Mpumalanga Province Of South Africa Research Articles

Estimation of genetic parameters for growth in a population of Eucalyptus grandis × Eucalyptus nitens hybrids in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga

Hybridising Eucalyptus grandis with Eucalyptus nitens produces progeny intended to combine the favourable traits of both parents. E. grandis exhibits good growth, stem form, wood properties and rooting ability for vegetative propagation. E. nitens displays superior cold tolerance, including superior frost and snow tolerance, and high wood density. Eucalypt hybrids developed specifically for improved cold tolerance tend to produce fewer viable hybrid progeny and are more recalcitrant rooters than their sub-tropical counterparts. To overcome these challenges, a novel testing strategy was developed and used to identify promising varieties for commercial deployment. As a result, a large population of E. grandis × E. nitens hybrids was developed through controlled pollinations, propagated via mini-cuttings and established in a total of 21 field trials, across the KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa, to investigate growth and adaptability. Data of three growth traits, namely diameter at breast height (DBH), total tree height and volume were analysed to determine the genetic parameters of these traits. Combined-site broad sense heritability for DBH, height and volume were 0.39, 0.46 and 0.35 respectively, indicating a moderate level of genetic control. This, in conjunction with large genetic coefficients of variation (CVg = 20%, 16% and 41% for DBH, height and volume respectively) shows that substantial gains can be made through selection. Combined-site Type B genetic correlations for DBH, height and volume were 0.71, 0.68 and 0.65 respectively, indicating that there was notable genotype by environment interaction. Pairwise comparisons of rBg for volume showed large variation in the correlations of clonal rankings between trials, with rBg ranging from 0.0 to 0.90.

Comparison of rehabilitation treatments on mechanically reconstructed soils following strip coal mining activities: effects on soil properties

A rainfed rehabilitation trial on mechanically reconstructed soil, following strip coal mining, was laid out in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. It was used to evaluate seven rehabilitation treatments with four different depths of topsoil on coal spoil over three experimental seasons. A strip plot design was used to apply the treatments. The test crop was a grass mixture comprising of annual and perennial species. Trial measurements included soil physical, chemical and microbiological measurements, as well as growth and composition of the grass stand. Monthly rainfall was very variable with annual totals below the long-term values. Statistical significance was proved for most measurements. Relatively high soil bulk densities, stratified with depth, were measured, indicating undesirable soil compaction. Infiltration rates increased while soil strength decreased dramatically with increased topsoil thickness. A reciprocal interaction of profile water content and biomass yield was observed with water content decreasing as biomass yield increased. A large variation in soil chemical properties was observed as a function of the treatments. This study highlights the fact that the monitoring of soil and plant properties should be a prerequisite in any rehabilitation study. Similar trials on different soils and in different rainfall regions should be considered to expand our knowledge of the impacts of different soil treatments in a range of ecosystems.

Borich’s Needs Model Analysis of Smallholder Farmers’ Competence in Irrigation Water Management: Case Study of Nkomazi Local Municipality, Mpumalanga Province in South Africa

Irrigated agriculture enables production intensification and crop diversification to improve food security. However, increasing irrigation water stress and inadequate competence of smallholder farmers in irrigation water management have the potential to exacerbate food insecurity. Therefore, this study seeks to determine smallholder farmers’ competency needs in irrigation water management practices (IWMP). A convenience sampling method was employed to obtain a sample population of n= 250. Descriptive statistics were employed to describe smallholder farmers’ demographic characteristics. Borich’s Needs Assessment Model (BNAM) was utilised to analyse smallholder farmers’ competency needs. Results revealed that smallholder farmers perceived weed control (M = 4.90) and understanding the consequences of over- and under-irrigation (M = 4.48) as highly important practices. Results also revealed that smallholder farmers were only highly competent in weed control (M = 4.59). Moreover, results revealed that the top two most important competency needs for smallholder farmers are knowledge of drought-tolerant cultivars (MWDS = 6.83) and irrigation scheduling (MWDS = 5.05). From the survey findings, smallholder farmers’ competency in IWMP is insufficient. It is recommended that the government, policymakers, and agricultural support services embark on sustainable agricultural development planning issues and develop a relevant training programme that is informed by smallholder farmers’ competency needs.

