An assessment of the implementation of intervention programmes which ensure the right to education for orphans in King Williams Town District
- Authors: Ntshuntshe, Zoleka
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Student assistance programs
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/24661 , vital:63399
- Description: The purpose of the study was to assess the implementation of intervention programmes that ensure the right to education for orphans in schools in the King William’s Town District. Data from the study revealed that there were a number of challenges faced by orphans with regards to accessing social grants and this affected their school performance negatively. Some of the challenges were (1) even though orphans were receiving the social grant, it was inadequate to provide for their home and school needs; (2) there was lack of information by applicants to access documents they needed to apply for social grants. This was an impediment to access to funds from social grants. (3) The long distances travelled by people to reach social services posed obstacles to those wishing to apply for grants. (4) Applicants lacked proper documentation such as birth certificates and parents’ death certificates which could impede application processes for social grants and (5) Lack of monitoring of social grants resulted in the misuse of funds by some caregivers. In the schools it was also established that there was irregular distribution of food parcels which resulted from some people who gave food to their families and friends, leaving the needy ones out. The No fee policy however was a success as most learners were able to remain in school. With regard to school attendance, some of the challenges were: (1) that some learners were struggling to buy school books as this was not covered by the policy. (2) There was slow implementation of scholar nutrition programme with some schools in quintile 1-3 still not being able to benefit from the programme. (3) Scholar transport was not available to most of the learners and (4) learners were without counseling services, since teachers were not trained in psychosocial support. Nonetheless, social workers were adequately trained to provide psychosocial support to learners. In addition, non governmental organizations contributed a vital service by providing orphans with uniforms and food. However their work was limited by resources and funding. The study was situated in the interpretive paradigm which seeks to construct detailed descriptions of reality. The qualitative methods were suitable for data collection purposes because they allowed the use of interviews which collected detailed, authentic information of what goes on in the schools. It was therefore the best method for the research study which seeks to assess implementation of intervention programmes for orphans as they related the challenges they encounter in the implementation of intervention programmes in their schools. Purposive sampling was used to select 8 orphans, 8 caregivers, 4 principals, 4 teachers and 4 social workers from the 4 schools in the district. The study recommends that the Child Support Grant be reviewed upwards and that monitoring be strengthened so that grants are not misused. It is further recommended that the department of social services synchronize its information dissemination strategies with other stakeholder departments, such as the department of education so as to benefit orphans. It is also recommended that the No fee policy be strengthened by such additions as providing books for orphans and other vulnerable children in schools. Finally the study recommends scholar transport to be implemented as learners still have to walk long distances to school. , Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Education, 2012
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Effect of fluoroquinolones antibiotics on vancomycin and oxacillin resistant staphylococcus species in Eastern Cape Province
- Authors: Soyege, Oludotun
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Staphylococcus aureus , Quinolone antibacterial agents , Fluoroquinolones
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/25349 , vital:64212
- Description: This study shows the susceptibility profile of some Staphylococcus species isolated from commensal Staphylococci in Nkonkobe municipality, South Africa. A total number of 120 Staphylococcal isolates were screened for their susceptibilities to various classes of antibiotics such as Aminoglycoside (Gentamycin), Aminoglycoside (Kanamycin), Macrolide (Erythromycin), Tetracycline (Minocycline), Anti-tuberculous (Rifampicin), Lincosamides (Clindamycin), Cephalosporin and Fluoroquinolones in general. During the study, 32 (26percent) the test organisms were susceptible to both methicillin and vancomycin, while 12 (10percent) had co-resistance to the antibiotics. Furthermore, Gentamycin (an Aminoglycoside) had a relatively high potency against the isolates with 107 (89.17percent) of the bacteria being susceptible to it, while 10 (8.33percent) were resistant. On the other hand, Erythromycin (a Macrolide) was active against 72 (60percent) of the isolates, while 5 (4.17percent) and 74 (61.67percent) of the isolates yielded intermediate and resistant responses respectively. In addition , 51 (42.5percent) of the isolates were susceptible to rifampicin, while 1 (0.83percent) and 17 (14.17percent) were intermediate and resistant respectively. Ten percent of the isolates screened for their antibiotic susceptibility pattern in this study were positive for mecA gene among the vancomycin-oxacillin resistant strains while van gene was not detected in any of the isolates. This shows how the synergy of both vancomycin and oxacillin contribute to some resistance nature of Staphylococci. In order to overcome this resistance attributes of Staphylococci, to the commonly used antibiotics as discussed under this context, various types of fluoroquinolones were tested. The result shows that less than 10percent of the isolates were generally resistant to the fluoroquinolones except against Nalidix acid to which all the isolates were resistant. Other antibiotics had relatively higher resistance patterns as observed for minocycline (39.51percent), clindamycin (12.75percent), gentamycin (12.31percent) and vancomycin (12.3percent). The new generation fluoroquinolones including Gatifloxacin, Levofloxacin, Moxifloxacin and Ciprofloxacin to which less than 5percent of the bacteria are resistant gives some clinical advantage over the Methicillin and Vancomycin resistant strains. About 31percent of the isolates had multiple antibiotic resistance index of ≥1 and suggests animals in the community as potential reservoirs of antibiotic resistance determinants in the environment. Data obtained in this study is of epidemiological importance and valuable for disease control. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science and Agriculture, 2012
