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INKATHA FREEDOM PARTY Inventory of documents
No full textCOVERAGE 1992-2008; 34 Files; 0,10 Metres.Private papers of the Inkatha Freedom Party. The Inkatha National Cultural Liberation Movement founded on 21 March 1975 by Dr Mangosuthu Buthelezi had some of its roots in the cultural organisation, "Inkatha", established by King Solomon in the 1920's. Inkatha emerged, along with the Black Consciousness Movement, to fill the vacuum in black politics caused by the banning of the ANC and PA
LEIBBRANDT, Sidney Robey Inventory of documents
No full textCOVERAGE 1933-1965; 31 Files; 1,44 metres.
AUDIO CASSETTES IN ARCA COLLECTION = 2Private papers of S.R. Leibrandt, represented SA at the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936, SA Heavy Weight Boxing Champion [1936], National Socialist who received a life sentence in 1943, but was liberated in 1948 after the National Party victory, founder of the Anti-Kommunistiese Beskermingsfront in 1962, author of a series of pamphlets titled Ontwaak Suid-Afrika
VAN HEERDEN, F.J. [Frik] Inventory of documents
No full textCOVERAGE In Process; 5,60 Metres.
AUDIO CASSETTES IN ARCA COLLECTION = 1Private papers of F.J. van Heerden, National Party MP Bloemfontein North
Industrial and medicinal application of Reishi and Lion’s Mane mushrooms
No full textMedicinal mushrooms have had applications for centuries as an alternative treatment of various ailments. Their nutritional value adds to their popularity and has been extensively studied as a healthy source of food which are rich in protein. Two medicinal mushrooms, Ganoderma lucidum and Hericium erinaceus have been scrutinized in recent years due to the presence of bioactive compounds. Although a non-edible mushroom, G. lucidum is considered to possess the most medicinal properties and cultivation may have the potential of providing animal feed. The edible H. erinaceus is currently scrutinized as it may have application as a natural alternative to treat the symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline. This study focused primarily on highlighting the advantages both mushrooms hold for humankind and pave the way for alternative medicinal applications.
In chapter 2, the optimum growth conditions for the cultivation of G. lucidum and H. erinaceus have been investigated in order to allow exploitation of their medicinal and economic benefits. In this chapter, pure cultures of G. lucidum and H. erinaceus were required with the need for a single medium allowing cultivation of both species being imperative. Sorghum agar was developed and found to be a superior growth medium compared to MEA or YMA. For cultivation of G. lucidum, the encroaching tree species, Acacia mellifera, were used as substrate for cultivation in order to provide animal feed. Various factors, such as improved lighting and different lighting cycles, humidity control and CO2 regulation were taken in consideration and modified to improve yields. Cultivation of H. erinaceus was conducted on both A. mellifera wood and pecan nut shells, which proved to be a sustainable method for removal of these waste products. Factors such as humidity control resulted in high yields of H. erinaceus fruiting bodies. As running costs were reduced, both G. lucidum and H. erinaceus were used for the development of medicinal applied capsules in collaboration with the pharmaceutical company, Sfera Nutraceuticals.
