​​It is with great sadness that  we inform you of the passing of our dear colleague and friend, Professor Yoganandee (Yogi) Penceliah. Prof  Penceliah​ passed away on 23 September 2020 after a short illness.

Her sudden passing is a great loss to the Public Governance Discipline and theUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal.

Professor Penceliah joined the former University of Durban-Westville in 1972 and worked in various administrative positions, later joining academia in 1988 having served both the former University and the University of KwaZulu-Natal for a period of 48 years.​

During her academic career at the University, she lectured on diverse modules in Public Administration and Management from undergraduate, Honours, Masters and Doctoral level. She is widely published in peer-reviewed national and international journals and has presented many papers at both national and international conferences spanning six continents.​

She will always be remembered for her gentle kind-heartedness and great support to her fellow colleagues as a team player. Professor Penceliah was outspoken yet diplomatic, thought-provoking whilst showing compassion. She never met a stranger because new-comers became acquaintances and friends​.

On behalf of the School of Public Leadership (SPL), we wish to convey our heartfelt condolences to Professor Penceliah’s family, colleagues  and the University community of the University of University of KwaZulu-Natal.

May her soul rest in eternal peace and power.

​

​Twenty shacks destroyed in five minutes. That's how quickly fires can spread in informal settlements.

This is one of the major results of the world's largest informal settlement fire experiment consisting of twenty homes. The experiment was conducted by the Fire Engineering Research Unit at Stellenbosch University (FireSUN) in collaboration with the Western Cape Disaster Management, Fire & Rescue Services and the Breede Valley Municipality (BVM) Fire Department who hosted the experiment and provided significant assistance to the overall research efforts. The work forms part of a collaborative project with the University of Edinburgh looking at how to reduce the impact of such fires, which has been funded by the UK-based Global Challenges Research Fund.

The results of the experiment have been published recently in Fire Technology, one of the leading academic journals in fire safety.

Cellphone users click here​

“People often criticise the Fire Department for not acting swiftly, but our experiment showed that a fire can move really, really fast. Firefighters have always known this, but now we have better experimental data to understand the problem and analyse interventions," says Prof Richard Walls from FireSUN who managed the overall project.

“From our experiment, we could see that certain interventions currently being implemented would have been ineffective for slowing down this fire. For instance, fire-resistant paint would have had little impact due to the intensity of the fire and the fact that the fire ignited homes through any small openings in these structures, negating the influence of coatings. Also, doors and windows in a densely-packed settlement will always provide an easy entrance for fire."

The experiment was designed by Walls' colleague Dr Nico de Koker who also analysed the results.

He says the experiment was designed to simulate a 'fire line' which would be found in a dense settlement as a large fire moves through it. “We included extensive instrumentation, thermal-imaging cameras, a drone and other equipment in the experiment to provide data on flame lengths, temperatures experienced, spread rates and details regarding when homes ignited."

Walls points out that from the time the first homes were ignited until the time the last homes caught alight was around five minutes.

“This is a frightening figure when it is considered that often it can take many minutes for a resident notice a fire, to contact the local fire brigade (often the wrong number is called), a fire truck to be dispatched and then possibly has to drive a long distance, for fighters to find the burning dwellings (in the midst of a settlement with no street names), to setup and finally extinguish the fire."

“After around 16 minutes there were almost no homes left standing in the experiment, there was simply a pile of scrap metal lying on the floor. Temperatures of up to around 1200°C were measured, and flames many meters long emerged from dwellings."

Highlighting the value of the experiment, Deputy Fire Chief Josephus Pretorius of the BVM notes that their firefighters regularly risk their lives to fight these very dangerous fires. “It is exciting that our municipality has been able to make this research possible, so that we can better understand how these fires spread and behave."

Echoing his sentiments, Marlu Rust of the Western Cape Disaster Management, Fire & Rescue Services explains that “We have been actively working on ways to improve fire safety in informal settlements, and have worked closely with Stellenbosch University over the past years. Our fire departments have major challenges in trying to fight such fires so it is important that government, academia and communities are working together to find solutions."

Walls says that from this research experiment, and many others, the team has been developing a good understanding of fire spread in settlements.

“Although there are no easy solutions to the problem, at least the data is immediately showing what sort of interventions are likely to be less effective. Computer models have been developed to simulate fire spread through settlements, and may soon be useful decision-making tools for analysing risk in settlements, and potentially for developing fire safety strategies."

Walls adds that this experiment, amongst others, also helped to shed light on the performance of products (e.g. detectors, fire-resistant paints, extinguishers and warning systems to municipalities) used to prevent an informal settlement fire; how fast these fires spread; and how to suppress them as efficiently as possible and how communities can assist.

He says a final set of experiments conducted after this large-scale test are currently being analysed to provide further insight on a number of aspects. Also, a series of tests have been undertaken to understand the effectiveness of community-based suppression systems.

• Source: De Koker, N., Walls, R.S., Cicione, A. et al. 20 Dwelling Large-Scale Experiment of Fire Spread in Informal Settlements. Fire Technology, 56, 1599–1620 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-019-00945-2.

FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES ONLY

Prof Richard Walls

Fire Engineering Research Unit (FireSUN)

Department of Civil Engineering

Stellenbosch University

Email: rwalls@sun.ac.za

ISSUED BY

Martin Viljoen

Manager: Media

Corporate Communication & Marketing

Stellenbosch University

Email: viljoenm@sun.ac.za

​​​Chevening is the UK Government’s global scholarship programme that offers future leaders the unique opportunity to study in the UK. These scholarships are awarded to outstanding professionals from all over the world to pursue a one-year master’s degree in any subject at any UK university.

Chevening provides fully-funded scholarships, leaving you free to focus on achieving your academic goals and enjoying the experience of a lifetime. You will live and study in the UK for a year, during which time you will develop professionally and academically, grow your network, experience UK culture, and build lasting positive relationships with the UK.

If you have ambition, leadership qualities, and a strong academic background, we encourage you to apply during the application window.​

For more information, visit: ​https://www.chevening.org/scholarship/south-africa/​

So, I think it's safe to assume that almost all of us at one stage or another have woken up, tried to move and been like, “What the heck have I done?" As we lie there willing our aching muscles to move, we try and figure out what activity we did over the last couple of days could have possibly resulted in our current almost incapacitated state. Sometimes the answer is straight-forward and it was simply a new type of exercise we tried that our bodies are unaccustomed to. Or it could even be the result of one of those super-hero moments where we try and relive our glory days, for example trying to prove to your children that you can still do more push-ups or sprint faster than they can even though you haven't trained in 10 years. The result is the same – severe stiffness and pain, and that familiar feeling of regret of why did I push so hard or what was I really trying to prove.

Today, I want to shed some light on a topic many people may not be familiar with. Delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS, can be a bit technical to understand but I will try and relate it to terms that we are all familiar with.

Let's start by first recapping how muscles work. Basically, our muscles are made up of millions of tiny little strands that overlap each other, and form bigger and bigger bundles that eventually make up the big muscle groups that we can see. At a microscopic level, those tiny fibres, known as filaments, work according to the “sliding-filament theory." Since this isn't a physiology lecture, I'm just going to broadly try and explain it. As your muscles shorten or lengthen, for instance doing a bicep curl or even lifting a fork to your mouth, these tiny filaments slide over each other. For them to work optimally, there has to be a certain degree of contact (just think of gripping someone's hand - in order for there to be a strong grip the majority of the hand has to be in contact with each other.) DOMS comes into play when we overwork our muscles at a length that they aren't trained in, again if you try and imagine helping someone up from the ground with only the tips of your fingers touching. It will be very difficult and sometimes even painful. While doing these actions, our muscles are overstretched at a microscopic level and cause some damage and inflammation, which leads to pain and stiffness and sometimes even swelling.

The exact start, duration and extent of the symptoms you may experience may differ from person to person and also depend on the type of exercise you did. The pain typically peaks one to three days after the exercise and may last up to a week. The swelling may be a little delayed and is usually worse between days two to five, and it may be difficult to move those body parts and they can even feel tight. In the first few days, it may also feel like those muscles just don't want to work properly. These symptoms usually resolve spontaneously within a week or so.

