Die Departement Godsdiens- en Sendingwetenskap (Afd A), Universiteit van Pretoria, 1917-1978

The Department of Science of Religion and Missiology (Sec A), University of Pretoria, 1917-1978The Transvaal University College began its Faculty of Theology in 1917 in co-operation with the Presbyterian Church and the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk. A Presbyterian minister, Prof E MacMillan, lectured from 1917 till 1934. This marked the end of Presbyterian participation. In the next period, 1935-1937, the Department suffered from a controversy between the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk and its new partner, the Nederduitsch Hervormde of Gereformeerde Kerk. The issue was solved when the Faculty divided into two sections, Section A for the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk and Section B for the Nederduitsch Hervormde of G ereformeerde Kerk. Prof H P Wolmarans was appointed to the chair of Science of Religion (Sec A) in 1938 and served as head of the Department till 1959. He was succeeded by Prof F J van Zyl in 1960, who served till 1978

Immune response profiles of calves following vaccination with live BCG and inactivated Mycobacterium bovis vaccine candidates

<div><p>Conventional control and eradication strategies for bovine tuberculosis (BTB) face tremendous difficulties in developing countries; countries with wildlife reservoirs, a complex wildlife-livestock-human interface or a lack of veterinary and veterinary public health surveillance. Vaccination of cattle and other species might in some cases provide the only suitable control strategy for BTB, while in others it may supplement existing test-and-slaughter schemes. However, the use of live BCG has several limitations and the global rise of HIV/AIDS infections has furthermore warranted the exploration of inactivated vaccine preparations. The aim of this study was to compare the immune response profiles in response to parenteral vaccination with live BCG and two inactivated vaccine candidates in cattle.</p><p>Twenty-four mixed breed calves (<i>Bos taurus</i>) aged 4–6 months, were allocated to one of four groups and vaccinated sub-cutaneously with live <i>M</i>. <i>bovis</i> BCG (Danish 1331), formalin-inactivated <i>M</i>. <i>bovis</i> BCG, heat-killed <i>M</i>. <i>bovis</i> or PBS/Montanide™ (control). Interferon-γ responsiveness and antibody production were measured prior to vaccination and at weekly intervals thereafter for twelve weeks. At nine weeks post-priming, animals were skin tested using tuberculins and MTBC specific protein cocktails and subsequently challenged through intranodular injection of live <i>M</i>. <i>bovis</i> BCG.</p><p>The animals in the heat-killed <i>M</i>. <i>bovis</i> group demonstrated strong and sustained cell-mediated and humoral immune responses, significantly higher than the control group in response to vaccination, which may indicate a protective immune profile. Animals in this group showed reactivity to the skin test reagents, confirming good vaccine take. Lastly, although not statistically significant, recovery of BCG after challenge was lowest in the heat-killed <i>M</i>. <i>bovis</i> group.</p><p>In conclusion, the parenteral heat-killed <i>M</i>. <i>bovis</i> vaccine proved to be clearly immunogenic in cattle in the present study, urging further evaluation of the vaccine in challenge studies using virulent <i>M</i>. <i>bovis</i> and assessment of vaccine efficacy in field conditions.</p></div

The effect of sport specific exercises on the visual skills of rugby players

INTRODUCTION: Visual performance is an important factor in sport excellence. Visual involvement in a sport varies according to environmental demands associated with that sport. These environmental demands are matched by a task specific motor response. The purpose of this study was to determine if sport specific exercises will improve the visual performance of male rugby players, in order to achieve maximal results on the sports field. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty six adult male rugby players, aged 16-22, were chosen as subjects. In order to evaluate the effect of sport specific exercises on visual skills, a pre-test - post-test experimental group design was adopted for the study. RESULTS: Significant differences (p≤0.05) were seen in the focussing, tracking, vergence, sequencing, eye-hand coordination and visualisation components Discussion & Conclusions: Sport specific exercises improved visual skills in rugby players which may provide them with an advantage over their opponents. This study suggests that these training programs and participation in regular on-line EyeDrills sports vision exercises (www.eyedrills.co.za) aimed at improving the athlete’s visual co-ordination, concentration, focus, hand-eye co-ordination, anticipation and motor response should be incorpotated in the rugby players exercise regime. Keywords— Rugby players, sport specific exercises, visual skillshttp://www.waset.org/journals/waset/v76.ph

