Islamic feminist reflection of pedagogy and gender praxis in South African madaris.

Includes bibliographical references.This thesis explores gender discourses in elementary Islamic learning institutions in South Africa. Informed by a feminist imperative that recognizes education to be both a site for gender struggle and also a tool for change-making, this thesis adopts a feminist pedagogical approach to examine some of the ways that young Muslim girls in South Africa learn about being gendered. Drawing on theoretical insights from feminist poststructuralism, I analyze the contents of a popular learning text that has been developed for young Muslim girls in contemporary South African Deoband mad'ris (elementary religious schools)

Pectinase Production by Aspergillus niger and Its Applications in Fruit Juice Clarification

Pectinases (EC 3.2.1.15) are a class of enzymes that catalyze the depolymerization or de-esterification reactions that degrade pectic substances. In the present study, we have isolated the Aspergillus niger strain from soil samples, in India and evaluated pectinase production. The highest pectinase producing A. niger strain was further evaluated and optimized with various agricultural wastes. Plackett-Burman design (PBD) and Central composite design ‘(CCD)’ were used to determine the best parameters for maximum pectinase production. Pectinase activity was increased to 99.21 U/ml after optimizing the production medium using PBD and CCD statistical analysis. A positive correlation of pectinase activity between predicted (112.65 U/ml) and experimental (99.21 U/ml with SD=0.005) optimum was observed. Maximum pectinase was produced by A. niger under submerged fermentation, utilizing orange peel, which is a cost-effective, adaptable, and environmentally friendly approach. The partially purified pectinase showed significant application for apple juice clarification and showed the ability to degrade pectin and therefore the colour change was observed in apple juice within 120 min. Maximum pectinase was produced by A. niger using agricultural waste orange peel under submerged fermentation which is an economical, versatile and eco-friendly process and pectinase showed a significant application for apple juice clarification

Knowledge of the risk factors and symptons associated with endometrial cancer in British South Asian and British white women

ABSTRACT Objective: To explore differences in the background knowledge of Endometrial Cancer (EC), its risk factors, symptoms and prognosis of Endometrial Cancer (EC) between British White (BW) and British South Asian (BSA) women who had undergone treatment for stage I endometrial cancer within the past 3-years. Study design: Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews exploring knowledge; diagnosis; treatment; follow-up; and survivorship were undertaken and analysed using Thematic Analysis. Results: Twenty-one women were interviewed (13 BW and 8 BSA). BW and BSA women reported similar views, experiences and concerns with regards to EC. Knowledge appeared to differ amongst the two groups with BSA women reporting being more aware that unscheduled vaginal bleeding could be associated with a malignancy but having lower levels of knowledge of the risk factors that can lead to EC, compared to BW women. There was a lack of understanding of the difference between cervical cancer and EC and as a result, many women reported taking reassurance from negative cervical cytology as excluding EC and there was also the misconception amongst some of the women that there was a link between sexual behaviour and EC. Women from both groups used the lay healthcare system to discuss their situation/symptoms, however BSA women reported to have specifically sought out women within their social network who had previously undergone treatment for EC. Conclusions: Greater effort is needed to raise awareness in both the BW/BSA communities of the symptoms associated with EC that should prompt medical review. Educational efforts are required to overcome the reported perception that EC is synonymous with cervical cancer and cannot be detected by cervical screening

Evaluation of Plant Growth-Promoting and Salinity Ameliorating Potential of Halophilic Bacteria Isolated From Saline Soil

Among the biotic and abiotic stress affecting the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil, salinity is a major threat that leads to the desertification of cultivable land throughout the world. The existence of diverse and versatile microbial populations inhabiting the nutrient-rich soil and varied soil conditions affects the soil dynamism. A normal soil constitutes 600 million bacteria belonging to about 20,000 species, which is reduced to 1 million with 5,000-8,000 species in stress conditions. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are in symbiotic association with the plant system, which helps in combating the abiotic stress and increases the overall productivity and yield. These microorganisms are actively associated with varied cellular communication processes through quorum sensing and secondary metabolites such as the production of Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), exopolysaccharide (EPS) siderophore, ammonia, ACC deaminase, and solubilization of phosphate. The present study focused on the isolation, identification, and characterization of the microorganisms isolated from the seacoast of Dandi, Navsari. Twelve isolates exhibited PGP traits at a high salt concentration of 15-20%. AD9 isolate identified as Bacillus halotolerans showed a higher ammonia production (88 +/- 1.73 mu g/mL) and phosphate solubilization (86 +/- 3.06 mu g/mL) at 15% salt concentration, while AD32* (Bacillus sp. clone ADCNO) gave 42.67 +/- 1.20 mu g/mL IAA production at 20% salt concentration. AD2 (Streptomyces sp. clone ADCNB) and AD26 (Achromobacter sp. clone ADCNI) showed ACC deaminase activity of 0.61 +/- 0.12 and 0.60 +/- 0.04 nM alpha-ketobutyrate/mg protein/h, respectively. AD32 (Bacillus sp. clone ADCNL) gave a high siderophore activity of 65.40 +/- 1.65%. These isolates produced salinity ameliorating traits, total antioxidant activities, and antioxidant enzymes viz. superoxide dismutase (SOD), Glutathione oxidase (GSH), and catalase (CAT). Inoculation of the multipotent isolate that produced PGP traits and salinity ameliorating metabolites promoted the plant growth and development in rice under salinity stress conditions. These results in 50% more root length, 25.00% more plant dry weight, and 41% more tillers compared to its control.Peer reviewe

