A framework for interpreting noisy, two-dimensional images, based on a fuzzification of programmed, attributed graph grammars
- Authors: Watkins, Gregory Shroll
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Music -- Data processing Computer sound processing Artificial intelligence -- Musical applications Fuzzy systems
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4604 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004862
- Description: This thesis investigates a fuzzy syntactic approach to the interpretation of noisy two-dimensional images. This approach is based on a modification of the attributed graph grammar formalism to utilise fuzzy membership functions in the applicability predicates. As far as we are aware, this represents the first such modification of graph grammars. Furthermore, we develop a method for programming the resultant fuzzy attributed graph grammars through the use of non-deterministic control diagrams. To do this, we modify the standard programming mechanism to allow it to cope with the fuzzy certainty values associated with productions in our grammar. Our objective was to develop a flexible framework which can be used for the recognition of a wide variety of image classes, and which is adept at dealing with noise in these images. Programmed graph grammars are specifically chosen for the ease with which they allow one to specify a new two-dimensional image class. We implement a prototype system for Optical Music Recognition using our framework. This system allows us to test the capabilities of the framework for coping with noise in the context of handwritten music score recognition. Preliminary results from the prototype system show that the framework copes well with noisy images.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Watkins, Gregory Shroll
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Music -- Data processing Computer sound processing Artificial intelligence -- Musical applications Fuzzy systems
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4604 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004862
- Description: This thesis investigates a fuzzy syntactic approach to the interpretation of noisy two-dimensional images. This approach is based on a modification of the attributed graph grammar formalism to utilise fuzzy membership functions in the applicability predicates. As far as we are aware, this represents the first such modification of graph grammars. Furthermore, we develop a method for programming the resultant fuzzy attributed graph grammars through the use of non-deterministic control diagrams. To do this, we modify the standard programming mechanism to allow it to cope with the fuzzy certainty values associated with productions in our grammar. Our objective was to develop a flexible framework which can be used for the recognition of a wide variety of image classes, and which is adept at dealing with noise in these images. Programmed graph grammars are specifically chosen for the ease with which they allow one to specify a new two-dimensional image class. We implement a prototype system for Optical Music Recognition using our framework. This system allows us to test the capabilities of the framework for coping with noise in the context of handwritten music score recognition. Preliminary results from the prototype system show that the framework copes well with noisy images.
- Full Text:
A molecular genetic assessment of the population structure and variation in two inshore dolphin genera on the east coast of South Africa
- Smith-Goodwin, Jacqueline Anne
- Authors: Smith-Goodwin, Jacqueline Anne
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Dolphins -- South Africa Variation (Biology) Dolphins -- Genetics Population genetics Bottlenose dolphin -- South Africa Sousa -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4007 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004067
- Description: Coastal dolphins on the South African east coast are threatened by degradation and loss of habitat as a result of increasing coastal development, industrial effluent and agricultural runoff. In addition, dolphins off the coast of KwaZulu-Natal have, for more than four decades, been heavily exploited through unchecked incidental capture in shark nets set at 45 beaches. In light of the high rate of mortality and apparent depletion of both species, the persistence of bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus) and humpback (Sousa chinensis) dolphins in that region has been questioned. Genetic variation in south east African dolphin populations was determined as a means of assessing the fitness of the populations and their resilience to demographic disturbances. Furthermore, in order to determine the effects of continued mortality on the KwaZulu-Natal subpopulations, it was necessary to determine whether they are open or closed to immigration from the adjacent East Cape region, which represents a relatively unstressed region, characterised by a lack of shark nets and less intensive coastal activities. Genetic variation and differentiation in the maternal genome was assessed by determining the sequence of the first 400 bases of the mtDNA control region in bottlenose and humpback dolphins from KwaZulu-Natal and the East Cape. Nuclear variation and differentiation was estimated at six microsatellite loci and compared with earlier estimates determined from allozyme electrophoresis. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was assessed as a means of identifying population subdivisions and diagnostic population markers. Both bottlenose and humpback dolphins on the South African east coast are characterised by low nuclear and organellar genetic variation, consistent with a possible genetic bottleneck, the inferred date of which coincides with the onset of the last glacial period. Genetic variation in South African bottlenose dolphins was lower than that reported elsewhere for the species, while an intraspecific comparison supported lower genetic variation in South African humpback dolphins than in humpback dolphins sampled off Hong Kong. An analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), performed on mtDNA haplotype frequency data indicated, for both species, significant genetic subdivision, concordant with geographic location. The data suggested female bottlenose dolphins demonstrate regional philopatry, displaying limited movement between KwaZulu-Natal and the East Cape. Female humpback dolphins tend towards strict local philopatry, with significant maternal differentiation evident both within and between regional subdivisions. Differentiation in microsatellite allele frequencies was also demonstrated between KwaZulu-Natal and the East Cape for both species, suggesting that the movement of male bottlenose and humpback dolphins may also be restricted. Nonetheless, considerably higher nuclear gene flow estimates suggested that males of both species represent the principal vectors of gene dispersal. The implications of historically low genetic variability and population subdivision in South African dolphins are important in view of the current rate of mortality in KwaZulu-Natal. The persistence of coastal dolphin populations relies on their ability to recover following a bottleneck event. Continued removal of demographically important age-sex classes such as occurs in shark nets, may not only further reduce the genetic variation, but would ultimately deplete dolphin populations in KwaZulu-Natal beyond a sustainable number, resulting in eventual local extinction. The differentiation of the two regions implies that, in the event of local extinction occurring, dolphins, particularly females, from adjacent regions will not readily re-colonise the area. This would result in fragmentation of the south east African populations and ensure reproductive isolation from neighbouring populations on the east African coast.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Smith-Goodwin, Jacqueline Anne
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Dolphins -- South Africa Variation (Biology) Dolphins -- Genetics Population genetics Bottlenose dolphin -- South Africa Sousa -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4007 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004067
- Description: Coastal dolphins on the South African east coast are threatened by degradation and loss of habitat as a result of increasing coastal development, industrial effluent and agricultural runoff. In addition, dolphins off the coast of KwaZulu-Natal have, for more than four decades, been heavily exploited through unchecked incidental capture in shark nets set at 45 beaches. In light of the high rate of mortality and apparent depletion of both species, the persistence of bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus) and humpback (Sousa chinensis) dolphins in that region has been questioned. Genetic variation in south east African dolphin populations was determined as a means of assessing the fitness of the populations and their resilience to demographic disturbances. Furthermore, in order to determine the effects of continued mortality on the KwaZulu-Natal subpopulations, it was necessary to determine whether they are open or closed to immigration from the adjacent East Cape region, which represents a relatively unstressed region, characterised by a lack of shark nets and less intensive coastal activities. Genetic variation and differentiation in the maternal genome was assessed by determining the sequence of the first 400 bases of the mtDNA control region in bottlenose and humpback dolphins from KwaZulu-Natal and the East Cape. Nuclear variation and differentiation was estimated at six microsatellite loci and compared with earlier estimates determined from allozyme electrophoresis. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was assessed as a means of identifying population subdivisions and diagnostic population markers. Both bottlenose and humpback dolphins on the South African east coast are characterised by low nuclear and organellar genetic variation, consistent with a possible genetic bottleneck, the inferred date of which coincides with the onset of the last glacial period. Genetic variation in South African bottlenose dolphins was lower than that reported elsewhere for the species, while an intraspecific comparison supported lower genetic variation in South African humpback dolphins than in humpback dolphins sampled off Hong Kong. An analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), performed on mtDNA haplotype frequency data indicated, for both species, significant genetic subdivision, concordant with geographic location. The data suggested female bottlenose dolphins demonstrate regional philopatry, displaying limited movement between KwaZulu-Natal and the East Cape. Female humpback dolphins tend towards strict local philopatry, with significant maternal differentiation evident both within and between regional subdivisions. Differentiation in microsatellite allele frequencies was also demonstrated between KwaZulu-Natal and the East Cape for both species, suggesting that the movement of male bottlenose and humpback dolphins may also be restricted. Nonetheless, considerably higher nuclear gene flow estimates suggested that males of both species represent the principal vectors of gene dispersal. The implications of historically low genetic variability and population subdivision in South African dolphins are important in view of the current rate of mortality in KwaZulu-Natal. The persistence of coastal dolphin populations relies on their ability to recover following a bottleneck event. Continued removal of demographically important age-sex classes such as occurs in shark nets, may not only further reduce the genetic variation, but would ultimately deplete dolphin populations in KwaZulu-Natal beyond a sustainable number, resulting in eventual local extinction. The differentiation of the two regions implies that, in the event of local extinction occurring, dolphins, particularly females, from adjacent regions will not readily re-colonise the area. This would result in fragmentation of the south east African populations and ensure reproductive isolation from neighbouring populations on the east African coast.
- Full Text:
Ammophila arenaria (L.) Link (marram grass) in South Africa and its potential invasiveness
- Authors: Hertling, Ursula Margret
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Grasses -- South Africa Alien plants -- South Africa Sand dune plants -- South Africa Grasses -- Ecology -- South Africa Sand dune ecology -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4198 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003767
- Description: Ammophila arenaria (L.) Link is a European sand binding plant which was introduced to South Africa in the 1870's for the purpose of dune stabilisation. Because of its known invasiveness along the west coast of North America, and the problems South African ecosystems experience with alien invader plants, it was deemed necessary to study the biology and ecology of this species in South Africa. The aim of this thesis is to establish the potential invasiveness of A. arenaria on Cape coastal dunes and assess whether its use for dune stabilisation is still justifiable. A. arenaria occurs nowadays between the Langebaan area on the west coast and Gonubie in the Eastern Cape. Although widespread, the grass appears to occur only in areas where it has been planted. Its unaided spread may be prevented by adverse climatic conditions. Studies on the community biology of South African A. arenaria communities as compared to indigenous dune plant communities and natural A. arenaria communities in Europe cannot confirm the aggressive behaviour that A. arenaria shows in California and Oregon. In South Africa, A. arenaria does not exert strong floristic control over other species or outcompete and replace them, neither does it alter the topography of South African beaches and dunes. It forms weaker species associations and tends to develop communities of little species variability along the coast, thereby proving its alienness in South Africa, but this does not imply its invasiveness. Studies on succession of A. arenaria stabilisation areas show that monospecific A. arenaria plantings can be succeeded by a species-rich indigenous dune scrub or dune fynbos within a few decades. Plant-parasitic nematodes have been recorded, which may play an important role in the succession of A. arenaria stands in South Africa as was observed in Europe. Monitoring of A. arenaria communities and indigenous communities over nearly three years shows that A. arenaria is not spreading and replacing indigenous plants but in fact rather being replaced by the latter. A. arenaria profits from a superior sand burial tolerance but is affected by adverse climatic factors, mostly the lack of rainfall and strong radiation. In comparison to the indigenous dune grasses Thinopyrum distichum and Ehrharta villosa, it does not show any superior demographic traits such as an unusually high growth rate or large aboveground biomass production. Although A. arenaria produces viable seed in South Africa, the indigenous grasses show better germination and seedling establishment in the field. This study indicates that A. arenaria is not invasive in South Africa, nor likely to become an invader species in the near future. However, more research is required to confirm these results and more caution recommended regarding the further use of this alien grass for dune stabilisation.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Hertling, Ursula Margret
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Grasses -- South Africa Alien plants -- South Africa Sand dune plants -- South Africa Grasses -- Ecology -- South Africa Sand dune ecology -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4198 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003767
- Description: Ammophila arenaria (L.) Link is a European sand binding plant which was introduced to South Africa in the 1870's for the purpose of dune stabilisation. Because of its known invasiveness along the west coast of North America, and the problems South African ecosystems experience with alien invader plants, it was deemed necessary to study the biology and ecology of this species in South Africa. The aim of this thesis is to establish the potential invasiveness of A. arenaria on Cape coastal dunes and assess whether its use for dune stabilisation is still justifiable. A. arenaria occurs nowadays between the Langebaan area on the west coast and Gonubie in the Eastern Cape. Although widespread, the grass appears to occur only in areas where it has been planted. Its unaided spread may be prevented by adverse climatic conditions. Studies on the community biology of South African A. arenaria communities as compared to indigenous dune plant communities and natural A. arenaria communities in Europe cannot confirm the aggressive behaviour that A. arenaria shows in California and Oregon. In South Africa, A. arenaria does not exert strong floristic control over other species or outcompete and replace them, neither does it alter the topography of South African beaches and dunes. It forms weaker species associations and tends to develop communities of little species variability along the coast, thereby proving its alienness in South Africa, but this does not imply its invasiveness. Studies on succession of A. arenaria stabilisation areas show that monospecific A. arenaria plantings can be succeeded by a species-rich indigenous dune scrub or dune fynbos within a few decades. Plant-parasitic nematodes have been recorded, which may play an important role in the succession of A. arenaria stands in South Africa as was observed in Europe. Monitoring of A. arenaria communities and indigenous communities over nearly three years shows that A. arenaria is not spreading and replacing indigenous plants but in fact rather being replaced by the latter. A. arenaria profits from a superior sand burial tolerance but is affected by adverse climatic factors, mostly the lack of rainfall and strong radiation. In comparison to the indigenous dune grasses Thinopyrum distichum and Ehrharta villosa, it does not show any superior demographic traits such as an unusually high growth rate or large aboveground biomass production. Although A. arenaria produces viable seed in South Africa, the indigenous grasses show better germination and seedling establishment in the field. This study indicates that A. arenaria is not invasive in South Africa, nor likely to become an invader species in the near future. However, more research is required to confirm these results and more caution recommended regarding the further use of this alien grass for dune stabilisation.