Food Safety Knowledge and Practices among Household Food Handlers in Mangweni Village of Mpumalanga Province in South Africa

The study aimed to assess food safety knowledge and practices among household food handlers in Mangweni village, South Africa. A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted on 120 households selected using systematic random sampling. Women over 18 years of age who were responsible for preparing food in the selected households were eligible for inclusion in the study. A simple random sample was used to select 15 from the 120 food handlers to observe their food handling practices. SPSS version 27 was used to run the descriptive statistics. Food handlers were between 19 and 43 years of age, with a mean age of 29.9 ± 1.39. Most food handlers had high school (58.3%) or university or college (33.3%) educations. Levels of food safety knowledge were found to be poor (44.5%), good (53.9%), and excellent (1.6%). Our findings show the need for an intervention to improve food safety knowledge and practices among food handlers.

Perceptions on the Inclusion of Traditional Medicine in Primary Health Care in Allandale Village in Mpumalanga Province in South Africa

This article seeks to explore perspectives on the potential incorporation of traditional medicine into primary health care. Academic discourse examines in depth the historical stigmatisation and demonization of African traditional practices, including traditional medicine. However, the renaissance of scholarly de-colonial and Afro-centric research frameworks re-awakens the need to generate knowledge systems and analytical lenses that pragmatically and sustainably address global challenges using contextually relevant resources that have been maligned for centuries due to colonialism. The 21st century presents opportunities and challenges that require a re-evaluation of the role of traditional medicine in contributing holistically to primary health care. The study adopted Afro-centricity approach as theoretical framework. Within the framework of qualitative research, this study adopted an explorative qualitative design, using semi-structured interviews to generate data. The study findings revealed that traditional medicine deserved a more prominent consideration for the inclusion in primary health. Reasons given for such inclusion included affordability, ease of access, socio-cultural relevance, spiritual significance, holistic approach and potency which could address some of the key challenges facing the primary health care system in South Africa.

The Challenges Experienced by School Principals in the Implementation of QMS Performance Appraisal System in Schools within Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

The aim of the study was to explore the challenges that principals experience in the implementation of quality management system (QMS) in Schools within Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. The main problem which the study investigated was concerned with the factors that lead to principal’s leadership challenges in implementing QMS in the Mashishila and Badplaas circuits’ schools. The study utilized pragmatism as a research paradigm, this allowed for many different ways of interpreting data in this case from both quantitative and qualitative sources. The population of the study was 443 school principals of Gert Sibande District of Mpumalanga province of South Africa. The sample size was 214 and this included 8 participants who took part in a focus group discussion while the rest participated in a survey. In terms of data analysis quantitative analysis was applied for close ended questions that were drawn from responses from the survey. Quantitative data was processed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) computer software version 2.0 and results of such analysis were presented in tables and figures. Qualitative data analysis was completed by first categorizing and discussing responses for each item according to themes (thematic analysis), before editing and coding. From the findings of the FGD study it was clear participants felt strongly regarding the Department of Education’s failure to give school adequate technical support to ensure that the QMS implementation is efficient. Furthermore, evidence drew from some of the participants through the FGD voiced and severe shortages of specialists in QMS who can best advise the schools on the technical aspects of the implementation. The study also revealed that there is existence of sabotage and politics at the workplace. This scenario was regarded as one of the factors significantly influencing the lack of effectiveness of QMS implementation by the principals. It was revealed that the inadequacy of leadership skills amongst principals was a challenge they faced in the implementation of the QMS. It is recommended that the DoE reviews the financial resource being channeled to schools for the implementation of QMS with the view of liaising with schools in order to increase the resources. An increase in the available resource will ease some of challenges especially on resources required to engage the technical support through frequent workshops for school managers to effectively implement the programmes. It was recommended that the DoE considers the engagement of the independent body or bodies to oversee and evaluate the implementation of quality management system in schools. This will bring integrity and transparency to the implementation process of QMS.

