Entering the field: Initiating Liturgical Research in an African Independent Church (AIC)

African Independent Churches (AICs) have been studied by scholars from various disciplines, especially Missiology and Anthropology, making use of various methods including participatory observation. In Ritual and Liturgical Studies, AICs and their abundance of rituals is still a rather under-explored field of research with several reasons making it a difficult area to access. In this article, one aspect of participatory observation in researching ritual action in AICs will be explored, namely the initial phase of entering the field. Real examples from a current South African National Research Foundation(NRF)-funded research project as conducted by a team of scholars including some from the field of Ritual and Liturgical Studies will first be described and thereafter discussed. Diachronically, the initial phase stretching from a pre-proposal workshop until the first attendance of a worship service in a local congregation is sketched and commented upon

Nano-calciumphosphate generation with novel surface and chemical features for improvement of cell activity in bone repair and replacement

Ideal biomaterial for bone replacement implanted should be resorbed by osteoclasts, while osteoblastic activity deposits new bone. Electrospun biphasic nanobioceramic scaffolds were synthesized for in vitro testing, contributing to bone tissue engineering.This paper was initially delivered at the Annual Congress of the Biological Sciences Division of the South African Academy for Science and Art, ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute, Roodeplaat, Pretoria, South Africa on 01 October 2010.http://www.satnt.ac.zaam2014ay201

Calciumphosphate scaffolds for bone tissue repair and applications – in vitro characterisation

The purpose of this study was to generate electrospun biphasic nanobioceramic scaffolds for in vitro testing, ultimately contributing to bone tissue engineering.This abstract was initially presented at the annual Biological Sciences Symposium, presented under the protection of the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns. The symposium was held at the University of Johannesburg on 01 October 2011.http://www.satnt.ac.z

Oxygen consumption rate of Caenorhabditis elegans as a high-throughput endpoint of toxicity testing using the Seahorse XF(e)96 Extracellular Flux Analyzer

Du Preez G, Fourie H, Daneel M, et al. Oxygen consumption rate of Caenorhabditis elegans as a high-throughput endpoint of toxicity testing using the Seahorse XF(e)96 Extracellular Flux Analyzer. Scientific Reports. 2020;10(1): 4239.Caenorhabditis elegans presents functioning, biologically relevant phenotypes and is frequently used as a bioindicator of toxicity. However, most C. elegans in vivo effect-assessment methods are laborious and time consuming. Therefore, we developed a novel method to measure the oxygen consumption rate of C. elegans as a sublethal endpoint of toxicity. This protocol was tested by exposing 50 larval stage one C. elegans individuals for 48h (at 20 degrees C) to different concentrations of two toxicants i.e. benzylcetyldimethylammonium chloride (BAC-C16) and cadmium (Cd). Following exposures, the oxygen consumption rate of the C. elegans individuals were measured using the high-throughput functionality of the Seahorse XF(e)96 Extracellular Flux Analyzer. Dose-response curves for BAC-C16 (R-2=0.93; P=0.001) and Cd (R-2=0.98; P=0.001) were created. Furthermore, a strong, positive correlation was evidenced between C. elegans oxygen consumption rate and a commonly used, ecologically relevant endpoint of toxicity (growth inhibition) for BAC-C16 (R-2=0.93; P=0.0001) and Cd (R-2=0.91; P=0.0001). The data presented in this study show that C. elegans oxygen consumption rate can be used as a promising functional measurement of toxicity

In vitro osteoclast-like and osteoblast cells' response to electrospun calcium phosphate biphasic candidate scaffolds for bone tissue engineering

Successful long term bone replacement and repair remain a challenge today. Nanotechnology has makes it possible to alter materials’ characteristics and therefore possibly improve on the material itself. In this study, biphasic (hydroxyapatite/β-tricalcium phosphate (HA/β-TCP)) nanobioceramic scaffolds were prepared by the electrospinning technique in order to mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM). Scaffolds were characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Attentuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared (ATRFTIR). Osteoblasts as well as monocytes that were differentiated into osteoclast-like cells, were cultured separately on the biphasic bioceramic scaffolds for up to 6 days and the proliferation, adhesion and cellular response were determined using lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) cytotoxicity assay, nucleus and cytoskeleton dynamics, analysis of the cell cycle progression, measurement of the mitochondrial membrane potential and the detection of phosphatidylserine expression. SEM analysis of the biphasic bioceramic scaffolds revealed nano fibers spun in a mesh-like scaffold. Results indicate that the biphasic bioceramic electrospun scaffolds are biocompatible and have no significant negative effects on either osteoblasts or osteoclast-like cells in vitro.Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Pretoria, South Africa.http://www.springer.com/materials/journal/10853hb201

Parâmetros hematológicos e bioquímicos da tilápia-do-Nilo (Oreochromis niloticus L.) sob estresse por exposição ao ar

No presente trabalho avaliaram-se os parâmetros hematológicos e bioquímicos de exemplares adultos de tilápias (Oreochromis niloticus) sob a influência do fator estresse fisiológico em animais submetidos à exposição ao ar durante a engorda em sistema raceway. Foram analisados o eritrograma, teor de hemoglobina, volume globular, o volume corpuscular médio (VCM), a hemoglobina corpuscular média (HCM), a concentração de hemoglobina corpuscular média (CHCM), o leucograma, contagem diferencial de leucócitos, o plaquetograma, a glicose, a proteína total, o colesterol, o triglicerídeo e os eletrólitos (cálcio, cloretos, sódio e potássio). Os resultados revelaram que houve uma homogeneidade de distribuição para hemácias, volume globular, hemoglobina, índices hemantimétricos, proteína total, glicose, colesterol, e íons séricos, indicados pelos valores relativamente baixos do coeficiente de variação. Houve correlação positiva somente para leucócitos totais, células de defesa orgânica (neutrófilos e linfócitos), glicose, colesterol, sódio e cálcio. Quanto ao leucograma, à medida que os animais foram expostos ao ar, o número de leucócitos diminuiu gradativamente (leucopenia), ocorrendo simultaneamente neutrofilia e linfopenia. O índice glicêmico constituiu um bom indicador de estresse fisiológico, devido à hiperglicemia (82,0±20,88mg/dL) demonstrada nos tratamentos. A exposição ao ar constituiu um fator de desequilíbrio na homeostase iônica, e na síntese de colesterol endógeno. Entretanto, o tempo de recuperação não ocasionou a completa reabilitação fisiológica frente ao desafio imposto