Halotolerant microbial consortia for sustainable mitigation of salinity stress, growth promotion, and mineral uptake in tomato plants and soil nutrient enrichment

Salinity significantly impacts the growth, development, and reproductive biology of various crops such as vegetables. The cultivable area is reduced due to the accumulation of salts and chemicals currently in use and is not amenable to a large extent to avoid such abiotic stress factors. The addition of microbes enriches the soil without any adverse effects. The effects of microbial consortia comprising Bacillus sp., Delftia sp., Enterobacter sp., Achromobacter sp., was evaluated on the growth and mineral uptake in tomatoes (Solanum Lycopersicum L.) under salt stress and normal soil conditions. Salinity treatments comprising Ec 0, 2, 5, and 8 dS/m were established by mixing soil with seawater until the desired Ec was achieved. The seedlings were transplanted in the pots of the respective pH and were inoculated with microbial consortia. After sufficient growth, these seedlings were transplanted in soil seedling trays. The measurement of soil minerals such as Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cu, Mn, and pH and the Ec were evaluated and compared with the control 0 days, 15 days, and 35 days after inoculation. The results were found to be non-significant for the soil parameters. In the uninoculated seedlings’ (control) seedling trays, salt treatment significantly affected leaf, shoot, root dry weight, shoot height, number of secondary roots, chlorophyll, and mineral contents. While bacterized seedlings sown under saline soil significantly increased leaf (105.17%), shoot (105.62%), root (109.06%) dry weight, leaf number (75.68%), shoot length (92.95%), root length (146.14%), secondary roots (91.23%), and chlorophyll content (−61.49%) as compared to the control (without consortia). The Na and K intake were higher even in the presence of the microbes, but the beneficial effect of the microbe helps plants sustain in the saline environment. The inoculation of microbial consortia produced more secondary roots, which accumulate more minerals and transport substances to the different parts of the plant; thus, it produced higher biomass and growth. Results of the present study revealed that the treatment with microbial consortia could alleviate the deleterious effects of salinity stress and improve the growth of tomato plants under salinity stress. Microbial consortia appear to be the best alternative and cost-effective and sustainable approach for managing soil salinity and improving plant growth under salt stress conditions

Psychosocial impact of undergoing prostate cancer screening for men with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.

OBJECTIVES: To report the baseline results of a longitudinal psychosocial study that forms part of the IMPACT study, a multi-national investigation of targeted prostate cancer (PCa) screening among men with a known pathogenic germline mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. PARTICPANTS AND METHODS: Men enrolled in the IMPACT study were invited to complete a questionnaire at collaborating sites prior to each annual screening visit. The questionnaire included sociodemographic characteristics and the following measures: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Impact of Event Scale (IES), 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36), Memorial Anxiety Scale for Prostate Cancer, Cancer Worry Scale-Revised, risk perception and knowledge. The results of the baseline questionnaire are presented. RESULTS: A total of 432 men completed questionnaires: 98 and 160 had mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, respectively, and 174 were controls (familial mutation negative). Participants' perception of PCa risk was influenced by genetic status. Knowledge levels were high and unrelated to genetic status. Mean scores for the HADS and SF-36 were within reported general population norms and mean IES scores were within normal range. IES mean intrusion and avoidance scores were significantly higher in BRCA1/BRCA2 carriers than in controls and were higher in men with increased PCa risk perception. At the multivariate level, risk perception contributed more significantly to variance in IES scores than genetic status. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to report the psychosocial profile of men with BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations undergoing PCa screening. No clinically concerning levels of general or cancer-specific distress or poor quality of life were detected in the cohort as a whole. A small subset of participants reported higher levels of distress, suggesting the need for healthcare professionals offering PCa screening to identify these risk factors and offer additional information and support to men seeking PCa screening

