Onderwys-/opleidingsvoorsiening en ekonomiese aanvraag

Education/training and economic demand Education systems and their output appear to be out of step with the demands of the economy in many countries, including South Africa. Massive education investment and expansion seem to have resulted, especially in developing countries, in schooled unemployment rather than economic development, modernisation and full employment. A historicalcomparative overview reveals how economically successful countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Germany, and (until recently) the new economic giants of South-East Asia and the Far East, succeeded in aligning education and training with the economy. In conclusion the implications of their strategies for South Africa are explored. A combination of the British and Singaporean models is recommended for South Africa. A warning is, however, sounded throughout that economic systems that do not adhere to the principles of human stewardship and responsible management should not be supported by education and training in their present forms. Those involved in education and training should rather call for reform of the systems that they are expected to support

New taxa in Aspergillus section Usti

Based on phylogenetic analysis of sequence data, Aspergillus section Usti includes 21 species, inclucing two teleomorphic species Aspergillus heterothallicus (= Emericella heterothallica) and Fennellia monodii. Aspergillus germanicus sp. nov. was isolated from indoor air in Germany. This species has identical ITS sequences with A. insuetus CBS 119.27, but is clearly distinct from that species based on β-tubulin and calmodulin sequence data. This species is unable to grow at 37 °C, similarly to A. keveii and A. insuetus. Aspergillus carlsbadensis sp. nov. was isolated from the Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico. This taxon is related to, but distinct from a clade including A. calidoustus, A. pseudodeflectus, A. insuetus and A. keveii on all trees. This species is also unable to grow at 37 °C, and acid production was not observed on CREA. Aspergillus californicus sp. nov. is proposed for an isolate from chamise chaparral (Adenostoma fasciculatum) in California. It is related to a clade including A. subsessilis and A. kassunensis on all trees. This species grew well at 37 °C, and acid production was not observed on CREA. The strain CBS 504.65 from soil in Turkey showed to be clearly distinct from the A. deflectus ex-type strain, indicating that this isolate represents a distinct species in this section. We propose the name A. turkensis sp. nov. for this taxon. This species grew, although rather restrictedly at 37 °C, and acid production was not observed on CREA. Isolates from stored maize, South Africa, as a culture contaminant of Bipolaris sorokiniana from indoor air in Finland proved to be related to, but different from A. ustus and A. puniceus. The taxon is proposed as the new species A. pseudoustus. Although supported only by low bootstrap values, F. monodii was found to belong to section Usti based on phylogenetic analysis of either loci BLAST searches to the GenBank database also resulted in closest hits from section Usti. This species obviously does not belong to the Fennellia genus, instead it is a member of the Emericella genus. However, in accordance with the guidelines of the Amsterdam Declaration on fungal nomenclature (Hawksworth et al. 2011), and based on phylogenetic and physiological evidence, we propose the new combination Aspergillus monodii comb. nov. for this taxon. Species assigned to section Usti can be assigned to three chemical groups based on the extrolites. Aspergillus ustus, A. granulosus and A. puniceus produced ustic acid, while A. ustus and A. puniceus also produced austocystins and versicolorins. In the second chemical group, A. pseudodeflectus produced drimans in common with the other species in this group, and also several unique unknown compounds. Aspergillus calidoustus isolates produced drimans and ophiobolins in common with A. insuetus and A. keveii, but also produced austins. Aspergillus insuetus isolates also produced pergillin while A. keveii isolates produced nidulol. In the third chemical group, E. heterothallica has been reported to produce emethallicins, 5'-hydroxyaveranthin, emeheterone, emesterones, 5'-hydroxyaveranthin

Host immunity increases Mycobacterium tuberculosis reliance on cytochrome bd oxidase

