The prevalence of hyperlactatemia in adult patients on anti-retroviral therapy programme in a public sector clinic in Free State Province.

The national programme of expanded access to antiretroviral therapy in the South African public health sector has resulted in hundreds of thousands of South Africans being subjected to prolonged therapy with the risk of adverse drug effects. Among the most common adverse effects are metabolic disorders one of which is mitochondrial toxicity. Mitochondrial toxicity may manifest as hyperlactatemia. The study was designed to determine the frequency with which hyperlactatemia occurs in HIV – infected adults on long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART). The objective was to determine the proportion of patients with blood lactate levels that exceed a predetermined cut-off level and to attempt to relate hyperlactatemia to a set of factors namely, gender, age, obesity, symptoms, type of ART regime and duration of ART use. The study was conducted at an ART clinic in the provincial state hospital of Bongani in the town of Welkom in Free State. The target population was male and female adult patients (18 years and above) on ART for a duration of 1 year or longer. Participants were selected by a random sampling of hospital case file numbers using random table numbers. The patients answered a set of 7 questions on symptoms, underwent weight and height measurements before having blood drawn for lactate assays Blood specimens for lactate assays were processed at the local National Health laboratory

Outcome of hospital-based TB in the Goldfields area

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Teachers' Perceptions On The Effectiveness Of Women Leadership In Mutare District Schools

A ZJER study on teachers' perceptions on female management in schools.This study was designed to investigate teachers’ perceptions on the effectiveness of women leadership in Mutare District schools, the research design was both quantitative and qualitative where the descriptive method was used. All the teachers in the 202 schools in Mutare District formed the target group. A total of one hundred primary and secondary school teachers were randomly selected from ten schools and used as respondents in the study. ’ A structured questionnaire was used as a data collection instrument. An open comment at the end of the questionnaire accorded respondents an opportunity to freely express their opinions. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) was used for data processing and analysis. The results of the study showed that teachers in Mutare District perceived women leadership as effective. The results also showed that women leaders were confident in the discharge of their duties and that they were conversant with the demands of school headship. However, results on the question of motivational schools depicted some deficiencies. Teachers felt that women leaders did not sufficiently develop their subordinates for carrier advancement. Overall, women leadership was perceived as effective by the teachers considering the fact that most of the components, of effective leadership were found to be positive

Characterization of Oreochromis niloticus Strains of Lake Kariba Culture Fisheries using Morphological and Meristic Methods

Oreochromis niloticus fish collected from Yalelo Fishery, Fwanyanga Fishery and Choombwe Fishery of Lake Kariba were investigated by multivariate analysis of 23 morphometric measurements and 7 meristic counts. Dendrograms were used to delineate the sampled specimens using PC-ORDTM Software and the differences among strains were tested using One-way ANOVA in Statistix 9 Software (P = 0.05). Meristic analysis did not show a high divergence among the strains while morphometric analysis showed that the sampled fish could be characterized into three different strains. These results showed that the tested fish samples could be grouped into 3 types based on morphometric characters. The morphometric differences among the sampled O. niloticus strains may have appeared due to genetic differences among the collected specimens

Leveraging public land ownership in the urban land market for commercial property development to achieve socio-economic outcomes in South Africa

This thesis investigated how the South African local governments in the Western Cape Province are involved in the urban land market and, specifically, land supply for commercial property development to optimise socio-economic objectives in the South African property sector. The current conditions, challenges, and opportunities were examined using a qualitative research approach, combining primary and secondary data collection methods. The data for this research was gathered from a literature review, interviews and an online survey with local government property management officials directly involved in land transactions in local governments in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. The research found that, if well-managed, public land offers opportunities to achieve government's socio-economic objectives of driving economic growth, creating employment opportunities, and advancing people economically and socially. Through their majority urban land ownership (Gelderbloem, 2012), the South African local governments in the Western Cape Province can leverage their land assets for commercial property development to achieve socioeconomic outcomes in the urban land market. Local governments can achieve this by leading, shaping and unlocking development potential through direct supply of land, land use allocation, and facilitating, expediting and incentivising development to stimulate desired catalytic property developments. Catalytic projects refer projects that stimulate development and redevelopment of surrounding properties. The land allocation and property decisions in local governments are mainly driven by socio-economic objectives where sustainable development is the top priority and financial gain, though important is not key. In order to give full effect to leading, shaping and unlocking development on public land, local governments should make conscious, calculated interventions in the land supply chain for commercial property development to ensure a healthy property market. Also, it was found that, ideally, local governments should dispose of their land with rights in place in order to realise full valuation potential on their property as well as to minimise risk to the potential developer. Lastly, it was found that land supply from local governments for commercial development is faced with a number of challenges, chief among them being: excessive legislation and compliance requirements, lack of expertise, political interference, inadequate land management systems and others. In order to optimise local government land ownership to achieve socio-economic objectives in the urban land market, it is recommended that municipalities make well thought out strategic interventions in the land market as well as invest in the establishment of land management information systems to establish comprehensive asset registers to render effective planning and programming of their land holdings. Notwithstanding the challenges faced by local governments in alienating land, local governments in South Africa can leverage their land ownership in the urban land market for commercial property development to achieve socio-economic outcomes

Interactions Between Humans, Crocodiles, and Hippos at Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe

