COLLABORATION BETWEEN LIBRARIANS AND ACADEMICS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION STUDIES FOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN KZN

The aim of this study is to assess the level of collaboration between librarians and Library and Information Science (LIS) academics for the development of the LIS curriculum, being aware that collaboration is an instructional strategy that positively affects student academic achievement. The term collaboration has become popular concept in areas of life where two or more individuals, organisations, institutions or nation embark upon a mutually agreed process. Collaboration provides the opportunity for experts and researchers to partner and fine-tune thoughts and develop strategies for multi-dimensional thinking towards achieving common and uniform practice. Collaboration between librarians and LIS academics has been seen as a strategic activity in the management of LIS education programs and library and information services. It is widely acknowledged that there have been program structure and the content changes in Library and Information Studies (LIS) over the past decade. The supplementary drivers for change included changing client demand, innovations in information technology and the desire of LIS academics to cater to a wider information management marketplace than the traditional one. These changes are attributed mostly to library automation and the digital environment and it can be said that these changes affect the LIS curriculum to be unstable. The LIS education has been affected by these changes and the changing environment has compelled LIS schools to improve their curriculum so that it is in line with the LIS job market. The researcher believes that the changes in Library and Information Science (LIS) job market, changes in LIS education and the changing environment can be addressed through collaboration between librarians and LIS academics. The consistent collaboration between librarians and LIS academics can tremendously improve the relevance of the LIS curriculum. In regard of the present study, the researcher will critically review the literature that will be retrieved from different resources such as books, journals and articles based on collaboration between librarians and LIS academics as well as curriculum development in LIS institutions internationally, nationally (African setting) including South African setting

Quality education

This book investigates the intersections between education, social justice, gendered violence and human rights in South African schools and universities. The rich and multifarious tapestry of scholarship and literature emanating from South African classrooms provides a fascinating lens through which we can understand the complex consequences of the economies of education, social justice imperatives, gendered violence on the lives of women and children, and marginalised communities. The scholarship in the book challenges readers to imagine alternative futures predicated on the transformational capacity of a democratic South Africa. Contributors to this volume examine the many ways in which social justice and gendered violence mirrors, expresses, projects and articulates the larger phenomenon of human rights violations in Africa and how, in turn, the discourse of human rights informs the ways in which we articulate, interrogate, conceptualise, enact and interpret quality education. The book also wrestles with the linguistic contradictions and ambiguities in the articulation of quality education in public and private spaces. This book is essential reading for scholars seeking solid grounding in exploring quality education, the instances of epistemic disobedience, the political implications of place and power, and human rights in theory and practice

Quality education

This book investigates the intersections between education, social justice, gendered violence and human rights in South African schools and universities. The rich and multifarious tapestry of scholarship and literature emanating from South African classrooms provides a fascinating lens through which we can understand the complex consequences of the economies of education, social justice imperatives, gendered violence on the lives of women and children, and marginalised communities. The scholarship in the book challenges readers to imagine alternative futures predicated on the transformational capacity of a democratic South Africa. Contributors to this volume examine the many ways in which social justice and gendered violence mirrors, expresses, projects and articulates the larger phenomenon of human rights violations in Africa and how, in turn, the discourse of human rights informs the ways in which we articulate, interrogate, conceptualise, enact and interpret quality education. The book also wrestles with the linguistic contradictions and ambiguities in the articulation of quality education in public and private spaces. This book is essential reading for scholars seeking solid grounding in exploring quality education, the instances of epistemic disobedience, the political implications of place and power, and human rights in theory and practice

Mortality under early access to antiretroviral therapy vs Eswatini’s national standard of care : the MaxART clustered randomized stepped‐wedge trial

Objectives Current WHO guidelines recommend the treatment of all HIV-infected individuals with antiretroviral therapy (ART) to improve survival and quality of life, and decrease infection of others. MaxART is the first implementation trial of this strategy embedded within a government-managed health system, and assesses mortality as a secondary outcome. Because primary findings strongly supported scale-up of the 'treat all' strategy (hereafter Treat All), this analysis examines mortality as an additional indicator of its impact. Methods MaxART was conducted in 14 Eswatinian health clinics through a clinic-based stepped-wedge design, by transitioning clinics from then-national standard of care (SoC) to the Treat All intervention. All-cause, disease-related, and HIV-related mortality were analysed using the Cox proportional hazards model, censoring SoC participants at clinic transition. Median follow-up time among study participants was 292 days. There were 36/2034 deaths in SoC (1.77%) and 49/1371 deaths in Treat All (3.57%). Results Between September 2014 and August 2017, 3405 participants were enrolled. In SoC and Treat All interventions, respectively, the multivariable-adjusted 12-month all-cause mortality rates were 1.42% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.66-2.17] and 1.60% (95% CI: 0.78-2.40), disease-related mortality rates were 1.02% (95% CI: 0.40-1.64) and 1.10% (95% CI: 0.46-1.73), and HIV-related mortality rates were 1.03% (95% CI: 0.40-1.65) and 0.99% (95% CI: 0.40-1.58). Treat All had no impact on all-cause [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.12, 95% CI: 0.58-2.18, P = 0.73], disease-related (HR = 1.04, 95% CI: 0.52-2.11, P = 0.90), or HIV-related mortality (HR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.46-1.87, P = 0.83). Conclusion There was no immediate benefit of the Treat All strategy on mortality, nor evidence of harm. Longer follow-up of participants is needed to establish long-term consequences

A Viral Vectored Prime-Boost Immunization Regime Targeting the Malaria Pfs25 Antigen Induces Transmission-Blocking Activity

