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Background: The role and causality of the microbial ecosystem on the skin in relation to the development of hand eczema (HE) is still unknown. - Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of different bacterial colonisations in HE patients and their association with the severity, symptoms and aetiology of the disease. - Methods: In a retrospective cohort study of 167 HE patients, bacterial swabs from lesional skin were collected for culturing. Patients were categorised according to bacterial colonisation, HE severity, HE symptoms and HE aetiology. - Results: The majority of the patients were tested positive for Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (n = 131, 78.4%) and/or commensal skin flora (CSF; n = 130, 77.8%), while other bacteria species were found only sporadically. Severe HE was significantly more prevalent in skin with S. aureus (odds ratio [OR]: 5.13, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.21–11.94) and less common in skin with CSF (OR: 0.20, 95% CI: 0.05–0.88). S. aureus colonisation was also associated with atopic HE aetiology (p < 0.001) and acute HE symptoms such as blisters, erosions and crusts (p = 0.003). - Conclusions: The main colonisation of HE patients is with S. aureus and is associated with disease severity, acute HE symptoms and atopic HE aetiology. CSF is associated with mild HE, which could result in new therapeutic approaches.

Yes / Icelandic settlement (Landnám) period farmsteads offer opportunities to explore the nature and timing of anthropogenic activities and environmental impacts of the first Holocene farming communities. We employ Bayesian statistical modelling of archaeological, paleoenvironmental and documentary datasets to present a framework for improving chronological robustness of archaeological events. Specifically, we discuss events relevant to the farm Hrísbrú, an initial and complex settlement site in southwest Iceland. We demonstrate that tephra layers are key in constraining reliable chronologies, especially when combined with related datasets and treated in a Bayesian framework. The work presented here confirms earlier interpretations of the chronology of the site while providing increased confidence in the robustness of the chronology. Most importantly, integrated modelling of AMS radiocarbon dates on Hordeum vulgare grains, palynological data, documented evidence from textual records and typologically diagnostic artefacts yield increased dating reliability. The analysis has also shown that AMS radiocarbon dates on bone collagen need further scrutiny. Specifically for the Hrísbrú farm, first anthropogenic footprint palynomorph taxa are estimated to around AD 830–881 (at 95.4% confidence level), most likely before the tephra fall out of AD 877 ± 1 (the Landnám tephra layer), demonstrating the use of arable fields before the first known structures were built at Hrísbrú (AD 874–951) and prior to the conventionally accepted date of the settlement of Iceland. Finally, we highlight the importance of considering multidisciplinary factors for other archaeological and paleoecological studies of early farming communities of previously uninhabited island areas.

Une colonisation récente des combes à neige de la toundra forestière par l’épinette noire (Picea mariana) a été observée au Québec subarctique (57° N, 76° O). Par une approche dendroécologique, nous avons daté et reconstruit l’établissement et la croissance des épinettes colonisatrices. Les combes à neige ont été catégorisées selon la densité de la bordure forestière : forestières, semi-forestières et toundriques. Les combes à neige forestières ont la plus forte densité d’épinettes colonisatrices. La colonisation s’accélère depuis le milieu des années 1980. L’analyse de tige révèle que les épinettes établies entre 1980 et 2000 ont une croissance plus rapide que celles établies entre 1960 et 1980. La croissance est corrélée à des températures plus chaudes plus particulièrement pour les mois de juillet et septembre et à une diminution du couvert nival. Si les tendances climatiques demeurent les mêmes, la colonisation des combes à neige par l’épinette noire risque de s’accélérer.

