Unraveling Mill-Rearranged Pedriatic Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Blood cells are derived from hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) that reside in the bone marrow. HSC’s are multipotent and have the capacity to diff erentiate into the cells of all blood lineages, i.e. erythrocytes, platelets, neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, monocytes, T and B lymphocytes, natural killer cells, and dendritic cells. Leukemia is cancer of the blood in which the normal population of blood cells in the bone marrow is replaced by immature blood cells (blasts). Th ese immature cells occur due to an imbalance in diff erentiation and proliferation. Accumulation of these malignant cells in the bone marrow results in decrease of normal mature blood cells, like white blood and red blood cells and platelets

Victimisation of African Foreign Nationals in Durban, South Africa

Media reports of the continued violence and discrimination experienced by African Foreign Nationals1 in South Africa have brought into the forefront victimisation of this sector, despite pledges by the government and law enforcement agencies to put a stop to it. This is also linked to current social milieu debates taking place within international trends on migration. Studies and evidence have shown that although the attitudes towards foreign nationals vary across South Africa's socio-economic and ethnic spectrum, foreigners who live and work in South Africa do face discrimination by citizens, some government officials, members of the police, and by private organisations who are contracted to manage their detention and deportation. This research, with a qualitative approach, explores the persistent issues that threaten African Foreign Nationals. Fifty participants were selected through a purposive sampling technique. The main aim of this research was to examine the issues that threatened the safety and security of African Foreign Nationals in Durban, South Africa. It was found that offences such as physical assault (i.e. Grievous Bodily Harm - GBH), arson, rape, verbal abuse, house robberies, property damage as well as discrimination were serious crimes perpetrated against African Foreign Nationals which was often characterised by xenophobic violent attacks against them

Poor Education and Unemployment Implications for Youth Crimes in Nigeria

Research on the correlation between education, occupation and criminality among the youth has grown both in length, and complexity in the last two decades. Using a mixed-method analysis, this study concurs that educational and occupational variables are significant determinants of criminal propensities but maintains two sides of the same coin by contending that the level of educational attainment of the youth does not grossly influence their involvement in criminal activities, whereas it draws on occupational attainment as a strong factor for the pervasive involvement of youth in criminality. Taking evidence from Nigeria, the study recommends policies that will review and implement youth entrepreneurial development, educational re-orientation and creation of more job opportunities, as a life-changing instrument against crime

The Role and Place of Covid-19: An Opportunistic Avenue for Exponential World’s Upsurge in Cyber Crime

An evidence-based analysis of COVID-19 suggests that the ailment is a bio-medically inclined natural mystic blowing through the world. To this end, this study focuses solely on the role the pandemic plays as an outbreak of cybercrime vector. The study presents a number of the world’s most recent cyber insecurity cases that accompanied the onset of the pandemic and findings were discussed within the context of situational opportunity theory of crime. It provides a framework for emergency management approach to protect global citizens and institutions from cyberattacks, as well as, mitigating the outbreak of the crime being propagated by the presence of the novel virus. Global sensitization and awareness programmes across various communities on the potential dangers of cyber insecurity accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic should be helpful. Of most significance, the fight against the invisible warfare should continue with high spirits of relentlessness until absolute peace, relief, resilience and normalcy are able to take root in the global communities

Solving Environmental Crimes through Restorative Justice Approaches

Environmental crimes pose a grave threat to our everyday lives, our planet, and future generations. Environmental crimes are any illegal trade in wildlife, forestry and fishery, illegal dumping of waste including chemicals, smuggling of ozone-depleting substances and illegal mining. Protecting and improving the quality and safety of our environment is one of our critical outcomes aimed at ensuring that the current and future generations will continue to enjoy their right to an environment that is not harmful. However, the traditional criminal justice approach has challenges in establishing culpability in environmental crimes and does not always make it possible to repair the injustice done by the wrongdoers. Using case studies from Australia, the findings of this study demonstrate that the use of a restorative justice approach makes it possible to resolve the multidimensional nature of environmental injustices and help to implement different needs of victims such as reparation, recognition, participation in Court proceedings and assistance. Furthermore, it places the justice process in a transformative logic that makes it possible to prevent future injustices

The impact of heavy metals on the aerobic biodegradation of 1,2-dichloroethane in soil.

Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2009.1,2-Dichloroethane (1,2-DCA), a short chain chlorinated aliphatic compound, is one of the most hazardous toxic pollutant of soil and groundwater, with an annual production in excess of 5.44 × 109 kg. The major concern over soil contamination with 1,2-DCA stems largely from health risks. Owing to their toxicity, persistence and potential for bioaccumulation, there is a growing interest in technologies for their removal. Many sites are, however, co-contaminated with a complex mixture of 1,2-DCA and heavy metal contaminants. Co-contaminated environments are considered difficult to remediate because of the mixed nature of the contaminants and the fact that the two components often must be treated differently. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the aerobic biodegradation of 1,2-DCA by autochthonous microorganisms in soil co-contaminated with 1,2-DCA and heavy metals, namely; arsenic (As3+), cadmium (Cd2+), mercury (Hg2+) and lead (Pb2+), via a direct and quantitative measurement of the inhibitory effects of heavy metals in a microcosm setting. Effects of various metal concentrations and their combinations were evaluated based on the following: (i) degradation rate constants; (ii) estimated minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of metals; (iii) concentrations of heavy metals that caused biodegradation half-life doublings (HLDs); and (iv) heavy metal concentrations that caused a significant effect on biodegradation (> 10% increase in t½ of 1,2-DCA). The effects of biostimulation, bioaugmentation and the addition of treatment additives on the biodegradation process were evaluated. The presence of heavy metals was observed to have a negative impact on the biodegradation of 1,2-DCA in both clay and loam soil samples, with the toxic effect being more pronounced in loam soil for all heavy metal concentrations except for Hg2+, after 15 days. Heavy metal concentrations of 75 mg/kg As3+, 840 mg/kg Hg2+, and 420 mg/kg Pb2+, resulted in 34.24%, 40.64%, and 45.94% increases in the t½ of 1,2-DCA, respectively, in loam soil compared to clay soil. Moreover, the combination of four heavy metals in loam soil resulted in 6.26% less degradation of 1,2-DCA compared to clay soil, after 15 days. Generally, more than 127.5 mg/kg Cd2+, 840 mg/kg Hg2+ and 420 mg/kg of Pb2+ was able to cause a > 10% increase in the t½ of 1,2-DCA in clay soil, while less than 75 mg/kg was required for As3+. An increased reduction in 1,2-DCA degradation was observed with increasing concentration of the heavy metals. In clay soil, a dose-dependant relationship between k1 and metal ion concentrations in which k1 decreased with higher initial metal concentrations was observed for all the heavy metals tested except Hg2+. Ammonium nitrate-extractable fractions of bioavailable As3+ and Cd2+ concentrations varied greatly, with approximately < 2.73% and < 0.62% of the total metal added to the system being bioavailable, respectively. Although bioavailable heavy metal fractions were lower than the total metal concentration added to the system, indigenous microorganisms were sensitive to the heavy metals. Biostimulation, bioaugmentation and amendment with treatment additives were all effective in enhancing the biodegradation of 1,2-DCA in the co-contaminated soil. In particular, biostimulation with fertilizer, dual-bioaugmentation and amendment with CaCO3 were most efficient in enhancing 1,2-DCA degradation resulting in 41.93%, 59.95% and 51.32% increases in the degradation rate constant of 1,2-DCA in the As3+ co-contaminated soil, respectively, after 20 days. Among all the treatments, dualbioaugmentation produced the highest 1,2-DCA degrading population of up to 453.33 × 107 cfu/ml in the Cd2+ co-contaminated soil. On comparison of the As3+ and Cd2+ co-contaminated soil undergoing either biostimulation or dual-bioaugmentation, similarity in the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) banding patterns was observed. However, the banding patterns for the different bioremediation options demonstrated a difference in bacterial diversity between the fertilized and dual-bioaugmented samples. DGGE profiles also indicate that while numerous bands were common in the fertilized co-contaminated soils, there were also changes in the presence and intensity of bands due to treatment and temporal effects. Dehydrogenase and urease activities provided a more accurate assessment of the negative impact of heavy metals on the indigenous soil microorganisms, resulting in up to 87.26% and 69.58% decreases in activities, respectively. In both the biostimulated and bioaugmented soil microcosms, dehydrogenase activity appeared biphasic with an initial decrease followed by an increase in the treated soils over time. Results from this study provide relevant information on some alterations that could be introduced to overcome a critical bottle-neck of the application of bioremediation technology. In conclusion, the bioremediation strategies adopted in this study may be used as a rational methodology for remediation of sites co-contaminated with 1,2-DCA and heavy metals, subject to a thorough understanding of the microbial ecology and physico-chemical parameters of the site

The silencing of HER2/neu gene expression in a breast cancer cell model using cationic lipid based delivery systems.

Doctor of Philosophy in Life Sciences. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2016.Abstract available in PDF file