The period of insect research in the tropics: a bibliometric analysis.

The International Journal of Tropical Insect Science (Int J Trop Insect Sci) is a peer-reviewed journal established in 1980 to promote insect science mainly in the tropics. This study aimed to provide a Bibliometric overview of Int J Trop Insect Sci publications and citations between 2012 and 2020, ending September 2020. A sample of 488 documents extracted from the Web of Science (WoS) was analysed using widely used bioclimatic indicators. The articles were written by 1726 authors. During this period, the most productive authors comprised S Roy, followed by S Ekesi, S Subramanian and M Tamo. The dominant keyword was 'resistance', followed by 'Homoptera'. India took a leading position in Single Country Publications (SCP) while Kenya took the lead in Multiple Country Publications (MCP). Bibliometric analysis reveals vibrant collaboration between African and Western countries and active publication of multi-country authored articles. We conclude that there is an increasing trend for collaboration among different countries on the general topic of insect science. Research in insect science has the potential to impact both academic researchers and practitioners the knowledge use chain. This study will help researchers, journal editors, science policy makers managers, and others working in the biodiversity space and potential research gaps needing for further studies.

Benchmarking of Emotional Intelligence in radiography students within KwaZulu- Natal, South Africa.

INTRODUCTION: Emotional Intelligence (EI) is an important skill within the various health care professions, and a higher level of EI is associated with better patient care, communication, empathy and teamwork. Within the Republic of South Africa, there is limited literature on EI within the health care sector, and specifically within radiography. METHODS: The Trait EI Questionnaire Short Form (TEIQue-SF) was used to record the EI scores of 247 BHSc Radiography students in all four disciplines over the four years of study at the selected University of Technology (UoT) in Kwazulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. The TEIQue-SF yields a Global EI score and the four factors of EI. RESULTS: The study benchmarked the TEI scores of the radiography cohort. The male participants scored significantly higher in Global EI (p = 0.020 and 0.029) and the Self-control factor (p = 0.000) of EI compared to the female participants. The younger participants scored significantly higher in three of the five factors of TEI, namely: Global EI (p = 0.003), Well-being (p = 0.003) and Self-control (p = 0.010), which was an unexpected finding and against the norm. Racially (0.010 and 0.009) and culturally (P = 0.022 and 0.026), the Black participants and the Zulu participants scored significantly higher in the Self-control factor of TEI. CONCLUSION: This study benchmarked the TEI scores of radiography students within KZN and compared these TEI scores to the demographic variances of the students with interesting results. This study has highlighted the TEI level of the students at a selected UoT, which can be used to ensure that better prepared, well-rounded and employable graduates enter the workplace. This can be achieved by the implementation of the recommendations, which includes the levels of EI to be developed and relevant EI training required. Further research is required within the field of TEI and Radiography in the South African context to strengthen this study's findings. IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE: This study has highlighted the EI scores of a cohort of radiography students. The results of this study have made the institution more aware of the students' TEI which will allow the institution to ensure students are better prepared and are employable graduates within their chosen profession by including EI training within the health faculty curriculum.

A model to enhance job satisfaction for radiographers in the public healthcare system in Gauteng province, South Africa.

INTRODUCTION: The World Health Organization seeks to address the maldistribution of healthcare professionals which results in inequitable services to underserved communities (World Health Organization (WHO), 2015). In South Africa, the underserved areas are the public sector hospitals and the rural areas. Radiographers, like other healthcare professionals, are also unequally distributed between the public and private sector hospitals, and between the rural and urban areas. Since one of the perceived factors for maldistribution is job satisfaction, it is essential to explore factors that contribute to job satisfaction/dissatisfaction amongst radiographers to develop a model to attract and retain radiographers in the public sector. METHODS: The study used exploratory sequential mixed methods approach to explore job satisfaction amongst radiographers, employed by public tertiary hospitals in the Gauteng province, South Africa. In phase one of the study (qualitative), individual and focus group interviews were used to collect data, and in phase two (quantitative), a self-developed questionnaire was used. The data collected was analyzed in sequential order, where thematic analysis was performed for phase one of the study, and SPSS version 23 was used in phase two. RESULTS: In phase one, five themes emerged, namely the influence of government policies on job satisfaction, lack of career pathing, poor remuneration, working conditions, and the role of the human resources department. In phase two, the Pearson's correlation test was performed which showed that there was a significant correlation of intent to leave, p = .005 with the following factors: government policy on Occupational Specific Dispensation (OSD) and Performance Management Development System (PMDS), working conditions, supervision, equipment and infrastructure, and poor remuneration. CONCLUSION: Government policies, working conditions, and poor remuneration play a significant role in job satisfaction amongst radiographers employed by public tertiary hospitals in the Gauteng province. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The proposed model could enhance job satisfaction for radiographers employed by the public sector hospitals and ultimately increase attraction and retention rates of radiographers for this sector.

Clomiphene citrate modulates the expression of endometrial carbohydrates (especially N-acetyl-d-glucosamine and sialic acid) in pseudopregnant rats.

This study investigated the presence of carbohydrates N-acetyl-d-glucosamine and sialic acid oligosaccharides, in the uterine epithelium of pseudopregnant rats treated with ovarian hormones and Clomiphene citrate (CC) a commonly used fertility drug associated with low pregnancy rates. Ovariectomized sexually mature rats were given 0.25mg CC prior to the implantation-priming hormone sequence of 5mg progesterone for 3 days and a single dose of 0.5microg estradiol-17beta (E(2)) on day 3 (PP(PE)) and sacrificed 24h after the last hormone treatment. Uterine tissue was incubated with the lectin Triticum vulgare (wheat germ agglutinin, WGA), associated with avidin and subsequently labelled with biotinylated-ferritin for electron microscopy, a combined alcian blue/PAS technique for light microscopy and RT-PCR was run for progesterone-associated endometrial protein (PAEP) gene, a pregnancy related endometrial gene that is associated with the protein thought to express carbohydrates in the uterus and suppress immune function. The results indicate that CC administration decreases the expression of these carbohydrates both at a cellular level and genetic level when compared to the PP(PE) group. However, the lowest expression of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine and sialic acid was seen in the placebo group. The ovarian hormones were therefore shown to be important for the synthesis of these carbohydrates that are important in the implantation period and the maintenance of pregnancy. The results suggest that the effect of CC on the expression of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine and sialic acid is a significant reason why there are low pregnancy rates with CC use.