After optimization of growth conditions, extraction methods, antimicrobial activity and toxicity assays were investigated in chapter 3. Water, alcohol and a combined extract of water and alcohol were performed on the different growth stages of G. lucidum and H. erinaceus, namely mycelia, fruiting bodies and spent mushroom substrate (SMS). Various studies have been conducted on the applications of bioactive polysaccharides. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) was applied for preliminary separation of compounds. For the identification of compounds, separation and isolation of each extract using TLC should be undertaken in future while fingerprinting can be performed to identify and isolate compounds for further investigation. The antimicrobial activity of the extracts was investigated against 12 different pathogens. The hot water extracts showed no inhibitory effect against the various pathogens, but various factors have to be considered. The extraction times might have been too short while some of the compounds such as triterpenoids are water-insoluble and can only be extracted with alcohol. Alcohol extracts of G. lucidum fruiting bodies showed the best inhibitory effect. In addition, combined water and alcohol extracts were performed on the three growth phases of G. lucidum, with the combined extracts of G. lucidum fruiting bodies and spent mushroom substrate (SMS) showing the most promising results. It can be explained due to the extraction of both water-soluble and water-insoluble compounds, such as polysaccharides and triterpenoids. As a result, SMS have application as animal feed due to antimicrobial activity, thus utilizing waste. Pre-clinical and clinical trials are required to ensure safe use of herbal medicines. Human toxicity is poorly portrayed by animal models, resulting in the use of in vitro screening using human derived cells. Various parameters such as live/dead cells, lysosomes, mitochondrial dysfunction and steatosis can be investigated by staining cells followed by analysis with the ImageXpress Micro XLS Widefield High-Content Analysis System. Hepatotoxicity assays of the different extracts at different concentrations of were performed on HepG2 cells using above-mentioned parameters. Some of the extracts showed toxicity, with alcohol extracts proving to be more toxic when compared to water extracts. This study provided interesting data on the cytotoxicity of two South African macro-fungal species, G. lucidum and H. erinaceus. As hepatotoxicity assays are considered to be novel, further investigation is required as this was just a preliminary study in order to evaluate the antimicrobial effects and whether different extracts at different concentrations are highly toxic or not to human derived cells by making use of in vitro screening. By taking all of the results in account, none of the extracts proved to be highly toxic, paving the way for further investigations and improving health in a natural manner.
New methods of waste disposal are required with the application of G. lucidum SMS as animal feed after delignification taking centre stage. The use of encroaching wood species such as A. mellifera following mushroom cultivation was investigated in chapter 4. Enzymes produced by mushrooms aid in the delignification process, resulting in degradation of lignocellulosic materials for growth and fruiting. Due to sufficient breakdown of lignin, A. mellifera wood had application as animal feed and SMS were added as supplement. Ruminants from experimental group showed improved and more consistent growth compared to the control groups fed on feed consisting only of lusern and corn. In addition, microbial analysis of stomach contents showed a significant increase in Lactobacilli counts for the experimental group compared to the control groups. Additionally, the effect of animal feed supplemented with SMS on ruminants was also investigated by weight gaining, % fat, total fatty acids, fatty acid ratios and colour of meat. In general, total fatty acids and fatty acid ratios of the experimental groups were considered to be more acceptable compared to the control groups. Furthermore, consumers considered meat from the experimental groups to be more favourable when various parameters (L*, a*, b*, hue and saturation index) were taken into consideration. As a result, meat from the experimental group were found to be the most in accordance with guidelines regarding acceptability for consumers. Consequently, the application of SMS as animal feed were considered to be successful and should be further investigated. It can therefore be concluded that feed supplemented with SMS have a positive effect when compared to traditional feed
Critiques of the human rights framework as the foundation of a human rights-based approach to development
