Study South Africa

[Message from the President of IEASA, Dr Roshen Kishun]: The fourth edition of Study South Africa; Guide to South African Tertiary Education coincides with a momentous event in the history of South Africa. It is the 10th anniversary of the democracy after the 1994 elections that ended apartheid. It is time to celebrate the achievements, the development strides, and the reintegration of South Africa into the world community. The International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA) welcomes the new Minister of Education, Ms Naledi Pandor, elected to the Cabinet after the April 2004 elections. We wish her well in her new and demanding portfolio. We are confident that the Minister will support the tertiary education sector to develop linkages between international education, skilled migration and the transition to knowledge economies. While we believe that a free and democratic country may be the most powerful attraction for international students wishing to study in South Africa there are other reasons. South Africa is rated as a technological powerhouse on the African continent. Comparatively South Africa’s educational infrastructure can be compared with the best in the world. Its research sector is by far the strongest in Africa. The country has adopted English as one of its official languages and it is the main medium of instruction in the tertiary education sector. A significant factor which makes South African qualifications attractive is the relatively lower cost of study. Study in South Africa offers the best of both worlds to international students, combining the experience of living in Africa with the opportunity to obtain quality education at a fraction of the cost. In the ten years since 1994, the opening-up of the tertiary education sector in South Africa is evidenced by the dramatic increase of international students studying in the South African public education sector from about 13 000 to more than 47 000 in 2002. While the headcount numbers include distance education students, it is possible that South Africa is currently the leading host country for international students in Africa. An IDP report predicts that by 2025 almost eight million students will be educated trans-nationally. The growth in international student numbers presents South Africa with some exciting challenges in the global context. South Africa is expected to become one of the top nations in the world hosting international students in the next ten yean. Study South Africa is published in the middle of one of the most intense periods of change when the South African education system is being restructured to eliminate duplications created under the apartheid system. The number of public institutions is being reduced from 36 to 23 through mergers and incorporations. The binary divide that existed in the public higher education system pre- 2002, where there were 21 universities and 15 technikons is blurred by the creation of the universities of technology. In spite of the massive transformation, the South African higher education sector has much to offer in the form of quality education, advanced research facilities and internationally recognized qualifications. The information provided in this Guide introduces the individual institutions, their academic offerings, support services provided and other relevant details needed to make a choice of study destination Study South Africa is also a useful tool in the development of a strategy to market South African higher education into the competitive world of international education. The decision by IEASA to develop a marketing strategy is not only a reaction to global higher education pressures, but is also an acknowledgement of South Africa’s return to the global higher education community and in identified geographical areas. IEASA realised that past isolation can only be overturned by conscious new strategies. This 'marketing initiative’ meant that the presence of South Africa was highly visible at some of the leading forums dealing with international education in the world. Study South Africa is undertaken by IEASA in association with the South African Vice-Chancellors Association (SAUVCA) and the Committee of Technikon Principals (CTP). These organizations themselves are set to merge in the near future. We appreciate the support of the Council on Higher Education (CHE), the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), Unitech (Higher Education professional body for marketing, communication and development), and Professor T Mthembu. We are most grarefril to Karen MacGregor, our specialist writer, who compiled the excellent articles in this publication on achievements during the ten years of transformation. I wish to take this opportunity of thanking all those who made contributions for their support and all the tertiary education institutions in the public education sector for their participation. We are grateful to the Department of Foreign Affairs for the distribution of the Guide abroad and to members of the IEASA publications committee for their input. We appreciate the support of Artworks Publishing for working under pressure to meet publications deadline. Special thanks are due to Zandile Wanda for the work in coordinating the response from the tertiary education sector and to Alexandra van Essche for compiling and producing the Guide. Without their efforts it would not have been possible to publish the Guide

The yeast protein kinase Sch9 adjusts V-ATPase assembly/disassembly to control pH homeostasis and longevity in response to glucose availability

The evolutionary conserved TOR complex 1 controls growth in response to the quality and quantity of nutrients such as carbon and amino acids. The protein kinase Sch9 is the main TORC1 effector in yeast. However, only few of its direct targets are known. In this study, we performed a genome-wide screening looking for mutants which require Sch9 function for their survival and growth. In this way, we identified multiple components of the highly conserved vacuolar proton pump (V-ATPase) which mediates the luminal acidification of multiple biosynthetic and endocytic organelles. Besides a genetic interaction, we found Sch9 also physically interacts with the V- ATPase to regulate its assembly state in response to glucose availability and TORC1 activity. Moreover, the interaction with the V-ATPase has consequences for ageing as it allowed Sch9 to control vacuolar pH and thereby trigger either lifespan extension or lifespan shortening. Hence, our results provide insights into the signaling mechanism coupling glucose availability, TORC1 signaling, pH homeostasis and longevity. As both Sch9 and the V-ATPase are highly conserved and implicated in various pathologies, these results offer fertile ground for further research in higher eukaryotes