There are also certain types of exercises that seem specifically prone to causing DOMS. I can use myself as an example. About two months ago, I decided to do a home workout to mix it up a little. I did CrossFit for about two and a half years and loved it, so I am quite familiar with push-ups and burpees etc. and this workout happened to have a lot of them. Even though I have mostly been doing trail running and swimming the last year or so, I was quite confident that I could do a few push-ups. 150 push-ups later, I was a bit sore and could feel my arms were burning but I didn't pay too much attention to it. The next day I could feel I was stiffening up, but the day after… oh dear… I couldn't fully bend or straighten my arms. I even had difficulty writing or feeding myself. It was agony, but there was a lot to learn from this experience, and that takes me back to the certain types of exercise that are more likely to lead to an episode of DOMS.

When we use our muscles, they can either shorten, stay the same length or lengthen as they produce power. Let's take those push-ups for example. As you go down in the push up, your tricep muscles lengthen, if you pause at the bottom of your push-up, they are still producing power or force to keep you there even though you aren't moving, and then they shorten again as you push yourself up. It's been found these lengthening or more specifically eccentric exercises, require a lot more strength to perform and are much more likely to cause DOMS. You can also get DOMS doing exercises that you are unfamiliar with and use muscle groups that aren't used to moving that way or even when you just push yourself way too hard that day doing exercises you are used to and overexert yourself.

Ok, so you might be thinking, “Enough about the theory, I'm in pain and what do I do about it?" First, as always, prevention is better than cure. When starting a new form of exercise, start slow and don't push too hard in the beginning. Even though you might not feel so tired, your muscles need time to adapt, especially when doing those eccentric type of exercises. Another tip is to stretch and keep supple as you train.

Now regarding treatment: fortunately, DOMS usually resolves spontaneously, but it often helps to stretch gently before you move. Keep moving through the discomfort and keep exercising but to reduce the intensity of your training for at least one to two days. Anti-inflammatories play a small role but timing is crucial, and as with any medication there are risks and side effects and I would advise rather to use it as directed by a medical practitioner. Heat and cold therapy have also shown to alleviate some of the discomfort and a visit to one of our friendly physiotherapists for a good massage will also help to get you through these tough times.

When should you be concerned? DOMS shouldn't give you what we call systemic symptoms. You shouldn't become feverish, disorientated or confused or be short of breath. You shouldn't see any blood in your urine either. DOMS usually affects both limbs (unless you were doing single arm bicep curls!). If only one limb is sore and swollen, or if you have a history of blood clotting problems and in the cases discussed above, rather seek medical advice or give Campus Health Service a call.

Experiencing DOMS is no reason to stop training even though it can be really painful. Sometimes you might need a bit of guidance and advice to approach exercise in a different way. At CHS, we would love to support you as you journey towards a better, fitter healthier you, so if you are concerned rather chat to us and we will help in some way or another. In the famous words of Bruce Lee – “If you always put a limit on everything you do, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them."

Keep safe and love yourself enough to keep exercising – you deserve it!

Reference

1. Schwellnus M. The Olympic textbook of medicine in sport. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell; 2008.
   

​​SU Teaching Fellowship 2021

Teaching fellowships were initiated at Stellenbosch University (SU) in 2009 with the aim of, inter alia, providing an opportunity for selected academics to develop their teaching expertise and stimulating the growth of the scholarship of teaching and learning at the University. The University has awarded 14 fellowships since then.

The University Capacity Development Grants (UCDG) will be funding another (one) fellowship from January 2021. The fellowships provide excellent teachers and scholars of teaching and learning[1] with the opportunity to spend more consistent periods of time (one to three years), with various forms of support, to focus on aspects of curriculum renewal, the exploration of teaching and learning, and the dissemination of good teaching and learning practice in departments and faculties.

Recipients of an SU teaching fellowship include:
·       Dr Elize Archer (Centre for Health Professions Education, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences)
·       Dr Margaret Blackie (Department Chemistry and Polymer Science, Faculty of Science)
·       Prof. Elmarie Costandius (Department of Visual Arts, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences)
·       Dr Marianne McKay (Department of Viticulture & Oenology, Faculty of AgriSciences)
·       Prof. Ian Nell (Department of Practical Theology and Missiology, Faculty of Theology)
·       Prof. Geo Quinot (Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law)
·       Prof. Ingrid Rewitzky (Vice-Dean: Learning and Teaching, Faculty of Science)
·       Dr Michael Schmeisser (Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of AgriSciences)
·       Dr Marianne Unger (Division of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences)

The call for applications for the Teaching Fellowship 2021 is now open. The closing date for applications is 31 October 2020.

For more information, including the stipulations of the fellowships and the application guidelines, please contact Dr Karin Cattell-Holden, kcattell@sun.ac.za.

[1] “[E]xcellent teachers and scholars of teaching and learning" refer to lecturers who research their teaching practice, drawing on educational literature, and contribute to the body of teaching and learning knowledge through publishing their findings. 

​​Cancer remains a formidable adversary that afflicts all communities without discrimination or boundaries. It impacts the lives of millions, making it a major, increasing public health problem worldwide.

The year 2020 is the second of the new three-year campaign by the Union for International Cancer Control, called “I Am and I Will". This theme constitutes an empowering call for personal commitment and highlights the power of our actions today in reducing the growing impact of cancer. Prof Vikash Sewram, director of the African Cancer Institute in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at SU, reflects on where we stand today.

Global and local cancer statistics

In 2018, the global cancer burden was estimated to have risen to 18,1 million new cases and 9,6 million deaths. Unless greater effort is put into altering the course of the disease, this number is expected to rise to close to 30 million new cases by 2040. As it stands, one in five men and one in six women worldwide will develop cancer during their lifetime, and one in eight men and one in eleven women will die from the disease.

With South Africa's population of approximately 59 million both growing and ageing, the national caseload is expected to double by 2040. Cancers of the breast, cervix and prostate continue to dominate, with a similar profile extending into the rest of Africa.

Cancer remains the sixth leading cause of mortality in the country. It is important to note, however, that about 30% of cancer deaths are due to the top five associated behavioural and dietary risks, i.e. high body mass index, low fruit and vegetable intake, lack of physical activity, tobacco use and alcohol use. Many cancers can be prevented by limiting these common risk factors.

What is preventing early detection?

Prevention efforts linked to early detection and diagnosis are likely to offer improved prognoses and better outcomes. Prevention also offers the most cost-effective long-term strategy for the control of cancer. This strategy is currently viewed as more realistic, socially responsive and financially sound than the aggressive therapeutic options of chemotherapy, surgery and radiation.

But barriers that prevent millions of people globally from receiving an early diagnosis and better treatment exist at the individual, health system and government level. There are huge disparities in health resources (infrastructure, human resources, access to treatment, etc.) that make populations in Africa, including South Africa, extremely vulnerable to late detection and treatment.

The encouragement and support of spouses and other family members are key to minimising individual-level barriers to early detection, screening and diagnosis. Feelings of shame and fear, combined with poor health awareness and cultural beliefs, can keep an individual from utilising medical care or screening programmes.

Barriers at the level of the healthcare system include, among others, low cancer awareness among healthcare workers (especially at the primary care level) and the lack of efficient, timely referral for testing and diagnosis. Continued efforts to raise cancer awareness, strengthen healthcare system capacity and improve access to treatment and support services remain core to curbing the rising cancer epidemic.

Working together

Decades of research and medical ingenuity have improved and extended the lives of many cancer patients, but despite these advances, a combined effort between the public and private sectors, academia, advocacy groups and patients is required to beat this complex disease.

SU's African Cancer Institute has built robust partnerships with world-renowned research and training institutions as well as advocacy and support groups to ensure that the best minds work cohesively to bring hope to cancer patients and their families worldwide.

* This article featured in the latest edition of Stellenbosch University (SU)'s  multi-award winning publication Research at Stellenbosch University . Produced annually by SU's Division for Research Development (DRD), this flagship publication offers the national and international research community as well as other interested parties a comprehensive, yet accessible overview of innovative and interesting research being done at the institution.The theme of the edition is Research for Impact which is one of SU's core strategic themes from its Vision 2040 and Strategic Framework 2019–2024.

Click here to access the virtual copy.  

