Radioimmunoassay and immunocytochemical studies on the recovery of pineal innervation and function following unilateral denervation : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in physiology at Massey University

PLEASE NOTE Page 106 is missing from the original copyThe sympathetic noradrenergic neurons of the superior cervical ganglia provide the major source of innervation to the pineal gland Studies described in this thesis were designed to further investigate the initial decline and subsequent recovery of pineal melatonin secretory capacity which has been reported in sheep after unilateral superior cervical ganglionectomy (Lapwood. 1993). Further to that, the compensatory mechanism proposed by Dornay, et al(1985), of re-innervation of denervated tissue by residual nerve fibres originating from the intact SCG, was investigated Melatonin sceretory capacity is advocated as a superior index of pineal function with direct measurement of pineal output Radioimmunoassay was used to measure dark period plasma levels of melatonin prior to and at 1,3,7, 14. 21 and 28 days after unilateral SCGX. Initial response to partial denervation was a reduction in secretory capacity by 80% of pre-operative levels, followed by a linear recovery to pre-operative levels at 21 days after surgery, which was sustained at 28days. Immunocytochemical localization of GAP-43 determined that nerve regeneration occurs in the pineal gland as a reponse to unilateral SCGX GAP-43 in nerve fibres was most prominent at 3 days after surgery after which followed a linear decline to pre-operative levels in measurements taken at 28 days. An association between nerve terminals and the membranes of pinealocytes was observed at 28 days, suggesting those cells were the target of new nerve growth. The presence of nerve growth maturity corresponded with the recovery in pineal function and for this reason the compensatory mechanism of re-innervation is reasoned to be responsible for that recovery. Immunocytochemical localization of alpha tubulin established the presence of that component of microtubules in the cytoplasm of pinealocytes, where it is suggested to function in ihe process of hormone secretion. No variance in the presence of alpha tubulin was measured in any treatment group indicating that cell integrity was maintained and that atrophy did not occur, despite partial denervation. The findings of this study have confirmed a role for re-innervation in the full recovery of pineal melatonin secretory capacity after unilateral SCGX and has demonstrated that the SCG-pineal complex is a very useful model for future studies correlating nerve growth and functional regeneration

Coordination Sensation: When NGOs Strike Down Sex Trafficking

Human sex trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery that is prevalent in the United States and across the globe. Currently, a number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) exist to diminish sex trafficking. I seek to discover how powerful the efforts of NGOs are in combating sex trafficking. I argue that NGOs are successful in combating sex trafficking to the extent that their efforts are coordinated. Although an NGO may experience individual success in decreasing sex trafficking in a given area, without coordinating their efforts with the efforts of other NGOs, they will lack attaining the full knowledge, power, and resources that are useful in combating sex trafficking. I test this argument on the domestic level by conducting interviews among sex trafficking NGOs in Savannah, Georgia. I ask these NGOs about the capacity of their funding and expertise, with whom they coordinate their efforts, and their perceived level of success of their efforts. I couple interview responses alongside data on the number of sex trafficking victims in Savannah over a ten year period. I find that there is a lack of coordination among NGOs in Savannah. While this lack of coordination does not support my hypotheses, I find that there is a desire among sex trafficking NGOs to coordinate their efforts, and it is likely that increased coordination among these NGOs would increase their effectiveness in combating sex trafficking

Peripheral Visual Motion Sensitivity in Previously Concussed, Asymptomatic Individuals

Background: Individuals acquire information about self-motion from the environment which specifies actions necessary to be successful (Fajen & Matthis, 2011). However, concussed individuals demonstrate residual disturbance in execution of postural movement at 30 days post injury, depicting an impaired ability to perceive self-motion in a visually conflicting environment (Slobounov et al. 2006). The objective of this thesis was to investigate the extent to which one’s behaviours on a central field of view task are influenced by the amount and type of peripheral visual movement during a collision avoidance task, as well as to determine the additive effects of changes to balance control through the examination of the behaviours of a previously concussed population. The study utilized the closing doors of a virtual subway train to create an aperture for passage. For the purposes of this study, peripheral visual stimuli was a technique in which objects located within an individual’s peripheral field of view were manipulated to be absent, stationary/relatively stationary (veridical optic flow), or move independent of the participant’s movements (non-veridical optic flow). It was hypothesized that individuals would perform best when the environment provided visual information regarding one’s own self motion. It was expected that a critical point (i.e., when the limits of action are reached and a transition phase into a different action occurs (Warren & Whang, 1987)) would emerge, which would be impacted by the different levels of peripheral visual environment, eliciting a change in critical point. Furthermore, it was anticipated that previously concussed asymptomatic individuals would elicit more variable behaviours (i.e., inconsistent path selection when aperture width remains constant) compared to non-concussed counterparts (Baker & Cinelli, 2014), as a product of the peripheral visual environment. Methods: Previously concussed (3-12 months prior) asymptomatic young adults (N=12) were recruited, along with age and gender matched non-concussed controls (N=12). Participants walked along a 7m virtual path (via HTC Vive) towards a set of subway doors and were instructed to safely board the train without colliding with the doors. When the participants were 2m from the doors, they began to close at a constant rate such that the final door aperture width at the time of crossing ranged from 35-85cm (in 10cm increments). Participants performed aperture crossing trials during one of four peripheral environments: 1) ground plane only; 2) ground plane plus stationary poles in the peripheral environment; 3) ground plane with stationary humanoids in the peripheral environment; or 4) randomly moving humanoids. Participants were exposed to three trials of each aperture width within each environment for a total of 72 walking trials (6 widths x 4 conditions x 3 trials). Kinematic data was collected using a 3D motion capture system (Optotrak, NDI). Results: The results revealed that participants executed significant shoulder rotations regardless of aperture width at time of crossing. It was found that non-concussed control subjects executed slightly larger shoulder rotations for smaller apertures (i.e., 35, 45, and 55cm) compared to the largest aperture (p.05), coefficient of variation of velocity (p\u3e.05), or medial-lateral stability during the approach phase (p\u3e.05). Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that although a significant difference was found between aperture sizes for non-concussed controls, all individuals were found to employ a more conservative approach (i.e., “one solution fits all” strategy) to ensure success within each of the peripheral visual environments. As such, further research is required to assess the contributions of peripheral body information during an aperture crossing task and further the understanding of the behaviours demonstrated by each group. In addition, a more comprehensive sample of previously concussed asymptomatic individuals from various time points since concussion recovery will provide further insight into potential visuomotor deficits within this population

