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Olive Schreiner in Rhodesia: an episode in a biography

- Walters, Paul S, Fogg, W Jeremy M

Authors: Walters, Paul S , Fogg, W Jeremy M
Date: 2007
Language: English
Type: text , Article
Identifier: vital:6123 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004707
Description: Readers of biographies of Olive Schreiner - except for the pioneering work of Vera Buchanan-Gould (see 1948, 198-99) - could be forgiven for doubting whether Olive Schreiner ever was in Rhodesia. Although her husband's edition of her Letters includes three which cover this journey (Cronwright-Schreiner 1924a), he makes no mention of it in his Life (1924), and it is not touched on either in First and Scott (1980) or in Stanley's impressive biographical chapter (2002). Arguably, it does nothing to alter the by now well-established outlines of Olive Schreiner's life; yet, as we shall see, the visit itself might have meant the premature end of that life. Moreover, it documents Schreiner's visit to two sites of immense importance to her : the 'Hanging Tree' in Bulawayo which features in the (deliberately shocking) photographic frontispiece to the first edition of Trooper Peter Halket of Mashonaland (1897), and, secondly, Cecil Rhodes's grave in the Matopos. In just over a decade (13 Aug. 1921), she too would lie in her chosen mountaintop tomb.
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Date Issued: 2007

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Recovery of the critically endangered river pipefish, Syngnathus watermeyeri, in the Kariega Estuary, Eastern Cape province

- Vorwerk, Paul D, Froneman, P William, Paterson, Angus W

Authors: Vorwerk, Paul D , Froneman, P William , Paterson, Angus W
Date: 2007
Language: English
Type: text , Article
Identifier: vital:6965 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012028
Description: An intensive ichthyofaunal survey in the permanently open Kariega Estuary along the Eastern Cape coast has identified a breeding population of the critically endangered river pipefish, Syngnathus watermeyeri, within the middle and upper reaches of the system. This is the first recorded capture of this species in the estuary for over four decades. We suggest that the presence of S. watermeyeri is the result of the heavy rainfall within the region, which contributed to the establishment of optimum habitat requirements (mesohaline conditions and increased food availability) of the pipefish.
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Date Issued: 2007

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South African research in the hydrological sciences : 2003 -2006 : IUGG report

- Hughes, Denis A

Authors: Hughes, Denis A
Date: 2007
Language: English
Type: text , Article
Identifier: vital:7087 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012415
Description: The principal activities of South African researchers in hydrology and water resources during the reporting period have been concerned with ground- and surface-water interactions, rainfall-runoff modelling, the establishment of improved regional water resource databases, the ecological Reserve, and investigating the likely consequences of climate change. Most of these studies have a strong emphasis on supporting the provisions of the National Water Act of 1998. Research programmes are benefiting from international and regional cooperation. In contrast, the lack of young scientists entering the field poses the greatest threat to hydrological research in South Africa.
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Date Issued: 2007

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South Asian diasporic women's short fiction: the South African contribution

- Naidu, Samantha

Authors: Naidu, Samantha
Date: 2007
Language: English
Type: Article , text
Identifier: vital:26376 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/54037 , https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9456-8657
Description: Although Indian Women S Short Fiction Has Always Enjoyed Equal Importance And Popularity As Their Novels, Very Little Critical Attention Has Been Paid To It So Far. Indian Women S Short Fiction Seeks To Fulfil This Long Felt Need. It Puts Together Fifteen Perceptive And Analytical Articles By Scholars Across The World. The Articles, Which Are Focussed On Native Indian Writing As Well As Diasporic Short Fiction, Deal With Such Interesting Literary Issues As Construction Of Femininity, Disablement And Enablement, Bengali Heritage, Hybrid Identities, Nostalgia, Representation Of The Partition Violence, Tradition And Modernity, And Cultural Perspectivism.
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Date Issued: 2007

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The effect of physico-chemical parameters and chemical compounds on the activity of β-d-galactosidase (B-GAL), a marker enzyme for indicator microorganisms in water