​

Children appear to be less likely than adults to acquire the SARS-CoV-2 virus – and the virus looks different in children compared to how it manifests in adults.

This was the overriding viewpoint of a webinar entitled Covid-Kids, which was held during the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences' (FMHS) Annual Academic Day.

A number of studies which looked at contact tracing had shown that the secondary infection rate in children was significantly lower compared to that of adults, “so they seem less likely to get infected by contacts," said Dr Andrew Redfern of the Paediatric Emergency and Ambulatory Department at Tygerberg Hospital and the FMHS's Department of Paediatrics and Child Health.

Redfern added that the overall case incidence worldwide also demonstrated that children only represent between 1% and 3% percent of cases.

Redfern shared the virtual platform with Professor Helena Rabie and Dr Marieke van der Zalm, both from the department of Paediatrics and Child Health.

Redfern said older children are at greater risk of infection, while younger children are at greater risk of severe disease. Nevertheless, he said, children are very unlikely to die from the virus, and young children are not super spreaders of the virus.

He cited a case series of 100 children who presented to an emergency department in Italy earlier this year with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, where about 20% were asymptomatic and the vast majority of the cases had mild to moderate or asymptomatic disease with only a handful needing oxygen support or intensive care. These figures mimicked the experience in South Africa “very closely."

Redfern said there are a number of theories on why children are less likely to get Covid-19 and why they are less severely affected by it.

Rabie, an investigator in the university's Covid-Kids project, described the newly-recognised syndrome known as Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C) that has been identified in children and which seems to be related to Covid-19.

Also known as Paediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (PIMS), the syndrome appears to be a delayed complication of the coronavirus infection, even though some children with MIS-C symptoms do not test positive for Covid-19. The syndrome has a range of symptoms that affect several organs and systems in the body and children often have symptoms which resemble toxic shock syndrome or Kawasaki disease in which blood vessels including the coronary arteries enlarge or form aneurysms. Other symptoms include severe blood clotting, gastrointestinal symptoms, kidney injury, neurologic symptoms and heart inflammation – and the symptoms can manifest in varied combinations.

Rabie, who assisted with Tygerberg Hospital's preparedness plan for Covid-19, as well as the screening and management of children with Covid-19 and MIS-C, said the MIS-C syndrome has been reported about two to four weeks after the onset of Covid-19 in children and adolescents.

Some researchers have cited the possibility that MIS-C is caused by a delayed “overdrive" immune response to the coronavirus which causes inflammation that damages organs. They also suspect that the antibodies children make to the virus are creating the immune reaction. Genetics could also play a role.

Rabie said as Covid-19 surges through the continent, more reports of MIS-C are expected in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. Health professionals in the region should be vigilant to the disease.

Van der Zalm said the aim of the Covid-Kids study was to define the clinical presentation, immune response and long-term consequences of respiratory virus infections (including SARS-CoV-2) in children presenting at Tygerberg Hospital during the pandemic.

She said it is very important to study differences in immune response between children and adults and children from different settings in order to understand Covid-19 disease.

Dr Van der Zalm confirmed that children seem to be relatively protected from severe Covid-19.

However little is known about lower- and middle-income countries and sub-Saharan Africa. “This is especially important as the under-five pneumonia mortality rate is significantly higher in our setting than in higher income countries. Risk factors associated with poor outcomes in pneumonia could potentially have an important impact on Covid-19 outcomes, such as HIV, TB and malnutrition."

The study – which, by the end of July involved 159 Covid-positive cases, of which 62 were admitted to hospital – is still ongoing.

Dr Van der Zalm said Covid-19 in children seems to be related to good short-term outcomes; however multiple readmissions had been noted, which needs to be followed up. The spectrum of the disease varies, she added. Younger children have the most severe respiratory disease and it is vital to watch out for new diagnoses in young children with Covid-19.

​In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, doctors at Tygerberg Hospital implemented a daring, lesser-known treatment that not only bypassed the imminent ventilator shortage caused by the large number of critically ill patients, but potentially saved thousands of lives while also providing a more patient-friendly experience.

In a research article published this week in The Lancet's EClinicalMedicine, medical experts from Stellenbosch University (SU) and the University of Cape Town (UCT) described how they were able to successfully treat half of all their critically ill Covid-19 patients by using high-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO), and avoiding mechanical ventilation. 

HFNO is a non-invasive oxygen therapy that channels oxygen into the lungs through nasal tubes at a high flow rate – up to 60 litres per minute. HFNO is considered to be 'gentler' on patients than mechanical ventilation and allows patients to eat, talk and engage with others in the ward. Ventilation, on the other hand, is an invasive treatment that requires a tube to be inserted into the patient's airway. This can cause severe discomfort and necessitates sedation in some patients.

When the first Covid-19 patients with acute respiratory distress were admitted to Tygerberg Hospital's intensive care unit (ICU) in March this year, doctors treated them according to the internationally recommended regimen of mechanical ventilation.

In line with international trends, there were high mortality rates among ventilated patients.

“The first seven patients all received ventilation, and unfortunately all of them died," recalls Dr Usha Lalla, who manages the Covid-19 ICU. “I remember the day so clearly – two of the patients died on the same day, and the ICU was in tears," says Lalla, who is also an internal medicine specialist with SU's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.

At that time, a few anecdotal reports started emerging about the use of HFNO therapy in Covid-19 patients, but generally there was a reluctance to use this lesser-known treatment.

“I remember discussing it with colleagues, including Prof Mervin Mer from Wits University, and saying that a large proportion of the patients just need oxygen – why don't we try it? The first patient we treated with HFNO was up and chatting on her cell phone within five days – in stark contrast to patients who have to be ventilated for two to three weeks," says Lalla. “This gave us hope that we might not experience the carnage seen in other parts of the world."

They treated more patients with HFNO, and achieved much higher recovery rates with this new treatment than going straight to mechanical ventilation. News of the success of HFNO therapy quickly spread to other hospitals in the province and later, around the country, who also rapidly adopted it. This modality was also implemented at Cape Town's Hospital of Hope where engineers had to adapt the infrastructure at short notice to accommodate this new therapy.

High flow nasal oxygen does not replace mechanical ventilation, which is still extensively used in the management of Covid-19 patients, but provides an extra 'weapon' in doctors' arsenal in the fight against Covid-19.

“For a resource-constrained setting in the midst of a pandemic, this had a massive impact on the management of patients," says Prof Coenie Koegelenberg, a SU pulmonologist who also works in Tygerberg Hospital's Covid-19 ICU.

Unlike mechanical ventilation that has to be managed in the ICU, HFNO can be administered in the general ward – provided that the hospitals' infrastructure provides for the higher flow of oxygen required. Furthermore, it can be safely managed by non-ICU trained doctors and nurses, saving on the country's sparse healthcare resources.

The doctors from Stellenbosch University (Tygerberg Hospital) collaborated with Prof Greg Calligaro's team at UCT (Groote Schuur Hospital) to combine data of approximately 300 Covid-19 patients who received HFNO therapy at these facilities. The resulting research article is by far of one the biggest studies to date on HFNO, not only in Covid-19 patients, but for any form of pneumonia.

“Our study showed that HFNO can be successfully utilised to avoid the need for mechanical ventilation in half of all patients with severe disease," says Koegelenberg. “These patients fulfilled the criteria for acute respiratory distress syndrome, and if the recommended treatment protocol was followed, would all have had to be mechanically ventilated – yet we managed to support them successfully without it."

“High flow made an enormous difference to our capacity to treat patients during this pandemic. But it was no easy feat changing tack from ventilation to HFNO in the middle of a pandemic," comments Lalla. “Everybody just pulled together – health workers, hospital management, clinical and general engineers and volunteers. Everybody just did what needed to be done… and it was amazing."

Caption: Dr Usha Lalla and Prof Coenie Koegelenberg.

Photo credit: Damien Schumann

Outgoing Department of Logistics stalwart Prof JH (Hannelie) Nel recently celebrated another milestone in her career when she delivered her inaugural lecture.

Her online lecture entitled Bringing dietary data closer to the truth with statistical adjustment: The 2018 Provincial Dietary Intake Survey as an example, was held on 1 October 2020. It is the first study in South Africa to implement statistical methods to investigate how adjustment for within-person variation affected the interpretation of nutrient intake and dietary adequacy of selected nutrients. The National Cancer Institute method was implemented to correct for within-person variation for a better approximation of usual intake.