Public integrative leadership amongst business leaders in South Africa

This study describes the experience of senior private sector leaders who have undertaken initiatives to have a catalytic and positive social impact in South Africa. This work is conceptualised as crossing boundaries to advance the common good. The study first looks at how business leaders can be effective in leading across boundaries to advance the common good. Then Public Integrative Leadership (Crosby and Bryson, 2010a) is compared to the initial findings to see if it adequately describes what it takes for these business leaders to be effective. The study is important because little is known about the boundary crossing leadership work that some late-career senior business leaders embark on. It also contributes to understanding the business-society nexus through the lens of leadership studies. Three relationships surface as crucial to manage including the relationship with government, one’s own company and multi-company partners. And these are influenced by the history and context. Managing them requires a number of capacities including high level interpersonal skills, historical insight, balancing identities and coalition building. Business leaders can draw on some of their experience in the private sector but need to learn some new capacities. Making money, therefore, is somewhat similar and somewhat different from making a difference. The Public Integrative Leadership concept adequately described some of the shared power realities and general tactics involved. The concept insufficiently accounted for elements of own-company buy-in, conflict management, historical dynamics and leader motivation. Some avenues for further developing the concept are highlighted.Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013.mngibs2014Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)MBAUnrestricte

The fourth president : possibilities for neighbourhood organising and change in suburban South Africa.

This research report examines the nature of middle class activism in Melville, Johannesburg. It makes a contribution towards filling the gap on suburban activism in post-Apartheid South Africa. This report also makes a contribution towards the evolution of international thinking around ‘your square mile’ and local development and contributes towards the growing literature around building more participatory democracy. It also makes a contribution towards integrating the social science literature that tends to focus on ‘structure’ and the literature in the management/leadership sciences that focuses on ‘agency’. The leaders interviewed in Melville describe their primary motivations and these are coded and described. They emphasise meaning oriented motivations for themselves and instrumental oriented motivations when considering others based on Klandermans (2003) categories of motivation to participate. Leaders described the features of activities and these are categorized. An important finding is the relative importance of value polarities and working with the state in Melville when compared with the literature on participation. A core part of citizens’ experience of a country is at the local neighbourhood level. We need to find ways to build the field and practice of contextual local neighbourhood action in the current era that can help resolve some of the major problems that South Africa and other societies face

Barriers to inter-organisational collaboration amongst performing arts organisations in South Africa

There is significant financial pressure on the performing arts sector in South Africa. Demand for the performing arts sector needs to grow if this is to change. This requires inter-organisational collaboration. This study explores, through a grounded qualitative approach, the barriers to inter-organisational collaboration amongst performing arts organisations (PAOs) in South Africa, as seen through the experience of strategic leaders in the sector. These included views from commercial producers, theatres, festival and independent companies, and performing arts promoters. These organisations were professionally run with paid staff. The findings are then compared with the emerging literature in the field, conclusions drawn and recommendations made. Barriers identified include personal pride, artistic ideology, the survivalist reality, fragmented audiences and lack of support from government. The contextual complexity of South African post-apartheid society also acts as a barrier to collaboration. Ideas from the literature for overcoming these barriers are included. For practitioners, the problem of inter-organisational collaboration in the performing arts was identified. It appears as if inter-organisational collaboration (as a means of stimulating primary demand) is constrained when the financial pressures on a sector are so great as to push organisations into a corner. For academics, this study makes a contribution to the literature that is part of a broader relational and ‘shared-power’ turn in leadership studies, where collective action is increasingly required. The strong importance of contextual barriers confirms the call for an increased ‘field-level’ analysis.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rthj202016-01-31hb201