Designing an Alternate Water Security Strategy for Rural Communities in South Africa – Case Study of Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces

Short of affordable and clean potable water poses high risk to health of human beings globally. Water scarcity is a challenge that affects all countries across the globe and this is more prominently felt in rural communities of poorer countries. In recent years, South Africa has faced severe droughts limiting portable water supply to rural areas of the country. Developing an alternate water security strategy for rural communities in South Africa can assist local government to manage water systems successfully. This paper illustrates the process of building a water supply strategy using the case of water management in Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa. These provinces experience a high challenge of water supply and access due to lack of water services, and challenge of building stakeholder support for resource management strategies. A number of rural communities were visited, water samples collected from boreholes, rivers, dams and taps around the two provinces. From chemical and other test, we established the quantity and quality of water sources around the two provinces. System dynamics and system analysis approach are used in this paper to model the existing water resource management and map out its frailties and limitations. A model to connect a system of boreholes and nearby water sources was then developed. The results, it is observed that the reliability and improvement of water system for rural areas was achieved through these approaches. The results show enhanced abstraction of water from sources within the communities that can secure water in these rural communities.

A clean audit and service delivery comparative study of two municipalities in Mpumalanga province in South Africa

In recent years, most South African (SA) municipalities still need to produce clean audits. In 2018 and 2019, most municipalities in SA needed better-quality financial statements and performance reports. Misrepresentation of financial statements in audit reports is linked to inadequate governance, misappropriation of public funds and poor public service delivery. It is upon this background that this study aimed to: (i) assess perceptions of municipality middle management employees on factors affecting auditing, (ii) evaluate the differences in perceptions among municipality middle management employees on factors affecting auditing, (iii) measure the effect of factors affecting auditing on overall clean audit and (iv) establish the effect of clean audit on service delivery at two municipalities in Mpumalanga province. Using a structured questionnaire, a quantitative descriptive approach methodology was employed to collect data from a minimum sample of 294 employees in the middle management category working within the accounting and finance department at two municipalities in Mpumalanga province, SA. SPSS v28 was used to conduct descriptive and multivariate analyses, including mean, analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlation, and regression analysis. Results indicated that employees from the clean audit municipality had positive perceptions of factors affecting clean audit, while employees from the municipality with an unclean audit had negative perceptions. It was also concluded that factors affecting auditing had a statistically significant positive effect on clean audits. The findings in this study led to significant implications for theory and practice.

Basic schools’ closure and review of educators' remote teaching experiences and challenges in South Africa public schools

The object of research: This paper looks to address the effectiveness of remote teaching during the lockdown.
 Investigated problem: Education during the COVID-19 pandemic was affected remarkably due to the lockdown in most countries including South Africa.
 The main scientific results: The paper highlights failures in the planning, management, and organization of remote teaching during the lockdown.
 The area of practical use of the research results: The paper employs a mixed method approach to study the experiences of teachers and the challenges they faced during and after the lockdown. One hundred and forty-four (144) Life Sciences teachers responded to a survey using questionnaires, and another fifteen (15) took part in telephonic interview(s) that followed an interview schedule.
 Innovative technological product: Based on these findings, the paper suggests that the government should invest in and ensure the availability of reliable communication tools, high quality internet connectivity, and actively promote the development of digital academic skills for both teachers and learners. Let’s also suggest numerous steps that must be taken to develop a curriculum that reflects not only the perceptible change(s) in content knowledge, but also the learning experiences of teachers and learners.
 Scope of the innovative product: The respondents were Life Sciences educators from public high schools in Mpumalanga province in South Africa

Psychosocial Support Programme Improves Adherence and Health Systems Experiences for Adolescents on Antiretroviral Therapy in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.

