University of Pretoria

Change in hearing loss and its association with general health in a community-based longitudinal study of middle-aged individuals: The Busselton healthy ageing study

Introduction With the ageing of the global population, disabling hearing loss is a major health concern. While age and sex are established determinants, the relation between general and environmental health factors and the progression of hearing loss remains incompletely understo...

Multiple strategies and cues define baleen whale migration

Migration is a do-or-die life-history strategy, yet factors shaping it remain poorly studied in many marine taxa, as direct observations are difficult. Building on animal migration theory, we used satellite tracking data from 21 southern right whales tagged in Aotearoa New Zealan...

From Wastewater Treatment to Energy Recovery: Advances and Perspectives in Electrochemical Oxidation—A Critical Review

Electrochemical oxidation (EO) is a versatile, advanced oxidation process (AOP) for the treatment of persistent and recalcitrant pollutants in wastewater. This critical review examines recent advances in EO, with emphasis on oxidation mechanisms, electrode materials, reactive spe...

Comparative Energy and Exergy Analyses of Single-Mode and Combined Drying Methods for Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato

Orange-fleshed sweet potato is valued for its high β-carotene content, a precursor of vitamin A. It is a highly perishable storage root due to its high moisture content, which contributes to rapid deterioration after harvesting. Therefore, it requires drying for preservation and...

Nutrient legacies from elephant megacarcasses create coldspots of biodiversity and hotspots of ecosystem processes

Terrestrial megafauna (animals >1,000 kg) have substantial impacts on ecosystems while alive; yet, we know little about the impacts of these ecosystem engineers after they die. Like whale carcasses in the ocean, terrestrial megacarcasses may leave ecological legacies via the nutr...

Economic Scheduling Strategies for Climate Management in a Venlo-Type Rose Greenhouse Under Time-of-Use Tariffs and CO2 Supplementation Costs

Greenhouse cultivation plays an important role in supporting stable and high-quality horticultural production by providing controlled environmental conditions under variable outdoor climates. However, regulating temperature, humidity, CO2 concentration, and light requires substan...

Spin chains for ADE quiver theories

The spectral problem of four-dimensional superconformal quiver gauge theories can be mapped to one-dimensional spin chains with restricted Hilbert spaces, where the composition of neighbouring spins follows the path algebra of the quiver. To better understand such spin chains, we...

Mild Hydrothermal Stabilization: An Innovative Technology for Improving Whole‐Grain Rice Quality in West Africa and Elsewhere

ABSTRACT Background and Objectives Whole‐grain (brown) rice has superior nutritional quality but is prone to rancidity, primarily caused by endogenous lipases and oxidases. This study evaluated mild hydrothermal stabilization (MHS), comprising grain surface wetting, followed by s...

Does the Inclusion of Foreign‐Based Players Influence the Performance of National Teams at AFCON Tournaments?

ABSTRACT Team composition in sports rarely considers the significant mix of players in a national team's tournament performance. This study theorises that the mere inclusion of foreign‐based nationals is not enough to guarantee team success, especially in the African Cup of Natio...

Facilitators and barriers influencing the provision of prehospital care following road traffic crashes in Rwanda: a descriptive qualitative study

Prehospital care is essential for improving outcomes among road traffic injury victims. In low- and middle-income countries such as Rwanda, prehospital healthcare providers often face contextual barriers that may hinder timely and effective care, while certain facilitators may su...

Plasmonic Ag@ZIF-8 Monolith for Enhanced Visible-Light Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue

Abstract Water contamination by organic dyes remains a major environmental challenge due to their toxicity, persistence, and resistance to conventional treatment methods. In this study, a plasmonic silver-modified metal–organic framework monolith was successfully synthesized via...

How Does AI Literacy Relate to Pre-Service STEM Teachers’ AI Readiness? Insights from Mediational Analysis

Efforts to achieve widespread applications of AI in education depend, to a large extent, on teachers’ level of AI literacy (AIL), AI self-efficacy (AISE), Artificial Intelligence Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (AI-TPACK), and above all, the teachers’ readiness for AI...

Genetic and Epigenetic Diversity of Salmonella enterica Isolates from Clinical and Veterinary Sources in Kazakhstan

Salmonella enterica is a major cause of foodborne and invasive infections worldwide. This retrospective study used whole-genome sequencing to compare the genotypes and characterize the genomic diversity of bacterial strains preserved in an archived culture collection, originating...

Cytokinins Promote Rust Susceptibility in Poplar by Suppressing Defence Signalling, Reducing Defence Accumulation and Reprogramming Primary Metabolism

ABSTRACT Cytokinins (CKs), classically recognised as plant growth regulators, are increasingly implicated in plant‐microbe interactions. Studies in herbaceous plants suggest that CKs can function as signalling molecules with dual roles in plant defence, either restricting or faci...

Genomic global epidemiology and evolution of Escherichia coli ST131 clade A

During the 2010s, Escherichia coli ST131 clade A tested sensitive to most antibiotics. In the 2020s, Europe experienced outbreaks of fluoroquinolone-resistant ST131-A that contained CTX-M β-lactamases and OXA-48-like carbapenemases. We investigated the acquisition of different an...

Agricultural imports in a changing world for disease risk management through the application of international standards and their economic and food security implications

The expansion of global trade has generated substantial economic and social benefits; however, it has also intensified the transboundary movement of pests, pathogens and invasive species. These biosecurity threats pose significant challenges to the international trade of animals...

Sheep-feeding practices and factors associated with fodder-tree integration in Northern Benin (West Africa)

Abstract Feed availability remains a major factor limiting animal productivity in sheep production systems in West Africa, especially during the dry season. This study analyzed sheep-feeding practices and examined factors associated with herders’ integration of fodder trees into...

Leading through the storm: a qualitative comparative case study of leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa and Sierra Leone

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed systemic vulnerabilities within many health systems globally, illustrating the critical role of strategic leadership in managing and navigating unprecedented crises. This study investigated and compared the COVID-19 pandemic response in South Africa...

Distributed signal production in entrepreneurial ecosystems: evidence from Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa

Abstract Entrepreneurial ecosystem research has established that ecosystems influence venture development through networks, institutions, and support organizations, yet it offers limited explanation of how ecosystems shape the evaluative processes through which ventures gain acce...

Longitudinal Randomised Field Trial of Emergency Care Systems: Methodological Evaluation and Clinical Outcomes in South Africa

Emergency care systems in sub-Saharan Africa face significant operational and methodological challenges. Robust evidence on system-level interventions is scarce, with few studies employing rigorous longitudinal designs to evaluate clinical impact. This study aimed to methodologic...