The relationship between mindfulness and individual adaptability in dynamic work contexts

PURPOSE : Individual adaptability has been proposed as a source of adaptive performance. This is an increasingly important performance dimension in dynamic contexts. Mindfulness has been demonstrated to improve dimensions of performance and well-being in the workplace, but the underlying mechanisms of this relationship are not well understood. Addressing this gap, the study hypothesised a link between mindfulness and individual adaptability in dynamic work contexts. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : One hundred and ninety-eight individuals in dynamic work contexts completed a self-rating survey that measured mindfulness and a multifactor measure of individual adaptability. These data were then analysed to test the hypotheses developed. FINDINGS/RESULTS : A significant positive relationship was found between mindfulness and five dimensions of adaptability (work-stress adaptability, uncertainty adaptability, crisis adaptability, creative problem-solving adaptability and learning adaptability). Interpersonal and cultural adaptability were not found to correlate with mindfulness. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS : This study demonstrates that mindfulness is not simply a stress management skill but is correlated with key aspects of adaptability such as learning and problem-solving. The findings suggest it may be possible to enhance individual adaptability through Mindfulness-Based Interventions and thus support adaptive performance. ORIGINALITY/VALUE : This study is original in examining the relationship between mindfulness and individual adaptability in the workplace. This study highlights how different methods of operationalising mindfulness can lead to different conclusions. It points to the value of broader measures of mindfulness that capture attitudinal dimensions. In addition, as few studies on mindfulness in African contexts have been performed, this study broadens the research contexts in which mindfulness is understood.https://doaj.org/toc/2078-5976Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS

Board level (in)visibility and critical mass in South African companies

PURPOSE : Women still face barriers that delay their upward mobility in organisations. This study aims to examine whether women experience critical mass as sufficient to shift deep level discursive dynamics, theorised as an (in)visibility Vortex. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : A qualitative method was used to collect and analyse data on the lived experiences of 16 board-level female leaders who have been appointed to male-dominated boardrooms in South Africa. FINDINGS : The findings confirm that numeric representation is too simplistic to resolve deep level gendered dynamics. At a personal level: self-confidence, a bigger purpose and competence-experience were found to be counter-forces to Vortex. The role of the chairperson was also crucial. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS : Organisations must be reminded that even where the number of women on a board has reached beyond a critical mass, hidden barriers still exist. When developing women leaders, practitioners need to penetrate below the surface to appreciate the undercurrents and address them at that level. Organisations need to nurture the personal attributes that counter the forces of the Vortex. Mentorship, sponsorship and coaching may be beneficial. The role of the chairperson is especially important in disrupting deep level dynamics. Chairpersons need to be more deliberate and proactive to refute behaviours that exclude and undermine women’s full participation. ORIGINALITY/VALUE : Contrary to the (in)visibility perspectives, the women in this study did not “withdraw” or “conceal” their gender when “exposed” in male-dominated boardroom dynamics. Reasons for this are explored including the potential for further research on the construction of a “trailblazing” identity.http://www.emeraldinsight.com/1754-2413.htmhj2021Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS

Antecedents to transformational community engagement in South Africa

Firms face increasing societal pressures to act responsibly towards stakeholders, and community engagement is a key element of this response. While Bowen, Newenham-Kahindi and Herremans (2010) have found that community engagement strategies fall into the transactional, transitional and transformational categories, more research is needed. Nineteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with CSR practitioners, community beneficiaries and external experts across three companies from different sectors and geographically-associated South African communities. Barriers to and enablers of transformational community engagement are identified and compared with points made in the literature. Prominent barriers identified include community expectation; the internal capacity of the company to engage properly with communities; and, according to a new finding in the literature, community educational levels. The most prominent enabler of engagement was relationshipbuilding. Companies with dedicated CSR practitioners are able to engage more in the community. Regulatory dynamics are found to largely determine the differences across sectors. But there is the risk that engagement is symbolic rather than substantive. Eleven higher-order antecedents to transformational community engagement are then identified. A newly developed firm-oriented decision-making model is proposed for moderating these antecedents. The findings in the community and national context provide granular insight into an African operating environment.http://www.sajems.org/am2016Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS

Donacija Ivana Generalića iz 1980. godine Muzeju grada Koprivnice : uz 100. godišnjicu rođenja

For influenza A and B viruses to be infectious, they require eight viral RNA (vRNA) genome segments to be packaged into virions. For efficient packaging, influenza A viruses utilize cis-acting vRNA sequences, containing both non-coding and protein coding regions of each segment. Whether influenza B viruses have similar packaging signals is unknown. Here we show that coding regions at the 3' and 5' ends of the influenza B virus vRNA segment 4 are required for genome packaging, with the first 30 nt at each end essential for this process. Synonymous mutation of these regions led to virus attenuation, an increase in defective particle production and a reduction in packaging of multiple vRNAs. Overall, our data suggest that the influenza B virus vRNA gene segments likely interact with each other during the packaging process, which is driven by cis-acting packaging signals that extend into protein coding regions of the vRNA.PostprintPeer reviewe