Phototherapy and podiatric intervention for the management of chronic lower limb ulceration in patients with type II diabetes mellitus and skin type III and V

Abstract: Diabetic foot ulcerations (DFUs) remain a severe complication of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and the most critical risk factor for lower limb amputations. Their management involves a dynamic approach which includes wound debridement, antibiotics to treat infections, mechanical off-loading, as well as foot care education. However, the overall wound management of chronic DFUs can undergo extended periods without any healing response due to multiple complex pathophysiological mechanisms which are involved in patients who have diabetes. Despite all the challenges faced with managing or treating DFUs, several clinical trials suggest Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT), more recently termed Photobiomodulation (PBM), as an alternative promising treatment modality. Photobiomodulation has shown potential in improving the healing rate of chronic diabetic ulcerations when combined with other conventional treatments. However, until this study, there have been no studies, in South Africa, that have investigated the effects of Blue laser therapy in the management of DFUs and whether skin tone has a positive or negative impact in these patients...M.Tech. (Podiatry

Bottle Gourd Landraces and Its Potential Contribution to Food Security

Issues surrounding water scarcity and malnutrition in the rural household of sub-Saharan Africa continue to be a problem and pose threat to food security. In such cases, traditional and underutilized crops have been proposed because of their likely suitability in these marginal areas of crop production characterized by abiotic (drought and heat) and biotic environmental stresses (pest and diseases). Bottle gourd is one such crop with multipurpose use and a huge potential to contribute to food security. The crop is grown for its leaves, fruits, and seeds from landraces providing important nutrition for both humans and livestock. A lot has been documented about its medical properties. The crop exhibits wide genetic variation for qualitative and quantitative traits, which can be used for cultivar development. The objective of this review was to provide information on why bottle gourd is an important food security crop in sub-Saharan Africa. The first section of the paper presents water scarcity, food production, and climate change. This is followed by the section on the neglected underutilized crops species. Then the section of drought tolerance of the crop is presented, and lastly, the section on potential contribution of the crop to food security is presented

South African podiatry students’ perceptions of feedback given as part of clinical training

Abstract: As part of their clinical training podiatry students spend time in clinical settings treating patients under the supervision of qualified podiatrists. The role and purpose of feedback during such clinical training is to improve students’ knowledge, skills and behaviour. Feedback is an integral part of the learning process that should enhance students’ clinical learning experiences. However, there is no data on podiatry students’ satisfaction or lack thereof about feedback provided during clinical training. The aim of this study was to determine the perceptions of podiatry students on feedback given or received during clinical training..

Soil Macrofauna Abundance and Taxonomic Richness under Long-Term No-Till Conservation Agriculture in a Semi-Arid Environment of South Africa

Soil macrofauna are a critical component for ecosystem function and strongly affect production sustainability. The effect of fertiliser management practices, in different cropping systems, on soil macrofauna communities remains poorly understood in semi-arid to arid regions. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of tillage practices i.e., no-till (NT), rotational tillage (RT) and conventional tillage (CT) and nitrogen fertiliser application rates (0, 100 and 200 kg/ha N) (urea) on abundance and order diversity of soil macrofauna in a maize continuous monocropping system. The sampling of macrofauna in the trial was conducted in April 2019, August 2019 and March 2020 using 25 cm × 25 cm × 25 cm steel monoliths in randomly selected positions, and this was replicated four times. The study found a significant (p < 0.05) increase in the abundance of soil macrofauna in NT (127 ind/m2) and RT (110 ind/m2) compared to CT (51 ind/m2) treatment. The abundance of macrofauna was also negatively affected by increasing the rate of fertiliser, with 0, 100 and 200 kg/ha resulting in 133, 94 and 62 ind/m2. Orders Haplotaxida and Diplopoda were found to be sensitive to increases in the fertiliser application rate. Haplotaxida (48.4%) was the most abundant order, followed by Coleoptera (18.2%). Other orders included Diplopoda (9.2%), Gastropoda (6.3%), Isoptera (4.7%), Chilopoda (4.7%), Araneae (4%), Hymenoptera (3.2%), Orthoptera (0.9%) and Dermaptera (0.3%). No-till (NT) and rotational tillage (RT) with mulch favoured the establishment of various macrofauna communities in the studied cropping system

