Correlations between South African Red Grape and Wine Colour and Phenolic Composition: Comparing the Glories, Iland and Bovine Serum Albumin Tannin Precipitation Methods

Phenolic compounds in red grapes might give an indication of phenolic and colour compositions ofthe resulting wine. This work compared the Glories, Iland and Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) tanninprecipitation methods for phenolic characterization of South African Pinotage, Merlot, Shiraz andCabernet Sauvignon red grape samples (n=31). Significant positive correlations were found for certainphenolic characteristics in the grapes measured by these methods. Levels of phenolic compounds in thegrapes and correlating wines were in line with literature. Merlot samples often associated more with higherconcentrations of seed tannins, which were also reflected in the wines. Significant correlations were alsofound with the colour characteristics of the resulting wines and some anthocyanin related measurementsin the grapes with the Glories and Iland methods, with the latter correlating slightly better. Significantpositive correlations were also found between grape and wine tannins as measured with the BSA method.However, malolactic fermentation changed some of these correlations and this needs to be investigatedfurther. This work might give wine producers as well as wine analyses laboratories valuable informationregarding the suitability of these methods to characterize the phenolic composition of South African redgrapes and their resulting wines

Fostering Research Integrity through Institutional Policies: The Case of a Selected Institution of Higher Education1

Truth, trust and integrity are essential to research at higher education institutions. These institutions have accordingly adopted several policies tofoster research integrity. This article explores the likelihood that relevant policies at a selected institution of higher education foster research integrity. The qualitative, single exploratory case study commences with a review of scholarly literature and results in a conceptual model used for a directed content analysis of relevant institutional policies. The findings indicate that these policies do complement each other in fostering research integrity. Further research will be necessary to establish whether policies indeed contribute to responsible researcher conduct

Policies and scenarios for Cape Town's energy future: options for sustainable city energy development

This study examines a set of energy policy interventions, which can make a major contribution to sustainable development for the City of Cape Town – economically, environmentally and socially. Major energy savings can be made from modal shifts in the transport sector, and with efficient lighting. The savings make a contribution to economic development, by freeing up resources. The savings from energy efficiency also have important social benefits in energy savings, reducing energy bills for poor households. From an environmental point of view, implementing the city’s renewable energy target will have significant costs, but these can be partly off-set by selling carbon credits through the Clean Development Mechanism, and will result in indirect health benefits. Targeted interventions can reduce local air pollution, and help Cape Town become a leader in addressing greenhouse gas emissions. Apart from examining the social, economic and environmental dimensions of each policy, this paper compares policies to one another. Of particular interest for sustainable energy development are those policies which are viable in terms of costs, social benefits and the environment. Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) in residential, commercial and government sectors and heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) in commerce and government sectors stand out as policies that have benefits from every angle. The paper builds on previous work done on the ‘state of energy’ for Cape Town and develops a tool that can paint a picture of what might happen to energy in the future. Using the Long-Range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) modelling tool, a set of energy policies have been simulated

On a new class of tests for the Pareto distribution using Fourier methods

We propose new classes of tests for the Pareto type I distribution using the empirical characteristic function. These tests are $U$ and $V$ statistics based on a characterisation of the Pareto distribution involving the distribution of the sample minimum. In addition to deriving simple computational forms for the proposed test statistics, we prove consistency against a wide range of fixed alternatives. A Monte Carlo study is included in which the newly proposed tests are shown to produce high powers. These powers include results relating to fixed alternatives as well as local powers against mixture distributions. The use of the proposed tests is illustrated using an observed data set

A re-evaluation of Penicillium section Canescentia, including the description of five new species

A survey of Penicillium in the fynbos biome from South Africa resulted in the isolation of 61 species of which 29 were found to be new. In this study we focus on Penicillium section Canescentia, providing a phylogenetic re-evaluation based on the analysis of partial beta-tubulin (BenA), calmodulin (CaM) and RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (RPB2) sequence data. Based on phylogenies we show that five fynbos species are new and several previously assigned synonyms of P. canescens and P. janczewskii should be considered as distinct species. As such, we provide descriptions for the five new species and introduce the new name P. elizabethiae for the illegitimate P. echinatum. We also update the accepted species list and synonymies of section Canescentia species and provide a review of extrolites produced by these species.South African Biosystematics Initiative (SABI); Foundational Biodiversity Information Programme (FBIP) of the National Research Foundation (NRF); Future Leaders - African Independent Research fellowship programme (FLAIR); Novo Nordisk Foundation; Project INTARACT.https://www.persoonia.orgpm2022BiochemistryForestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI)GeneticsMicrobiology and Plant Patholog

Delimitation and characterisation of Talaromyces purpurogenus and related species

