Investigating the tripartite aspects of transactional distance in a blended multimedia adult literacy programme

This study investigates the role of transactional distance in an Adult Basic Education and Training Level One (ABET L1) multimedia, blended learning programme. While empirical research acknowledges that dialogue assumes an important role in mediating the communicative chasm between adult learner and facilitator, how this is mediated through a blended multimedia methodology at ABET L1 , is not clear. This study attempts to investigate some of the complexities in this mediation. The study focused primarily on the interplay of dialogue in relation to programme structure, learner autonomy, and how these variables influenced adult learning. The study consisted of a cohort sample of 20 ABET Level 1 learners on a blended learning programme at a food production plant in Cape Town. A mixed methods approach incorporating both quantitative and qualitative instruments was used to answer the research questions. A range of data collection instruments, namely a survey, interviews, and observations, was utilized to gather and analyze the data. With a particular focus on dialogue, this approach allowed the study to investigate the influence and interaction of the tripartite variables of Transactional Distance Theory on adult learning at ABET L1 and the scope of transactional distance created by these interactions. Both quantitative and qualitative findings suggest that in the absence of constructive, meaningful dialogue and scaffolded learning practices, barriers to learning are accentuated in this blended learning environment and results in increased transactional distance. Findings from the data suggest that improved regular face-to-face facilitator contact throughout the programme could avert learner frustration and demotivation and thereby decrease transactional distance. General consensus is that dialogue plays a critical role in mediating adult learning. While multimedia approaches to blended adult learning in South Africa appear to provide appropriate and effective learning methodologies to address adult literacy education, the findings of this research study suggest that the complexity of literacy acquisition, particularly at ABET Level 1, requires much more than technological methods if literacy is to be seen in broader social and communicative terms. The findings of this study nevertheless remain anticipative that a synergistic and productive codependence can be negotiated between these loci. This particular learning environment could be improved by reassessing the interplay of dialogue, programme structure, and learner autonomy, hereby potentially reducing transactional distance by being cognizant that adult learning is not a homogenous enterprise unmindful of the nature of adult learners and the critical contexts of adult learning

A retrospective review of railway-associated deaths in the Cape Town Metro East region over a two-year period.

