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The eFundi learning management system as communication and relationship building instrument. Learning management systems (LMSs) are used by universities to support learning and teaching. Two-way communication and strong relationships can contribute to successful learning, however, LMSs are not generally viewed as an instrument to facilitate just that in an e-learning environment. The perceptions o
Strong organisation-stakeholder relationships contribute to the former attaining its goals. This is also the case with blood services, such as the South African National Blood Service (SANBS). Blood services are dependent on people donating blood to unknown recipients, without remuneration. This paper reports the approach of the SANBS to relationship management with its donors, as well as the perc
Clostridial neurotoxins, including tetanus and botulinum neurotoxins, generally target vertebrates. We show here that this family of toxins has a much broader host spectrum, by identifying PMP1, a clostridial-like neurotoxin that selectively targets anopheline mosquitoes. Isolation of PMP1 from Paraclostridium bifermentans strains collected in anopheline endemic areas on two continents indicates i
Employees are a crucial stakeholder group for organisations since they determinethe degree to which they achieve their goals. It is therefore necessary to build strong relationships with the workforce to encourage employee engagement, which implies that employees’ individual goals are aligned to those of the organisation. To build strong relationships, internal communication should be managed stra
Methanol has unique properties as a fuel, and partially premixed combustion has promising results with high engine efficiency and low emissions. Low load studies with methanol partially premixed combustion are scarce, and the effect of intake temperature on low load methanol partially premixed combustion still remains an intriguing question. This study aims to investigate the effect of intake temp
Neural crest cells are a critical source of many cell types of the vertebrate body. However, as a stem cell population they are peculiar because of the transient nature of their stem cell niche; soon after the multipotent neural crest cells are specified in the neuroepithelium, they become mesenchymal cells that migrate into various destinations in early embryos. These rapid in vivo changes during
Humans are continuously exposed to chemicals with suspected or proven endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Risk management of EDCs presents a major unmet challenge because the available data for adverse health effects are generated by examining one compound at a time, whereas real-life exposures are to mixtures of chemicals. In this work, we integrate epidemiological and experimental evidence to
Disentangling the contributions of different processes that influence plant recruitment, such as competition and seed dispersal, is important given the increased human-mediated changes in tropical forest ecosystems. Previous studies have shown that seedling communities in an Afrotropical rainforest in southeastern Nigeria are strongly affected by the loss of important seed-dispersing primates, inc
AIM: Epidural analgesia reduces the surgical stress response. However, its effect on pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in the genesis of inflammation following major abdominal surgery remains unclear. Our main objective was to elucidate whether perioperative epidural analgesia prevents the inflammatory response following colorectal cancer surgery.METHODS: Ninety-six patients scheduled for open
The proinflammatory mediator leukotriene D(4) (LTD(4)) binds to the seven-transmembrane receptor CYSLT(1). Although this leukotriene plays an important biological role, its intracellular signaling pathways are only partly known. In previous experiments, we found that LTD(4) induced tyrosine phosphorylation and translocation of phospholipase (PLC)-gamma1 to a plasma membrane fraction in a human epi
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are submicron, membrane-enclosed particles that are released from cells in various pathophysiological states. The molecular cargo of these vesicles is considered to reflect the composition of the cell of origin, and the EV proteome is therefore a potential source of biomarkers for various diseases. Our aim was to determine whether EVs isolated from plasma provide addit
Background: There has been a lack of a standardized protocol for collection of patient reported outcomes (PRO) and detection of and indication for psychological treatment in cleft care. The objectives of this paper was to translate Cleft Hearing Appearance and Speech Questionnaire (CHASQ) into eight European languages, to investigate whether levels of PRO in patients with cleft lip and/or cleft pa
Characterization of porous media is essential in a wide range of biomedical and industrial applications. Microstructural features can be probed non-invasively by diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI). However, diffusion encoding in conventional dMRI may yield similar signatures for very different microstructures, which represents a significant limitation for disentangling individual microstr
Chimeras have been an important part of animal research for decades. Yet crossing the species barrier has always been seen as potentially morally problematic. In recent years, advances in chimeric research and the attendant possibilities—organ xenotransplantation, cognitive enhancement, and others—have given rise to further ethical concern. This contribution surveys the main ethical questions that
