The biogeography of the Prosopistomatidae, with a particular emphasis on Southern African species
- Authors: Barber-James, Helen M
- Date: 2003
- Language: English
- Type: Conference paper
- Identifier: vital:6998 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008378
- Description: The mayfly family Prosopistomatidae consists of the single genus Prosopistoma Latreille. Its known distribution includes species from Africa, Madagascar, the Comores, Europe, the Levant, India, Sri Lanka, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and northern Australia. A tropical Gondwanaland origin of the family has been suggested. No species are currently known from the Neotropical or Nearctic regions, though the family may yet be discovered in northeastern South America, since this region separated from West Africa only c.120 mya. Focussing on southern Africa, several undescribed species have recently been discovered, with interesting implications to the biogeography on a more localised scale. In the western Cape, a prosopistomatid species has been collected in the Olifants River, extending the distribution of this family further south into a more temperate region. Geological evidence indicates that the Olifants River was connected to the Orange River during the Tertiary period. Prosopistomatidae are known from the Orange River today, and the presence of the family in the Olifants River in the western Cape supports the geological evidence of the historical link between these two rivers. Another unexpected discovery was from the Buffalo River in the eastern Cape, at 33ºS. A subtropical zone extends along the east coast of South Africa as a result of the warm Agulhas current offshore, allowing the southerly extension of the distribution of more tropical species. , Research Update on Ephemeroptera & Plecoptera: Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Ephemeroptera, 8-11 August 2001, Perugia, Italy. University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy, pp. 263-270.
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- Date Issued: 2003
The influence of education on the interpretation of pharmaceutical pictograms for communicating medicine instructions:
- Authors: Dowse, Roslind , Ehlers, Martina S
- Date: 2003
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/157014 , vital:40079 , DOI 10.1211/002235702810
- Description: To assess the influence of formal education on the interpretation of pharmaceutical pictograms.
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- Date Issued: 2003
Thermal responses in some Eastern Cape African Cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae)
- Authors: Sanborn, Allen F , Phillips, Polly K F , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2003
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:6918 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011881
- Description: Thermal responses were measured in cicadas collected in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The thermal responses of 22 species from 5 biomes were determined. Shade-seeking temperature was the most variable and related to the various biomes. Mean shade-seeking temperature was greatest for species inhabiting the thicket biome and lowest for species inhabiting the forest biome. The animals that live in the thicket biome may adapt to the greater thermal stress to take advantage of a habitat that permits lower predation pressure. There is a correlation between body size and shade-seeking temperatures with smaller species exhibiting lower thermal responses within a particular habitat. This may be related to the greater heat exchange in smaller species. Heat torpor temperatures did not differ between the various biomes.
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- Date Issued: 2003
Those merry, tinkling, tuneful bells : handbells in Victorian Grahamstown with a note on bell ringing at Grahamstown Cathedral
- Authors: Berning, J M
- Date: 2003
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6993 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012420
- Description: [From the introduction]: The idea of using sets of small bells tuned to particular notes in order to produce music is very old. There are illustrations of slung bells being played in this way from the 11th and 12th centuries. Bell ringers in England date the sue of sets of tuned and hand-held bells from as early as the 16th century though it seems that the modern handbell may have come into existence in the early 18th century. Such bells were used by tower bell ringers as convenient practice devices for change ringing. The ringing of tunes on handbells became popular in the 18th century and reached its heyday in the latter half of the 19th century. In England tune ringing was especially popular in the north and major competitions had their centre at Manchester. Special trains were run to competitions there and bands, ringing up to 200 bells, could find their skills tested on extracts from Mozart's Don Giovanni. World War I and the spread of alternative media of entertainment like radio put an end to ringing on this scale. , This publication marked the 150th Anniversary of the Diocese of Grahamstown. Michael Berning was a member of the Rhodes University Library staff from 1965 until his retirement in 1997. He was Tower Captain of the Grahamstown Cathedral during the 1980s.