- Full Text:
An examination of patients' responses to framework breaks in psychotherapy in an institutional context
- Authors: Rees, Christopher Lewis
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Psychotherapy patients Psychotherapy -- Research Psychotherapy Case studies Psychiatric hospital care
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3042 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002551
- Description: This study examines the workings of the ground rules which make up the framework of psychotherapy, in an institutional context, by analysing transcripts of twelve audio taped sessions of therapy conducted in a psychiatric hospital. The breaks in the ground rules of the sessions are noted and the patients' responses to these breaks are analysed using Langs's (1982, 1988) method for decoding patients' material, suitably modified for use as a hermeneutic research method. Although all of the ground rules are broken in the institutional context, only one of the ten ground rules appears to be essentially affected by this particular institutional context. Other ground rules are broken out of choice of technique or through error. The institutional context has a structural impact only on the ground rule requiring a one to one relationship with privacy and confidentiality and this ground rule is transgressed in a number of ways in all twelve sessions examined in this study. However the patients' responses to this breach only occur in ways predicted by communicative theory when the break in the ground rule involves actual entry into the therapy space by another person. Other contraventions to this ground rule that do not involve such an entry do not elicit the predicted patient responses. The many other ground rule breaks occurring in the institutional context evoke the predicted responses in the patients' material. In the study, no therapist interventions are found to comply with the communicative therapy requirements for sound interventions; concomitantly it was found that no therapist interventions receive the required derivative validation. The results indicate that it is possible to conduct therapy of a substantially secure frame variety in this institutional context with minimum effort on the part of therapists and given proper training and supervision of therapists in the techniques of communicative psychotherapy. Furthermore the results lend weight to the importance of the communicative methodology for listening to patients' material in psychotherapy in an institutional context. However, further rigorous study of competently performed therapy, executed within the context of a secure frame within an institutional context, is needed in order to demonstrate the benefits of the communicative psychotherapy interventions and interpretations in this context.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Rees, Christopher Lewis
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Psychotherapy patients Psychotherapy -- Research Psychotherapy Case studies Psychiatric hospital care
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3042 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002551
- Description: This study examines the workings of the ground rules which make up the framework of psychotherapy, in an institutional context, by analysing transcripts of twelve audio taped sessions of therapy conducted in a psychiatric hospital. The breaks in the ground rules of the sessions are noted and the patients' responses to these breaks are analysed using Langs's (1982, 1988) method for decoding patients' material, suitably modified for use as a hermeneutic research method. Although all of the ground rules are broken in the institutional context, only one of the ten ground rules appears to be essentially affected by this particular institutional context. Other ground rules are broken out of choice of technique or through error. The institutional context has a structural impact only on the ground rule requiring a one to one relationship with privacy and confidentiality and this ground rule is transgressed in a number of ways in all twelve sessions examined in this study. However the patients' responses to this breach only occur in ways predicted by communicative theory when the break in the ground rule involves actual entry into the therapy space by another person. Other contraventions to this ground rule that do not involve such an entry do not elicit the predicted patient responses. The many other ground rule breaks occurring in the institutional context evoke the predicted responses in the patients' material. In the study, no therapist interventions are found to comply with the communicative therapy requirements for sound interventions; concomitantly it was found that no therapist interventions receive the required derivative validation. The results indicate that it is possible to conduct therapy of a substantially secure frame variety in this institutional context with minimum effort on the part of therapists and given proper training and supervision of therapists in the techniques of communicative psychotherapy. Furthermore the results lend weight to the importance of the communicative methodology for listening to patients' material in psychotherapy in an institutional context. However, further rigorous study of competently performed therapy, executed within the context of a secure frame within an institutional context, is needed in order to demonstrate the benefits of the communicative psychotherapy interventions and interpretations in this context.
- Full Text:
Asymmetric induction in reactions of chiral carboxylic esters and silyl enol ethers
- Authors: Evans, Melanie Daryl
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Ethers -- Synthesis Esters -- Synthesis Chirality Asymmetric synthesis Organic compounds -- Synthesis
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4409 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006762
- Description: Several camphor and pinane derivatives have been synthesised and evaluated for use as chiral auxiliaries in asymmetric synthesis. Various blocking groups have been attached to the camphor skeleton in attempts to improve stereofacial selectivity; these include α-methoxybenzyl and xylyl groups, and novel stereoisomeric ketal moieties derived from meso- and (R,R)-(-)-2,3-butanediol. Benzylation reactions carried out on the lithium enolates of ester derivatives of the camphor-derived chiral auxiliaries afforded α-benzylated products in 5-60% diastereomeric excess. Stereochemical aspects have been explored using high resolution NMR, X-ray crystallographic and computer modelling techniques, and hydrolysis of selected α-benzylated products has permitted the diasteroselective bias to be confirmed. Opposite configurations at the new stereogenic centre are clearly favoured by the xylyl and ketal blocking groups - an observation rationalised in terms of the presence or absence of chelating potential in the blocking group. Baylis-Hillman reactions carried out on a series of specially prepared camphor-derived acrylic esters containing the ketal blocking group exhibited both low diastereoselectivities (0-30% d.e.) and very long reaction times. Chiral silyl enol ethers, synthesised using both pinane and camphor derivatives as chiral auxiliaries, showed up to 20% diastereomeric excess in MCPBA oxidation, alkylation and Mukaiyama reactions. Attempts to bring the prochiral centre in the silyl enol ether substrates closer to the chiral auxiliary, and thus improve the stereofacial selectivity, proved unsuccessful. The silyl enol ether derivatives, however, display interesting fragmentation patterns in their electron impact mass spectra, which were investigated using a combination of high resolution MS, comparative low resolution MS and metastable peak analysis.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Evans, Melanie Daryl
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Ethers -- Synthesis Esters -- Synthesis Chirality Asymmetric synthesis Organic compounds -- Synthesis
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4409 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006762
- Description: Several camphor and pinane derivatives have been synthesised and evaluated for use as chiral auxiliaries in asymmetric synthesis. Various blocking groups have been attached to the camphor skeleton in attempts to improve stereofacial selectivity; these include α-methoxybenzyl and xylyl groups, and novel stereoisomeric ketal moieties derived from meso- and (R,R)-(-)-2,3-butanediol. Benzylation reactions carried out on the lithium enolates of ester derivatives of the camphor-derived chiral auxiliaries afforded α-benzylated products in 5-60% diastereomeric excess. Stereochemical aspects have been explored using high resolution NMR, X-ray crystallographic and computer modelling techniques, and hydrolysis of selected α-benzylated products has permitted the diasteroselective bias to be confirmed. Opposite configurations at the new stereogenic centre are clearly favoured by the xylyl and ketal blocking groups - an observation rationalised in terms of the presence or absence of chelating potential in the blocking group. Baylis-Hillman reactions carried out on a series of specially prepared camphor-derived acrylic esters containing the ketal blocking group exhibited both low diastereoselectivities (0-30% d.e.) and very long reaction times. Chiral silyl enol ethers, synthesised using both pinane and camphor derivatives as chiral auxiliaries, showed up to 20% diastereomeric excess in MCPBA oxidation, alkylation and Mukaiyama reactions. Attempts to bring the prochiral centre in the silyl enol ether substrates closer to the chiral auxiliary, and thus improve the stereofacial selectivity, proved unsuccessful. The silyl enol ether derivatives, however, display interesting fragmentation patterns in their electron impact mass spectra, which were investigated using a combination of high resolution MS, comparative low resolution MS and metastable peak analysis.
- Full Text:
Baylis-Hillman derived benzopyrans and related systems : a synthetic and mechanistic study
- Authors: Robinson, Ross Stuart
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Benzopyrans Coumarins Heterocyclic compounds -- Derivatives
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4429 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007193
- Description: The Baylis-Hillman reaction between substituted salicylaldehydes and various acrylate species has been shown to afford complex reaction mixtures, careful chromatography of which has led to the isolation of an extensive range of novel compounds. One- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopic, mass spectrometric and X-ray crystallographic analysis of these compounds have permitted identification of no less than eight general classes of chromene and coumarin derivatives. The formation of the various product types is attributed to cascades of successive reactions stemming, in each case, from a Baylis-Hillman product as the common intermediate. The mechanistic sequence involved in the formation of the various chromene and coumarin derivatives have been elucidated by examining isolated or specifically prepared compounds as putative reaction intermediates. Conjugate addition and acyl or allylic substitution by various nucleophiles appear to be common processes in the formation of the chromene and coumarin derivatives, and studies focussing on these processes have been undertaken. Reactions of Baylis-Hillman adducts have been carried out, using oxygen, sulfur and nitrogen nucleophiles, in order to explore stereoselectivity and regioselectivity trends. The results show that the reactions proceed with a very high degree of regioselectivity, affording conjugate addition rather than acyl substitution products. The diastereoselectivity observed for the addition products, however was typically low. A kinetic study to explore the regioselectivity of the reaction between various Baylis-Hillman derived halogeno esters and the nucleophile, methyl 3-oxobutanolate enloate, in two different base-solvent systems at high dilution was also undertaken. The reactions were monitored by ¹H NMR spectroscopy, and the results revealed that the reaction kinetics are more complex than originally anticipated. A mechanistic rationalisation is offered which is consistent with both the kinetic data and the observed regioselectivity trends.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Robinson, Ross Stuart
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Benzopyrans Coumarins Heterocyclic compounds -- Derivatives
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4429 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007193
- Description: The Baylis-Hillman reaction between substituted salicylaldehydes and various acrylate species has been shown to afford complex reaction mixtures, careful chromatography of which has led to the isolation of an extensive range of novel compounds. One- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopic, mass spectrometric and X-ray crystallographic analysis of these compounds have permitted identification of no less than eight general classes of chromene and coumarin derivatives. The formation of the various product types is attributed to cascades of successive reactions stemming, in each case, from a Baylis-Hillman product as the common intermediate. The mechanistic sequence involved in the formation of the various chromene and coumarin derivatives have been elucidated by examining isolated or specifically prepared compounds as putative reaction intermediates. Conjugate addition and acyl or allylic substitution by various nucleophiles appear to be common processes in the formation of the chromene and coumarin derivatives, and studies focussing on these processes have been undertaken. Reactions of Baylis-Hillman adducts have been carried out, using oxygen, sulfur and nitrogen nucleophiles, in order to explore stereoselectivity and regioselectivity trends. The results show that the reactions proceed with a very high degree of regioselectivity, affording conjugate addition rather than acyl substitution products. The diastereoselectivity observed for the addition products, however was typically low. A kinetic study to explore the regioselectivity of the reaction between various Baylis-Hillman derived halogeno esters and the nucleophile, methyl 3-oxobutanolate enloate, in two different base-solvent systems at high dilution was also undertaken. The reactions were monitored by ¹H NMR spectroscopy, and the results revealed that the reaction kinetics are more complex than originally anticipated. A mechanistic rationalisation is offered which is consistent with both the kinetic data and the observed regioselectivity trends.
