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Tracking viral control in adolescents on antiretroviral therapy in Lusaka, Zambia: a retrospective cohort analysis
No full textBackground: In 2023, an estimated 39.9 million people globally were living with HIV, of which 1.55 million were adolescents aged 10–19 years. The 2021 Zambia HIV Impact Assessment revealed lower viral suppression rates in adolescents (15–24 years old) compared to adults on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Lusaka District, Zambia, has the highest number of adolescents on ART, with a 15.1% HIV prevalence in 2018. Objectives: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with viral suppression among adolescents living with HIV (10–19 years) on ART in Lusaka District, Zambia. Method: A retrospective cohort analysis was done of 3409 adolescents on ART at public health facilities in Lusaka from January 2023 to December 2023, and who had viral loads recorded. Socio-demographic, clinical, treatment and behavioural data were extracted from electronic health records and analysed using SPSS version 29. Results: The adolescent cohort in Lusaka achieved 91.8% viral suppression rate (< 1000 copies/ mL), with 79% fully suppressed (< 50 copies/mL). In multivariate analysis, older adolescents (15–19 years) had lower odds of suppression compared to younger adolescents (10–14 years) (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.79; confidence interval [CI]: 1.32–2.43). Higher odds of viral suppression were linked to first-line dolutegravir regimen (AOR = 5.12; CI: 3.23–8.11) and optimal adherence (AOR = 1.89; CI: 1.03–3.47), while regimen switches reduced the odds of viral suppression (AOR = 0.60; CI: 0.45–0.80). Conclusion: Zambia reached the previous UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets with a viral suppression rate of 91.8%. However, to reach the revised 95% target by 2030, tailored interventions should be implemented to improve adherence and retention in care, particularly for older adolescent
Health knowledge and health-risk behaviours among undergraduate students in the faculty of community and health sciences at a university in the Western Cape
No full textHealth-risk behaviours are major causes of global mortality and morbidity, and they can be as a result of poor health knowledge. Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between health knowledge and health-risk behaviours among undergraduate students in the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences at a university in the Western Cape. A quantitative, cross-sectional, and correlational study was conducted with 356 conveniently sampled undergraduate female and male students, aged 18 years and older, at the University of the Western Cape. A reliable and validated questionnaire was used to measure health knowledge and health-risk behaviours. The data was collected on the following eight health domains, namely, nutrition, physical activity, alcohol consumption, smoking, sexual behaviour, stress, violence and sleep. SPSS version 29 was used to capture and analyse the data. Descriptive statistics, non-parametric statistical tests (Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests) and the Chi-squared test were used to analyse the dat
A classifier-based approach to multiclass anomaly detection for astronomical transients
No full textAutomating real-time anomaly detection is essential for identifying rare transients, with modern survey telescopes generating tens of thousands of alerts per night, and future telescopes, such as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, projected to increase this number dramatically. Currently, most anomaly detection algorithms for astronomical transients rely either on hand-crafted features extracted from light curves or on features generated through unsupervised representation learning, coupled with standard anomaly detection algorithms. In this work, we introduce an alternative approach: using the penultimate layer of a neural network classifier as the latent space for anomaly detection. We then propose a novel method, Multi-Class Isolation Forests, which trains separate isolation forests for each class to derive an anomaly score for a light curve from its latent space representation. This approach significantly outperforms a standard isolation forest. We also use a simpler input method for real-time transient classifiers which circumvents the need for interpolation and helps the neural network handle irregular sampling and model inter-passband relationships. Our anomaly detection pipeline identifies rare classes including kilonovae, pair-instability supernovae, and intermediate luminosity transients shortly after trigger on simulated Zwicky Transient Facility light curves. Using a sample of our simulations matching the population of anomalies expected in nature (54 anomalies and 12 040 common transients), our method discovered anomalies (recall) after following up the top 2000 () ranked transients. Our novel method shows that classifiers can be effectively repurposed for real-time anomaly detection
Towards a suitable regulatory framework for the effective performance of municipalities in South Africa
No full textThis thesis explores whether and how the regulatory framework for local government in South Africa is hampering the ability of municipalities to discharge their constitutional mandate. The study specifically explores whether the phenomenon of over-regulation has manifested itself in South Africa, and what steps can be taken to address it. Claims of over-regulation and poorly designed rules are not new in regard to municipalities. However, until now, scholars in South Africa have often mentioned misgivings about rules, but there is no empirical evidence to back them up, particularly in the context of municipalities. The study begins by reviewing the comprehensive literature on decentralisation and regulatory design, which includes law-making, and finds that no universal model exists for designing a regulatory system applicable to local government. Much of the current literature focuses on general law-making principles without direct link to local government. The study further finds that several regulatory pathologies documented in the literature, such as duplication and complexity (cumulative load of laws and costly regulatory systems that do not consider the capacity constraints of regulators), have all manifested themselves within local government, particularly in Australia and South Africa. With particular reference to South Africa, the study examines the evidence and arguments by means of desktop analysis and empirical data gathered through open-ended interviews. In South Africa, various initiatives have been taken to address the pathologies above by government, including the courts. The study, however, establishes that these initiatives have failed to yield any results in the absence of a clear guiding framework and the institutions necessary to ensure implementation