(1) Background: Psychosocial support (PSS) plays a significant role in persistent adherence to and retention in antiretroviral therapy (ART) for adolescents living with the human immunodeficiency virus (ALHIV). This paper qualitatively explores the experiences of ALHIV on ART, who participated in a PSS programme in five public primary healthcare facilities in Mpumalanga Province in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. (2) Methods: Data were collected through 24 focus group discussions with 173 ALHIV on ART and subjected to inductive thematic analysis. Informed consent was obtained before all data collection. (3) Results: The PSS programme facilitated the process of full HIV disclosure to these adolescents with the support of parents/guardians while motivating adherence through peer support groups and health education for improved treatment literacy. Participants reported positive health systems experiences, improved healthcare provider-client relations, and prompt access to health services. (4) Conclusions: The PSS programme successfully kept ALHIV engaged in ART care despite the health service disruptions encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic. We recommend rigorous evaluation of the effects of the PSS intervention on adherence to and retention in ART among ALHIV in HIV-endemic settings.

Impact of Market Participation of Indigenous Crops on Household Food Security of Smallholder Farmers of South Africa

Market participation by smallholder indigenous crop farmers holds significant potential for the alleviation of food insecurity and poverty amongst rural households. Smallholder farmers generally play a vital role in the production and marketing of indigenous crops in South Africa. However, smallholder farmers continue to remain among the food-insecure populations. This is more worrisome for indigenous crop farming households whose produce is far more limited in the market yet may contribute towards improving their food security status and livelihoods. This study analysed the impact of market participation of indigenous crops on the household food security of smallholder farmers in the Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa. A sample size of 209 indigenous crop producers were selected from a population of 1520 smallholder farmers. The study adopted a multi-stage stratified random sampling technique. The data were collected using both qualitative and quantitative research and were analysed using descriptive analysis, Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), and the Poisson regression model with the endogenous treatment model. The household size, marital status, household members living with HIV, and access to extension services were found to be positive and significant in determining household food security, whereas the disability of a household member was significant but negative. While the number of smallholder farmers involved in the production of indigenous crops is still limited, enhanced marketing of indigenous crops may improve the food security status of smallholder farmers. There is still a need for the government to channel its interventions towards the indigenous crop production sector, and this may include the provision of trained extension officers to assist smallholder farmers. Policymakers need to develop policies that support the production and marketing of indigenous crops. More awareness and promotion of indigenous crops are needed to encourage more smallholder farmers to adopt this farming practice. Further study of smallholder indigenous farmers across nine provinces of South Africa should be conducted to obtain deeper and broader insights into the role of these farmers on household food security.

Clarifying the significance of instructional methodologies for environmental education integration

This paper was aimed at clarifying the significance of instructional methodologies used by senior-phase teachers to integrate environmental education. The researcher’s empirical evidence evoked interest in this paper; the researcher noted that senior-phase teachers would barely integrate environmental education and if they did, they would only rely on an outdoor teaching method. This observation piqued the paper's attention. A qualitative interpretive multiple case study method was used. This paper was conducted in three senior phase schools in the Nkangala district in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. Three teachers who taught natural science, technology, and life orientation subjects were sampled purposefully. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews and pre- and post-lesson observations, and a typology approach was used to analyze data. The main research findings were that these teachers had confusion about which instructional methodologies to use when integrating environmental education. Furthermore, this paper revealed that the use of instructional methodologies such as narrative, lecture, project, jigsaw, textbook, and student team accomplishment division methods hampered environmental education integration inadequately. Nonetheless, instructional methodologies such as the interactive method, the outdoor learning method, the question-and-answer method, and the discussion method allowed some of these teachers to integrate environmental education effectively. Therefore, to ensure that there is an education for sustainable development and that teaching and learning are responsive to the Sustainable Development Goals. It is recommended that the curriculum implementers and teachers establish ongoing environmental education programs consistent with South Africa’s Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement to enable adequate integration of environmental education through various instructional methodologies.

