Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf): Open Journal Systems
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Assessment of participation in collective occupations: Domains and items
Get PDFINTRODUCTION: Occupational therapists work with groups of people who engage in collective occupations to have a positive influence on their health and wellbeing. Although the concept of collective occupations is described and defined in occupational science literature, little has been done on specific assessment tools to guide clinicians on how well people are engaging in collective occupations AIM: This article describes the development of an assessment tool to assess participation in collective occupations in a South African context METHOD: A mixed methods approach with a sequential exploratory design was used. Domains and items were generated from a literature review on collective occupations as well as semi-structured interviews with occupational therapy experts in community settings. Data were thematically analysed using a priori coding. The Vona du Toit Model of Creative ability was used to frame the coding. Domains and items emerged from the data RESULTS: The result was the development of five domains and 19 items that could be used to measure and describe collective participation in occupations. Domains include collective's motivation, ability to perform action, ability to form a collective, ability to produce and end product, emotional-cognitive functioning and collective relations Implications for practice: To work with groups of people, clinicians not only need to understand the nature of collective participation but also need to understand why people participate in them. They should also have insight in the abilities needed to effectively participate as a collective. Understanding of a collective's behaviour in the above-mentioned domains, could guide occupational therapists in planning intervention to enhance collective participation in occupations. The levels of collective participation could guide occupational therapists to gain insight into the potential and behaviour of collectives. Such understanding can enable effective intervention-, preventive- and promotive health programmes with collectives
Employee wellness: Position paper of the Occupational Therapy Association of South Africa (OTASA)
Get PDFEmployee wellness is central to meaningful engagement in work occupations and contributes positively to conflict resolution, stress management and productivity in the workplace. An employee who experiences wellness in the workplace will thus act accordingly with confidence; demonstrate emotional regulation skills, creativity, and resilience. This sentiment is supported by the South African Framework for the Employee Health and Wellness in Public Service, which stives to support healthy and productive employees. Employee wellness manifests through physical, intellectual, social, emotional, spiritual, moral, ethical and occupational well-being.
 
Outer Space Exploration and the Sustainability of the Space Environment – An Uneasy Relationship
No full textIn contrast with the early years of space flight that were dominated by the political priorities and military concerns of the two superpowers, the USA and the then Soviet Union, a new space era has dawned where not only states are involved as serious actors in the space arena, but also private companies. Because of the significant increase in the number of space actors, outer space is becoming a congested and competitive environment. It is self-evident that the significant increase in private and state-sponsored space ventures has serious implications for the protection and sustainability of the outer space environment. Specifically, the proliferation of space debris and the current lack of protection of vulnerable scientific, historical, and cultural sites on celestial bodies are issues of concern. Several measures to balance the seemingly competing interests of space exploration and the sustainability of the space environment have been suggested. This article aims to discuss these measures and to assess to what extent they are in conformity with the current outer space governance regime. It is concluded that the measures suggested to actively address the space debris problem and to protect the cultural heritage in space may contravene the Outer Space Treaty, especially the rules and prohibitions regarding property rights in space. Moreover, whilst the removal of orbital debris is essential to ensure the sustainable use of the outer space environment, some space junk may have cultural significance and be worthy of protection. A balance should thus be struck between preserving cultural heritage and managing the risks posed by space debris. It is therefore recommended that the development of interim soft-law rules (and an eventual treaty) should be undertaken under the auspices of existing United Nations bodies, namely the UNCOPUOS and UNESCO
Accessory gene regulators and virulence genes associated with the pathogenicity of Staphylococcus aureus from clinical and community settings in Lagos, Nigeria
No full textStaphylococcus aureus is a prominent pathogen that causes serious community and hospital-acquired infections globally. Its pathogenicity is attributed to a variety of secreted and cell surface associated proteins that are modulated by the quorum-sensing accessory gene regulator (agr) system. In this study, we investigated the presence of toxin genes and agr involved with S. aureus from clinical samples and apparently healthy individuals. Unequivocal identification of the isolates was obtained with the Vitek 2 system. We screened 70 clinical (CL) and 22 community (C) S. aureus strains for the methicillin resistance (mecA) gene, agr and superantigens (SAg) (enterotoxins and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1) using PCR techniques. A total of 12 clinical isolates were classified as methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA); 89 isolates belonged to one of the four agr groups (agr1-4), and 3 isolates were non-typeable. Of the agr groups, agr1 was the most prominent and mostly consisted of isolates from pus/wounds. The methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) isolates were distributed within the four agr groups while MRSA strains were restricted to agr1 and agr3. The most common enterotoxin gene, sei, was likewise more prevalent in MSSA strains than in MRSA strains, where sea predominated. The co-existence of two or more enterotoxins was confirmed in 40% of the isolates. sea occurred through all the agr groups except agr3 and sei was not found in agr1 and agr4. The toxic shock toxin (tst) gene was detected in six MSSA. These findings suggest that MSSA may cause more lethal infections than MRSA because of the increased frequency of toxic genotypes seen in MSSA strains.
