Understanding the context of multifaceted collaborations for social-ecological sustainability: A methodology for cross-case analysis
- Cockburn, Jessica J, Schoon, Michael, Cundill, Georgina, Robinson, Cathy, Aburto, Jamie A, Alexander, Steve M, Baggio, Jacopo A, Barnaud, Cecile, Chapman, Mollie, Llorente, Marina G, Garcia-Lopez, Gustavo A, Hill, Rosemary, Speranza, Chinwe I, Lee, Jean, Meek, Chanda L, Rosenberg, Eureta, Schultz, Lisen, Thondhlana, Gladman
- Authors: Cockburn, Jessica J , Schoon, Michael , Cundill, Georgina , Robinson, Cathy , Aburto, Jamie A , Alexander, Steve M , Baggio, Jacopo A , Barnaud, Cecile , Chapman, Mollie , Llorente, Marina G , Garcia-Lopez, Gustavo A , Hill, Rosemary , Speranza, Chinwe I , Lee, Jean , Meek, Chanda L , Rosenberg, Eureta , Schultz, Lisen , Thondhlana, Gladman
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/370725 , vital:66371 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-11527-250307"
- Description: There are limited approaches available that enable researchers and practitioners to conduct multiple case study comparisons of complex cases of collaboration in natural resource management and conservation. The absence of such tools is felt despite the fact that over the past several years a great deal of literature has reviewed the state of the science regarding collaboration. Much of this work is based on case studies of collaboration and highlights the importance of contextual variables, further complicating efforts to compare outcomes across case-study areas and the likely failure of approaches based on one size fits all generalizations. We expand on the standard overview of the field by identifying some of the challenges associated with managing complex systems with multiple resources, multiple stakeholder groups with diverse knowledges/understandings, and multiple objectives across multiple scales, i.e., multifaceted collaborative initiatives. We then elucidate how a realist methodology, within a critical realist framing, can support efforts to compare multiple case studies of such multifaceted initiatives. The methodology we propose considers the importance and impact of context for the origins, purpose, and success of multifaceted collaborative natural resource management and conservation initiatives in social-ecological systems.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Cockburn, Jessica J , Schoon, Michael , Cundill, Georgina , Robinson, Cathy , Aburto, Jamie A , Alexander, Steve M , Baggio, Jacopo A , Barnaud, Cecile , Chapman, Mollie , Llorente, Marina G , Garcia-Lopez, Gustavo A , Hill, Rosemary , Speranza, Chinwe I , Lee, Jean , Meek, Chanda L , Rosenberg, Eureta , Schultz, Lisen , Thondhlana, Gladman
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/370725 , vital:66371 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-11527-250307"
- Description: There are limited approaches available that enable researchers and practitioners to conduct multiple case study comparisons of complex cases of collaboration in natural resource management and conservation. The absence of such tools is felt despite the fact that over the past several years a great deal of literature has reviewed the state of the science regarding collaboration. Much of this work is based on case studies of collaboration and highlights the importance of contextual variables, further complicating efforts to compare outcomes across case-study areas and the likely failure of approaches based on one size fits all generalizations. We expand on the standard overview of the field by identifying some of the challenges associated with managing complex systems with multiple resources, multiple stakeholder groups with diverse knowledges/understandings, and multiple objectives across multiple scales, i.e., multifaceted collaborative initiatives. We then elucidate how a realist methodology, within a critical realist framing, can support efforts to compare multiple case studies of such multifaceted initiatives. The methodology we propose considers the importance and impact of context for the origins, purpose, and success of multifaceted collaborative natural resource management and conservation initiatives in social-ecological systems.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
A relational approach to landscape stewardship: Towards a new perspective for multi-actor collaboration
- Cockburn, Jessica J, Rosenberg, Eureta, Copteros, Athina, Cornelius, Susanna F, Libala, Notiswa, Metcalfe, Liz, van der Waal, Benjamin
- Authors: Cockburn, Jessica J , Rosenberg, Eureta , Copteros, Athina , Cornelius, Susanna F , Libala, Notiswa , Metcalfe, Liz , van der Waal, Benjamin
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/370098 , vital:66297 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.3390/land9070224"
- Description: Landscape stewardship is increasingly understood within the framing of complex social-ecological systems. To consider the implications of this, we focus on one of the key characteristics of complex social-ecological systems: they are relationally constituted, meaning that system characteristics emerge out of dynamic relations between system components. We focus on multi-actor collaboration as a key form of relationality in landscapes, seeking a more textured understanding of the social relations between landscape actors. We draw on a set of ‘gardening tools’ to analyse the boundary-crossing work of multi-actor collaboration. These tools comprise three key concepts: relational expertise, common knowledge, and relational agency. We apply the tools to two cases of landscape stewardship in South Africa: the Langkloof Region and the Tsitsa River catchment. These landscapes are characterised by economically, socio-culturally, and politically diverse groups of actors. Our analysis reveals that history and context strongly influence relational processes, that boundary-crossing work is indeed difficult, and that doing boundary-crossing work in smaller pockets within a landscape is helpful. The tools also helped to identify three key social-relational practices which lend a new perspective on boundary-crossing work: 1. belonging while differing, 2. growing together by interacting regularly and building common knowledge, and 3. learning and adapting together with humility and empathy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Cockburn, Jessica J , Rosenberg, Eureta , Copteros, Athina , Cornelius, Susanna F , Libala, Notiswa , Metcalfe, Liz , van der Waal, Benjamin
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/370098 , vital:66297 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.3390/land9070224"
- Description: Landscape stewardship is increasingly understood within the framing of complex social-ecological systems. To consider the implications of this, we focus on one of the key characteristics of complex social-ecological systems: they are relationally constituted, meaning that system characteristics emerge out of dynamic relations between system components. We focus on multi-actor collaboration as a key form of relationality in landscapes, seeking a more textured understanding of the social relations between landscape actors. We draw on a set of ‘gardening tools’ to analyse the boundary-crossing work of multi-actor collaboration. These tools comprise three key concepts: relational expertise, common knowledge, and relational agency. We apply the tools to two cases of landscape stewardship in South Africa: the Langkloof Region and the Tsitsa River catchment. These landscapes are characterised by economically, socio-culturally, and politically diverse groups of actors. Our analysis reveals that history and context strongly influence relational processes, that boundary-crossing work is indeed difficult, and that doing boundary-crossing work in smaller pockets within a landscape is helpful. The tools also helped to identify three key social-relational practices which lend a new perspective on boundary-crossing work: 1. belonging while differing, 2. growing together by interacting regularly and building common knowledge, and 3. learning and adapting together with humility and empathy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Biological control of water lettuce, Pistia stratiotes L., facilitates macroinvertebrate biodiversity recovery: a mesocosm study
- Coetzee, Julie A, Langa, Susana D, Motitsoe, Samuel F, Hill, Martin P
- Authors: Coetzee, Julie A , Langa, Susana D , Motitsoe, Samuel F , Hill, Martin P
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/423967 , vital:72112 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-020-04369-w"