In order to sustain a persistent infection, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) must adapt to a changing environment that is shaped by the developing immune response. This necessity to adapt is evident in the flexibility of many aspects of Mtb metabolism, including a respiratory chain that consists of two distinct terminal cytochrome oxidase complexes. Under the conditions tested thus far, the bc1/aa3 complex appears to play a dominant role, while the alternative bd oxidase is largely redundant. However, the presence of two terminal oxidases in this obligate pathogen implies that respiratory requirements might change during infection. We report that the cytochrome bd oxidase is specifically required for resisting the adaptive immune response. While the bd oxidase was dispensable for growth in resting macrophages and the establishment of infection in mice, this complex was necessary for optimal fitness after the initiation of adaptive immunity. This requirement was dependent on lymphocyte-derived interferon gamma (IFNgamma), but did not involve nitrogen and oxygen radicals that are known to inhibit respiration in other contexts. Instead, we found that DeltacydA mutants were hypersusceptible to the low pH encountered in IFNgamma-activated macrophages. Unlike wild type Mtb, cytochrome bd-deficient bacteria were unable to sustain a maximal oxygen consumption rate (OCR) at low pH, indicating that the remaining cytochrome bc1/aa3 complex is preferentially inhibited under acidic conditions. Consistent with this model, the potency of the cytochrome bc1/aa3 inhibitor, Q203, is dramatically enhanced at low pH. This work identifies a critical interaction between host immunity and pathogen respiration that influences both the progression of the infection and the efficacy of potential new TB drugs

Polyphasic taxonomy of Aspergillus section Usti

Aspergillus ustus is a very common species in foods, soil and indoor environments. Based on chemical, molecular and morphological data, A. insuetus is separated from A. ustus and revived. A. insuetus differs from A. ustus in producing drimans and ophiobolin G and H and not producing ustic acid and austocystins. The molecular, physiological and morphological data also indicated that another species, A. keveii sp. nov. is closely related but distinct from A. insuetus. Aspergillus section Usti sensu stricto includes 8 species: A. ustus, A. puniceus, A. granulosus, A. pseudodeflectus, A. calidoustus, A. insuetus and A. keveii together with Emericella heterothallica

Biblical Theology of Life in the New Testament

This publication deals with A Biblical Theology of Life based on the New Testament. It forms the second of a two volume publication on A Biblical Theology of Life. These two volumes trace the concept of life throughout Protestant canon, working with the final form of the biblical books in Hebrew (vol. 5) and Greek (vol. 6) Scripture. This is done by providing the reader with a book-by-book overview of this concept. This book concludes with a final chapter synthesising the findings of the respective investigations of the Old and New Testament corpora in order to provide a summative theological perspective of the development of the concept through Scripture. It is clear that life forms a central and continuous theme throughout the Biblical text. The theme begins with the living God that creates life, but is shortly followed by death that threatens life. Despite this threat, God sustains life and awakens life from death. The text concludes with the consummation depicting eternal life in the new heaven and earth. The biblical theological approach that has been taken entails a thematic approach as it investigates the concept of life, with contextual foci on what individual books of Scripture teach about life, joined diachronically with an investigation of the progressive use of the concept of life in Scripture, while providing a theology of Scripture as a whole investigating the concept of life in all sixty-six books of the Protestant canon

Biblical Theology of Life in the New Testament

This publication deals with A Biblical Theology of Life based on the New Testament. It forms the second of a two volume publication on A Biblical Theology of Life. These two volumes trace the concept of life throughout Protestant canon, working with the final form of the biblical books in Hebrew (vol. 5) and Greek (vol. 6) Scripture. This is done by providing the reader with a book-by-book overview of this concept. This book concludes with a final chapter synthesising the findings of the respective investigations of the Old and New Testament corpora in order to provide a summative theological perspective of the development of the concept through Scripture. It is clear that life forms a central and continuous theme throughout the Biblical text. The theme begins with the living God that creates life, but is shortly followed by death that threatens life. Despite this threat, God sustains life and awakens life from death. The text concludes with the consummation depicting eternal life in the new heaven and earth. The biblical theological approach that has been taken entails a thematic approach as it investigates the concept of life, with contextual foci on what individual books of Scripture teach about life, joined diachronically with an investigation of the progressive use of the concept of life in Scripture, while providing a theology of Scripture as a whole investigating the concept of life in all sixty-six books of the Protestant canon