Die filosofie van Smuts en Boodin.

Die werk van generaal Smuts, baie goed bekend omder die titel ,,Holism and Evolution” , en sy artikel oor ,,Some recent scientificadvances in their bearing on philosophy” in ,,Our Changing worldview”, as ook die werke van J. E. Boodin, professor in die wysbegeerteaan die Universiteit van California, Los Angeles, ,,Cosmic Evolution 1925, ,,Three interpretations of the Universe” 1934 en ,,God” 1934, toon die besondere en kenmerkende gedagtegamg vandie filosofie van die laaste tiental jare aan. Die kenmerkende is dit dat dit ’in filosofie is van sintese of, soos Whitehea

Autotransplantation of the lung: experimental studies on the cape baboon

Autotransplantation of the left lung was performed on 15 adult baboons with an 8-day survival rate of 80% and a long-term survival rate of 60%. On 5 of the survivors a subsequent contralateral pneumonectomy was performed without mortality. Most deaths occurred early in the series due to technical problems. A surgical technique has been standardized and with further experience in this field the mortality associated with autotransplantation of the lung in baboons should be less than 10%. Xenon-l33 ventilation-perfusion studies of the transplanted lung demonstrated a significant reduction in perfusion, and to a lesser extent of ventilation. Ventilation rapidly recovered towards normal but perfusion only approached normal values several months after transplantation. These physiological alterations may be due to the denervation attendant upon complete removal of tlu lung with reimplantation. The jilt! imbalance does not appear to be of major consequence when a contralateral pneumonectomy is performed. The autotransplanted lung appears to be a valuable model for studying the effects of lung transplantation alone, without the problems of rejection. These studies seem to be particularly valuable in the primate who closely resembles the human anatomically and physiologically. Further studies are currently in progress

Genetics of cereal adaptation to the man-made habitat

The wild progenitor species of all cereals are known with various degrees of ceninty. Wild and cultivated taxa of the same species cross and their hybrids are generally fertile. This allows for a study of the genetics of domestication. A survey of the literature. however. reveals few such studies. The adaptation to disturbed habitats is genetically complex. and colonizing ability seems to have been a prerequisite for successful domestication. Natural seed dispersal is controlled by one to several linked genes, and behaves genetically as an overall dominant over loss of efficient seed dispersal mechanisms. Apical dominance, synchronized tillering. and increase in fecundity are complex, recessive genetic traits associated with cereal domestication. Racial evolution resulted from conscious selection by man and involves numerous loci

Cereals For The Semi-Arid Tropics

The region of semi-arid tropics is the most famine prone area of the world. This reglon with nearly one billion people extends across some 20 million square kilometrer. Major domesticated cereals adapted to semi-arid regions are sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L ) Moench), foxtail millet (Seraria rralica (L.)P . Bcauv.) and pearl miller (Pcnn~scrumg laucum (L.) R. Br.). Several minor cereals arc grown as speciality crops, or harvested in the wild in times of severe drought and scarcity. lmponant in the African Sahel are the fonios Digiraria ibum Sfapf. D. exilis (Kapist) Smpf and Brachiana dejlexa (Schurnach.) C.E. Hubbard. These species arc aggressive colonizers and are commonly encouraged as weeds in cultivated fields. Sown genotypes differ from their close wild relatives primarily in the lack of efficient natural seed dispersal. The fonios lend themselves to rap~dd omestication. Several wild cereals extend well beyond the limits of agriculfure into the Sahara. Commonly harvested are the perennial Sripagrosris pungens and Panicum rurgidum, and the annual Cenchrur brj7orvs (kram-kram). Kram-kram yields well under extreme heat and drought stress. and holds promise as a domesticated cereal. Sauwi millet (Panicurn sononun) is promising cereal in arid northwestern Mexico

Paediatric trauma care

Paediatric trauma care varies in different countries. In South Africa injury is the leading cause of death in the 5 - 14-yearold age group - 1,5 - 3,8 times higher than in the USA. In 1978 the Child Safety Centre was established and prospectively collected data on paediatric injuries. The various types of injuries are discussed. Trauma is responsible for the highest percentage of years of life lost but the least amount of money is being spent on research and prevention of injuries. The Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Southern Africa has been constituted to research, prevent and reduce the risk factors of the injuries and to improve facilities for the injured child

