66 research outputs found
The identification of prevalent bacterial isolates and characterisation of microbial communities in paper-mill water systems
Water is a scarce and unevenly distributed national resource and it is, therefore, important to reduce water consumption in paper mills. Closure of water systems for reuse, however, directly and indirectly results in an increase in the numbers and types of microorganisms resulting in poor runnability, lower production rates and increased safety hazards. The aim of this study was to investigate the microbiology of paper-mill water systems in South Africa to aid in closure of water systems whilst controlling microbial fouling. Different environmental parameters monitored at paper mills were reviewed together with microbial enumeration techniques employed by industry and characterisation and identification methods to study bacteria. Various environmental and process parameters could play an important role in the number and type of microorganisms in a paper-mill water system. The highest correlation between an environmental parameter and biological activity was found for oxidation-reduction potential and the numbers of culturable aerobic bacteria. Other environmental parameters that significantly influenced microbial numbers were temperature, dissolved oxygen, dissolved solids, chemical oxygen demand, nitrogen, phosphorous, specific water consumption, pulp furnish, biocide class and retention time. The characterisation and identification of problematic bacteria in paper mills could enable better control since the correct biocides could be applied to minimise microbiologically associated problems. Prevalent bacteria that were isolated from the water systems of 14 paper machines were typed into 35 distinct groups using ERIC-PCR and PCR-RFLP and identified with sequence analysis. Eleven of the 35 types were identified to species level, 20 types were identified to genus level and the remaining four types were identified to family level. It was found that the majority of bacteria belonged to the genera Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas that contain well-known slime-forming bacterial species. Traditional methods employed to investigate bacteria in industrial water systems often do not accurately represent the composition and diversity of bacterial communities. DGGE analysis could provide a powerful tool for monitoring bacterial diversity, since it is able to discriminate between identical sizes of PCR-amplified DNA fragments that differ in their sequence content. The use of DGGE to monitor changes in microbial populations could improve control of microbial fouling, but more analyses would be needed to validate the results of the present study.Dissertation (MSc (Microbiology))--University of Pretoria, 2008.Microbiology and Plant Pathologyunrestricte
The Effect of Landscape History on the Urban Environment: Past Landscapes, Present Patterns
Peer reviewe
Use of telehealth in the management of non/critical emergencies in rural or remote emergency departments: a systematic review
Background: Telehealth has been used extensively in Emergency Departments to improve healthcare provision. However, its impact on the management of non-critical emergency presentations within rural and remote ED settings has not been adequately explored. The objective of this systematic review is to identify how telehealth has been used to assist in the management of non-critical presentations in rural and remote emergency departments and the outcomes.
Methods: Articles were identified through database searches of CINAHL, Cochrane, MEDLINE(OVID), Informit and SCOPUS, as well as screening of relevant article reference and citation lists. To determine how telehealth can assist in the management of non-critical emergencies. Information was extracted relating to telehealth program model, the scope of service and participating health professionals. The outcomes of telehealth programs were determined by analysing the uptake and usage of telehealth, the impact on altering diagnosis or management plan as well as patient disposition including patient transfer, discharge, local hospital admission and rates of discharge against medical advice.
Results: Of the 2532 identified records, fifteen were found to match the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. Uptake and usage increased for telehealth programs predominantly utilised by nursing staff with limited local medical support. Tele-consultation conservatively altered patient diagnosis or management in 18-66% of consultations. Although teleconsultation was associated with increased patient transfer rates, unnecessary transfers were reduced. Simultaneously, an increase in local hospital admission was noted and less patients were discharged home. Discharge against medical advice rates were low at 0.92-1.1%.