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Effectiveness of housing delivery in the Reconstruction and Development Programme in Duncan Village
- Authors: Millie, Lindile Churchill
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Housing development -- South Africa , Public housing -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/24199 , vital:62441
- Description: The primary objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Housing delivery in the Reconstruction and Development Programme in Duncan Village. This thesis has tried to answer to why there are still places like Duncan Village, situated at the heart of Buffalo City Metropolitan Local Municipality, in the Eastern Cape Province with alarming rate at which the “shanty resident” has been growing and showing no signs of coming to an end? The researcher used both qualitative and quantitative approaches in this research. The researcher conducted the research using officials from the Department of Human Settlements, officials from Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Ward Councillor, and Duncan Village community. , Thesis (MPA) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce, 2012
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Molecular detection and drug susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in raw milk from a major dairy farm in the Nkonkobe region, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
- Authors: Silaigwana, Blessing https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3324-1607
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Mycobacterium tuberculosis , Drug resistance in microorganisms , Tuberculosis -- Pathogenesis
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/24239 , vital:62543
- Description: Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) organisms are the causative agents of tuberculosis in humans as well as animals. The study aimed to use molecular techniques for detection and drug susceptibility testing of MTBC in raw milk from cattle at a dairy farm in the Nkonkobe region of South Africa. Two hundred samples (100mL each) were collected and processed using the modified Petroff’s method. DNA was isolated using the Zymo Research bacterial DNA kit and amplified using the Seeplex® MTB Nested ACE assay. Drug susceptibility testing was performed using the Genotype® MTBDRplus assay. MTBC DNA was detected in 11 (6percent) of the samples tested. Resistance to both rifampicin and isoniazid was detected in 90.9percent of the positive samples. The most frequent rpoB mutations detected were H526Y (90percent), H526D (80percent), S531L (60percent) and D516V (20percent). No mutation was detected in the katG gene. All isoniazid resistant samples harboured mutations in the inhA gene. The most frequent (100percent) mutation conferring low level isoniazid resistance was the T8A substitution. The inhA mutations C15T, A16G and T8C were equally represented with 60percent frequency. A high prevalence of multi-drug resistance was noted in the Nkonkobe region. Therefore, the results of this study have clinico-veterinary and epidemiological significance and calls for further studies and necessary actions to delineate the situation. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science and Agriculture, 2012
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Optimisation of expression of a rice (Oryza sativa L.cv Nipponbare) plant natriuretic peptide (OsPNP-B) and its functional characterisation
- Authors: Affun, Ogheneochuko Janet
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Rice , Plant hormones , Water-electrolyte imbalances
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/24354 , vital:62644
- Description: Maintenance of water and solute homeostasis is a key requirement for living systems, and in vertebrates, homeostasis is in part achieved by natriuretic peptides (NP), a family of peptide hormones. A related family of peptide hormones have also been found in the plant kingdom. Plant natriuretic peptides (PNP) are a novel class of plant proteins with two closely related homologous genes (AtPNP-A and AtPNP-B) identified in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. AtPNP-A has been extensively studied and evidence obtained points to a role in plant water homeostasis. No research has been conducted on the function of PNP-B proteins. In this study, we focus on the bioinformatic analysis of the PNP-B gene in various plants, as well investigating whether PNP-B plays a role in water homeostasis in rice plants exposed to drought stress. Basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) queries of the ―The Gene Index‖, EST and available plant genome databases revealed the presence of the PNP-B mRNA in rice, oil seed rape, oak, leafy spurge, poplar, sugarcane, pepper, cotton, apple and maize. All the identified genome sequences contained a predicted intron/insert, which was not present in the related mRNA sequences. However, RT-PCR analysis revealed the presence of the 101 bp insert in the 976 bp amplified rice PNP-B (OsPNP-B) cDNA and therefore expression was optimized for the protein encoded by only the exon2 sequence as this contained the predicted active site region of PNP-B. OsPNP-B was shown to be translated to a protein of 14 kDa with a sequence similarity to AtPNP-B (54percent), AtPNP-A (37percent) and CjBAp12 (55percent), suggesting two possible functions for PNP-B viz water homeostasis and/or pathogenesis defence. To determine whether PNP-B is involved in water homeostasis, total protein extracted from 4 weeks old (4 leaves stage) rice plants subjected to drought treatment for a period of 24, 48, 72, 120, 168 and 240hrs were resolved by 17percent SDS-PAGE and analysed by western blot analysis. The PNP-B protein was found to be down-regulated during drought stress, implying that PNP-B may play a role in water homeostasis through the release of water from cells rather than the up-take of water as seen At-PNP-A. PNP-B could therefore also be involved in plant defence mechanisms to pathogens where plants induce desiccation of infected leaves, thereby ridding the plant of the relevant pathogen. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science and Agriculture, 2012
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