- Wutor, V C, Togo, C A

Authors: Wutor, V C , Togo, C A
Date: 2007
Language: English
Type: text , Article
Identifier: vital:6470 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005800 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2007.02.050
Description: The presence of coliforms in polluted water was determined enzymatically (in situ) by directly monitoring the activity of beta-d-galactosidase (B-GAL) through the hydrolysis of the yellow chromogenic subtrate, chlorophenol red beta-d-galactopyranoside (CPRG), which produced a red chlorophenol red (CPR) product. The objectives of this study were to monitor the effect of compounds commonly found in the environment and used in water treatment on a B-GAL CPRG assay and to investigate the differences between the environmental B-GAL enzyme and the pure commercial enzyme. Environmental B-GAL was optimally active at pH 7.8. Two temperature optima were observed at 35 and 55 degrees C, respectively. B-GAL activity was strongly inhibited by silver and copper ions. While calcium and ferrous ions at lower concentrations (50-100mgl(-1)) increased the enzyme activity, a reduction was observed at higher concentrations (200mgl(-1)). Sodium hypochlorite, normally used in rural areas to disinfect water gradually decreased B-GAL activity at concentrations between 0 and 5600ppm for both the commercial and environmental enzymes. B-GAL from the environment behaved differently from its commercially available counterpart.
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Date Issued: 2007

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The effects of buffer molarity, agitation rate and mesh size on verapamil release from modified release mini-tablets using USP Apparatus 3

- Khamanga, Sandile M, Walker, Roderick B

Authors: Khamanga, Sandile M , Walker, Roderick B
Date: 2007
Language: English
Type: text , Article
Identifier: vital:6386 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006307
Description: The effects of agitation rate, buffer molarity,and mesh size on the dissolution rate of verapamil hydrochloride from sustained release matrix tablets were studied using USP Apparatus 3. Eudragit® and Carbopol® were used as rate-retarding polymers in tablets prepared by wet granulation.The study was conducted to determine whether the drugs exhibit similar release characteristics when tested under the same dissolution conditions. It was found that the dissolution rate of verapamil hydrochloride was affected by the variables assessed in these studies.
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Date Issued: 2007

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The Emerging Role of ubuntu-botho in Developing a Consensual South African Legal Culture

- Kruuse, Helen, Midgley, Rob

Authors: Kruuse, Helen , Midgley, Rob
Date: 2007
Language: English
Type: Article , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/54224 , vital:26413 , https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/27652
Description: Legal culture in apartheid South Africa has variously been described as conservative and positivist, with judicial deference to the executive and to parliamentary sovereignty; formalistic, technical and authoritarian; and ‘of reasoned argument’ and justification. Until 1994, law drew its legitimacy from the very fact that it was state sanctioned, and the material context or the social aftermath of the application of a rule was in many instances deemed irrelevant. However, the adoption, first, of the interim Constitution, and later the final Constitution, saw a desire to transform this legal culture. The Constitution is now more than a formal document regulating public power: it also embodies a normative value system in terms of which judges are called upon to interpret laws and their application.
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Date Issued: 2007

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A generic database and spatial interface for the application of hydrological and water resource models

- Hughes, Denis A, Forsyth, D A

Authors: Hughes, Denis A , Forsyth, D A
Date: 2006
Language: English
Type: text , Article
Identifier: vital:7080 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012333
Description: The paper discusses a software package that has been designed to enhance the efficiency of applying a range of hydrological and water resource simulation models. The SPATSIM (SPatial and Time Series Information Modeling) system has been developed in Delphi using MapObjects and incorporates a spatial data interface for access to the different types of information commonly associated with water resource analyses. All of the information is stored within database tables (Paradox by default) with generic structures. The structure and components of the system are briefly described and some example applications provided. The discussion identifies some of the criticisms that have been leveled at the software, the approach of the developers to user support and some possible future developments. The conclusions suggest that the development can be considered successful in that it has substantially improved the efficiency of the Institute for Water Research to undertake one of its core functions of hydrological model development and application.
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Date Issued: 2006

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A history of southern African research relevant to forensic entomology