The study caps a career devoted to human nutrition, anthropometric, socio-demographic and transport-related research studies. Nel will be retiring at the end of 2020.

But Nel has not completely drawn the curtain on her research activities, hinting that additional projects might be in the pipeline.

“Research work never finishes, it is never complete," she says. “Inevitably, I will remain involved in dietary, socio-demographic and socio-economic research projects as I have become steeped in the techniques, skills and methodologies to interpret the data and extrapolate relevant conclusions."

The tireless dedication to her work has not gone unnoticed. In 2009, she was awarded the Tom Rozwadowski medal for the best published contribution in any accredited journal in Operations Research during 2008. Last year she also received a C2 rating from the National Research Foundation in recognition of her high-quality research outputs.

However, although she is grateful for the recognition, she prizes the “feeling of having grown academically and mentally in her field" more highly.

Nel describes her time as chair of the Department of Logistics from 2011 to 2017 as one of the highlights of her career and a huge honour.

Under her watch, the Department evolved towards more research driven Honours and Masters programmes. The Department also experienced cycles of programme renewal in Logistics Management, Transport Economics, Operations Research and Quantitative Management. A new programme, the Postgraduate Diploma in Transport and Logistics was introduced in 2017.

She says of the Department: “It was and is in constant flux, as it should be. It grew in size and in influence. It adopted new directions. Obviously, the challenge was and remains to keep in touch with the changing environment in the academic and business fields."

Nel started her career as a junior lecturer at the Vaal Triangle Campus of North-West University before joining the University of Limpopo. Since 2004 she has been lecturing Operations Research, Quantitative Management and Forecasting for undergraduate and postgraduate at SU.

“The nature of a lecturer in general is to be a self-teacher, and there is no such thing that you teach only what you have learned," she says. “A specific body of knowledge is attached to every position and with every subsequent position comes new challenges and new required and newly acquired life skills. The boundaries between different academic disciplines become more porous, and we are able to recognise more application possibilities."

She is thankful for the support she received from the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences over the years.

“It is a huge pleasure to function within the Faculty and to have such astounding, unequivocal support. The Division for Research Development and library staff also played a huge supportive role. I was, for example, afforded several opportunities to present papers abroad.

“We cannot function as individuals. To be successful we need to work as a team. It was an honour to be part of a team that shared a common purpose and a common ethos. In the end, one could say my thinking and my worldview were influenced and shaped by the Stellenbosch University. It made me a better academic, and a better person," she said.​

• ​To watch Prof Nel's ​inaugural lecture, click here.
  

Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee headed a distinguished panel of speakers who commemorated the centenary celebrations of Stellenbosch University's (SU) Department of Economics during an online event on Friday, 9 October 2020.

Banerjee, Professor of Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was awarded the 2019 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences along with co-researchers Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer "for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty".

In his talk entitled Good Economics in Hard Times, which is also the title of the non-fiction book he published with Duflo in 2019, Banerjee alluded to the important economic issues facing the world today.

“Our book appeared on the shelves at the end of 2019 and since then things have not gone better, we are now in even harder times," said Banerjee. “The world is struggling with a range of core economic issues in the form of Brexit, trade, immigration, growth, inequality, climate change, COVID-19 and its economic issues and racism and discrimination."

He went on to say that amid all these important issues it is not an exaggeration to state that economists are not doing terribly well when it comes to influencing public opinion.

He referred to a poll they conducted in the UK which measured the public's trust in experts in their respective fields. The results showed that the opinions of nurses (84%), doctors, scientists and historians were valued more than those of economists (25%) and politicians.

Banerjee said one of the reasons why people do not trust economists is that they systematically miss recessions and that their prediction error rate is of concern.

“This just emphasises that economists are better off not doing economic forecasts. But the reason we do it is because it is something that is very visible and a lot of television time is dedicated to it, people love to know the future.

“But there is a deeper problem. We have a long tradition of people basically taking the view that any other social concern other than maximising GDP (gross domestic product) is just a mistake. I think that the general idea of maximising GDP as the only possible social cause is at the core of one of the main disagreements between economists and others."

He said economists often fail to connect to people's sense of reality and that is why they are not trusted.

“Economists have contributed to a view that governments are a problem. But the one thing the Covid-19 crisis has shown us is that we need governments badly − who is going to get you to wear a mask or provide vaccines and ventilators to those who need it − and that we have to be careful when we criticise the government. If there is a moment where we need to reaffirm the important role played by governments, I would say this is it."

Banerjee also feels that this is a time to rethink economics and economic policy.

“This pandemic has taught us that nature is much more powerful than us and that it is critical that we need to fight climate change and we need government and policies to do that. We also need to cure our Victorian hangover, this idea that poverty is your forte, of contempt for the poor. And we need to put dignity back at the centre of social protection. COVID-19 emphasised the fact that a lot of what happens to us is not our fault. We need to design social welfare systems that ​respect the uncertainty in people's lives."

Economics professor Prof Stan du Plessis, SU's chief operating officer, congratulated the Department of Economics on being 100 years old this year and said he hoped for an even better future.

The former president of the Economics Society of South Africa has been involved with the department both as a student and member of staff for a quarter of its history.

“I thank my colleagues both past and present for the academic and collegial environment that they created and sustained over decades.  It helped me and many others to discover our interest in economics and to have it nurtured with such encouragement," he said.

The event also featured a panel discussion with South Africa's Minister of Finance (and Honorary Professor), Mr Tito Mboweni, about the future of the South African economy. The panel included the Economics Department's Prof Rachel Jafta, economist Mr Sizwe Nxedlana and Dr Monique Nsanzabaganwa, deputy governor of the national bank of Rwanda. Prof Nicola Theron was the moderator.

• ​Foto: Bryce Vickmark​

The City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality might have had good rainfall this winter, but that does not mean its water woes are a thing of the past.

“A combination of conservation management, rainwater harvesting, greywater reuse, and the reuse of treated effluent from centralised and decentralised facilities will help to address the issue of water scarcity over the long term", say Drs Wyhan Jooste and Amoré van Zyl from the Department of Industrial Engineering at Stellenbosch University and the South African Air Force respectively. They developed a model that provides insight into and an understanding about the potential long-term effects of water retention and recycling within the City of Cape Town's urban water system to alleviate water scarcity. The findings of their study was recently published in Development Southern Africa.

The researchers say annual groundwater abstraction is restricted by abstraction capacity, while the limit that is being put on the use of groundwater aims to prevent the over-exploitation of natural water resources.

“Currently only 5–10% of the wastewater (sewage water) received by the City's water reticulation system is treated and reused for daily consumption."

Model

The researchers say they developed a system dynamics model to evaluate intervention and policy decisions over the long term in support of reusing and retaining wastewater streams within the City's water system, instead of discarding or underutilising these streams. They add that the modelling ultimately aims to provide insight about the reuse and retention of water streams, under climate and rainfall variability, to alleviate water stress in the City in a sustainable manner.

“Our modelling results provide evidence that policy interventions for retention and recycling of water within the urban water system have the potential to contribute to alleviate water stress over the next 20 years. The results also show that water scarcity in the City requires unique and innovative solutions to ensure economic, social, and environmental sustainability and growth.

“Water from centralised and decentralised wastewater treatment plants, rainwater and storm water harvesting, and greywater reuse are all plausible alternatives to constrained surface and groundwater supply sources.

“Although several of these waste streams are reused on a small scale in private capacity, our model allows for the investigation of impacts associated with larger, policy driven changes to the urban reuse system. For example, non-potable water can be derived from water waste streams, untreated rainwater, groundwater and surface water resources and be used for toilet flushing, outdoor cleaning and irrigation."

Scenarios

The researchers also developed and compared five scenarios to simulate possible policy interventions. The scenarios test the effect of supplementing municipal water supply with alternative retained and recycled water sources over the simulation period 2001 to 2040.

