Addressing the Challenges Posed by Cybercrime: a South African Perspective

The South African common law has proven to be ineffective in addressing cybercrime. The Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, Act 25 of 2002 (“ECTâ€) was introduced to address inter alia cybercrime in South Africa. Whilst the advent of the ECT is lauded, there is room for improvement. To illustrate this, section 15 of the ECT which facilitates the admission of information in electronic format is laudable, but the criminal sanctions in the Act appear to be inadequate. Recent case law also reveals that the courts are adopting a cautious approach towards cybercrime cases. A call for a more clear and concise judicial guidance is required. The South African banking sector is also vulnerable to cybercrime. However, the establishment of organisations such as SABRIC to combat cybercrime in the banking industry is welcomed. Although South Africa has adopted the Council of Europe’s Convention in Cybercrime, it has not ratified the treaty. It is recommended that South Africa should ratify the treaty to avoid becoming an easy target for International cybercrime. This paper will deal with measures addressing cybercrime in South Africa and the way forward

The use of electronic discovery and cloudcomputing technology by lawyers in practice: Lessons from abroad

In the present electronically driven world, it is vitally important for lawyers to understand advancing or new technology and to have adequate computer literacy in order to best represent their clients. The so-called “e-information explosion” requires lawyers to request, produce and manage electronic documents in order to protect their clients’ interests and to obtain a strategic advantage over their opponents. Lawyers or legal practitioners should adapt to technological changes, develop an awareness of the unique challenges posed by the advances in technology, and embrace technology’s role in both their practices and the legal system. This article examines issues pertaining to electronic discovery and cloud-computing technology in civil practice in South Africa, the United States of America and the United Kingdom. The article also examines current electronic discovery (e-discovery) practices and the use of cloud-computing technology in the United States of America and the United Kingdom to ascertain whether useful lessons can be gleaned from these jurisdictions for possible incorporation into South African law. The study notes that, while South African law has taken great strides to address advancing technology, useful lessons from abroad can be adopted such as, inter alia, the need for greater preservation of electronic evidence; the use of a wider definition of the term ‘document’ to include all types of electronic information and future technological developments; the amendment of the rules to include the discovery of electronically stored information; the use of the proportionality principle in trials, and the incorporation of the cost-shifting regime. The article concludes that lawyers need to learn more about relevant law such as the ECT Act and POPI, and embrace advancing technology more enthusiastically, yet responsibly, in order to succeed in their new competitive and changing legal environments and to provide the best service for their clients

Prevalence and clinical risk factors for morphometric vertebral fractures in older subjects in KwaZulu-Natal

Objectives: There are limited data on vertebral fractures (VFs) in South Africa (SA). Therefore a study was undertaken to compare the demographic profile, clinical risk factors and bone mineral density (BMD) in subjects aged 60 years and over with and without morphometric VFs.Patients and methods: In a descriptive case-controlled study, demographic data, clinical risk factors (CRF) and BMD were collected. Morphometric VFs were identified using the semi-quantitative Genant method. Descriptive analysis was undertaken using Student’s t-test, the Mann–Whitney U-test and the chi-square test.Results: In the 197 subjects enrolled, the median age was 72.0 years (IQR 67.0–78.5 years) and morphometric VFs were identified in 41 subjects (20.8%). The prevalence of VFs increased with age, and while more common in women compared with men (23.8% vs. 13.0%), this was not significant (p 0.095). There was no difference in the prevalence of VFs between African and Indian subjects (23.4% vs. 17.4%; p 0.240), nor CRFs between subjects with and without VFs. Subjects with a VF had a significantly lower BMD at the spine (p = 0.020), but not at the neck of femur and total hip.Conclusion: This study highlights the need for adequate screening and management protocols for osteoporosis in all ethnic groups in SA

Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in older South Africans with and without hip fractures and the effects of age, body weight, ethnicity and functional status