- Full Text:
Biology, stock assessment and management of the panga Pterogymnus laniarius on the Agulhas Bank, South Africa
- Authors: Booth, Anthony John
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Fish stock assessment -- South Africa Bycatches (Fisheries) -- South Africa Pterogymnus laniarius Fishery management -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5242 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005085
- Description: The panga, Pterogymnus laniarius (Cuvier, 1830), is a South African endemic sparid fish species. On the Agulhas Bank, South Africa it is a commercially important species, caught as bycatch in the hake directed trawlfisheries and targeted by offshore hook-and-linefishers. Recently there has been considerable interest shown in directing further fishing effort on this species. The lack of a suitable management procedure for teleost bycatch in South Africa was the principal reason for undertaking this study. This thesis investigates aspects the panga's life history, particularly those aspects that have management implications. A full knowledge of this species' distribution and abundance was necessary as this could highlight the existence of any nursery areas, ontogenetic migratory patterns and areas of high spawner biomass. The derived parameter estimates were then included as inputs into stock assessment models to determine the status and productivity of the resource. Growth studies based on sectioned sagittal otoliths revealed that the panga was a relatively slow growing fish with ages of 16 years being recorded. Growth was best described by the von Bertalanffy growth model as Lt=379.4(1-e⁻°·¹³⁽t ⁺ ¹·⁷⁸⁾). Total, natural and fishing mortalities were estimated at 0.36 year⁻¹, 0.28 year⁻¹ and 0.08 year ⁻¹, respectively. Detailed histological examination of the gonads revealed that panga is a late gonochorist, males and females maturing after a non-functional intersexual stage. Females mature at approximately 200 mm fork length or 4 years of age. Reproduction occurs throughout the year although there is a slight peak in winter. Gametogenesis was found to be similar to that of other sparid fishes and marine teleosts in general. The panga feeds predominantly on crustaceans with a distinct ontogenetic shift in feeding habits. Juvenile fish feed predominantly in the water column on mysids after which they move to the benthos. Subadult fish feed principally on ophiuroids and amphipods. Adult fish remain on or near the benthos, feeding predominantly on crabs, and on polychaetes, ophiuroids and fishes to a lesser extent. Several aspects of the panga's biology contribute to its ability to sustain a higher fishing pressure than other sympatric sparid species. These include its late gonochoristic reproductive style, protracted spawning season, maturation before recruitment and preference for soft substratum prey that enables it to utilise large areas of the Agulhas Bank. The panga's longevity, slow growth and low natural mortality rate, however, mitigated against these factors and were considered in the stock assessments. A heterogeneous Geographical Information System (GIS) was developed to analyse the distribution and abundance patterns of the panga. The GIS developed in this thesis makes a significant contribution towards the development of a South African Fisheries Information System to analyse and manage fish resources in general and bycatch resources in particular. The GIS developed in this study combines statistical Generalized Additive Modelling and standard GIS methods. Analysis of fourteen biannual fishery independent biomass surveys, disaggregated by life history stage, revealed that a nursery area for immature fish (<23 cm TL or < 4 years of age) exists on the Central Agulhas Bank. After sexual maturation, approximately 40% of the biomass migrated eastwards, colonising large areas of the Eastern Agulhas Bank.ilie location of the nursery area appears to be a result of the pelagic eggs and larvae being advected towards the coast in an anti-cyclonic gyre, stemming off the Agulhas current and later deposited over the Central Agulhas Bank. The weak bottom currents on the Central Agulhas Bank prevented juvenile loss to the Benguela system. The eurytopy of adult fish to various physical variables such as temperature, dissolved oxygen and stronger currents enabled it to reduce conspecific competition and migrate eastwards with distribution primarily determined by depth. Relative biomass estimates revealed a gradual increase in biomass of 5.5% per annum between 1988 and 1995. Predictions from yield-per-recruit, biomass-per-recruit and spawner biomass-per-recruit analyses showed that there was scope for further exploitation. A FSB₅₀ fishing strategy was considered to be the most appropriate fishing strategy as it did not reduce the spawner biomass-per-recruit to less than 50% of unexploited levels. Effort control was considered the most effective management tool as the age-at-50%-selectivity occurred after age-at-sexual maturity and releasing undersized fish was undesirable due to heavy mortalities resulting from severe barotrauma. The panga resource was also assessed using an age-structured production model. The values for the free parameters of the model were estimated using biomass indices derived from fishery-independent trawl surveys. Although the data were fairly uninformative about the productivity of the resource, the results indicated robustly, that the population has recovered from low levels in the mid-1970's and could sustain higher levels of fishing intensity. Risk analysis calculations were used to assess the sustainability of different catch scenarios. The level of sustainable catch was found to be sensitive to the selectivity pattern of the gear utilised. Both stock assessment methods used in this study to investigate the status of the panga resource showed that the resource could theoretically sustain higher catches. It was found that although the stock could be harvested using available fishing methods, the sympatry of this species with other commercial species was of concern as the latter would form a significant bycatch in a panga directed fishery. The failure of current harvesting methods to address the bycatch problem highlights the management problem in South Africa and stresses the need for creativity by both scientists and fishers in designing new and improved methods for selectively harvesting bycatch fish resources. Considering that no suitable method is currently available to fish the panga stock in a directed fishery the fishery should be managed as status quo until some suitable and efficient gear is developed.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Booth, Anthony John
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Fish stock assessment -- South Africa Bycatches (Fisheries) -- South Africa Pterogymnus laniarius Fishery management -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5242 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005085
- Description: The panga, Pterogymnus laniarius (Cuvier, 1830), is a South African endemic sparid fish species. On the Agulhas Bank, South Africa it is a commercially important species, caught as bycatch in the hake directed trawlfisheries and targeted by offshore hook-and-linefishers. Recently there has been considerable interest shown in directing further fishing effort on this species. The lack of a suitable management procedure for teleost bycatch in South Africa was the principal reason for undertaking this study. This thesis investigates aspects the panga's life history, particularly those aspects that have management implications. A full knowledge of this species' distribution and abundance was necessary as this could highlight the existence of any nursery areas, ontogenetic migratory patterns and areas of high spawner biomass. The derived parameter estimates were then included as inputs into stock assessment models to determine the status and productivity of the resource. Growth studies based on sectioned sagittal otoliths revealed that the panga was a relatively slow growing fish with ages of 16 years being recorded. Growth was best described by the von Bertalanffy growth model as Lt=379.4(1-e⁻°·¹³⁽t ⁺ ¹·⁷⁸⁾). Total, natural and fishing mortalities were estimated at 0.36 year⁻¹, 0.28 year⁻¹ and 0.08 year ⁻¹, respectively. Detailed histological examination of the gonads revealed that panga is a late gonochorist, males and females maturing after a non-functional intersexual stage. Females mature at approximately 200 mm fork length or 4 years of age. Reproduction occurs throughout the year although there is a slight peak in winter. Gametogenesis was found to be similar to that of other sparid fishes and marine teleosts in general. The panga feeds predominantly on crustaceans with a distinct ontogenetic shift in feeding habits. Juvenile fish feed predominantly in the water column on mysids after which they move to the benthos. Subadult fish feed principally on ophiuroids and amphipods. Adult fish remain on or near the benthos, feeding predominantly on crabs, and on polychaetes, ophiuroids and fishes to a lesser extent. Several aspects of the panga's biology contribute to its ability to sustain a higher fishing pressure than other sympatric sparid species. These include its late gonochoristic reproductive style, protracted spawning season, maturation before recruitment and preference for soft substratum prey that enables it to utilise large areas of the Agulhas Bank. The panga's longevity, slow growth and low natural mortality rate, however, mitigated against these factors and were considered in the stock assessments. A heterogeneous Geographical Information System (GIS) was developed to analyse the distribution and abundance patterns of the panga. The GIS developed in this thesis makes a significant contribution towards the development of a South African Fisheries Information System to analyse and manage fish resources in general and bycatch resources in particular. The GIS developed in this study combines statistical Generalized Additive Modelling and standard GIS methods. Analysis of fourteen biannual fishery independent biomass surveys, disaggregated by life history stage, revealed that a nursery area for immature fish (<23 cm TL or < 4 years of age) exists on the Central Agulhas Bank. After sexual maturation, approximately 40% of the biomass migrated eastwards, colonising large areas of the Eastern Agulhas Bank.ilie location of the nursery area appears to be a result of the pelagic eggs and larvae being advected towards the coast in an anti-cyclonic gyre, stemming off the Agulhas current and later deposited over the Central Agulhas Bank. The weak bottom currents on the Central Agulhas Bank prevented juvenile loss to the Benguela system. The eurytopy of adult fish to various physical variables such as temperature, dissolved oxygen and stronger currents enabled it to reduce conspecific competition and migrate eastwards with distribution primarily determined by depth. Relative biomass estimates revealed a gradual increase in biomass of 5.5% per annum between 1988 and 1995. Predictions from yield-per-recruit, biomass-per-recruit and spawner biomass-per-recruit analyses showed that there was scope for further exploitation. A FSB₅₀ fishing strategy was considered to be the most appropriate fishing strategy as it did not reduce the spawner biomass-per-recruit to less than 50% of unexploited levels. Effort control was considered the most effective management tool as the age-at-50%-selectivity occurred after age-at-sexual maturity and releasing undersized fish was undesirable due to heavy mortalities resulting from severe barotrauma. The panga resource was also assessed using an age-structured production model. The values for the free parameters of the model were estimated using biomass indices derived from fishery-independent trawl surveys. Although the data were fairly uninformative about the productivity of the resource, the results indicated robustly, that the population has recovered from low levels in the mid-1970's and could sustain higher levels of fishing intensity. Risk analysis calculations were used to assess the sustainability of different catch scenarios. The level of sustainable catch was found to be sensitive to the selectivity pattern of the gear utilised. Both stock assessment methods used in this study to investigate the status of the panga resource showed that the resource could theoretically sustain higher catches. It was found that although the stock could be harvested using available fishing methods, the sympatry of this species with other commercial species was of concern as the latter would form a significant bycatch in a panga directed fishery. The failure of current harvesting methods to address the bycatch problem highlights the management problem in South Africa and stresses the need for creativity by both scientists and fishers in designing new and improved methods for selectively harvesting bycatch fish resources. Considering that no suitable method is currently available to fish the panga stock in a directed fishery the fishery should be managed as status quo until some suitable and efficient gear is developed.
- Full Text:
Camphor-derived chiral auxiliaries in asymmetric synthesis
- Authors: Molema, Warner Evert
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Asymmetric synthesis Chirality Camphor
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4417 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006848
- Description: The investigation has been focussed largely on the chemistry and stereo-directing potential of camphor-derived compounds. The major regioisomer produced on partial hydrolysis of N-benzylcamphorimide was identified, by one- and two-dimensional NMR and X-ray crystallography, as (+)-(1S,3R)-(N-enzylcarbamoyl)-2,3,3-trimethylcyclopentanecarboxylic acid, the methyl ester of which was shown to undergo an unexpected intramolecular rearrangement during LAH reduction to afford (1S,3R)-Nbenzyl-3-hydroxymethyl-2,2,3-trimethylcyclopentane carboxamide. Several tartrate- and camphor-derived diols have been investigated as chiral auxiliaries in various asymmetric reactions of corresponding acetals of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes. MCPBA epoxidation of the tartrate-derived acetals afforded epoxy acetals in 4-12% diastereomeric excess. The camphor-derived acetals were obtained solely as the exosubstituted diastereomers, the stereochemistry being confirmed by two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. Simmons-Smith cyclopropanation of these camphor-derived acetals afforded cyclopropyl products with diastereoselectivities of 4% d.e. for the bornane-2,10-diol acetal and 46->99% d.e. for the bomane-2,3-diol acetals. In order to increase diastereofacial selectivity, a camphor-derived diol having a bulky substituent at C-10 was prepared, viz., phenyl 2,3-dihydroxybomane-10sulfonate, and α,β-unsaturated acetals of this diol were shown to undergo Simmons-Smith cyclopropanation with complete topological control (>99% d.e.), the diastereoselectivities being conveniently determined by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Computer modelling, with the software package HYPERCHEM®, was used to explore the stereochemical aspects of the Simmons-Smith cyclopropanation, and hydrolysis of one of the cyclopropyl acetals has permitted the diastereoselective bias to be confirmed. (+)-Pinane-2,3-diol was also investigated as a chiral auxiliary in the Simmons-Smith reactions of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes, and moderate diastereoselectivities (20-30% d.e.) were observed. In a series of exploratory studies, the Diels-Alder reaction of the 2,3-dihydroxybomane-10-sulfonate acetal of trans-cinnamaldehyde with cyclopentadiene afforded a single cycloadduct, while OSO₄ dihydroxylation, MCPBA oxidation and alkylation of chiral acetals produced from both bomane-2,3-diol and phenyl 2,3-dihydroxybomane-10-sulfonate were less selective.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Molema, Warner Evert
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Asymmetric synthesis Chirality Camphor
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4417 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006848
- Description: The investigation has been focussed largely on the chemistry and stereo-directing potential of camphor-derived compounds. The major regioisomer produced on partial hydrolysis of N-benzylcamphorimide was identified, by one- and two-dimensional NMR and X-ray crystallography, as (+)-(1S,3R)-(N-enzylcarbamoyl)-2,3,3-trimethylcyclopentanecarboxylic acid, the methyl ester of which was shown to undergo an unexpected intramolecular rearrangement during LAH reduction to afford (1S,3R)-Nbenzyl-3-hydroxymethyl-2,2,3-trimethylcyclopentane carboxamide. Several tartrate- and camphor-derived diols have been investigated as chiral auxiliaries in various asymmetric reactions of corresponding acetals of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes. MCPBA epoxidation of the tartrate-derived acetals afforded epoxy acetals in 4-12% diastereomeric excess. The camphor-derived acetals were obtained solely as the exosubstituted diastereomers, the stereochemistry being confirmed by two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. Simmons-Smith cyclopropanation of these camphor-derived acetals afforded cyclopropyl products with diastereoselectivities of 4% d.e. for the bornane-2,10-diol acetal and 46->99% d.e. for the bomane-2,3-diol acetals. In order to increase diastereofacial selectivity, a camphor-derived diol having a bulky substituent at C-10 was prepared, viz., phenyl 2,3-dihydroxybomane-10sulfonate, and α,β-unsaturated acetals of this diol were shown to undergo Simmons-Smith cyclopropanation with complete topological control (>99% d.e.), the diastereoselectivities being conveniently determined by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Computer modelling, with the software package HYPERCHEM®, was used to explore the stereochemical aspects of the Simmons-Smith cyclopropanation, and hydrolysis of one of the cyclopropyl acetals has permitted the diastereoselective bias to be confirmed. (+)-Pinane-2,3-diol was also investigated as a chiral auxiliary in the Simmons-Smith reactions of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes, and moderate diastereoselectivities (20-30% d.e.) were observed. In a series of exploratory studies, the Diels-Alder reaction of the 2,3-dihydroxybomane-10-sulfonate acetal of trans-cinnamaldehyde with cyclopentadiene afforded a single cycloadduct, while OSO₄ dihydroxylation, MCPBA oxidation and alkylation of chiral acetals produced from both bomane-2,3-diol and phenyl 2,3-dihydroxybomane-10-sulfonate were less selective.