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- Date Issued: 2003
Water resources in Botswana with particular reference to the savanna regions
- Authors: du Plessis, A J E , Rowntree, Kate M
- Date: 2003
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6676 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006654
- Description: Production and development in the savanna regions of southern Africa are primarily determined by interactions between the limitations imposed by ecological determinants (such as rainfall and soil quality) and the management strategies of the specific region. Good planning, focussing on both the short and long-term effects of water use, is needed in water management strategies. Botswana is already experiencing so-called 'water stress' which is related to a number of factors such as rapidly increasing population leading to a sharp increase in water demand, low and variable rainfall, high rates of evaporation, and the high cost of exploiting existing water resources. At the current rates of abstraction, the lifetime of surface and groundwater resources is limited to decades. Botswana shares four river basins with its neighbouring countries. This results in a situation where 94% of the fresh water resources which Botswana can theoretically access originates outside its borders, making water resource management highly complex. Transnational sharing and management of water resources, therefore, plays a major role in securing sustainability of this precious resource.
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- Date Issued: 2003
Extending the matching facilities of Linda
- Authors: Wells, George C , Chalmer, A B , Clayton, Peter G
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/430452 , vital:72692 , https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-46000-4_34
- Description: This paper discusses the associative matching mechanism used in the Linda coordination language for the retrieval of data. There are a number of problems with this mechanism which are discussed in the light of the requirements of applications using Linda. A number of solutions to these problems have been proposed. These are discussed and compared with a new approach to solving these problems. The benefits and the limitations of the new approach are considered, showing how it provides a considerable improvement in this area.
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- Date Issued: 2002
From conflict to negotiation: nature-based development on the South African Wild Coast. Special edition
- Authors: Palmer, Robin C G , Timmermans, Herman G , Fay, Derek
- Date: 2002
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:543 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011730
- Description: The Rio Earth Summit of 1992 introduced several new approaches to environmental management under the general heading of sustainable development. One of these approaches has forced conservationists to concede that it is no longer feasible or ethical to exlude resident communities from protected areas, as had been the practice for more than a century. The alternative approach highlighting considerations of social justice and economic empowerment, is to recognise that humans are also part of the local ecology, and to find sustainable ways to maintain local livelihoods along with biodiversity. Especially in the global South, resource-dependant communities associated with protected areas had long been subjected to removals or restrictions by the state, and had been forced to modify livelihoods historically dependant on abundant natural resources, usually resulting in their acute impoverishment. Eastern and Southern Africa had been particulr sites of the former protectionist policies and their frequently tragic sequels for communities. Following the Summit much energy has been expended on finding sustainable alternatives to relocation in these regions, particularly new livelihoods linked to ecotourism From Conflict to Negotiation provides a South African case study of the shift from protectionism to sustainable development in the 1990's. Located on the wild coast of the Eastern Cape, Dwesa-Cwebe consists of a nature and marine reserve with eight adjacent resident communities that have historically depended on local forest, grassland and coastal resources. This are has been the focus of one of the earliest efforts in the 'new' South Africa to restore to the Xhosa-speaking residents ownership of the protected area from which they had been excluded for decades. Unusually the resident initiated the process. While others celebrated the advent of the new democracy in South Africa in 1994, the residents of this remote area, whose grieviences had been ignored during the political transition, planned a protest strategy featuring co-ordinated invasions of the protected area. The protest action succeeded to the extent that it gained massive media attention and provoked the special attention of national and regional goverment, non-govermental organizations (NGOs) and academic researchers. An early academic intervention designed to bring the residents and conservationists together was later expanded. Complementing the roles of goverment and NGOs, environmentalists and socio-cultural anthropologists, among others involved in this project, have attempted to address the conundrum of sustainable development policy implementation in a complex setting. From conflict to Negotiation details the findings of this pioneering research project. It is the story of local empowerment regained as confrontation yielded to negotiation and negotiation yielded co-management, local ownership and developmental partnerships. This landmark study will provoke ongoing discussion and research in an exciting new forum of community development.
