Contemporary and traditional sex roles differ in clarity. As such couples find it difficult to share these sex roles because of beliefs and attitudes they hold about them. In an attempt to generate guidelines with regard to the complementary sharing of these roles, sex differences and the nature of sex roles were discussed. Although men and women are similar in some respects, they however have fundamental unchangeable differences. Sex roles on the other hand, have changed drastically over the years. Data was gathered through the use of interviews. The result of this study indicates that men and women hold conflicting beliefs and attitudes concerning the sharing of sex roles. A set of guidelines have been formulated to assist couples to share their sex roles in a complementary way so as to make their homes authentic primary educational environments.. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

La médecine transfusionnelle féline a connu une croissance exponentielle au cours des dix dernières années. La découverte du système de groupes sanguins AB et la meilleure compréhension des mécanismes d’incompatibilité donneur-receveur, ainsi que le développement de systèmes de collecte adaptés au chat et de techniques de typage sanguin au chevet du patient ont permis d’améliorer la sécurité des transfusions. Notre travail s’est intégré dans cette volonté d’optimiser la sécurité des transfusions sanguines chez le chat en se concentrant sur deux aspects différents : le prélèvement de sang et les antigènes érythrocytaires à l’origine d’incompatibilités donneur-receveur non expliquées par le système AB. Dans un premier temps, un système de collecte de sang adapté au chat a été fabriqué afin de permettre un prélèvement fermé et autoriser le stockage des produits sanguins. Ce système a été comparé à un système ouvert composé de seringues. Le système fermé apparaît adapté au prélèvement de sang car aucune différence significative n’a été enregistrée dans les paramètres vitaux des donneurs après le prélèvement, le succès du prélèvement, ou la qualité du produit sanguin en termes de contamination bactérienne et d’hémolyse, entre les deux systèmes. Le net avantage du système fermé est qu’il assure un temps de prélèvement plus rapide que le système ouvert. Dans un second temps, en réalisant des tests de compatibilité chez 258 chats de type A, nous avons montré que la probabilité de détecter des incompatibilités entre deux chats de groupe A sélectionnés aléatoirement était de 3.9 %, et que 7 % des chats de groupe A présentaient des allo-anticorps naturels extérieurs au système AB. Sept des 18 allo-anticorps naturels détectés ont été utilisés comme réactifs lors d’un typage sanguin extensif. Les analyses sur l’accord des résultats du typage obtenus avec les différents réactifs ont permis d’identifier cinq nouveaux antigènes érythrocytaires félins différents, nommés FEA 1 à FEA 5 (pour feline erythrocyte antigen), dont l’hérédité, la prévalence, la distribution géographique et par race, ainsi que l’immunogénicité restent encore à déterminer. / Feline transfusion medicine has grown exponentially over the past decade. The discovery of the AB blood group system and the better understanding of the mechanisms of donor-receiver incompatibility, as well as the development of cat-friendly collection systems and bedside blood typing techniques have improved transfusion safety. Our work has been part of this effort to optimize the safety of blood transfusions in cats by focusing on two different aspects: blood collection and red blood cell antigens that cause donor-recipient incompatibilities unexplained by the AB system. First, a blood collection system adapted to the cat was manufactured to allow collection in a closed-system and storage of blood products. This system was compared to an open system consisting of syringes. The closed system appeared well-adapted for feline blood collection because no significant difference was found in the vital parameters of the donors after collection, the success of the collection, or the quality of the blood product in terms of bacterial contamination and hemolysis. The distinct advantage of the closed system was that it provided a shorter duration of collection than the open system. Secondly, based on the systematic crossmatches of 258 cats, we showed that the probability of detecting incompatibilities by randomly crossmatching two type A cats was 3.9 %, which resulted in at least 7 % of type A cats having naturally occurring alloantibodies outside the AB blood group system. Seven of the 18 detected naturally occurring alloantibodies were used as reagents in an extensive blood typing. Comparison of the results obtained from this extensive blood typing supports the existence of five, presumably different, new feline erythrocyte antigens, named FEA 1 to FEA 5, whose mode of inheritance, geographical and breed distribution, frequency and immunogenicity have yet to be determined.

