Cape Town at the advent of the mineral revolution (c. 1875): economic activity and social structure.

Paper presented at the Wits History Workshop: The Making of Class, 9-14 February, 1987

The background to apartheid in Cape Town: the growth of racism and segregation from the mineral revolution to the 1930's.

Paper presented at the Wits History Workshop: Structure and Experience in the Making of Apartheid, 6-10 February, 1990

Writing and teaching urban history in Africa in the twenty-first century

In 1968 H.J.Dyos edited a seminal collection of essays entitled The Study of Urban History. 18 This collection stemmed from the first-ever conference of British urban historians which was held at Leicester University (where Dyos was Professor of Urban History) in 1966. Included among the essays were seven dubbed simply, ‘Discussion’. These were the written-up versions of questions and comments that followed the presentation of either single papers or groups of papers on topics such as methodological trends, sources for urban history, stages of urban development, the social structure of towns or defining or setting an agenda for the emerging subdiscipline. There is therefore a notable precedent within the field for this written summary of the presentations, questions and comments that accompanied the session on urban history at the centenary colloquiu

Modern Bayesian Experimental Design

Bayesian experimental design (BED) provides a powerful and general framework for optimizing the design of experiments. However, its deployment often poses substantial computational challenges that can undermine its practical use. In this review, we outline how recent advances have transformed our ability to overcome these challenges and thus utilize BED effectively, before discussing some key areas for future development in the field.Comment: Accepted for publication in Statistical Scienc

Observatory's linguistic landscape: semiotic appropriation and the reinvention of space

Using a longitudinal ethnographic study of the linguistic landscape (LL) in Observatory's business corridor of Lower Main Road, the paper explores changes brought about by the influx of immigrant Africans, their artefacts and language practices. The paper uses the changes in the LL over time and the development of an "African Corner" within Lower Main Road, to illustrate the appropriation of space and the unpredictability, which comes along with highly mobile, technological and multicultural citizens. It is argued that changes in the LL are part of the act of claiming and appropriating space wherein space becomes summarily recontexualized and hence reinvented and "owned" by new actors. It is also argued that space ownership can be concealed through what we have called "brand anonymity" strategies in which the identity of the owner is deliberately concealed behind global brands. We conclude that space is pliable and mobile, and that, it is the people within space who carve out new social practices in their appropriated space.IBS

Poverty and respectability in early twentieth-century Cape Town

Cape Town's black population of the early twentieth century actively pursued lifestyles that might be described as respectable. But respectability was expensive, and poverty —characterised by poor housing, ill health and shortened lifespans — stood in the way of some of its most essential elements: cleanliness, sexual restraint, sobriety, and the creation of nuclear and gendered households. Black respectability, therefore, could not simply replicate that of the dominant white bourgeoisie. Most challenging was the development of rampant black criminality, often seen by contemporary observers as the result of the failure of black women to realise respectable households. Even attempts on the part of the state to create respectable citizenries floundered, partly because these initiatives were incompatible with the policies of racial segregation. The state and the dominant bourgeoisie put their faith in the black elite as the standard-bearers of respectability, but the reality was that the respectability of the ‘superior’ class was frequently indistinguishable from those below, a consequence of the fact that the boundary between these classes was highly porous

A comparative 'omics' approach for prediction of candidate Strongyloides stercoralis diagnostic coproantigens.

Human infection with the intestinal nematode Strongyloides stercoralis is persistent unless effectively treated, and potentially fatal in immunosuppressed individuals. Epidemiological data are lacking, partially due to inadequate diagnosis. A rapid antigen detection test is a priority for population surveillance, validating cure after treatment, and for screening prior to immunosuppression. We used a targeted analysis of open access 'omics' data sets and used online predictors to identify S. stercoralis proteins that are predicted to be present in infected stool, Strongyloides-specific, and antigenic. Transcriptomic data from gut and non-gut dwelling life cycle stages of S. stercoralis revealed 328 proteins that are differentially expressed. Strongyloides ratti proteomic data for excreted and secreted (E/S) proteins were matched to S. stercoralis, giving 1,057 orthologues. Five parasitism-associated protein families (SCP/TAPS, prolyl oligopeptidase, transthyretin-like, aspartic peptidase, acetylcholinesterase) were compared phylogenetically between S. stercoralis and outgroups, and proteins with least homology to the outgroups were selected. Proteins that overlapped between the transcriptomic and proteomic datasets were analysed by multiple sequence alignment, epitope prediction and 3D structure modelling to reveal S. stercoralis candidate peptide/protein coproantigens. We describe 22 candidates from seven genes, across all five protein families for further investigation as potential S. stercoralis diagnostic coproantigens, identified using open access data and freely-available protein analysis tools. This powerful approach can be applied to many parasitic infections with 'omic' data to accelerate development of specific diagnostic assays for laboratory or point-of-care field application

Glycosylation of Trypanosoma cruzi TcI antigen reveals recognition by chagasic sera

Chagas disease is considered the most important parasitic disease in Latin America. The protozoan agent, Trypanosoma cruzi, comprises six genetic lineages, TcI-TcVI. Genotyping to link lineage(s) to severity of cardiomyopathy and gastrointestinal pathology is impeded by the sequestration and replication of T. cruzi in host tissues. We describe serology specific for TcI, the predominant lineage north of the Amazon, based on expression of recombinant trypomastigote small surface antigen (gTSSA-I) in the eukaryote Leishmania tarentolae, to allow realistic glycosylation and structure of the antigen. Sera from TcI-endemic regions recognised gTSSA-I (74/146; 50.7%), with no cross reaction with common components of gTSSA-II/V/VI recombinant antigen. Antigenicity was abolished by chemical (periodate) oxidation of gTSSA-I glycosylation but retained after heat-denaturation of conformation. Conversely, non-specific recognition of gTSSA-I by non-endemic malaria sera was abolished by heat-denaturation. TcI-specific serology facilitates investigation between lineage and diverse clinical presentations. Glycosylation cannot be ignored in the search for immunogenic antigens