- Description: Floating aquatic weed infestations have negative socio-economic and environmental consequences to the ecosystems they invade. Despite the long history of invasion by macrophytes, only a few studies focus on their impacts on biodiversity, while the ecological benefits of biological control programmes against these species have been poorly quantified. We investigated the process of biotic homogenization following invasion by Pistia stratiotes on aquatic biodiversity, and recovery provided by biological control of this weed. Biotic homogenization is the increased similarity of biota as a result of introductions of non-native species. The study quantified the effect of P. stratiotes, and its biological control through the introduction of the weevil, Neohydronomus affinis on recruitment of benthic macroinvertebrates to artificial substrates. Mats of P. stratiotes altered the community composition and reduced diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates in comparison to an uninvaded control. However, reduction in percentage cover of the weed through biological control resulted in a significant increase in dissolved oxygen, and recovery of the benthic macroinvertebrate community that was comparable to the uninvaded state. This highlights the process of homogenization by an invasive macrophyte, providing a justification for sustained ecological and restoration efforts in the biological control of P. stratiotes where this plant is problematic.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Coetzee, Julie A , Langa, Susana D , Motitsoe, Samuel F , Hill, Martin P
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/423967 , vital:72112 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-020-04369-w"
- Description: Floating aquatic weed infestations have negative socio-economic and environmental consequences to the ecosystems they invade. Despite the long history of invasion by macrophytes, only a few studies focus on their impacts on biodiversity, while the ecological benefits of biological control programmes against these species have been poorly quantified. We investigated the process of biotic homogenization following invasion by Pistia stratiotes on aquatic biodiversity, and recovery provided by biological control of this weed. Biotic homogenization is the increased similarity of biota as a result of introductions of non-native species. The study quantified the effect of P. stratiotes, and its biological control through the introduction of the weevil, Neohydronomus affinis on recruitment of benthic macroinvertebrates to artificial substrates. Mats of P. stratiotes altered the community composition and reduced diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates in comparison to an uninvaded control. However, reduction in percentage cover of the weed through biological control resulted in a significant increase in dissolved oxygen, and recovery of the benthic macroinvertebrate community that was comparable to the uninvaded state. This highlights the process of homogenization by an invasive macrophyte, providing a justification for sustained ecological and restoration efforts in the biological control of P. stratiotes where this plant is problematic.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Fucoidan from Ecklonia maxima is a powerful inhibitor of the diabetes-related enzyme, Éø-glucosidase
- Daub, Chantal D, Mabate, Blessing, Malgas, Samkelo, Pletschke , Brett I
- Authors: Daub, Chantal D , Mabate, Blessing , Malgas, Samkelo , Pletschke , Brett I
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/425982 , vital:72304 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.02.161"
- Description: Ecklonia maxima, an endemic South African seaweed, is a potential source of beneficial bioactive compounds. Among these compounds, fucoidan, a sulphated polysaccharide has a wide range of bioactivities including anti-diabetic activity. In this study, fucoidan was extracted from E. maxima by the hot water extraction method and then characterised by colorimetric assays for sugar composition. The extraction from E. maxima yielded 6.89% fucoidan which was found to contain 4.45 ± 0.25% L-fucose and 6.01 ± 0.53% sulphate. The water extracted E. maxima fucoidan had a low molecular weight of approximately 10 kDa. Structural studies (FT-IR, NMR and XRD) confirmed the structure and integrity of the fucoidan to be similar to previously studied fucoidans in literature. Finally, the activities of starch digestive enzymes; α-amylase and α-glucosidase, were investigated in the presence of the E. maxima fucoidan extract. Fucoidan from E. maxima was observed to be a potent mixed-type inhibitor of α-glucosidase with an IC50 range of 0.27–0.31 mg.ml-1, which was significantly lower than the commercial anti-diabetic standard, acarbose. Our present study demonstrated that fucoidan from E. maxima is a more powerful inhibitor compared to some standard anti-diabetic compounds and thus shows great potential for managing type 2 diabetes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Fucoidan from Ecklonia maxima is a powerful inhibitor of the diabetes-related enzyme, Éø-glucosidase
- Authors: Daub, Chantal D , Mabate, Blessing , Malgas, Samkelo , Pletschke , Brett I
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/425982 , vital:72304 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.02.161"
- Description: Ecklonia maxima, an endemic South African seaweed, is a potential source of beneficial bioactive compounds. Among these compounds, fucoidan, a sulphated polysaccharide has a wide range of bioactivities including anti-diabetic activity. In this study, fucoidan was extracted from E. maxima by the hot water extraction method and then characterised by colorimetric assays for sugar composition. The extraction from E. maxima yielded 6.89% fucoidan which was found to contain 4.45 ± 0.25% L-fucose and 6.01 ± 0.53% sulphate. The water extracted E. maxima fucoidan had a low molecular weight of approximately 10 kDa. Structural studies (FT-IR, NMR and XRD) confirmed the structure and integrity of the fucoidan to be similar to previously studied fucoidans in literature. Finally, the activities of starch digestive enzymes; α-amylase and α-glucosidase, were investigated in the presence of the E. maxima fucoidan extract. Fucoidan from E. maxima was observed to be a potent mixed-type inhibitor of α-glucosidase with an IC50 range of 0.27–0.31 mg.ml-1, which was significantly lower than the commercial anti-diabetic standard, acarbose. Our present study demonstrated that fucoidan from E. maxima is a more powerful inhibitor compared to some standard anti-diabetic compounds and thus shows great potential for managing type 2 diabetes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
A comparative study of the photophysicochemical and photodynamic activity properties of meso-4-methylthiophenyl functionalized Sn (IV) tetraarylporphyrins and triarylcorroles
- Dingiswayo, Somila, Babu, Balaji, Prinsloo, Earl, Mack, John, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Dingiswayo, Somila , Babu, Balaji , Prinsloo, Earl , Mack, John , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/186157 , vital:44469 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S1088424620500273"
- Description: Tin(IV) complexes of a 4-methylthiophenyl functionalized porphyrin (1-Sn) and its corrole analogue (2-Sn) were synthesized so that their photophysicochemical properties and photodynamic activities against MCF-7 breast cancer cells could be compared. Singlet oxygen luminescence studies revealed that 1-Sn and 2-Sn have comparable ΦΔΦΔ values in DMF of 0.59 and 0.60, respectively, while the IC5050 values after irradiation of MCF-7 cells for 30 min with a Thorlabs 625 nm LED (432 J · cm−2)−2) were determined to be 12.4 and 8.9 μμM. The results demonstrate that the cellular uptake of 2-Sn and its molar absorptivity at the irradiation wavelength play a crucial role during in vitro cytotoxicity studies.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Dingiswayo, Somila , Babu, Balaji , Prinsloo, Earl , Mack, John , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/186157 , vital:44469 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S1088424620500273"
- Description: Tin(IV) complexes of a 4-methylthiophenyl functionalized porphyrin (1-Sn) and its corrole analogue (2-Sn) were synthesized so that their photophysicochemical properties and photodynamic activities against MCF-7 breast cancer cells could be compared. Singlet oxygen luminescence studies revealed that 1-Sn and 2-Sn have comparable ΦΔΦΔ values in DMF of 0.59 and 0.60, respectively, while the IC5050 values after irradiation of MCF-7 cells for 30 min with a Thorlabs 625 nm LED (432 J · cm−2)−2) were determined to be 12.4 and 8.9 μμM. The results demonstrate that the cellular uptake of 2-Sn and its molar absorptivity at the irradiation wavelength play a crucial role during in vitro cytotoxicity studies.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Anti-cancer and anti-trypanosomal properties of alkaloids from the root bark of Zanthoxylum leprieurii Guill and Perr