Purpose and research questions: The purpose of this study has been to critically examine Esports through a gender perspective. The study therefore investigated the gender-typing of Esports and if these stereotypes affect players’ performance. The research questions were: Do players gender-type Esports to be a neutral, feminine, or masculine sport? Do gender stereotypes in Esports affect female players’ performance? Do gender stereotypes in Esports affect male players’ performance? Method: A quantitative research design was used, and two different surveys were sent out to respondents. Both surveys contained the exact same information and questions on the first page. These were aimed at answering questions regarding gender-typing (i.e. if the respondents perceived Esports to be a neutral, feminine or masculine activity and how appropriate they perceived Esports to be for women respectively men). The survey’s second page had identical questions on both surveys, however the respondents got to see different texts of information (stereotypes) depending on which survey they participated in. The first survey (Group 1) included two different conditions groups (women = stereotype threat; men = stereotype lift) and primed the respondents with the stereotype that “women are inferior to men in Esports”. The second survey (Group 2) also included two different condition groups (men = stereotype threat; women = stereotype boost) and primed the respondents with the alternative stereotype manipulation that “women are equally as good as men in Esports”. After participating in the surveys, the respondents played three games of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive that were then analyzed against the respondents’ three most recent matches before partaking in the study. As such, the players’ performance could be evaluated and a result could be determined (i.e. either an improvement or impairment in performance). A control group (Group 3) that did not partake in the surveys was used as a reference group and to evaluate the participants’ performances. As a total, 290 persons participated in the study, of which 50 were women and 240 men. Results: The results showed that the players perceived Esports to be more of a masculine sport. For the stereotype effects on players’ performance, an ANOVA of the results showed that stereotype threat had a statistically significant effect on female players’ performance (p = .008), whereas stereotype boost did not. For the men, the results showed that neither stereotype threat nor lift had any statistically significant effect on male players’ performance. Conclusion: The findings suggest that players gender-type different aspects of Esports in different ways. The participants perceived Esports to be more of a masculine activity but on the other hand to be almost equally as appropriate for women and men. As a whole, the respondents perceived Esports to be more of a masculine sport than neutral or feminine. The findings from this study also suggest that women in Esports are more affected by gender stereotypes than men are, and that negative gender stereotypes about women’s ability may impair female players’ performance. Finally, the findings suggest that the awareness as well as the occurrence of gender stereotypes in Esports are widespread among players. However, players in Esports consider themselves to not fully endorse these stereotypes but believe that other players do, especially the negative stereotypes about women’s ability in Esports. This finding generates an interesting area for further research and investigation. / Syfte och frågeställning: Syftet med denna studie har varit att kritiskt granska Esport ur ett genusperspektiv. Studien undersökte därmed könsstereotypningen (”gender-typing”) av Esport samt huruvida dessa stereotyper påverkar spelares prestationer. Frågeställningarna var: Könsstereotypar spelare Esport som en neutral, feminin eller maskulin sport? Påverkar könsstereotyper inom Esport kvinnliga spelares prestationer? Påverkar könsstereotyper inom Esport manliga spelares prestationer? Metod: En kvantitativ forskningsdesign användes, och två olika enkäter skickades ut till respondenter. Båda enkäterna innehöll exakt samma information och frågor på den första sidan. Dessa var ämnade att besvara frågor kring könsstereotypning (dvs. om respondenten ansåg Esport var en neutral, feminin eller maskulin aktivitet samt hur lämpligt de ansåg Esport vara för kvinnor respektive män). Enkätens andra sida hade identiska frågor på båda enkäterna men respondenterna fick ta del av olika texter av information (stereotyper) beroende på vilken enkät de deltog i. Den första enkäten (Grupp 1) inkluderade två olika tillståndsgrupper (kvinnor = stereotype threat; män = stereotype lift) och grundade respondenterna med stereotypen att ”kvinnor är sämre än män inom Esport”. Den andra enkäten (Grupp 2) inkluderade även den två olika tillståndsgrupper (män = stereotype threat; kvinnor = stereotype boost) och grundade respondenterna med den alternativa manipulationen av stereotypen att ”kvinnor är lika bra som män inom Esport”. Efter att ha deltagit i enkäterna spelade respondenterna tre matcher av Counter-Strike: Global Offensive som sedan analyserades mot respondenternas tre senaste matcher innan de deltog i studien. Som sådant, kunde spelarnas prestationer utvärderas och ett resultat kunde fastställas (dvs. antingen en förbättring eller en försämring i prestation). En kontrollgrupp (Grupp 3) som inte deltog i enkäterna användes som referensgrupp och för att utvärdera deltagarnas prestationer. Totalt deltog 290 personer i studien varav 50 var kvinnor och 240 män. Resultat: Resultatet visade att spelarna uppfattade Esport som mer av en maskulin sport. Angående stereotypeffekterna på spelarnas prestationer visade en ANOVA av resultaten att stereotype threat hade en statistisk signifikant effekt på kvinnliga spelares prestationer (p = .008), medan stereotype boost inte hade det. För männen så visade resultaten att varken stereotype threat eller lift hade någon statistisk signifikant effekt på manliga spelares prestationer. Slutsats: Resultaten tyder på att spelare könsstereotypar olika aspekter av Esport på olika sätt. Deltagarna uppfattade Esport som mer av en maskulin aktivitet men å andra sidan som lika lämpligt för kvinnor och män. Som helhet uppfattade respondenterna Esport som mer av en maskulin sport än neutral eller feminin. Resultatenfrån denna studie tyder även på att kvinnor inom Esport påverkas mer av könsstereotyper än män och att negativa könsstereotyper om kvinnors förmåga kan försämra kvinnliga spelares prestationer. Slutligen, resultaten tyder på att medvetenheten samt förekomsten av könsstereotyper inom Esport är utbredd bland spelarna.Spelarna inom Esport anser dock inte att de själva stödjer dessa stereotyper fullt ut men tror att andra spelare gör det, särskilt de negative stereotyperna om kvinnors förmågor inom Esport. Detta resultat genererar ett intressant område för vidare forskning och undersökningar.

