scholarly journals Sustained Effects of Muscle Calpain System Genotypes on Tenderness Phenotypes of South African Beef Bulls during Ageing up to 20 Days

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annie Basson ◽  
Phillip E. Strydom ◽  
Esté van Marle-Köster ◽  
Edward C. Webb ◽  
Lorinda Frylinck
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Genetic Associations ◽  
Beef Tenderness ◽  
Aging Period ◽  
Protease Enzyme ◽  
Sustained Effects ◽  
Beef Bulls ◽  
D 20 ◽  
Meat Aging ◽  
Over Time

The most important factor that determines beef tenderness is its proteolytic activity and the balance between calpain1 protease activity and calpastatin inhibition is especially important, while contributions could arise from calpain2 and possibly calpain3. These processes are however affected by the meat aging process itself. To determine whether genotypes in the calpaincalpastatin system can enhance tenderness throughout a 20 day aging period, South African purebred beef bulls (n=166) were genotyped using the Illumina BovineHD SNP BeadChip, through genebased association analysis targeting the cast, capn3, capn2 and capn1 genes. The WarnerBratzler shear force (WBSF) and myofibril fragment length (MFL) of Longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) steaks were evaluated between d 3 d 20 of aging, with protease enzyme activity in the first 20 h postmortem. Although several of the 134 SNP associated with tenderness, only seven SNP in the cast, capn2 and capn1 genes sustained genetic associations, additive to agingassociated increases in tenderness for at least three of the four aging periods. While most genomic associations were relatively stable over time, some genotypes within SNP responded differently to aging, resulting in altered genomic effects over time. The level of aging at which genomic associations are performed is an important factor that determines whether SNP affect tenderness phenotypes.

scholarly journals Private hospital expenditure and relation to utilisation: Observations from the data

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marine Erasmus ◽  
Helen Kean
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Older People ◽  
South African ◽  
Market Share ◽  
Private Hospital ◽  
Private Hospitals ◽  
Detailed Understanding ◽  
Hospital Market ◽  
Hospital Expenditure ◽  
Over Time

Background: This study contributes to the detailed understanding of the drivers of medical scheme expenditure on private hospitals in South Africa over 2006–2014. This is important in the context of various regulatory reforms that are being considered at present. Aim: The aim is to provide an updated analysis and description of the drivers of medical scheme expenditure on private hospitals in South Africa. Setting: Private hospital market, South Africa. Methods: Data from the three largest private hospital groups – which account for approximately 70% of the South African private hospital market share – are collected, aggregated and analysed. This study uses targeted descriptive and exploratory analyses, relying on a residual approach to hospital expenditure. Results: It is found that over time medical scheme beneficiaries, on average, are being admitted to private hospitals more frequently, as well as staying in hospital for longer during each admission. The data also indicate that over time older people are being admitted to hospital more often. Conclusion: This study’s findings contradict previous assertions that it is only prices driving increased medical scheme expenditure on private hospitals.

The Earliest South African Hominids

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-143
Author(s):  
Ronald J. Clarke ◽  
Travis Rayne Pickering ◽  
Jason L. Heaton ◽  
Kathleen Kuman
Keyword(s):  
East Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
The South ◽  
Taxonomic Assignment ◽  
First Time ◽  
Over Time

The earliest South African hominids (humans and their ancestral kin) belong to the genera Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and Homo, with the oldest being a ca. 3.67 million-year-old nearly complete skeleton of Australopithecus (StW 573) from Sterkfontein Caves. This skeleton has provided, for the first time in almost a century of research, the full anatomy of an Australopithecus individual with indisputably associated skull and postcranial bones that give complete limb lengths. The three genera are also found in East Africa, but scholars have disagreed on the taxonomic assignment for some fossils owing to historical preconceptions. Here we focus on the South African representatives to help clarify these debates. The uncovering of the StW 573 skeleton in situ revealed significant clues concerning events that had affected it over time and demonstrated that the associated stalagmite flowstones cannot provide direct dating of the fossil, as they are infillings of voids caused by postdepositional collapse.

scholarly journals A 10-year cohort analysis of routine paediatric ART data in a rural South African setting

2016 ◽  
Vol 145 (1) ◽  
pp. 170-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. R. LILIAN ◽  
B. MUTASA ◽  
J. RAILTON ◽  
W. MONGWE ◽  
J. A. McINTYRE ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Treatment Initiation ◽  
Cohort Analysis ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Electronic System ◽  
Evaluation Tool ◽  
Rural South ◽  
Kaplan Meier ◽  
African Setting ◽  
Over Time