The business-as-usual scenario incorporates existing water management and conservation initiatives, including planned augmentation projects aimed at addressing the deficit in water supply. These projects include incremental actions to increase water supply by 350 million litres a day over the next 25 years. The second scenario evaluates the implementation of rainwater harvesting interventions; and the third looks at the impact of using greywater to supplement total water supply for both domestic and industry consumption. The fourth scenario investigates the use of potable quality treated effluent to supplement municipal water supply, evaluating the effect of decentralised wastewater treatment plants on water supply stress. In the fifth scenario, the impact of utilising all the interventions from the other four scenarios are simulated simultaneously.

The researchers say the fifth scenario is the only one resulting in a water stress of below 1 for the duration of the simulation period, which means that total municipal water supply capacity is more than the demand by domestic and industrial users.

“Using available data from 2017, the simulation results indicate that a potential saving of 57,3 million cubic meters of water or 57 300 million litres could have been achieved in 2017 through a combination of continued water conservation measures, planned augmentation of water supply and the extensive implementation of installed systems for rainwater harvesting, greywater reuse, and decentralised wastewater reuse in both domestic and industry sectors."

“However, there is significant cost associated with these systems and therefore the developed model serves to provide decision support to policymakers for balancing benefits and costs," they add.

The researchers say the results also highlight the continual rise in water supply stress due to forecasted population and economic growth in the city. Although water supply stress can be managed through the application of conservation measures such as water restrictions, this may negatively impact other socio-economic areas.

“It is evident from the research that innovative solutions are required to ensure future availability of water to meet the growing demand. The implementation of water retention and recycling initiatives can, however, play an important role in alleviating water supply stress in the future, and warrants further consideration and research."

• SOURCE: Amoré van Zyl & Johannes Lodewyk Jooste (2020): Retaining and recycling water to address water scarcity in the City of Cape Town, Development Southern Africa. DOI: 10.1080/0376835X.2020.1801387

Photo: The Theewaterskloof Dam near Villiersdorp. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES ONLY

Dr Wyhan Jooste

Department of Industrial Engineering

Faculty of Engineering

Stellenbosch University

E-mail: wyhan@sun.ac.za

​ISSUED BY

Martin Viljoen

Manager: Media

Corporate Communication and Marketing

Stellenbosch University

E-mail: viljoenm@sun.ac.za

​An innovative new clinical training plan has enabled fifth-year medical students at Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) to navigate the restrictions placed on the training platform due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Were it not for the IDEAL (Integrated Distributed Engagement to Advanced Learning) plan, fifth-year medical students would have been hard pressed to catch up with the current year's clinical rotation before graduating at the end of 2021. Clinical rotation is the practical part of medicine and health sciences students' training that can only be performed in a clinical setting, such as a hospital, clinic or care home.

The IDEAL rotation enables students to return to a uniquely constructed learning platform where students are accommodated amidst limited placement opportunities.

Under non-pandemic conditions, the fifth-year students' clinical rotation would have commenced at Tygerberg Hospital and other training facilities at the beginning of August. However, with these sites, and especially Tygerberg Hospital under immense pressure due to Covid-19, the strategic decision was made by the FMHS management team and the Department of Health to prioritise the final-year medical students and to delay the other more junior years' return to the clinical platform.

A bilateral agreement, recently signed between Stellenbosch University and the Western Cape Government Department of Health, enabled these two entities to engage as partners to consider the possibilities. A key consideration was how the students could be part of the clinical teams and learn while also delivering assistance in the clinical setting.

A team of colleagues, led by Dr Therese Fish, FMHS Vice Dean: Clinical Service and Social Impact, Dr Kobus Viljoen from the Rural Clinical School in Worcester and Prof Michael Pather with the Division of Family Medicine and Primary Care contacted the leadership at public sector hospitals in the Western and Northern Cape to determine how many places are available on the clinical platform.

Viljoen was asked by the FMHS Vice Dean: Learning and Teaching, Prof Julia Blitz, to lead the IDEAL rotation team. A design team, including two fifth-year medical students, Luné Smith (class leader) and Ntsako Mtileni (the exiting Tygerberg Student Council Chairperson) developed the strategy for the IDEAL rotation.

With 160 clinical places available for 256 students, it was important to think creatively. The end result was the IDEAL rotation, which entails everyone being placed but students having to spend one day on site in the clinical environment and the next day away from the clinical setting engaged in learning.

The students were placed in groups of between two and forty. “Some of the large groups are in the metro, as well as further away in Worcester and Paarl," says Viljoen. Smaller groups have been posted to places like De Aar, Calvinia and Springbok in the Northern Cape or Hermanus and Bredasdorp in the Overberg, and other Western Cape sites. In all, 18 different sites are being utilised.

In less than a month the logistics for accommodation, transport and information and communication technology for 256 students had to be finalised. “The SUNLOC team lead, by Georginia Stam and Nicole Crow pulled off a miracle to make this happen," says Fish.

During the new rotation, which began on August 24 and ends on November 13, students are making use of two apps. One is the already existing Vula Mobile, which has been adapted so that students can learn in a very specific format, and the other one is My Clinical Logbook, created in house by the FMHS experts.

The self-directed learning approach differs significantly from earlier in that the interaction with the patient drives the student's learning experience and there is no structured curriculum. “You go to the patient and find out quickly how something works or what you are unsure about," Viljoen explains.

Students are assigned to learning facilitators in groups of five to eight. These facilitators communicate with the students through the apps and give advice on the learning process and clinical reasoning.

Over a two-week period a student will alternately be on site on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday or a Tuesday and Thursday. On each of these days a patient has to be logged on to Vula Mobile. If the student is unsure about a specific treatment, this is what he will focus on the next day (off site).

SUNLearn also has a forum for all the different clinical disciplines. Students can post questions there and the assigned lecturers will answer or explain by means of an article, podcast or YouTube video. 

IDEAL covers all eleven major disciplines that the students would have covered in their sixth year.

“It's a bit like a test run for greater integration of all the disciplines and a fun way to gain experience and learn," says Viljoen.

Because of the new learning experience, there is other support besides the facilitators, with the site clinician the first level of support. Various staff members, called the well-being supporters, engage with students – groups of ten students are allocated to each wellbeing supporter.

According to Viljoen IDEAL stands on two legs: Service and learning. “We endeavour to create a learning opportunity, but also consider at how we can support the health system. The idea is that the students become part of the local clinical team and declare themselves willing to do things that do not necessarily come across as academic, but through which they will learn a lot."

“None of this would be possible without the staff of the health facilities where students are placed, the patients who attend those facilities, the many university staff and the leadership of the Western Cape Government: Health and the Northern Cape Health Department," says Fish.

Caption: FMHS students receiving training on the clinical platform. Photo by Stefan Els.

The recent elections for the new student leadership structures saw two new leaders elected, and both are raring to go in order to serve their fellow students: Mbali Mkhonza was elected as chair of the Tygerberg Postgraduate Student Council (TPSC), and Kristin Arends is the new chair of the Tygerberg Student Council (TSR).

The FMHS is unique in having its own Tygerberg Student Council, as well as a Tygerberg Postgraduate Student Council.

Mbali Mkhonza – Chair: TPSC

Mkhonza, who is originally from the rural town of Mayflower in Mpumalanga, was secretary to the TPSC in the previous term. She is currently in her second year of doing a Master's in Molecular Biology, and her research focus is on tuberculosis. She completed her BSc at Stellenbosch University's main campus, followed by her BSc honours in Molecular Biology at Tygerberg. In her research, she is looking at gene expression in response to infections.

Mkhonza said she was delighted at her election and excited about her new role. “The previous chair, Sandisiwe Matyesini, has been amazing in the portfolio handover. I looked up to her in the role, and admired how she balanced her council work with studying. My fellow council members are also so supportive."

Asked why she believes it is important to be involved in student leadership structures, Mkhonza said: “It's a place for our voice to be heard. Post-graduate students have different needs to those of undergraduate students. As secretary of the TPSC, I saw the importance of advocating for post-graduate students within the faculty. For me it is all about being the link between faculty and post-graduate students."

She said her vision for the term was “to continue building on what the previous council worked on in terms of accountability and transparency, and looking at ways to personally develop the post-graduate community".

When asked about the challenges faced by post-graduate students, Mkhonza had the following to say: “Many post-graduate students are working as well as studying. It's not always an easy balance. We need to find ways of accommodating this.