Extension of sylvatic circulation of African swine fever virus in extralimital warthogs in South Africa

Sylvatic circulation of African swine fever virus (ASFV) in warthogs and Ornithodoros ticks that live in warthog burrows historically occurred in northern South Africa. Outbreaks of the disease in domestic pigs originated in this region. A controlled area was declared in the north in 1935 and regulations were implemented to prevent transfer of potentially infected suids or products to the rest of the country. However, over the past six decades, warthogs have been widely translocated to the south where the extralimital animals have flourished to become an invasive species. Since 2016, there have been outbreaks of ASF in pigs outside the controlled area that cannot be linked to transfer of infected animals or products from the north. An investigation in 2008–2012 revealed that the presence of Ornithodoros ticks and ASFV in warthog burrows extended marginally across the boundary of the controlled area. We found serological evidence of ASFV circulation in extralimital warthogs further south in the central part of the country.NBAF Transition funds from the State of Kansas, the P20GM130448 and the Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases.https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science#am2022Veterinary Tropical Disease

Die Departement Godsdiens- en Sendingwetenskap (Afd A), Universiteit van Pretoria, 1917-1978

The Department of Science of Religion and Missiology (Sec A), University of Pretoria, 1917-1978 The Transvaal University College began its Faculty of Theology in 1917 in co-operation with the Presbyterian Church and the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk. A Presbyterian minister, Prof E MacMillan, lectured from 1917 till 1934. This marked the end of Presbyterian participation. In the next period, 1935-1937, the Department suffered from a controversy between the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk and its new partner, the Nederduitsch Hervormde of Gereformeerde Kerk. The issue was solved when the Faculty divided into two sections, Section A for the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk and Section B for the Nederduitsch Hervormde of G ereformeerde Kerk. Prof H P Wolmarans was appointed to the chair of Science of Religion (Sec A) in 1938 and served as head of the Department till 1959. He was succeeded by Prof F J van Zyl in 1960, who served till 1978

Use of the mice passive protection test to evaluate the humoral response in goats vaccinated with Sterne 34F2 live spore vaccine

International audienceAbstractThe Sterne live spore vaccine (34F2) is the most widely used veterinary vaccine against anthrax in animals. Antibody responses to several antigens of Bacillus anthracis have been described with a large focus on those against protective antigen (PA). The focus of this study was to evaluate the protective humoral immune response induced by the live spore anthrax vaccine in goats. Boer goats vaccinated twice (week 0 and week 12) with the Sterne live spore vaccine and naive goats were used to monitor the anti-PA and toxin neutralizing antibodies at week 4 and week 17 (after the second vaccine dose) post vaccination. A/J mice were passively immunized with different dilutions of sera from immune and naive goats and then challenged with spores of B. anthracis strain 34F2 to determine the protective capacity of the goat sera. The goat anti-PA ELISA titres indicated significant sero-conversion at week 17 after the second doses of vaccine (p = 0.009). Mice receiving undiluted sera from goats given two doses of vaccine (twice immunized) showed the highest protection (86%) with only 20% of mice receiving 1:1000 diluted sera surviving lethal challenge. The in vitro toxin neutralization assay (TNA) titres correlated to protection of passively immunized A/J mice against lethal infection with the vaccine strain Sterne 34F2 spores using immune goat sera up to a 1:10 dilution (rs ≥ 0.522, p = 0.046). This study suggests that the passive mouse protection model could be potentially used to evaluate the protective immune response in livestock animals vaccinated with the current live vaccine and new vaccines