- Full Text:
F C Erasmus and the politics of South African defence, 1948-1959
- Authors: Boulter, Roger Stephen
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Erasmus, F C (Francois Christiaan) South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1948-1961 South Africa -- Armed Forces -- History South Africa -- Military policy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2534 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002386
- Description: FC Erasmus became South Africa's defence minister in 1948 after two decades as a leading political organiser for the National Party. Although an architect of the Nationalists' post-war election victory he was not considered a minister of the first rank. Erasmus initiated a process of ridding the defence force of officers who he believed were associated with the Smuts government and replacing them with party supporters. As a result the military often lost experienced and talented officers. Erasmus felt that the armed services had been too British in ethos and appearance. He inaugurated tighter regulations on bi-lingualism, reintroduced boer rank titles, launched new uniforms and original medals and decorations, to the acclaim of the volk. His purpose was to have a defence force which was uniquely South African. Many of his policies came under attack not only from the United Party but also groups such as the Torch Commando and the veterans organisations. With the apparent lack of an imminent military threat to the apartheid government Erasmus never received substantial budgetary allocations from finance ministers. The defence force, one without conscription, remained small with largely antiquated equipment for the important air and land forces. However by the decade's end the navy was gradually receiving modern ships under the terms of the Simonstown agreement, which Erasmus had negotiated with Britain. The events of the Sharpeville crisis, just after Erasmus left defence, demonstrated that the armed forces as moulded by the minister were in poor condition to assist the civil power in suppressing disturbances. Overseas Erasmus hoped to increase the acceptability of the Union as a defence partner among Western countries by providing personnel for the Berlin Air Lift and the Korean conflict and promising a contingent for the Middle East. He attempted unsuccessfully to instigate anti-communist alliances for the land and maritime defence of Africa when the European powers were leaving the continent. These actions were primarily to obtain political support for the Union, whose prestige was rapidly decreasing as apartheid became better known. The external initiatives with the exception of the Simonstown naval agreements were not lasting.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Boulter, Roger Stephen
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Erasmus, F C (Francois Christiaan) South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1948-1961 South Africa -- Armed Forces -- History South Africa -- Military policy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2534 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002386
- Description: FC Erasmus became South Africa's defence minister in 1948 after two decades as a leading political organiser for the National Party. Although an architect of the Nationalists' post-war election victory he was not considered a minister of the first rank. Erasmus initiated a process of ridding the defence force of officers who he believed were associated with the Smuts government and replacing them with party supporters. As a result the military often lost experienced and talented officers. Erasmus felt that the armed services had been too British in ethos and appearance. He inaugurated tighter regulations on bi-lingualism, reintroduced boer rank titles, launched new uniforms and original medals and decorations, to the acclaim of the volk. His purpose was to have a defence force which was uniquely South African. Many of his policies came under attack not only from the United Party but also groups such as the Torch Commando and the veterans organisations. With the apparent lack of an imminent military threat to the apartheid government Erasmus never received substantial budgetary allocations from finance ministers. The defence force, one without conscription, remained small with largely antiquated equipment for the important air and land forces. However by the decade's end the navy was gradually receiving modern ships under the terms of the Simonstown agreement, which Erasmus had negotiated with Britain. The events of the Sharpeville crisis, just after Erasmus left defence, demonstrated that the armed forces as moulded by the minister were in poor condition to assist the civil power in suppressing disturbances. Overseas Erasmus hoped to increase the acceptability of the Union as a defence partner among Western countries by providing personnel for the Berlin Air Lift and the Korean conflict and promising a contingent for the Middle East. He attempted unsuccessfully to instigate anti-communist alliances for the land and maritime defence of Africa when the European powers were leaving the continent. These actions were primarily to obtain political support for the Union, whose prestige was rapidly decreasing as apartheid became better known. The external initiatives with the exception of the Simonstown naval agreements were not lasting.
- Full Text:
Family diversity : a South African perspective focusing on Whites in Grahamstown
- Authors: Ziehl, Susan C
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Families -- History -- Research Families -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Families Families -- Research -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3341 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004467
- Description: Drawing on developments in the field of family history and studies of families in contemporary settings, the study addresses the question of explaining variations in household patterns. Its empirical basis is a survey of White households in Grahamstown. The surveyed population was broken down in terms of class (occupation) and culture (language) and analyses conducted to determine if there are any statistically significant relationships between these variables and the tendency to reside in particular household structures. The question of 'family ideology' was also addressed as an attempt was made to uncover subjects' views on a variety of family-related issues. On the basis of the research results, a model of the relationship between class, culture and household structure was developed. Its application to a comparison of Black and White household structures in South Africa as well as the United States, is discussed. Finally, attempts at redefining the family are addressed and a new definition of the family proposed.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Ziehl, Susan C
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Families -- History -- Research Families -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Families Families -- Research -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3341 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004467
- Description: Drawing on developments in the field of family history and studies of families in contemporary settings, the study addresses the question of explaining variations in household patterns. Its empirical basis is a survey of White households in Grahamstown. The surveyed population was broken down in terms of class (occupation) and culture (language) and analyses conducted to determine if there are any statistically significant relationships between these variables and the tendency to reside in particular household structures. The question of 'family ideology' was also addressed as an attempt was made to uncover subjects' views on a variety of family-related issues. On the basis of the research results, a model of the relationship between class, culture and household structure was developed. Its application to a comparison of Black and White household structures in South Africa as well as the United States, is discussed. Finally, attempts at redefining the family are addressed and a new definition of the family proposed.
- Full Text:
Group problem solving among community activists in a South African setting: an everyday cognition approach
- Authors: Van Vlaenderen, Hilde
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Group problem solving Group problem solving -- South Africa Cross-cultural studies -- Methodology Cognition Cross-cultural studies Cognition -- Research
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3080 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002589
- Description: The study focuses on the everyday problem solving processes of a group of community activists in a rural setting in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It aims to uncover: first, the local knowledge of the participants of the study with reference to the concepts problem and problem solving; second, the participants' group problem solving procedure; and third, the dialectical interrelation between the participants' knowledge and practice with reference to everyday group problem solving. It is contended that the mainstream cognitive approach and the cross-cultural tradition are inappropriate for the study of everyday cognitive processes. A ‘situated cognition’ approach, based on the notions of activity and cultural mediation, is proposed as a theoretical framework for the study. The ontological and epistemological assumptions underpinning the empirical study were derived from a scientific realist and a hermeneutical paradigm. Data for the inquiry into the local knowledge of the participants was collected through individual interviews. The data was interpreted, using the grounded theory techniques of constant comparison, coding and compiling theoretical diagrams. Data for the inquiry into the participants' group problem solving practice consisted of video-taped group problem solving processes. This data was analysed, using a multi layered process of progressively deeper interpretation, employing a reading guide technique. Analysis of the research data revealed that the participants perceived a problem as an impediment to satisfactory participation in society. Problem solving was considered as an emotive, cognitive and inter-active process, involving particular role players. This process had a certain structure, involved attitudes and actions and relied on particular resources. Successful problem solving was perceived to result in restoration of social equilibrium. The group problem solving procedure used by the participants consisted of a process of developing a common understanding and group consensus. The strategies employed in the process, the roles played by the participants, the rules adhered to by the participants and the structure underlying the process were all congruent with these aims. There was a mutually reinforcing interrelation between knowledge and practice with reference to the participants’ problem solving.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Van Vlaenderen, Hilde
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Group problem solving Group problem solving -- South Africa Cross-cultural studies -- Methodology Cognition Cross-cultural studies Cognition -- Research
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3080 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002589
- Description: The study focuses on the everyday problem solving processes of a group of community activists in a rural setting in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It aims to uncover: first, the local knowledge of the participants of the study with reference to the concepts problem and problem solving; second, the participants' group problem solving procedure; and third, the dialectical interrelation between the participants' knowledge and practice with reference to everyday group problem solving. It is contended that the mainstream cognitive approach and the cross-cultural tradition are inappropriate for the study of everyday cognitive processes. A ‘situated cognition’ approach, based on the notions of activity and cultural mediation, is proposed as a theoretical framework for the study. The ontological and epistemological assumptions underpinning the empirical study were derived from a scientific realist and a hermeneutical paradigm. Data for the inquiry into the local knowledge of the participants was collected through individual interviews. The data was interpreted, using the grounded theory techniques of constant comparison, coding and compiling theoretical diagrams. Data for the inquiry into the participants' group problem solving practice consisted of video-taped group problem solving processes. This data was analysed, using a multi layered process of progressively deeper interpretation, employing a reading guide technique. Analysis of the research data revealed that the participants perceived a problem as an impediment to satisfactory participation in society. Problem solving was considered as an emotive, cognitive and inter-active process, involving particular role players. This process had a certain structure, involved attitudes and actions and relied on particular resources. Successful problem solving was perceived to result in restoration of social equilibrium. The group problem solving procedure used by the participants consisted of a process of developing a common understanding and group consensus. The strategies employed in the process, the roles played by the participants, the rules adhered to by the participants and the structure underlying the process were all congruent with these aims. There was a mutually reinforcing interrelation between knowledge and practice with reference to the participants’ problem solving.