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Background: Group B streptococcus (GBS) is regarded as one of the most important causes of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality in many parts of the world. GBS recto-vaginal colonization is important in the health of a mother and her neonate, especially in developing countries. Maternal vaginal colonization with GBS at the time of delivery can cause vertical transmission to the neonate. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) is a technique used to characterize microbial isolates by means of sequencing internal fragments of housekeeping genes and has the advantage of reproducibility and has been shown to correlate with the other typing techniques and thus has emerged as the standard for delineating the clonal population of GBS. The study aimed to investigate the epidemiology of GBS colonization among pregnant women and their neonates, and to characterize the isolates by multilocus sequence typing technique at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital, Pretoria. Methodology: A total of 413 pregnant women who visited the antenatal clinic were recruited and screened. Participants were interviewed using a questionnaire to gather demographic and other relevant information such as history of current pregnancy, previous miscarriages and still births. Samples from maternal rectum and vagina as well as neonate ear and umbilical cord were taken for culture using colistin and nalidixic acid (CNA) blood agar and incubated for 24-48 hours. If negative after 48 hours, Todd-Hewitt broth was subcultured after 18-48 hours onto sheep blood agar. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was used to characterize seven group B streptococcus isolates collected at Dr George Mukhari academic hospital. Fragments of seven housekeeping genes were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for each strain and sequenced. CLC bio software (Inqaba biotech, South Africa; Pretoria) was used to analyse sequenced loci and UPGMA dendrogram was constructed. Results: The colonization rate for GBS in pregnant women and their neonates was 30.9% and 0%, respectively. A higher proportion of GBS were isolated from the rectum (37.9%) as compared to the vagina (20.6%). Most socio-economic, demographic and obstetric factors analysed were not significantly associated with.GBS colonization. On 128 positive samples, the results of Todd-Hewitt enrichment broth and direct plating method using CNA were compared. A total of 45.3% of colonised were positive on direct selective agar (CNA); an additional 54.7% samples were recovered from Todd-Hewitt broth. Three genes (adhP, glnA and tkt) were sequenced successfully for six samples (1, 2. 4,6,12 and 65). The UPGMA tree with 1000 bootstrap showing the relationship between six samples was drawn.Conclusion: This study revealed that pregnant women of all ages are at risk of group B streptococcus colonization. Group B streptococcus was common among pregnant women at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital. No socio-economic risk factor was associated with group B streptococcus colonization. Results confirm that the combination of Todd-Hewitt broth and CNA agar plate is a time saving and sensitive method. The allelic profile, characteristics such as G+C (guanine+cytosine) content and dN/dS ratio were not analysed because of the smaller sample size used in this study, which shows that the MLST method was unsuccessful in this study. The UPGMA tree based on differences in consensus of the isolates showed that all group B streptococcus isolates are clustered and descend from a single node. / Life & Consumer Sciences / Life Sciences / M.Sc. (Life Sciences)

Το βακτήριο Wolbachia είναι ένα ενδοκυττάριο και μητρικά κληρονομούμενο συμβιωτικό βακτήριο. Ανήκει στην ομοταξία των Alphaproteobacteria και την τάξη των Rickettsiales. Αποτελεί ίσως τον πιο διαδεδομένο ενδοκυττάριο συμβιωτικό οργανισμό στον πλανήτη, καθώς έχει εντοπιστεί μέχρι στιγμής σε πληθώρα αρθροπόδων και νηματωδών της φιλαρίασης. Πρόσφατες μελέτες εκτιμούν ότι πάνω από το 40% των ειδών αρθροπόδων είναι μολυσμένα με το βακτήριο Wolbachia. Το συμβιωτικό αυτό βακτήριο επηρεάζει τις βιολογικές λειτουργίες και ιδιότητες των ξενιστών του και είναι υπεύθυνο για μια σειρά αναπαραγωγικών ανωμαλιών, όπως η κυτταροπλασματική ασυμβατότητα, η παρθενογένεση, η θανάτωση των αρσενικών εμβρύων και η θηλυκοποίηση. Τα μοναδικά αυτά βιολογικά χαρακτηριστικά του βακτηρίου Wolbachia προσελκύουν όλο και