Participatory design partnerships for gender and health in low and middle-income countries: a scoping review
No full textScoping review data for participatory design partnerships for gender and health in low and middle-income countries. Articles included and excluded on text screening of the scoping review
Potential matrix metalloproteinase 2 and 9 inhibitors identified from Ehretia species for the treatment of chronic wounds - Computational drug discovery
No full textMatrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) serve as prognostic factors in several pathophysiological conditions, including chronic wounds. Therefore, they are considered important therapeutic targets in the intervention and treatment of these conditions. In this study, computational tools such as molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations were used to gain insight into protein‒ligand interactions and determine the free binding energy between Ehretia species phytoconstituents and gelatinases (MMP2 and MMP9). A total of 74 phytoconstituents from Ehretia species were compiled from the literature, and 46 of these compounds were identified as potential inhibitors of at least one type of MMP. Molecular docking revealed that lithospermic acid B, rosmarinic acid, and danshensu had stronger binding affinities against the two enzymes than the reference ligands. Furthermore, (9S, 10E, 12Z, 15Z)-9-hydroxy-10,12,15-octadecatrienoic (∗-octadecatrienoic) had a higher binding energy for MMP2, whereas caffeic anhydride and caffeic acid established stronger binding energy with MMP9 than the reference ligand. These complexes also demonstrated relatively stable, favourable, and comparable conformational changes with those of unbound proteins at 500 ns. The free energy decomposition results further provide detailed insights into the contributions of active site residues and different types of interactions to the overall binding free energy. Finally, most of the hit phytoconstituents (rosmarinic acid, caffeic anhydride, caffeic acid, and danshensu) had good physicochemical, drug-likeness, and pharmacokinetic properties. Collectively, our findings showed that phytoconstituents from Ehretia species could be beneficial in the search for novel MMP inhibitors as therapeutic agents for the treatment of chronic wounds
Measuring fatigue in South African first responders: unidimensionality and psychometric evaluation of the chalder fatigue scale combining classical test theory and mokken scale analysis
No full textRaw data for investigating the psychometric properties of the Chalder Fatigue Scal
Co-management: a failed promise for the Dukuduku and KwaNibela communities surrounding the iSimangaliso Wetland Park
No full textThis policy brief reviews the implementation of co-management arrangements in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park (IWP) region. We draw on theexperiences of the Dukuduku and KwaNibela communities, who continuously have to bear the brunt of social and spatial injustices caused bythese agreements. The policy brief is based on findings from the Living Landscapes in Action (LLA) project based at the Institute for Poverty, Landand Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), University of the Western Cape (UWC), where two associate researchers have been based in the communities formore than two years (see Madlala et al, forthcoming). The LLA project seeks to integrate social and spatial justice into biodiversity conservationthat considers the historical injustices of land dispossession and the displacement of local communities for conservation, a practice also referred toas fortress conservation. We have also worked collaboratively with Masifundise Development Trust fisher representatives in the Dukuduku andKwaNibela areas. In this policy brief, the focus is on the governance arrangements put in place for the communities surrounding the IWP to implement
Fire
No full textA collection of digitised photographs taken at the University of the Western Cape in Bellville, South Africa, c1992
Collective bargaining for the ‘new’ working class: putting ‘personal work relations’ to work for street vendors
No full textRobert Hale’s famous proposition is that the propertyless man needs to eat and in order to eat, he exchanges his labour for access to property. Indeed, labour law is constituted by these property relations. Historically, most of the workforce (in the global North) has accessed property for livelihood purposes through an employment contract. However, in developing countries, most of the workforce is structurally unable to access property for livelihood purposes by means of an employment contract. These worker-citizens nevertheless need access to property to eat; street vendors need access to public space to trade. The question is whether the scope of labour law, particularly the institution of collective bargaining, can expand to include informal self-employed workers? The article discusses the capability, regulatory, human rights and personal work relations theories; it shows that Freedland and Kountouris’ theory of ‘labour law as personal work relations’ could incorporate informal self-employed workers and illustrates how it might be operationalized to realise collective bargaining laws for street vendors. Informal self-employed workers challenge labour law to examine its assumptions of how property relations are constituted; and to re-theorise property relations to account for workers accessing property by means of an employment contract as well as accessing property based on worker-citizens making rights-based claims