- Full Text:
Growth, reproduction and feeding biology of Turbo sarmaticus (Mollusca : Vetigastropoda) along the coast of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa
- Authors: Foster, Gregory George
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Turbinidae -- Ecology -- Research -- South Africa Turbinidae -- Research -- South Africa Mollusks -- Research -- South Africa Abalones -- Ecology -- South Africa -- Research
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5705 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005391
- Description: Investigations were carried out on aspects of the biology of the vetigastropod Turbo sarmaticus. Studies included: 1) the distribution and standing stock of this animal at four sites along the coast of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa; 2) the growth rate of animals on a wave-cut platform; 3) the reproductive cycle of an intertidal population; and 4) aspects of the feeding biology examining the ability of this mollusc to consume and digest six macroalgae, the influence of algal diet on growth rate and reproductive fitness and the polysaccharolytic activity of the digestive enzymes. On eastern Cape shores, T. sarmaticus had a size related distribution, with smaller animals being found towards the upper mid-shore and larger animals being found in a downshore direction. The mean shore densities of T. sarmaticus at three sites where exploitation of animals was minimal, were very similar (1.2 - 1.7 individuals/m²). The largest animals (up to 110 mm shell length) were found on an offshore island. This may have been a result of animals not being exploited, as well as a possible increase in primary productivity and food availability. The lowest density (0.2 individuals/m²) and animal size (<70 mm shell length) was recorded at a site (Kelly's beach - Port Alfred) where exploitation was more intense. It is probable that intense overexploitation was threatening the populations at this site. The growth rate of T. sarmaticus was determined by means of the von Bertalanffy growth model and expressed by the equation L[subscript]t = 81.07(l-e⁻°·⁵⁴⁴[superscript](t)). The initial growth rate of T. sarmaticus (up to ≈ 80 mm shell length) was similar on shores with different geomorphologies (i.e. boulder shores and wave-cut platforms). Growth rates of individuals were variable, which means that individuals within a population reached exploitable size (3 - 6 years old) and sexual maturity (1.5 - 2 years old) at different ages. Seasonality of reproduction of T. sarmaticus was determined using gonad index, egg diameters and spermatozoa content within the gonad. Turbo sarmaticus was dioecious and had a sex ratio in favour of males (1.2: 1). Animals attained sexual maturity at a size of about 52.5 mm shell length. There was little variation in the reproductive cycle over time with gametogenesis occurring from March/April until August/September, whilst maturity (Gonad Index = 15%) was maintained until the spawning event from December to March. After spawning the gonad regressed. Field and laboratory observations of the feeding biology of T. sarmaticus confirmed that this mollusc was a generalist grazer capable of consuming and digesting algae from the Rhodophyta, Chlorophyta and Phaeophyta. The consumption rates (juveniles: 1.45 - 9.50% body weight/day, adults: 1.06 - 6.08%) and digestibility (9 - 75% apparent dry matter) of six macroalgae was found to vary. For most algae, juvenile T. sarmaticus had higher consumption rates (1.6 - 2.8 times higher) and digestibility values (12 - 24% higher) than adults. It is suggested that consumption rates were dependent on the digestibility of the algae. In addition, it is suggested that the consumption rates of the different algae were not related to the nutritional content, but rather the energetic content of the algae. In both juvenile and adult animals, temperature had a positive influence on consumption rates, resulting in an increase at higher temperatures. However, in both juvenile and adult T. sarmaticus, algal digestibility was not affected by temperature. Finally, it was proposed that Viva rigida, Codium extricatum, Ecklonia radiata and Gelidium pristoides would provide the best nutritional value for growth and reproductive fitness in T. sarmaticus, whilst Jyengaria stellata and Corallina spp. would provide the poorest. Experiments on the effects of four algal diets on the biology of T. sarmaticus showed that the best growth rate (up to 13.8 mm shell length increase per annum), reproductive fitness (Gonad Index up to 33%) and energy levels (up to 4.76% glycogen in the foot) were achieved when T. sarmaticus was fed G. pristoides, U. rigid a or a mixed diet. Turbo sarmaticus fed Corallina spp. showed reduced growth (2.4 mm shell length increase), reproductive fitness (Gonad Index up to 4.4%) and energy levels (up to 3.42% glycogen in the foot). A study of the polysaccharolytic enzyme activity of T. sarmaticus indicated that this mollusc possesses enzymes that can, at least partially, digest most of the storage and structural polysaccharides found in the Chlorophyta, Rhodophyta and Phaeophyta. This further supported the findings that T. sarmaticus was a generalist grazer. Two levels of activity were detected: 1) high levels of enzyme activity (up to 328.2 Ilglmglmllhr)occurred on the storage polysaccharides that occur in the Rhodophyta and Chlorophyta, and 2) lower levels of activity were detected on the storage polysaccharides (up to 44.8 μg/mg/ml/hr) of the Phaeophyta and on all the structural polysaccharides tested (<45.5 μg/mg/ml/hr). It was suggested that T. sarmaticus did not rely heavily on structural carbohydrates as a source of carbon. Finally, the results of this study were discussed in relation to the future management of T. sarmaticus stocks, the possible role of this macro algal grazer in the intertidal zone and the effects of over-exploitation of this animal. The potential aquaculture of this mollusc was also addressed briefly.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Foster, Gregory George
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Turbinidae -- Ecology -- Research -- South Africa Turbinidae -- Research -- South Africa Mollusks -- Research -- South Africa Abalones -- Ecology -- South Africa -- Research
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5705 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005391
- Description: Investigations were carried out on aspects of the biology of the vetigastropod Turbo sarmaticus. Studies included: 1) the distribution and standing stock of this animal at four sites along the coast of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa; 2) the growth rate of animals on a wave-cut platform; 3) the reproductive cycle of an intertidal population; and 4) aspects of the feeding biology examining the ability of this mollusc to consume and digest six macroalgae, the influence of algal diet on growth rate and reproductive fitness and the polysaccharolytic activity of the digestive enzymes. On eastern Cape shores, T. sarmaticus had a size related distribution, with smaller animals being found towards the upper mid-shore and larger animals being found in a downshore direction. The mean shore densities of T. sarmaticus at three sites where exploitation of animals was minimal, were very similar (1.2 - 1.7 individuals/m²). The largest animals (up to 110 mm shell length) were found on an offshore island. This may have been a result of animals not being exploited, as well as a possible increase in primary productivity and food availability. The lowest density (0.2 individuals/m²) and animal size (<70 mm shell length) was recorded at a site (Kelly's beach - Port Alfred) where exploitation was more intense. It is probable that intense overexploitation was threatening the populations at this site. The growth rate of T. sarmaticus was determined by means of the von Bertalanffy growth model and expressed by the equation L[subscript]t = 81.07(l-e⁻°·⁵⁴⁴[superscript](t)). The initial growth rate of T. sarmaticus (up to ≈ 80 mm shell length) was similar on shores with different geomorphologies (i.e. boulder shores and wave-cut platforms). Growth rates of individuals were variable, which means that individuals within a population reached exploitable size (3 - 6 years old) and sexual maturity (1.5 - 2 years old) at different ages. Seasonality of reproduction of T. sarmaticus was determined using gonad index, egg diameters and spermatozoa content within the gonad. Turbo sarmaticus was dioecious and had a sex ratio in favour of males (1.2: 1). Animals attained sexual maturity at a size of about 52.5 mm shell length. There was little variation in the reproductive cycle over time with gametogenesis occurring from March/April until August/September, whilst maturity (Gonad Index = 15%) was maintained until the spawning event from December to March. After spawning the gonad regressed. Field and laboratory observations of the feeding biology of T. sarmaticus confirmed that this mollusc was a generalist grazer capable of consuming and digesting algae from the Rhodophyta, Chlorophyta and Phaeophyta. The consumption rates (juveniles: 1.45 - 9.50% body weight/day, adults: 1.06 - 6.08%) and digestibility (9 - 75% apparent dry matter) of six macroalgae was found to vary. For most algae, juvenile T. sarmaticus had higher consumption rates (1.6 - 2.8 times higher) and digestibility values (12 - 24% higher) than adults. It is suggested that consumption rates were dependent on the digestibility of the algae. In addition, it is suggested that the consumption rates of the different algae were not related to the nutritional content, but rather the energetic content of the algae. In both juvenile and adult animals, temperature had a positive influence on consumption rates, resulting in an increase at higher temperatures. However, in both juvenile and adult T. sarmaticus, algal digestibility was not affected by temperature. Finally, it was proposed that Viva rigida, Codium extricatum, Ecklonia radiata and Gelidium pristoides would provide the best nutritional value for growth and reproductive fitness in T. sarmaticus, whilst Jyengaria stellata and Corallina spp. would provide the poorest. Experiments on the effects of four algal diets on the biology of T. sarmaticus showed that the best growth rate (up to 13.8 mm shell length increase per annum), reproductive fitness (Gonad Index up to 33%) and energy levels (up to 4.76% glycogen in the foot) were achieved when T. sarmaticus was fed G. pristoides, U. rigid a or a mixed diet. Turbo sarmaticus fed Corallina spp. showed reduced growth (2.4 mm shell length increase), reproductive fitness (Gonad Index up to 4.4%) and energy levels (up to 3.42% glycogen in the foot). A study of the polysaccharolytic enzyme activity of T. sarmaticus indicated that this mollusc possesses enzymes that can, at least partially, digest most of the storage and structural polysaccharides found in the Chlorophyta, Rhodophyta and Phaeophyta. This further supported the findings that T. sarmaticus was a generalist grazer. Two levels of activity were detected: 1) high levels of enzyme activity (up to 328.2 Ilglmglmllhr)occurred on the storage polysaccharides that occur in the Rhodophyta and Chlorophyta, and 2) lower levels of activity were detected on the storage polysaccharides (up to 44.8 μg/mg/ml/hr) of the Phaeophyta and on all the structural polysaccharides tested (<45.5 μg/mg/ml/hr). It was suggested that T. sarmaticus did not rely heavily on structural carbohydrates as a source of carbon. Finally, the results of this study were discussed in relation to the future management of T. sarmaticus stocks, the possible role of this macro algal grazer in the intertidal zone and the effects of over-exploitation of this animal. The potential aquaculture of this mollusc was also addressed briefly.
- Full Text:
Nifedipine-cyclodextrin binary systems : solid-state photostability and dissolution behaviour
- Worthington, Matthew Stanley
- Authors: Worthington, Matthew Stanley
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Nifedipine Calcium -- Antagonists Cyclodextrins Cyclodextrins in pharmaceutical technology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3830 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007233
- Description: Nifedipine is a photolabile calcium channel antagonist which undergoes rapid photodegradation in solution and in solid-state with an accompanying loss of pharmacological potency and clinical efficacy. Nifedipine photostabilization which has received considerable attention has principally been achieved by physical obscuration and through the use of colourants or ultraviolet light absorbers incorporated into liquid preparations, translucent packaging materials, gelatin capsules and/or their fillings and tablet coatings or cores. This study was initiated by a South African pharmaceutical manufacturer in response to increasing evidence that cyclodextrin (CD) inclusion complexation may improve drug photostability. The brief was to evaluate the potential of selected cyclodextrins as photoprotecting agents for nifedipine in the solid-state. Areas of investigation included i) quantitative method development and validation for selective determination of nifedipine, ii) phase solubility studies to establish the solubilizing potential and complexing tendencies of selected cyclodextrins, iii) preparation of solid-state nifedipine - cyclodextrin binary systems using an industrially applicable method, iv) pre-formulation photostability studies to determine the effects of the cyclodextrins on solid-state nifedipine photostability and v) comparative in vitro dissolution assessments of nifedipine, the nifedipine - cyclodextrin binary systems and their respective physical mixtures. Phase solubility studies demonstrated that soluble nifedipine - cyclodextrin complexes were formed in aqueous solution, but the magnitude of the interactions were generally low as reflected by the calculated stability constants which decreased in the rank order, heptakis (2,6-dimethyI)-β-CD (DM-β-CD) > randomly methylated-β-CD (RM-β-CD) > β-CD ≈ 2-hydroxypropyl-β-CD (2HP-β- CD) > γ-CD ≥ 2-hydroxypropyl-γ-CD (2HP-γ-CD). An industrially applicable kneading method yielded binary systems with spectral and thermal characteristics similar to the respective physical mixtures, implying weak solid-state inclusion complexation. Preparation of an amorphous nifedipine - RM-β-CD product using a heating method is reported. A 1.7- and 1.9-fold improvement in solid-state nifedipine photostability was observed for I : 1 molar ratio β-CD and γ-CD kneaded products, respectively, when exposed to window-filtered daylight and could be attributed to changes in opacity of the crystalline kneaded products. The remaining cyclodextrins produced negligible nifedipine photostabilization. Nifedipine in vitro dissolution was improved considerably from γ-CD and RM-β-CD .kneaded products as a result of increased nifedipine wettability, solubility and reduced particle size. iii
- Full Text:
- Authors: Worthington, Matthew Stanley
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Nifedipine Calcium -- Antagonists Cyclodextrins Cyclodextrins in pharmaceutical technology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3830 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007233