περισσότερο το ενδιαφέρον διαφόρων ερευνητών τόσο για το ρόλο του βακτηρίου σε εξελικτικές διαδικασίες (κυρίως ειδογένεση) όσο και για τη χρησιμοποίησή του σε περιβαλλοντικά φιλικές εφαρμογές καταπολέμησης οργανισμών που είναι επιβλαβείς στους τομείς του γεωργικού και δασικού περιβάλλοντος, και της υγείας. Τα είδη του γένους Glossina (Diptera: Glossinidae), γνωστά και ως μύγες τσε-τσε, αποτελούν ξενιστές του βακτηρίου Wolbachia. Η μύγα τσε-τσε είναι ο σημαντικότερος φορέας των παθογόνων τρυπανοσωμάτων στην τροπική Αφρική, τα οποία προκαλούν την ασθένεια του ύπνου (sleeping sickness) στον άνθρωπο και την αντίστοιχη τρυπανοσωμίαση, γνωστή ως nagana, στα ζώα. Η χρησιμοποίηση του βακτηρίου Wolbachia σε μεθόδους βιολογικής καταπολέμησης της μύγας τσε-τσε προαπαιτεί την πλήρη γνώση της γενετικής του ταυτότητας και των αλληλεπιδράσεων του με το ξενιστή. Προς την κατεύθυνση αυτή, και στα πλαίσια της παρούσας διατριβής, πραγματοποιήθηκε η ανίχνευση του συμβιωτικού βακτηρίου Wolbachia σε περισσότερα από 5300 άτομα από φυσικούς και εργαστηριακούς πληθυσμούς 11 διαφορετικών ειδών μύγας τσε-τσε από 13 Αφρικανικές χώρες. Τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν τεράστια απόκλιση της παρουσίας του βακτηρίου τόσο μεταξύ ειδών όσο και μεταξύ πληθυσμών του ίδιου είδους. Επίσης, πραγματοποιήθηκε ο γενετικός χαρακτηρισμός των στελεχών Wolbachia από συνολικά 29 αντιπροσωπευτικά δείγματα διαφόρων πληθυσμών και ειδών μύγας τσε-τσε, ενώ σε αρκετά από αυτά παρατηρήθηκαν πολλαπλά στελέχη του βακτηρίου. Διαπιστώθηκε εντυπωσιακή γενετική ποικιλότητα στελεχών Wolbachia που απαντούν στα διάφορα είδη μύγας τσε-τσε καθώς και ασυμφωνία μεταξύ των φυλογενειών των στελεχών Wolbachia και των μυγών τσε-τσε ξενιστών της, γεγονός που σημαίνει οριζόντια μετακίνηση του συμβιωτικού βακτηρίου κατά την εξέλιξη. Επιπρόσθετα, εντοπίστηκαν για πρώτη φορά εκτεταμένα γεγονότα οριζόντιας μεταφοράς βακτηριακών γονιδίων στο γονιδίωμα τριών ειδών μύγας τσε-τσε: στο Glossina morsitans morsitans, Glossina pallidipes και Glossina austeni. Από εξελικτικής σκοπιάς, κρίσιμα ερωτήματα προκύπτουν από τα παραπάνω ευρήματα, και πιο συγκεκριμένα σχετικά με: την προέλευση-μηχανισμό αυτών των γεγονότων οριζόντιας μεταφοράς, τον χρονικό προσδιορισμό τους, τον πιθανό ρόλο τους σε διαδικασίες ειδογένεσης και την επιλεκτική εμφάνισή τους σε ορισμένα μόνο είδη Glossina π.χ. στo υποείδos Glossina morsitans centralis που είναι πολύ συγγενικό του Glossina morsitans morsitans δεν παρατηρήθηκε το φαινόμενο. Εξίσου σημαντική και επιβεβλημένη κρίνεται η διεξοδική διερεύνηση του ενδεχομένου τα βακτηριακά γονίδια που ενσωματώθηκαν στο ευκαρυωτικό γονιδίωμα της μύγας τσε-τσε να ευθύνονται για την έκφραση νέων λειτουργιών-ιδιοτήτων (ή να μεταβάλλουν τις ήδη υπάρχουσες), ιδίως μάλιστα εάν αυτές συνδέονται με την αποδοτικότητα μετάδοσης της νόσου της τρυπανοσωμίασης μέσω του φορέα της, δηλαδή της μύγας τσε-τσε. Τέλος, διαπιστώθηκε πιθανή αρνητική συσχέτιση της παρουσίας του βακτηρίου Wolbachia με τον παθογόνο ιό Salivary Gland hypertrophy Virus (SGHV), γεγονός που συζητείται στα πλαίσια βιολογικών εφαρμογών καταπολέμησης του εντόμου-φορέα και της τρυπανοσωμίασης. Παράλληλα, μεγάλο ενδιαφέρον παρουσιάζει η προοπτική χρησιμοποίησης του βακτηρίου Wolbachia για τη βιολογική καταπολέμηση εντόμων αγροτικής ή /και περιβαλλοντικής σημασίας, όπως είναι οι αφίδες και η καρπόκαψα καστανιάς. Το γεγονός αυτό προϋποθέτει την ανίχνευση και τη γενετική ταυτοποίηση του βακτηρίου σε φυσικούς πληθυσμούς εντόμων. Στα πλαίσια της παρούσας διατριβής πραγματοποιήθηκε ανίχνευση και χαρακτηρισμός του βακτηρίου Wolbachia σε 78 συνολικά άτομα από 22 είδη αφίδων, από 26 φυσικούς πληθυσμούς από την Ελλάδα. Από αυτούς τους 26 πληθυσμούς, μόλις οι 4 βρέθηκαν να είναι μολυσμένοι με το βακτήριο Wolbachia και συγκεκριμένα πληθυσμοί των ειδών: Aphis fabae, Aphis hederae, Metopolophium dirhodum και Baizongia pistaciae. Τα αποτελέσματα αυτά δείχνουν για πρώτη φορά ότι η παρουσία του βακτηρίου Wolbachia στις αφίδες είναι πιθανά πιο διαδεδομένη από ότι προέκυπτε από προηγούμενες μελέτες. Επίσης, μελετήθηκε η ανίχνευση και ο χαρακτηρισμός του βακτηρίου Wolbachia στα είδη Cydia splendana, Cydia fagiglandana και Pammene fasciana. Το βακτήριο Wolbachia ανιχνεύθηκε για πρώτη φορά στα συγκεκριμένα είδη και μάλιστα διαπιστώθηκε ότι η συχνότητα εμφάνισής του ποικίλει τόσο μεταξύ των δύο ειδών Cydia όσο και μεταξύ των πληθυσμών του κάθε είδους. Στο είδος Pammene fasciana, το βακτήριο ανιχνεύθηκε σε όλα τα άτομα που μελετήθηκαν. Τα αποτελέσματα της παρούσας διατριβής συζητούνται από τη σκοπιά