- Williams, K A, Villet, Martin H

Authors: Williams, K A , Villet, Martin H
Date: 2006
Language: English
Type: text , Article
Identifier: vital:6909 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011862
Description: Entomological forensic evidence has been used in southern Africa for decades but explicitly forensic research began in southern Africa only 26 years ago. Although applicable local research has accumulated since 1921, it is scattered in a diverse literature or unpublished. Some overseas research has also touched on local species. This review uses a historical approach to synthesize the southern African literature and to illustrate the cross-disciplinary, opportunistic nature of forensic entomology. Distinct phases of research focused on agriculture (1921-1950), medicine (1952- 1965), ecology (1968-1990) and forensics (1980-2005), but systematics spanned the entire period and tended to be ad hoc. Few scientists were involved, situated at geographically distant locations and with widely disparate research interests. The review concludes with an overview of southern African entomologists who have been involved in medico-legal investigations, and a critical evaluation of the past and future of the discipline locally.
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Date Issued: 2006

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A stability-indicating high performance liquid chromatographic assay for the determination of orlistat in capsules

- Mohammadi, Ali, Haririan, I, Rezanour, I, Ghiasi, L, Walker, Roderick B

Authors: Mohammadi, Ali , Haririan, I , Rezanour, I , Ghiasi, L , Walker, Roderick B
Date: 2006
Language: English
Type: Article , text
Identifier: vital:6407 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006480
Description: A stability-indicating HPLC method was developed and validated for the quantitative determination of orlistat in capsule dosage forms. An isocratic separation was achieved using a Perfectsil® target ODS-3, 250 mm × 4.6 mm i.d., 5 µm particle size column with a flow rate of 0.7 ml/min and using a UV detector to monitor the eluate at 210 nm. The mobile phase consisted of methanol:acetonitrile:trifluoroacetic acid (82.5:17.5:0.01, v/v/v). The drug was subjected oxidation, hydrolysis, photolysis and heat to apply stress conditions. Complete separation was achieved for the parent compound and all degradation products in an overall analytical run time of approximately 15 min with the parent compound orlistat eluting at approximately 9 min. The method was linear over the concentration range of 0.02–0.75 mg/ml (r = 0.9998) with a limit of detection and quantitation 0.006 and 0.02 mg/ml, respectively. The method has the requisite accuracy, selectivity, sensitivity and precision to assay orlistat in capsules. Degradation products resulting from the stress studies did not interfere with the detection of orlistat and the assay is thus stability-indicating.
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Date Issued: 2006

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African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme: An overview of the conference contributions

- Ribbink, Anthony J, Roberts, M

Authors: Ribbink, Anthony J , Roberts, M
Date: 2006
Language: English
Type: text , Article
Identifier: vital:7127 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1010637
Description: Latimeria chalumnae is the icon for the multidisciplinary, multinational African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme (ACEP) dedicated to improving the understanding of biological and other processes that support marine life. This article provides an overview of contributions made at a conference hosted by ACEP at the end of 2003. It also reviews significant developments regarding coelacanth conservation which have taken place since the conference. Delegates at the meeting concluded that the integrated regional,ecosystem approach that had been adopted by ACEP should continue. Underwater observation and exploration, however, should be supplemented by more experimental and technical analyses in order to answer longstanding questions related to coelacanths and other organisms.
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Date Issued: 2006

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Application of reverse-flow micellar electrokinetic chromatography for the simultaneous determination of flavonols and terpene trilactones in Ginkgo biloba dosage forms