This study aims to evaluate the original white colonisers‟ or settlers‟ position and experience in Africa and South Africa during the transitional period between 1998 and 2011, as represented by English white male protagonists who feature in The Lostness of Alice (1998) by John Conyngham, The Good Doctor (2003) by Damon Galgut, and Lost Ground (2011) by Michiel Heyns. The analysis of the selected novels illustrates that the legacy of colonisation and apartheid still influences the settler descendants‟ perception of self and the other. The analysis focuses specifically on the males‟ experience of space and place in the construction of identity, and the awareness that the expansion of space and place through the transgression of physical and psychological boundaries contributes towards a more balanced personality. After the dissolution of apartheid, contemporary white South African men, as exemplified by the three protagonists, have become aware of their minority status and tend to dissociate themselves from the country as home. As borderline figures, they contend with feelings of marginalisation and isolation. Increasingly conscious of their contradictory non-African identity, the protagonists undertake journeys during which they acquire insight into themselves as well as an altered perception of the other. Although the former settlers‟ experience of alienation and ambivalence about colonisation and apartheid has been depicted in various novels, the significance of this experience relating to white South African male identity has not yet been fully explored in a comparative study of Conyngham‟s, Galgut‟s and Heyns‟s works with reference to the authors‟ place within a postcolonial paradigm, their implementation of the detective narrative frame and the role of intertextuality and irony that can be seen to define the novels and suggest other interpretative possibilities. The novels are critically analysed in terms of the concepts of space and place, the presence, transgression and transcendence of boundaries, and the influence of these paradigms on the characters‟ sense of self and their relationship with others and society at large. The novels‟ narrative frame and strategies in relation to the myths of Africa are also investigated. The thesis argues that the apprehension articulated by representatives of European settlers regarding the consequences of colonisation and apartheid has become more prominent during the post-liberation dispensation. The acceptance of responsibility for the past and for others, as well as intense self-appraisal, should enable the three protagonists to achieve a more expansive sense of self and a meaningful existence. / PhD (English), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This study aims to evaluate the original white colonisers‟ or settlers‟ position and experience in Africa and South Africa during the transitional period between 1998 and 2011, as represented by English white male protagonists who feature in The Lostness of Alice (1998) by John Conyngham, The Good Doctor (2003) by Damon Galgut, and Lost Ground (2011) by Michiel Heyns. The analysis of the selected novels illustrates that the legacy of colonisation and apartheid still influences the settler descendants‟ perception of self and the other. The analysis focuses specifically on the males‟ experience of space and place in the construction of identity, and the awareness that the expansion of space and place through the transgression of physical and psychological boundaries contributes towards a more balanced personality. After the dissolution of apartheid, contemporary white South African men, as exemplified by the three protagonists, have become aware of their minority status and tend to dissociate themselves from the country as home. As borderline figures, they contend with feelings of marginalisation and isolation. Increasingly conscious of their contradictory non-African identity, the protagonists undertake journeys during which they acquire insight into themselves as well as an altered perception of the other. Although the former settlers‟ experience of alienation and ambivalence about colonisation and apartheid has been depicted in various novels, the significance of this experience relating to white South African male identity has not yet been fully explored in a comparative study of Conyngham‟s, Galgut‟s and Heyns‟s works with reference to the authors‟ place within a postcolonial paradigm, their implementation of the detective narrative frame and the role of intertextuality and irony that can be seen to define the novels and suggest other interpretative possibilities. The novels are critically analysed in terms of the concepts of space and place, the presence, transgression and transcendence of boundaries, and the influence of these paradigms on the characters‟ sense of self and their relationship with others and society at large. The novels‟ narrative frame and strategies in relation to the myths of Africa are also investigated. The thesis argues that the apprehension articulated by representatives of European settlers regarding the consequences of colonisation and apartheid has become more prominent during the post-liberation dispensation. The acceptance of responsibility for the past and for others, as well as intense self-appraisal, should enable the three protagonists to achieve a more expansive sense of self and a meaningful existence. / PhD (English), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The wars of dispossession and land claims amongst the various racial groups caused dissatisfaction which led them to split from each other enabling the Whites to possess greater part of the South African soil. Because the Xhosas had their own system of education, the Whites felt that the Xhosas had first to be anglicised in order to 'tame' them. Missionary institutions such as Lovedale, Healdtown and St Matthews were established to Christianise the Xhosas. The missionaries succeeded in their endeavour because the Xhosas started sending their children to the missionary institutions already established and this influenced the Xhosas to establish their own tribal schools that would cater for secondary education facilities. The <Jovernmenr· subsidised the tribal communities to establish secondary schools in their areas. Fifteen,secoodary schools were established enabling the communities to exercise control over their own schools as the missionary institutions were controlled by the Cape Department of Education. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (History of Education)