τόσο της οικολογικής και εξελικτικής σημασίας τους όσο και της προοπτικής χρησιμοποίησης του συμβιωτικού βακτηρίου Wolbachia για τον πληθυσμιακό έλεγχο επιβλαβών εντόμων όπως οι μύγες τσε-τσε, οι αφίδες και η καρπόκαψα καστανιάς. / Wolbachia is an intracellular and maternally inherited symbiotic bacterium that belongs to the class of Alphaproteobacteria and the order of Rickettsiales. It is the most ubiquitous intracellular symbiotic organism of the planet, since it has been estimated that over 40% of insect species, in addition to filarial nematodes, crustaceans, and arachnids are infected with Wolbachia. In arthropods Wolbachia affects the biological functions and properties of its hosts and it is responsible for a number of reproductive abnormalities, such as cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), thelytokous parthenogenesis, feminization of genetic males and male killing. These unique biological characteristics of Wolbachia are attracting the interest of various researchers for: (a) decyphering the role of Wolbachia in evolutionary processes (mainly speciation), and (b) for its use in environmentally friendly applications for the control of agricultural pests and disease vectors. The species of genus Glossina (Diptera: Glossinidae) known as tsetse flies, have been found to be infected with Wolbachia. Tsetse flies are the sole vectors of pathogenic trypanosomes in tropical Africa, causing the “sleeping sickness” in humans and the “nagana” in animals. The potential use of Wolbachia for the control of tsetse flies, prerequisite a thorough knowledge of its genetic identity and the interactions with the host. To further characterize the prevalence of Wolbachia in tsetse flies an extensive screen of more than 5300 specimens from natural and laboratory populations of 11 different Glossina species originating from 13 African countries was carried out. Our results indicated a huge divergence in the prevalence of Wolbachia, both among the species and among populations of the same species. Further characterization by MLST and wsp genotyping was carried out for the Wolbachia strains of 29 representative populations and species of tsetse flies. An impressive genetic diversity of Wolbachia strains in tsetse flies was revealed. Interestingly, disconcordance between the phylogeny of Wolbachia and that of the tsetse flies was observed, suggesting horizontal transmission of Wolbachia during the evolution. Moreover, extended horizontal gene transfer events were detected for first time in Glossina morsitans morsitans, Glossina pallidipes και Glossina austeni. These results raise critical questions concerning: (a) the origin/mechanism of these horizontal gene transfer events, (b) their temporal determination, (c) their potential role as agents of speciation and (d) their selective appearance in only some Glossina species e.g in the subspecies Glossina morsitans centralis which is closely related with Glossina morsitans morsitans the phenomenon was not observed. Equally important will be to examine if genes from the chromosomal insertions were potentially expressed and examine if these genes are associated with the vectorial capacity of tsetse flies for the trypanosoma transmission. Finally, a negative correlation between the presence of Wolbachia with the Salivary Gland Hypertrophy Virus (SGHV) was identified. This is further discussed in the context of biological applications for control of tsetse fly-vector and trypanosomiasis. Finally in this thesis, the detection and characterization of Wolbachia in 78 specimens of 22 aphids species, from 26 natural populations, from Greece was examined. Only 4 out of 26 populations were found to be infected with Wolbachia, and specifically the species: Aphis fabae, Aphis hederae, Metopolophium dirhodum και Baizongia pistaciae. These results indicated that the presence of Wolbachia in aphids is probably more prevalent than it was derived from previous studies. Also, detection and characterization of Wolbachia in the Cydia splendana, Cydia fagiglandana and Pammene fasciana was carried out. Wolbachia was detected for first time in these species, and it was found that the prevalence of Wolbachia varies between the two species of Cydia and among populations of each species, with the infection in Pammene fasciana being fixed. At the end the ecological and evolutionary importance of Wolbachia, together with the use of the bacterium for the population control of harmful insects like tsetse flies, aphids and moths is further discussed.