Thesis (MMed)--Stellenbosch University, 2021.Background: Railway travel is an integral part of the daily transport of people and cargo worldwide, and no less so in South Africa. Generally considered safer than road transport, rail travel is still associated with risk and railway-related deaths attract significant media attention. There is limited local research into the epidemiology and pathology of these deaths. An improved understanding of these cases will assist in preventative strategies to minimise fatalities. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate railway-associated fatalities in the Cape Town Metro East region over two years, from 2016 to 2017. The objectives were to obtain a demographic profile of victims, characterise injury patterns, identify the temporal and geographical distribution of deaths and, where possible, the causes of death. Methods: A retrospective descriptive review of all railway-associated fatalities admitted to the Tygerberg Forensic Pathology Laboratory between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2017 was performed. Data were collected from autopsy reports and available contemporaneous notes for each case, including South African Police documents and hospital notes, where relevant. Results: There were 104 cases of railway-associated deaths during the two-year period under study. Males accounted for 87 cases, while there were only 17 female victims. The mean age of all cases was 34.8 years. Most incidents occurred between the morning hours of 8 am and 10 am and in the evening from 7 pm to 10 pm, and a midweek peak of 62.5% of cases were reported as pedestrians who were struck whilst crossing the railway tracks. Khayelitsha was the suburb where the highest number of cases were recorded. Multiple blunt force injuries as the terminal cause of death accounted for 81.7% of cases. One case of electrocution and one of downing were reported. Two cases of alleged assault were recorded. Head injuries accounted for 91 cases with only five decapitations. Transection of the thorax occurred in eight cases and multiple rib fractures were also recorded. Multiple organs were disrupted and the upper limbs on the right were predominantly injured. 17 victims had blood alcohol levels above the legal limit of 0.05 g/100ml. Conclusion: More than half of the cases died as a result of multiple traumatic injuries after crossing the railway tracks as pedestrians. This study emphasizes the importance of adequate contemporaneous documentation of the cases. The background information and scene investigation play a significant role in determining factors assisting in the determination of the cause and manner of death. Optimal security can aid in the decline of unnecessary railway incidents and death. It is recommended that the investigation of railway-associated fatalities become a priority to prevent circumstances in which these cases occur.Agtergrond: Spoorwegreise is ʼn intergrale deel van die daaglikse vervoer van passasiers en vrag wêreldwyd, en ook grotendeels in Suid-Afrika. Oor die algemeen word dit veiliger beskou as padvervoer, inteendeel is dit nogsteeds geassosieer met ʼn risiko’s. Spoorwegverwante sterftes trek groot aandag in die media. Daar is ʼn beperkte plaaslike navorsing oor die epidemiologie en patologie van hierdie sterftes. ʼn Deeglike begrip van hierdie gevalle sal van hulp wees met voorkomende strategieë om sterftes te minimaliseer. Doelwit: Die hoofdoel van hierdie studie was om ondersoek in te stel in verband met spoorweg verwante sterftes in die Kaapstad- oostelike streek oor ʼn tydperk van twee jaar vanaf 2016 tot 2017. Die doelwitte was om ʼn demografiese profiel van slagoffers te verkry, beseringspatrone te karakteriseer, die daaglikse temporale en geografiese verspreiding van die sterftes vas te stel en waar moontlik die oorsake van die dood. Metodes: ʼn Terugskouende beskrywende oorsig van alle sterftes wat veband hou met spoorweë wat tussen 1 Januarie 2016 en 31 Desember 2017 in die Tygerberg Forensiese Patologie lykshuis opgeneem is, is uitgevoer. Data is versamel uit lykhouingsverslae en beskikbare eietydse aantekeninge vir elke geval, insluitend die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisie dokumente en hsopitaal notas, waar van toepassing. Bevindinge: Oor die twee jaar tydperk is 104 spoorwegverwante sterfgevalle geindentifiseer. 87 van die gevalle was mans, terwyl daar net 17 vroue slagoffers was. Die gemiddelde ouderdom van alle gevalle was 34.8 jaar oud. Meeste van die voorvalle het tussen die oggendure van 8:00 tot 10:00 en saans van 19:00 tot 22:00 plaasgevind. Daar was n piek van 62.5% gevalle in die middel van die week geraporteer as voetgangers wat getref was toe hulle die trienspoor gekruis het. Khayelitsha was die voorstad waar ʼn beduidende aantal gevalle aangeteken is. Verskeie stomp kragbeserings het 81.7% uitgemaak as die terminal oorsaak van dood. Een geval van dood was deur middel van elektriese skok en n ander deur verdrinking geidentifiseer. Daar was twee beweerde aanrandings. Met betrekking tot die beseringspatrone, is 91 gevalle hoofbeserings en slegs vyf onthoofdings. Transeksie van die toraks het in ag gevalle plaasgevind en veelvuldige rib frakture is aangeteken. Verskeie organe is ontwrig en die boonste ledemate aan die regterkant is hoofsaaklik beseer. Bloed alkohol vlakke van 17 slagoffers was bo die wettige limiet van 0.05 g/100ml. Afleidings: ʼn Groot hoeveelheid van die slagoffers het gesterf a.g.v. veelvuldige traumatiese beserings nadat hulle as voetgangers die spoorwegoorgesteek het. Hierdie studie beklemtoon die belangrikheid van doelgerigte eietydse dokumentasie van die gevalle. Die agtergrond inligting en toneelondersoek speel ʼn belangrike rol in die bepaling van faktore wat help om die oorsaak en manier van dood te bepaal. Optimale veiligheid kan help met die afname van onnodige spoorwegvoorvalle en dood. Dit word aanbeveel dat die ondersoek van sterftes wat verband hou met spoorweë geprioritseer prioriteit word om gevalle soos hierdie te voorkom.Master