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- Date Issued: 2002
Maybe the courts are not such a Bleak House after all - or please sir, I want some more copyright
- Authors: Glover, Graham B
- Date: 2002
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/70841 , vital:29749 , https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/soaf119&i=101
- Description: In our advanced technological age the law of copyright faces tremendous challenges. In particular, the Internet has created serious problems for those who wish to enforce their proprietary rights, and to protect their textual (and other) creations from unregulated and uninhibited reproduction.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2002
Open source in South African schools : two case studies
- Authors: Halse, Guy A , Terzoli, Alfredo
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Open source
- Language: English
- Type: Conference paper
- Identifier: vital:6601 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009321
- Description: One of the major problems facing schools in South Africa is the difficulty in obtaining modern, up-to-date computer facilities. This paper looks at the use of open source solutions in two government schools in South Africa to demonstrate that it is possible for schools to utilise almost any existing computer to provide effective network solutions.
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- Date Issued: 2002
Quantification of corticosteroid-induced skin vasoconstriction: visual ranking, chromameter measurement or digital image analysis
- Authors: Smith, Eric W , Haigh, John M , Surber, Christian
- Date: 2002
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:6427 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006564
- Description: Topical corticosteroid formulations have been evaluated by visual grading protocols for many years. Toward a more objective methodology, several instrumental methods have been evaluated for applicability in quantifying the vasoconstriction side-effect that follows corticosteroid application to the skin. Although the chromameter has been adopted by regulatory bodies throughout the world as the current standard for topical bioequivalence determinations, there is considerable criticism of this instrument from several quarters. A preliminary comparison reported here indicates that digital image analysis provides statistically significant results that are similar to those obtained by visual assessment techniques, and shows considerably greater precision than that obtained by the chromameter. Continued evaluation of objective assessment techniques, such as digital imaging, and continued modernisation of regulatory bioequivalence requirements will assist in protecting patients and optimising clinical results.
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- Date Issued: 2002
The toxicity of zinc to a selected macroinvertebrate, Adenophlebia auriculata (Ephemeroptera, Leptophlebiidae) method development
- Authors: Everitt, Victoria J , Scherman, Patricia A , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/442370 , vital:73979 , https://doi.org/10.2989/16085914.2002.9626572
- Description: The South African water quality guidelines for the protection of the aquatic environment are constantly being updated. The Centre for Aquatic Toxicology of the Institute for Water Research, Rhodes University, uses artificial streams and toxicological methods to contribute to the development and refinement of these guidelines. This study involved the use of 96-hour acute toxicity tests, using zinc sulphate as the toxicant, to determine the suitability of Adenophlebia auriculata as a potential indicator species of zinc pollution. As it is known that experimental environments (e.g. still versus flowing water systems) can influence the tolerance of a test species, the experimental system most suited to this species' abiotic requirements was determined. Static and recirculating systems were compared, with LC50 values calculated for the static systems being 91% lower than those calculated for the recirculating systems. The increased sensitivity to the toxicant under static conditions may be due to the animals being additionally stressed by the less favourable static environment. This suggests that recirculating systems are more suited for toxicity tests using this mayfly. Adenophlebia auriculata appears to be tolerant to zinc when compared to zinc LC50 values for other test species in the literature, and may therefore not be a suitable indicator of zinc pollution in an aquatic environment.