Development Studies Working Paper, no. 47

This Working Paper contains the results of a pilot investigation undertaken in 1986/87 in selected areas of the Keiskammahoek District of Ciskei. The pilot study was undertaken in order to compile a comprehensive plan for a long-term study of the Keiskammahoek District as a whole. Such a study would be designed to analyse socio-economic and political changes which have taken place in the District, measured against the results of a major multidisciplinary research project (The Keiskammahoek Rural Survey) which was undertaken in the area between 1948 and 1950. The existence of the Keiskammahoek Rural Survey affords a unique opportunity for comparative social science research, particularly because it is well known that substantial changes have taken place in the District. However, the precise nature and scale of the changes were unknown; hence, the decision to conduct a pilot survey first. The results of the pilot survey, published here, have turned out to be extremely valuable in formulating proposals for a subsequent on-going research undertaking; and have fully justified the time and money devoted to the exploratory investigation which constituted the basis of the pilot project.Digitised by Rhodes University Library on behalf of the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER

Training South African clinician-scientists: Lessons from the University of Cape Town’s intercalated programme

In 2011, the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Cape Town, South Africa (SA), established the Clinician-Scientist Training Programme (UCTCSTP), consisting of intercalated BMedSci Hons/MB ChB and integrated MB ChB/MSc/PhD tracks. We report and reflect on the programme’s performance and challenges. The UCTCSTP has so far enrolled 71 students: 51 have received BMedSci Hons degrees and 4 have received Master’s degrees, while there are 14 BMedSci Hons, 4 MSc and 4 PhD candidates. Graduates have produced significant research outputs, and many remain actively engaged in research. The UCTCSTP has been successful in encouraging a cohort of future clinician-scientists, but should aim to broaden and improve its appeal to address the need to transform and grow the SA clinical academic workforce. As graduates progress with their postgraduate clinical training, they require institutional support and guidance, which may necessitate policy reform

ATPase and Multidrug Transport Activities of the Overexpressed Yeast ABC Protein Yor1p

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome encodes 15 full-size ATP binding cassette transporters (ABC), of which PDR5, SNQ2, and YOR1 are known to be regulated by the transcription factors Pdr1p and Pdr3p (pleiotropic drug resistance). We have identified two new ABC transporter-encoding genes, PDR10 and PDR15, which were up-regulated by the PDR1-3 mutation. These genes, as well as four other ABC transporter-encoding genes, were deleted in order to study the properties of Yor1p. The PDR1-3 gain-of-function mutant was then used to overproduce Yor1p up to 10% of the total plasma membrane proteins. Overexpressed Yor1p was photolabeled by [gamma-32P]2', 3'-O-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)-8-azido-ATP (K0.5 = 45 microM) and inhibited by ATP (KD = 0.3 mM) in plasma membranes. Solubilization and partial purification on sucrose gradient allowed to detect significant Yor1p ATP hydrolysis activity (approximately 100 nmol of Pi.min-1.mg-1). This activity was phospholipid-dependent and sensitive to low concentrations of vanadate (I50 = 0.3 microM) and oligomycin (I50 = 8.5 microg/ml). In vivo, we observed a correlation between the amount of Yor1p in the plasma membrane and the level of resistance to oligomycin. We also demonstrated that Yor1p drives an energy-dependent, proton uncoupler-insensitive, cellular extrusion of rhodamine B. Furthermore, cells lacking both Yor1p and Pdr5p (but not Snq2p) showed increased accumulation of the fluorescent derivative of 1-myristoyl-2-[6-(NBD)aminocaproyl]phosphatidylethanolamine. Despite their different topologies, both Yor1p and Pdr5p mediated the ATP-dependent translocation of similar drugs and phospholipids across the yeast cell membrane. Both ABC transporters exhibit ATP hydrolysis in vitro, but Pdr5p ATPase activity is about 15 times higher than that of Yor1p, which may indicate mechanistic or regulatory differences between the two enzymes