- Dubber, Mary-Jean, Kanfer, Isadore

Authors: Dubber, Mary-Jean , Kanfer, Isadore
Date: 2006
Language: English
Type: text , Article
Identifier: vital:6357 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006049
Description: A reverse-flow micellar electrokinetic chromatographic (RF-MEKC) method was developed for the simultaneous qualitative determination of 10 components consisting of the flavonol glycosides, rutin and quercitrin, the flavonol aglycones, isorhamnetin, kaempferol and quercetin, the terpene trilactones, ginkgolides A, B, C and J and the sesquiterpene, bilobalide. This method was used to fingerprint Ginkgo biloba solid oral dosage forms and validated for the quantitation of the marker compounds, rutin and quercetin in some commercial products. In addition to the usual variables, the influence of some essential background electrolyte (BGE) components such as sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and -cyclodextrin concentrations were investigated. A polyimide fused-silica square capillary column (75 μm I.D. × 360 μm O.D.) with a total length of 60.0 cm and effective length of 45.0 cm was used for the separation. The final BGE consisted of 20 mM phosphoric acid, 40 mM SDS and 12 mM -cyclodextrin (pH 2.2) using reverse polarity with a voltage of −17.5 kV. Samples were injected electrokinetically at −5 kV for 3 s for the qualitative analysis and hydrodynamically at 20 mbar for 0.6 s for the quantitative assay. The total run time was 22 min and the limits of detection were 3.13 μg/ml and 1.88 μg/ml for rutin and quercetin, respectively. Fingerprint profiles of the solid oral dosage forms and the results of the quantitative analysis indicated that there were major discrepancies in the marker content between products and illustrates the value of this method for use as a procedure to assess product quality of commercially available Ginkgo biloba products.
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Date Issued: 2006

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Biogeographic and nearshore–offshore trends in isotope ratios of intertidal mussels and their food sources around the coast of southern Africa

- Hill, Jaclyn M, McQuaid, Christopher D, Kaehler, Sven

Authors: Hill, Jaclyn M , McQuaid, Christopher D , Kaehler, Sven
Date: 2006
Language: English
Type: text , Article
Identifier: vital:6878 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011633
Description: There are broad differences in oceanography and primary production around the southern African coast that are likely to give rise to major differences in trophic pathways. Stable isotope ratios provide integrated information on trophic relationships, yet there has been limited research on geographic variation in isotopic composition of marine consumers and their food. In this study, δ13C and δ15N of suspended particulate matter (SPM), intertidal mussels and common macroalgae along the southern African coastline were explored. Nearshore–offshore isotope trends as well as biogeographic and temporal patterns in isotopic ratios of mussel tissue, macroalgae and SPM were investigated at 12 sites along the coast from Namibia to the Mozambique border. SPM exhibited overall trends of nearshore 13C depletion from south-west to north-east along the coastline and from nearshore (0 km) to offshore (10 km) waters, in both cases suggesting a shift from a nearshore signature strongly influenced by macroalgal detritus to one more representative of oceanic phytoplankton. With one exception it was possible, using discriminant analysis, to categorize mussel populations into 4 geographic groups, on the basis of both carbon and nitrogen signatures: the east coast, the south-east coast, the south-west coast and the west coast. Macroalgae showed no consistent biogeographic trends and need to be examined in greater detail to relate nearshore SPM values to living macroalgal signatures. A linear mixing model indicated that mussels along the entire coastline generally demonstrated more than 50% dependence on nearshore carbon and nitrogen, emphasizing the importance of nearshore primary production to intertidal consumers.
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Date Issued: 2006

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Comparison of satellite rainfall data with observations from gauging station networks

- Hughes, Denis A

Authors: Hughes, Denis A
Date: 2006
Language: English
Type: text , Article
Identifier: vital:7079 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009748
Description: Networks of ground-based hydro-meteorological observations are frequently sparse in developing countries and the situation is not improving. Part of the reason is the lack of resources available in countries which have more pressing economic and social issues. However, these are also the very countries where improved estimates of water resource availability are required. While hydrological models have the potential to provide the necessary information, without adequately accurate climate (rainfall, evaporation, etc.) input information, it is extremely difficult to establish models and generate representative water resource availability information. This paper reports on a preliminary analysis of the potential for using satellite derived rainfall data through a comparison with available gauge data for four basins in the southern Africa region. It is clear that the satellite data cannot be used directly in conjunction with historical gauge data. Specifically, the satellite data do not reflect the strong influences on precipitation of topography in some of the basins. However, the prospects of applying relatively straightforward adjustments are promising and further assessments appear to be justified.
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Date Issued: 2006

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