- Eze, Fabian I, Siwe-Noundou, Xavier, Isaacs, Michelle, Patala, Srivinas, Osadebe, Patience O, Krause, Rui W M
- Authors: Eze, Fabian I , Siwe-Noundou, Xavier , Isaacs, Michelle , Patala, Srivinas , Osadebe, Patience O , Krause, Rui W M
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193352 , vital:45324 , xlink:href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/tjpr.v19i11.19"
- Description: Purpose: To isolate the anti-cancer and anti-trypanosomal principles of Zanthoxylum leprieurii, a medicinally versatile wild tropical plant used for managing tumours, African trypanosomiasis, and inflammation in southeastern Nigeria. Methods: The pure compounds were isolated using chromatographic methods. The structural elucidation of the pure compounds was based on their NMR (1D and 2D) and mass spectral data as well as chemical test results. Structure-activity relationships were based on the structural differences among the compounds. The cytotoxicity of the extracts and compounds (1, 2, 3, and 4) was evaluated in HeLa (human cervix adenocarcinoma) cell line while the trypanocidal activities were evaluated on Trypanosoma brucei brucei. Results: Two acridone alkaloids, 1-hydroxy-3-methoxy-10-methylacridin-9 (10H)-one, named fabiocinine (1), and 1-hydroxy-2,3-dimethoxy-10-methylacridin-9 (10H)-one (arborinine, 2), together with a furoquinoline alkaloid, skimmianine (3), and a chelerythrine derivative, 6-acetonyl-5,6-dihydrochelerythrine (4) were isolated from the root bark of Zanthoxylum leprieurii. Skimmianine (3) exhibited cytotoxicity and anti-trypanosomal IC50 of 12.8 and 13.2 µg/mL respectively (p less than 0.05). Compound (1) and arborinine (2) were selectively cytotoxic to HeLa cells with cytotoxicity IC50 of 28.49 and 62.71 µg/mL, respectively, while (4) did not show significant activity (p less than 0.05). Conclusion: Zanthoxylum leprieurii root bark contains cytotoxic and trypanocidal compounds, and is thus a potential source of anti-cancer and anti-trypanosomal leads.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Eze, Fabian I , Siwe-Noundou, Xavier , Isaacs, Michelle , Patala, Srivinas , Osadebe, Patience O , Krause, Rui W M
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193352 , vital:45324 , xlink:href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/tjpr.v19i11.19"
- Description: Purpose: To isolate the anti-cancer and anti-trypanosomal principles of Zanthoxylum leprieurii, a medicinally versatile wild tropical plant used for managing tumours, African trypanosomiasis, and inflammation in southeastern Nigeria. Methods: The pure compounds were isolated using chromatographic methods. The structural elucidation of the pure compounds was based on their NMR (1D and 2D) and mass spectral data as well as chemical test results. Structure-activity relationships were based on the structural differences among the compounds. The cytotoxicity of the extracts and compounds (1, 2, 3, and 4) was evaluated in HeLa (human cervix adenocarcinoma) cell line while the trypanocidal activities were evaluated on Trypanosoma brucei brucei. Results: Two acridone alkaloids, 1-hydroxy-3-methoxy-10-methylacridin-9 (10H)-one, named fabiocinine (1), and 1-hydroxy-2,3-dimethoxy-10-methylacridin-9 (10H)-one (arborinine, 2), together with a furoquinoline alkaloid, skimmianine (3), and a chelerythrine derivative, 6-acetonyl-5,6-dihydrochelerythrine (4) were isolated from the root bark of Zanthoxylum leprieurii. Skimmianine (3) exhibited cytotoxicity and anti-trypanosomal IC50 of 12.8 and 13.2 µg/mL respectively (p less than 0.05). Compound (1) and arborinine (2) were selectively cytotoxic to HeLa cells with cytotoxicity IC50 of 28.49 and 62.71 µg/mL, respectively, while (4) did not show significant activity (p less than 0.05). Conclusion: Zanthoxylum leprieurii root bark contains cytotoxic and trypanocidal compounds, and is thus a potential source of anti-cancer and anti-trypanosomal leads.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
The impact of formulation variables on the optimization of pilot scale clobetasol 17-propionate creams
- Fauzee, Ayesha F B, Walker, Roderick B
- Authors: Fauzee, Ayesha F B , Walker, Roderick B
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/183275 , vital:43937 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/23311916.2020.1804713"
- Description: The impact of formulation variables on the optimization of pilot scale clobetasol 17-propionate (CP) cream formulations was investigated using a Central Composite Design of Experiments. Thirty batches of cream were manufactured and the formulation variables assessed were % v/v propylene glycol, % w/w Gelot® 64, cetostearyl alcohol and glyceryl monostearate content. The responses monitored included viscosity, spreadability, pH, CP content, extrudability, electrical conductivity, and % CP released at 72 hours. The responses were compared to those of a reference product, Dermovate® cream. ANOVA analysis revealed that viscosity, spreadability, and % CP released at 72 hours were significant formulation responses (p more than 0.05). Cetostearyl alcohol had the greatest impact on quality of pilot scale products. An increase in cetostearyl alcohol resulted in an increase in viscosity, a decrease in spreadability, and a decrease in % CP released at 72 hours. The optimized pilot scale CP formulation contained 46% v/v propylene glycol, 8.6% w/w cetostearyl alcohol, 10.5% w/w glyceryl monostearate, and 3.8% w/w Gelot® 64. The resultant viscosity, spreadability, pH, CP content, extrudability, electrical conductivity, and % CP released were 44633cP, 24.91cm2, 101.23 %, 76.98 g/cm2, 198.23 µS/cm, and 50.23%. The addition of cetostearyl alcohol and Gelot® 64 is critical for establishing a soft formulation that leads to the formation of a mixed crystal bilayer network of high viscosity. The formation of a separate crystalline lipophilic network usually occurs in semi-solid formulations that contain high concentrations of emulsifier, leading to an increase in shear stress and greater physicochemical stability of the formulation. The use of experimental design approaches to formulation development activities, permit evaluation of multiple factors simultaneously, reducing the time and costs associated with product development activities, whilst identifying a composition design space and ensuring stable and effective dosage forms are produced.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Fauzee, Ayesha F B , Walker, Roderick B
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/183275 , vital:43937 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/23311916.2020.1804713"
- Description: The impact of formulation variables on the optimization of pilot scale clobetasol 17-propionate (CP) cream formulations was investigated using a Central Composite Design of Experiments. Thirty batches of cream were manufactured and the formulation variables assessed were % v/v propylene glycol, % w/w Gelot® 64, cetostearyl alcohol and glyceryl monostearate content. The responses monitored included viscosity, spreadability, pH, CP content, extrudability, electrical conductivity, and % CP released at 72 hours. The responses were compared to those of a reference product, Dermovate® cream. ANOVA analysis revealed that viscosity, spreadability, and % CP released at 72 hours were significant formulation responses (p more than 0.05). Cetostearyl alcohol had the greatest impact on quality of pilot scale products. An increase in cetostearyl alcohol resulted in an increase in viscosity, a decrease in spreadability, and a decrease in % CP released at 72 hours. The optimized pilot scale CP formulation contained 46% v/v propylene glycol, 8.6% w/w cetostearyl alcohol, 10.5% w/w glyceryl monostearate, and 3.8% w/w Gelot® 64. The resultant viscosity, spreadability, pH, CP content, extrudability, electrical conductivity, and % CP released were 44633cP, 24.91cm2, 101.23 %, 76.98 g/cm2, 198.23 µS/cm, and 50.23%. The addition of cetostearyl alcohol and Gelot® 64 is critical for establishing a soft formulation that leads to the formation of a mixed crystal bilayer network of high viscosity. The formation of a separate crystalline lipophilic network usually occurs in semi-solid formulations that contain high concentrations of emulsifier, leading to an increase in shear stress and greater physicochemical stability of the formulation. The use of experimental design approaches to formulation development activities, permit evaluation of multiple factors simultaneously, reducing the time and costs associated with product development activities, whilst identifying a composition design space and ensuring stable and effective dosage forms are produced.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Multi-layered risk management in under-resourced antenatal clinics