Conclusion: The most widely implemented hub-and-spoke telehealth model could be incorporated into existing referral frameworks. Telehealth programs may assist in reducing unnecessary patient transfer and secondary overtriage, while increasing the capacity of ED staff to diagnose and manage patients locally, which may translate into increased local hospital admission and reduced discharge rates following teleconsultation
Trade and investment in fish and fish products between South Africa and the rest of SADC: Implications for food and nutrition security
This paper looks at the dynamics of intra-regional trade and investment in fish and fish
products between South Africa and the rest of the Southern Africa Development Community
(SADC) region, and the implications of this trade for food and nutrition security. It is based on
key informant interviews with people in the food industry in South Africa and Africa regional
economic bodies. Imports and exports of fish in South Africa are driven by import substitution,
shortfalls in local production, and meeting growing local and regional demand. Most South
African fish and food processors prefer to export, rather than establish plants in other African
countries, mainly due to factors of economic efficiency and the challenges of doing business in
these countries. Currently, however, increasing volumes of fish are being imported into South
Africa to meet demand from the African migrant community. While self-sufficiency and food
sovereignty are acknowledged priorities for the Southern Africa Development Community
(SADC), imports to meet local shortfalls and specific demand ought to be acceptable options for
ensuring fish food availability and affordability. The reduction or removal of tariffs, through
regional free trade agreements, promotes increased intra-regional trade. Overall, imports and
exports provide for demand-led exchange of fish between SADC states, which promotes
increased availability and affordability of fish; thereby contributing towards food and nutrition
security. However, despite regional free trade agreements that have stipulated the removal of
both technical and non-technical barriers, most small-scale traders still experience problems in
conducting cross-border trade. The majority of people in both South Africa and the SADC still
rely heavily on the informal sector for conduct business and buying food provisions. This
includes cross-border fish trade, which is dominated by small scale-traders, the majority of
whom are women. The informal sector ensures that food reaches most people in an acceptable
state, form and price. In order to promote and facilitate improved and efficient fish trade
delivery systems and positive benefits for food security and livelihoods, governance of crossborder
trade ought to be based on flexible regulations and improved implementation of these
An analysis of thinking preferences across three health care disciplines
Three lecturers respectively in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology,
Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy (SLPA, OT and PT) at a public Higher
Education Institution in South Africa collaborated to determine thinking
preferences. The Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI®) was used
to collect data from three lecturers while an adapted version of the HBDI®
was used to collect data from second year students and colleagues in the
three disciplines. The results from students showed a trend towards left brain
dominance with a primary preference for the B-quadrant mode of thinking.
The students’ brain dominance did not necessarily correlate with those of
the lecturers or their colleagues. The results created a better understanding
of students’ thinking preferences, made lecturers more accountable and
emphasised the importance of making provision for diversity in teaching
and learning. Less preferred ways of thinking need to be challenged with a
view to promoting ‘whole brain’ thinking.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/riie202017-06-30hb201
Food trade and investment in South Africa: Improving coherence between economic policy, nutrition and food security
South Africa must address a rising burden of diet-related chronic disease while also
continuing to combat persistent food insecurity and undernutrition (Muzigaba et al.
2016). The prevalence of stunting among children in South Africa remains around 25%
(Said-Mohamed et al. 2015). At the same time, the prevalence of obesity has risen to
39% among women and 11% among men, and diabetes in the adult population to 10%
(Shisana et al. 2014). Addressing this double burden of malnutrition will require a
comprehensive policy approach that supports demand for healthy food (including
financial access) and its supply. In this paper, we focus on supply side interventions –
and particularly, the need for policy across sectors to support availability of affordable,
healthy food (Republic of South Africa Department of Health 2013; Government of
South Africa 2014).
However, growing trade and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), supported by binding
international commitments, present governments with a challenge as they seek to
intervene in the food supply to improve diets and health. Government action to regulate
the food supply to reduce consumption of unhealthy foods and increase access to
healthy foods becomes subject 1) to the influence of powerful investors and other
industry actors, and 2) to commitments made in international trade and investment
agreements (Baker et al. 2014, Thow and McGrady 2014, Schram et al. 2015, Thow et al.
2015a, Thow et al. 2015b)
Could purposefully engineered native grassland gardens enhance urban insect biodiversity?