Cryptic and widespread: a recipe for taxonomic misidentification in a freshwater crab species (Decapoda: Potamonautidae:Potamonautes sidneyi) as evident from species delimitation methods

AbstractWe examined the systematics of a ubiquitously distributed southern African freshwater crab, Potamonautes sidneyi s.l. species complex. Specimens were subjected to DNA sequence analyses of two mitochondrial loci (16S rRNA + COI). We applied three species delimitations methods (ASAP, bGMYC and bPTP) to test their utility in delineating species boundaries in Potamonautes and three additional Afrotropical genera (Liberonautes, Nesonautes and Seychellum). The combined mtDNA dataset retrieved five clades. Clade 1 comprised of P. barbarai, clade 2 comprised of specimens from the interior of the Great Karoo Basin, sister to P. sidneyi s.s. in clade 3. Clade 4 was confined to Eswatini and the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa, and sister to clade 5 that comprised P. danielsi. The three species delimitation methods either over- or underestimated the number of species. Phylogenetically, specimens from the Great Karoo Basin (clade 2) were equidistant to P. sidneyi s.s. and P. perlatus, while the Eswatini and Mpumalanga specimens (clade 4) were sister to P. danielsi. Clades 2 and 4 are herein described as P. karooensis sp. nov. and P. valles sp. nov., respectively.

A community mobilisation intervention to improve engagement in HIV testing, linkage to care, and retention in care in South Africa: a cluster-randomised controlled trial

Community mobilisation, engaging communities in a process to collectively enact change, could improve HIV testing and care engagement. In South Africa, current rates fall below those needed for epidemic control. We assessed whether community mobilisation increased HIV testing, linkage to care, and retention in care over time in intervention relative to control communities. We conducted a cluster-randomised controlled trial in villages in the Agincourt sub-district of the rural Mpumalanga Province in South Africa. 15 villages were randomly assigned to either a community mobilisation intervention engaging residents to address social barriers to HIV testing and treatment (intervention arm) or to a control arm using balanced randomisation. Villages were eligible if they had been fully enumerated in 2014, had not been included in previous mobilisation activities, and included over 500 permanent adult residents aged 18-49 years. Primary outcomes included quarterly rates of HIV testing, linkage to care, and retention in care documented from health facility records among residents of the intervention and control communities over the 3-year study period. Intention-to-treat analyses employed generalised estimating equations stratified by sex. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02197793. Between Aug 1, 2015, and July 31, 2018, residents in eight intervention communities (n=20 544 residents) and seven control communities (n=17 848) contributed data; 92 residents contributed to both arms. Among men, HIV testing increased quarterly by 12·1% (relative change [RC] 1·121, 95% CI 1·099 to 1·143, p<0·0001) in the intervention communities and 9·5% (1·095, 1·075 to 1·114, p=0·011) in the control communities; although increases in testing were greater in the intervention villages, differences did not reach significance (exponentiated interaction coefficient 1·024, 95% CI 0·997 to 1·052, p=0·078). Among women, HIV testing increased quarterly by 10·6% (RC 1·106, 95% CI 1·097 to 1·114, p<0·0001) in the intervention communities and 9·3% (1·093, 1·084 to 1·102, p=0·053) in the control communities; increases were greater in intervention communities (exponentiated interaction coefficient 1·012, 95% CI 1·001 to 1·023, p=0·043). Quarterly linkage increased significantly among women in the intervention communities (RC 1·013, 95% CI 1·002 to 1·023, p=0·018) only. Quarterly linkage fell among men in both arms, but decreased significantly among men in the control communities (0·977, 0·954 to 1·002, p=0·043). Quarterly retention fell among women in both arms; however, reductions were tempered among women in the intervention communities (exponentiated interaction coefficient 1·003, 95% CI <1·000 to 1·006, p=0·062). Retention fell significantly among men in both arms with difference in rates of decline. Community mobilisation was associated with modest improvements in select trial outcomes. The sum of these incremental, quarterly improvements achieved by addressing social barriers to HIV care engagement can impact epidemic control. However, achieving optimal impacts will probably require integrated efforts addressing both social barriers through community mobilisation and provision of improved service delivery. US National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, and United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through Right to Care and Project SOAR.