Characterization of pentocin TV35b, a broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptide produced by Lactobacillus pentosus isolated from the human vagina

Thesis (M.Sc.) -- University of Stellenbosch, 1999.Full text to be digitised and attached to bibliographic record

Characterization of pentocin TV35b, a bacteriocin-like peptide isolated from Lactobacillus pentosus with a fungistatic effect on Candida albicans

Lactobacillus pentosus TV35b, isolated from the posterior fornix secretions of the vagina of a prenatal patient, produced a bacteriocin-like peptide (pentocin TV35b), which is inhibitory to Clostridium sporogenes, Cl. tyrobutyricum, Lact. curvatus, Lact. fermentum, Lact. sake, Listeria innocua, Propionibacterium acidipropionici, Propionibacterium sp. and Candida albicans. The mechanism of activity of pentocin TV35b is bactericidal, as shown by a decrease in the viable cell numbers of Lact. sake from approximately 4 x 108 to less than 10 cfu ml-1 over a period of 4 h. Pentocin TV35b added to the growth medium of C. albicans stimulated the formation of pseudohyphae during the first 36 h, followed by a slight repression in cell growth. Production of pentocin TV35b was at its maximum towards the end of the logarithmic growth phase of strain TV35b. The peptide was purified by ammonium sulphate precipitation, followed by SP-Sepharose cation exchange chromatography. The molecular size of pentocin TV35b was estimated to be between 2.35 and 3.4 kDa, according to tricine-SDS PAGE. However, results obtained by electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy indicated that the peptide is 3930.2 Da in size. Amino acid analysis performed by using the Pico-Tag® method and a Nova-Pak C18 HPLC column indicated that pentocin TV35b consists of 33 amino acids with a total mass of 3929.63 Da. Pentocin TV35b is inactivated when treated with papain and Proteinase K, but remains active after incubation at pH 1-10 for 2 h at 25 °C, and when heat-treated for 30 min at 100 °C.Articl

Lactobacillus coryniformis subsp. coryniformis Strain Si3 Produces a Broad-Spectrum Proteinaceous Antifungal Compound

The antifungal activity spectrum of Lactobacillus coryniformis subsp. coryniformis strain Si3 was investigated. The strain had strong inhibitory activity in dual-culture agar plate assays against the molds Aspergillus fumigatus, A. nidulans, Penicillium roqueforti, Mucor hiemalis, Talaromyces flavus, Fusarium poae, F. graminearum, F. culmorum, and F. sporotrichoides. A weaker activity was observed against the yeasts Debaryomyces hansenii, Kluyveromyces marxianus, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The yeasts Rhodotorula glutinis, Sporobolomyces roseus, and Pichia anomala were not inhibited. In liquid culture the antifungal activity paralleled growth, with maximum mold inhibition early in the stationary growth phase, but with a rapid decline in antifungal activity after 48 h. The addition of ethanol to the growth medium prevented the decline and gave an increased antifungal activity. The activity was stable during heat treatment and was retained even after autoclaving at 121°C for 15 min. Maximum activity was observed at pH values of between 3.0 and 4.5, but it decreased rapidly when pH was adjusted to a level between 4.5 and 6.0 and was lost at higher pH values. The antifungal activity was fully regained after readjustment of the pH to the initial value (pH 3.6). The activity was irreversibly lost after treatment with proteolytic enzymes (proteinase K, trypsin, and pepsin). The antifungal activity was partially purified using ion-exchange chromatography and (NH(4))(2)SO(4) precipitation, followed by gel filtration chromatography. The active compound(s) was estimated to have a molecular mass of approximately 3 kDa. This is the first report of the production of a proteinaceous antifungal compound(s) from L. coryniformis subsp. coryniformis