The case for Option B and Optional B+: Ensuring that South Africa’s commitment to eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV becomes a reality

In a previous issue of the Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine, Pillay and Black summarised the trade-offs of the safety of efavirenz use in pregnancy (Pillay P, Black V. Safety, strength and simplicity of efavirenz in pregnancy. Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine 2012;13(1):28-33.). Highlighting the benefits of the World Health Organization’s proposed options for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, the authors argued that the South African government should adopt Option B as national PMTCT policy and pilot projects implementing Option B+ as a means of assessing the individual- and population-level effect of the intervention. We echo this call and further propose that the option to remain on lifelong antiretroviral therapy, effectively adopting PMTCT Option B+, be offered to pregnant women following the cessation of breastfeeding, for their own health, following the provision of counselling on associated benefits and risks. Here we highlight the benefits of Options B and B+

Rodent Behaviour – Session 2

Cooperation among female house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) – a case study on social selection Barbara König Rats provide help based on their need of their partner Karin Schneeberger, Gregory Röder, Michael Taborsky Sex and reproductive state discrimination – are they innate or learned? Dwarf hamster species as a model Nina Yu. Vasilieva, Irina Yu. Kolesnikova, Anastasia M. Khrushchova Habitat characteristics and species interference influence space use and nest-site occupancy: implications for social variation in two rodent sister species Claire M.-S. Dufour, Guila Ganem, Neville Pillay, Nico L. Avenant Burrow system architecture and use by Thomas’ pine vole, Microtus thomasi (Rodentia: Arvicolinae) Eleni Rekouti, Pavlos Avramidis, Sofia Spanou, Stamatis Vougiouklakis, Sinos Giokas, George P. Mitsainas Formation of reproductive isolation in hamsters (Cricetinae) in allopatry Alexey V. Surov, Natalia Yu Feoktistova, Maria V. Kropotkina, Ekaterina V. Potashnikova, Anna V. Gureeva, Ekaterina V. Kuznetsova Oxytocin regulates aggressive behavior in nucleus accumbens in great long-tailed hamsters Xiuping Sun, Lixin Yan, Nan Zhang, Zuoxin Wang, Mingjing Song, Zhibin ZhangCooperation among female house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) – a case study on social selection Barbara König Rats provide help based on their need of their partner Karin Schneeberger, Gregory Röder, Michael Taborsky Sex and reproductive state discrimination – are they innate or learned? Dwarf hamster species as a model Nina Yu. Vasilieva, Irina Yu. Kolesnikova, Anastasia M. Khrushchova Habitat characteristics and species interference influence space use and nest-site occupancy: implications for social variation in two rodent sister species Claire M.-S. Dufour, Guila Ganem, Neville Pillay, Nico L. Avenant Burrow system architecture and use by Thomas’ pine vole, Microtus thomasi (Rodentia: Arvicolinae) Eleni Rekouti, Pavlos Avramidis, Sofia Spanou, Stamatis Vougiouklakis, Sinos Giokas, George P. Mitsainas Formation of reproductive isolation in hamsters (Cricetinae) in allopatry Alexey V. Surov, Natalia Yu Feoktistova, Maria V. Kropotkina, Ekaterina V. Potashnikova, Anna V. Gureeva, Ekaterina V. Kuznetsova Oxytocin regulates aggressive behavior in nucleus accumbens in great long-tailed hamsters Xiuping Sun, Lixin Yan, Nan Zhang, Zuoxin Wang, Mingjing Song, Zhibin Zhan

Displaced margins and misplaced equity: Challenges for South African higher education

This paper makes a single point: that the goal of institutional diversity falls short of the goal of equity in higher education. Put differently, while the margins for diversity have increasingly been displaced and dislocated, equity appears to be misplaced. I contend that through significantly increased access, the South African education system has made remarkable progress in achieving racial, ethnic and gender diversity in their student populations. Despite these achievements in diversity, however, equity, measured through the graduation rates of historically disadvantaged students, trails behind diversity achievements. At the risk of taking a parochial posture, my goal is use the challenges of the mature (American) and relatively immature higher systems (South African) to point to ‘lessons’ that may be locally valuable. I draw on selected quantitative data that illustrates the trends in diversity and equity. I use the challenges with respect to diversity and equity in the United States system as a foil against which to read the South African quantitative trends. In so doing I show that time and maturity, demonstrated through the highly reputed American system, may not fix issues of equity and that conscious and that the South African system requires active interventions to address these challenges. 

On the canonical base property

We give an example of a finite rank, in fact aleph-1 categorical theory where the CBP (canonical base property) does not hold. We include a "group-like" example. We also prove, in a finite Morley rank context, if all definable Galois groups are "rigid" then the theory has the CBP (in a strong sense).Comment: 15 page

Geometric Axioms for Differentially Closed Fields with Several Commuting Derivations

A geometric first-order axiomatization of differentially closed fields of characteristic zero with several commuting derivations, in the spirit of Pierce-Pillay, is formulated in terms of a relative notion of prolongation for Kolchin-closed sets