SUMMARYSouth Africa's paediatric antiretroviral therapy (ART) programme is managed using a monitoring and evaluation tool known as TIER.Net. This electronic system has several advantages over paper-based systems, allowing profiling of the paediatric ART programme over time. We analysed anonymized TIER.Net data for HIV-infected children aged <15 years who had initiated ART in a rural district of South Africa between 2005 and 2014. We performed Kaplan–Meier survival analysis to assess outcomes over time. Records of 5461 children were available for analysis; 3593 (66%) children were retained in care. Losses from the programme were higher in children initiated on treatment in more recent years (P < 0·0001) and in children aged ≤1 year at treatment initiation (P < 0·0001). For children aged <3 years, abacavir was associated with a significantly higher rate of loss from the programme compared to stavudine (hazard ratio 1·9, P < 0·001). Viral load was suppressed in 48–52% of the cohort, with no significant change over the years (P = 0·398). Analysis of TIER.Net data over time provides enhanced insights into the performance of the paediatric ART programme and highlights interventions to improve programme performance.

scholarly journals South African consumer sentiment towards marketing: A longitudinal analysis

2001 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Boshoff ◽  
S. M. Van Eeden
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
External Environment ◽  
Consumer Attitudes ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Dynamic Interaction ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Consumer Sentiment ◽  
Marketing Activities ◽  
Buying Behaviour ◽  
Over Time

A constant interaction occurs between the firm, its markets and the variables in the business environment. This dynamic interaction ensures that changes in the environment continuously exert an influence on consumer attitudes and sentiment and how consumers react to and perceive the marketing of products and services.The primary objective of this longitudinal study is to measure South African consumer sentiment towards marketing and to compare the results with previous studies done in 1990 and 1994. Secondary objectives include an investigation to establish to what extent this sentiment towards marketing is influenced by demographic variables.Although the marketing index decreased during the period 1990 to 1994, it improved dramatically during the period 1994 to 1999. In contrast to the previous studies it was established that demographic factors had no significant influence on the sentiment towards marketing in this study.As it is generally acknowledged that attitudes influence actual buying behaviour, marketers need to be aware that attitudes and sentiment toward marketing and marketing activities can change over time and proactive steps need to be taken to ensure that sentiment remains positive regardless of the changes in the external environment.

RACIAL ATTITUDES AMONG SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: A FOLLOW-UP STUDY AFTER FOUR YEARS

2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 1061-1062
Author(s):  
Neeshi Singh Pillay ◽  
Steven J. Collings
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
South African ◽  
Representative Sample ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Racial Group ◽  
Modern Racism ◽  
Follow Up Study ◽  
Item Scores ◽  
Over Time

In 2002, moderately high levels of modern and old-fashioned racism were documented in a representative sample of 433 students registered in undergraduate courses at a South African university (Pillay & Collings, 2004). In 2006, this survey was replicated using identical methods of data collection and a sample which was representative of university enrolments for 2006 in terms of gender and race: N = 543, gender = 50% female; race = black (40%), Indian (40%), white (17%), colored (3%). Over the four-year period, there was a significant increase in mean item-scores for old-fashioned racism [M = 1.95 vs. 2.15; F(1,971) = 15.16, p < .01], and this finding was supported by a significant study x race interaction, F(3,971) = 6.33, p < .05. Mean item scores increased significantly over time among Indians (2.11 vs. 2.29) but not among blacks (1.74 vs. 1.76), coloreds (2.01 vs. 2.04), or whites (2.33 vs. 2.35). A significant increase in levels of modern racism over the four-year period [M = 2.74 vs. 3.10; F(1,971) = 8.48, p < .01] was indicated by a significant study x race interaction, F(3,971) = 7.31, p < .05, with mean item scores increasing significantly over time among Indians (2.94 vs. 3.62) and whites (3.00 vs. 3.58) but not among blacks (2.04 vs. 2.06) or coloreds (2.47 vs. 2.49). Together these findings suggest that both overt and covert forms of racism persist, with levels of racism varying as a function of racial group membership.

Genetic parameters and phenotypic trends in the mean and variability of number of stillborn piglets and changes in their relationships with litter size and gestation length

2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig R. G. Lewis ◽  
Susanne Hermesch
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Parameters ◽  
Gestation Length ◽  
Genetic Associations ◽  
Large White ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Breed Differences ◽  
Trends Over Time ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Over Time

