Factors influencing a customer-service culture in a higher education environment.

The higher education environment is experiencing significant changes, and the focus is moving to competitiveness and customer care. The role of organisational culture and job satisfaction in the delivery of quality customer service was investigated in this study. The indications are that a relationship should exist between organisational culture and learner satisfaction, but it transpired that the relationship between staff members’ job satisfaction and learner satisfaction was not significant. An evaluation of a proposed learner-satisfaction model revealed interesting dynamics influencing relationships between the core dimensions studied

A cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) analysis of prehospital emergency medical care clinical mentorship to enable learning

Background. Clinical mentorship in health sciences education is a nurtured venture where mentees are guided through practice by their more experienced mentors. However, recent research suggests that there are problems with clinical mentorship.Objective. To explore problems in work-integrated learning within the mentor/mentee relationship.Methods. The cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) was used to interpret data gathered from diaries and focus group interviews.Results. Difficulties identified were poor communication between the university and the mentors at clinical platform sites. The unclear roles and responsibilities of mentees and mentors led to a breakdown of trust.Conclusions. Better university training and development of mentors would aid in the holistic development of mentors and mentees

Population differences in the postcrania of modern South Africans and the implications for ancestry estimation

The cranium is widely recognized as the most important skeletal element to use when evaluating population differences and estimating ancestry. However, the cranium is not always intact or available for analysis, which emphasizes the need for postcranial alternatives. The purpose of this study was to quantify postcraniometric differences among South Africans that can be used to estimate ancestry. Thirty-nine standard measurements from 11 postcranial bones were collected from 360 modern black, white and coloured South Africans; the sex and ancestry distribution were equal. Group differences were explored with analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s honestly significant difference (HSD) test. Linear and flexible discriminant analysis (LDA and FDA, respectively) were conducted with bone models as well as numerous multivariate subsets to identify the model and method that yielded the highest correct classifications. Leave-one-out (LDA) and k-fold (k = 10; FDA) cross-validation with equal priors were used for all models. ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD results reveal statistically significant differences between at least two of the three groups for the majority of the variables, with varying degrees of group overlap. Bone models, which consisted of all measurements per bone, resulted in low accuracies that ranged from 46% to 63% (LDA) and 41% to 66% (FDA). In contrast, the multivariate subsets, which consisted of different variable combinations from all elements, achieved accuracies as high as 85% (LDA) and 87% (FDA). Thus, when using a multivariate approach, the postcranial skeleton can distinguish among three modern South African groups with high accuracy.National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF)http://www.elsevier.com/locate/forsciint2016-12-31hb201

Evaluating the accuracy of cranial indices in ancestry estimation among South African groups

Historically, population differences were quantified using cranial indices. Even though the application of indices is associated with numerous statistical and methodological problems, the use of cranial indices to estimate ancestry persists as demonstrated by its inclusion in several recent papers and conference presentations. The purpose of this study was to classify 207 South African crania and compare the results of five standard cranial indices to linear discriminant analysis (LDA). New sectioning points were created to contend with low classification accuracies (40% - 79%) and possible secular trends. Although the accuracies of the new sectioning points increased (66% - 87%), the accuracies associated with the stepwise LDA were higher (84%) and could classify the crania into one of the three South African groups. The results of the study demonstrate that indices cannot compete with multivariate techniques and should not be used in forensic anthropological analyses for ancestry estimation.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1556-40292016-09-30hb201

Chronic desipramine prevents acute stress-induced reorganization of medial prefrontal cortex architecture by blocking glutamate vesicle accumulation and excitatory synapse increase

While a clear negative influence of chronic exposure to stressful experiences has been repeatedly demonstrated, the outcome of acute stress on key brain regions has only just started to be elucidated. Although it has been proposed that acute stress may produce enhancement of brain plasticity and that antidepressants may prevent such changes, we still lack ultrastructural evidence that acute stress-induced changes in neurotransmitter physiology are coupled with structural synaptic modifications. Rats were pretreated chronically (14 days) with desipramine (DMI; 10 mg/kg) and then subjected to acute foot-shock (FS)-stress. By means of serial section electron microscopy, the structural remodeling of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) glutamate synapses was assessed soon after acute stressor cessation and stress hormone levels were measured. FS-stress induced a remarkable increase in the number of docked vesicles and small excitatory synapses, partially and strongly prevented by DMI pretreatment, respectively. Acute stress-induced corticosterone elevation was not affected by drug treatment. Since DMI pretreatment prevented the stress-induced structural plasticity but not the hormone level increase, we hypothesize that the preventing action of DMI is located on pathways downstream of this process and/or other pathways. Moreover, because enhancement of glutamate system remodeling may contribute to overexcitation dysfunctions, this aspect could represent a crucial component in the pathophysiology of stress-related disorders

Assessment of thermal and hydrolytic stabilities and aqueous solubility of artesunate for formulation studies

For the purpose of establishing the optimum processing parameters and storage conditions associated with nanolipid formulations of the artemisinin derivative artesunate, it was necessary to evaluate the thermal stability and solubility profiles of artesunate in aqueous solutions at various temperatures and pH. The effect of increased temperature and humidity on artesunate was determined by storing samples of the raw material in a climate chamber for 3 months and analyzing these by an established HPLC metho

