICE guideline on the treatment of child and adolescent depression: a meta-review of the evidence for individual CBT’, European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling, Vol 16 (3): 267-287, first published online on 25 June 2014. The final, definitive version is available online at doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13642537.2014.929595 Published by Taylor & Francis. © 2014 Taylor & Francis.The National Institute for Clinical Excellence in the UK published its guideline on the treatment of children and adolescents who have been diagnosed with depression in 2005. Although the guideline has not been updated since, it is widely used in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in England and Wales to advocate that all children and young people who have been diagnosed with depression should have access to individual cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) through the Children and Adolescent Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (CYP-IAPT) project. This article critically reviews the guideline in terms of the evidence that NICE cites for the efficacy of individual CBT. In particular, it provides a meta-review of four randomised control trials where the effectiveness of individual CBT was compared to another psychological therapy intervention, a non-specific control intervention, and/or a wait-list. Each trial is considered separately, before looking at the overall evidence that they provide when the findings are considered as a whole. A trial comparing individual CBT to a non-psychological intervention (medication) is discussed separately. This review found that on present evidence, individual CBT cannot be viewed as an evidence-based psychological therapy for children and young people who have been diagnosed with depression.Peer reviewe

Analytical approximations of surface fields induced on convex scatters by exteriorly incident scalar fields

The boundary value problems for the Helmholtz equation give rise to boundary integral equations for the unknown surface field or its normal derivative. These integral equations involve the Helmholtz surface potentials in the form of weakly singular surface integrals. This thesis is based on a method of parameterisation of the surface integrals which removes the weak singularities provided that the surface satisfies certain convexity conditions. Firstly this method of parameterisation is applied to investigate the properties of the Helmholtz surface potentials on convex surface elements, and some new proofs are given. The theory is then applied to the boundary integral equations which arise when a scalar field is incident on a bounded scatterer. The surface integrals in these integral equations are Helmholtz potentials and can be regularised by suitable parameterisation. It is assumed that the unknoWn density function is an analytical function on the boundary of the scatterer, and can therefore be expanded as a Taylor series at any point of the surface. If this expansion is substituted into the regularised integral equation and if the operations of integration and summation are formally interchanged, then the end result is a partial differential equation of infinite order involving only the field coordinates and having analytical coefficients. However, if the Taylor expansions are truncated then partial differential equations of finite orders result. The view is taken that analytical solutions of such differential equations of finite orders can serve as _approximations for the surface field or its normal derivative provided that suitable initial conditions are imposed to ensure uniqueness. On the other hand the general solution of such a differential equation can serve as a local approximation at any point on the surface. Some basic properties of the differential equations and their solutions, called analytical approximations, are discussed and the theory is then applied to the problem of acoustic scattering from a sound hard sphere

Sacrocolpopexy - a report on 262 consecutive operations

Objectives. This report analyses the outcome and complications of 262 consecutive sacrocolpopexy procedures for the repair of vaginal vault prolapse and enterocele. Methods. From March 1994 to February 2001, 262 patients underwent surgical repair using a standardised retroperitoneal technique. Initially dura mater strips were used and from the 19th patient onwards, Gore-tex soft tissue patch was used to suspend the vaginal apex to the anterior sacral ligament. Halban-type occluding sutures were placed in the pouch of Douglas. All patients were followed up and the minimum duration of follow-up was 16 months. Results. Vaginal vault prolapse was successfully managed in 259 of 262 patients giving a success rate of 98.8%. In addition, 4 patients had a repeat enterocele that required surgical repair. The overall surgical complication rate was low. Erosion of the patch through the vaginal vault occurred in 10 patients, necessitating removal of the patch. Prolapse did not recur in any of these patients. Conclusion. Abdominal sacrocolpopexy is a very successful and safe surgical management of vaginal vault prolapse. (South African Medical Journal: 2002 92(12): 982-985

Retreating rights: Human rights, pre-theoretical praxes and student activism in South African universities

This paper is a recognition-theoretical reading of a research-study on pre-theoretical understandings of human rights amongst university students as ways to logically anchor agential options for student social activism. The study shows that the expected legal and political constructions of human rights are discursively dominant. However, from the overall results of the study, it appears students have more complex pre-theoretical understandings of human rights from which they derive justice-orientations as sources for activism. We conclude this has deliberative implications for human rights praxes

Gastric mucormycosis in a diabetic

A fatal case of gastric mucormycosis in a 46-year-old diabetic is described. The pathological findings at laparotomy and postmorte'm examination are discussed. An interesting feature was a massive splenic infarction.S. Afr. Med. J., 48, 838 (1974)

Gastric Mucormycosis in a Diabetic Patient

A fatal case of gastric mucormycosis in a 46-year-old diabetic is described. The pathological findings at laparotomy and postmorte'm examination are discussed. An interesting feature was a massive splenic infarction.S. Afr. Med. J., 48, 838 (1974)

Negotiating motherhood as a refugee: Experiences of loss, love, survival and pain in the context of forced migration

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of an article published by Taylor & Francis in European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling on September 2016, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13642537.2016.1214160 © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis GroupThe mental health of refugees has been an increasingly-researched area, but has been criticised for having an individualised and symptom-focused approach to understanding the experience of forced migration. This paper attempts to respond to calls to address this culturally limited and incomplete way of conceptualising responses to experiences of persecution and terror bound up within global hegemony and power inequalities. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was employed to analyse semi-structured interviews undertaken with six refugee mothers, with the aim of exploring how participants made sense of, and created meaning around parenting and family life in the UK. Three main themes emerged from the data analysis (a) loss as a constant companion to parenting; (b) a shifting view of the self as a mother; and (c) taking the good with the bad in family life. Methodological limitations, as well as implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.Peer reviewe

The Impact of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) on Training and Practice in Clinical Psychology

This is a pre-publication version of the following article: Pieter W. Nel, David Novelli & Lizette Nolte, 'The impact of problem-based learning on training and practice in clinical psychology', Clinical Psychology Forum, Number 294, June 2017, available online at: https://shop.bps.org.uk/publications/publication-by-series/clinical-psychology-forum/clinical-psychology-forum-no-294-june-2017.html. Published by the British Psychological Society.This study investigated the impact of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) on the training and professional practice of clinical psychologists, using a mixed method design. The findings suggest that PBL is experienced by trainees as an effective method of learning in clinical psychology.Peer reviewe

We were in one place, and the ethics committee in another: Experiences of going through the research ethics application process

© The Author(s) 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed.This study aimed to explore postgraduate students’ lived experiences of managing research ethics committee processes. Whilst there is a wide range of research that explores ethics principles/guidance and committee perspectives upon research ethics processes, there is a lack of research into applicant experiences of these processes. Thus, interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was utilised to explore the lived experiences and personal meaning-making of seven doctoral-level students participating in clinical psychology training. Three main themes emerged from participants’ accounts: (1) The emotional intensity and personal impact of the ethics process; (2) responses to and ways of managing the ethics process and (3) challenges within the ethics process. The results of this study highlight the importance of recognising the impact of the relationships between research students, courses and research ethics committees upon applicants’ progress through the research ethics process. In particular, an unhelpful ‘them and us’ dynamic may be maintained by misunderstandings about each other’s roles, uncertainty and stereotyping, amongst other factors. Potential ways to change this dynamic and to improve the research ethics process are explored.Peer reviewe