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Characterising “obesogenic” versus “protective” food consumption, and their value chain among Ghanaian households
No full textObjectives: This paper explores the characteristics of Ghanaian households' consumption of obesogenic versus protective foods, including their retail, distribution, and origin. Design: A household food consumption survey was conducted using an adapted Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology study Food Frequency Questionnaire. Product pathways for selected obesogenic (processed meat, Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, and biscuits) and protective (cooked vegetables, legumes, and fish) foods were traced from retailers through distributors/wholesalers to producers. Setting: Rural and urban communities in the Ashanti Region and selected retail/wholesale/producers nationwide. Participants: 612 households, 209 retailers and 185 wholesalers/distributors. Results: About 20% of households consume Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSB) and confectionery weekly, and just 2% consumed processed meat. Of the protective foods, fish had the highest proportion of households consuming weekly (74.5%), followed by cooked vegetables (53.1%) and legumes (22.8%). Frequent SSB consumption is higher in younger (p<0.001), male (p=0.010), urban (p<0.001), and more educated (p<0.001) food purchaser households. Below 10% of households followed the healthiest dietary pattern (high-protective-and-low-obesogenic) but higher in older and more educated food purchaser households. In contrast, most households (about 80%) consumption patterns did not discriminate between obesogenic and protective foods. Generally, characteristics of purchasers from retail/wholesale outlets agree with those of households, where obesogenic foods were retailed to younger, less educated buyers than older, more educated ones. While the protective foods had a strong local producer presence, the obesogenic foods were predominantly imported. Conclusion: Household consumption and retail/distribution of obesogenic foods are associated with socio-demographic characteristics, but obesogenic foods are almost entirely produced outside Ghana. Policies that regulate importation on health grounds can promote a healthier food environment. © The Authors 2025
Effects of xhosa specific solute carrier family 22-member 2 haplotypes on the cellular uptake of metformin and cimetidine
No full textBackground: Studies have shown that solute carrier transporters play an important role in the transport and distribution of metformin, and that genetic variation(s) in solute carrier genes have play a role in the variation of metformin efficacy and disposition observed in populations. This study aimed to determine the cellular uptake efficiency of metformin in SLC22A2 coding haplotypes of an indigenous South African population. Methods and results: To determine metformin and cimetidine cellular uptake in transfected HEK-293 cells, ultra high-performance liquid chromatography was used to quantitate substrate concentration(s). Haplotypes 3 and 4 showed decreased metformin uptake, and haplotypes 2 and 5 displayed increased metformin uptake in comparison to haplotype 1 (i.e. wildtype haplotype). Haplotypes 2–5 showed decreased uptake of cimetidine in comparison to haplotype 1, implying a reduced sensitivity to the inhibition of cimetidine. In all haplotypes, no significant transport was observed for metformin and cimetidine. Passive permeability of metformin was favoured in haplotypes 3 and 5, whilst the remaining haplotypes demonstrate higher passive permeability ratios in favour of cimetidine. Conclusion: Haplotype 4, which is characterised by the non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms rs316019 and rs8177517, demonstrates potential impaired metformin transport
Despite good intentions:The elusiveness of socialjustice in health and physicaleducation curricula acrossdifferent contexts
No full textThis paper draws on critical discourse analysis to examine how health and physical education (HPE) curricula from Sweden, Norway, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand may influence possibilities for the enactment of social justice in schools. The findings highlight the presence of social justice intentions across the five curricula as related to embodied movement experiences, social cohesion, and activism. That said, the findings simultaneously suggest that the language used to orient teaching towards social justice objectives is often elusive. In this paper, we contend that despite the presence of social justice intentions in these five HPE curricula, the articulation and function of the language within the curriculum documents do not necessarily support the enactment of this in practice. To conclude, we therefore suggest that more work is needed to ensure that curricula and other supporting artefacts and resources can better support both teachers’ practice and students’ learning in raising awareness of, and addressing, social justice outcomes in HPE. © The Author(s) 2024
Structural barriers and facilitators to accessing HIV services for marginalized working populations: insights from farm workers in South Africa
No full textFarm workers are vulnerable working populations who face significant inequalities in accessing health services, including those for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention, treatment and care. This descriptive phenomenological study aimed to explore farm workers’ experiences when accessing HIV services and was conducted in Limpopo province, South Africa. Eighteen in-depth interviews were conducted in four health facilities from two districts, and two focus group discussions were conducted in one of the farms within the province. Purposive sampling and systematic random sampling were used to select study participants. A deductive thematic approach was used to analyse data, informed by the social–ecological model of health. The results reveal that farm workers perceive multiple interdependent factors that inhibit or enable their access to HIV healthcare services. Key barriers to HIV healthcare were transport affordability, health worker attitudes, stigma and discrimination, models of HIV healthcare delivery, geographic location of health facilities and difficult working conditions. Key facilitators to HIV healthcare included the availability of mobile health services, the presence of community health workers and a supportive work environment. The findings suggest disparities in farm workers’ access to HIV services, with work being the main determinant of access. We, therefore, recommend a review of HIV policies and programmes for the agricultural sector and models of HIV healthcare delivery that address the unique needs of farm workers
Living landscapes in action: why livelihoods, culture, and heritage matter for the people of the Mapungubwe cultural landscape, Limpopo, South Africa