No full textDuring the 1990s, the human rights-based approach (HRBA) emerged as the newest development framework to address increasing global poverty and inequality. Under this approach, development objectives are determined by human rights standards and goals as set out in international treaties, conven- tions, declarations, and authoritative interpretations of rights. Beneficiaries of development programmes also gain legal rights against corresponding duty bearers, which supersedes moral claims for the fulfilment of development goals. Furthermore, human rights principles such as equality and non-discrimination, accountability, participation, empowerment and the indivisibility of rights form the cornerstone of a HRBA. However, the human rights framework, as the foundation for this approach, has come under severe criticism over the past few years. Significant disparities exist between that which is promised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and real-world respect for, and protection of human rights. This article aims to explore and analyse the most popular of these criticisms. These include critiques raised against the claimed universality of rights, inherent discriminatory practices, the inability of the framework to take account of practicalities and limitations, and the lack of effective protection and monitoring by United Nation’s bodies. It also explores emerging threats such as, for example, globalisation to the human rights framework. However, the framework has proven to be adaptable to these challenges. Practitioners and scholars are continuously working towards overcoming practicalities that impede the achievement of the protection and realisation of the human rights of all. In addition, the article examines critiques against the normative value of human rights as a product of natural law. However, the international human rights framework has gained widespread acceptance as the highest moral authority, as it is based on respect for human dignity and guaranteeing the freedom of all. The article demonstrates that the use of human rights language in lieu of other terms such as ‘goals’, ‘duties’, ‘interests’, ‘needs’, and ‘claims’ carries several advantages, the most important of which is the creation of rights holders with corresponding duty bearers. It also determines that, despite the numerous critiques examined, the human rights framework offers a solid, and the most accepted, foundation for development programming with a number of benefits.Publisher's versio
Antibody fragments as a possible therapeutic treatment for infectious bronchitis in poultry
No full textInfectious bronchitis virus (IBV), a coronavirus, is the etiological agent for infectious bronchitis (IB), an acute respiratory disease of poultry. Infectious bronchitis is a notifiable disease, and taking in consideration that poultry is the second most consumed meat within South Africa, it highlights the importance of monitoring IBV outbreaks. Recombinant single chain variable fragments (scFv) have been used in therapeutic treatments for various human and veterinarian viruses, including other coronaviruses, such as SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. The study aims to select scFv against the IBV antigen, with the use of phage display technology and commercial ELISA plates coated with the most prevalent IBV strains namely, H120 and M41. It has been proven that the S1 protein induces the binding of neutralising antibodies which provides protection against lethal CoV infections, thus, indicating a possible application for a therapeutic treatment. In this study, phage clones were selected from a human domain (dAb) library (Source BioScience, Australia). Panning was repeated three times using commercial ELISA plates coated with M41 and H120 IBV strains. Positive monoclonal phage clones were retrieved from the polyclonal mix by a sandwich ELISA and sequenced. The selected scFvs were expressed by Isopropyl β-D-1 thiogalactopyranoside induction and purified by immunoprecipitation with the Pierce Anti-c-Myc Agarose kit (Thermo Scientific, USA). After purification, binding ability of the scFvs were determined by means of a direct competitive ELISA. The neutralising ability of the scFvs was then determined by a virus neutralisation assay in ovo with the Avipro IBV H120 strain (Lohmann Animal Health Gmbh, Germany). This was performed in 9-day old SPF eggs over a time-period of six days. One set of eggs were injected with a dilution range of the IBV H120 strain and another set by a mixture of 2 μg/ml scFv with the IBV H120 strain. The end-point titres were determined and compared by the Spearman-Karber method (Spearman, 1908). Statistical analysis was performed using the student t-test with a p-value of 0.05. Round 1 of panning resulted in a total of 1.2 x 106 phages/ml and after round 3 a total of 3.0 x 1010 phages/ml were obtained. A total of 96 phage clones were manually selected from which only 12.5% showed a positive result during the sandwich ELISA. The 12 positive clones were sequenced and analysed based on nucleotide and amino acid composition. A total of five scFvs contained a complete variable heavy (VH) chain sequence, two of which was identical. This resulted in four unique and complete scFv sequences. These sequences showed a high variance in the nucleotide composition through- out the sequence. However, variation in the amino acid composition was only observed in the third complementary determining region. The scFvs were expressed and resulted in concentrations ranging from 204.38 μg/ml to 265.07 μg/ml. Detection of IBV antigen binding ability of the purified scFvs was conducted by a direct competitive ELISA. However, no statistical difference in absorbance values were observed, indicating insufficient binding of the scFvs. The in ovo virus neutralisation assay resulted in a one log reduction of the end-point titres. Statistical analysis proved one of the reductions to be statistically significant with a p- value less than 0.05, resulting in a partial neutralisation effect from the scFv. In conclusion, the selection process showed a progressive enrichment of antigen specific clones from the dAb library. The scFvs were successfully expressed, purified and characterised in terms of binding ability.National Research Foundation (NRF
DE WET, JC Inventory of documents
No full textCOVERAGE 1934-1957; 8 files; 22 pamphletsCircular to the National Party Head Office; newspaper clipping