“In terms of personal development, although we are students, we also want to grow as people beyond our lab work. I'd love to find ways to facilitate personal development, and create opportunities for students to, for example, learn communication and presentation skills, so that they can become well-rounded individuals."

Asked which special qualities she brings to the position, she said that she was someone who listened … rather than just responding.

In her spare time, Mkhonza loves reading and singing, and is learning to play the guitar. She also enjoys spending time with friends, volunteers at a baby shelter in Goodwood, and is very involved in her church.

When asked about her long-term plans, Mhkonza said she hopes to stay in academia. “I plan to do my PhD, to become a supervisor, and to contribute to the work being done in disease research, and to scale the academic ladder."

Kristin Arends – Chair: TSR

Arends, a fourth-year medical student, who is originally from East London, has been involved in student leadership since she arrived at Stellenbosch University. From being a mentor in the Hippokrates residence in her second year in 2018, to becoming Primaria for Hippokrates, she has just finished her term as TSR vice-chair.

Arends is clear about her vision for her new position: "I want the TSR to be a structure that truly represents students. My biggest role is to advocate for the students and their needs. In my role I have a seat on the Stellenbosch Students Representative Council, where I represent the Tygerberg students. This is very important as I can raise their needs on a bigger platform".

She takes deep inspiration from some of her leadership predecessors – including Dr Mokgohloe Chitsadi Thulare (the first black female Primaria of Hippokrates); Dr Tevarus Naicker, “who showed me how far resilience in student leadership can take you"; and Ms Wamahlubi Ngoma, who recently completed a term as the Stellenbosch University SRC vice-chairperson and who was the person who "inspired me not to be afraid to take the voices of Tygerberg students to bigger platforms".

“These powerful student leaders inspired me to be the best student leader I can be and to remember who I am doing this for, namely the students."

Arends said one of the biggest challenges facing students recently has been the transition to the online space during Covid-19. This included changes in how students were assessed. Also there has been “a lot of financial strain" among students, including changes to their accounts for residence accommodation.

“Students have struggled with mental health during the pandemic. They have been so accustomed to being on campus, around friends, in lectures, and working in the hospital. The adjustment has been very big. The Centre for Student Counselling and Development (CSCD) has been working hard during this period."

Arends believes she has gained a great deal of experience already. “Students often bring issues to me and to the other student council members. We figure out together how to link staff members and students in order to get problems solved. I am good at working out who to speak to when a student comes to me with a problem. That is one of my assets in my role as chair."

Arends, who enjoys cooking, watching series, and exploring Cape Town in her spare time, always wanted to study medicine. She has been doing her elective at the Frere Hospital in East London. “I've now witnessed first-hand the broken health system in the Eastern Cape. This experience has motivated me even more to throw myself into my medical career," she said.

She is not certain of exactly where her future lies.

“I haven't experienced all the specialities, but do have a couple of favourites, such as emergency medicine and trauma," she said.  In the long run she sees herself working in a hospital with medical students.

“I enjoy teaching in a hospital setting and transferring knowledge and skills."

Caption: Mbali Mkhonza (left) and Kristin Arends (right).

October is Mental Health Awareness Month in South Africa and on Saturday (10 October) World Mental Health Day was observed. In opinion pieces for Daily Maverick and Health24 respectively, Profs Jason Bantjes (Department of Psychology) and Soraya Seedat (Department of Psychiatry) highlight some of the main mental health challenges and how they could be addressed. Click on the links below to read the articles.

• Jason Bantjes (Daily Maverick)
  
• Soraya Seedat (Health24)

​To maintain or restore public trust in science, scholarly publishing needs to ensure high-quality peer review and be prepared to sacrifice high scores on the public relations side in the interest of maintaining the integrity of science. This is the view of Prof Wolfgang Preiser (Division of Medical Virology) and Dr Rika Preiser (Centre for Complex Systems in Transition) in an opinion piece for News24 (10 October 2020).

• Read the article below or click here for the piece as published.

Wolfgang Preiser & Rika Preiser*

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented disruption to almost every area of life, including science and scientific publishing. Many researchers have seen their projects interrupted, while others have re-invented themselves as coronavirus researchers.

The general public are taking an unprecedented interest in the latest research findings. Complicated aspects of epidemiology, diagnostics, pathogenesis or therapy that are normally left to experts operating outside the limelight, now trigger controversial discussions on social media platforms.

At the same time, public health policymakers urgently need scientific findings. Measures to control the pandemic or to mitigate its consequences must be implemented in real-time to respond to a rapidly unfolding situation for which no-one has a “recipe book", as the world has never before faced a pandemic caused by an infectious agent with the characteristics of SARS-CoV-2.

The enormous need for relevant data, a flood of COVID-19-related funding opportunities and offers of expedited editorial and review processes by scientific journals, have resulted in over 40,000 papers on COVID-19 within just nine months!

The resulting sense of urgency, and the unfortunately common politicisation of public health measures like universal wearing of non-medical (cloth) masks, re-opening of schools etc., are re-shaping the manner in which scientific knowledge is shared.

While there are many pressures and incentives to be quick, speed comes at the expense of thoroughness. It has become routine to disseminate scientific data before they have been peer-reviewed by experts in the field. The peer-review process is one of the cornerstones of the scientific process – despite its many flaws, it is still regarded as the gold standard as manuscripts are subjected to the scrutiny of experts (who may reject it altogether, or ask for more or less profound modifications and improvements) before they become public.

A deluge of manuscripts related to the pandemic is being uploaded onto pre-print servers for health sciences and biology  ̶  as of 30 September 2020, 9178 articles on COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 are on medRxiv and bioRxiv alone. While some stimulate helpful discussions among experts, many are picked up by journalists and others and widely reported, oblivious to the fact that they still need to pass through the “safety net" designed to ensure the quality and integrity of science. Premature application of alleged yet unsubstantiated findings can be harmful.

Even worse – some papers are accepted and published by reputable journals despite serious shortcomings. Certain drugs have been touted as beneficial in COVID-19 patients despite a lack of proper evidence. Preliminary observations may be useful if subsequently put to test in proper randomised controlled trials. If they however become political currency, in pre-print and later published form, this can cause damage, as when President Trump praised chloroquine as a remedy against COVID-19.

Subsequently, the prestigious journal Lancet published a paper claiming the opposite: an analysis of a global hospital patient registry had shown that not only did chloroquine not help but that it led to higher mortality among COVID-19 patients. However, this "study" is equally invalid: There are serious doubts about quality or even existence of the underlying database, leading to the eventual retraction of this and a related scientific paper.

These are examples of failures of two of the components of scientific quality assurance, namely editorial oversight and peer review. The subsequent layers, critical reception by peers and replication by other studies, exposed the major flaws of these papers. This proves that fundamentally, the scientific process and its self-correcting nature are intact. However, even temporary aberrations can cause harm – by leading to poor decisions (for example, suboptimal treatment of patients or insufficient prevention of infection) or "only" by distracting from real issues and better alternatives.

The ongoing pandemic places an enormous burden on editors, reviewers and just about everyone else in the scientific community. Those best placed to provide meaningful peer review on submitted manuscripts are probably the same people who are themselves trying to obtain funding and ethics approvals, conducting trials, analysing data and writing manuscripts and thus do not have time to undertake peer reviews.

On the other hand, “informal" peer review may yield unexpected benefits, even before a paper is submitted to a journal. An example from the early 2020 is the "disappearance" of a pre-print paper falsely claiming that the SARS-CoV-2 genome contained elements from the genome of HIV. Vigorous “open" peer review, taking place on science blogs and Twitter, seems to have prompted the withdrawal of the manuscript.

A rational approach will go a long way, especially if supported by some knowledge of the field in question. An example: Most antiviral drugs are the end product of painstaking research conducted over decades, starting with basic virology and culminating in clinical trials. Does that not make it highly unlikely that a decades-old antimalarial like chloroquine would have major, hitherto unrecognised antiviral activity? Or major toxicities not seen in decades?

Fortunately, the scientific endeavour remains largely intact. Even during the pandemic poor (or even fraudulent) papers will be called out in the end. But to maintain or restore public trust in science, scholarly publishing needs to ensure high quality peer review and be prepared to sacrifice high scores on the public relations side in the interest of maintaining the integrity of science.

