Effectiveness of group work among the final radiography students of the National Diploma.

Background: Group work is employed in higher education institutions to foster communication, collaborative learning, leadership qualities and teamwork skills. The rationale behind group work as a learning strategy is to ensure that graduates are equipped with teamwork skills.

Aim: The aim of this study was to establish whether the final-year radiography students of the National Diploma curriculum in three universities in South Africa were exposed to effective group work.

Measuring the impact of maternal critical care admission on short- and longer-term maternal and birth outcomes.

Purpose: Factors increasing the risk of maternal critical illness are rising in prevalence in maternity populations. Studies of general critical care populations highlight that severe illness is associated with longer-term physical and psychological morbidity. We aimed to compare short- and longer-term outcomes between women who required critical care admission during pregnancy/puerperium and those who did not.

Postpartum complications following neuraxial anaesthesia for obstetric physicians.

Neuraxial analgesia and anaesthesia are widely accepted and well-tolerated modes of delivery analgesia, being employed in up to 76% of vaginal deliveries and 94% of caesarean deliveries in the United States. A cause of considerable concern for postpartum women, their family and caring health professionals is the occurrence of unexplained postpartum complications, not only for management in the index pregnancy, but the uncertain risk of recurrence in future pregnancies. Complications of neuraxial blocks may impact significantly on the ability of mothers to care for and bond with their newborn.

South African pre-hospital emergency care personnel's lived experiences of managing paediatric emergencies: A qualitative research design utilising one-on-one interviews.

Background: The phenomenon of managing paediatric emergencies in the pre-hospital environment within the South African setting is poorly understood with specific regard to what emergency care personnel are experiencing when managing paediatric emergencies.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore and describe the lived experiences of emergency care personnel in managing paediatric patients in the pre-hospital environment and to understand the meaning and the significance of these experiences.

Setting: All participants were purposively sampled from emergency medical services agencies operating within the Johannesburg metropolitan city area.

Computer-aided detection tool development for teaching chest radiograph pattern recognition to undergraduate radiography students: A context needs and capability analysis.

Background: Medical imaging (MI) education has experienced a shift aligned with the advances in technology and the role played by radiographers in pattern recognition. This has led to increased use of technology-enhanced teaching and simulated learning approaches (e.g.

A model to facilitate the teaching of caring to diagnostic radiography students: Original research.

Background: Healthcare has moved towards a patient-centred caring environment. Radiography students have described feeling unprepared for daily patient interactions therefore, it is essential for educators to facilitate the development of caring attributes in students.

Objective: The objective of this article is to describe the process that was followed in order to develop a model to facilitate the teaching of caring to diagnostic radiography students.

Increased Arctic influence on the midlatitude flow during Scandinavian Blocking episodes.

Recent studies have suggested that Arctic teleconnections affect the weather of the midlatitudes on time-scales relevant for medium-range weather forecasting. In this study, we use several numerical experimentation approaches with a state-of-the-art global operational numerical weather prediction system to investigate this idea further. Focusing on boreal winter, we investigate whether the influence of the Arctic on midlatitude weather, and the impact of the current Arctic observing system on the skill of medium-range weather forecasts in the midlatitudes is more pronounced in certain flow regimes.

Retrospective evaluation of exposure indicators: a pilot study of exposure technique in digital radiography.

Introduction: Digital radiography lacks visual clues of exposure techniques used to obtain radiographs, therefore manufacturers have included exposure indicators (EIs). EIs provides feedback about exposure techniques used and evaluating EIs will yield much needed information about exposure trends used in digital radiography.

Methods: A retrospective explorative quantitative study was conducted at nine randomly selected imaging departments in Gauteng, South Africa.

Radiofrequency Interference in the Clinical Laboratory.

Objectives: Radiofrequency interference (RFI) is a known medical device safety issue, but there are no documented cases of interference resulting in erroneous laboratory results.

Methods: We investigated unexpected failure of a hematology analyzer resulting in erroneous WBC counts. Hardware failure was initially suspected, but temporal association with increased power output from a nearby antenna prompted investigation for RFI.

The experiences of mine workers with cancer.

Background: Cancer is a disease that instils a fear of death in the minds of most people. For South African mine workers, the fear of death is compounded by a fear of being unable to fulfil work obligations in an industry where employment is central to the miners' identity.

Aim: The purpose of this research was to explore and describe the experiences of mine workers experiencing a cancer diagnosis requiring radiation therapy.

Psychosexual experiences of men following radiotherapy for prostate cancer in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Background: Radiation-induced erectile dysfunction (RiED) often occurs among patients diagnosed with prostate cancer (PCa) who undergo radiation treatment. However, sexual health care (SHC) is not a common practice in radiation oncology departments worldwide. Sexual health care in this context refers to a practice of integrating discussions around sexual well-being into the routine follow-up appointments of PCa patients to achieve better patient-centred care.

The concept of caring amongst first year diagnostic radiography students: Original research.

Student radiographers start their work integrated learning from their first year of studying and they are in constant contact with patients. Based on this interaction, it is imperative for all diagnostic radiography students to be caring professionals. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of caring amongst diagnostic student radiographers by exploring and describing their experiences of caring in the clinical environment.

FGF21 regulates metabolism and circadian behavior by acting on the nervous system.

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is a hepatokine that acts as a global starvation signal to modulate fuel partitioning and metabolism and repress growth; however, the site of action of these diverse effects remains unclear. FGF21 signals through a heteromeric cell-surface receptor composed of one of three FGF receptors (FGFR1c, FGFR2c or FGFR3c) in complex with β-Klotho, a single-pass transmembrane protein that is enriched in metabolic tissues. Here we show that in addition to its known effects on peripheral metabolism, FGF21 increases systemic glucocorticoid levels, suppresses physical activity and alters circadian behavior, which are all features of the adaptive starvation response.