- Feltham-King, Tracey, Macleod, Catriona I
- Authors: Feltham-King, Tracey , Macleod, Catriona I
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/298561 , vital:57716 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13698575.2019.1697432"
- Description: In this article we contribute to critical risk approaches to studying pregnancy and childbirth in the global South. Following Sarah Rudrum’s work, our approach focusses on sociocultural inequalities amid the regulation of individuals. We draw on data from our Foucauldian-inspired ethnography of two antenatal clinics in an under-resourced area of South Africa to illustrate how multi-layered risk management operates in these spaces. These data were collected over a period of six months in the form of semi-structured interviews, observations of consultations and waiting room interactions, documents used in the clinic, and posters appearing on the clinic walls. Our findings show how a scientific-bureaucratic approach to pregnancy risk management, as encoded in international, national and institutional guidelines, is well known, highly visible, and practised through surveillance and reporting mechanisms in clinics. This approach incites healthcare practitioners to achieve particular performance standards and to monitor their professional agency. Managing pregnancy risk thus entails regulating the healthcare practitioners themselves. In implementing approved pregnancy risk management strategies in an over-subscribed and under-resourced public healthcare setting, however, healthcare practitioners face potential risk to their professional reputation and integrity. In managing this risk, they resist the scientific-bureaucratic approach through: depicting themselves as victims of unfair institutional arrangements or unreasonable patients; instituting street-level bureaucracy to control access to the clinics; and controlling patients’ actions in authoritarian ways. Our research shows that without engagement with the on-the-ground realities of the antenatal clinic in resource-poor environments, a scientific-bureaucratic approach to pregnancy risk management is inevitably limited in its effectiveness.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Feltham-King, Tracey , Macleod, Catriona I
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/298561 , vital:57716 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13698575.2019.1697432"
- Description: In this article we contribute to critical risk approaches to studying pregnancy and childbirth in the global South. Following Sarah Rudrum’s work, our approach focusses on sociocultural inequalities amid the regulation of individuals. We draw on data from our Foucauldian-inspired ethnography of two antenatal clinics in an under-resourced area of South Africa to illustrate how multi-layered risk management operates in these spaces. These data were collected over a period of six months in the form of semi-structured interviews, observations of consultations and waiting room interactions, documents used in the clinic, and posters appearing on the clinic walls. Our findings show how a scientific-bureaucratic approach to pregnancy risk management, as encoded in international, national and institutional guidelines, is well known, highly visible, and practised through surveillance and reporting mechanisms in clinics. This approach incites healthcare practitioners to achieve particular performance standards and to monitor their professional agency. Managing pregnancy risk thus entails regulating the healthcare practitioners themselves. In implementing approved pregnancy risk management strategies in an over-subscribed and under-resourced public healthcare setting, however, healthcare practitioners face potential risk to their professional reputation and integrity. In managing this risk, they resist the scientific-bureaucratic approach through: depicting themselves as victims of unfair institutional arrangements or unreasonable patients; instituting street-level bureaucracy to control access to the clinics; and controlling patients’ actions in authoritarian ways. Our research shows that without engagement with the on-the-ground realities of the antenatal clinic in resource-poor environments, a scientific-bureaucratic approach to pregnancy risk management is inevitably limited in its effectiveness.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of chlorin derivatives for photodynamic therapy of cholangiocarcinoma
- Gao, Ying-Hua, Li, Man-Yi, Saijad, Faiza, Wang, Jin-Hai, Meharban, Faiza, Gadoora, Malaz A, Yan, Yi-Jia, Nyokong, Tebello, Chen, Zhi-Long
- Authors: Gao, Ying-Hua , Li, Man-Yi , Saijad, Faiza , Wang, Jin-Hai , Meharban, Faiza , Gadoora, Malaz A , Yan, Yi-Jia , Nyokong, Tebello , Chen, Zhi-Long
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190873 , vital:45036 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2020.112049"
- Description: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been developed as a promising therapeutic method in cancer treatment. The discovery of effective photosensitizer, which is the key factor of PDT, is highly desired. This paper reports the synthesis of novel chlorin derivatives, 5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-[2:3]-[(methoxycarbonyl, carboxy)methano] chlorin I and 5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-[2:3]- {[methoxycarbonyl, (2-hydroxyethyl)amide]methano}chlorin II. Their structures were characterized with UV–vis, 1HNMR, 13CNMR and HRMS spectroscopies. Photophysical and photochemical experiments results showed that compound I and II had an absorption maximum around 650 nm, with molar extinction coefficients of 1 × 104 M−1 cm−1. They had strong fluorescence emission in 650–660 nm upon excitation with 419–422 nm light. ESR showed that singlet oxygen was produced upon irradiation of compounds with 650 nm light in the presence of molecular oxygen. The photo-bleaching test indicated that the structure of compounds was stable. These new compounds exhibit excellent anti-tumor effects and lower toxicity compared to m-THPC in vitro and in vivo. Compound I and II had high tumor selectivity, which could induced tumor cells shrinkage and necrosis under 650 nm laser irradiation. Flow cytometry revealed that the compounds might mediate PDT effect at late apoptotic phase. These results make these compound I and II promising candidates for future study in photo-diagnosis and photodynamic therapy of cholangiocarcinoma.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Gao, Ying-Hua , Li, Man-Yi , Saijad, Faiza , Wang, Jin-Hai , Meharban, Faiza , Gadoora, Malaz A , Yan, Yi-Jia , Nyokong, Tebello , Chen, Zhi-Long
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190873 , vital:45036 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2020.112049"
- Description: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been developed as a promising therapeutic method in cancer treatment. The discovery of effective photosensitizer, which is the key factor of PDT, is highly desired. This paper reports the synthesis of novel chlorin derivatives, 5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-[2:3]-[(methoxycarbonyl, carboxy)methano] chlorin I and 5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-[2:3]- {[methoxycarbonyl, (2-hydroxyethyl)amide]methano}chlorin II. Their structures were characterized with UV–vis, 1HNMR, 13CNMR and HRMS spectroscopies. Photophysical and photochemical experiments results showed that compound I and II had an absorption maximum around 650 nm, with molar extinction coefficients of 1 × 104 M−1 cm−1. They had strong fluorescence emission in 650–660 nm upon excitation with 419–422 nm light. ESR showed that singlet oxygen was produced upon irradiation of compounds with 650 nm light in the presence of molecular oxygen. The photo-bleaching test indicated that the structure of compounds was stable. These new compounds exhibit excellent anti-tumor effects and lower toxicity compared to m-THPC in vitro and in vivo. Compound I and II had high tumor selectivity, which could induced tumor cells shrinkage and necrosis under 650 nm laser irradiation. Flow cytometry revealed that the compounds might mediate PDT effect at late apoptotic phase. These results make these compound I and II promising candidates for future study in photo-diagnosis and photodynamic therapy of cholangiocarcinoma.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Expansive learning in the leadership development of school learners
- Grant, Carolyn, Kajee, Farhana Amod
- Authors: Grant, Carolyn , Kajee, Farhana Amod
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/281072 , vital:55689 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2020.1836405"
- Description: In many countries across the globe, and on the African continent in particular, young people do not have a voice in matters concerning their schooling. By virtue of their minor status, opportunities for participatory decision-making and leadership in schools are restricted, despite national policies to the contrary. This is all-too-often because leadership is (mis)understood as an adult phenomenon. In this article, we present a formative intervention, ‘Learners Lead’, which aimed at developing learner voice and leadership in learners through collective involvement in school change projects. Formulated as a documentary case study, data were generated from 95 research reports, the written assessments of the students registered for the Educational Leadership and Management elective within a postgraduate qualification in a South African university. Analysis drew on the pyramid of learner voice and the theory of expansive learning to examine if, and how, leadership development in learners occurred. The study found that expansive learning’s seven learning actions provided the necessary additional theoretical tools for understanding and unpacking the stages of leadership development as the school change projects unfolded. Implications for practice and research are discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Grant, Carolyn , Kajee, Farhana Amod
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/281072 , vital:55689 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2020.1836405"
- Description: In many countries across the globe, and on the African continent in particular, young people do not have a voice in matters concerning their schooling. By virtue of their minor status, opportunities for participatory decision-making and leadership in schools are restricted, despite national policies to the contrary. This is all-too-often because leadership is (mis)understood as an adult phenomenon. In this article, we present a formative intervention, ‘Learners Lead’, which aimed at developing learner voice and leadership in learners through collective involvement in school change projects. Formulated as a documentary case study, data were generated from 95 research reports, the written assessments of the students registered for the Educational Leadership and Management elective within a postgraduate qualification in a South African university. Analysis drew on the pyramid of learner voice and the theory of expansive learning to examine if, and how, leadership development in learners occurred. The study found that expansive learning’s seven learning actions provided the necessary additional theoretical tools for understanding and unpacking the stages of leadership development as the school change projects unfolded. Implications for practice and research are discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Reimagining academic identities in response to research demands at Universities of Technology
- Gumbi, Thobani, McKenna, Sioux
- Authors: Gumbi, Thobani , McKenna, Sioux
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/185897 , vital:44446 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.14426/cristal.v8i1.234"
- Description: In the last volume of this journal, Garraway and Winberg called for a reimagination of Universities of Technology (UoT) within the South African higher education system. This article continues that conversation by looking at the implications that the formation of the UoT had for academics’ identities. Technikon lecturers’ identities were closely tied to workplace expertise, but demands for research in UoTs have changed this. A social realist analysis of interviews with fifteen academics at three UoTs finds that research remains a contested issue. Interviewees understood research to take the form of acquiring postgraduate qualifications, rather than as an ongoing activity tied to their identities. Echoing Garraway and Winberg’s study, the bureaucratic nature of the institutional culture was referred to as a constraint. There was also a view that for this programme, Dental Technology, a demand for research was needed from industry if this was to be a valued aspect of academics’ identities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Gumbi, Thobani , McKenna, Sioux
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/185897 , vital:44446 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.14426/cristal.v8i1.234"
- Description: In the last volume of this journal, Garraway and Winberg called for a reimagination of Universities of Technology (UoT) within the South African higher education system. This article continues that conversation by looking at the implications that the formation of the UoT had for academics’ identities. Technikon lecturers’ identities were closely tied to workplace expertise, but demands for research in UoTs have changed this. A social realist analysis of interviews with fifteen academics at three UoTs finds that research remains a contested issue. Interviewees understood research to take the form of acquiring postgraduate qualifications, rather than as an ongoing activity tied to their identities. Echoing Garraway and Winberg’s study, the bureaucratic nature of the institutional culture was referred to as a constraint. There was also a view that for this programme, Dental Technology, a demand for research was needed from industry if this was to be a valued aspect of academics’ identities.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
An improved systems approach as a phytosanitary measure for Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in export citrus fruit from South Africa
- Hattingh, Vaughan, Moore, Sean D, Kirkman, Wayne, Goddard, Mat, Thackeray, Sean, Peyper, Mellissa, Sharp, Gary, Cronjé, Paul, Pringle, Ken
- Authors: Hattingh, Vaughan , Moore, Sean D , Kirkman, Wayne , Goddard, Mat , Thackeray, Sean , Peyper, Mellissa , Sharp, Gary , Cronjé, Paul , Pringle, Ken
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/423700 , vital:72086 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toz336"
- Description: A systems approach was previously developed for mitigating phytosanitary risk of Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick) in citrus fruit exported from South Africa, as an alternative to a standalone cold disinfestation treatment. The present study first tested the original systems approach by applying it on a semicommercial scale in 10 Nova mandarin orchards. Fruit were inspected at points in the production, packing, and simulated shipping process, to assess performance of the systems approach. Additional data were obtained from 17 Valencia orange orchards and six packinghouses. In the second part of this study, the systems approach was accordingly revised and improved, consisting of three measures: 1) preharvest controls and measurements and postpicking sampling, inspection, and packinghouse procedures; 2) postpacking sampling and inspection; and 3) shipping conditions. The model quantifying the effectiveness of the systems approach was improved by correcting errors in the original version, updating parameter values and adding a component that provides for comparison with the risk mitigation provided by a standalone disinfestation treatment. Consequently, the maximum potential proportion of fruit that may be infested with live T. leucotreta after application of the improved systems approach is no greater than the proportion of fruit that may be infested after application of a Probit 9 efficacy postharvest disinfestation treatment to fruit with a 2% pretreatment infestation. The probability of a mating pair surviving is also determined. The model enables a priori determination of the required threshold levels for any of the three measures, based on quantification of the other two measures.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Hattingh, Vaughan , Moore, Sean D , Kirkman, Wayne , Goddard, Mat , Thackeray, Sean , Peyper, Mellissa , Sharp, Gary , Cronjé, Paul , Pringle, Ken
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/423700 , vital:72086 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toz336"
