Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) controls the development of the nervous system and its functions through VPAC1 receptor signaling: Lessons from microcephaly and hyperalgesia in VIP-deficient mice.

The studies carried out during my PhD demonstrate that VIP-deficient mice suffer from microcephaly and as well as white matter deficits mainly due to the absence of maternal VIP during embryogenesis, Placental secretion of VIP is dependent on T lymphocytes and could be altered in pathologies of the immune system. Moreover, our data links VIP deficiency to sensory alterations, specifically, the nociceptive system. Thus, it is possible that early developmental defects and hypersensitivity to mechanical and cold stimuli are two manifestations of the same pathology. This hypothesis was reinforced following analysis of spontaneous firing patterns of neurons in the sensory thalamus of anesthetized adult males. Neurons from VIP-KO mice are hyperactive, which suggests aberrant local processing of nociceptive input or that the inhibitory inputs from local interneuron networks is reduced.National Research Foundation (South Africa

Lessons from 10 years of growth in research output

In December 2013, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Peter Higgs made a startling announcement. “Today I wouldn't get an academic job,” he told The Guardian. “It's as simple as that. I don't think I would be regarded as productive enough.” Higgs noted that quantity, not quality, is the metric by which success in the sciences in measured. Unlike in 1964, when he was hired, scientists are now pressured to churn out as many papers as possible in order to retain their jobs. Had he not been nominated for the Nobel, Higgs says, he would have been fired. His scientific discovery was made possible by his era’s relatively lax publishing norms, which left him time to think, dream, and discover

Lessons from the DHET accreditation of publications

One of the goals for the higher education system in SA as “to secure and advance high-level research capacity which can ensure both the continuation of self-initiated open-ended intellectual inquiry and the sustained application of research activities to technological improvement and social development”

The identity of Barbus capensis Smith, 1841 and the generic status of southern African tetraploid cyprinids (Teleostei, Cyprinidae)

The identity of Barbus capensis, as described by Andrew Smith (1841), is reviewed following a careful examination of the lectotype in the Natural History Museum, London. Evidence shows clearly that it represents a specimen of the Berg-Breede River whitefish or ‘witvis’ and not the species known as the Clanwilliam yellowfish, to which it was attributed until recently. The original illustration of the species is shown to be a composite of these two different species. A replacement name for the Clanwilliam yellowfish is drawn from the earliest described synonym, Labeobarbus seeberi (Gilchrist & Thompson, 1913). Following widespread recognition that the genus Barbus Daudin, 1805 does not occur in sub-Saharan Africa, the generic status of the Berg-Breede River whitefish (witvis) and other tetraploid cyprinines of southern Africa is reviewed, taking genetic and morphological characters into account. Five distinct lineages, each representing a genus, are recognized, including the genera Pseudobarbus Smith, 1841 and Cheilobarbus Smith, 1841, and three new genera described herein: Amatolacypris gen. nov., Sedercypris gen. nov. and Namaquacypris gen. nov.National Research Foundation (South Africa

State of Repositories in South Africa & The African Open Science Platform: South Africa-CODATA Project

State of Repositories in South Africa & The African Open Science Platform presented at the South Africa-CODATA Project.National Research Foundation (South Africa

Influence of environmental variables on the larval stages of anchovy, Engraulis encrasicolus, and sardine, Sardinops sagax, in Algoa Bay, South Africa

We investigated the environmental drivers of larval abundance of anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus and sardine Sardinops sagax in Algoa Bay, Eastern Cape (South Africa). This study comprised a pre-drought post-drought time period, comparing the responses of the fish larvae to different factors before and after the drought. The current study presents, for the first time, which environmental variables are affecting the anchovy and sardine larvae populations in the region. Easterly wind speed and zooplankton density were the only environmental variables that presented a significant change between the pre- and post-drought periods, increasing after the drought. Generalized additive models (GAMs) were used in order to explore the effects that environmental factors might have in the abundance of anchovy and sardine larvae in Algoa Bay. Specifically, the GAM that best explained the deviance of the anchovy larvae dynamics included the covariates rainfall, easterly wind speed, Chl a concentration, sardine larvae abundance and the interactions SST*Chla and sard*SST. The GAM best explaining sardine larvae abundance included only the easterly wind speed as a covariate. This model showed that there was a positive relationship between the higher values of wind speed and sardine larvae abundance

ASSAf and unethical practices: membership and scholarly publishing

Annual nomination and election of members to ASSAf Current ASSAf members nominate new members ASSAf subject panels that screens the nominated members according to set criteria i.e top ten publications Selected nominated members publications are screened Back to ASSAf subject panels for final discussion and consideration Final names to members for voting What did it imply for ASSAf—additional layer in the workflow of checking the publications with recommendations to ASSAf panel. (Missing articles, What is the incidence rate? Extremely low– 1.3% over two year perio

Silica diatom shells tailored with Au nanoparticles enable sensitive analysis of molecules for biological, safety and environment applications

Diatom shells are a natural, theoretically unlimited material composed of silicon dioxide, with regular patterns of pores penetrating through their surface. For their characteristics, diatom shells show promise to be used as low cost, highly efficient drug carriers, sensor devices or other micro-devices. Here, we demonstrate diatom shells functionalized with gold nanoparticles for the harvesting and detection of biological analytes (bovine serum albumin—BSA) and chemical pollutants (mineral oil) in low abundance ranges, for applications in bioengineering, medicine, safety, and pollution monitoring.National Research Foundation (South Africa

Review of the steatiticus-species group of the cuskeel genus Neobythites (Ophidiidae) from the Indo-Pacific, with description of two new species

This review was motivated by the recent collection of a specimen of the specious cuskeel genus Neobythites (Ophidiidae) off Myanmar and difficulties to identify it based on the available literature. This specimen has an ocellus consisting of a dark oval spot and a concentric white ring placed on the dorsal fin at mid-body, typical for many Neobythites species. It belongs to a group of single-ocellus bearing species which have no or only one weakly developed, flat preopercular spine which we term here the "steatiticus-species group". Before this study, the steatiticus group consisted of six Indo-Pacific species, N. longipes, N. malhaensis, N. malayanus, N. meteori, N. steatiticus, and N. stefanovi, and the Atlantic N. monocellatus. From 136 specimens representing the six Indo-Pacific steatiticus-group species counts or measurements of 12 meristic, 14 body shape, five ocellus and six otolith characters were obtained and compared, revealing two undescribed species. We describe N. gloriae n. sp. from the Arabian Gulf and inner Gulf of Oman based on nine specimens that had been previously misidentified as N. steatiticus and N. stefanovi. The latter species differ from the new species and from each other in the combination of five characters, head length, orbit length, gill-filament length, ocellus-spot distance, and ocellus-spot size. The second new species described is N. lombokensis n. sp. which consists of a single specimen from off SE Lombok, southern Indonesia. It differs from all other steatiticus-group species in having a larger ocellus spot and in several meristic and morphometric characters. The specimen from off Myanmar, eastern Bay of Bengal, was found to belong to N. steatiticus, providing new information on distribution and colour. Diagnoses, updated distribution information, and a key for the eight Indo-Pacific steatiticus-group species are here presented. We discuss our findings with special emphasis on the variation and possible function of colour patterns in Neobythites, being important for understanding the ecology and evolution of this specious genus