The effectiveness of South Africa\u27s immigration policy for addressing skills shortages

South Africa is presently experiencing a serious shortage of skilled workers. This situation is negatively influencing the economic prospects and global participation of the country. The primary purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of sas immigration policy to support skills immigration. The outcome of this study indicated that South Africas immigration policy is restrictive and has undoubtedly influenced the shortage of skills in the country. This study has confirmed the findings of similar studies undertaken by the Centre for Development and Enterprise that South Africas skills immigration policy is very restrictive and is thus not helpful in addressing the skills shortages of the country

Mathematical Model for Image Restoration Based on Fractional Order Total Variation

This paper addresses mathematical model for signal restoration based on fractional order total variation (FOTV) for multiplicative noise. In alternating minimization algorithm the Newton method is coupled with time-marching scheme for the solutions of the corresponding PDEs related to the minimization of the denoising model. Results obtained from experiments show that our model can not only reduce the staircase effect of the restored images but also better improve the PSNR as compare to other existed methods

Temperature Impact in Electromagnetic Non-Invasive Water/Oil/Gas Multiphase Real Time Monitoring

The measurement of the reflected S-parameter (S11) for multiphase (liquid-liquid-gas) 10-60% water, 70-20% oil and 20% gas (air) in volume are monitored using an electromagnetic microwave resonation method at a frequency range of 1-6 GHz. The measurements were examined at variable temperature ranges from 5-60 oC that were stepped by 5 oC. Clear shifts are observed in three resonant peaks of the S-parameter measurements as a volume fraction of mixture constituents. These are changed by 10% per step. The two frequency type (horizontal) S11 shifts take place at main (4 GHz frequency) and around 5 GHz frequency resonant peaks and one power type (vertical) shift at 5.45 GHz frequency resonant peak. When the temperature is held constant, the S11 values for all resonant peaks increase as WVF (water volume fraction) in the mixture increases. When WVF is held constant, the values of S11 increase as the temperature increases for around 5 GHz, 5.45 GHz frequency peaks and decreases for main peak. The results are validated by HFSS simulation executed for all tested volume fractions at 5 and 60 oC. For verification, a complete simulation is carried out at 40-40-20 percent of water-oil-gas and compared with experimental results at 5 oC intervals from 5-60 oC. The experimental results agreed well with theoretical predictions that simulated the HFSS software package with a maximum error of 1.91% for 5 oC mixtures and 1.13% for 60 oC mixtures at the main peak and 5.4% for 5 oC mixtures and 6.01% for 60 oC mixtures at 5.45 GHz peak. The study shows that the S11 measurements can be used as a dependent method to specify both the phase fraction of the multiphase mixture as well as its salinity and temperature

Role of Proteomics in Crop Stress Tolerance

Plants often experience various biotic and abiotic stresses during their life cycle. The abiotic stresses include mainly drought, salt, temperature (low/high), flooding and nutritional deficiency/excess which hamper crop growth and yield to a great extent. In view of a projection 50% of the crop loss is attributable to abiotic stresses. However, abiotic stresses cause a myriad of changes in physiological, molecular and biochemical processes operating in plants. It is now widely reported that several proteins respond to these stresses at pre- and post-transcriptional and translational levels. By knowing the role of these stress inducible proteins, it would be easy to comprehensively expound the processes of stress tolerance in plants. The proteomics study offers a new approach to discover proteins and pathways associated with crop physiological and stress responses. Thus, studying the plants at proteomic levels could help understand the pathways involved in stress tolerance. Furthermore, improving the understanding of the identified key metabolic proteins involved in tolerance can be implemented into biotechnological applications, regarding recombinant/transgenic formation. Additionally, the investigation of identified metabolic processes ultimately supports the development of antistress strategies. In this review, we discussed the role of proteomics in crop stress tolerance. We also discussed different abiotic stresses and their effects on plants, particularly with reference to stress-induced expression of proteins, and how proteomics could act as vital biotechnological tools for improving stress tolerance in plants

PREPARATION OF CONJUGATE FOR USE IN AN ELISA FOR HUMORAL IMMUNE RESPONSE AGAINST EGG DROP SYNDROME VIRUS IN LAYER CHICKS

An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed for the detection of antibodies against Egg Drop Syndrome (EDS) virus. Virus identification was done through haemaggluti- nation inhibition (HI) test using known antisera. Antichicken immunoglobulins were raised in goats and purified by ammonium sulphate precipitation technique. These goat-antichicken immunoglobulins were conjugated with horseradish peroxidase. Twenty-seven serum samples were collected from a layers flock vaccinated against EDS and specific antibodies were determined by using a horseradish conjugate

Precarious rock methodology for seismic hazard: Physical testing, numerical modeling and coherence studies

This report covers the following projects: Shake table tests of precarious rock methodology, field tests of precarious rocks at Yucca Mountain and comparison of the results with PSHA predictions, study of the coherence of the wave field in the ESF, and a limited survey of precarious rocks south of the proposed repository footprint. A series of shake table experiments have been carried out at the University of Nevada, Reno Large Scale Structures Laboratory. The bulk of the experiments involved scaling acceleration time histories (uniaxial forcing) from 0.1g to the point where the objects on the shake table overturned a specified number of times. The results of these experiments have been compared with numerical overturning predictions. Numerical predictions for toppling of large objects with simple contact conditions (e.g., I-beams with sharp basal edges) agree well with shake-table results. The numerical model slightly underpredicts the overturning of small rectangular blocks. It overpredicts the overturning PGA for asymmetric granite boulders with complex basal contact conditions. In general the results confirm the approximate predictions of previous studies. Field testing of several rocks at Yucca Mountain has approximately confirmed the preliminary results from previous studies, suggesting that the PSHA predictions are too high, possibly because the uncertainty in the mean of the attenuation relations. Study of the coherence of wavefields in the ESF has provided results which will be very important in design of the canisters distribution, in particular a preliminary estimate of the wavelengths at which the wavefields become incoherent. No evidence was found for extreme focusing by lens-like inhomogeneities. A limited survey for precarious rocks confirmed that they extend south of the repository, and one of these has been field tested

Cancer Patterns in Quetta (1998-1999)

Introduction: Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan, is located at latitude 30,25; longitude 67.00. It has a population of 759,245; 425,474 males (56%) and 333,771 females (44%); Census 1998. The majority of residents are Persian or Baluchi speaking Baluchs. Methodology: The cancer cases from Quetta reported to the Karachi Cancer Registry were reviewed. The data included cases from the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Pathology Department (Quetta collection point) and health care facilities in Karachi. The residents of Baluchistan were ascertained and cancer cases residents of Quetta identified with the help of recorded addresses and retraceable telephone numbers. Results: During a 2-year period, 1st January 1998 to 31st December 1999 the Karachi Cancer Registry received 1077 cancer notifications from Quetta. Approximately half the cases were registered from the AKUH Quetta collection point. Others were the referral patterns in Karachi. The age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) of cancer, all sites (1998-99) was 137.0 for males and 92.8/100,000 for females. The commonest cancer in the males and females was cancer of the esophagus (lCD­10 categories C15; males- ASR 25.5, 17.2 %; females- ASR 23.4, 23.1%). One of the highest in the world, for both genders. Incidence of cancer breast in the females (lCD-10 categories C50; ASR 11.8, 13.3%) was low, Conclusion: The cancer data from Quetta is quite distinct from the cancer pattern of Karachi. It represents only a part of the cancer burden of Quetta; nonetheless it gives a glimpse into the cancer profile of Baluchistan. The high incidence of esophageal cancer indicates an extension of the geographical limits of the esophageal cancer belt

Current Management Strategies in Breast Cancer by Targeting Key Altered Molecular Players

Breast Cancer is second largest disease affecting women worldwide. It remains the most frequently reported and leading cause of death among women in both developed and developing countries. Chemoprevention is one the promising approaches which reduces breast cancer. Tamoxifen and raloxifene are commonly used for treatment of breast cancer in women with high risk, although resistance occurs by tamoxifen after five years of therapy and both drugs cause uterine cancer and thromboembolic events. Aromatase inhibitors are coming up as potential option for prevention in treatment with adjuvant trials in practice. The combination of aromatase inhibitors along with tamoxifen can also be beneficial. For this, clinical trials based on large number of patients with optimal dose and lesser side effects have to be more in practice. Despite the clinical trials going on, there is need of better molecular models which can identify high risk population and new agents with better benefit having less side effects and improved biomarkers for treating breast cancer

Relationship between serum anti-heat shock protein 27 antibody levels and obesity

Background Heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) is an intracellular molecular chaperone that is expressed at high levels following the exposure of cells to environmental stressors such as heat, toxins, and free radicals. High levels of HSP antigens and antibody titers have been reported in several conditions including cardiovascular disease and cancers. We measured serum anti-HSP27 antibody levels in 993 subjects and assessed the associations between serum anti-HSP27 antibody levels and demographic characteristics including coronary risk factors. Methods A total of 993 subjects were recruited as part of the Mashhad Stroke and Heart Atherosclerotic Disorders (MASHAD) cohort study. Demographic, clinical, and biochemical parameters and serum anti-HSP27 antibody titers were determined in all the subjects. Results Serum anti-HSP27 antibody levels increased with increasing age in men. No significant differences in levels were detected between men and women. Serum anti-HSP27 antibody levels were significantly higher in obese subjects than in nonobese subjects (P = 0.046); however, no significant influence of smoking status was observed. Moreover, serum anti-HSP27 antibody titers were positively associated with age, body mass index, waist/hip ratio, the presence of diabetes mellitus, nonsmoking habit, serum triglycerides, cholesterol, and high-sensitivity c-reactive protein. Conclusion We have found that serum anti-HSP27 antibody titers are related to several cardiovascular risk factors, necessitating further studies on the value of this emerging marker for risk stratification