An Eye to a Kill: Using Predatory Bacteria to Control Gram-Negative Pathogens Associated with Ocular Infections

Ocular infections are a leading cause of vision loss. It has been previously suggested that predatory prokaryotes might be used as live antibiotics to control infections. In this study, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Serratia marcescens ocular isolates were exposed to the predatory bacteria Micavibrio aeruginosavorus and Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus. All tested S. marcescens isolates were susceptible to predation by B. bacteriovorus strains 109J and HD100. Seven of the 10 P. aeruginosa isolates were susceptible to predation by B. bacteriovorus 109J with 80% being attacked by M. aeruginosavorus. All of the 19 tested isolates were found to be sensitive to at least one predator. To further investigate the effect of the predators on eukaryotic cells, human corneal-limbal epithelial (HCLE) cells were exposed to high concentrations of the predators. Cytotoxicity assays demonstrated that predatory bacteria do not damage ocular surface cells in vitro whereas the P. aeruginosa used as a positive control was highly toxic. Furthermore, no increase in the production of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-8 and TNF-alpha was measured in HCLE cells after exposure to the predators. Finally, injection of high concentration of predatory bacteria into the hemocoel of Galleria mellonella, an established model system used to study microbial pathogenesis, did not result in any measurable negative effect to the host. Our results suggest that predatory bacteria could be considered in the near future as a safe topical bio-control agent to treat ocular infections. © 2013 Shanks et al

Dental biofilm: ecological interactions in health and disease.

BACKGROUND: The oral microbiome is diverse and exists as multispecies microbial communities on oral surfaces in structurally and functionally organized biofilms. AIM: To describe the network of microbial interactions (both synergistic and antagonistic) occurring within these biofilms and assess their role in oral health and dental disease. METHODS: PubMed database was searched for studies on microbial ecological interactions in dental biofilms. The search results did not lend themselves to systematic review and have been summarized in a narrative review instead. RESULTS: Five hundred and forty-seven original research articles and 212 reviews were identified. The majority (86%) of research articles addressed bacterial-bacterial interactions, while inter-kingdom microbial interactions were the least studied. The interactions included physical and nutritional synergistic associations, antagonism, cell-to-cell communication and gene transfer. CONCLUSIONS: Oral microbial communities display emergent properties that cannot be inferred from studies of single species. Individual organisms grow in environments they would not tolerate in pure culture. The networks of multiple synergistic and antagonistic interactions generate microbial inter-dependencies and give biofilms a resilience to minor environmental perturbations, and this contributes to oral health. If key environmental pressures exceed thresholds associated with health, then the competitiveness among oral microorganisms is altered and dysbiosis can occur, increasing the risk of dental disease

Investigating the Responses of Human Epithelial Cells to Predatory Bacteria

One beguiling alternative to antibiotics for treating multi-drug resistant infections are Bdellovibrio-and-like-organisms (BALOs), predatory bacteria known to attack human pathogens. Consequently, in this study, the responses from four cell lines (three human and one mouse) were characterized during an exposure to different predatory bacteria, Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus HD100, Bacteriovorus BY1 and Bacteriovorax stolpii EB1. TNF-alpha levels were induced in Raw 264.7 mouse macrophage cultures with each predator, but paled in comparison to those obtained with E. coli. This was true even though the latter strain was added at an 11.1-fold lower concentration (p < 0.01). Likewise, E. coli led to a significant (54%) loss in the Raw 264.7 murine macrophage viability while the predatory strains had no impact. Tests with various epithelial cells, including NuLi-1 airway, Caco2, HT29 and T84 colorectal cells, gave similar results, with E. coli inducing IL-8 production. The viabilities of the NuLi-1 and Caco-2 cells were slightly reduced (8%) when exposed to the predators, while T84 viability remained steady. In no cases did the predatory bacteria induce actin rearrangement. These results clearly demonstrate the gentle natures of predatory bacteria and their impacts on human cells.ope

Les enjeux de l'art contemporain dans l'espace public

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Peter Buggenhout

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Mark Lewis: l’exercice silencieux du regard

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Expositions et oppositions: une revue de presse éclairant de sombres dess(e)ins », Le sens de l’indécence

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe