An Historical Review of Research on Fire in South Africa

1984 ◽  
pp. 53-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Scott
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Historical Review

scholarly journals Where have all the susceptible gonococci gone? A historical review of changes in MIC distribution over the past 75 years

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Kenyon ◽  
Jolein Laumen ◽  
Dorien Van Den Bossche ◽  
Christophe Van Dijck
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Historical Review ◽  
The United States ◽  
Antimicrobial Consumption ◽  
The Past ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Loss Of Susceptibility

Abstract Background Does the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae include the erasure of highly susceptible strains or does it merely involve a stretching of the MIC distribution? If it was the former this would be important to know as it would increase the probability that the loss of susceptibility is irreversible.Methods We conducted a historical analysis based on a literature review of changes of N. gonorrhoeae MIC distribution over the past 75 years for 3 antimicrobials (benzylpenicillin, ceftriaxone and azithromycin) in five countries (Denmark, Japan, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States).Results Changes in MIC distribution were most marked for benzylpenicillin and showed evidence of a right shifting of MIC distribution that was associated with a reduction/elimination of susceptible strains in all countries. In the case of ceftriaxone and azithromycin, where only more recent data was available, right shifting was also found in all countries but the extent of right shifting varied and the evidence for the elimination of susceptible strains was more mixed.Conclusions The finding of right shifting of MIC distribution combined with reduction/elimination of susceptible strains is concerning since it suggests that this shifting may not be reversible. Since excess antimicrobial consumption is likely to be responsible for this right shifting, this insight provides additional impetus to promote antimicrobial stewardship.

Brief Historical Review of Membrane Development and Membrane Applications in Wastewater Treatment in Southern Africa

1992 ◽  
Vol 25 (10) ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. R. Botha ◽  
R. D. Sanderson ◽  
C. A. Buckley
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Historical Review ◽  
Mine Waters ◽  
Considerable Potential ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Charged Membrane ◽  
The World ◽  
Membrane Development

Away back in 1953 few people in the world, let alone South Africa, knew or had heard about membrane desalination, but there was an increasing awareness that electrodialysis had considerable potential for the desalination of brackish water. In South Africa the development of the new gold fields in the northern Orange Free State and the problems posed by the presence of excessive volumes of very saline mine waters stimulated interest in desalination and the CSIR* in collaboration with the mining industry became involved in the development of the electrodialysis process. By 1959 the largest brackish desalination plant in the world had been built and commissioned. South Africans were thus in the forefront of this technology, even to the extent of making the required membranes locally. Our historical review of membrane development and the applications of membrane technology in Southern Africa encompasses both pressure- and voltage-driven processes. Examples of the pressure processes are microfiltration, ultrafiltration and charged membrane ultrafiltration or nanofiltration, and finally reverse osmosis with fixed and dynamically formed membranes. The voltage-drive processes considered are electrodialysis and electrodialysis reversal.

scholarly journals How to understand, evaluate and influence efficient progress in South Africa’s land reform process: A typology from historical lessons from selected sub-Saharan African countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nhlanhla C. Mbatha
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Historical Review ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Policy Uncertainty ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Black Farmers ◽  
Sub Saharan

Background: With reports of widespread failures in South Africa’s land reform programmes, the levels of policy uncertainty in the political rhetoric that influences land reform have been increasing. Since 1994 policy targets to transfer land to black farmers have not been met. Of the 2005 target to transfer about 25 million ha of commercial farmland to black farmers by 2014, less than 5 million ha. have been transferred for commercial use. Some studies report failure rates in resettlement projects of up to 90%. To account for the failures, revisions of policies and amendments to legislations have been proposed within a political environment that is becoming increasingly intolerant to slow progress in land transfers and to resettlement failures.Aim: Against this environment, this paper presents a typology for understanding and evaluating important elements of the land reform project in order to influence progress in the process.Setting: The study adopts a historical review of land reform processes in post-colonial Kenya and Zimbabwe in order to identify potential challenges and key lessons for South Africa.Methods: Hence, using institutional and historical analytical lenses in exploring different narratives, the paper reviews reported failures and successes in land reform policy cases from the selected countries. From an institutional framework, prevalent social institutions and key lessons from Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa, a typology for evaluating important elements of the land reform process in South Africa is developed and discussed. Additionally, a review of global data collected on average sizes of farms in different regions of the world is provided as evidence to support propositions of what would constitute efficient farmland size ranges for small to medium commercial farms in South Africa.Results and conclusion: A proposition is made on how to use the typology to guide policy and research interventions to reduce failures and promote successful cases in different areas of the land reform process in South Africa, and possibly other similar contexts.

scholarly journals A historical assessment of sources and uses of wheat varietal innovations in South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol Volume 113 (Number 3/4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charity R. Nhemachena ◽  
Johann Kirsten ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Historical Review ◽  
Aluminium Toxicity ◽  
Wheat Breeding ◽  
Yield Potential ◽  
Pedigree Information ◽  
Wheat Varieties

Abstract We undertook a historical review of wheat varietal improvements in South Africa from 1891 to 2013, thus extending the period of previous analyses. We identified popular wheat varieties, particularly those that form the basis for varietal improvements, and attempted to understand how policy changes in the wheat sector have affected wheat varietal improvements in the country over time. The empirical analysis is based on the critical review of information from policies, the varieties bred and their breeders, the years in which those varieties were bred, and pedigree information gathered from the journal Farming in South Africa, sourced mainly from the National Library of South Africa and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) database. A database of the sources and uses of wheat varietal innovations in South Africa was developed using information from the above sources. The data, analysed using trend and graphical analysis, indicate that, from the 1800s, wheat varietal improvements in the country focused on adaptability to the production area, yield potential and stability and agronomic characteristics (e.g. tolerance to diseases, pests and aluminium toxicity). An analysis of the sources of wheat varietal improvements during the different periods indicates that wheat breeding was driven initially by individual breeders and agricultural colleges. The current main sources of wheat varietal improvements in South Africa are Sensako, the Agricultural Research Council’s Small Grain Institute (ARC–SGI) and Pannar. The structural changes in the agricultural sector, particularly the establishment of the ARC–SGI and the deregulation of the wheat sector, have helped to harness the previously fragmented efforts in terms of wheat breeding. The most popular varieties identified for further analysis of cost attribution and the benefits of wheat varietal improvements were Gariep, Elands and Duzi.

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