*Prof Wolfgang Preiser heads the Division of Medical Virology in the Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences at Stellenbosch University (SU). Dr Rika Preiser is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition at SU. This article is an abridged version of their recent paper Academic publishing in pandemic times in the South African Journal of Science.

​​A journey that started in Stellenbosch University’s Metanoia residence in 2017 has culminated in an invitation to attend Agenda Las Vegas, a streetwear tradeshow in the USA in 2021.​

Stellenbosch University (SU) graduate Abdu-Shakoer Baderoen and his two best friends Chad Mockey (also an SU alumnus) and Ethan Beukes conceptualised and established the brand BRAhSSE while they were still students.

Baderoen graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing in 2018, while Mockey obtained his BA degree in Geography and Environmental Studies in 2019. Beukes studies at the Stellenbosch Academy of Design and Photography.

According to Baderoen, they started BRAhSSE to make a meaningful contribution to post-apartheid South Africa by creating a clothing and accessories brand that celebrates unity in diversity.

"Brasse is the slang word we use for friends in the Cape coloured community," says Baderoen. To differentiate their brand from the original word, they inserted a lowercase h in the middle, which stands for heritage.

"Our brand represents a fresh, authentic and honest reflection of contemporary South African culture."

Street fashion offers the opportunity to use what you have to express yourself, he explains. Some of their designs are inspired by the colours of the Bo-Kaap and the 'Klopse' and popular items include bucket hats, T-shirts and hoodies. In 2018, BRAhSSE formed a collaboration with the soft drink brand Jive to use BRAhSSE clothing in Jive’s advertising and promotional material.

Every now and again they also create an item to encourage critical engagement about certain issues. Last year they released a T-shirt with the image of a gun shooting flowers, to initiate conversations about issues like gang violence. When COVID-19 hit, they started making masks too.

Baderoen comes from the Strand, where he matriculated from Gordon High School.

"I come from a disadvantaged background and stay with my single mother and my sister. When I came to Stellenbosch in 2014, I told myself to make the most of the opportunity that I got to study at Stellenbosch University and try my best to change my circumstances."

Baderoen was a resident and later house committee member of Metanoia, where he was exposed to a many people from different backgrounds, heritages and cultures.

"I made so many friends and learned a lot from them. This gave me the inspiration for the brand."

Baderoen and Mockey have not only built a business together – for the past few years they were also together on the rugby field as SU’s well-known mascot "Pokkel" and the Varsity Cup mascot "Prof".

"It’s been very special to contribute to the gees at Varsity Cup games, as well as people's happiness and enjoyment of the event. Pokkel and Prof were always up to something. We have some great memories," laughs Baderoen.

It’s been a tough journey for these young entrepreneurs. The business consumes all their free time but Baderoen can’t afford to leave his day job, as he has to support himself and his family. This has made it difficult for the young, small start-up to get funding from government sources.

"It’s been very hard to balance everything. Sometimes I want to give up," says Baderoen as his voice breaks. "But I think we also inspire other young people, and that makes me happy."

They are currently raising funds to attend the Agenda Las Vegas show in March next year.

"We want to go there and do business so that we can create employment and opportunities for other businesses here. We want to show the youth that anything is possible if you just go after your dreams and try your utmost best to make things happen. Hard work will forever be the key to success.

“We want to make BRAhSSE a proudly South African brand.”

To support them, visit:

https://thundafund.com/project/brahssexagendalasvegas​

​​​A newly identified killifish species from the iconic Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, has been named for Sir David Attenborough in recognition of his dedicated efforts to promote biophilia – an awareness of the wonders and beauty of nature.

In contrast to the charismatic wildebeest and their spectacular annual migration, the brightly coloured Nothobranchius attenboroughi is barely five centimetres long and known to live fast and die young. ​​The species is endemic to northern Tanzania and integral to the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem.

That is why five scientists and fish enthusiasts from Canada, France and South Africa decided to name this highly vulnerable species after the doyen of biodiversity conservation.

“We wanted to honour Sir Attenborough for raising awareness of the wonders and beauty of nature to so many people worldwide, promoting the importance of biodiversity conservation, and above all, inspiring so many young persons and researchers in the field of natural history, including ourselves," explains the authors: Prof Dirk Bellstedt and Dr Fenton (Woody) Cotterill, a biochemist and geologist respectively and their student, De Wet van der Merwe, from Stellenbosch University, South Africa, together with Béla Nagy, from France, and Prof Brian Watters, from Canada.

Together this eclectic group of scientists have been working on fish species endemic to East Africa since the 1990s. Between the five of them they have covered thousands of kilometres from as far north as Chad and Sudan through eastern central Africa to the Caprivi Region of Namibia and northern KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa, in an effort to collect, study and describe Nothobranchius species and to collect tissues for laboratory work. Key to their studies has been the DNA sequencing and molecular systematic work started by Dr Cotterill in 2007 in Prof Bellstedt's laboratory and subsequently greatly expanded by De Wet van der Merwe in his PhD studies since 2015.

They want to make use of this opportunity to raise awareness about the precarious conservation status of Nothobranchius fishes in general: “The biodiversity of East Africa is deservedly renowned for the diversity of its spectacular large mammals, but the freshwater fish fauna is no less significant. The conservation status of Nothobranchius attenboroughi depends on the integrity of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem and the area surrounding Lake Victoria," explains Prof Bellstedt.

This is because these fish literally only live long enough during the wet season to reach maturity and then die after they've laid their eggs in the habitat substrate mud and the seasonal pools dry out. As the mud dries, cracks allow oxygen to penetrate and the embryos to develop. When the rainy season arrives and the pools fill again, the eggs hatch, the fry grow rapidly and the cycle repeats itself.​

With climate change and human settlement in the regions surrounding Lake Victoria, the conservation of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem is not only important for the conservation of the large mammals such as wildebeest and their migration, but also for these wonderfully adapted, brightly coloured little fish and their precarious life cycle. Sir David Attenborough has always emphasized that an ecosystem consists of many species including even the smallest and this is also one of the reasons the authors have named the species in his honour.

More about Nothobranchius attenboroughi

Nothobranchius attenboroughi is endemic to northern Tanzania and found in ephemeral pools and marshes associated with the Grumeti River system and other small systems draining into Lake Victoria at the east side of the lake. The ecological integrity of this river is maintained by the congruence of its catchments largely within the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. It is one of six new species described in an article entitled “Review of the Nothobranchius ugandensis species group from the inland plateau of eastern Africa with descriptions of six new species (Teleostei: Nothobranchiidae)", published in the journal Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters in April this year. The article is available online at https://pfeil-verlag.de/publikationen/review-of-the-nothobranchius-ugandensis-species-group-from-the-inland-plateau-of-eastern-africa-with-descriptions-of-six-new-species/

The work was largely privately funded by the authors, but since 2015, it has been funded under the umbrella of the “Off the Beaten Track" initiative of the Volkswagen Foundation in Germany and Stellenbosch University in South Africa. The aim of the project, entitled “Exploring the Genomic Record of Living Biota to Reconstruct the Landscape Evolution of South Central Africa", is to develop a novel approach to reconstruct the landscape evolution of central Africa over the past 20 million years. This is being done by combining Sanger and next-generation sequencing of the DNA of fish groups, such as the killifish and cichlid fishes, with high precision rock dating of key landforms.

On the photo above: The brightly coloured killifish species, Nothobranchius attenboroughi, is only five centimetres long. It is found in ephemeral pools and marshes at the east side of Lake Victoria, where its survival depends on the annual rain season when the dry riverbeds of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem start flowing again. Photo: Brian Watters

Media interviews

Prof Dirk U. Bellstedt,

Stellenbosch University

E-mail: dub@sun.ac.za

Mobile:+27-73-1661380

Dr Fenton Cotterill

Department of Earth Sciences, Stellenbosch University

E-mail: fcotterill@gmail.com

​An international Master Trainer in critical pedagogy will be one of the extraordinary experiential learning specialists at the Stellenbosch University Experiential Education Conference (SUEEC) in November 2020.

Mustafa Erdogan, President and founder of the DeM Experiential Training Centre in Istanbul, Turkey, will be leading a Master Class on the Global citizen-leadership conference track. He is the co-developer of the DeM Training for Trainers Program, a practical synthesis of Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory and Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed which he has delivered to 350+ educators from 13 countries.