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- Date Issued: 2002
Africa as Renaissance: grotesque John Skelton's 1485 version of Diodorus Siculus
- Authors: Van Wyk Smith, Malvern
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/457446 , vital:75638 , https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA1011582X_161
- Description: Diodorus Siculus was a Sicilian Greek who round about the middle of the century before ChrISt'S birth began a mammoth history of the Mediterranean world that in its complete state of 40 books, mostly now lost, stretched from the legendary past down to Diodorus's own times. Of his Bibliotheca Historica, or Library of History, now only Books 1-5 and 11-20 survive, plus some fragments and paraphrases in other collections. The survival of the first five books, however, is particularly fortunate for my purposes, for this is the part in which Diodorus offers a seamless blend of legend and history to explain the origins of the peoples of the Mediterranean and adjacent parts.
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- Date Issued: 2001
Campaigns Bulletin : The government is starving us to death!
- Authors: SAMWU
- Date: May 2001
- Subjects: SAMWU
- Language: English, Zulu, Swati, Xhosa, sePedi, seSotho and Afrikaans
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/113537 , vital:33799
- Description: The wage talks are resuming on May 8th 2001. At the time of going to print, all provinces were holding marches all over the country to highlight our demands for a living wage. Currently on the table is a proposal by the conciliator that all parties should agree to accept an 8% across the board increase, and an increase in the minimum wage to R1900. Firstly this proposal has not yet been accepted by the employer. At the conciliation, the employer stuck to 5% only. Secondly this falls short of our demand. It means we will not get the R300 across the board. Any worker earning below R3800 per month is going to get an increase of less than R300. The hardest hit will be workers earning from R1700 - R3000 who will only get R136 - R240. There is nothing more we can get from conciliation or negotiations. It is now up to YOU the workers to decide if you will accept the 8% offer put on the table by the conciliator!
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- Date Issued: May 2001
Campaigns Bulletin : The government is starving us to death!
- Authors: SAMWU
- Date: May 2001
- Subjects: SAMWU
- Language: English, Zulu, Swati, Xhosa, sePedi, seSotho and Afrikaans
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/113438 , vital:33775
- Description: The wage talks are resuming on May 8th 2001. At the time of going to print, all provinces were holding marches all over the country to highlight our demands for a living wage. Currently on the table is a proposal by the conciliator that all parties should agree to accept an 8% across the board increase, and an increase in the minimum wage to R1900. Firstly this proposal has not yet been accepted by the employer. At the conciliation, the employer stuck to 5% only. Secondly this falls short of our demand. It means we will not get the R300 across the board. Any worker earning below R3800 per month is going to get an increase of less than R300. The hardest hit will be workers earning from R1700 - R3000 who will only get R136 - R240. There is nothing more we can get from conciliation or negotiations. It is now up to YOU the workers to decide if you will accept the 8% offer put on the table by the conciliator!
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- Date Issued: May 2001
Changes in the abundance of cells in the anterior pituitary gland and the possible roles of luteinizing hormone, prolactin and progesterone in the control of delayed implantation in the straw-coloured fruit bat (Eidolon helvum)
- Authors: Simbauni, J A , Bernard, Ric T F
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/447131 , vital:74586 , https://doi.org/10.1080/15627020.2001.11657115
- Description: Eidolon helvum (Megachiroptera) is a large frugivorous bat found in equatorial and tropical Africa. The reproductive cycle is characterized by a three-month period of delayed implantation and the total length of pregnancy may be as much as 10 months. A histochemical study of the gonadotrophs and mammotrophs of the anterior pituitary, in conjunction with assays of LH-like, progesterone-like and prolactin-like immunoreactivity in the plasma suggest that during delayed implantation the gonadotrophs were inactive while the mammotrophs were active and plasma PRL-like immunoreactivity high. We interpret this as indicating that, in the straw-coloured fruit bat, implantation was inhibited by high levels of prolactin and, as such, the endocrine control of delayed implantation may be quite different from that described for other mammals.