Distinct genital tract HIV-specific antibody profiles associated with tenofovir gel

The impact of topical antiretrovirals for pre-exposure prophylaxis on humoral responses following HIV infection is unknown. Using a binding antibody multiplex assay, we investigated HIV-specific IgG and IgA responses to envelope glycoproteins, p24 Gag and p66, in the genital tract (GT) and plasma following HIV acquisition in women assigned to tenofovir gel (n=24) and placebo gel (n=24) in the CAPRISA 004 microbicide trial to assess if this topical antiretroviral had an impact on mucosal and systemic antibody responses. Linear mixed effect modeling and partial least squares discriminant analysis was used to identify multivariate antibody signatures associated with tenofovir use. There were significantly higher response rates to gp120 Env (P=0.03), p24 (P=0.002), and p66 (P=0.009) in plasma and GT in women assigned to tenofovir than placebo gel at multiple time points post infection. Notably, p66 IgA titers in the GT and plasma were significantly higher in the tenofovir compared with the placebo arm (P<0.05). Plasma titers for 9 of the 10 HIV-IgG specificities predicted GT levels. Taken together, these data suggest that humoral immune responses are increased in blood and GT of individuals who acquire HIV infection in the presence of tenofovir gel.United States. National Institutes of Health (AI51794)United States. National Institutes of Health (AI104387)United States. National Institutes of Health (AI115981)United States. National Institutes of Health (AI116086)United States. Agency for International Development (GP00-08-00005-00 subproject agreement PPA-09-046

Women for science and science for women: Gaps, challenges and opportunities towards optimizing pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV-1 prevention

Preventing new HIV infections remains a global challenge. Young women continue to bear a disproportionate burden of infection. Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), offers a novel women-initiated prevention technology and PrEP trials completed to date underscore the importance of their inclusion early in trials evaluating new HIV PrEP technologies. Data from completed topical and systemic PrEP trials highlight the role of gender specific physiological and social factors that impact PrEP uptake, adherence and efficacy. Here we review the past and current developments of HIV-1 prevention options for women with special focus on PrEP considering the diverse factors that can impact PrEP efficacy. Furthermore, we highlight the importance of inclusion of female scientists, clinicians, and community advocates in scientific efforts to further improve HIV prevention strategies

Neuropeptide S alters anxiety, but not depression-like behaviour in Flinders Sensitive Line rats: a genetic animal model of depression

Neuropeptide S (NPS) and its receptor (NPSR) have been implicated in the mediation of anxiolytic-like behaviour in rodents. However, little knowledge is available regarding the NPS system in depression-related behaviours, and whether NPS also exerts anxiolytic effects in an animal model of psychopathology. Therefore, the aim of this work was to characterize the effects of NPS on depression- and anxiety-related parameters, using male and female rats in a well-validated animal model of depression: the Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL), their controls, the Flinders Resistant Line (FRL), and Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats. We found that FSL showed greater immobility in the forced swim test (FST) than FRL, confirming their phenotype. However, NPS did not affect depression-related behaviour in any rat line. No significant differences in baseline anxiety levels between the FSL and FRL strains were observed, but FSL and FRL rats displayed less anxiety-like behaviour compared to SD rats. NPS decreased anxiety-like behaviour on the elevated plus-maze in all strains. The expression of the NPSR in the amygdala, periventricular hypothalamic nucleus, and hippocampus was equal in all male strains, although a trend towards reduced expression within the amygdala was observed in FSL rats compared to SD rats. In conclusion, NPS had a marked anxiolytic effect in FSL, FRL and SD rats, but did not modify the depression-related behaviour in any strain, in spite of the significant differences in innate level between the strains. These findings suggest that NPS specifically modifies anxiety behaviour but cannot overcome/reverse a genetically mediated depression phenotype

A Dynamical Analysis of the Suitability of Prehistoric Spheroids from the Cave of Hearths as Thrown Projectiles

Spheroids are ball-shaped stone objects found in African archaeological sites dating from 1.8 million years ago (Early Stone Age) to at least 70,000 years ago (Middle Stone Age). Spheroids are either fabricated or naturally shaped stones selected and transported to places of use making them one of the longest-used technologies on record. Most hypotheses about their use suggest they were percussive tools for shaping or grinding other materials. However, their size and spherical shape make them potentially useful as projectile weapons, a property that, uniquely, humans have been specialised to exploit for millions of years. Here we show (using simulations of projectile motions resulting from human throwing) that 81% of a sample of spheroids from the late Acheulean (Bed 3) at the Cave of Hearths, South Africa afford being thrown so as to inflict worthwhile damage to a medium-sized animal over distances up to 25 m. Most of the objects have weights that produce optimal levels of damage from throwing, rather than simply being as heavy as possible (as would suit other functions). Our results show that these objects were eminently suitable for throwing, and demonstrate how empirical research on behavioural tasks can inform and constrain our theories about prehistoric artefacts