Several studies have found that smoking cigarettes increases the risk of severe Covid-19 and death
However, until now, scientists haven’t fully understood how this happens
In a new study, UCLA researchers show how cigarette smoke blocks the first line of defence against infections
Since the early days of the pandemic, questions have been raised about the link between smoking and Covid-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2.
In June this year, the World Health Organization stated that, based on existing literature assessing the association between smoking and Covid-19, there was “insufficient information to confirm any link between tobacco or nicotine in the prevention or treatment of Covid-19”.
However, more recent studies have shown that while smokers are not at risk of contracting infection, their risk of severe disease and death, once infected, is higher than that of non-smokers, although the ways that cigarette smoke exposure affects airway cell infection by SARS-CoV-2 have not been very clear.
A new study by scientists at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at the University of California has helped understand how this happens by investigating SARS-CoV-2 infection on a cellular and molecular level – using a model of airway tissue created from human cells.
To perform their study, the scientists employed a platform known as an air-liquid interface culture. Essentially, this is grown from human airway stem cells and closely replicates how the airways behave and function in humans.
The airways carry air breathed in through the nose and mouth to the lungs, also functioning as the body’s first line of defence against airborne pathogens, such as viruses, the authors noted.
“Our model replicates the upper part of the airways, which is the first place the virus hits,” said Brigitte Gomperts, a professor of pulmonary medicine and member of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
“This is the part that produces mucus to trap viruses, bacteria and toxins and contains cells with finger-like projections that beat that mucus up and out of the body.”
This type of model, Gomperts explained, has previously been used to study lung diseases for over a decade and has been shown to mimic the changes in the airway that can be seen in someone that smokes.
‘Smoking cigarettes is like creating holes in these walls’
The air-liquid cultures used in the study were grown from airway stem cells that were taken from the lungs of five young, healthy, non-smoking tissue donors.
To replicate the effects of smoking, the researchers exposed these airway interface cultures to cigarette smoke for three minutes per day over four days.
They then infected the cultures exposed to cigarette smoke (along with identical cultures that had not been exposed) with live SARS-CoV-2 viruses.
The two groups were compared. In the models exposed to smoke, the researchers saw between two and three times more infected cells.
Image source: UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center/Cell Stem Cell
A more in-depth analysis led to the conclusion that smoking resulted in more severe infection, at least in part, by blocking the activity of interferons (which play a critical role in the body’s early immune response to fight the virus).
“If you think of the airways like the high walls that protect a castle, smoking cigarettes is like creating holes in these walls,” Gomperts said.
“Smoking reduces the natural defences, and that allows the virus to set in.”
Matilda’s is looking for a skilled and dedicated member of staff to manage all aspects of digital marketing.
This Digital Marketing & Brand Ambassador will strategize, plan and execute all digital marketing initiatives, including search engine optimisation, marketing, email lists, social media and display advertising campaigns. This includes managing, implementing and reporting on all of these brand/digital marketing initiatives.
Daily Responsibilities:
Manage all marketing content calendar requirements
Manage all content and sales posts to achieve targets
Manage and implement strategic direction for Social Media, Adwords and online advertising in line with budgets
Manage online visibility and brand reputation
Identify strategic marketing direction and goals
Drive new marketing initiatives, and implement on relevant platforms
Reporting on web activity, trends & identify future strategies
Identify new website development requirements & ongoing maintenance/improvements toward customer needs
Compose relevant content to implement newsletters and marketing campaign
Company Description
Matilda’s is South Africa’s leading online intimate store. Our vision is simple: to be the most fun, trusted place from which to buy lingerie and intimate products, that will add spice to your sex-life! We achieve that by offering our customers a safe and secure online shop, with super-fast delivery and excellent, friendly customer service.
Personal Requirements:
Enthusiastic and personable with strong communication skills
Strategic in your thinking & great problem-solving skills
Outstanding written and verbal communication skills
Very high attention to detail
Deadlines & results-driven with the ability to work well under pressure
Good personal presentation, especially when meeting media & customers
A commitment to the constant improvement of your marketing knowledge and skills on an on-going basis
Experience:
A minimum of 5 years experience in marketing
Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing or Public Relations, or similar
Experience of working within e-commerce environments
Experience working with social media monitoring and planning tools
Functional knowledge of working with HTML
A flair for words/copywriting, with a solid functional knowledge of SEO
Experience with campaign management and project management
How to Apply:
To qualify for the role, the ideal candidate will have proven experience working in a customer service position. To be considered for this awesome position and join our team, please see the requirements below
Your current CV with contactable references
An intro letter on why you’d rock this position!
Your expectations regarding remuneration
To apply, send the above requirements to us via email, at careers@matildas.co.za with the subject line “Digital Marketing Application – Yes Please!” Feel free to highlight noteworthy aspects to your experience that may be relevant. We will be in contact with people who we have shortlisted.
