Magister Artium (Social Work) - MA(SW) / Complex factors contribute to child malnutrition. These include various factors for example stress, trauma, cognitive abilities and education, poverty, environmental and cultural practices. Caregivers’ situations and perceptions regarding these factors are of utmost importance in child malnutrition. Lesotho has a high incidence of malnourished children irrespective of various interventions to address the problem. The research question that the researcher wanted to answer is: What are caregivers’ perceptions on factors contributing to their children’s malnutrition? This was the question as caregivers’ environments and perceptions influence child malnutrition and they are the ones that accompany the children to the hospital where this research was done. The research goal was to get an understanding of caregivers’ perceptions on factors contributing to malnutrition. In order to reach the goal. the objectives were: To explore the factors contributing to malnutrition; to describe the factors contributing to malnutrition and to give recommendations to social workers and the multi-disciplinary team in order to address the factors contributing to malnutrition as preventative measures.

Magister Public Health - MPH (Public Health) / Teenage pregnancy remains a complex issue globally. According to the World Health Organisation (2014), the average global birth rate of girls aged 15-19 years was 49 per 1000 births reported globally. In South Africa, the general household survey conducted in 2014 revealed that 5.6% of females 14-19 years were reported to have been pregnant in 2013, with teenage pregnancy increasing by age from 0.8% for the age group of 14 years to 11.9% for teenagers aged 19 years. In South Africa, a range of health policies and programs exist to address teenage pregnancy, including school-based sex education, peer education programmes, adolescent friendly clinic initiatives and mass media interventions. Despite such initiatives, the number of teenagers becoming pregnant remains high. Teenage pregnancy reported in Mangaung district is 7%, which is three times more than the provincial target of 2% for teenage pregnancy. This research therefore aimed to explore the reasons behind teenage pregnancy in Heidedal, Mangaung District, Free State Province, South Africa. Two in- depth interviews were conducted, one with twelve teenage mothers and the other with four key informants who were selected based on insight and experience they possess in working with teenagers. The key informants suitable for the study included a nurse, life orientation teacher, ward councillor and a counsellor working for a non-governmental organization that supports the implementation of youth programmes in the health facility. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data and key themes, afterwards concepts were interpreted so that explanations could be constructed to answer the research aim and objectives. The study aimed to contribute to understanding reasons behind the high teenage pregnancy rates in Mangaung District. This information will be useful to policy makers in developing policies and strategies that will address factors identified to be influencing teenage pregnancy.

Wild-type transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRwt) is a rare, sporadic protein misfolding disorder with no validated biomarkers or specific treatments. The disease is characterized by deposition of amyloid fibrils composed of wild-type transthyretin (TTR) in cardiac tissue, which leads to cardiomyopathy, heart failure, and death within 5 years. The hypothesis for the studies detailed in this dissertation was non-coding variants in the TTR gene regulatory regions impact expression and serum levels of the protein, thereby contributing to ATTRwt pathogenesis. Investigations included examination of 2 enhancer regions and the proximal promoter of the TTR gene for risk factors which could contribute to pathogenesis of ATTRwt amyloidosis. In total, 11 common and 20 rare variants were identified. The analyses demonstrated significant associations of 3 variants with increased disease risk and 4 variants with age at disease onset and/or survival. Functional studies using GFP and luciferase reporter assays in HepG2 cells were performed to examine the impact of nucleotide alterations in the TTR proximal promoter on reporter expression. Three ATTRwt-risk factors (rs3764479, rs72922940, rs3794885), caused significantly decreased reporter expression in both GFP and luciferase assays (p < 0.02). Moreover, serum TTR levels, measured by immunoturbidity and analyzed along with ATTRwt clinical data, demonstrated that lower serum TTR concentrations were associated with worse survival (hazard ratio = 0.89, p = 0.003). Follow-up analysis of an ATTRwt subset treated with diflunisal, a TTR stabilizer, showed increased serum TTR (p = 0.002) and organ improvement as assessed by cardiac biomarkers (p = 0.043). Unexpectedly, our genetic sequencing data suggested that the TTR G6S variant was disease-protective. Analysis of the TTR G6S protein using circular dichroism and aggregation assay corroborated these findings by demonstrating a higher structural stability and a lower aggregation propensity compared to L55P and V122I, two unstable amyloidogenic TTR variants. In summary, the major findings of this work were: 1) identification of genetic variants that confer risk for ATTRwt amyloidosis through changes in expression, 2) evidence in support of serum TTR as a candidate for monitoring disease progression and response to treatment, and 3) evidence suggesting that TTR G6S may confer protection from ATTRwt by slowing the amyloid cascade. / 2017-09-08T00:00:00Z

