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Thesis ( MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / In the practice of public administration, the law-making process always predominates and therefore, it should be stressed from the onset that law making in general is much more than a decision making. This study therefore locates the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy (Act 92 of 1996) as a law articulation that need to be implemented accordingly to realise societal goals. However, with good intentions of such a law, there are challenges regarding implementation thereof within sectors of the society due to the diverse nature of South Africa in both traditions, cultural and religious beliefs. The introduction of the Act in South Africa was received with lot of pessimism and concerns by traditionalists, individuals that are culturally sensitive and religious leaders of various denominations. Such concerns has observably created a conundrum within traditional communities within the selected villages found in the Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality in that termination of pregnancy is regarded as a taboo and immoral, more so within both the traditional and religious circles. Due to those escalating challenges and perceptions, it is deemed necessary that the study of this kind be conducted to inform both the practice and the academia for purpose of advancing knowledge within the field of Public Administration. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of community members of the selected villages of Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality about the Termination of Pregnancy Act (92 of 1996). This was done through the use of primary and secondary data as it aimed to present the quantitative and qualitative explanation and report on the perceptions of the community members of the Act 92 of 1996 in South African municipalities. However, this was chosen because the methods assist in verifying the validity of the data and tend to emphasise that there is a common reality on which people can agree on. Therefore, the findings of the study reveals that community members are aware of the implementation of Act 92 of 1996, they believe that the Act is a human right issue and it provide health and safety of women but nevertheless, they perceive the Act as contradicting their moral right, because they believe that termination of pregnancy is as same as murder. In conclusion, it is recommended that the effective public participation is needed because people are aware of termination of pregnancy but are not well informed of the Act; that the implant contraceptive injection should be a rule, be applied to high schools that every teenage girl must be injected to prevent unwanted pregnancies; girls bellow the age of 18 years should consult their legal guardians before requesting TOP; conditions of parents to those of minors should be different and only pregnancy that resulted from rape must be allowed for termination or however, the Act should just be abolished.

The tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), is considered the most economically important pest of midsouth cotton. This study was designed to understand the impact of tarnished plant bug populations in the later weeks of flowering cotton and residual effects of novaluron with subsequent applications. Experiments evaluated dynamic threshold approaches in the later flowering period of midsouth cotton, the impacts of novaluron plus subsequent applications at the 3rd week of square, as well as residual properties in a laboratory experiment. Results suggest that a dynamic late season approach can reduce the amount of insecticide applications targeting tarnished plant bug with no penalty to yield. Populations were observed at lowest densities where applications of novaluron were tank mixed with an adulticide (acephate) at the 3rd week of square. Results of this experiment will be important in refining seasonal management recommendations for tarnished plant bug in midsouth cotton production systems.

Escherichia coli transcription termination factor Rho is a hexameric RNA/DNA helicase that terminates transcription using energy derived from the hydrolysis of ATP. The ATP binding sites of Rho are located at the interfaces of adjoining subunit Cterminal domains and have the Walker A and B motifs, characteristic of many ATPases (Skordalakes & Berger, 2003; Richardson 2002). Available Rho crystal structures capture the protein with its active site in an open configuration that must close to permit ATP hydrolysis. Because of this, the identities of active site residues predicted to mediate ATP hydrolysis are uncertain. To determine which amino acids activate water, stabilize transition state, sense the γ- phosphoryl group, and coordinate the magnesium ion of MgATP, we have carried out site-specific mutagenesis on candidate residues which are conserved across bacterial species, and characterized the relevant properties of the mutant proteins. The residues chosen were E211 as the water activator, R212 as the γ sensor, R366 as the arginine finger, and D265 as the residue that coordinates Mg2+. Each mutant protein was investigated for its ability to oligomerize as hexamers, assayed for ATPase activity, ATP and RNA binding, and pre-steady-state kinetics. The results show that the mutant proteins form hexamers similarly as to wild type Rho. The RhoE211 mutants display at least a 200-fold lower activity as ATPases, bind both ATP and RNA with similar affinities as the wild type protein, and display no burst in pre-steady-state kinetics. RhoR212A protein has 20-fold lower activity as an ATPase compared to wild type Rho, binds ATP with at least a 50-fold weaker affinity, and RNA with a 2-fold higher KD compared to wild type Rho. RhoR366A functions as an ATPase with 50-fold lower activity, binds RNA with similar affinity as wild type Rho and binds ATP with a 5- fold weaker affinity. RhoD265N displays 150-fold lower ATPase activity compared to the wild type enzyme, binds ATP with a 10-fold weaker affinity, and binds RNA with similar affinity as wild type Rho. Pre-steady-state kinetics studies indicate that the mutant proteins investigated show no burst kinetics, indicating a failure or a significantly slower rate of the hydrolysis (chemistry) step. It is possible that the rate-limiting step is the chemistry step in these mutant proteins, contrary to the wild type protein where the chemistry step is much faster (300/s). Together, the results obtained are consistent with the proposed roles for these residues: E211 is involved in activating a water molecule, R212 functions as the γ sensor, R366 functions as the arginine finger and D265 is involved in coordination of the Mg2+ ion. This study has elucidated the mechanism of ATP hydrolysis, by determining some of the key residues involved in the hydrolysis reaction. This study is only a part of the characterization of the active site residues. There might be other residues involved in one or all of the functions proposed. Utilizing the findings from this study, other experiments and models can be implemented to understand how Rho hydrolyzes ATP and utilizes the energy to move along the RNA molecule and functions as a helicase. / Biochemistry