- Description: Nifedipine is a photolabile calcium channel antagonist which undergoes rapid photodegradation in solution and in solid-state with an accompanying loss of pharmacological potency and clinical efficacy. Nifedipine photostabilization which has received considerable attention has principally been achieved by physical obscuration and through the use of colourants or ultraviolet light absorbers incorporated into liquid preparations, translucent packaging materials, gelatin capsules and/or their fillings and tablet coatings or cores. This study was initiated by a South African pharmaceutical manufacturer in response to increasing evidence that cyclodextrin (CD) inclusion complexation may improve drug photostability. The brief was to evaluate the potential of selected cyclodextrins as photoprotecting agents for nifedipine in the solid-state. Areas of investigation included i) quantitative method development and validation for selective determination of nifedipine, ii) phase solubility studies to establish the solubilizing potential and complexing tendencies of selected cyclodextrins, iii) preparation of solid-state nifedipine - cyclodextrin binary systems using an industrially applicable method, iv) pre-formulation photostability studies to determine the effects of the cyclodextrins on solid-state nifedipine photostability and v) comparative in vitro dissolution assessments of nifedipine, the nifedipine - cyclodextrin binary systems and their respective physical mixtures. Phase solubility studies demonstrated that soluble nifedipine - cyclodextrin complexes were formed in aqueous solution, but the magnitude of the interactions were generally low as reflected by the calculated stability constants which decreased in the rank order, heptakis (2,6-dimethyI)-β-CD (DM-β-CD) > randomly methylated-β-CD (RM-β-CD) > β-CD ≈ 2-hydroxypropyl-β-CD (2HP-β- CD) > γ-CD ≥ 2-hydroxypropyl-γ-CD (2HP-γ-CD). An industrially applicable kneading method yielded binary systems with spectral and thermal characteristics similar to the respective physical mixtures, implying weak solid-state inclusion complexation. Preparation of an amorphous nifedipine - RM-β-CD product using a heating method is reported. A 1.7- and 1.9-fold improvement in solid-state nifedipine photostability was observed for I : 1 molar ratio β-CD and γ-CD kneaded products, respectively, when exposed to window-filtered daylight and could be attributed to changes in opacity of the crystalline kneaded products. The remaining cyclodextrins produced negligible nifedipine photostabilization. Nifedipine in vitro dissolution was improved considerably from γ-CD and RM-β-CD .kneaded products as a result of increased nifedipine wettability, solubility and reduced particle size. iii
- Full Text:
Removal and recovery of heavy metals from synthetic solutions and electroplating effluents using yeast and the water fern Azolla filiculoides
- Authors: Zhao, Ming
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Heavy metals -- Environmental aspects Azolla filiculoides -- Biological control Aquatic weeds -- Biological control Yeast Metal ions Yeast fungi -- Biotechnology Cations
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4001 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004061
- Description: The aims of the project were twofold. The initial objective of the study, based on previous results, was to develop an economically viable methodology for immobilizing yeast cells for the treatment of heavy metal-laden waste water. The non-viable yeast cross-linked by 13% (w/v) formaldehyde/1N HNO₃ exhibited satisfactory mechanical strength and rigidity in a continuous-flow column operation. No apparent disruption of the biomass after repeated use was observed. The cost of immobilizing 1kg dry yeast pellets was estimated at less than US$I. Zn uptake capacity of FA-cross-linked pellets, on batch trials, remained similar to that of raw yeast, reflecting that the immobilizing procedure did not hinder its metal removing capacity. In column studies, cation metals were effectively removed by the yeast pellets from aqueous solution at natural pHs, and then recovered completely by washing the pellets in situ with O.1M HCl. The recovered metals were concentrated in such small volumes that recycling or precipitation of them was facilitated. The metal uptake capacity of the regenerated biomass remained constant in comparison with cycle 1, indicating that reuse of the yeast would be possible. In the case of Cr⁶⁺, a gradual breakthrough curve of Cr in the column profile was noted, with a simultaneous reduction of Cr⁶⁺ to Cr³⁺. However, Cr⁶⁺ in the effluent can be markedly minimised either by accumulation onto the biomass or reduction to its trivalent form. Desorption of bound Cr⁶⁺ with either alkali or salt could not accomplish the regeneration of the biomass. A combination of reduction and desorption with FA/HNO₃ appeared promising in regeneration of the saturated biomass at 4°C. The metal sorption capacities of the yeast pellets, on a batch or a fixed-bed system are relatively lower than that of documented sorbents. Apparently more of the yeast pellets would be required for treating a certain volume of waste effluent, than with other sorbents. Therefore Azolla filiculoides was examined as a suitable sorbent for this purpose. This constitutes the second part of the project. Azolla filiculoides, a naturally-abundant water fern, was screened for its metal sorption and recovering capacities, mechanical stability, flow-permeability and reusability. The azolla biomass appeared to have fulfilled the required mechanical criteria during the repeated sorption-desorption column operations. It is water-insoluble and appears flexible under pressure when rinsed with water. These characters are of crucial importance in a continuous-flow system since a column can be operated at high flow rates without apparent compact of the biomass and pressure loss. Therefore, immobilization of the biomass can be avoided. The sorption isotherm data, obtained from batch removal of Cr⁶⁺, showed that the sorption process was effective, endothermic and highly pH dependent. Considerable amounts of Cr⁶⁺ were accumulated at the optimum pHs of 2-2.5. Column sorption of Cr⁶⁺ at a low flow rate and pH of 2.5 showed optimum performance with a total Cr uptake of 50.4mg/g at 60% saturation of the biomass. Removal of Cr⁶⁺ from an electroplating effluent using an azolla column was deemed reasonably satisfactory, although the uptake declined slightly. Desorption of bound Cr⁶⁺ with various desorbents was incomplete, which resulted in a low regeneration efficiency of about 50%. However, removal and recovery of Cr³⁺ using the azolla column was than that of Cr⁶⁺. Desorption of Cr³⁺ from the spent biomass column was accomplished with the recovery of 80% using O.5N H₂SO₄, The regeneration efficiencies for Cr³⁺ removal were up to 90% and demonstrated that the biomass is reusable. Cation metal uptake capacities of azolla, obtained either from batch or column experiments, are reasonably high in comparison with other sorbents. The uptake of Ni or Zn ions from solution is pH dependent showing the optimum pH of around 6 to 6.5, under the current experimental conditions. The sorption kinetics for cation metals was rapid with about 80% of the bound Ni ions being taken up in the first 10 min. The character of rapid binding is extremely important in a column sorption process, especially on a large scale since it favours an optimum uptake of metals at high flow rates. The Ni or Zn uptakes in column sorption were not markedly affected when the flow rates were increased from 80mllh up to 800ml/h for the 5g biomass used. The cation heavy metals removed from waste effluents were recovered in a concentrated solution of small volume. The desorption of bound Ni and Zn ions from the saturated biomass was accomplished with either O.2N HCl or H₂SO₄ that resulted in recoveries of more than 95%. The metals recovered, in the case of Ni and Zn, are identical to that of plating agents ego nickel sulphate or chloride, so that recycling of the metals is possible. An effluent-free, closed loop of Ni or Zn treatment system was proposed, whereby the Ni or Zn ions can be recycled to the plating bath whilst the purified water is fed back to the rinse tanks. Ca and Mg ions, commonly present in the electroplating effluents, appeared to affect sorption of heavy metals by azolla when metal concentrations were relatively low, presumedly through its competitive binding for the shared sites on surfaces of azolla. The data obtained from column sorption of Ni and Zn follows the BDST model well, enabling the application of the model to predicting design parameters for scale-up of the biosorption column system. It is interesting that the values of metal uptake, expressed in molar quantities, obtained on respective single-metal solutions and the multiple metal system, are similar, implying that the mechanisms involved in the sorption of all metal cations are similar and that the binding sites on surfaces of azolla are probably shared by all cation metals. The surface of the biomass provides sites for metal binding estimated in the range of 0.45-0.57mmol/g, based on the current experiments. The biomass has a surface area of 429 m²/g and water retention of 14.3 ml/g. The functional groups on the surface of azolla were partially identified using chemical modification and metal binding comparison. Among the functional groups examined, carboxyl groups, provided by amino acids and polysaccharides, appeared to play an important role in metal cation binding. The infrared spectra of the samples support this conclusion.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Zhao, Ming
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Heavy metals -- Environmental aspects Azolla filiculoides -- Biological control Aquatic weeds -- Biological control Yeast Metal ions Yeast fungi -- Biotechnology Cations
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4001 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004061
- Description: The aims of the project were twofold. The initial objective of the study, based on previous results, was to develop an economically viable methodology for immobilizing yeast cells for the treatment of heavy metal-laden waste water. The non-viable yeast cross-linked by 13% (w/v) formaldehyde/1N HNO₃ exhibited satisfactory mechanical strength and rigidity in a continuous-flow column operation. No apparent disruption of the biomass after repeated use was observed. The cost of immobilizing 1kg dry yeast pellets was estimated at less than US$I. Zn uptake capacity of FA-cross-linked pellets, on batch trials, remained similar to that of raw yeast, reflecting that the immobilizing procedure did not hinder its metal removing capacity. In column studies, cation metals were effectively removed by the yeast pellets from aqueous solution at natural pHs, and then recovered completely by washing the pellets in situ with O.1M HCl. The recovered metals were concentrated in such small volumes that recycling or precipitation of them was facilitated. The metal uptake capacity of the regenerated biomass remained constant in comparison with cycle 1, indicating that reuse of the yeast would be possible. In the case of Cr⁶⁺, a gradual breakthrough curve of Cr in the column profile was noted, with a simultaneous reduction of Cr⁶⁺ to Cr³⁺. However, Cr⁶⁺ in the effluent can be markedly minimised either by accumulation onto the biomass or reduction to its trivalent form. Desorption of bound Cr⁶⁺ with either alkali or salt could not accomplish the regeneration of the biomass. A combination of reduction and desorption with FA/HNO₃ appeared promising in regeneration of the saturated biomass at 4°C. The metal sorption capacities of the yeast pellets, on a batch or a fixed-bed system are relatively lower than that of documented sorbents. Apparently more of the yeast pellets would be required for treating a certain volume of waste effluent, than with other sorbents. Therefore Azolla filiculoides was examined as a suitable sorbent for this purpose. This constitutes the second part of the project. Azolla filiculoides, a naturally-abundant water fern, was screened for its metal sorption and recovering capacities, mechanical stability, flow-permeability and reusability. The azolla biomass appeared to have fulfilled the required mechanical criteria during the repeated sorption-desorption column operations. It is water-insoluble and appears flexible under pressure when rinsed with water. These characters are of crucial importance in a continuous-flow system since a column can be operated at high flow rates without apparent compact of the biomass and pressure loss. Therefore, immobilization of the biomass can be avoided. The sorption isotherm data, obtained from batch removal of Cr⁶⁺, showed that the sorption process was effective, endothermic and highly pH dependent. Considerable amounts of Cr⁶⁺ were accumulated at the optimum pHs of 2-2.5. Column sorption of Cr⁶⁺ at a low flow rate and pH of 2.5 showed optimum performance with a total Cr uptake of 50.4mg/g at 60% saturation of the biomass. Removal of Cr⁶⁺ from an electroplating effluent using an azolla column was deemed reasonably satisfactory, although the uptake declined slightly. Desorption of bound Cr⁶⁺ with various desorbents was incomplete, which resulted in a low regeneration efficiency of about 50%. However, removal and recovery of Cr³⁺ using the azolla column was than that of Cr⁶⁺. Desorption of Cr³⁺ from the spent biomass column was accomplished with the recovery of 80% using O.5N H₂SO₄, The regeneration efficiencies for Cr³⁺ removal were up to 90% and demonstrated that the biomass is reusable. Cation metal uptake capacities of azolla, obtained either from batch or column experiments, are reasonably high in comparison with other sorbents. The uptake of Ni or Zn ions from solution is pH dependent showing the optimum pH of around 6 to 6.5, under the current experimental conditions. The sorption kinetics for cation metals was rapid with about 80% of the bound Ni ions being taken up in the first 10 min. The character of rapid binding is extremely important in a column sorption process, especially on a large scale since it favours an optimum uptake of metals at high flow rates. The Ni or Zn uptakes in column sorption were not markedly affected when the flow rates were increased from 80mllh up to 800ml/h for the 5g biomass used. The cation heavy metals removed from waste effluents were recovered in a concentrated solution of small volume. The desorption of bound Ni and Zn ions from the saturated biomass was accomplished with either O.2N HCl or H₂SO₄ that resulted in recoveries of more than 95%. The metals recovered, in the case of Ni and Zn, are identical to that of plating agents ego nickel sulphate or chloride, so that recycling of the metals is possible. An effluent-free, closed loop of Ni or Zn treatment system was proposed, whereby the Ni or Zn ions can be recycled to the plating bath whilst the purified water is fed back to the rinse tanks. Ca and Mg ions, commonly present in the electroplating effluents, appeared to affect sorption of heavy metals by azolla when metal concentrations were relatively low, presumedly through its competitive binding for the shared sites on surfaces of azolla. The data obtained from column sorption of Ni and Zn follows the BDST model well, enabling the application of the model to predicting design parameters for scale-up of the biosorption column system. It is interesting that the values of metal uptake, expressed in molar quantities, obtained on respective single-metal solutions and the multiple metal system, are similar, implying that the mechanisms involved in the sorption of all metal cations are similar and that the binding sites on surfaces of azolla are probably shared by all cation metals. The surface of the biomass provides sites for metal binding estimated in the range of 0.45-0.57mmol/g, based on the current experiments. The biomass has a surface area of 429 m²/g and water retention of 14.3 ml/g. The functional groups on the surface of azolla were partially identified using chemical modification and metal binding comparison. Among the functional groups examined, carboxyl groups, provided by amino acids and polysaccharides, appeared to play an important role in metal cation binding. The infrared spectra of the samples support this conclusion.
