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Maano Valerie Masiphephethu
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This study focuses on assessing medicinal plants bioactive compounds with potential antimycobacterial and antioxidant activities, where solvents of varying polarities will be used to obtain a wide range of phytochemicals, which can be used in the development of new drugs with less or no side effects and readily available to poor communities.
Pamela Maimela
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Pancreatic cancer ranks amongst the most lethal malignancies worldwide, with an incidence rate almost equal to its mortality rate. The most common tumours, occurring in over 90% of cases, are pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC). In cancer, multiple aberrations result in an immune response being elicited, and in the production of autoantibodies against cancer testis antigens, which are proteins with restricted expression to the testis or placenta, but also expressed in cancer. Therefore, correlating specific autoantigen-autoantibody interactions may allude to the host immune response driving the development and progression of PDAC. Furthermore, these may prove to be possible diagnostic markers, or treatment targets. We, therefore, embarked on the analysis of serum to identify PDAC specific signatures and to subsequently determine their role and function in the pathogenesis of this malignancy, through a high parallel and high throughput microarray platform.
Lindokuhle Christopher Mhlongo
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Dairy production is expensive to maintain due to the high cost of animal feed. There is a need for inexpensive feed to maintain the nutritional requirement of dairy cows. Black wattle (BW) is an invasive plant that grows during all seasons of the year and is readily available at a reasonable price. BW is a potential feed source that can be used to supplement the dietary requirements of dairy cows. However, it cannot be immediately incorporated in animal feeds as there is still not enough information on its feeding value. This study investigates the impact of the inclusions of BW in maize silage on the feed intake and milk production of dairy cows.
Rethabile Makole
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The study is about investigating the gas sensing characteristics of p-n heterostructures for possible application as BTEX compounds gas sensors.
Boitumelo Nthwane
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The study was focuses on preparing a low-cost nanomaterial from modified agricultural waste using a hydrothermal method for the removal of lead ion in wastewater and test the effectiveness of its reuse in blood fingerprint detection.
Masele Mankge
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Alkaline proteases are enzymes with important industrial uses. They can be applied in detergents, leather degumming, food and feed industry, X-ray recovery and in pharmaceuticals. There is ongoing research for proteases, which can meet industrial demands and remain stable under harsh industrial conditions, such as high temperature and pH. Most sources explored include microorganisms isolated from various soil and water sources. Endophytes: micro-organisms that have an endosymbiotic relationship with plants and can produce a plethora of secondary metabolites, remain a largely unexplored source of proteases. Thus, the main aim of this research is to screen for production of alkaline proteases from endophytes, to characterise and identify potential biotechnological applications.
Ntombifuthi Hlatshwayo
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This project is about the pre-treatment of South African bituminous coal fines waste using an oxidising agent, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the presence of ultraviolet light. The aim of the pre-treatment is to increase the abundance of solvent-extractable matter in coal so that it can be degraded by microorganisms during coal bioconversion because coal is a bio recalcitrant, complex and insoluble geopolymer, which is not readily degraded by microorganisms during the biogenic production of methane gas. This study characterised the compositional changes of organic compounds released from coal pre-treated with H2O2 at different concentrations: 3, 6 and 9% (v/v). The 3% (v/v) H2O2 pre-treatment has increased the abundance of solvent-extractable matter (oxygen-containing compounds) in the coal and resulted in 20 wt.% solubilisation compared to the other concentrations. Short chain acids were detected in the dissolved fraction, which are known to be good methanogenic substrates. These findings offer a good basis for coal solubilisation as a key starting point for biogenic production of methane gas.
Teboho Mooko
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This presentation forms part of Teboho Mooko’s PhD study results. It addresses possible factors contributing to HIV-1 shedding into peritoneal dialysis effluent in end-stage kidney failure patients while on antiretroviral and renal replacement therapies. Furthermore, the innovative antiretroviral therapeutic stratagems in HIV control amongst patients on renal modality will be discussed. The research observations are intended to help improve current antiretroviral therapy dosing guidelines and clinical practices to prioritise high-risk patients, improve care and reduce treatment costs.
Moshokoa Nthabiseng Abigail
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This study aims to activate different combinations of phases and deformations mechanism in the designed binary Ti-Mo alloys using the d-electron methods and Molybdenum equivalence. The four designed binary alloys: (Ti-xMo, x= 10.02, 10.83, 12.89 and 15.05 Wt% Mo) were fabricated using the commercially available arc re-melting furnace. To evaluate the accuracy of the two theoretical predictions, different characterization methods such as the X-ray diffraction (XRD), Optical microscope (OM) and Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) were used to evaluate the phases and microstructures of the binary alloys. Uniaxial compression tests were performed at room temperature to measure the strength and the Micro-Vickers hardness of the compressed samples were analyzed using the Micro-Vickers Hardness Tester. The X-ray diffractions patterns showed peaks belonging to orthorhombic martensitic (αʺ) and BCC (β) phase, and the EBSD phase maps showed the (omega) ω phase. Three deformation mechanisms were observered from OM and EBSD as: thin parallel plates referred as Stress Induced Martensite (SIM), wide bands (Twining), and wavy thin lines (Dislocation slips). The most dominant deformation mechanisms which was of dislocation slip and twining was found in Ti-15.05 Mo alloy. The highest compressive strength was found in Ti-15.05wt% Mo (1193.09 Mpa) while the Micro-Vickers and the elastic modulus of the decreased with an increase in Mo content. This showed that Ti-15.05Mo have the potential to be used in biomedical application.
Tshele Mokhantso
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HIV-1 protease (HIV-1 PR) is vital for the maturation of HIV-1 and as such, it is an attractive drug target. The introduction of new mutations in arising variants may alter drug binding efficacy and as a result, the development of improved protease inhibitors is of importance. We conducted molecular simulations to determine how non-active site polymorphisms affect the structure, stability and drug interactions of a novel South African HIV-1 PR. The findings revealed how non-active site mutations decrease the conformational stability of key regions in the protease, which may reduce drug binding and may contribute to drug resistance.
