Contraception for the perimenopausal woman

Contraception in the perimenopausal transition years is a very important aspect of women's health, and it is the responsibility of all health care workers to discuss and render adequate counselling in this regard. Failure to do so can have serious health and mental consequences caused by unplanned pregnancies. There are a number of safe and effective options that one can offer these women. Most of these methods also have beneficial non-contraceptive properties. South African Family Practice Vol. 49 (4) 2007: pp. 25-2

Menopause-related osteoporosis

Peak bone mass for spine and hip is reached in the mid-twenties and adolescents should be counselled on adequate nutrition to ensure sufficient calcium intake, regular weight-bearing exercise, maintaining normal body  weight, avoiding smoking and limiting alcohol intake. These measures are important to prevent osteopenia and  osteoporosis by obtaining a maximum peak bone mineral density (BMD) and to maintain it by avoiding excessive  bone loss. One year before the onset of menopause, however, as a result of oestrogen deficiency, there is an  increase in osteoclastic activity without a similar increase in osteoblastic activity, resulting in accelerated bone loss.  The average decrease in BMD during the menopausal transition is estimated to be about 10% and a woman’s risk of sustaining an osteoporotic or fragility fracture doubles for each decade after the age of fifty. Half of women older  than 50 years of age will be osteopenic compared to 10% who are osteoporotic and only 40% will have normal BMD. This article gives an overview of the prevention, diagnosis and management of osteoporosis during and before menopause.Keywords: fragility fractures, menopause, osteoporosi

Being and Becoming “Fully Human” in an Hiv-Positive World: Hiv/Aids and Feminist Christian Spirituality

Feminists have researched the link between gender and HIV/AIDS and shown that women are not always morally responsible for being HIV-positive. This article contributes to the debate by presenting a systematic discussion of women’s experience of HIV/AIDS and spirituality. It offers a model of full humanity that interprets the links between HIV/AIDS, poverty, and gender and uses feminist spirituality as a resource for transformed healing. The model was developed by weaving together the interpreted experiences of black, HIV-positive women participants with the teachings of feminist Christian spirituality. This research study shows that in responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, it is necessary to adopt an integrative, multifaceted and holistic approach that embodies the gender perspective so that the fully human spirituality of people and women in particular, is enhanced

Polarons in suspended carbon nanotubes

We prove theoretically the possibility of electric-field controlled polaron formation involving flexural (bending) modes in suspended carbon nanotubes. Upon increasing the field, the ground state of the system with a single extra electron undergoes a first order phase transition between an extended state and a localized polaron state. For a common experimental setup, the threshold electric field is only of order $\simeq 10^{-2}$ V/$\mu$m

Quantum Tunneling Detection of Two-photon and Two-electron Processes

We analyze the operation of a quantum tunneling detector coupled to a coherent conductor. We demonstrate that in a certain energy range the output of the detector is determined by two-photon processes, two-electron processes and the interference of the two. We show how the individual contributions of these processes can be resolved in experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Impact of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act on maternal morbidity and mortality in the west of Pretoria

No Abstract

The University of the Free State Faculty of Law/Write Site intervention – Supporting broader access with the skills for success

Heeding the call for broader access to tertiary studies for previously disadvantaged students, the University of the Free State (UFS) is one of only a few institutions in the country that offer an extended, five-year Bachelor of Laws (LLB) programme. Its more lenient admission requirements and more manageable distribution of course work across five study years have put access to professional legal studies within reach of students who would not have otherwise qualified for admission. Beyond broader access, however, still lies the challenge of student success. It is a well-documented fact that modern-day students enter higher education ill-prepared for the demands of tertiary studies, and those entering the extended LLB are no exception. The gaps in their skills sets include a lack of academic writing skills, which are among the core competencies required of a law graduate. In an effort to address this challenge, the UFS Faculty of Law has established an innovative collaboration with the Write Site, a writing centre staffed by language specialists who offer students personalised assistance with their writing assignments. This is done as part of the module Legal Skills, one of the foundational modules presented exclusively for students in the extended LLB programme. This article provides the details of the intervention, including its results to date. It concludes that the Faculty of Law/ Write Site collaboration is a model worthy of emulation, teaching students not only to write well, but also to do well in their academic field. Recommendations for fine-tuning the intervention are proposed, including a call for this type of skills assistance to be offered across the curriculum, instead of in a once-off module only. Whilst the current climate of acute human resources and funding shortfalls in higher education may make this hard to achieve, the academic success of our students and the professional success of our future lawyers and other professionals are on the line

A critical analysis of the taxation of financial assets and financial liabilities in terms of section 24JB of the South African Income Tax Act

Section 24JB of the Income Tax Act No. 58 of 1962 was introduced with effect from 1 January 2014 in order to govern the taxation of financial instruments of a covered person as defined. Section 24JB represents a significant departure from the standard tax principles for financial instruments and will therefore directly affect the timing of the imposition of tax on gains and losses on these financial instruments, resulting in a significant adverse cash flow effect for the taxpayer. The main purpose of the research is to investigate the meaning of the wording in section 24JB through a critical analysis of the domestic tax legislation in the context of practical examples of specific financial assets and liabilities. The research includes an analysis of the scope of section 24JB by examining the definition of a “covered person” as well as the specific financial instruments to which the section applies, with reference to the International Financial Reporting Standards classifications and terms. The interaction of section 24JB with the rest of the Act is examined and whether this section overrides all the other provisions, specifically with reference to the taxation of dividends and the general and specific anti-avoidance provisions contained elsewhere in the Act. The study aims to highlight anomalies and possible unintended tax consequences arising from the current drafting of section 24JB using practical examples, highlighting the major areas of concern and issues of interpretation of section 24JB. Recommendations are made for amendments to the Act or the provision of guidance in the form of an Explanatory Memorandum or Interpretation Note to be issued by SARS