As an experiential learning specialist and Master Trainer, Mustafa Erdogan has more than 15 years' experience in the field of civil society and has worked as a trainer for the European Union Education & Youth Programs. He completed Experiential Learning Certification Program of USA Institute for Experiential Learning delivered by David Kolb, Alice Kolb, Kay Peterson and Chris Kayes  and is an active member of this Community of Practice. Mr. Erdogan leads train-the-trainer master classes and program designing in numerous projects in Turkey, Europe and MENA regions. He carries expertise on Learning Management, NGO Management and Experiential Learning Design. He has been working as a trainer in pool of Turkish National Agency since 2006. He is one of the founders of IELN International Experiential Learning Network and his works are mainly focused on Experiential Learning and Critical Pedagogy. He believes that rights-based social transformation is only possible through social transformation-based education. 

“The ability to connect academia with civil society through citizen-leadership, forms an indispensable element for a robust democracy. Mustafa Erdogan's master class is a must for everyone seeking to embed a social justice framework in experiential learning design that leads to precisely this"  said Ruth Andrews, Chairperson of the SUEEC Steering Committee and Manager of the SU Co-curriculum Office at the Centre for Student Leadership, Experiential Education and Citizenship.

Erdogan will be presenting a master class at the the SUEEC, a virtual experience conference hosted by CSLEEC at the Division for Student Affairs on 10-11 November 2020. The Global citizen-leadership conference track seeks to build understanding of the role of experiential education towards the formation of the global citizen-leader and the inherent complexities thereof. Other keynote speakers that will be at SUEEC include Profs George Kuh, Alice Kolb, Thuli Madonsela, Jonathan Jansen, Arnold Schoonwinkel, Hester Klopper and Dr Choice Makhetha.

• Early bird registration for the SUEEC was open until 20 September 2020, and normal registration is open until 1 November 2020. Join us on 10-11 November 2020 for this virtual experience.
  

Visit www.sueec.com and register today join the global conversation at SUEEC 2020.

​Prof Alice Kolb, a world-renowned research and development expert in the field of experiential education will be one of the extraordinary keynote speakers at the Stellenbosch University Experiential Education Conference (SUEEC) in November 2020.

Prof Kolb, President of Experience Based Learning Systems (EBLS), will be engaging with the SUEEC participants as one of the extraordinary keynote speakers on the Experiential Education and Student Transformation conference track. EBLS, a research and development organisation devoted to research and application of experiential learning in organisations worldwide, she facilitates research and practice initiatives of the international network. EBLS has developed numerous experiential exercises and self-assessment instruments including the latest Kolb Learning Style Inventory 4.0. She recently co-authored the book titled Becoming an Experiential Educator: Principles and Practices of Experiential Learning. Prof Kolb is passionate about creating spaces conducive to deep learning that offer challenge and support to students. She states that it is essential to create learning spaces that develops expertise and sustained lifelong learning and that experiential educators play a critical role in this.

Prof Alice Kolb received her BA in Japanese Studies from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, and MA and Doctorate in Human Resources Management from Hitotsubashi University. She received a MS in Human Resource Management from Cleveland State University and her Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University in Organizational Behaviour, where she was an Adjunct Professor in the Weatherhead School of Management.

“Professor Kolb believes that experiential education is a philosophy, more than the pragmatic framework and stretches beyond formal academic learning. It is much more than utilising diagnostic instruments, and larger than the institution itself. The Principles and Practices in Conversation SUEEC session is simply a must for all experiential educators as part of our ongoing learning" said Ruth Andrews, Chairperson of the SUEEC Steering Committee and Manager of the SU Co-curriculum Office at Centre for Student Leadership, Experiential Education and Citizenship.  

Participants at the SUEEC can look forward to a panel conversation themed 'Experiential Education and Transformative Learning: Principles and Practices in Conversation', led by Prof Kolb. The SUEEC is a virtual experience conference hosted by CSLEEC at the Division for Student Affairs on 10-11 November 2020. The focus of the Experiential Education and Student Transformation conference track is to highlight approaches and issues facing experiential educators utilizing experiential education theory and methodology as pedagogy towards social justice and student transformation. Other keynote speakers that will be at SUEEC include Profs George Kuh, Thuli Madonsela, Jonathan Jansen, Arnold Schoonwinkel, Hester Klopper, Dr Choice Makhetha and Mr Mustafa Erdogan.

• Early bird registration for the SUEEC was open until 20 September 2020, and normal registration is open until 1 November 2020. Join us on 10-11 November 2020 for this virtual experience.
  

Visit www.sueec.com and register today join the global conversation at SUEEC 2020.

​​​Research concerning adolescents has become an international priority in recent years as the global community works towards achieving the ambitious UN Sustainable Development Goal of promoting “well-being for all, at all ages".

Adolescence is a key phase of development that holds far-reaching consequences for human capital development into adulthood. However, many adolescents are growing up in unstable environments where they are exposed to poverty, abuse and a lack of support systems. This places them at risk of developing mental disorders and of engaging in risky behaviour such as substance abuse and violence.

Despite adolescents' increased risk of poor mental health outcomes, there is limited evidence of what constitutes the best methods of promoting positive mental health and preventing disorders in this segment of the population. The Institute of Life Course Health Research (ILCHR) in SU's Department of Global Health is addressing this research gap by generating evidence on the state of adolescent mental health and identifying effective interventions to support adolescent well-being.

How the ILCHR is supporting at-risk adolescents

In collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the ILCHR team recently completed eight systematic reviews of existing evidence to identify those interventions that proved effective in improving adolescent mental health. These reviews served as foundation in drafting the WHO Guidelines on Mental Health Promotive and Preventive Interventions for Adolescents. The ILCHR team is also working with the WHO in applying the review findings to the design of their Helping Adolescents Thrive (HAT) intervention package for adolescents.

The ILCHR team is furthermore developing a school-based health improvement intervention for young at-risk adolescents: the Health Action in Schools for a Thriving Adolescent Generation (HASHTAG) project. This project will be based on two strategies: school climate improvement and a group-based psychosocial intervention. Preparation is being done for feasibility trials in the Eastern Cape and in Nepal.

Closer to home in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, the ILCHR recently performed two interventions that sought to mitigate the effects of violence exposure and poverty on adolescent development. The Zifune (“Find Yourself") intervention is a solution-based life skills programme for adolescents, with a specific focus on reducing interpersonal violence. This intervention, developed in consultation with an adolescent advisory board drawn from the Khayelitsha community (#nothingforuswithoutus), uses creative activities to help adolescents reflect on their actions and their relationships, and to explore and plan for their future.

In another Khayelitsha-based project, the Teaching Recovery Techniques (TRT) intervention, more than 300 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 were screened for traumarelated distress. Those identified as struggling to cope were invited to participate in a feasibility trial of the TRT intervention, which used groupbased sessions to support adolescents and their caregivers in processing their traumatic stress.

Gearing up with the right research tools

Generating larger-scale mental health evidence requires the right tools. There is a massive gap in population-based data on adolescent mental health conditions in low- and middle-income countries like South Africa. In addition, there are few validated, culturally appropriate measures available for use among adolescents in such countries. In response, UNICEF is funding the ILCHR team to adapt and conduct gold-standard validation of an adolescent mental health measure in South Africa – the Measurement of Mental Health among Adolescents at the Population Level (MMAP) tool. In this project, the team will validate ways to assess and address adolescent mental health, and gather evidence that can inform the development of tools and treatments for adolescents at a population level.

The above initiatives all contribute to identifying relevant, novel ways to support adolescent mental health in South Africa and other low- and middle-income countries, to building evidence, and to creating opportunities for engagement with future generations of adults so that they may thrive.

* This article featured in the latest edition of Stellenbosch University (SU)'s  multi-award winning publication Research at Stellenbosch University . Produced annually by SU's Division for Research Development (DRD), this flagship publication offers the national and international research community as well as other interested parties a comprehensive, yet accessible overview of innovative and interesting research being done at the institution.The theme of the edition is Research for Impact which is one of SU's core strategic themes from its Vision 2040 and Strategic Framework 2019–2024.

Click here to access the virtual copy.