- Full Text:
The biotechnology of high rate algal ponding systems in the treatment of saline tannery wastewaters
- Authors: Dunn, Kevin Matthew
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Sewage lagoons Tanneries -- Waste disposal Saline waters
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4006 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004066
- Description: Salinisation has been identified as a major cause of the progressive deterioration in the public water system in South Africa. To deal with this problem Waste Stabilisation Ponding systems have been used by the Leather Processing Industry as zero-dischaJ;ge wastewater evaporation disposal processes in water-limited inland regions of the country. While effective in the evaporation disposal function these systems are plagued by the generation of serious odour nuisance creating intractable environmental problems relating to adjacent residential communities. High loading to ponds of organic compounds, sulphides and ammonia results in strongly reducing anaerobic conditions prevailing in early parts of pond cascades. These are characterised by bright red colours due to the predominance of purple photosynthetic bacteria. Sporadic micro algal blooms of Spirulina sp. and Dunaliella sp. had been previously noted to occur on the latter ponds in these cascades, and were associated with their conversion to facultative function, with aerobic surface layers, and a marked reduction in odour release. This research programme undertook an investigation of the microbial ecology of a tannery waste stabilisation ponding system to describe factors which give rise to these blooms, and to determine whether microalgal growth may be manipulated to achieve a reliable oxygengenerating capping of the anaerobic ponds. The predominance of near pure cultures of Spin/lina platensis was demonstrated for the blooms and factors restricting its growth in the system were described. These include the interaction of ammonia and sulphide toxic effects and laboratory studies were undertaken to show how effluent loading may be regulated to enable effective growth of the cyanobacterium. At appropriate dilutions of tannery effluent an enhancement of growth was noted, compared to growth in defined mineral medium. An investigation of this phenomenon provided preliminary evidence for organic uptake by the pond micro algae and a possible contribution to heterotrophic nutrition. The manipulation of Spirulina sp. growth in a High Rate Algal Pond raceway was undertaken in outdoor pilot plant studies and the effect of microalgal capping of the anaerobic ponds in the cascade was demonstrated by activating a recycle loop from a blooming facultative pond. Heavy metal contaminants were effectively eliminated by an optimisation of the primary anaerobic pond function and precipitation as metal sulphides. Biomass was harvested and dried, during which a range of methods were evaluated. Toxicological studies were undertaken on the dried biomass using Artemia and chick assays, and feed studies showed its useful application in rations for the abalone Haliotlls midae and rainbow trout Onchorhynchlls mykiss. Based on positive independent assessment of research outcomes, a decision was made by the tanning company operating the Waste Stabilisation Ponding system, to proceed to the construction of a full-scale 2 500 m2 High Rate Algal Pond raceway. This would be used for controlled Spirlilina biomass production to effect a practical capping of the anaerobic ponds in the system, and to evaluate its commercial potential in the feed market. The Advanced Integrated Wastewater Ponding System described by Oswald (1991) provided the conceptual basis for the Algal Biotechnology process development undertaken. The studies of the microbial ecology and the biotechnological potential of this system have shown that a Spirulina-based High Rate Algal Ponding process can be engineered in such a way that saline tannery effluents may be treated to effect a significant reduction in overall pollution load, that biomass may be recovered as a value added product of the treatment process and that the operational performance of Waste Stabilisation Ponding systems, and hence their immediate environment, may be improved by the use of the High Rate Algal Pond as a retrofitted upgrading unit operation.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Dunn, Kevin Matthew
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Sewage lagoons Tanneries -- Waste disposal Saline waters
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4006 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004066
- Description: Salinisation has been identified as a major cause of the progressive deterioration in the public water system in South Africa. To deal with this problem Waste Stabilisation Ponding systems have been used by the Leather Processing Industry as zero-dischaJ;ge wastewater evaporation disposal processes in water-limited inland regions of the country. While effective in the evaporation disposal function these systems are plagued by the generation of serious odour nuisance creating intractable environmental problems relating to adjacent residential communities. High loading to ponds of organic compounds, sulphides and ammonia results in strongly reducing anaerobic conditions prevailing in early parts of pond cascades. These are characterised by bright red colours due to the predominance of purple photosynthetic bacteria. Sporadic micro algal blooms of Spirulina sp. and Dunaliella sp. had been previously noted to occur on the latter ponds in these cascades, and were associated with their conversion to facultative function, with aerobic surface layers, and a marked reduction in odour release. This research programme undertook an investigation of the microbial ecology of a tannery waste stabilisation ponding system to describe factors which give rise to these blooms, and to determine whether microalgal growth may be manipulated to achieve a reliable oxygengenerating capping of the anaerobic ponds. The predominance of near pure cultures of Spin/lina platensis was demonstrated for the blooms and factors restricting its growth in the system were described. These include the interaction of ammonia and sulphide toxic effects and laboratory studies were undertaken to show how effluent loading may be regulated to enable effective growth of the cyanobacterium. At appropriate dilutions of tannery effluent an enhancement of growth was noted, compared to growth in defined mineral medium. An investigation of this phenomenon provided preliminary evidence for organic uptake by the pond micro algae and a possible contribution to heterotrophic nutrition. The manipulation of Spirulina sp. growth in a High Rate Algal Pond raceway was undertaken in outdoor pilot plant studies and the effect of microalgal capping of the anaerobic ponds in the cascade was demonstrated by activating a recycle loop from a blooming facultative pond. Heavy metal contaminants were effectively eliminated by an optimisation of the primary anaerobic pond function and precipitation as metal sulphides. Biomass was harvested and dried, during which a range of methods were evaluated. Toxicological studies were undertaken on the dried biomass using Artemia and chick assays, and feed studies showed its useful application in rations for the abalone Haliotlls midae and rainbow trout Onchorhynchlls mykiss. Based on positive independent assessment of research outcomes, a decision was made by the tanning company operating the Waste Stabilisation Ponding system, to proceed to the construction of a full-scale 2 500 m2 High Rate Algal Pond raceway. This would be used for controlled Spirlilina biomass production to effect a practical capping of the anaerobic ponds in the system, and to evaluate its commercial potential in the feed market. The Advanced Integrated Wastewater Ponding System described by Oswald (1991) provided the conceptual basis for the Algal Biotechnology process development undertaken. The studies of the microbial ecology and the biotechnological potential of this system have shown that a Spirulina-based High Rate Algal Ponding process can be engineered in such a way that saline tannery effluents may be treated to effect a significant reduction in overall pollution load, that biomass may be recovered as a value added product of the treatment process and that the operational performance of Waste Stabilisation Ponding systems, and hence their immediate environment, may be improved by the use of the High Rate Algal Pond as a retrofitted upgrading unit operation.
- Full Text:
The child witness in the accusatorial system
- Authors: Müller, Karen, 1964-
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Child witnesses , Children -- Legal status, laws, etc. , Child witnesses -- South Africa , Evidence (Law)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3715 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007708 , Child witnesses , Children -- Legal status, laws, etc. , Child witnesses -- South Africa , Evidence (Law)
- Description: For the purpose of this study tbe child witness in the accusatorial system will be viewed as a source of information. When a witness gives evidence in court, the function of the witness is to provide the court with certain information. A number of crucial questions arise when the witness is a child. Do children bave the ability to remember and relate an event accurately? Are children prone to suggestion and fantasy? What effect, if any, does the court environment have on a child 's ability to convey information? What perceptions do children have about the legal process, and how do these perceptions affect their ability to testify? Do adults influence the information which children impart by the techniques they employ to obtain such information? Accepting the hypothesis that child witnesses are sources of information, the purpose of this study is to evaluate all aspects of the criminal justice system relating to child witnesses as well as available research on children to determine whether it is possible to obtain reliable and accurate information from children. Proposals will be formulated regarding the most successful methods of obtaining reliable and accurate information from children, and how these can be adapted for use by the legal system. The purpose of the study is to develop an approach to children in the legal system that will be fair to children while at the same time protecting the rights of the accused, and which will lead to a successful method of obtaining accurate information.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Müller, Karen, 1964-
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Child witnesses , Children -- Legal status, laws, etc. , Child witnesses -- South Africa , Evidence (Law)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3715 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007708 , Child witnesses , Children -- Legal status, laws, etc. , Child witnesses -- South Africa , Evidence (Law)
- Description: For the purpose of this study tbe child witness in the accusatorial system will be viewed as a source of information. When a witness gives evidence in court, the function of the witness is to provide the court with certain information. A number of crucial questions arise when the witness is a child. Do children bave the ability to remember and relate an event accurately? Are children prone to suggestion and fantasy? What effect, if any, does the court environment have on a child 's ability to convey information? What perceptions do children have about the legal process, and how do these perceptions affect their ability to testify? Do adults influence the information which children impart by the techniques they employ to obtain such information? Accepting the hypothesis that child witnesses are sources of information, the purpose of this study is to evaluate all aspects of the criminal justice system relating to child witnesses as well as available research on children to determine whether it is possible to obtain reliable and accurate information from children. Proposals will be formulated regarding the most successful methods of obtaining reliable and accurate information from children, and how these can be adapted for use by the legal system. The purpose of the study is to develop an approach to children in the legal system that will be fair to children while at the same time protecting the rights of the accused, and which will lead to a successful method of obtaining accurate information.
