Navorsing op die gebied van die sosiale wetenskappe*

In Hollands is die woord scientia vertaal met wetenskap, wat sowel die natuur- as die geesteswetenskappe insluit, waardeur die woordsy oorspronklike betekenis behou. Die neiging bestaan om die Engels science met wetenskap in Afrikaans te vertaal, waarmee dan eintlik die natuurwetenskap bedoel word

Waarom universiteitsopleiding?

Wanneer ons die vraag „Waarom universiteitsopleiding?” stel en ’n antwoord daarop wil vind, kan die vraag uit vele gesigspunte benader word. Die doel en taak van die universiteit kan byvoorbeeld die tema van die antwoord wees en die klem kan op die vormingstaak van die universiteit geplaas word. Daar kan aangetoon word dat dit die taak van die universiteit is om die student tot volwaardige volwassenheid te voer; dat die leiers van móre die studente van vandag is en dat dit van besondere belang is dat die universiteit sal meehelp om die student as religieus-sedelike persoonlikheid te vorm deur die skepping van gunstige toestande daartoe

Suid-Afrika se dilemma: Uitdagings en geleenthede*)

U ontvang vanaand almal sertifikate wat as bewys sal dien dat u ’n graad verwcrf het na volgehoue studie van minstens drie jaar. U moes baie toetse en ’n hele aan- tal eksamens slaag. Hierdie eksamens en evalueringstoetse is telkens gestel om u kennis te meet, naamlik die kennis wat u veronderstel was om van die bepaalde vak te verwerf het. En u het finaal gestaag: u het daardie veronderstelde kennis, inderdaad verwerf. Nou kom die groot vraag, seker die allerbelangrikste vraag wat ek vanaand aan u kan stel: wat gaan u met die verworwe kennis maak? Inderdaad ja, u het na die Universiteit gekom om u voor te berei vir die lewe. U wil as u hiervandaan vertrek (om dit nou maar gewoonweg te stel) toeberei wees om “ ’n lewe te gaan maak” , vir uself ’n lewe te gaan verdien. Is ek reg, of wil u, as u hiervandaan vertrek, die kennis wat u verwerf het gaan aanwend in diens van andere, d.w.s. van u naaste, die volk van wie u lid is, die land waarin u woon en wat ons almal liefhet

Skeppende denke of vermoë

Ons leef in ’n tyd van ongeëwenaarde ontwikkeling en spesialisasie. A1 m eer w ord van deskundiges op verskillende terreine gebruik gemaak om die toekom s op haas elke fase van die lewe te beplan. So sterk is die behoefte aan beplanning dat in die R.S.A. onlangs ’n D epartem ent van Beplanning ingestel is

MycoBank gearing up for new horizons.

MycoBank, a registration system for fungi established in 2004 to capture all taxonomic novelties, acts as a coordination hub between repositories such as Index Fungorum and Fungal Names. Since January 2013, registration of fungal names is a mandatory requirement for valid publication under the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants (ICN). This review explains the database innovations that have been implemented over the past few years, and discusses new features such as advanced queries, registration of typification events (MBT numbers for lecto, epi- and neotypes), the multi-lingual database interface, the nomenclature discussion forum, annotation system, and web services with links to third parties. MycoBank has also introduced novel identification services, linking DNA sequence data to numerous related databases to enable intelligent search queries. Although MycoBank fills an important void for taxon registration, challenges for the future remain to improve links between taxonomic names and DNA data, and to also introduce a formal system for naming fungi known from DNA sequence data only. To further improve the quality of MycoBank data, remote access will now allow registered mycologists to act as MycoBank curators, using Citrix software

Finding needles in haystacks: linking scientific names, reference specimens and molecular data for Fungi

DNA phylogenetic comparisons have shown that morphology-based species recognition often underestimates fungal diversity. Therefore, the need for accurate DNA sequence data, tied to both correct taxonomic names and clearly annotated specimen data, has never been greater. Furthermore, the growing number of molecular ecology and microbiome projects using high-throughput sequencing require fast and effective methods for en masse species assignments. In this article, we focus on selecting and re-annotating a set of marker reference sequences that represent each currently accepted order of Fungi. The particular focus is on sequences from the internal transcribed spacer region in the nuclear ribosomal cistron, derived from type specimens and/or ex-type cultures. Re-annotated and verified sequences were deposited in a curated public database at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), namely the RefSeq Targeted Loci (RTL) database, and will be visible during routine sequence similarity searches with NR_prefixed accession numbers. A set of standards and protocols is proposed to improve the data quality of new sequences, and we suggest how type and other reference sequences can be used to improve identification of Fungi

A Reevaluation of Tree Model, Inflorescence Morphology, and Sex Ratio in Lychee (Litchi Chinensis Sonn.)

The architecture of the lychee tree and the structure of the inflorescence are described according to the terminology of Hallè et al. and Weberling. The lychee tree has rhythmic modular growth and the inflorescence is a heterocladic pleiothyrsoid. Additional paracladia may develop from a second serial bud below the first-order paracladia. Male and female flowers are borne at variable positions on the dichasia. The relation between the position and gender of the flowers on the partial inflorescences (dichasia) varied with cultivar and time

Comparative immune-profiling of three cattle breeds infested with Rhipicephalus microplus and Ixodes ricinus-infested BALB/c mice

Ticks and tick-borne diseases have a negative impact on the quality and quantity of livestockderived products. As such, effective control strategies against these parasites are needed. Currently, acaricides are the most widely used control mechanism against ticks but due to the increase in resistance to these chemicals, new control strategies, like vaccination, need to be developed and improved. In cattle, increasing the understanding of the basic underlying variation in immunological responses to tick infestation may constitute the basis of improved tick control strategies in the future. While the identification of protective antigens is essential, the final formulation of vaccines is pivotal in the efficacy of a future vaccine. As such, increasing the understanding of the basic underlying variation in immunological responses to tick infestation may constitute the basis of improved tick control strategies in the future. Chapter 2 describes the differential regulation of T and B-lymphocyte subsets in the skin and lymph nodes amongst three cattle breeds as potential mediators of immune-resistance to Rhipicephalus microplus tick. This study has been the first to describe in detail the in vivo immune responses in lymph nodes of cattle following Rhipicephalus microplus infestation, attachment and continued feeding. To further compliment this study, Chapter 3 provides a temporal analysis of the bovine lymph node transcriptome during cattle tick (Rhipicephalus microplus) infestation. Here a detailed description on the specific transcriptional processes in the lymph nodes of Bonsmara cattle is given. These processes include: (1) Leukocyte recruitment to the lymph node via chemokines and chemotaxis, (2) Trans-endothelial and intranodal movement on the reticular network, (3) Active regulation of cellular transcription and translation in the lymph node (including leukocyte associated cellular regulatory networks) and (4) Chemokine receptors regulating the movement of cells out of the lymph node. In addition to studying the immune response in cattle, the viability of a mouse model was used for basic immune profiling during tick feeding and vaccination in Chapter 4. Here an in vivo evaluation of Ixodes ricinus induced effects on T and B-cell maturation in the spleen and lymph nodes of BALB/c mice is given.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2018.GeneticsPhDUnrestricte