Control of Acoustic Energy Input for Cleaning of Industrial Boilers

A non-intrusive cleaning method for boiler tubes at Sasol Synfuels power station at Secunda, in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa, is preferred over conventional methods that require boiler shutdown. The elected non-intrusive cleaning method utilizes sound energy waves, produced by an acoustic horn. Due to the nature of sound propagation and the effectiveness required, there is a requisite to control and operate the sonic horn. If the acoustic horn’s sound frequency is too low, it will produce higher sound energy waves that will resonate with the plant’s harmonious frequency and cause structural damage. Conversely, if the sonic horn’s sound frequency is too high, excessive noise levels may be reached and annoy plant personnel. To prevent these undesirable outcomes posed by adopting acoustic cleaning, there needs to be a regulatory system incorporated into the configuration to mitigate vibrations and limit noise. The regulatory system comprises a control system that drives the acoustic horn’s sound frequency as intended through a set point. The designed control system meets the anticipated requirements, such that it has an ideal transient response of 0.562 s, a steady-state error achieved in 1.05 s, with 0.201% overshoot, and most importantly the closed-loop system is stable.

Molecular type distribution and fluconazole susceptibility of clinical Cryptococcus gattii isolates from South African laboratory-based surveillance, 2005-2013.

As is the case globally, Cryptococcus gattii is a less frequent cause of cryptococcosis than Cryptococcus neoformans in South Africa. We performed multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and fluconazole susceptibility testing of 146 isolates randomly selected from 750 South African patients with C. gattii disease identified through enhanced laboratory surveillance, 2005 to 2013. The dominant molecular type was VGIV (101/146, 70%), followed by VGI (40/146, 27%), VGII (3/146, 2%) and VGIII (2/146, 1%). Among the 146 C. gattii isolates, 99 different sequence types (STs) were identified, with ST294 (14/146, 10%) and ST155 (10/146, 7%) being most commonly observed. The fluconazole MIC50 and MIC90 values of 105 (of 146) randomly selected C. gattii isolates were 4 μg/ml and 16 μg/ml, respectively. VGIV isolates had a lower MIC50 value compared to non-VGIV isolates, but these values were within one double-dilution of each other. HIV-seropositive patients had a ten-fold increased adjusted odds of a VGIV infection compared to HIV-seronegative patients, though with small numbers (99/136; 73% vs. 2/10; 20%), the confidence interval (CI) was wide (95% CI: 1.93–55.31, p = 0.006). Whole genome phylogeny of 98 isolates of South Africa’s most prevalent molecular type, VGIV, identified that this molecular type is highly diverse, with two interesting clusters of ten and six closely related isolates being identified, respectively. One of these clusters consisted only of patients from the Mpumalanga Province in South Africa, suggesting a similar environmental source. This study contributed new insights into the global population structure of this important human pathogen.

Biogas production from food waste from a prototype biogas digester

Food waste from a school feeding nutrition program, if not correctly disposed, has a high level of pollution. Food waste can be utilised as a substrate for biogas production. The aim of the research was to construct a low-cost biogas digester for Bongumusa FET School in Mpumalanga province in South Africa and to assess its performance when fed with available food waste. A prototype biogas digester was designed, constructed and fed with food waste namely: vegetable peels, mealie meal, samp, rice, pilchards and fruit peels. The food waste was crushed and mixed with water before it was fed into the biogas digester. Cow dung was used as inoculum for the food waste. The temperature of slurry, the pH and biogas production were measured during a retention time of thirty days. It was observed that the initial pH dropped at the start of the experiment and this was attributed to the volatile fatty acid formation in acidogenesis and acetogenesis. The pH began to rise gradually as the volatile fatty acids were consumed by the methanogens to methane and carbon dioxide. From the results, it was observed that food waste is a good source of biogas for the school. In addition, the food waste was found to be an attractive method for environmental protection and energy saving for Bongumusa FET School. The biogas from the food waste can be used to replace imported Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) that is used in the school for heating purposes.