If you haven’t heard from us within 2 weeks of submitting your application, it means that this time, you have not been shortlisted for this position. We will keep your CV on file for future opportunities.
The rise in the use of alcohol-based hand sanitisers has increased the incidence of hand eczema
Hand eczema presents as a red itchy, sometimes burning or even tender, rash
Adequate skincare should, therefore, be prioritised, especially among healthcare workers
When Covid-19 started spreading across the globe, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that the best way to prevent Covid-19 infection is through physical distancing, wearing cloth masks, as well as frequent and proper handwashing and surface decontamination.
The call for regular handwashing led to an exponential rise in the use of alcohol-based hand sanitisers, which has increased the incidence of hand eczema in healthcare workers as well as the general population.
Two kinds of hand eczema
Hand eczema characteristically presents as a red itchy, sometimes burning or even tender, rash. The rash may be dry with cracked and scaly skin, or wet with blisters, oozing and crusting. Certain individuals, such as those with underlying atopic (a general disposition to develop) eczema, are at greater risk of developing alcohol rub hand eczema due to the inherent impaired barrier function of the skin characterising this condition.
In a study from Hubei province in China, 434 healthcare workers were interviewed, with 321 (74%) reporting that they sanitise their hands more than 10 times per day. Of those healthcare workers, 246 (76.6%) reported symptoms of hand eczema, with the most common being irritant contact hand eczema and less commonly allergic contact hand eczema.
Another study from Milan reported that from 9 March to 4 May 2020 there were 24 new cases of hand eczema in the general population related to the use of alcohol-based sanitisers.
Some of the issues with alcohol-based hand sanitisers include the use of non-standard formulae (meaning that methanol is used instead of ethanol); types of alcohol such as isopropyl alcohol vs. ethanol; as well as varying amounts of alcohol (<60%). The various recipes making the rounds on social media in the early days of lockdown illustrate this point.
“Irritant” contact hand eczema may develop in anyone whose hands are exposed to irritants such as water, soap, or alcohol hand sanitisers. “Allergic” contact hand eczema, on the contrary, will only develop in those who have been primed to develop skin irritation to certain substances such as nickel, latex or colophony (found in adhesives, cosmetics and printing ink).
Debilitating and painful disease
An intact skin usually deters from the development of the latter form of hand eczema. Irritants assist in disrupting the skin barrier, improving the likelihood of developing allergic contact hand eczema.
Alcohol rub hand eczema can become a debilitating and painful disease, resulting in work absenteeism which can severely impair the delivery of essential services. The increased frequency of handwashing and use of alcohol hand sanitiser associated with Covid-19 prevention dramatically increases the likelihood of developing allergic contact hand eczema, which may greatly impact quality of life as well as cause occupational difficulties in the long run.
Apart from the discomfort of dry, itchy skin, the breaks in the skin can serve as a point of entry for Covid-19 because of viral receptors in the blood vessels of the skin. Painful, dry skin could also inadvertently decrease hand hygiene compliance which further increases the risk of disease transmission in these individuals. Prevention is therefore essential.
It has become clear that the Covid-19 pandemic will persist for the foreseeable future. Equally clear has been the gargantuan impact of this viral infection. Therefore, the importance of following protective guidelines, such as outlined by health and government organisations, is undeniable and should be closely adhered to.
The WHO has recommended a 60% alcohol-containing hand sanitiser with 1.45% glycerol as a moisturising agent to protect healthcare workers, and now the frequently sanitising public, from the complications of excessive alcohol hand rub usage. The minimum amount of glycerol required to decrease the risk of hand eczema is not known, although studies have shown that even lower levels than the recommended 1.45% glycerol were effective to protect the skin from excessive drying.
Moisturisers few and far between
Further recommendations include the use of an emollient-containing hand cream immediately after sanitising. Although this is a useful measure to prevent alcohol rub dermatitis, one study showed that only approximately one in five healthcare workers did so after using alcohol hand rub. This figure is highly unlikely to be higher among the general public.
Sanitising stations are located everywhere in hospitals and public areas and have been an important means of combating the spread of Covid-19. However, moisturisers are few and far between, hence the increased incidence of alcohol rub hand eczema during the pandemic.
Adequate skin care could increase hand hygiene compliance and should therefore be prioritised, especially among healthcare workers. Furthermore, preventative measures are critical to allay the next, albeit completely different wave, that of allergic contact hand eczema – another unintended health consequence of Covid-19.
*Dr Suretha Kannenberg is a Consultant Dermatologist in the Division of Dermatology at Stellenbosch University. Sergio Alves and Allison Arendse are 5th-year medical students in the same division. This is a revised version of their article recently published in the South African Medical Journal.