Long-Term No-Till Conservation Agriculture and Nitrogen Fertilization on Soil Micronutrients in a Semi-Arid Region of South Africa

Knowledge of the long-term complex relationship between soils, crops, and management practices, such as conservation agriculture, is critical in developing nutrient management strategies to optimise crop yields. This study examined the concentration, and the distribution of, soil micronutrients along the soil profile (0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm depths) under different tillage practices: no-till (NT), rotational tillage (RT), and conventional tillage (CT), and nitrogen fertilizer application rates (0, 100, 200 kg/ha) in a semi-arid environment after 17 years of implementation of the trial. The results found the lowest concentration (p < 0.05) of copper (Cu) (1.254 mg/kg) and iron (Fe) (22.671 mg/kg) in CT compared to NT [Cu (1.447 mg/kg), Fe (41,156 mg/kg)] and RT [Cu (2.389 mg/kg), Fe (120,437 mg/kg)] treatments. This correlated with the lower soil pH in NT compared to CT treatment, and slightly higher (p > 0.05) under NT (1.782 mg/g) compared to RT (1.715 mg/g) and CT (1.750 mg/g). There were no differences (p > 0.05) in zinc (Zn) in NT (2.856 mg/kg) and RT (2.782 mg/kg) but CT (2.010 mg/kg) treatment was significantly (p < 0.05) lower compared to these treatments. Manganese (Mn) also followed a similar trend whereby CT still had the lowest concentration (p < 0.05) of Mn (8.01 mg/kg) compared to RT (10.71 mg/kg) and NT (11.98 mg/kg). The concentration of Mn, Zn, and Fe was found to be similar (p > 0.05) with an increase in sampling depths. On the other hand, Cu was found to be different (p < 0.05) at different sampling depths. Manganese (10.46 mg/kg) and Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) (2.026 mg/g) were found to be concentrated near the 0–10 cm soil surface depth while Zn (2.558 mg/kg), Fe (66,217 mg/kg) and Cu (1.867 mg/kg) were more at the 20–30 cm depth in reduced tillage treatments. The results also showed no differences (p > 0.05) in the concentration of Cu, Mn, and Zn at different levels of nitrogen fertilizer under all tillage treatments. It was concluded that NT and rational tillage with mulch, favoured the availability of micronutrients (Cu, Mn, Fe, and Zn) in the studied cropping system

Long-Term No-Till Conservation Agriculture and Nitrogen Fertilization on Soil Micronutrients in a Semi-Arid Region of South Africa

Knowledge of the long-term complex relationship between soils, crops, and management practices, such as conservation agriculture, is critical in developing nutrient management strategies to optimise crop yields. This study examined the concentration, and the distribution of, soil micronutrients along the soil profile (0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm depths) under different tillage practices: no-till (NT), rotational tillage (RT), and conventional tillage (CT), and nitrogen fertilizer application rates (0, 100, 200 kg/ha) in a semi-arid environment after 17 years of implementation of the trial. The results found the lowest concentration (p p > 0.05) under NT (1.782 mg/g) compared to RT (1.715 mg/g) and CT (1.750 mg/g). There were no differences (p > 0.05) in zinc (Zn) in NT (2.856 mg/kg) and RT (2.782 mg/kg) but CT (2.010 mg/kg) treatment was significantly (p p p > 0.05) with an increase in sampling depths. On the other hand, Cu was found to be different (p p > 0.05) in the concentration of Cu, Mn, and Zn at different levels of nitrogen fertilizer under all tillage treatments. It was concluded that NT and rational tillage with mulch, favoured the availability of micronutrients (Cu, Mn, Fe, and Zn) in the studied cropping system