- Description: A systems approach was previously developed for mitigating phytosanitary risk of Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick) in citrus fruit exported from South Africa, as an alternative to a standalone cold disinfestation treatment. The present study first tested the original systems approach by applying it on a semicommercial scale in 10 Nova mandarin orchards. Fruit were inspected at points in the production, packing, and simulated shipping process, to assess performance of the systems approach. Additional data were obtained from 17 Valencia orange orchards and six packinghouses. In the second part of this study, the systems approach was accordingly revised and improved, consisting of three measures: 1) preharvest controls and measurements and postpicking sampling, inspection, and packinghouse procedures; 2) postpacking sampling and inspection; and 3) shipping conditions. The model quantifying the effectiveness of the systems approach was improved by correcting errors in the original version, updating parameter values and adding a component that provides for comparison with the risk mitigation provided by a standalone disinfestation treatment. Consequently, the maximum potential proportion of fruit that may be infested with live T. leucotreta after application of the improved systems approach is no greater than the proportion of fruit that may be infested after application of a Probit 9 efficacy postharvest disinfestation treatment to fruit with a 2% pretreatment infestation. The probability of a mating pair surviving is also determined. The model enables a priori determination of the required threshold levels for any of the three measures, based on quantification of the other two measures.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
On the move: New insights on the ecology and management of native and alien macrophytes
- Hofstra, Deborah, Schoelynck, Jonas, Ferrell, Jason, Coetzee, Julie A, de Winton, Mary, Bickel, Tobias O, Champion, Paul, Madsen, John, Bakker, Elisabeth S, Hilt, Sabine, Matheson, Fleur, Netherland, Mike, Gross, Elisabeth M
- Authors: Hofstra, Deborah , Schoelynck, Jonas , Ferrell, Jason , Coetzee, Julie A , de Winton, Mary , Bickel, Tobias O , Champion, Paul , Madsen, John , Bakker, Elisabeth S , Hilt, Sabine , Matheson, Fleur , Netherland, Mike , Gross, Elisabeth M
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/419346 , vital:71636 , xlink:href=" https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2019.103190"
- Description: Globally, freshwater ecosystems are under threat. The main threats come from catchment land-use changes, altered water regimes, eutrophication, invasive species, climate change and combinations of these factors. We need scientific research to respond to these challenges by providing solutions to halt the deterioration and improve the condition of our valuable freshwaters. This requires a good understanding of aquatic ecosystems, and the nature and scale of changes occurring. Macrophytes play a fundamental role in aquatic systems. They are sensitive indicators of ecosystem health, as they are affected by run-off from agricultural, industrial or urban areas. On the other hand, alien macrophytes are increasingly invading aquatic systems all over the world. Improving our knowledge on the ecology and management of both native and alien plants is indispensable to address threats to freshwaters in order to protect and restore aquatic habitats. The International Aquatic Plants Group (IAPG) brings together scientists and practitioners based at universities, research and environmental organisations around the world. The main themes of the 15th symposium 2018 in New Zealand were biodiversity and conservation, management, invasive species, and ecosystem response and restoration. This Virtual Special Issue provides a comprehensive review from the symposium, addressing the ecology of native macrophytes, including those of conservation concern, and highly invasive alien macrophytes, and the implications of management interventions. In this editorial paper, we highlight insights and paradigms on the ecology and management of native and alien macrophytes gathered during the meeting.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Hofstra, Deborah , Schoelynck, Jonas , Ferrell, Jason , Coetzee, Julie A , de Winton, Mary , Bickel, Tobias O , Champion, Paul , Madsen, John , Bakker, Elisabeth S , Hilt, Sabine , Matheson, Fleur , Netherland, Mike , Gross, Elisabeth M
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/419346 , vital:71636 , xlink:href=" https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2019.103190"
- Description: Globally, freshwater ecosystems are under threat. The main threats come from catchment land-use changes, altered water regimes, eutrophication, invasive species, climate change and combinations of these factors. We need scientific research to respond to these challenges by providing solutions to halt the deterioration and improve the condition of our valuable freshwaters. This requires a good understanding of aquatic ecosystems, and the nature and scale of changes occurring. Macrophytes play a fundamental role in aquatic systems. They are sensitive indicators of ecosystem health, as they are affected by run-off from agricultural, industrial or urban areas. On the other hand, alien macrophytes are increasingly invading aquatic systems all over the world. Improving our knowledge on the ecology and management of both native and alien plants is indispensable to address threats to freshwaters in order to protect and restore aquatic habitats. The International Aquatic Plants Group (IAPG) brings together scientists and practitioners based at universities, research and environmental organisations around the world. The main themes of the 15th symposium 2018 in New Zealand were biodiversity and conservation, management, invasive species, and ecosystem response and restoration. This Virtual Special Issue provides a comprehensive review from the symposium, addressing the ecology of native macrophytes, including those of conservation concern, and highly invasive alien macrophytes, and the implications of management interventions. In this editorial paper, we highlight insights and paradigms on the ecology and management of native and alien macrophytes gathered during the meeting.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
The crystal structure of 2-oxo-2H-chromen-4-yl acetate, C11H8O4
- Hulushe, Siya T, Manyeruke, Meloddy H, Hosten, Eric C, Kaye, Perry, Watkins, Gareth M
- Authors: Hulushe, Siya T , Manyeruke, Meloddy H , Hosten, Eric C , Kaye, Perry , Watkins, Gareth M
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/194048 , vital:45418 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1515/ncrs-2019-0698"
- Description: C11H8O4, monoclinic, P21/c (no. 14), a = 4.5947(2) Å, b = 10.5414(3) Å, c = 19.1611(7) Å, β = 94.084(2)°, V = 925.70(6) Å3, Z = 4, Rgt(F) = 0.0376, wRref(F 2) = 0.1109,T = 200(2) K.CCDC no.: 1906383
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Hulushe, Siya T , Manyeruke, Meloddy H , Hosten, Eric C , Kaye, Perry , Watkins, Gareth M
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/194048 , vital:45418 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1515/ncrs-2019-0698"
- Description: C11H8O4, monoclinic, P21/c (no. 14), a = 4.5947(2) Å, b = 10.5414(3) Å, c = 19.1611(7) Å, β = 94.084(2)°, V = 925.70(6) Å3, Z = 4, Rgt(F) = 0.0376, wRref(F 2) = 0.1109,T = 200(2) K.CCDC no.: 1906383
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Synergistic effects of temperature and plant quality, on development time, size and lipid in Eccritotarsus eichhorniae
- Ismail, Mohannad, Brooks, Margot, Van Baaren, Joan, Albittar, Loulou
- Authors: Ismail, Mohannad , Brooks, Margot , Van Baaren, Joan , Albittar, Loulou
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/426078 , vital:72312 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.12841"
- Description: Body size is an important biotic factor in evolutionary ecology, since it affects all aspects of insect physiology, life history and, consequently, fitness in ectothermic insects and how species adapt with their environment. It has been linked to tem-perature, with lower temperatures resulting in larger size. In this study, we tested the combined impact of temperature and plant quality on the body size, and de-velopment time from egg to adult of Eccritotarsus eichhorniae (Hemiptera: Miridae), an herbivorous insect used as a biological control agent against the invasive aquatic weed, water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes (Pontederiaceae). We quantified insect size in individuals exposed to three temperatures (20, 25 and 30°C) combined with three qualities of host plant (high, medium and low) by calculating development time and measuring four traits: tibia length, forewing length, dry body mass and lipid con-tent, and we also determined the wing loading index. The development time, dry body mass and lipid content decreased linearly with increasing temperature and de-creasing plant quality. The decrease in size was the greatest when high temperature interacted with low plant quality. Smaller individuals had proportionately less lipid content. Wing loading decreased significantly with lower quality of host plant, result-ing in individuals likely to have theoretically higher flight ability. The results support the temperature-size rule (TSR) and that plant quality could influence the relationship between development time and the TSR. Results also provide novel evidence for a possible food quality-size rule for both sexes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Ismail, Mohannad , Brooks, Margot , Van Baaren, Joan , Albittar, Loulou