The ookinete surface protein Pfs25 is a macrogamete-to-ookinete/ookinete stage antigen of Plasmodium falciparum, capable of exerting high-level anti-malarial transmission-blocking activity following immunization with recombinant protein-in-adjuvant formulations. Here, this antigen was expressed in recombinant chimpanzee adenovirus 63 (ChAd63), human adenovirus serotype 5 (AdHu5) and modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) viral vectored vaccines. Two immunizations were administered to mice in a heterologous prime-boost regime. Immunization of mice with AdHu5 Pfs25 at week 0 and MVA Pfs25 at week 10 (Ad-MVA Pfs25) resulted in high anti-Pfs25 IgG titers, consisting of predominantly isotypes IgG1 and IgG2a. A single priming immunization with ChAd63 Pfs25 was as effective as AdHu5 Pfs25 with respect to ELISA titers at 8 weeks post-immunization. Sera from Ad-MVA Pfs25 immunized mice inhibited the transmission of P. falciparum to the mosquito both ex vivo and in vivo. In a standard membrane-feeding assay using NF54 strain P. falciparum, oocyst intensity in Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes was significantly reduced in an IgG concentration-dependent manner when compared to control feeds (96% reduction of intensity, 78% reduction in prevalence at a 1 in 5 dilution of sera). In addition, an in vivo transmission-blocking effect was also demonstrated by direct feeding of immunized mice infected with Pfs25DR3, a chimeric P. berghei line expressing Pfs25 in place of endogenous Pbs25. In this assay the density of Pfs25DR3 oocysts was significantly reduced when mosquitoes were fed on vaccinated as compared to control mice (67% reduction of intensity, 28% reduction in prevalence) and specific IgG titer correlated with efficacy. These data confirm the utility of the adenovirus-MVA vaccine platform for the induction of antibodies with transmission-blocking activity, and support the continued development of this alternative approach to transmission-blocking malaria subunit vaccines

Using detergent to enhance detection sensitivity of African trypanosomes in human CSF and blood by Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP)

<p><b>Background:</b> The loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay, with its advantages of simplicity, rapidity and cost effectiveness, has evolved as one of the most sensitive and specific methods for the detection of a broad range of pathogenic microorganisms including African trypanosomes. While many LAMP-based assays are sufficiently sensitive to detect DNA well below the amount present in a single parasite, the detection limit of the assay is restricted by the number of parasites present in the volume of sample assayed; i.e. 1 per µL or 103 per mL. We hypothesized that clinical sensitivities that mimic analytical limits based on parasite DNA could be approached or even obtained by simply adding detergent to the samples prior to LAMP assay.</p> <p><b>Methodology/Principal Findings:</b> For proof of principle we used two different LAMP assays capable of detecting 0.1 fg genomic DNA (0.001 parasite). The assay was tested on dilution series of intact bloodstream form Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or blood with or without the addition of the detergent Triton X-100 and 60 min incubation at ambient temperature. With human CSF and in the absence of detergent, the LAMP detection limit for live intact parasites using 1 µL of CSF as the source of template was at best 103 parasites/mL. Remarkably, detergent enhanced LAMP assay reaches sensitivity about 100 to 1000-fold lower; i.e. 10 to 1 parasite/mL. Similar detergent-mediated increases in LAMP assay analytical sensitivity were also found using DNA extracted from filter paper cards containing blood pretreated with detergent before card spotting or blood samples spotted on detergent pretreated cards.</p> <p><b>Conclusions/Significance:</b> This simple procedure for the enhanced detection of live African trypanosomes in biological fluids by LAMP paves the way for the adaptation of LAMP for the economical and sensitive diagnosis of other protozoan parasites and microorganisms that cause diseases that plague the developing world.</p&gt

Deeper knowledge of shallow waters: reviewing the invertebrate fauna of southern African temporary wetlands

Temporary lentic wetlands are becoming increasingly recognised for their collective role in contributing to biodiversity at the landscape scale. In southern Africa, a region with a high density of such wetlands, information characterising the fauna of these systems is disparate and often obscurely published. Here we provide a collation and synthesis of published research on the aquatic invertebrate fauna inhabiting temporary lentic wetlands of the region. We expose the poor taxonomic knowledge of most groups, which makes it difficult to comment on patterns of richness and endemism

Evidence for waning of latency in a cohort study of tuberculosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To investigate how the risk of active tuberculosis disease is influenced by time since original infection and to determine whether the risk of reactivation of tuberculosis increases or decreases with age.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cohort analysis of data for the separate ten year birth cohorts of 1876-1885 to 1959-1968 obtained from Statistics Norway and the National Tuberculosis Registry. These data were used to calculate the rates and the changes in the rates of bacillary (or active) tuberculosis. Data on bacillary tuberculosis for adult (20+) age groups were obtained from the National Tuberculosis Registry and Statistics Norway from 1946 to 1974. Most cases during this period arose due to reactivation of remote infection. Participants in this part of the analysis were all reported active tuberculosis cases in Norway from 1946 to 1974 as recorded in the National Tuberculosis Registry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Tuberculosis decreased at a relatively steady rate when following individual birth cohorts, but with a tendency of slower decline as time passed since infection. A mean estimate of this rate of decline was 57% in a 10 year period.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The risk of reactivation of latent tuberculosis decreases with age. This decline may reflect the rate at which latent tuberculosis is eliminated from a population with minimal transmission of tubercle bacilli. A model for risk of developing active tuberculosis as a function of time since infection shows that the rate at which tuberculosis can be eliminated from a society can be quite substantial if new infections are effectively prevented. The findings clearly indicate that preventative measures against transmission of tuberculosis will be the most effective. These results also suggest that the total population harbouring live tubercle bacilli and consequently the future projection for increased incidence of tuberculosis in the world is probably overestimated.</p