The bacteria profiles of wounds in diabetic patients hospitalized in northern Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

Diabetic wound infections still remain a health concern such that correct identification of bacteria is essential in monitoring the spread of the infections as well as in the administration of the correct treatment. This study therefore focuses on isolating and identifying bacteria present in diabetic wounds of hospitalized patients in northern KwaZulu-Natal and assessing their distribution.The wound specimen were collected and swabbed onto selective and differential media. The bacteria identities were presumptively ascertained through biochemical characterization (Gram-stain, catalase test, oxidase test and API) and then confirmed through 16S rDNA sequencing.A total of 42 isolates were recovered from 83% of the patients sampled from the three participating hospitals (X, Y, and Z). Gram-negative bacilli from Enterobacteriaceaewere predominant followed by Staphylococci spp and Enterococcus faecaliswith 43% polymicrobial cases from hospital Z and 29% from hospital X. Distribution of some opportunistic pathogens and nosocomially-acquired pathogens were also observed across the patients with five bacterial identities distributed among hospital X and Z. The adverse effects associated with the recovered bacteria in diabetic wounds pose a serious health concern and preventive measure should be taken.Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, wounds, bacteria, infectio

Children's traditional ecological knowledge of wild food resources: a case study in a rural village in Northeast Thailand

Consuming wild foods is part of the food ways of people in many societies, including farming populations throughout the world. Knowledge of non-domesticated food resources is part of traditional and tacit ecological knowledge, and is largely transmitted through socialization within cultural and household contexts. The context of this study, a small village in Northeast Thailand, is one where the community has experienced changes due to the migration of the parental generation, with the children being left behind in the village to be raised by their grandparents

Mathematical Ideas In Some Cooperative Work Activities Of The Shangani People Of Southern Zimbabwe

The interface between Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS), cultural practices and mathematics is currently generating a great deal of interest among mathematics education researchers and practitioners alike. This article uses mathematical lenses to examine the cultural practice of dhava (cooperative work) among the Shangani people of southern Zimbabwe. The authors show how mathematics can be used to describe, understand and inform cultural phenomena while at the same time cultural practices can act as inspirational sources for the generation and examination of some mathematical skills and concepts. It is proposed here that such situations can actually be played out in the mathematics classroom to the benefit and enjoyment of the learner. In particular, the authors' claim that doing so can lead to increased appreciation by the learners of their own culture and self-identity, and of mathematics as a discipline as well. Keywords: Cooperative work, mathematical ideas, cultural practices. Indilinga Vol. 6 (1) 2007 pp. 51-6

The Zulu Muzi: A Home Garden System of Useful Plants with a Particular Layout and Function

The Zulu muzi (home garden) is a model of sustainable resource management. However, gardens of indigenous cultures are often considered to be spontaneous and disorganized. This reconnaissance survey of home gardens in KwaZulu-Natal considered this by examining the different use categories of garden plants, and determining whether a specific home garden layout, with micro-gardens containing useful species, exists. A survey of 40 randomly selected muzis from eight locations was conducted. A total of 149 useful plant species belonging to 72 plant families were recorded. This consisted of 91 medicinal, 32 food and 26 spiritual plants (main plant use categories). Most of these species (68%) are indigenous (including semi-wild domesticates) and the rest are alien (naturalized and cultivated exotics). Rural home gardens are characterized by a higher percentage of naturally occurring, indigenous useful plant species when compared to peri-urban areas. This suggests that traditional culture regards naturally occurring indigenous species as more valuable, suggesting that the uses of local plants have been passed down generations. Peri-urban areas are usually restricted to first or second-generation residents with little knowledge of the local indigenous flora and therefore prefer well-known exotic species. Home garden floras in rural areas were found to be collectively planted and positioned according to cultural practices passed down many generations, which is supported by a common layout plan that is repeated in home gardens.Keywords: Biodiversity, communal gardens, ethno botany, indigenous knowledge system, urban greening

Threats to Ronga custodianship of a Sacred grove in Southern Mozambique

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The bacteria profiles of wounds in diabetic patients hospitalized in northern Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

Diabetic wound infections still remain a health concern such that correct identification of bacteria is essential in monitoring the spread of the infections as well as in the administration of the correct treatment. This study therefore focuses on isolating and identifying bacteria present in diabetic wounds of hospitalized patients in northern KwaZulu-Natal and assessing their distribution.The wound specimen were collected and swabbed onto selective and differential media. The bacteria identities were presumptively ascertained through biochemical characterization (Gram-stain, catalase test, oxidase test and API) and then confirmed through 16S rDNA sequencing.A total of 42 isolates were recovered from 83% of the patients sampled from the three participating hospitals (X, Y, and Z). Gram-negative bacilli from Enterobacteriaceaewere predominant followed by Staphylococci spp and Enterococcus faecaliswith 43% polymicrobial cases from hospital Z and 29% from hospital X. Distribution of some opportunistic pathogens and nosocomially-acquired pathogens were also observed across the patients with five bacterial identities distributed among hospital X and Z. The adverse effects associated with the recovered bacteria in diabetic wounds pose a serious health concern and preventive measure should be taken.Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, wounds, bacteria, infectio