By 2001, the al-Qaida movement had evolved into a transnational revolutionary movement with an eschatological dimension, facilitating the 9/11 attacks to gain religious support and incite a strong reaction. The Bush administration was particularly tough in its response, terminating the Taliban regime and then declaring the right of pre-emption against a wider axis of evil, which led on to regime termination in Iraq and the intended constraining of Iran. In the event, regime termination in Iraq and Afghanistan resulted in protracted wars that were intensely costly in human and resource terms, and Iranian influence actually increased. The al-Qaida movement was dispersed while being transformed into a potent idea with little in the way of an organised structure, yet was effective in catalysing movements from South Asia through the Middle East to sub-Saharan Africa. Analyses of events in Iraq and Afghanistan point to deep misconceptions over the potential for the use of military force and of imposed state building. After more than a decade after 9/11, there has been a re-orientation away from large-scale occupations towards more remote means of maintaining control, with an emphasis on armed drones, special forces and privatised military companies. This approach appears initially appropriate and attractive but may be as counterproductive as the previous approach.

Ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) is a robust synthetic technique for synthesizing complex polymer architectures (topologies). To achieve complex architectures, specifically bottlebrush polymers, using ROMP, attaining the highest degree of living character is essential. As the molecular weight of the side chain or backbone increases, the "livingness" of the polymerization suffers due to premature catalyst degradation. Attaining large, well-defined, bottlebrush polymers requires precision so it was our goal to determine how seemingly simple reaction variables could affect the rates of propagation and achievable conversion, as well as why these variables have these effects. We tested several reaction parameters to understand how they affect the rate of polymerization, the rate of catalyst degradation, and the conversion that can be reached. We performed a systematic study using six organic solvents to determine the propagation rate of three macromonomers (MMs), one polystyrene and two poly(n-butyl acrylate) MMs, in ROMP with varying side chain chemistries and end groups, as well as rate of catalyst degradation in each of the solvents. We determined that solvent affected that rate of propagation primarily by interacting with the catalyst, while there was some evidence of polymer sidechain chemistry affecting the rate. We found that ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and CH2Cl2 had the highest rates of propagation compared to the other solvents, while DMF and THF were the slowest. UV-Vis testing on the catalyst in each solvent revealed that DMF and THF had fast rates of catalyst decomposition, while toluene was much slower to decompose. From these experiments we learned that toluene, despite its slower propagation rate, has the most living character, due to its slower rate of decomposition. We also learned that purification greatly affects the propagation rate, with THF requiring purification to have any conversion to bottlebrush polymer, while purification of EtOAc slows the rate of propagation almost 2-fold. From the decrease in rate after purification, and the conclusion that it was due to an acetic acid impurity in the impure EtOAc, we decided to systematically test small molecule additives and found that acids can increase the propagation rate and the conversion of the polynorbornene backbone achievable in ROMP reactions. Notably, in reactions performed in DMF with added CF3COOH we were able to polymerize a norbornene-functionalized unprotected peptide, which was insoluble in most organic solvents, to a higher conversion than in DMF without the added acid. We learned from our research that changing reaction variables can lead to substantial changes in the rate of propagation as well as the achievable conversion in bottlebrush polymer synthesis. By understanding this we can further test other reaction variables and do systematic studies on atmosphere and temperature. We hope this research and future fundamental research can guide scientists toward synthesizing large, well-defined, complex polymer architectures using ROMP. / Doctor of Philosophy / Nature has shown that complex molecular architectures lead to unique material properties. This has inspired scientists to synthetically mimic nature to create these polymer architectures in an effort to obtain novel material properties. Ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) has become a powerful synthetic method for synthesizing complex polymer architectures. Specifically, ROMP has been used to synthesize bottlebrush polymers, so named due to the polymer backbone with long, densely grafted, polymer side chains attached. These materials exhibit very interesting properties compared to their linear polymer counterparts. Using ROMP to synthesize bottlebrush polymers is not uncommon; however, difficulties can arise if trying to use sidechains that are very long or bulky. We have worked to understand how manipulating some of the reaction parameters can allow us, and other researchers, to synthesize bottlebrush polymers that contain long and/or bulky polymer side chains. We tested the purity and type of solvent that the reaction was performed in on one polystyrene macromonomer and two poly(n-butyl acrylate) macromonomers, as well as adding small molecules, including acids, bases, and salts, to determine if these variables could improve the synthesis of bottlebrush polymers. What we found was that all of the tested variables, solvent, purity, additives, and combinations of all of these variables, did have an effect on the synthesis of these materials. This fundamental information will assist our lab, and many others, in efficiently synthesizing complex architectures, thus achieving unique material properties.

Yes / Walking down ramps is a demanding task for transfemoral-amputees and terminating gait on ramps is even more challenging because of the requirement to maintain a stable limb so that it can do the necessary negative mechanical work on the centre-of-mass in order to arrest (dissipate) forward/downward velocity. We determined how the use of a microprocessor-controlled limb system (simultaneous control over hydraulic resistances at ankle and knee) affected the negative mechanical work done by each limb when transfemoral-amputees terminated gait during ramp descent. Methods: Eight transfemoral-amputees completed planned gait terminations (stopping on prosthesis) on a 5-degree ramp from slow and customary walking speeds, with the limb's microprocessor active or inactive. When active the limb operated in its ‘ramp-descent’ mode and when inactive the knee and ankle devices functioned at constant default levels. Negative limb work, determined as the integral of the negative mechanical (external) limb power during the braking phase, was compared across speeds and microprocessor conditions. Findings: Negative work done by each limb increased with speed (p < 0.001), and on the prosthetic limb it was greater when the microprocessor was active compared to inactive (p = 0.004). There was no change in work done across microprocessor conditions on the intact limb (p = 0.35). Interpretation: Greater involvement of the prosthetic limb when the limb system was active indicates its ramp-descent mode effectively altered the hydraulic resistances at the ankle and knee. Findings highlight participants became more assured using their prosthetic limb to arrest centre-of-mass velocity. / ZA is funded by the Higher Committee of Education Development in IRAQ (HCED student number D13 626).

The dissertation is focused on the analysis of the institute of residential lease. At the beginning a brief historical progress of the legal regulations of the lease of the apartment is described with the reference to social circumstances which influenced it. Subsequently, attention is paid to the lease agreement as the legal reason for using an apartment. The dissertation deals also with the object of the lease agreement, i.e. with the apartment and its definition in the legal regulations, and also with the subjects of the lease agreement, i.e. with the landlord and the tenant. In the next part the dissertation describes rights and obligations of the contracting parties. A special chapter is dedicated to the rent, as one of the essential requirements of the lease agreement. Also the institutes of the subtenancy, passage of the lease of flat and exchange of the apartments are mentioned. Furthermore, the issue of the termination of the lease is elaborated in detail. The whole dissertation contains also important rulings of the courts and presents changes that will come into effect with new civil code.