Background: Group B streptococcus (GBS) is regarded as one of the most important causes of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality in many parts of the world. GBS recto-vaginal colonization is important in the health of a mother and her neonate, especially in developing countries. Maternal vaginal colonization with GBS at the time of delivery can cause vertical transmission to the neonate. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) is a technique used to characterize microbial isolates by means of sequencing internal fragments of housekeeping genes and has the advantage of reproducibility and has been shown to correlate with the other typing techniques and thus has emerged as the standard for delineating the clonal population of GBS. The study aimed to investigate the epidemiology of GBS colonization among pregnant women and their neonates, and to characterize the isolates by multilocus sequence typing technique at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital, Pretoria. Methodology: A total of 413 pregnant women who visited the antenatal clinic were recruited and screened. Participants were interviewed using a questionnaire to gather demographic and other relevant information such as history of current pregnancy, previous miscarriages and still births. Samples from maternal rectum and vagina as well as neonate ear and umbilical cord were taken for culture using colistin and nalidixic acid (CNA) blood agar and incubated for 24-48 hours. If negative after 48 hours, Todd-Hewitt broth was subcultured after 18-48 hours onto sheep blood agar. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was used to characterize seven group B streptococcus isolates collected at Dr George Mukhari academic hospital. Fragments of seven housekeeping genes were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for each strain and sequenced. CLC bio software (Inqaba biotech, South Africa; Pretoria) was used to analyse sequenced loci and UPGMA dendrogram was constructed. Results: The colonization rate for GBS in pregnant women and their neonates was 30.9% and 0%, respectively. A higher proportion of GBS were isolated from the rectum (37.9%) as compared to the vagina (20.6%). Most socio-economic, demographic and obstetric factors analysed were not significantly associated with.GBS colonization. On 128 positive samples, the results of Todd-Hewitt enrichment broth and direct plating method using CNA were compared. A total of 45.3% of colonised were positive on direct selective agar (CNA); an additional 54.7% samples were recovered from Todd-Hewitt broth. Three genes (adhP, glnA and tkt) were sequenced successfully for six samples (1, 2. 4,6,12 and 65). The UPGMA tree with 1000 bootstrap showing the relationship between six samples was drawn.Conclusion: This study revealed that pregnant women of all ages are at risk of group B streptococcus colonization. Group B streptococcus was common among pregnant women at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital. No socio-economic risk factor was associated with group B streptococcus colonization. Results confirm that the combination of Todd-Hewitt broth and CNA agar plate is a time saving and sensitive method. The allelic profile, characteristics such as G+C (guanine+cytosine) content and dN/dS ratio were not analysed because of the smaller sample size used in this study, which shows that the MLST method was unsuccessful in this study. The UPGMA tree based on differences in consensus of the isolates showed that all group B streptococcus isolates are clustered and descend from a single node. / Life Sciences / M.Sc. (Life Sciences)

The literature directly comparing the epidemiology of MRSA among adult and pediatric hospitalized patients is strikingly minimal. The objective of this thesis was to identify any differences between these two patient groups. The Canadian Nosocomial Infections Surveillance Program MRSA data (1995 to 2007: n=1,262 pediatric and 35,907 adult cases) were used to compare MRSA clinical and molecular characteristics and rates. Hospital characteristics were modeled using repeated measures Poisson regressions. The molecular and epidemiological characteristics of MRSA differed significantly between adults and children. Compared to children, MRSA in adults was more likely to be healthcare-associated, colonization, SCCmec type II, PVL negative, and resistant to most antibiotics. Rates of MRSA in Canada increased in both populations over time but were significantly higher in adults. The hospital characteristics associated with increased MRSA rates differed in adult and pediatric facilities. Implications for infection prevention and control strategies are discussed.

The literature directly comparing the epidemiology of MRSA among adult and pediatric hospitalized patients is strikingly minimal. The objective of this thesis was to identify any differences between these two patient groups. The Canadian Nosocomial Infections Surveillance Program MRSA data (1995 to 2007: n=1,262 pediatric and 35,907 adult cases) were used to compare MRSA clinical and molecular characteristics and rates. Hospital characteristics were modeled using repeated measures Poisson regressions. The molecular and epidemiological characteristics of MRSA differed significantly between adults and children. Compared to children, MRSA in adults was more likely to be healthcare-associated, colonization, SCCmec type II, PVL negative, and resistant to most antibiotics. Rates of MRSA in Canada increased in both populations over time but were significantly higher in adults. The hospital characteristics associated with increased MRSA rates differed in adult and pediatric facilities. Implications for infection prevention and control strategies are discussed.