Pretoria, Tuesday 17 November 2020 – The media has requested confirmation that a SARS letter to Adv. Muzi Sikhakhane SC dated 16 November 2020, which was regrettably posted on social media, is authentic. SARS can confirm that a private letter was written to Adv. Sikhakhane SC as well to the CEO of KPMG, Mr. Ignatius Sehoole.
This communication to them clarified SARS’ position in respect of the Reports that each of them had authored during the period between 2014 to 2015, respectively. These Reports negatively mentioned or implicated a number of current and former SARS employees. Following an intensive review after Commissioner Kieswetter’s appointment in May 2019, and after taking into account a number of related developments, SARS has made a decision that it will not use these Reports for any purpose as it cannot place reliance on them.
One of the recommendations of the Nugent Commission was that SARS should consider reparations to current and former employees, not necessarily pecuniary in nature, who had been negatively impacted by actions taken as a consequence of the reports.
Throughout this process the Commissioner of SARS has always intended to manage the process with dignity and outside the public domain because it touches the lives of many of its current and former employees. It is therefore unfortunate that these private matters end up in the public domain and are often, to the detriment of affected individuals, sensationalised.
Since the Commissioner’s appointment in May 2019, SARS has engaged current employees on a number of levels to make reparations. Substantial progress has been made. SARS has also initiated a process to engage former SARS employees who may have been negatively affected by actions taken by SARS, and certain third parties, during the period between 2014 and 2018.
Given the trauma experienced by many, as a result of the unfortunate events during that period, a process of reflection and healing is necessary for SARS as an institution as well as for the individuals concerned.
The Commissioner continues to express the hope that the process will continue to be dignified and private, and he will therefore not divulge any information that is personal. SARS will conduct itself during the discussions in good faith, mutual respect and confidentiality and will not breach these principles in any way whatsoever.
We understand that the media is interested in the process, but we ask that the media respects the privacy and confidentiality of the reparation discussions, and the dignity of the individuals involved, and understands SARS’ position to decline to comment on specific issues.
SARS trusts that all parties involved in the reparations remain committed to achieving a solution in the best interest of the individuals, SARS and the country as a whole and will support SARS in its important work of restoring institutional integrity and public confidence.
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The Pure Solutions Group (Pure Solutions, Pure Survey, Pure Survey International) is looking for an experienced IT software project manager (agency-side) to manage key projects. We work in a professional and comfortable environment in Muizenberg, Cape Town, where the focus is on teamwork, collaboration, and the ability to achieve results. The group provide online surveys, e-learning, platform development, mobile development, WhatsApp solutions and a variety of other offerings to large corporate clients.
Description:
Foster and/or maintain strong client relationships with existing and new clients
Create and deliver accurate and engaging presentations to clients
Obtain briefs from clients and facilitate the generation of scope of work documents, liaising with the project management team and resources
Development of strategy and time frames for projects
Work closely with other teams to ensure that client’s expectations are met and projects are delivered timeously
Responsible for ensuring projects are delivered on budget
Identify and communicate project risks throughout project lifecycles
Requirements
Four+ years’ experience as an IT project manager (software, not hardware)
Worked in an agency-side role with external clients (not internal company projects)
Responsible for full life-cycle of software development projects
Developed detailed scope of work documents
Managed multiple clients and projects simultaneously
Track record of delivering projects on time and on budget
Accuracy and attention to detail essential
Self-motivated with ability to work as part of a team
Good writing and communication skills
Strong time management and administration skills
Experience working on App development an advantage
Please note: due to the current Covid-19 pandemic all our staff are currently working from home. Applicants must have a high-speed internet connection at home, as well as a quiet space to work. From 2021 the position will be based in Muizenberg.
Applicants must be available for an interview at our offices in Muizenberg, Cape Town, and must be South African citizens or hold work permits.
Salary based on experience with a maximum budget of R600,000 per annum.
Please send a maximum three-page CV to az.oc.yevruserup@sboj with a covering letter. If you have not heard back from us within two weeks please assume that your application has been unsuccessful.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria issued warrants of arrest for the Bushiris, who fled South Africa and went to their home country of Malawi last week.
The Bushiris breached their bail conditions when they left under mysterious circumstances.
The Enlightened Christian Gathering church leader, his wife and three others are accused of fraud involving around R102 million. The couple was out on R200 000 bail each when it emerged they had not appeared for their Friday check-in with police – a requirement in terms of their bail conditions.
IDs ‘problematic’
On Saturday, Bushiri said in a statement that they had fled because they believed their lives were in danger in South Africa and that they would not get a fair trial.
In a new statement on Wednesday, Bushiri reiterated this, lashing out at Motsoaledi for “one of the many injustices that I feared would befall me and my wife”.
Furthermore, when the Hawks was investigating the Bushiris last year, they came across “identity documents that were problematic”, Motsoaledi said. He added that their permanent residency permits had been issued irregularly.