Background: Vitamin D plays an important role in many physiological and pathological processes, including bone metabolism. Vitamin D deficiency is common worldwide, but there are few data in older South Africans.Objectives: This study aimed to determine vitamin D status in older adults with and without hip fractures and the effect of demography, body mass index (BMI) and functional status on vitamin D levels.Methodology: In a secondary analysis, the association between 25(OH) vitamin D levels, obtained from 327  subjects (151 with fractures and 176 controls), and age, gender, ethnicity, BMI and functional status, was  explored using Student’s t-test, a chisquare test, regression analysis and ANOVA.Results: In the total cohort, vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency was present in 27% and 38%, respectively. While vitamin D levels decreased with age, this was not significant (p = 0.082). There was a significant  association between vitamin D and BMI (p = 0.023), the physical maintenance scale (p = 0.002) and independent activities of daily living (p = 0.001). Mean vitamin D levels in fracture subjects was significantly lower than  controls (39.4 ± 23.1 nmol/l vs. 50.1 ± 23.3 nmol/l, p = 0.00) and vitamin D deficiency and/or insufficiency was significantly more common in the fracture group compared with controls (75.5% vs. 56.8%, p = 0.00). There was no association with gender or ethnicity.Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency is common in this population, especially in those with hip fractures. Contrary to other studies, increasing BMI was associated with higher vitamin D levels. This suggests that poor health status as indicated by a low BMI and poorer functional status is associated with lower vitamin D levels. The high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and/or insufficiency in the cohort strongly argues for universal vitamin D supplementation in older adults, especially those at risk for osteoporotic fractures

Recommendations for the acute and long-term medical management of low-trauma hip fractures

Hip fractures are the most serious complication of osteoporosis and are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Generally, patients who sustain osteoporotic hip fractures are older adults who have a number of comorbiddiseases which predispose them to perioperative complications, disability and death. Furthermore, patients who survive a hip fracture are at higher risk of a subsequent fracture. The morbidity and mortality of hip fractures can be substantially reduced by a structured multidisciplinary approach to pre- and postoperative management. This review will focus on the epidemiology of hip fractures, predictors of mortality and the acute and long-term management of hip fractures

EZHIP's role in diffuse midline glioma: echoes of oncohistones?

The enhancer of zeste inhibitory protein (EZHIP) is typically expressed during germ cell development and has been classified as a cancer-testis antigen (CTA) in various cancers. In 2020, 4% of diffuse midline gliomas (DMGs) were shown to aberrantly express EZHIP, mirroring the DMG hallmark histone H3 K27M (H3K27M) oncohistone mutation. Similar to H3K27M, EZHIP is a negative regulator of polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), leading to global epigenomic remodeling. In this opinion, we explore the similarities and disparities between H3K27M- and EZHIP-DMGs with a focus on their shared functional hallmark of PRC2 inhibition, their genetic and epigenomic landscapes, plausible differences in the cell of origin, and therapeutic avenues. Upcoming research on EZHIP will help better understand its role in gliomagenesis and DMG therapy

Analysis on internet of things, application, challenges and related future technologies (a literature review)

We are living in an information era where technology has improved to its maximum level. In spite of many technological sectors, Internet of Things (IoT) has earned a massive attention from people as well as researchers, since it has turned an important technology that ensures a smart human life in the planet by permitting a great communication opportunity between every object together with human. IoT is a huge area which includes objects in thereal world, and sensors in electric and digital devices attached and connected to the Internet via wired or wireless network architecture (Zeinab, K.A.M. and Elmustafa, S.A.A., 2017. Internet of Things Applications, Challenges and Related Future Technologies. World Scientific News, 2(67), pp.126-148.). Recently, the range of Internet of Things (IoT) technology is being utilized in the real world with the aid of the dramatic growth of sensor devices. The sensors which are used by IoT can use different types of connections like RFID, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth etc., Moreover in order to allow internet connectivity it uses multiple networking technologies such as GSM, GPRS, 3G, and LTE. (Madakam, S., Ramaswamy, R. and Tripathi, S., 2015. Internet of Things (IoT): A literature review. Journal of Computer and Communications, 3(05), p.164.) Information obtained from various sensing devices such as pressure, humidity, temperature has become the gateway to provide solution to most complex problems which have been harder to solve by any other technological aspects like big data and data science. With the aid of IoT the globe will become very smart in many ways starting from smart buildings to smart cities, smart eco system, smart health care, smart waste management, Smart Production, smart disaster management, smart weather prediction etc. This paper briefly reviews the concept of IoT, its applications, future prediction and the challenges related to Io