Human–wildlife conflicts (HWCs) are on the increase due to shrinking space that results in increased competition for land, water, and other natural resources between humans and wildlife. Investigating the occurrence of HWCs is important in that the results can be used to formulate better management policies and strategies. In this paper, we describe the nature of HWCs emerging between humans and the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) and between humans and the African hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius; hippo) on Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe. Lake Kariba is the second largest manmade lake by volume in the world. Conflicts involving humans and these species are readily noticeable and played out around water bodies, which are sources of daily human sustenance and important habitats for aquatic wildlife. We used a mixed-methods approach to gather data on these conflicts, including questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation. The research participants involved national parks officials, fishing camp residents, and HWC victims. Our research confirmed that crocodiles and hippos have negatively affected humans through deaths, injuries, instilling fear, and destruction of sources of livelihood for fishermen such as fishing nets and boats. In retaliation, humans have implemented lethal methods to remove problem animals. The results of this research can inform the conservation community about the severity of the conflicts, which have been exacerbated by current economic hardships, to better inform conservation policies

Reproduction performance of female Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fed on diets made using caterpillar meal (Imbrasia truncata) as replacement of fish meal

The study determined the effects of caterpillar meal as a replacement of fish meal on reproduction performance of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) broodstock. Three diets containing different percentages of caterpillar meal were fed to O. niloticus. The first diet (T0) contained 0% caterpillar meal, the second diet (T1) contained 15% caterpillar meal and the third diet (T2) contained 30% caterpillar meal. The diets were fed to duplicate groups of brood fish (average weight of 78.3 ± 6.5 g for males and 39.8 ± 8.17 g for females). Each group consisted of six females and two males stocked into a hapa and fed twice a day at 3% of their body weight for 96 days. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) among the experimental diets with respect to Specific Growth Rates (SGR) but the difference was significant (p < 0.05) between diets T0 and the two other diets on the Survival Rate (SR). No significant differences were found between diets T0 and T1 on total % of spawning per diet. Inter-spawning intervals (ISI) showed irregular patterns in relation to diet (p < 0.05) between diets T0 and T1, but with diet T0, the females tended to spawn at shorter intervals. However for diet T2, the period before first spawning was significantly longer than that of diets T0 and T1. Mean gonadosomatic index (GSI) was lower in fish fed with diet T2 than those fed with diets T0 and T1. Diets T0 and T1 recorded the highest GSI with no difference between diets. The body composition of broodstock was not significantly affected by the changes in diets. These results revealed that the replacement of fish meal by caterpillar meal at 15% can lead to better reproduction performance on Nile tilapia broodstock reared in hapas. It was therefore recommended that diet T1 be used in feeding broodstock of Nile tilapia O. niloticus. Keywords: Reproduction performance, Oreochromis niloticus, caterpillar mea

Evaluation of coke resistivity for the manganese alloy market

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.The submerged arc furnace (SAF) has become the equipment of choice to produce manganese ferro-alloy. Furnace operators aim to reduce the cost of production by better understanding the role played by the various raw materials involved in the process. Coke is one of the key raw materials fed into the SAF; it plays three key roles in electric furnaces: as a reducing agent, as a source of carbon found in the alloy, and as a resistive element facilitating heat generation in the furnace. The heat generated plays two key functions in the furnace: ensuring both the metal and the slag have a sufficient low viscosity, and providing the heat required to support endothermic reactions. This study investigated the ambient-temperature and high-temperature resistivity characteristics of coke made from single-source coals. The measurement of coke resistivity was performed using the Kelvin (four-point) technique. The results showed a statistically significant difference in mean resistivity between cokes made from different coals. It was observed that coke resistivity generally decreased with increasing temperatures. Raman spectroscopy showed that the structural order of coke changes with increasing temperature.http://www.mdpi.com/journal/materialshj2023Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineerin

First results on bathymetry, stratification and physicochemical limnology of a small tropical African reservoir (Malilangwe, Zimbabwe)

The study provides a 9-month record of Malilangwe Reservoir water chemistry periodicity, for the period between February and October 2011. Malilangwe Reservoir is a small (211 ha), shallow (mean depth 4.54 m) reservoir situated in the south-eastern lowveld of Zimbabwe. The reservoir has not spilled in nearly 11 years, which makes it a unique system as most reservoirs of comparable size spill annually. This is the first bathymetric and limnological study of the reservoir where the morphology and physicochemical quality of the water body were examined. The reservoir was not strongly stratified during the hot-wet and hot-dry season with oxygen depletion of < 2 mg·ℓ-1 DO being observed in the bottom layers (<6 m depth). Nutrient concentrations varied throughout the seasons. The reservoir exhibited marked seasonal fluctuations in water level, which decreased by over 149 cm between February and October. The N:P ratio rose to as high as 10.9 and generally reflected high levels of phosphorus in the reservoir. There were significant differences (p<0.05) in Secchi depth transparency between the study sites. Differences observed in water quality were due to water level fluctuations, with poor water quality conditions being experienced during the hot-dry season and the cool-dry season when water levels were low. The reservoir was classified as being mesotrophic. Therefore, there is a risk of eutrophication, especially since the reservoir is currently merely a sink for nutrients

Collaboration and infrastructure is needed to develop an African perspective on micro(nano)plastic pollution

Abstract: Our current understanding of environmental micro(nano)plastic (MNP) pollution is driven by field and lab-based studies performed predominantly by and in wealthier countries. However, mismanaged waste and its consequences affect low- and middle-income countries over-proportionately. Evidence suggests that studies on MNP pollution in Africa are critically limited by the scientific infrastructure available, restricting research activities to opportunities for external collaboration with established research laboratories in the Global North. The development of Pan-African research networks and analytical nodes, is required to support intra-African research exchange and training, and drive evidence-based policy relevant to an African context. This can facilitate more inclusive conversations around the harmonization and standardization of methods currently mainly available to the Global North