“This internal process is already prejudged by the minister before I submit my representations on why our permits should not be revoked because we did nothing wrong,” Bushiri said.
No fair trial in SA
“The minister went on to state that my wife and I hold five different passports each. The impression is that these are passports with different names and details. Once again, this issue is before the High Court in South Africa. This statement by the minister further strengthen (sic) my fear that I will not get a fair trial in South Africa.”
Bushiri said he and his wife indeed had five passports each, including a diplomatic passport and a normal passport, and that they submitted all of the passports to the investigating officer in South Africa.
“Because we are frequent travellers due to the work of our ministry, the other passports are full; however, they have international visas and hence, we kept them. There is nothing sinister about that. Even the immigration department in Malawi has attested to that. In this regard, it would never be an understatement to conclude that of the fears of the injustices that I am fearing, the reason I came to Malawi, has just been confirmed by Honourable Motsoaledi, MP. The whole world was watching and saw for themselves,” Bushiri said.
“I am innocent until proven guilty. As of now, there is no court in the world that has proven me guilty. I may be subjected by media and public trial but I mantain (sic) my innocence until proven guilty.”
“To ensure that the two fugitives face justice, South Africa has initiated a process to secure their extradition from Malawi in terms of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Extradition and other legal instruments, to which Malawi is a signatory,” she said.
“While this process is under way, law enforcement agencies will continue investigations into this matter.”
Red & Yellow Creative School of Business is on the hunt for a Student Advisor to join our vibrant and growing sales team. The successful candidate will work alongside our marketers to attract students and help them sign up with Red & Yellow.
Duties And responsibilities
Create brand awareness and distribute marketing material.
Coordinate student recruitment and enrolment by having detailed understanding and knowledge of admissions, registration criteria, scholarship/bursary information and registration deadlines
Respond to online and telephonic enquiries. Serve as the “go-to person” for the recruitment of students and response to queries
Cold call parents and students to market the school.
Represent Red & Yellow at career expos
Schedules appointments and ensure enough calls are made to the database daily and weekly to meet targets
Achieve all set targets on a daily, weekly, monthly, annual basis, including targeted conversion ratios
Presents The Red & Yellow Creative School of Business philosophy.
Perform ad hoc job-related duties as assigned
Competencies
Must be passionate about people and education.
Best suited to a friendly, tenacious, target driven, organised person who works accurately and can handle the pressure
Time management skills
An organised individual who is target driven and proactive
Must have initiative and be able to formulate and implement plans
Beginner skills or the desire to learn SalesForce & Pardot.
Experience
Minimum one to three years’ professional work experience
Sales/marketing experience is an advantage
Job-Related Knowledge and Skills
Brand and product knowledge
Institutional and industry knowledge/ understanding
Student recruitment policies and procedures
If you feel you’ve got what it takes to join Red & Yellow, we want to hear from you! Please forward your CV, proof of academic qualifications and a motivation letter aligning yourself to the requirements to az.oc.wolleydnader@sreerac before the 30 November 2020.
Preference will be given, but not limited to, candidates from designated groups in terms of the employment equity act.
New Work Here is a smart tech product hub and Fintech working a wealth of offshore projects in the mining and aeronautical industry, and they are bleeding for some devs to aid their latest gig within their capital arm.
They are looking for two C# Full Stack developers with deep skills in JavaScript and TypeScript. You’ll be part of a diverse, smart, agile, and fairly laid-back team; passionate about tech, open to new (bigger, better) ideas. You will work on evolving projects, you will learn and you will prosper.
You’ll get the freedom to do the work you want to do all while collaborating within a respect-driven dev team. You’ll also be supported, coached, and taught their tricks.
Some soft perks include flexi-time, generous leave, Beer o’clock scrums, full Medical aid, provident fund + bonus.
Have I got your attention? This is how you can get mine:
Six to eight years of key experience coding in the Microsoft Stack
You are clued up in C#, ASP.Net, .Net Core, Web API, SQL
You are actively working with JavaScript and TypeScript
Some skills in React will earn you points
You have decent Azure Cloud experience
You have a knack for analytics/mathematics
Qualifications:
Degreed in computer science or similar
Top grades in maths in school
Reference number for this position is ND49329-2020 which is a permanent position based in Johannesburg; offering a salary of R900,000 cost to company, salary negotiable on experience. Contact Nicole on az.oc.egrem-e@delocin or call her on 011 463 3633 to discuss this and other opportunities.
Are you ready for a change of scenery? E-Merge IT Recruitment is a niche recruitment agency. We offer our candidates options so that we can successfully place the right people with the right companies, in the right roles. Check out the E-Merge IT website for more great positions.
Do you have a friend who is a developer or technology specialist? We pay cash for successful referrals!