Abstract in English, Afrikaans and Zulu / The aim of this study was to explore how gender is perceived in classroom instructional activities and how it is represented in the Grade 9 English textbook in Ethiopia. To do this, the constructivist paradigm was used as a way of viewing the educational world. Underpinned by the Sociocultural Theory (SCT) and Gender Schema Theory (GST), the study was qualitative and used a multiple case study inquiry. The selection of participants was through purposive sampling and data were collected through interviews, observations and textbook review. The study was undertaken at four government high schools, and the focus was on Grade 9 at Chacha, Minjar, DebreSina and Mekoy Districts of North Shoa Zone in Amhara Region. Sixteen learners, four teachers and four principals were interviewed. The findings concluded in two significant findings: 1) improper gender treatment in classroom instructional activities, and 2) imbalance of gender representation in Grade 9 English textbook. The first finding generated emerging themes, for instance (a) imbalanced allocation of roles and responsibilities between girls and boys; (b) girls’ embarrassment by others; (c) girls’ incapability to manage group and use given opportunity in classroom; (d) male domination and female subordination; (e) gender policy implementation gap at school; (f) impediment of girls’ participation due to patriarchal thinking; (g) challenges of traditional gender thinking in classroom; (h) parents’ practices and experiences affected learners’ practices and experiences in classroom; (i) lack of girls’ recognition by others; and (j) self-overestimation seen by boys and self-underestimation seen by girls. The themes for the second major finding include: (a) men overrepresentation and women underrepresentation; (b) presence of gender-marked vocabularies to enhance women’s passive role; (c) encouragement of traditional gender representation by assigning women in baby-sitting, and domestic chores, such as cleaning, cooking or shopping; (d) manifestation of man first-ness; and (e) imbalance of pictorial representation between women and men. The study recommends that teaching gender equality to the school community and society could be used to discourage gender stereotyped and biased engagements. Female teachers should be role models for girls. Educators should use gender-sensitive materials for the development of a gender-free awareness by the young generation. / Die doel van hierdie studie was om te ondersoek hoe gender in klaskameronderrigaktiwiteite ervaar word en hoe dit in die Graad 9 Engelse handboek in Etiopië voorgestel word. Ten einde dit te doen, is die kontruktivistiese paradigma as beskouingswyse van die opvoedkundige wêreld gebruik. Die studie was kwalitatief, onderlê deur sosiokulturele teorie en genderskemateorie, en die ondersoekmetode van veelvuldige gevallestudies is gebruik. Deelnemers is met behulp van doelbewuste steekproefneming geselekteer en data is deur middel van onderhoude, observasies en 'n handboekoorsig ingesamel. Die studie is by vier regeringshoërskole onderneem, en die fokus was op Graad 9 in die Chacha, Minjar, DebreSina en Mekoy distrikte van die Noord-Shoa sone in die Amhara streek. Onderhoude is gevoer met sestien leerders, vier onderwysers en vier skoolhoofde. Daar was twee beduidende bevindings: 1) onvanpaste genderbehandeling in klaskameronderrigaktiwiteite, en 2) 'n wanbalans in gendervoorstelling in die Graad 9 Engelse handboek. Verskillende temas het uit die eerste bevinding voortgespruit, byvoorbeeld (a) die ongebalanseerde toekenning van rolle en verantwoordelikhede tussen seuns en dogters; (b) die vernedering van dogters deur ander; (c) die onvermoë van dogters om groepe te beheer en van gegewe geleenthede in die klaskamer gebruik te maak; (d) manlike oorheersing en vroulike ondergeskiktheid; (e) 'n leemte in die implementering van genderbeleid op skool; (f) belemmering van dogters se deelname deur patriargale denke; (g) die uitdagings van tradisionele genderdenke in die klaskamer; (h) die invloed wat ouers se praktyke en ervarings op leerders se praktyke en ervarings in die klaskamer het; (i) gebrekkige erkenning van dogters deur ander; en (j) self-oorskatting onder die seuns en self-onderskatting onder die dogters. Die temas van die tweede hoofbevinding het ingesluit: (a) die óórverteenwoordiging van mans en