The role of academic self-concept in the relationship between grade 12 performance and academic perfomance in first-year psychology students
No full textEnglish: The first year of university is an important transitional and developmental period. Students enter university with diverse pre-university experiences, which could affect how successfully they change over to the new university environment. In this study, the relationship between Grade 12 academic performance and first-year academic performance in psychology students at the University of the Free State (UFS) was investigated. Furthermore, the potential mediating and/or moderating roles of students’ generational status and academic self-concept (ASC) in this relationship were examined. A non-experimental type, quantitative research approach with a correlational design was adopted. A sample of 203 first-year psychology students was recruited by using non-probability, convenience- sampling methods. Participants completed an online self-report survey consisting of questions on their demographic information and ASC. The moderating role of generational status was measured before conducting further statistical analyses. The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was used to measure the relationship between Grade 12 academic performance and psychology marks of the first year. A moderated hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to determine the moderating and/or mediating role of ASC in this relationship. In this study, generational status was not a moderator in the aforementioned relationship. Grade 12 academic performance explained a significant amount of variance in first-year psychology marks. ASC had a main effect on participants’ psychology module marks, but was neither a mediator nor a moderator in the relationship between Grade 12 academic performance and first-year psychology marks. It can be concluded that academic performance at university is dependent on students’ prior academic performance and their ASCAfrikaans: Die eerste jaar by ʼn universiteit is 'n belangrike oorgang- en ontwikkelingsperiode. Studente betree universiteit met verskillende pre-universiteit- ervarings wat beïnvloed hoe suksesvol hulle oorskakeling na die nuwe universiteitsomgewing is. In hierdie studie is die verband tussen die Graad 12 akademiese prestasie en akademiese prestasie in die eerste jaar onder eerstejaar-sielkunde studente aan die Universiteit van die Vrystaat (UV) ondersoek. Die potensiële modererende- en / of mediërende effekte van studente se generasie status en akademiese selfkonsep (ASC) in hierdie verhouding is ook ondersoek. 'n Nie-eksperimentele, kwantitatiewe navorsingsbenadering met 'n korrelasionele ontwerp is gebruik. 'n Steekproef van 203 eerstejaar-sielkunde studente is verkry deur middel van nie-waarskynlikheid, gerieflikheidsteekproefneming. Deelnemers het aanlyn 'n selfevalueringsvraelys voltooi wat vrae oor hul demografiese inligting en ASC ingesluit het. Die modererende rol van generasie status is gemeet voordat verdere statistiese analises voltooi is. ʼn Pearson-korrelasie koëffisiënt (r) is gebruik om die verhouding tussen Graad 12-akademiese prestasie en eerstejaar-sielkunde modulepunte te meet. 'n Gemodereerde hiërargiese regressie-analise is uitgevoer om die modererende en / of mediërende rol van ASC in hierdie verhouding te bepaal. In hierdie studie was generasie status nie 'n moderator in die voorheen genoemde verhouding nie. Graad 12- akademiese prestasie het ʼn betekenisvolle hoeveelheid variansie in punte van eerstejaar-sielkundestudente verklaar. ASC het 'n hoofuitwerking op die deelnemers se sielkunde- modulepunte gehad, maar was nie 'n mediator of moderator in die verhouding tussen Graad 12- akademiese prestasie en eerstejaar- sielkunde punte nie. Dit kan afgelei word dat akademiese prestasie op universiteit afhanklik is van studente se vorige akademiese prestasie en hul ASC
AFRICAN STUDIES INSTITUTE; Inventory of documents
No full textCOVERAGE 1967-1975; 6 publications; 0.10 metrePublications from the institut
The role of ward commitees in influencing community participation in the Free State province: a case study of ward 12, 14 and 19 in the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality
No full textThe main aim of this study was to determine the role of Ward Committees in influencing
community participation in the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, as there are known
challenges that face Ward Committees in discharging their duties. The findings and
recommendations will be important tools to assist Ward Committees in improving the quality
of life of the people in their wards.
The data were gathered through interviews and a qualitative approach was utilised. The
findings show that Ward Committees faced challenges in taking important decisions for the
benefit of communities. However, Ward Committees are regarded mainly as an advisory body.
Furthermore, the tension between Ward Councillors, Ward Committees, and Municipalities
have a negative impact on issues affecting community participation.
In addition, the role of Ward Councillors, Ward Committees, and Community Members in the
Integrated Development Planning was found to be unsatisfactory. These structures did not have
knowledge of the Integrated Development Plan process and thus could not take part in decisionmaking.
It is recommended that municipalities train and capacitate Ward Councillors and Ward
Committees in terms of all municipal processes, including the budget process, as Ward
Councillors and Ward Committees play an important role in influencing community
participation