Acute posthypoxic myoclonus after cardiopulmonary resuscitation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Acute posthypoxic myoclonus (PHM) can occur in patients admitted after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and is considered to have a poor prognosis. The origin can be cortical and/or subcortical and this might be an important determinant for treatment options and prognosis. The aim of the study was to investigate whether acute PHM originates from cortical or subcortical structures, using somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) and electroencephalogram (EEG).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients with acute PHM (focal myoclonus or status myoclonus) within 72 hours after CPR were retrospectively selected from a multicenter cohort study. All patients were treated with hypothermia. Criteria for cortical origin of the myoclonus were: giant SEP potentials; or epileptic activity, status epilepticus, or generalized periodic discharges on the EEG (no back-averaging was used). Good outcome was defined as good recovery or moderate disability after 6 months.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Acute PHM was reported in 79/391 patients (20%). SEPs were available in 51/79 patients and in 27 of them (53%) N20 potentials were present. Giant potentials were seen in 3 patients. EEGs were available in 36/79 patients with 23/36 (64%) patients fulfilling criteria for a cortical origin. Nine patients (12%) had a good outcome. A broad variety of drugs was used for treatment.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of this study show that acute PHM originates from subcortical, as well as cortical structures. Outcome of patients admitted after CPR who develop acute PHM in this cohort was better than previously reported in literature. The broad variety of drugs used for treatment shows the existing uncertainty about optimal treatment.</p

A mean field model for movement induced changes in the beta rhythm

In electrophysiological recordings of the brain, the transition from high amplitude to low amplitude signals are most likely caused by a change in the synchrony of underlying neuronal population firing patterns. Classic examples of such modulations are the strong stimulus-related oscillatory phenomena known as the movement related beta decrease (MRBD) and post-movement beta rebound (PMBR). A sharp decrease in neural oscillatory power is observed during movement (MRBD) followed by an increase above baseline on movement cessation (PMBR). MRBD and PMBR represent important neuroscientific phenomena which have been shown to have clinical relevance. Here, we present a parsimonious model for the dynamics of synchrony within a synaptically coupled spiking network that is able to replicate a human MEG power spectrogram showing the evolution from MRBD to PMBR. Importantly, the high-dimensional spiking model has an exact mean field description in terms of four ordinary differential equations that allows considerable insight to be obtained into the cause of the experimentally observed time-lag from movement termination to the onset of PMBR (~ 0.5 s), as well as the subsequent long duration of PMBR (~ 1-10 s). Our model represents the first to predict these commonly observed and robust phenomena and represents a key step in their understanding, in health and disease

The experiences of refugee Muslim women in the Aotearoa New Zealand healthcare system

This study explores the experiences of refugee Muslim women as they accessed and navigated the healthcare system in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). A case-oriented approach was used, where semi-structured interviews were carried out with nine Muslim women who arrived in NZ as refugees. Interviews were carried out in 2020, in Hamilton, NZ. Analysis involved a ‘text in context’ approach which employed an iterative and interpretive process, by engaging with participant accounts and field notes to unpack the various meanings behind the experiences of the participants in relation to the literature as well as the broader socio-cultural contexts in which these experiences occurred. The findings of this research identified various structural barriers to accessing healthcare such as cost and issues with interpreters, as well as instances of othering in the healthcare settings experienced by refugee Muslim women. In order to tackle inequity in the health system, structural and institutional barriers need to be addressed first, to prompt other levels of othering and discrimination to reduce over time