Taxa of the Talaromyces purpurogenus complex were studied using a polyphasic approach. ITS barcodes were used to show relationships between species of the T. purpurogenus complex and other Talaromyces species. RPB1, RPB2, β-tubulin and calmodulin sequences were used to delimit phylogenetic species in the complex. These data, combined with phenotypic characters, showed that the complex contains four species: T. purpurogenus, T. ruber comb. nov. and two new species T. amestolkiae sp. nov. and T. stollii sp. nov. The latter three species belong to the same clade and T. purpurogenus is located in a phylogenetic distant clade. The four species all share similar conidiophore morphologies, but can be distinguished by macromorphological characters. Talaromyces ruber has a very distinct colony texture on malt extract agar (MEA), produces bright yellow and red mycelium on yeast extract sucrose agar (YES) and does not produce acid on creatine sucrose agar (CREA). In contrast, T. amestolkiae and T. stollii produce acid on CREA. These two species can be differentiated by the slower growth rate of T. amestolkiae on CYA incubated at 36 °C. Furthermore, T. stollii produces soft synnemata-like structures in the centre of colonies on most media. Extrolite analysis confirms the distinction of four species in the T. purpurogenus complex. The red diffusing pigment in T. purpurogenus is a mixture of the azaphilone extrolites also found in Monascus species, including N-glutarylrubropunctamine and rubropunctatin. Talaromyces purpurogenus produced four different kinds of mycotoxins: rubratoxins, luteoskyrin, spiculisporic acid and rugulovasins and these mycotoxins were not detected in the other three specie

2-Methoxyestradiol-bis-sulphamate refrains from inducing apoptosis and autophagy in a non-tumorigenic breast cell line

BACKGROUND: Anticancer research resulted in the discovery of a promising antimitotic metabolite, 2-methoxyestradiol. 2-Methoxyestradiol-bis-sulphamate, a bis-sulphamoylated analogue exerts antiproliferative- and antimitotic activity. Investigating the anticancer potential of 2-methoxyestradiol-bis-sulphamate requires demonstrating the influence of 2-methoxyestradiol-bis-sulphamate on non-tumorigenic cells. This project focused on the in vitro effects of 2-methoxyestradiol-bis-sulphamate on the non-tumorigenic MCF-12A breast epithelial cell line. METHODS The in vitro influence of 2-methoxyestradiol-bis-sulphamate was investigated on cell cycle progression, possible induction of apoptosis and autophagy and reactive oxygen species generation. Cell cycle progression was done using flow cytometry in conjunction with ethanol fixation and propidium iodide staining. Displaying effects on the mitochondrial membrane potential was achieved utilizing flow cytometry and the MitoCapture TM Mitochondrial apoptosis detection kit. Autophagy detection was done by means of flow cytometry and anti-LC3B conjugated to DyLight 488. Reactive oxygen species generation was conducted employing flow cytometry and 2,7-dichlorofluorescein diacetate and hydroethidine. RESULTS: This study demonstrated that 2-methoxyestradiol-bis-sulphamate did not affect cell cycle progression or reactive oxygen species in a statistically significant manner in the non-tumorigenic MCF-12A cell line. In addition, 2-methoxyestradiol-bis-sulphamate did not statistically significantly induce apoptosis or autophagy. CONCLUSION: Reports indicate that 2-methoxyestradiol-bis-sulphamate induces apoptosis and autophagy in several tumorigenic cell lines. The anticancer ability of 2-methoxyestradiol-bis-sulphamate is due to its antimitotic activity. However, this study demonstrates the promising notion that 2-methoxyestradiol-bis-sulphamate does not affect the non-tumorigenic MCF-12A cells. This project contributes to the embedded scientific knowledge regarding the differential death mechanisms used by 2-methoxyestradiol-bis-sulphamate on tumorigenic and non-tumorigenic cell lines.http://www.cancerci.com/content/12/1/37am2013ay201

In vitro influence of 2-methoxyestradiol-bis-sulphamate on cell numbers, reactive oxygen species production and autophagy induction in a breast adenocarcinoma- and a non tumorigenic breast epithelial cell line

This study indicates that 2-methoxyestradiol-bissulphamate induces both apoptosis and autophagy and contributes to the unraveling of the action mechanism of 2-methoxyestradiol-bis-sulphamate.http://www.satnt.ac.z

Aspergillus diversity from the Gcwihaba cave in Botswana and description of one new species

A fungal survey of the Gcwihaba Cave from Botswana found Aspergillus to be one of the more common fungal genera isolated. The 81 Aspergillus strains were identified using CaM sequences and comparing these to a curated reference dataset. Nineteen species were identified representing eight sections (sections Candidi, Circumdati, Flavi, Flavipedes, Nidulantes, Nigri, Terrei and Usti). One strain could not be identified. Morphological characterisation and multigene phylogenetic analyses confirmed it as a new species in section Flavipedes and we introduce it below as A. okavangoensis. The new species is most similar to A. iizukae, both producing conidiophores with vesicles typically wider than 20 μm. The new species, however, does not produce Hülle cells and its colonies grow slower than those of A. iizukae on CYA at 37 °C (14–15 vs 18–21 mm) and CREA (15–16 vs 23–41mm).The Botswana International University of Science and Technology; the Department of Tertiary Education Financing (Botswana); the Future Leaders - African Independent Research fellowship programme. The FLAIR Fellowship Programme is a partnership between the African Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society funded by the UK Government’s Global Challenges Research Fund.https://fuse-journal.orgam2022BiochemistryForestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI)GeneticsMicrobiology and Plant Patholog