Progress is required in response to how cities can support greater biodiversity. This calls
for more research on how landscape designers can actively shape urban ecologies to deliver contextspecific
empirical bases for green space intervention decisions. Design experiments offer opportunities
for implemented projects within real-world settings to serve as learning sites. This paper explores
preliminary ecological outcomes from a multidisciplinary team on whether purposefully engineered
native grassland gardens provide more habitat functions for insects than mainstream gardens in
the City of Tshwane, South Africa. Six different sites were sampled: two recently installed native
grassland garden interventions (young native), two contemporary non-native control gardens (young
non-native) on the same premises and of the same ages as the interventions, one remnant of a more
pristine native grassland reference area (old native), and one long-established, non-native reference
garden (old non-native). Plant and insect diversity were sampled over one year. The short-term
findings suggest that higher plant beta diversity (species turnover indicating heterogeneity in a site)
supports greater insect richness and evenness in richness. Garden size, age, and connectivity were not
clear factors mediating urban habitat enhancement. Based on the preliminary results, the researchers
recommend high native grassland species composition and diversity, avoiding individual species
dominance, but increasing beta diversity and functional types when selecting garden plants for urban
insect biodiversity conservation in grassland biomes.National Research Foundation: Incentive funding; University of Pretoria: University
Capacity Development Program; Research Development Program.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/landam2023ArchitectureZoology and Entomolog
The start of sexual health curriculum development and evaluation at Stellenbosch University
Background: Stellenbosch University’s (SU) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), developed a sexual health course to be integrated throughout the revised medical curriculum.
Aim: To use the Sexual Health Education for Professionals Scale (SHEPS) to gather baseline and future follow-up data to inform curriculum development and evaluation.
Setting: The first-year medical students (N = 289) of the FMHS SU.
Methods: The SHEPS was answered before the start of the sexual health course. The knowledge, communication and attitude sections were answered with a Likert-type scale. Students had to describe their perceived confidence in their knowledge and communication skills to care for patients within specific sexuality-related clinical scenarios. The attitude section measured the students’ level of agreement or disagreement on sexuality-related opinion statements.
Results: The response rate was 97%. Most students were female, and 55% of the class were first taught about sexuality in the age group 13–18 years. The students had more confidence in their communication skills than knowledge before any tertiary training. The attitude section revealed a binomial distribution, ranging from acceptance to a more restrictive attitude towards sexual behaviour.
Conclusion: It is the first time the SHEPS has been used in a South African context. The results provide novel information about the range of perceived sexual health knowledge, skills and attitudes of first-year medical students before they start tertiary training.
Contribution: Findings from this study will guide content development and evaluation of the sexual health course at the institution where the study was conducted, as well as allow for culture sensitive education
Mapping Obesogenic food environments in South Africa and Ghana: Correlations and contradictions
In sub-Saharan Africa, urbanisation and food systems change contribute to rapid dietary transitions promoting obesity. It is unclear to what extent these changes are mediated by neighbourhood food environments or other factors. This paper correlates neighbourhood food provision with household consumption and poverty in Khayelitsha, South Africa and Ahodwo, Ghana. Georeferenced survey data of food consumption and provision were classified by obesity risk and protection. Outlets were mapped, and density and distribution correlated with risk classe
Community Engagement newsletter, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Spring 2013
Community Engagement Day for Public Health / Thandi Fourie ; photos by Nicole Epstein -- Some TLC for our canine friends / Alison Cook, Bevin Meyer, Tessa Morris, Kelsey Skinner and Olivia McMurray -- Dog bite awareness / Bob Maswanganye -- Performing to fight animal abuse / Nadine Strydom, Megan Naude, Lise-Marie Roux and Charney Sargent -- All eyes on ears / Carine du Toit.Originally published as HTML file, converted to PDF with Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Version 9.0.0.News articles with colour photos about the various community engagement projects of the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria.ab201
- …