University students are particularly vulnerable to mood disorders. This vulnerability may be increasing, with recent investigations reporting sharp rises in the prevalence of depression and other psychiatric disorders. Moreover, previous studies indicate that first-year undergraduates tend to show more depression and suicidal ideation than students in subsequent years. However, most studies in the extant literature emerge from high-income countries in the global north; relatively few focus on university students in low- and middle-income countries such as South Africa. Because students in low- and middle-income countries are more likely to be exposed to crime and trauma, and less likely to have easily accessible mental health services, they might be at even higher risk for developing mood disorders than their counterparts in high-income countries. Furthermore, most previous studies of mental health in university students analyse cross-sectional data and therefore cannot comment on longitudinal patterns in the data. To fill these knowledge gaps, the current study aimed to describe recent trends in depression and suicidal ideation among South African university students. We analysed both archival ( n = 2593) and original ( n = 499) Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition reports, sampled between 2016 and 2019. As expected, depression and suicidal ideation scores increased significantly over time, and first-year students reported significantly more depression and suicidal ideation than students in subsequent years of study. These findings suggest that preventive interventions during sensitive periods of undergraduate study are imperative and provide a foundation for treatment strategies tailored to the needs of the most vulnerable South African students.

Per the 2017–2027 Decadal Survey for Earth Science and Applications from Space, many resources are being dedicated to identifying the most cost-effective and appropriate space-based approaches to aid in answering important questions related to the roles of aerosols, clouds, convection, and precipitation within the climate system. This includes developing advanced space-based multi-angle polarimetric imagers for observing aerosols and clouds. The information content with respect to aerosol and cloud properties of such instruments partly depends on the observed range of scattering angles. Factors influencing the sampled scattering angle range include orbit geometry, solar, and viewing angle geometry and swath width. The focus of this research is to gain better insight into how each of these factors influence the scattering angle range sampled by different polarimeter platforms. Based on calculations of example precessing and sun-synchronous orbits, we conclude that the maximum observed scattering angles vary primarily with local equator crossing time (LCT) and location across the swath, while the minimum observed scattering angles vary primarily with LCT and latitude. The altitude and inclination of a precessing orbit determines the length of cycles occurring in LCT and thus in the scattering angle sampling statistics. For a nominal polarimeter with a 57° swath width in an orbit with 65.5° inclination, scattering angle ranges that are suitable for aerosol and cloud remote sensing are sampled somewhere across the swath at most covered latitudes roughly 54% of days throughout the year. Unfavorable scattering angles are observed on days where the orbit is near the terminator and LCT are early in the morning or late in the evening, when solar zenith angles are generally not suited for remote sensing. Decreasing the instrument’s swath width to 7° primarily decreases the maximum observed scattering angle, and therefore limits the range of crossing times for which a large range of scattering angles are observed. In addition, the fraction of days throughout the year with favorable scattering angles decreases to roughly 37%. These calculations will aid in the development of next-generation observing systems using combinations of instrument platforms in different orbits, as well for other missions such as those using cubesats.

It is estimated that approximately two million infants displaying intersex characteristics are born every year. Such children are often subjected to medical intervention during the early years of their lives since it is socially considered “necessary” to allocate a conclusive sex to an intersex child. Although it is broadly observed that there are only three instances where “gender re-assignment surgery” for intersex infants is medically necessary, the majority of surgeries are cosmetic, unnecessary and performed with the stated aim of making it easier for intersex children to grow up to be “normal”. Parents of intersex children are faced with the agonising choice as to whether or not to consent to their intersex baby undergoing sex alteration surgery. Relying predominantly on the information provided to them by medical experts, parents are not always fully informed as to the potential physical and psychological risks attached to this type of surgery at this time of children’s lives. This paper seeks to discuss the role and duty of parents during this decision-making process, by evaluating the obligations prescribed by Article 5 of the Convention of the Rights of the Child.

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