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- Date Issued: 2001
Enhancing military efficiency : a South African perspective
- Authors: Christie, Candice J , Todd, Andrew I
- Date: 2001
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6749 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009329
- Description: While extensive military research has been conducted in developed countries, very little work has been done on soldiers in industrially developing countries (IDCs). Although many aspects of marching are similar around the globe, the challenges facing soldiers in IDCs, and in particular South Africa, are unique. Since the 1990’s South Africa has seen a considerable shift in the morphological and cultural make-up of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). The result is a mix of soldiers from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. Ethnic differences may ultimately impact performance particularly as research has postulated that Blacks and Whites may differ in body composition and body proportions. It is highly probable then that the universal recommendations of optimal marching speeds, load masses and gradients need to be modified to accommodate the diversity of soldiers which currently comprise the SANDF.
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- Date Issued: 2001
Implementation and applications of the distortion operator
- Authors: Bangay, Shaun D
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/433382 , vital:72966 , https://doi.org/10.1145/513867.513872
- Description: The distortion operator transforms 2D images in a manner similar to image warping or morphing, allowing source pixels to be mapped to any destination pixel. This operator can be implemented on current hardware, allowing at least one distortion per frame at interactive frame rates. Potential applications are numerous, but those described include re-mapping images for correct projection onto curved screens, correcting camera distortion from multiple sources simultaneously, and allowing constant time dynamic texturing and lighting of a static scene which is independent of geometric complexity.
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- Date Issued: 2001
Influences of food quality and quantity on the male reproductive organs of a seasonally breeding rodent, the pouched mouse (Saccostomus campestris), from a seasonal but unpredictable environment
- Authors: Tinney, Gregory M , Bernard, Ric T F , White, Rehema M
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/447258 , vital:74600 , https://doi.org/10.1080/15627020.2001.11657110
- Description: Reproduction in the pouched mouse (Saccostomus campestris) is inhibited in winter in the field and this seasonality is not controlled by photoperiod alone. The present study examines the hypothesis that reproduction in the pouched mouse is opportunistic (sensu Bronson 1989) and that the winter inhibition of reproduction is controlled by a reduction in either food quantity or quality. Food restriction (70 % of normal daily food intake) for six weeks, under short day conditions, was associated with a significant decrease in body fat index and mass of the accessory glands, testes and epididymides, while a high-fibre diet resulted in a significant reduction in fat index and masses of both the accessory glands and epididymides. A low-fibre/low-protein diet had no significant effect on either fat index or masses of the reproductive organs. Although the three experimental diets resulted in assimilation of significantly less energy than the controls, they did not inhibit spermatogenesis. We conclude that reproduction in the pouched mouse in the Eastern Cape Province is probably opportunistic and that the winter inhibition of reproduction may be controlled by a reduction in available energy which results from a combination of the lower ambient temperatures of winter and reduced food quantity and/or quality.
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- Date Issued: 2001
Magnitudes and temporal sequencing of load kinematics and kinetics for single-handed pulls
- Authors: MacKinnon, S N
- Date: 2001
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6747 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009327
- Description: This paper provides data regarding kinematics and kinetics during single-handed, submaximal pulls about various locations in the frontal plane for three loads (6, 12 and 18% lean body mass). Pulls were executed at two relative heights (elbow and eye) through two parasagittal planes also relative to subject morphology. Results indicate that in most cases load and pull location influence the occurrence of measured kinetic variables within a pull cycle but have little effect on the magnitude of these values. Findings from this study suggest that analyses of kinematic and kinetic movement histories may be required for a better understanding of the mechanical loading profiles upon operators engaged in such manual materials handling activities.
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- Date Issued: 2001
Occupation-simulating isokinetic strength of infantrymen in the South African National Defence Force
- Authors: James, Jonathan P
- Date: 2001
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6748 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009328
- Description: Isokinetic work-simulation packages have not been widely exploited by researchers and this study aimed to assess how effectively occupation-simulating tasks could identify the capabilities of recruits and be applied in the military context. In this study the isokinetic strength responses of military personnel (N=42) were recorded and used to establish benchmark data on a population not previously tested.
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- Date Issued: 2001