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/426078 , vital:72312 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.12841"
- Description: Body size is an important biotic factor in evolutionary ecology, since it affects all aspects of insect physiology, life history and, consequently, fitness in ectothermic insects and how species adapt with their environment. It has been linked to tem-perature, with lower temperatures resulting in larger size. In this study, we tested the combined impact of temperature and plant quality on the body size, and de-velopment time from egg to adult of Eccritotarsus eichhorniae (Hemiptera: Miridae), an herbivorous insect used as a biological control agent against the invasive aquatic weed, water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes (Pontederiaceae). We quantified insect size in individuals exposed to three temperatures (20, 25 and 30°C) combined with three qualities of host plant (high, medium and low) by calculating development time and measuring four traits: tibia length, forewing length, dry body mass and lipid con-tent, and we also determined the wing loading index. The development time, dry body mass and lipid content decreased linearly with increasing temperature and de-creasing plant quality. The decrease in size was the greatest when high temperature interacted with low plant quality. Smaller individuals had proportionately less lipid content. Wing loading decreased significantly with lower quality of host plant, result-ing in individuals likely to have theoretically higher flight ability. The results support the temperature-size rule (TSR) and that plant quality could influence the relationship between development time and the TSR. Results also provide novel evidence for a possible food quality-size rule for both sexes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Making (non) sense of urban water flows: Qualities and processes for transformative and transgressive learning moments
- Authors: James, Anna
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/390665 , vital:68572 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su11236817"
- Description: Urban sustainability and justice depend upon the flow of water across complex urban space. Yet, the characteristics of urban space produce a fragmented sense of our water resources. Cape Town, South Africa, the context of this research, is one such city whose water challenges have been exacerbated by climate change-induced drought, to the extent that the city nearly shut off the water running to residents’ taps. This context presents a particular challenge for the focus of this special issue, transformative and transgressive learning, an emerging arena of thought and practice concerned with learning processes that might foster more sustainable socio-ecological relations. The empirical material for this research draws from 12 arts-based inquiry workshops run with youth in an environmental organisation over four months, exploring a local water crisis. The data were generated through an engaged arts-based research process. The paper traces how transformative and transgressive learning in the context of urban water crisis might be characterised as making (non)sense by bringing the empirical material into dialogue with five entry points of transformative and transgressive learning literature rooted in Freirean educational praxis. This paper crafts and engages the concept of making (non)sense, a way of thinking about qualities and processes of learning praxis that responds to the wicked sustainability challenges we face today, particularly in terms of a Global South perspective. I argue such a praxis needs qualities and processes that disrupt and trouble the norm in the context of the socio-ecological challenge of urban water.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: James, Anna
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/390665 , vital:68572 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su11236817"
- Description: Urban sustainability and justice depend upon the flow of water across complex urban space. Yet, the characteristics of urban space produce a fragmented sense of our water resources. Cape Town, South Africa, the context of this research, is one such city whose water challenges have been exacerbated by climate change-induced drought, to the extent that the city nearly shut off the water running to residents’ taps. This context presents a particular challenge for the focus of this special issue, transformative and transgressive learning, an emerging arena of thought and practice concerned with learning processes that might foster more sustainable socio-ecological relations. The empirical material for this research draws from 12 arts-based inquiry workshops run with youth in an environmental organisation over four months, exploring a local water crisis. The data were generated through an engaged arts-based research process. The paper traces how transformative and transgressive learning in the context of urban water crisis might be characterised as making (non)sense by bringing the empirical material into dialogue with five entry points of transformative and transgressive learning literature rooted in Freirean educational praxis. This paper crafts and engages the concept of making (non)sense, a way of thinking about qualities and processes of learning praxis that responds to the wicked sustainability challenges we face today, particularly in terms of a Global South perspective. I argue such a praxis needs qualities and processes that disrupt and trouble the norm in the context of the socio-ecological challenge of urban water.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Fabrication of electrospun fibers from a porphyrin linked to polyacrylonitrile polymer for photocatalytic transformation of phenols
- Jones, Ben, Mafukidze, Donovan M, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Jones, Ben , Mafukidze, Donovan M , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/186196 , vital:44472 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molstruc.2020.128191"
- Description: A novel mono-porphyrin (2) was employed for the photodegradation of 4-chlorophenol and 4-n-nonylphenol at pH 10.60. A partially modified polyacrylonitrile (PAN) polymer was utilized only as a support system for the photosensitiser to allow the formation of a covalent linkage. Complex 2 showed singlet oxygen values of 0.70 in dimethyl formamide and when conjugated (2-PAN) showed 0.39 in water. When employed against 4-chlorophenol a degradation efficiency (η) of 29.1% was achieved at 0.20 mol L−1 over a period of 10 min. When employed against 4-n-nonylphenol we obtained a η of 26.7% at 0.17 mol L−1 over a period of 10 min.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Jones, Ben , Mafukidze, Donovan M , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/186196 , vital:44472 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molstruc.2020.128191"
- Description: A novel mono-porphyrin (2) was employed for the photodegradation of 4-chlorophenol and 4-n-nonylphenol at pH 10.60. A partially modified polyacrylonitrile (PAN) polymer was utilized only as a support system for the photosensitiser to allow the formation of a covalent linkage. Complex 2 showed singlet oxygen values of 0.70 in dimethyl formamide and when conjugated (2-PAN) showed 0.39 in water. When employed against 4-chlorophenol a degradation efficiency (η) of 29.1% was achieved at 0.20 mol L−1 over a period of 10 min. When employed against 4-n-nonylphenol we obtained a η of 26.7% at 0.17 mol L−1 over a period of 10 min.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Men in Women’s Clothes
- Authors: Jones, Ward E
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/275658 , vital:55067 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1111/sjp.12394"