Gata4 and Gata6 are closely related transcription factors that are essential for the development of a number of embryonic tissues. While they have nearly identical DNA-binding domains and similar patterns of expression, Gata4 and Gata6 null embryos have strikingly different embryonic lethal phenotypes. Conditional deletion of these genes in the pancreas has also revealed specific functions for each factor in this organ. To investigate the role of these genes in pancreatic development, we performed a number of biochemical experiments on pancreatic cell lines and mutant tissues. We found that Gata4 and Gata6 regulate overlapping sets of genes in the developing pancreas. To determine whether the lack of global redundancy between Gata4 and Gata6 is due to differences in protein function or Gata4 and Gata6 expression domains, we generated mice that contained the Gata6 cDNA in place of the Gata4 genomic locus. Gata4Gata6/Gata6 embryos survived through embryonic day (e)12.5 and successfully underwent ventral folding morphogenesis, demonstrating that Gata6 is able to replace Gata4 function in extraembryonic tissues. Interestingly, Gata6 is unable to replace Gata4 function in the septum transversum mesenchyme or the epicardium, leading to liver agenesis and lethal heart defects in Gata4Gata6/Gata6 embryos. These studies suggest that Gata4 has evolved distinct functions in the development of these tissues that cannot be performed by Gata6, even when it is provided in the identical expression domain. Our work has important implications for the respective mechanisms of Gata function during development, as well as the functional evolution of these essential transcription factors.

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Individuals who report better relationships with their mental health providers have better treatment outcomes. One element of the relationship is therapist empathy, or the therapist's ability to see the world from the client's point-of-view. Researchers have struggled to define, measure, and teach empathy. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether instruction in character analysis techniques, such as those used by actors, had an effect on cognitive empathy. A convenience sample of 20 adults enrolled in undergraduate or graduate-level coursework was recruited for participation in this study. Each individual provided demographic information and completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Literature Empathy Test (LET). The intervention group (n = 10) participated in a 45-minute character analysis training prior to completing the LET. The control group (n = 10) completed both assessments in a separate meeting with no intervention. A univariate analysis of covariance was used to discover the effect of character analysis training on LET scores in light of IRI scores. The data analysis revealed no significant relationship between the intervention and LET scores, but the findings provided several insights. Future research would benefit from modifications to the LET, inclusion of an additional empathy measure, and revisions to the sample size and inclusion criteria. Although the results of the present study were not significant, this area of research remains a promising means by which to promote social change by informing the pursuit of positive interpersonal relationships and prosocial behaviors

In the United States, hysterectomy is one of the most commonly performed operations for women that is not related with pregnancy. However, not enough attention has been paid to how women's exposure to the surgery differs according to their social characteristics as well attitudinal/behavioral factors. Using cohort data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Mature Women, this study investigated two aspects: (1) the association between socioeconomic status and hysterectomy and (2) the impact of women's attitudinal/behavioral characteristics on hysterectomy. With Cox proportional hazards analyses, this study found that women's exposure to hysterectomy significantly differs according to their social and attitudinal standings. Social characteristics that were found to be statistically significant risk factors of hysterectomy include women's eduction, employment status, and marital status. Among additional and behavioral factors, women's locus of control and number of children were identified as statistically significant risk factors. These findings may be used to enhance consumer awareness of hysterectomy and aid in policy reconstruction.

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