Browsing Magister Scientiae - MSc (Biotechnology) by Issue Date
Now showing items 41-60 of 270
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Factors associated with participation in physical activity among adults with diabete mellitus in Kigali, Rwanda
(2008)The present study aimed to examine the demographic, social and health-related factors that are associated with levels of physical activity participation among adults with diabetes mellitus in Kigali, Rwanda. -
An assessment of the dietary intake of pregnant women in the West Coast / Winelands region, Western Cape Province: relation to low birth weight
(University of the Western Cape, 2008)This secondary analysis aimed to develop dietary scores to assess the dietary intake of pregnant women in the West Coast/ Winelands region and determine the association with LBW. Further to determine the association between ... -
The structure, function and engineering of a thermostable nitrile hydratase
(University of the Western Cape, 2008)Nitrile hydratases (NHases) are enzymes that catalyse the conversion of organocyanides to amides via a non-hydrolytic hydration reaction. They are industrially relevant enzymes, currently used in the manufacture of ... -
Gene Discovery in Antarctic Dry Valley Soils
(University of the Western Cape, 2008)The metagenomic approach to gene discovery circumvents conventional gene and gene product acquisition by exploiting the uncultured majority of microorganisms in the environment. It was demonstrated in this study that ... -
The Internal Validation and Casework Application of MiniSTR Systems
(University of the Western Cape, 2008)The objective of the study was to conduct an internal validation on miniSTR systems and apply it to cases received from the South African Missing Persons Task Team (SAMPTT). This was prompted by the fact that miniSTR systems ... -
Isolation, identification and characterization of novel actinomycetes from Antarctic soil samples
(University of the Western Cape, 2008)Actinomycetes are Gram-positive bacteria that form filamentous branching hyphae with asexual spores. They occur in a variety of environments and are important industrially and pharmaceutically. The aims of this study were ... -
Cloning, expression and characterisation of Amidase Genes from a psychrotolerant Nesterenkonia isolate
(University of the Western Cape, 2009)A nitrile and amide hydrolysing Nesterenkonia sp. was isolated from Antarctic soil and was characterised as a psychrotolerant, halotolerant and alkaliphilic extremophile. Amidases are widely distributed in both prokaryotic ... -
The identification of candidate genes using cDNA microarray and the analysis of two SNPs of the reelin gene in a South African austistic population
(University of the Western Cape, 2009)Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) that's incidence is approximately 1 in 158. It is four times more prevalent in males than females and is believed to be caused by both genetic and environmental factors. ... -
Characterisation of eight non-codis Ministrs in four South African populations to aid the analysis of degraded DNA
(University of the Western Cape, 2009)In many forensic cases, such as mass disasters reconstruction cases, the recovered DNA is highly degraded. In such incidences, typing of STR loci has become one of the most powerful tools for retrieving information from ... -
Screening for subtate tolerant Geobacillus pallidus RAPc8 nitrile hydratase
(University of the Western Cape, 2009)In this study G. pallidus RAPc8 NHase mutants were screened for reduced substrate inhibition compared to the wild type enzyme. Wild type and mutant enzymes were expressed and purified using hydrophobic interaction ... -
The diversity of key anabolic genes in antarctic hypolithons
(2009)Antarctica is known for its pristine environments. A variety of unsuitable environmental conditions were once thought to render the continent unsuitable for sustaining life. However, metagenomic data have revealed a wealth ... -
Identification of a transducin (beta)-like 3 protein as a potential biomarker of prediabetes from rat urine using proteomics
(University of the Western Cape, 2010)Obesity is a globally increasing disease particularly in developing countries and among children. It is mainly caused by intake of diets high in fat and the lack of physical activity. Obesity is a risk factor for diseases ... -
Development and validation of Non-CODIS miniSTR genotyping systems suitable for forensic case work in South Africa
(University of the Western Cape, 2010)The objective of this study was to develop and validate a six Non-CODIS miniSTR genotyping system and to determine its suitability for forensic casework in South Africa. In Non-CODIS miniSTR genotyping systems, smaller PCR ... -
Development of Y-STR genotyping systems suitable for sexual assault cases in South Africa
(University of the Western Cape, 2010)Sexual assault is a significant problem facing the South African society. In this context, efficient but also affordable genotyping systems are needed for positive identification of criminals in incidences of sexual violence. ... -
Identification and characterisation of novel cellulolytic genes using metagenomics
(University of the Western Cape, 2010)Metagenomics has been successfully used to discover novel enzymes from uncultured microorganisms in the environment. In this study, metagenomic DNA from a Malawian hot spring soil sample was used to construct a fosmid ... -
Isolation and characterisation of esterases from thermophilic Actinomyces
(University of the Western Cape, 2010)Alternative sources of fuel are required worldwide, and bio-ethanol is the leading candidate. Lignocellulosic biomass, a waste component of the agricultural industry, is a promising renewable source. Due to its complex ... -
Identification and characterisation of hemicellulases from thermophilic Actinomycetes
(University of the Western Cape, 2010)To ensure the sustainability of bioethanol production, major attention has been directed to develop feedstocks which provide an alternative to food-crop biomass. Lignocellulosic (LC) biomass, which is chiefly composed of ... -
Microbial quality and safety of ostrich meat
(University of the Western Cape, 2010)The aim of this study was to determine the quality of slaughtered ostrich meat and to evaluate the ostrich slaughter process, to determine whether ostrich meat are contaminated by the in-house slaughtering practices and ... -
The identification of novel regulatory elements in the promoters of heat shock response genes
(University of the Western Cape, 2010)The main objective of this study was to investigate promoter sequences of putative HSR genes for the presence of unique regulatory elements and modules that might be involved in the regulation of HSR. In order to achieve ... -
Reconstruction of major male and female lineages of the Strand Muslim community
(University of the Western Cape, 2010)Initially, a pilot study was carried out in order to reconstruct the major paternal and maternal lineages of the Muslim population living in the Cape metropolitan area. The Study has shown the ability of molecular genetic ...