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The burden of malnutrition experienced globally, coupled with the increasing rate of micronutrient deficiencies, compromises the health and well-being of women during their reproductive years. Obesity places young South African women at particular risk during pregnancy, and increases obesity risk for their offspring. To address these risks, the Bukhali trial is being implemented in Soweto, South Africa with 18–28-year-old women, as part of the Healthy Lifestyle Trajectory Initiative. A dietitian is part of the Bukhali intervention team (community health workers) to provide nutritional support for overweight/obese trial participants, making use of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) Nutrition Checklist. This paper reflects on the experiences and lessons learned by the Bukhali dietitian, including the use of the FIGO Nutrition Checklist and Healthy Conversation Skills to facilitate conversations about making healthy dietary behaviour changes. Identified challenges that influence nutrition and behaviour are discussed, including lack of food affordability, cultural and social influences on healthy food choices, unsupportive environments and food insecurity. Strategies to optimise this nutritional support are also mentioned. The Bukhali trial is showing that introducing additional nutrition support by a dietitian for at-risk participants has the potential to encourage young women to prioritise nutrition and health, even in the midst of contextual challenges to both nutrition and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human capital development is considered the primary source of knowledge and skills in the innovation process. Despite this, there is evidence of a lack of technical and managerial knowledge among emerging sugarcane farmers who are beneficiaries of South Africa's land reform programme, thus, limiting their full potential in terms of innovation and productivity which is detrimental to their competitiveness. This paper employs the Crépon, Duguet, and Mairesse (CDM) approach, correcting for endogeneity problems, to estimate the causal impact of on-the-job training expenditure, used as a proxy for human capital development, on innovation, and innovation on farm productivity. It is based on a case study of 35 emerging sugarcane farmers in the KwaZulu-Natal north coast, South Africa. The results from the CDM model confirm the causal relationships between human capital (on-the-job training) and the innovation behaviour of the farmers, which positively impact the farm's productivity. This result underscores the relevance of human capital development in boosting innovation and productivity in the agricultural sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite agriculture being the largest employer of young people, South Africa faces a youth unemployment crisis. The youth are increasingly disinterested in agriculture and often view it as a last resort in the absence of alternative employment opportunities. This paper explores strategies to change these negative perceptions and attract young people to agriculture. Drawing on twenty-two studies conducted over the past decade, national grade 12 statistics, University enrolments, yearbook reviews, and twenty job advertisements, I identify five key areas for intervention. First, the youth interested in agripreneurship need support to access financial and physical resources. They also need training offered jointly by tertiary institutions and the government. Second, agricultural education in primary and secondary schools will likely attract and retain youths to agriculture. Third, we need to reform the education system at all levels to ensure holistic student development opportunities, including the technical and soft skills required by agricultural sector employers. Fourth, our marketing strategies need reform; collaboration with the media is necessary to increase awareness and change youths' perceptions about agriculture and agricultural careers. Five, we need to strengthen the role of agricultural associations to bridge the gap between the agricultural sector and secondary and tertiary education institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Heteropsectropus Kaszab, 1941 (Tenebrionidae: Blaptinae: Platynotini) is revised to include the following three species: H. aenescens Kaszab, 1941 (type species); H. difficilis Koch, 1954; H. longantennatus Koch, 1954. Four synonymies are proposed: H. difficilis (= H. amaroides Koch, 1954 syn. nov., = H. natalensis Koch, 1954 syn. nov., = H. transvaalensis Koch, 1954 syn. nov.) and H. longantennatus Koch, 1954 (= H. montisdraconis Koch, 1954 syn. nov.). A new genus, Muelleropsectropusgen. nov., is introduced to accommodate Schyzoschelus malaisei Koch, 1954. Additionally, the following synonomies are introduced within Schyzoschelus Koch, 1954: Schyzoschelus dumosicola (= Schyzoschelus dumosicola var. diversipenis Koch, 1954 syn. nov.) and Schyzoschelus simplicipes (= Schyzoschelus simplicipes willowmorensis Koch, 1954 syn. nov.). Diagnostic features and relations between the genera of the Schyzoschelus generic group are discussed and an identification key to the genera and the species of Heteropsectropus is provided. Ovovivipary is reported for H. difficilis and represents the 15th known case of this mode of reproduction for darkling beetles. The first description of pupal morphology for the subtribe Eurynotina is provided as well as that of the first- and later instar larvae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to explore how participants and physicians experienced a plant-based dietary approach to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in South Africa. A multiple-case study was undertaken. The pilot 'Diabetes Reversal Challenge' was initiated and led by UBUNTU Wellness Institute. Participants with T2DM consume a whole-food plant-based diet for 21 days and are assigned to private physicians for clinical monitoring of health outcomes. South African adults with T2DM (n = 10) and physicians (n = 4) participated in the challenge between April 2021 and May 2022. Participants' health outcomes and contextual factors influencing how participants and physicians experienced the plant-based dietary approach in South Africa were the measures used. The plant-based dietary approach resulted in positive health outcomes for South African adults with T2DM, such as improved glycaemic control, weight loss, reduced need for medication and psychological benefits. Multiple layers of contextual factors influenced the plant-based dietary approach to T2DM in South Africa, mapped into a socio-ecological framework that includes (1) individual, (2) interpersonal, (3) organisational, (4) community and (5) healthcare system factors. These results encourage healthcare systems to explore plant-based dietary approaches as an option in the management of T2DM in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases and obesity is associated with excessive consumption of sugar. To address this concern the taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), known as the Health Promotion Levy (HPL), was implemented in South Africa in April 2018. A study was undertaken to investigate perspectives of dietitians and key industry role-players (KIRs) on the HPL. This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study. A national study was conducted in South Africa via a virtual platform. The participants were registered dietitians (n = 138) and key industry role-players (KIRs) (n = 39) who had expertise in nutrition, food science and/or sugar taxation legislation. Electronic surveys probed participants' awareness and opinions of the HPL, perceived SSB purchasing of consumers and barriers or facilitators for implementation of the HPL. Dietitians were positive regarding the HPL (75.8%; n = 94/124) but regarded the tax as too little to affect a reduction in obesity (71.8%, n = 89/124). They reported a 19.2% reduction in their perceived clients' daily purchasing of SSBs since implementation of the HPL. The KIRs regarded the HPL as insufficient to influence consumers' purchasing behaviour (64.9%, n = 24/37). Consumers' habitual purchasing was deemed a barrier (83.8%, n = 31/37) and consumer education an enabling factor (76,9%, n = 30/39) to successful implementation. Dietitians have a positive opinion on the HPL. They agree that the HPL alone will not influence the purchasing behaviour of consumers or reduce the prevalence of obesity. KIRs regard the HPL to be insufficient to affect consumers' purchasing behaviour. The HPL should form part of a multi-pronged approach to create a supportive environment to reduce sugar consumption. It is recommended that approaches should include fiscal measures, consumer education and controlled marketing of SSBs. Trained dietitians would be able to enhance the goal of the HPL to combat the obesity pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methane (CH4) is the second most abundant anthropogenic greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide (CO2), accounting for about 20% of global emissions. CH4 anthropogenic emission sources include landfills, oil and natural gas systems, agricultural activities, coal mining, stationary and mobile combustion, wastewater treatment and certain industrial processes. In this work, we examine the spatiotemporal dynamics of CH4 and its relationship to climatic and vegetation parameters in the Northern Cape province in South Africa. Various datasets from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, Atmospheric Infrared Sounder and the Global Precipitation Climatology Project were used. The results show an increasing trend of CH4 concentration throughout the entire province. The greatest increase in CH4 concentration is observed in the western parts of the province during June-July-August (JJA) season. CH4 concentration shows negligible correlation with most climatic parameters, i.e. Temperature (Temp), Precipitation (Precip) and NDVI for both seasons. The Temp-NDVI relationship shows high correlation values of r = -0.71 and r = 0.82 for the DJF and JJA seasons, respectively. Seasonality plays a critical role in the relationships of the CH4 to climatic and vegetation parameters. This study shows that we are in a crisis, and robust mitigation strategies are needed to combat this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of donated expressed breast milk (DBM) is encouraged in South Africa, with donor milk banks and legislated policies and programmes available in hospitals serving populations with a high HIV prevalence. Concerns over poor attitudes amongst mothers towards DBM seem to persist. A cross-sectional mixed-methods approach was used in a cohort of mothers of neonates in a regional hospital. Between April 2021 and January 2022, survey data on knowledge, awareness and attitudes towards DBM was collected. Qualitative data from open-ended questions were thematically analysed. Comparative analysis using independent sample t-tests and logistic regression to determine differences in variables and to understand associations related to knowledge was conducted. A total of 163 mothers with a mean (SD) age of 27.1 ± 6.3 years were included; 49.7% of mothers had post-high-school qualifications, 82.8% were unemployed and 87.0% received social security. Some 64.4% had inadequate knowledge of DBM. Awareness of DBM had the strongest association with better knowledge concerning DBM and AdjOR (25.25 95% CI 10.60–68.40; p < 0.001). Negative attitudes towards DBM were largely driven by a lack of knowledge regarding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening of donor mothers and fears of HIV transmission when using DBM. Lack of awareness concerning DBM was associated with poor knowledge of DBM, which may drive poor uptake of this critical nutritional source for at-risk neonates. Implementing targeted awareness programmes on DBM, which begin in the antenatal period and specifically address HIV screening of donor mothers, could address the poor uptake of DBM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]