- Description: The descriptive phrase that comprises my title can refer both to a pervasive comic trope and a mode of self-expression. There is a tension here, insofar as the comic trope leads us not to take cross-dressing, or drag, seriously. The first half of the comic film Some Like It Hot (1959), with its cross-gender plot and its (sophisticated but) straightforward use of the comic trope of men-in-women’s clothes, appears to fall foul of this tension and to be susceptible to criticism in this regard. However, the film rectifies itself, portraying the cross-dressing relationship which develops through the second half of the film as a potentially meaningful one for both partners. In this article, I interpret the film as inviting its viewers to adopt a (particular kind of) skeptical ironic (that is, Pyrrhonian) attitude toward gender-presentation practices. While the film in no way attempts to discourage us from participating in such practices, it does invite us—through our partiality toward the characters Osgood and Jerry/Daphne, as we follow their budding, transgressive relationship—to acknowledge that a violation of gender-presentation practices can be a meaningful feature of sincere relationships.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Jones, Ward E
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/275658 , vital:55067 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1111/sjp.12394"
- Description: The descriptive phrase that comprises my title can refer both to a pervasive comic trope and a mode of self-expression. There is a tension here, insofar as the comic trope leads us not to take cross-dressing, or drag, seriously. The first half of the comic film Some Like It Hot (1959), with its cross-gender plot and its (sophisticated but) straightforward use of the comic trope of men-in-women’s clothes, appears to fall foul of this tension and to be susceptible to criticism in this regard. However, the film rectifies itself, portraying the cross-dressing relationship which develops through the second half of the film as a potentially meaningful one for both partners. In this article, I interpret the film as inviting its viewers to adopt a (particular kind of) skeptical ironic (that is, Pyrrhonian) attitude toward gender-presentation practices. While the film in no way attempts to discourage us from participating in such practices, it does invite us—through our partiality toward the characters Osgood and Jerry/Daphne, as we follow their budding, transgressive relationship—to acknowledge that a violation of gender-presentation practices can be a meaningful feature of sincere relationships.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Prioritising African perspectives in psychiatric genomics research
- Kamaara, Eunice, Kong, Camilla, Campbell, Megan
- Authors: Kamaara, Eunice , Kong, Camilla , Campbell, Megan
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/302520 , vital:58204 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1111/dewb.12248"
- Description: Psychiatric genomics research with African populations comes with a range of practical challenges around translation of psychiatric genomics research concepts, procedures, and nosology. These challenges raise deep ethical issues particularly around legitimacy of informed consent, a core foundation of research ethics. Through aconsideration of the constitutive function of language, the paper problematises like‐for‐like, designative translations which often involve the ‘indigenization’ of English terms or use of metaphors which misrepresent the risks and benefits of research. This paper argues that effective translation of psychiatric genomics research terminology in African contexts demands substantive engagement with African conceptual schemas and values. In developing attenuated forms of translational thinking, researchers may recognise the deeper motivational reasons behind participation in research, highlighting the possibility that such reasons may depart from the original meaning implied within informed consent forms. These translational issues might be ameliorated with a critical re-examination of how researchers develop and present protocols to institutional ethics review boards.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Kamaara, Eunice , Kong, Camilla , Campbell, Megan
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/302520 , vital:58204 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1111/dewb.12248"
- Description: Psychiatric genomics research with African populations comes with a range of practical challenges around translation of psychiatric genomics research concepts, procedures, and nosology. These challenges raise deep ethical issues particularly around legitimacy of informed consent, a core foundation of research ethics. Through aconsideration of the constitutive function of language, the paper problematises like‐for‐like, designative translations which often involve the ‘indigenization’ of English terms or use of metaphors which misrepresent the risks and benefits of research. This paper argues that effective translation of psychiatric genomics research terminology in African contexts demands substantive engagement with African conceptual schemas and values. In developing attenuated forms of translational thinking, researchers may recognise the deeper motivational reasons behind participation in research, highlighting the possibility that such reasons may depart from the original meaning implied within informed consent forms. These translational issues might be ameliorated with a critical re-examination of how researchers develop and present protocols to institutional ethics review boards.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Green synthesis of antimicrobial silver nanoparticles using aqueous leaf extracts from three Congolese plant species (Brillantaisia patula, Crossopteryx febrifuga and Senna siamea)
- Kambale, Espoir K, Nkanga, Christian I, Mutonkole, Blaise-Pascal I, Bapolisi, Alain M, Tassa, Daniel O, Liesse, Jean-Marie I, Krause, Rui W M, Memvanga, Patrick B
- Authors: Kambale, Espoir K , Nkanga, Christian I , Mutonkole, Blaise-Pascal I , Bapolisi, Alain M , Tassa, Daniel O , Liesse, Jean-Marie I , Krause, Rui W M , Memvanga, Patrick B
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193419 , vital:45330 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04493"
- Description: In the present study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized using aqueous leaf extracts of three Congolese plant species, namely Brillantaisia patula (BR-PA), Crossopteryx febrifuga (CR-FE) and Senna siamea (SE-SI). The obtained AgNPs were studied for their optical, structural, surface morphological and antibacterial properties. The prepared AgNPs were characterized by using UV-Visible spectra, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD). The synthesized nanoparticles were spherical shaped and well-dispersed with average sizes ranging from 45 to 110 nm. The AgNPs derived from BR-PA, CR-FE and SE-SI exhibited higher antibacterial activity against three bacterial pathogens of the human skin compared to their respective crude extracts and AgNO3. This indicated that the biomolecules covering the nanoparticles may enhance the biological activity of metal nanoparticles. Hence, our results support that biogenic synthesis of AgNPs from Congolese plants constitutes a potential area of interest for the therapeutic management of microbial diseases such as infectious skin diseases.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Kambale, Espoir K , Nkanga, Christian I , Mutonkole, Blaise-Pascal I , Bapolisi, Alain M , Tassa, Daniel O , Liesse, Jean-Marie I , Krause, Rui W M , Memvanga, Patrick B
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193419 , vital:45330 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04493"
- Description: In the present study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized using aqueous leaf extracts of three Congolese plant species, namely Brillantaisia patula (BR-PA), Crossopteryx febrifuga (CR-FE) and Senna siamea (SE-SI). The obtained AgNPs were studied for their optical, structural, surface morphological and antibacterial properties. The prepared AgNPs were characterized by using UV-Visible spectra, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD). The synthesized nanoparticles were spherical shaped and well-dispersed with average sizes ranging from 45 to 110 nm. The AgNPs derived from BR-PA, CR-FE and SE-SI exhibited higher antibacterial activity against three bacterial pathogens of the human skin compared to their respective crude extracts and AgNO3. This indicated that the biomolecules covering the nanoparticles may enhance the biological activity of metal nanoparticles. Hence, our results support that biogenic synthesis of AgNPs from Congolese plants constitutes a potential area of interest for the therapeutic management of microbial diseases such as infectious skin diseases.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020