Nurses' experiences of the ritual of fetching the spirit of the deceased from a public hospital in Mpumalanga, South Africa

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; The aim of this study was to explore and describe nurses' experiences regarding the ritual of fetching the spirit of the deceased from a public hospital in the Thembisile area of Mpumalanga province in South Africa. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive study was conducted, using unstructured interviews to collect data. Saturation was achieved when no more new themes were elicited from participants, and the sample size was determined. One major question used throughout the interviews was: 'What were your experiences regarding the ritual of fetching the spirit of the deceased from the hospital?' The responses were captured on an audio recorder and then transcribed verbatim. Strategies used to ensure trustworthiness included: credibility, transferability and dependability. Data analysis was done according to Tesch's method as indicated in Creswell (2003:192). The researchers and an independent qualitative data analyst agreed about the categories, sub-categories and themes. The identified major categories included the process of fetching the spirit, motivation for the ritual, emotions and inherent problems. While most nurses respected family members' rights to perform the ritual of fetching the spirit of the deceased from the place of death, namely the hospital, they also indicated that the rights of other patients had to be respected. It was recommended that this hospital should formulate policies about the performance of this ritual so that individual nurses need not make their own decisions when faced with such requests.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

Deriving moderate spatial resolution leaf area index estimates from coarser spatial resolution satellite products

Leaf Area Index (LAI) is a key parameter used to characterize vegetation biophysical properties and plays an important regulatory role in terrestrial-atmospheric exchanges. Subsequently, LAI is often a critical data input to various evapotranspiration, hydrological and climatic models. While LAI data can generally be easily obtained, it is seldom available at spatio-temporal scales that can be used to guide and inform management decisions for localised applications. To this end, we propose a methodology to acquire moderate resolution LAI (LAIMR) estimates from freely available satellite-earth observation data sets and data processing platforms. Fifteen sites distributed within the KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa were selected as study areas. Coarse spatial resolution MODIS LAI and vegetation index (VI) products were acquired for each of these sites to establish the LAI-VI relationship which was then used to develop machine learning-based models (MLBMs) to estimate LAIMR using VIs derived from Landsat or Sentinel-2 data. During the validation and testing phases of the study, LAI estimates were compared against the corresponding MODIS LAI product values. The results of these investigations demonstrated that MLBMs performed satisfactorily across the majority of the study sites, producing correlation coefficients ranging from 0.62 to 0.97 and 0.29–0.84 for the validation and testing phases, respectively. The poorer performance of the MLBMs when using VIs derived from Landsat or Sentinel-2 data can be largely attributed to inherent limitations associated with the proposed methodology, such as i) the lack of moderate-high spatial resolution LAI records that could be used for training and testing purposes and ii) saturation effects associated with the use of VIs. Notwithstanding these limitations, the proposed methodology has been shown to be flexible and robust and can be a useful approach to acquire LAIMR estimates with fairly reasonable accuracy in data limited circumstances.

Alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking: a health-risk behaviour among secondary school learners in South Africa.

Health-risk behaviours such as tobacco smoking and alcohol are now identified among adolescents in most of the secondary schools of South Africa. The study investigated the prevalence of smoking and alcohol use as health risk behaviours among secondary school learners in Thembisile Hani municipality of Mpumalanga province in South Africa. A quantitative descriptive research design was used for the study. A simple random sampling was employed in the selection of schools and proportional stratified sampling was used to select learners from each school according to grades. Closed-ended questionnaires were used to collect data from learners in their schools. Data were analysed using SPSS version 26.0. Out of 385 learners, 64.4% have drank alcohol whilst 64.7% have smoked cigarette in the school premises. The socio-economic status of many learners such as the employment and income of the family was found to be one of the factors exposing them to alcohol and tobacco use. There was high prevalence of alcohol use and smoking among learners in secondary schools. Excessive use of alcohol and smoking could affect the health of learners in their late life and therefore community collaboration to curb the problem is crucial.