Significance:
Isolates in the agr1,3 groups had more SAg toxin genes, whereas isolates in the agr4 groups possessed more tst genes.
The MSSA isolates contained higher proportions of virulence genes than MRSA.
The clinical implications of this discovery include that MSSA may cause more lethal infections than MRSA due to the greater number of toxigenic genotypes discovered
Aggressive odontogenic myxoma of the maxilla in a 9-year-old child. Report of a case and literature review
Get PDFOdontogenic myxoma is a rare, locally aggressive benign tumour of odontogenic ectomesenchyme origin. The tumour may cause signifi cant facial disfi gurement and has a negative psychological impact on a child. Odontogenic myxoma has predilection for females in the second and third decades of life. The mandibular molar region is the most frequently affected site. It is imperative to detect the tumour early to avoid radical surgery and reduce local recurrences. This case study reports a case of a 9-year-old female patient who presented with an expansile tumour that affected the entire left maxilla, perforated into the left maxillary sinus and completely occluded the sinus
Scientific revolution, industrial revolution, technological revolution or revolutionary technology? A rejoinder to Marwala and Ntlatlapa (S Afr J Sci. 2023;119(1/2))
No full textFrom 2023, SADA Members can purchase amalgam separators at discounted prices
Get PDFAt SADA we constantly and consistently seek ways to add value for the health practitioner and where possible save them money. The following is just but one example of many such actions. With the looming implementation of amalgam handling in South Africa, SADA is pleased to announce that it has entered into a collaboration with Dental Recycling International (DRI), through which SADA members will be eligible to receive a free amalgam separator beginning in November 2022
Adverse drug reactions, a guide for dentists
Get PDFAdverse drug reactions (ADRs) are unintended or harmful effects due to the use of a medicine. Antibiotics and analgesics, which incidentally, are commonly prescribed by dentists, result in most of the ADRs globally. As with most healthcare professionals, dentists do not report on ADRs regularly. Therefore, the aim of the review was to explore the drugs most used in dental practice in South Africa (SA), their associated ADRs and the ADR reporting channels. The study undertook a literature review that focused on studies of adverse drug reactions specifically in dental practices. An electronic search was done on EBSCO host to source articles published from 2000 to 2022. There was a plethora of ADRs that were found to occur with the medicines that are prescribed by dentists that ranged from minor to serious. Although all medicines have a risk of ADRs, amoxicillin can result in gastrointestinal disturbances and anaphylactic reactions, while clindamycin has a risk of Clostridium difficile infection. Patients need to be alerted to the risk of a disulfiram reaction with metronidazole and alcohol. Hepatic failure can occur with paracetamol use especially in patients with underlying liver disease, an alcoholic or in an overdose. Ibuprofen, caution in patients with underlying ulcers as gastrointestinal bleeding is a risk. Local anesthetics pose a high threat of severe reactions such as tissue necrosis and direct neurotoxicity while anterograde amnesia, respiratory depression and thrombosis can occur with benzodiazepines. Dentists can prevent ADRs by having a good knowledge of their prescribed drugs, monitoring their patients and by being judicious in their prescribing habits