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Reflections on the concept of informal social security and communal lifestyle in South Africa
(Pretoria University Law Press, 2025) Tshoose, Clarence Itumeleng; Letseku, Reuben; Van Eck, B.P.S. (Stefan)
This article investigates how the notion of informal social security and communal lifestyle has played a significant role in sustaining the livelihood of indigenous people in South Africa. Reflecting on various indigenous informal social security safety methods, the article demonstrates how indigenous communities have used these safety nets and indigenous knowledge systems in their quest to survive against all odds. Informal social security refers to self-organised family, community or informal sector coping mechanisms. The article argues that these tailor-made traditional informal social security practices play an invaluable parallel role in the formal social security systems in South Africa. It is submitted that in many instances, these traditional safety nets serve an important complimentary role to existing formal social security measures for poor communities. The article further contends that this is crucial for poor indigenous peoples’ well-being. Through informal social security initiatives, indigent households in South Africa have lessened the scourge of poverty, unemployment, inequalities, floods, and recently also the negative effects of HIV/AIDS and the COVID-19 pandemic. The article concludes by examining the challenges facing indigenous informal social security systems and makes some recommendations regarding these challenges.
Reflections on social justice and the enforcement of the National Minimum Wage Act and the Basic conditions of Employment Act
(LexisNexis, 2025-11) Van Eck, B.P.S. (Stefan); Maluleke, Foster
Die Wet op Arbeidsverhoudinge 44 van 1995, die Wet op Basiese Diensvoorwaardes 75 van 1997, en die Wet op Nasionale Minimum Loon 9 van 2018 is afgekondig om maatskaplike geregtigheid te bevorder. Maatskaplike geregtigheid behels dat alle individue gelyke ekonomiese geleenthede gebied word en dat elkeen op dieselfde maakskaplike regte aanspraak kan maak. Hierdie artikel voer aan dat arbeidsregbeskerming van beperkte waarde is indien geskilbeslegtingsprosesse omslagtig en duur is. In 'n logwaardige poging om geskilbeslegting vir laagbesoldige werknemers te vereenvoudig, is 'n vinnige en bekostigbare proses ingevolge artikel 73A van die Wet op Basiese Diensvoorwaardes ingestel. Hierdie artikel ondersteum die implementering van hierdie vereenvoudige prosedure en wys daarop dat, ten spyte van die positiewe aspekte daarvan, verskeie slaggate steeds die doelwitte van die bevordering van maatskaplike geregtigheid ondermyn. Die artikel sluit af met voorstelle wat moontlik sommige van die geidentifiseerde probleme kan aanspreek.
Recent advances in MXene-based nanocomposites for photocatalytic wastewater treatment, carbon dioxide reduction, and hydrogen production : a comprehensive review
(Elsevier, 2026-02) Masekela, Daniel; Mafa, Potlako J.; Yusuf, Tunde Lewis; Balogun, Sheriff Aweda; Kuvarega, Alex Tawanda; Modibane, Kwena Desmond
Please read abstract in the article.
Genetic and environmental influences on sweet taste liking and related traits : new insights from twin cohorts
(Springer, 2025-09) Armitage, Rhiannon M.; Iatridi, Vasiliki; Gaysina, Darya; Tuorila, Hely; Yeomans, Martin R.; Kaprio, Jaakko; Zellers, Stephanie
Reducing sugar intake is a key component of global health policies and dietary guidelines. However, individuals vary substantially in sweet-liking, commonly characterized by sweet-liking status (extreme sweet-likers, moderate sweet-likers, and sweet-dislikers), yet the heritability of these categories remains unexplored. Monozygotic and dizygotic twins from Finland (FinnTwin12; n = 468; 60% female, aged 21–24) and the UK (TwinsUK; n = 967; 90% female, aged 18–81) rated their liking and perceived intensity of a 20% (w/v) sucrose solution, reported their liking and consumption-frequency of food and beverages and completed additional behavioral, eating and personality measures. We estimated the contribution of additive genetic (A), nonadditive genetic (D), shared (C), and unshared environmental factors (E) in the variance and covariance of sweet-liking (defined ordinally through sweet-liking status and continuously) with related traits to see if they share similar proportions of genetic and environmental factors. Model-fitting indicated 30–48% of the variability in sweet-liking was attributed to (A) additive genetic factors and 52–70% to (E) environmental exposures not shared by siblings. Importantly, such AE models consistently fit best, regardless of sex, cohort, or sweet-liking assessment method. Broadly, correlations between sweet-liking and behavioral, eating, and personality measures were modest (–0.19 to 0.21), mostly positive and largely driven by shared genetic rather than environmental factors, with the strongest relationship seen for reported liking, consumption-frequency and craving for sweet foods. We demonstrate that unshared environment modulates individual differences in sweet-liking alongside a substantial genetic component that is partly shared with reported liking, consumption-frequency and craving for sweet foods.
Dietary modulation of gut microbiota and functional enzymes in savannah honey bees (Apis mellifera scutellata Lepeletier)
(Springer, 2025-10) Khumalo, Nolwandle N.; Obi, Linda U.; Yusuf, Abdullahi Ahmed; Adeleke, Rasheed A.
Honey bees gather pollen from flowering plants, using it as a vital protein source and, in turn, acquire pollen-associated microbes that interact with their existing gut microbiota. Despite their ecological importance, limited information exists regarding the gut microbiota of African savannah honey bees (Apis mellifera scutellata Lepeletier) and how diet and its associated microbial community influence this crucial internal ecosystem. This study aimed to investigate the differences in gut microbiota between wild honey bees collected during the flowering season and microbially depleted honey bees reared under semi-sterile conditions and fed various protein diets. To achieve this, freshly hatched worker bees were maintained in hoarding cages and assigned one of four protein diets: fresh sunflower pollen, casein, sterilised casein, or sterilised pollen. High-throughput DNA metabarcoding was then employed to compare the microbial composition of the honey bee gut across these groups. Our findings revealed that the gut of microbially depleted honey bees exhibited higher species diversity and richness. Conversely, the non-core gut microbial community predominated in wild bees and those fed the different protein diets. Specifically, Commensalibacter, Bartonella, and Bifidobacterium were the most dominant bacterial genera across all treatments. Interestingly, Gilliamella, a common core gut bacterium, was undetected, while Apibacter was exclusively found in wild honey bees. Furthermore, pollen-associated microbes such as Devosia and Pedobacter were identified solely in the gut of honey bees fed a pollen diet. Functional predictions of the gut microbial community also indicated the presence of key enzymes such as β-glucosidase, β-galactosidase, pyruvate dehydrogenase and phosphoglycerate mutase, which are crucial for enhancing nutrient absorption, digestion, and carbohydrate metabolism. These results underscore the intricate relationship between honey bees, microbes, and plants, offering valuable insights into how diet and its associated microbial communities could shape the gut microbiota of African honey bees.
KEY POINTS
• The non-core gut microbiota dominates the African savannah honey bee
• The type of diet influenced the microbial diversity and community abundance in the honey bee gut
• Key enzymes involved in digestion, nutrition absorption, and carbohydrate metabolism were enhanced in the gut
• Pollen-associated microbes found in the diet present potential avenues for probiotic development to improve honey bee health