onderverteenwoordiging van vroue; (b) die teenwoordigheid van gendergekleurde woordeskat om vroue se passiewe rol te beklemtoon; (c) die aanmoediging van tradisionele genderverteenwoordiging deur huishoudelike take soos skoonmaak, kook en inkopies doen aan vroue toe te ken; (d) die manifestering van manlike uitnemendheid/"eerste wees"; en (e) 'n wanbalans in die verteenwoordiging van vroue en mans in illustrasies. Die studie beveel aan dat die skoolgemeenskap en die gemeenskap in gendergelykheid onderrig word ten einde genderstereotipering en bevooroordeelde optredes te ontmoedig. Vroulike onderwyseres behoort 'n rolmodel vir dogters te wees. Onderwysers moet gendersensitiewe materiaal gebruik om gendervrye bewustheid onder die jong geslag te kweek / Inhloso yocwaningo bekuwukubheka ukuthi ubulili bubonwa kanjani kwimisebenzi efundiswa emakilasini, nokuthi ubulili bukhonjiswa kanjani ezincwadini zesiNgisi ezibekelwe ukufundwa ebangeni lika-Grade 9 ezweni lase Ethiopia. Kulolu cwaningo kusetshenziswe i-constructivist paradigm njengendlela yokubheka ezemfundo. Ngokulandela ithiyori yezenhlalo namasiko i-sociocultural theory (SCT) kanye nethiyori i-gender schema theory (GST), ucwaningo lube yi-qualitative research kanti kusetshenziswe nocwaningo olubheka amacala amaningi i-multiple case study inquiry. Ababambe iqhaza bakhethwe ngokusebenzisa amasampula akhethwe ngenhlososo i-purposive sampling, kanti ulwazi luqoqwe ngokukuxoxisana ama-interviews, ukubhekisisa okwenzekayo (observations) kanye nokubuyekeza izincwadi zesiNgisi ezibekelwe ukufundwa ama-textbook. Ucwaningo lwenziwe ezikoleni eziphakeme ezine zikahulumeni, kanti kwagxilwa kakhulu ebangeni lika-Grade 9 ezifundazweni zasezweni lase Ethiopia okuyi-Chacha, eMinjar, eDebreSina, kanye namaDistrikhthi aseNorth Shoa Zone kanye nasezifundazweni zase Amhara. Kuxoxiswene ngama-interviews nabafundi abayishumi nesithupha, othisha abane kanye nothishanhloko abane. Kutholakale imiphumela emibili esemqoka: 1) ukungaphathwa kahle kodaba lobulili kwimisebenzi yokufundisa emaklasini, kanye 2) nokungabekwa kahle ngokulingalingana kodaba lobulili ezincwadini zesiNgisi ezibekelwe ukufundwa kubanga lika -Grade 9. Umphumela wokuqala uveze izingqikithi (themes) ezilandelayo, isibonelo, (a) ukungabiwa kahle ngokulingana ngendlela ehlelekile kwemisebenzi ngokubulili phakathi kwamantombazane kanye nabafana; (b) ukuhlazwa kwamantombazane okwenziwa ngabanye; (c), ukungabi nekhono kwamantombazane ukuhola amaqembu kanye nokusebenzisa amathuba emaklasini; (d) ukubhozomela kwabesilisa kanye nokuzithoba kwabesifazane; (e) igebe elikhona ngokusetshenziswa kwemigomo ebhekene nezobulili ezikoleni; (f) izihibe ezivimbela amantombazane ukubamba iqhaza ngenxa yemibono ebeka ukuthi abesilisa yibona ababalulekile (patriarchal thinking); (g) izinselele ezikhona ngezinkambiso zakudala maqondana nokucabanga ngezobulili emaklasini; (h) izindlela zezinkambiso zabazali zibe nomthelela kwizindlela zokwenza kanye nezipiliyoni zabafundi emaklasini; (i) ukungamukelwa kwamantombazane ngabanye; kanye (j) nokuzibeka phambili kakhulu kwabafana kanye nokuzibeka ezingeni eliphansi kwamantombazane. Izingqikithi (themes) zomphumela wesibili zibandakanya okulandelayo (a) ukumelwa kakhulu ngokweqile kwabesilisa kanye nezinga eliphansi lokumelwa kwabesifazane; (b) ubukhona besilulumagama i-vocabulary ephawula ngobulili nephakamisa nokungadlali ndima kwabesimame; (c) ukukhuthazwa kwezinkambiso zakudala zokumelwa kobulili ngokunikeza abesimame imisebenzi yokunakekela izingane kanye nokwenza imisebenzi yasendlini, efana nokuhlanza izindlu, ukupheka kanye nokuyothenga ezitolo; (d) umqondo wokubeka abesilisa phambili; kanye (e) nokungahleleki ngokufanele nokulingalingana ngokukhombisa ngezithombe phakathi kwabesimame nabesilisa. Ucwaningo luncoma ukuthi ukufundisa ngokulingana kwabafundi besilisa nabesifazane ezikoleni kanye nakwisizwe sonkana kungasetshenziswa ukudumaza umqondo wokubeka ubulili obuthile ngendlela nomqondo othize (gender-stereotyped) kanye nokwenza ukuthi abobulili obuthile kuphela okumele benze noma bangenzi imisebenzi ethile. Othisha besifazane kumele bebeyisibonelo kumantombazane. Abafundisi kumele basebenzise izincwadi zokufundisa ezingenabandlululo ngokobulili ukuze isizukulwane esisha bsiondisise ngezokulingana ngokobulili. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Phil. (Education in the subject Curriculum Studies)