Muslim childhoods in South Africa: gendering the madrasah space

My thesis explores the spatialities and gendered pedagogies of Muslim childhoods within the context of selected South African madrasahs (places for religious instruction). The main question that guides my research study is how is the madrasah space gendered? Beginning with the assumption that madrasah spaces are gendered, my research seeks to understand Muslim childhoods and gender as a relational and materially contingent social phenomenon. I engage my research question with theoretical lenses developed by critical posthumanist and feminist educational thinkers focusing on the concepts of diffraction, entanglement and intra-action. These theoretical and analytical tools provide a lens for thinking about childhoods, gender and childhood pedagogies as ontologically relational. Diffraction attends to the multiplicity of interdependencies and ecological networks that constitute and shape interactions between subjects and objects. In this ontological-epistemological framework, the material, discursive and affective factors of social phenomena are seen as entangled and co-emergent encounters. My diffractive analysis is a place-attuned, relational reading of childhood ontologies, it focuses on the intra-actions between humans and more-than humans, nature-culture, organic-inorganic, and maps patterns of material-discursive affective entanglements. Using data co-generated from fieldwork observational studies conducted at four madrasah sites in the Western Cape, I diffractively analyse the spatialities and gendered pedagogies of Muslim childhoods. I map how historical geographical-political-social-pedagogical factors intra-act and participate in the gendering of space. My diffractive reading on Muslim childhood spatialities, in the final analysis, offers a lens for thinking about gendered ontologies in ways that are nonlinear, co-emergent and relational. This place-based perspective on madrasah pedagogies contributes to a broader conversation on religious geographies within a post-anthropocene context of environmental precarity, socio-economic inequalities and spatial disparities in South Africa

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Not AvailableCastor (Ricinus communis) is highly susceptible to bacterial and fungal pathogens. The identification of resistance gene analogs holds great promise for development of resistant castor cultivars. Primer selection was performed based on different combinations of motifs conserved in R-gene classes. Degenerate primers designed based on known resistance genes (R-genes) were used in combinations to elucidate resistance gene analogs from Castor. Only seven primer combinations gave amplicons with expected sizes of 450-900 bp. The nucleotide sequence of these amplicons was obtained through sequencing; their predicted amino acid sequences compared to each other. Only two sequences, namely p6.4 and 23 had significant sequence identity with known R-genes sequences of other plants. The findings of conserved domains, viz., kinase-1a, kinase-2 and hydrophobic motif, provided evidence that the sequences belong to the NBS-LRR class gene family. Homology and % identity searches of the isolated RGA sequences with the NCBI GenBank database showed that p6.4 had 89% identity to the disease resistance like proteins in castor and 23 had 100% identity with I2C disease resistant proteins in tomato. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the RGAs clustered with R genes found in Arabidopsis and Tomato. The findings will be useful for studying of resistance mechanism in castor to Fusarium oxysporium.Not Availabl

Patient-Initiated Follow-Up for Low-Risk Endometrial Cancer: An cost-analysis evaluation

OBJECTIVE: Risk stratification has resulted in patient-initiated follow-up being introduced for low-risk endometrial cancer in place of routine hospital follow-up. The financial benefit to the patient and the healthcare economy of patient-initiated follow-up, as compared with hospital follow-up, has yet to be explored. In this study, we explored the potential impact for both the healthcare economy and patients of patient-initiated follow-up. METHODS: Women diagnosed with low-risk endometrial cancer enrolled on a patient-initiated follow-up scheme between November 2014 and September 2018 were included. Data on the number of telephone calls to the nurse specialists and clinic appointments attended were collected prospectively. The number of clinic appointments that would have taken place if the patient had continued on hospital follow-up, rather than starting on patient-initiated follow-up, was calculated and costs determined using standard National Health Service (NHS) reference costs. The time/distance traveled by patients from their home address to the hospital clinic was calculated and used to determine patient-related costs. RESULTS: A total of 187 patients with a median of 37 (range 2-62) months follow-up after primary surgery were enrolled on the scheme. In total, the cohort were scheduled to attend 1673 appointments with hospital follow-up, whereas they only attended 69 clinic appointments and made 107 telephone contacts with patient-initiated follow-up. There was a 93.5% reduction in costs from a projected £194 068.00 for hospital follow-up to £12 676.33 for patient-initiated follow-up. The mean patient-related costs were reduced by 95.6% with patient-initiated follow-up. The total mileage traveled by patients for hospital follow-up was 30 891.4 miles, which was associated with a mean traveling time per patient of 7.41 hours and clinic/waiting time of 7.5 hours compared with 1165.8 miles and 0.46 hours and 0.5 hours, respectively, for patient-initiated follow-up. CONCLUSION: The introduction of a patient self-management follow-up scheme for low-risk endometrial cancer was associated with financial/time saving to both the patient and the healthcare economy as compared with hospital follow-up