La dispersion est un trait d'histoire de vie qui joue un rôle majeur dans le fonctionnement des populations naturelles. Comprendre ce phénomène et son évolution est aujourd'hui déterminant pour la gestion des populations dans des écosystèmes de plus en plus anthropisés. Cette étude s'est attachée à caractériser la dispersion et ses déterminants chez le campagnol des champs, Microtus avalis, dans un paysage agricole de l'Ouest de la France. L'instabilité spatio-temporelle des agroécosystèmes et la démographie cyclique de ce petit rongeur colonial en font un modèle exceptionnel pour aborder cette problématique. La constitution d'une banque de marqueurs microsatellites nous a permis d'utiliser des approches de génétique des populations et de génétique paysagère. Une seule entité génétiquement homogène couvre les 500 km² du site d'étude et le patron d'isolement par la distance qui caractérise cette « population » indique que seule la distance limite le flux génique dans ce paysage. Les variations des patrons génétiques au cours des cycles reflètent l'instabilité de la balance entre dérive génétique et dispersion et montrent que le flux génique est positivement lié à la densité. Les patrons de dispersion, différents entre mâles et femelles (dispersion biaisée vers les mâles), suggèrent que la dispersion n'est pas déterminée par les mêmes causes évolutives selon le sexe. La colonisation par les femelles des habitats temporaire (les cultures annuelles), particulièrement massive lors des pullulations, permet la cohésion spatiale de la population. Sa cohésion génétique est assurée par les migrations répétées des mâles entre colonies pour la reproduction. Ce fonctionnement est rendu possible par l'extrême rapidité cycle de vie du campagnol des champs qui compense l'instabilité du paysage. L'intégration des différents résultats de cette étude dans un modèle de dispersion couplé à un modèle dynamique de paysage devrait permettre d'évaluer l'impact de l'évolution de l'agriculture sur cette espèce emblématique de la biodiversité de ces paysages.

Ce rapport d'HDR a été conçu comme un « super-rapport d'activité » d'un chercheur aux deux tiers de sa carrière. Il reprend donc, et met en perspective, les grands thèmes de la recherche menée sur l'Afrique de colonisation portugaise au XXe siècle, en montrant en quoi il ne s'agit pas seulement d'une recherche « enracinée » (nécessaire et revendiquée) mais aussi d'une contribution généraliste au développement de la discipline historique, notamment autour des concepts de créolité, d'« État colonial » et d'« État sans nation », de « corps sociaux », d'ethnicité et de « nationisme », etc. La partie projet énonce non seulement les actions pour en finir avec les nombreux projets... en retard, mais propose aussi un programme international de recherche sur la colonialité, concept perçu comme bien meilleur que les approches postcoloniales afin d'exprimer l'hétérogénéité spatiale et sociale du monde, historiquement construite autour de formes non capitalistes de domination capitalistes à la périphérie. Il montre en quoi l'Afrique d'ancienne colonisation portugaise est très utile, du point de vue heuristique, pour étudier la colonialité

The work developed in this thesis aimed to increase understanding about the variability and stability in eleven biotypes of Pochonia chlamydosporia, a facultative parasitic fungus with potential as a biological control agent against root-knot (Meloidogyne spp.), false root-knot (Naccobus spp.) and cyst nematodes (Heterodera and Globodera, spp.). Differences in performance were assessed by measuring saprophytic and parasitic growth using in vitro bioassays. Information on virulence (in vitro) was collected for a range of biotypes with the objective to relate in vitro parasitic growth with rhizosphere colonisation ability and secretion of extracellular enzymes. Results showed differences between biotypes in their ability to colonise the rhizosphere of plants, parasitise nematode eggs and to produce a range of extracellular enzymes but no significant relationships were found between saprophytic or parasitic growth and enzyme production. For the first time, the specific activity of protease, chitinase, esterase and lipase enzyme production by eleven biotypes of the fungus was examined. Enzymatic activity was shown to vary with the biotype and type of enzyme assayed and biotypes could be ranked according to their similarities in enzyme production A novel bioassay to estimate egg parasitism using liquid media highlighted the importance of nutrition in infection processes and suggested that all biotypes are able to infect large numbers of eggs rapidly if the conditions are favourable. The assay reliably detected fungal infection in nematode eggs within 48 hours and provided a simple, rapid assay to test the effect of specific nutrients at controlled concentrations on the infection process. Differences in infection rates between biotypes observed in previous tests on agar were not detected in the new assay in which nematode eggs and fungal conidia were added in suspension. Internal colonisation of individual whole Meloidogyne spp. eggs by P. chlamydosporia was observed using microscopy studies. The destruction of nematode eggs infected with the fungus within seven days, was confirmed. The in vitro formation of appressoria was studied in a range of P. chlamydosporia biotypes. for the first time. Biotypes were found to differ in their ability to produce appressoria but this ability was not related to differences in virulence (in vitro) against nematode eggs. Cont/d.