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The effects of whole body immersion in cold water upon subsequent terrestrial aerobic performance : a study in hypothermia
- Authors: Manley, Elizabeth
- Date: 1998 , 2013-09-04
- Subjects: Hypothermia , Cold -- Physiological effect , Temperature -- Physiological effect , Aerobic exercises , Cryobiology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5143 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007458 , Hypothermia , Cold -- Physiological effect , Temperature -- Physiological effect , Aerobic exercises , Cryobiology
- Description: This study examined the extent to which physiological and psychological concomitants of aerobic terrestrial performance were affected by body cooling of varying degrees induced by cold water immersion (CWI). Thirteen male and 13 female subjects underwent three randomly assigned 30 min treadmill runs: a control run without prior manipulation of the subjects' thermal status and the same exercise after "central" (core temperature 1°C below pre-immersion) and "peripheral" cooling (skin heat loss 100kcal.m⁻².h⁻¹). During treadmill runs core temperature was measured, together with chest, leg, arm and hand temperatures, from which mean skin temperature (T [subscript]s[subscript]k) and mean body temperature (T[subscript]b) were calculated. Heart rate, oxygen consumption (VO₂,), carbon dioxide production (VCO₂), minute ventilation (V₂ (BTPS)), breathing frequency (f), cadence and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and thermal sensation (PTS) were also measured. Both central and peripheral cooling resulted in significantly reduced T[subscript]r[subscript]e (males : control 37.9±0. 3°C; central cooling : 36.8±0.5°C; peripheral cooling: 37.5±0.4°C; females: control: 37.9±0.4°C; central cooling: 37.2±0.5; p<0.05) during subsequent treadmill running, except following peripheral cooling for females (37.9±0.3°C) . For males and females T[subscript]s[subscript]k was lower following peripheral cooling than control values and lowest after central cooling (males: control: 30.0±1.3°C; central cooling: 36.8±0.5°C; peripheral cooling: 37.5±0.4°C; females: control: 30.5±1.2°C; central cooling: 25.9±1.8°C; peripheral cooling: 26.9±1.9°C; p<0.05). Female subjects experienced significantly higher T[subscript]r[subscript]e than males following central and peripheral cooling and a lower T[subscript]s[subscript]k following central cooling. Females experienced less of an increase in heart rate than males during exercise following central and peripheral cooling (control: l57.7±23.7b.min⁻¹; central cooling: 143.5±20.5b.min⁻¹; peripheral cooling 151.7±16.7b.min⁻¹; p<0 .05). Male responses were the same following central cooling but higher for peripheral cooling than control values (control: 139.1±7.3b.min⁻¹; central cooling 134.7±17.5b.min⁻¹; peripheral cooling: 145.0±16.4b.min⁻¹; p<0.05). These data indicate a depression in cardiovascular function for females following peripheral cooling that was not apparent for males. The VO₂ was not different between tests for males; only peripheral cooling resulted in a raised VO₂ of 28.6±3 .3ml.kg⁻¹.min⁻¹ (p<0 .05) for females compared to 27.6±2.6ml.kg⁻¹.min⁻¹ (control). A biphasic response was evident for VO₂ VCO₂ and V[subscript]B (BTPS). For both sexes overall RPE was lower for peripheral cooling (males: 9.4±1.9; females: 8.7±1.3; p<0 .05) than for control and central cooling. Central RPE was only changed for females following peripheral cooling. Changes in cadence and step length together with the effect of low skin and leg temperatures resulted in higher local RPE for females after central cooling (9.6±1.2; p<0.05) than control (9.4±1.9) and peripheral cooling (8.9±1.2 ). Males and females rated the same ambient temperature during the same exercise lower after peripheral cooling (males: 4.6±1.5; females : 5.3±1.3) than control values and lower still after central cooling (males: 3. 8±1.8; females: 2 .7±l. 5) In this study T[subscript]s[subscript]k was the primary determinant of PTS after precooling. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
- Full Text:
- Authors: Manley, Elizabeth
- Date: 1998 , 2013-09-04
- Subjects: Hypothermia , Cold -- Physiological effect , Temperature -- Physiological effect , Aerobic exercises , Cryobiology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5143 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007458 , Hypothermia , Cold -- Physiological effect , Temperature -- Physiological effect , Aerobic exercises , Cryobiology
- Description: This study examined the extent to which physiological and psychological concomitants of aerobic terrestrial performance were affected by body cooling of varying degrees induced by cold water immersion (CWI). Thirteen male and 13 female subjects underwent three randomly assigned 30 min treadmill runs: a control run without prior manipulation of the subjects' thermal status and the same exercise after "central" (core temperature 1°C below pre-immersion) and "peripheral" cooling (skin heat loss 100kcal.m⁻².h⁻¹). During treadmill runs core temperature was measured, together with chest, leg, arm and hand temperatures, from which mean skin temperature (T [subscript]s[subscript]k) and mean body temperature (T[subscript]b) were calculated. Heart rate, oxygen consumption (VO₂,), carbon dioxide production (VCO₂), minute ventilation (V₂ (BTPS)), breathing frequency (f), cadence and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and thermal sensation (PTS) were also measured. Both central and peripheral cooling resulted in significantly reduced T[subscript]r[subscript]e (males : control 37.9±0. 3°C; central cooling : 36.8±0.5°C; peripheral cooling: 37.5±0.4°C; females: control: 37.9±0.4°C; central cooling: 37.2±0.5; p<0.05) during subsequent treadmill running, except following peripheral cooling for females (37.9±0.3°C) . For males and females T[subscript]s[subscript]k was lower following peripheral cooling than control values and lowest after central cooling (males: control: 30.0±1.3°C; central cooling: 36.8±0.5°C; peripheral cooling: 37.5±0.4°C; females: control: 30.5±1.2°C; central cooling: 25.9±1.8°C; peripheral cooling: 26.9±1.9°C; p<0.05). Female subjects experienced significantly higher T[subscript]r[subscript]e than males following central and peripheral cooling and a lower T[subscript]s[subscript]k following central cooling. Females experienced less of an increase in heart rate than males during exercise following central and peripheral cooling (control: l57.7±23.7b.min⁻¹; central cooling: 143.5±20.5b.min⁻¹; peripheral cooling 151.7±16.7b.min⁻¹; p<0 .05). Male responses were the same following central cooling but higher for peripheral cooling than control values (control: 139.1±7.3b.min⁻¹; central cooling 134.7±17.5b.min⁻¹; peripheral cooling: 145.0±16.4b.min⁻¹; p<0.05). These data indicate a depression in cardiovascular function for females following peripheral cooling that was not apparent for males. The VO₂ was not different between tests for males; only peripheral cooling resulted in a raised VO₂ of 28.6±3 .3ml.kg⁻¹.min⁻¹ (p<0 .05) for females compared to 27.6±2.6ml.kg⁻¹.min⁻¹ (control). A biphasic response was evident for VO₂ VCO₂ and V[subscript]B (BTPS). For both sexes overall RPE was lower for peripheral cooling (males: 9.4±1.9; females: 8.7±1.3; p<0 .05) than for control and central cooling. Central RPE was only changed for females following peripheral cooling. Changes in cadence and step length together with the effect of low skin and leg temperatures resulted in higher local RPE for females after central cooling (9.6±1.2; p<0.05) than control (9.4±1.9) and peripheral cooling (8.9±1.2 ). Males and females rated the same ambient temperature during the same exercise lower after peripheral cooling (males: 4.6±1.5; females : 5.3±1.3) than control values and lower still after central cooling (males: 3. 8±1.8; females: 2 .7±l. 5) In this study T[subscript]s[subscript]k was the primary determinant of PTS after precooling. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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The invertebrates of temporary rivers in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Uys, Amanda Cloete
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Rivers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Stream ecology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Freshwater invertebrates -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5628 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004908
- Description: Temporary rivers in dryland regions are subject to highly variable and unpredictable rainfall and flow, and are considered unstable systems relative to perennial rivers of temperate zones. Little is known of the ecology of South Africa's temporary rivers, despite their abundance. The research presented focusses on the aquatic invertebrates inhabiting intermittently-flowing rivers in the 'arid corridor' of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The major aims of the work were: to investigate which invertebrates inhabit these rivers, how the fauna is affected by environmental variability at various spatial and temporal scales, whether or not a characteristic fauna can be associated with these rivers or the hydrological phases which characterise them, and to establish to what extent faunal overlap occurs between different temporary rivers and between natural and modified temporary and perennial rivers. Research results indicate that the fauna of the Eastern Cape temporary rivers shows little structure at the scales of investigation, and that communities are generally non-equilibrial in character. The major forces shaping the biota are considered to be physical rather than biological, and the most important of these are: present and antecedent hydrological conditions and their duration; time of year; and biotope character, extent and heterogeneity. Three groups of fauna were identified as inhabitants of the temporary rivers: 'residents', 'facultative taxa' and 'opportunist colonists'. Taxa were tentatively allocated to these groups. Faunal resemblance was fairly high in Eastern Cape temporary rivers at the level of family, but not at more detailed taxonomic levels. A comparison between faunas of temporary and perennial rivers in different regions of South Africa illustrated the influence of geographical location on diversity. Within regions, however, there was no indication that perennial rivers were more diverse than intermittent rivers. The relatively high diversities in temporary rivers in this study are attributed at least in part to the heterogeneity in surface water conditions over time. A conceptual framework envisioning a continuum between perennial and temporary rivers is proposed as a basis for ongoing research into these rivers. A supporting terminology for the range of river flow types in South Africa is presented.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Uys, Amanda Cloete
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Rivers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Stream ecology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Freshwater invertebrates -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5628 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004908
- Description: Temporary rivers in dryland regions are subject to highly variable and unpredictable rainfall and flow, and are considered unstable systems relative to perennial rivers of temperate zones. Little is known of the ecology of South Africa's temporary rivers, despite their abundance. The research presented focusses on the aquatic invertebrates inhabiting intermittently-flowing rivers in the 'arid corridor' of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The major aims of the work were: to investigate which invertebrates inhabit these rivers, how the fauna is affected by environmental variability at various spatial and temporal scales, whether or not a characteristic fauna can be associated with these rivers or the hydrological phases which characterise them, and to establish to what extent faunal overlap occurs between different temporary rivers and between natural and modified temporary and perennial rivers. Research results indicate that the fauna of the Eastern Cape temporary rivers shows little structure at the scales of investigation, and that communities are generally non-equilibrial in character. The major forces shaping the biota are considered to be physical rather than biological, and the most important of these are: present and antecedent hydrological conditions and their duration; time of year; and biotope character, extent and heterogeneity. Three groups of fauna were identified as inhabitants of the temporary rivers: 'residents', 'facultative taxa' and 'opportunist colonists'. Taxa were tentatively allocated to these groups. Faunal resemblance was fairly high in Eastern Cape temporary rivers at the level of family, but not at more detailed taxonomic levels. A comparison between faunas of temporary and perennial rivers in different regions of South Africa illustrated the influence of geographical location on diversity. Within regions, however, there was no indication that perennial rivers were more diverse than intermittent rivers. The relatively high diversities in temporary rivers in this study are attributed at least in part to the heterogeneity in surface water conditions over time. A conceptual framework envisioning a continuum between perennial and temporary rivers is proposed as a basis for ongoing research into these rivers. A supporting terminology for the range of river flow types in South Africa is presented.
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The shuttle effect : the development of a model for the prediction of variability in cognitive test performance across the adult life span
- Authors: Jordan, Ann B
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Cognition -- Age factors Aging -- Psychological aspects Cognition in old age Human information processing -- Age factors Older people -- Psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3191 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008556
- Description: The aim of this thesis was to investigate inter-individual variability on cognitive task performance in normal older adults. In a review of the cognitive aging literature, the implications of a differential perspective were drawn out in order to establish a theoretical and methodological basis for an investigation into variability. A number of regularly occurring patterns, identified on the basis of available reports in the literature, were used to develop a model of variability (the shuttle model). The empirically-based model was located broadly within a neuropsychological framework, and derived explanatory power from the tenets of brain reserve capacity (BRC) theory. It served to describe the bulge in interindividual variability due to aging (the shuttle bulge), and the shifting occurrence of the bulge in relation to the age axis due to cohort and task-related influences (the shuttle shift). A two phase research study was conducted in order to test hypotheses derived from the model. Phase 1 comprised between-groups analyses of normative data covering a broad range of neuropsychological tests in the domains of attention, memory, language, visual and hand motor skills, in order to examine the progression of variability effects across the adult age range. Phase 2 constituted between and within-groups analyses of normative data from a more limited number of neuropsychological tests. It included the examination of raw score distributions and the characteristics of outliers, and was undertaken to explore more closely the nature of the variability phenomena detected in the first phase of the analysis. Taken together, the results of both phases of the investigation revealed statistically significant variability effects in support of the shuttle model. There was a consistent pattern of increased variability in association with older age regardless of functional modality; frequently, in association with later old age, there was also a subsequent decrease in variability (the shuttle bulge). The age of onset of the initial increase in variability occurred earlier or later (the shuttle shift) as a function of four factors: education, gender, task challenge and age-sensitivity of task. The finding of an earlier onset of variability effects for low education, male gender, high task challenge and high age-sensitivity of task was interpreted in terms of BRC threshold theory. The clinical and social implications of the outcome were discussed with special emphasis on the need for a differential perspective on aging, as a complement to the prevailing normative tradition. It was concluded that the shuttle model has considerable heuristic value. It presents an integrative framework for understanding existing variability data and provides clear indications for future research.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Jordan, Ann B
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Cognition -- Age factors Aging -- Psychological aspects Cognition in old age Human information processing -- Age factors Older people -- Psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3191 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008556
- Description: The aim of this thesis was to investigate inter-individual variability on cognitive task performance in normal older adults. In a review of the cognitive aging literature, the implications of a differential perspective were drawn out in order to establish a theoretical and methodological basis for an investigation into variability. A number of regularly occurring patterns, identified on the basis of available reports in the literature, were used to develop a model of variability (the shuttle model). The empirically-based model was located broadly within a neuropsychological framework, and derived explanatory power from the tenets of brain reserve capacity (BRC) theory. It served to describe the bulge in interindividual variability due to aging (the shuttle bulge), and the shifting occurrence of the bulge in relation to the age axis due to cohort and task-related influences (the shuttle shift). A two phase research study was conducted in order to test hypotheses derived from the model. Phase 1 comprised between-groups analyses of normative data covering a broad range of neuropsychological tests in the domains of attention, memory, language, visual and hand motor skills, in order to examine the progression of variability effects across the adult age range. Phase 2 constituted between and within-groups analyses of normative data from a more limited number of neuropsychological tests. It included the examination of raw score distributions and the characteristics of outliers, and was undertaken to explore more closely the nature of the variability phenomena detected in the first phase of the analysis. Taken together, the results of both phases of the investigation revealed statistically significant variability effects in support of the shuttle model. There was a consistent pattern of increased variability in association with older age regardless of functional modality; frequently, in association with later old age, there was also a subsequent decrease in variability (the shuttle bulge). The age of onset of the initial increase in variability occurred earlier or later (the shuttle shift) as a function of four factors: education, gender, task challenge and age-sensitivity of task. The finding of an earlier onset of variability effects for low education, male gender, high task challenge and high age-sensitivity of task was interpreted in terms of BRC threshold theory. The clinical and social implications of the outcome were discussed with special emphasis on the need for a differential perspective on aging, as a complement to the prevailing normative tradition. It was concluded that the shuttle model has considerable heuristic value. It presents an integrative framework for understanding existing variability data and provides clear indications for future research.
- Full Text:
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