This study examined changes in genetic and phenotypic factors affecting stillborn piglets (SB). Over 15 years, 76 851 litter records were available from Large White (LW), Landrace (LR) and Duroc (DU) sows to investigate SB. The analyses focussed on trends over time in SB and the changes in the number of SB per litter, in factors associated with SB and in genetic parameters for SB. Breed differences were identified with DU producing more SB than the white breeds (mean of 1.46 ± 0.02 vs 1.11 ± 0.01 and 1.07 ± 0.01). However, maximum differences between levels of each factor were 0.73 and 0.65 SB for parity and herd, respectively. Over the 15 years studied, SB had increased by 0.2 piglets accompanied by an increase in the total numbers of piglets born per litter (TB) of ~0.5 piglets. This increase in SB was driven by higher occurrence of more than two SB within a single litter. The effect of TB on SB changed over time with solutions of 0.127 ± 0.002 and 0.150 ± 0.002 SB/TB in 1996 and 2010, respectively. Heritability estimates for SB ranged from 0.06 ± 0.01 to 0.09 ± 0.01 for alternative models and time periods. The unfavourable genetic correlation between SB and TB of 0.46 ± 0.03 based on all data available was slightly lower using only data from the first 5 years (0.38 ± 0.07) versus using data from the last 5 years (0.46 ± 0.06). However, this increase in phenotypic and genetic associations between SB and TB over time may be larger in populations that have observed a larger increase in TB.

scholarly journals Changes in the composition of South African red meat

1970 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-338
Author(s):  
N Hall ◽  
HC Schonfeldt ◽  
B Pretorius
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Nutrient Content ◽  
Red Meat ◽  
Nutritional Composition ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Carcass Composition ◽  
Local Data ◽  
Nutrient Density ◽  
Baseline Information ◽  
Over Time

Red meat often evokes a wide array of complex and contradictory arguments. It is viewed as the most expensive component of any diet, supplying many essential nutrients as part of a healthy, prudent eating plan. Yet, red meat is non-homogenous, unique to each country, and continually changing in composition. It is observed that the amount of fat on carcasses has reduced over time, simultaneously improving nutrient density through feed efficiency. The objective of this paper is to present composition data on South African lamb, mutton and beef, and report on the changes observed between local data and international data (for lamb and mutton), as well as changes in the composition of South African beef over time. South African lamb and mutton contain notably less fat and more nutrients per 100 g product than international sheep meat produced, rendering a lean product with a higher nutrient density. Compared to previous studies on South African beef, the current data indicate notable changes in the composition over time, specifically related to a reduction in fat content. This reduction together with changes in carcass weight has resulted in changes in carcass composition and thus changes in nutrient density. The data attest that in order to align industry processes, as well as legislation and marketing strategies, continued research on composition needs to be performed for the baseline information to remain relevant and accurate.Keywords: Beef, lamb, mutton, nutrient content, nutritional composition, South Africa

A Longitudinal Comparative Study of Nonreactive Attitude Measurement of Controversial Topics

1980 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 567-574
Author(s):  
George H. Hines
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
South African ◽  
Attitude Measurement ◽  
Questionnaire Data ◽  
Time Attitudes ◽  
Over Time ◽  
New Zealanders

Orne (1962) and Rosenthal (1963) have challenged social psychologists to devise nonreactive techniques of attitude measurement. This study of unobtrusive lost letter and lost postcard methods was designed to compare attitudes in 1971 and 1978 of New Zealanders toward proposed cricket tours of Australian and all-white South African teams. Results were compared to conventional questionnaire data. As predicted, the more explicit message on the postcard allowed more sensitive measurement of opinions on controversial topics than did the lost letter. While attitudes toward the non-controversial Australian tours were stable over time, attitudes toward the controversial South African tour changed in the predicted direction.

scholarly journals Oxygen Consumption by Red Wines under Different Micro-Oxygenation Strategies and Q. Pyrenaica Chips. Effects on Color and Phenolic Characteristics

Beverages ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosario Sánchez-Gómez ◽  
Ignacio Nevares ◽  
Ana Martínez-Gil ◽  
Maria del Alamo-Sanza
Keyword(s):  
Oxygen Consumption ◽  
Dissolved Oxygen ◽  
Red Wine ◽  
Red Wines ◽  
Aging Period ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Wine Aging ◽  
Over Time

The use of alternative oak products (AOP) for wine aging is a common practice in which micro-oxygenation (MOX) is a key factor to obtain a final wine that is more stable over time and with similar characteristics as barrel-aged wines. Therefore, the oxygen dosage added must be that which the wine is able to consume to develop correctly. Oxygen consumption by red wine determines its properties, so it is essential that micro-oxygenation be managed properly. This paper shows the results from the study of the influence on red wine of two different MOX strategies: floating oxygen dosage (with dissolved oxygen setpoint of 50 µg/L) and fixed oxygen dosage (3 mL/L·month). The results indicated that the wines consumed all the oxygen provided: those from fixed MOX received between 3 and 3.5 times more oxygen than the floating MOX strategy, the oxygen contribution from the air entrapped in the wood being more significant in the latter. Wines aged with wood and MOX showed the same color and phenolic evolution as those aged in barrels, demonstrating the importance of MOX management. Despite the differences in the oxygen consumed, it was not possible to differentiate wines from the different MOX strategies at the end of the aging period in contact with wood.

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