No full textThis policy paper reports findings from the Living Landscape in Action (LLA) project, which is a multi-cited research project based at the Institute for Poverty Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), University of the Western Cape (UWC). The overall aim of the LLA project is to infuse biodiversity conservation with social and spatial justice. Hence, our findings in this policy paper do not lend themselves to conservation alone, but also to the broader societal issues that people living in and adjacent to cultural- and biodiversity-protected areas must deal with daily. This policy paper reflects on one LLA site – the Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape – with a specific focus on Den Staat farm
Calibration of the solar position sensor on GOES-R as a proxy for total solar irradiance I: Modeling the SPS bandpass
No full textContext: The Geostationary Environmental Operational Satellites R series (GOES-R) includes an instrument that measures visible light from the Sun at high cadence: the Solar Position Sensor (SPS). SPS is part of the Extreme ultraviolet and X-ray Irradiance Sensors (EXIS) instrument package. The visible wavelength range observed by SPS includes the peak power of the solar spectrum. Tracking the solar input to the climate system is important at all timescales. Aims: This article is the first in a series that will describe using the SPS data as a high-cadence proxy for Total Solar Irradiance (TSI), and as an input to the spectral model used in the NOAA Climate Data Record for solar irradiance. Methods: We describe the design of the SPS instrument and create a model of its output using the solar spectrum measured by the Total and Spectral Irradiance Sensor-1 (TSIS-1) on the International Space Station. We apply the bandpasses of the SPS components to the daily TSIS-1 Solar Irradiance Monitor (SIM) spectrum and integrate over wavelength to simulate the SPS measurement. Results: After applying the appropriate SPS filter transmittances and diode responsivity to the TSIS-1/SIM spectrum, we compare the integrated irradiances from the full SIM spectrum and the SPS model to the TSI measurement from TSIS-1. These comparisons of daily averages show that the integrated SPS model reproduces TSI with an uncertainty of 53 parts per million. We also show a preliminary comparison of the SPS data to the high-cadence TSI measurements from the Digital Absolute RAdiometer (DARA) on the FY-3E satellite. Conclusions: The modeled SPS spectrum shows excellent agreement with TSI on a daily cadence. Once all the instrument calibrations have been established, the SPS data will be a viable operational high-cadence proxy for TSI
Internal migrant characteristics and access to clean water in post-apartheid South Africa
No full textDifferentiated access to clean water has been one of the instruments that the Apartheid regime used to justify its monopoly on power. The demise of the White minority rule saw fluxes of internal migrants flocking to large cities to access water services previously denied to them through segregationist spatial planning. Using a framework derived from the theory of access, this study applied a multinomial logistical regression analysis to identify migrant sociodemographic and locational factors that affect their likelihood of accessing tap water. We found sociodemographic factors associated with a higher bargaining power to significantly increase the likelihood of migrants to have access to tap water inside their houses. By contrast, lower levels of bargaining power increase the probability of accessing clean water only outside the house or not having access at all. The results also point out clear differences between migrants residing in large cities and those residing in rural areas. Demand for water resources being expected to outstrip available supplies, the study recommends additional investments in maintenance and expansion of water distribution infrastructure, as well as support measures for improving the bargaining power of disadvantaged social groups to achieve the targets of UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6)
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No full textThis collection comprises images that depict alumni of the University of the Western Cape.
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Thermo-mechanical intrusion-wall rock interaction and granite emplacement mechanisms of the peninsula granite at the Sea Point contact, Cape Town, South Africa
No full textThe Sea Point contact, Cape Town, South Africa exposes the intrusive contact between the ∼540 Ma S-type Peninsula Granite and the ∼560–555 Ma metasedimentary rocks of the Malmesbury Group of the Pan-African Saldania Belt. The western Saldania Belt was subjected to low-grade greenschist facies metamorphism and deformation during the ∼560–540 Ma Saldanian orogeny. The Peninsula Granite intruded as a series of numerous granite sheets which made use of the pre-existing country rock anisotropy in order to propagate. These are the steeply dipping S0 bedding due to folding during the Saldanian orogeny, and a steeply dipping axial planar S2 foliation to the F2 folds developed during the dominant D2 deformation. Magma overpressure relative to tensile stresses in the country rock and regional NE-SW-orientated compressional stresses allowed intrusion of variably crystal-laden magma along the anisotropies. The granitic sheets are commonly concentrated in the hinge zones of F2 folds, where structural traps facilitated magma “trapping.” Filter pressing at the tail of the magma-filled hydrofracture caused closing during magma through-flow resulting in the entrapping of magmatic crystals, most notably K-feldspar megacrysts, in the wall rock as well as xenoliths dislodged during magma infiltration and stoping, and possibly magma flow. Magma stresses have brought about the alignment of K-feldspar megacrysts as well as the long axes of xenoliths parallel to the orientation of granite sheets and wall rock septa in the complex lit-par-lit zone and adjacent to the contact
Delphinidin as an antineoplastic agent targeting androgen receptors
No full textResearchers globally have discovered that both red and green peppers are extremely rich in bioactive phytoconstituents with pharmacological properties. These metabolites are associated with critical physiological functions, including anticancer and health-promoting effects. However, due to insufficient clinical evidence or lack of standardized studies, there are no recommendations regarding their use and dosage. We investigated the potential therapeutic effects of Capsicum chinense flesh as an inhibitor of the androgen receptor through computational studies. To explore potential novel antitumor markers from Capsicum chinense flesh, we employed in silico docking, molecular dynamics simulations, and principal component analysis. Our results consistently demonstrated significant binding across all the receptor models tested, with the potential candidate (Delphinidin) emerged as a promising candidate. This study offers valuable insights into a robust pharmacological approach that could aid in identifying targets with investigative roles in tumor development and provide potential therapeutic options for managing tumors and associated challenges