Faculty of Natural Sciences
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Welcome to the scholarship of the Faculty of Natural Sciences.
The Faculty is developing a reputation as an important centre of research in South Africa. It equips graduates with solid academic and research skills and gives them the ability to succeed in the market place.
Electronic theses and dissertations are available in the Electronic Theses and Dissertations Repository .
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Recent Submissions
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Effect of physical activity on coronary heart disease risk factors among firefighters: a scoping review protocol
(BMJ open, 2023)Introduction: Physical activity interventions have been used for various health conditions, including cardiovascular disease. However, the literature is still limited regarding the effect of physical activity on coronary ... -
Seed germination and seedling establishment in pistacia atlantica desf. and pistacia lentiscus l. under drought
(Russian Journal of Plant Physiology, 2023)The rehabilitation of degraded Mediterranean areas requires reintroduction of key-stone woody species. However, seed germination and seedling establishment for native species are poor. Germination behavior of Pistacia ... -
Statistical recovery of 21 cm visibilities and their power spectra with gaussian-constrained realizations and gibbs sampling
(The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 2023)Radio interferometers designed to probe the 21 cm signal from Cosmic Dawn and the Epoch of Reionization must contend with systematic effects that make it difficult to achieve sufficient dynamic range to separate the 21 cm ... -
Measurement of the evolving galaxy luminosity and mass function using clustering-based redshift inference
(Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2023)We develop a framework for using clustering-based redshift inference (cluster-z ) to measure the evolving galaxy luminosity function (GLF) and galaxy stellar mass function (GSMF) using Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer ... -
Nitrogen fertilization increases the growth and nutritional quality of the forage legume, Calobota sericea – A preliminary investigation
(Elsevier, 2023)Calobota sericea is being evaluated as a forage for drought stressed areas. The nutritional quality of C. sericea from native populations are poor, and this is believed to be due to poor soil fertility. Therefore, a ... -
Figure rotation of dark haloes in cold dark matter simulations
(Oxford University Press, 2007)We investigate the figure rotation of dark matter haloes identified in cold dark matter (CDM) simulations.We find that when strict criteria are used to select suitable haloes for study, five of the 222 haloes identified ... -
Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects of Syzygium jambos L. (Alston) and isolated compounds on acne vulgaris
(BioMed Central, 2013)Acne vulgaris is a chronic skin disorder leading to inflammation as a result of the production of reactive oxygen species due to the active involvement of Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) in the infection site of the ... -
Enhanced anti-bacterial activity of biogenic silver nanoparticles synthesized from terminalia mantaly extracts
(Dove Press, 2019)The global increase in outbreaks and mortality rates associated with multidrug- resistant (MDR) bacteria is a major health concern and calls for alternative treatments. Natural-derived products have shown potential in ... -
Metal hydride beds-phase change materials: Dual mode thermal energy storage for medium-high temperature industrial waste heat recovery
(MDPI, 2019)Heat storage systems based on two-tank thermochemical heat storage are gaining momentum for their utilization in solar power plants or industrial waste heat recovery since they can e ciently store heat for future usage. ... -
Predicting amplification of mycn using cpg methylation biomarkers in neuroblastoma
(Future Science Group, 2021)Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial solid tumor in childhood. Amplification of MYCN in neuroblastoma is a predictor of poor prognosis. Materials and methods: DNA methylation data from the TARGET data matrix were ... -
Landsat-8 and sentinel-2 based prediction of forest plantation c stock using spatially varying coefficient Bayesian hierarchical models
(MDPI, 2022)This study sought to establish the performance of Spatially Varying Coefficient (SVC) Bayesian Hierarchical models using Landsat-8, and Sentinel-2 derived auxiliary information in predicting plantation forest carbon (C) ... -
Unique aliphatic amidase from a psychrotrophic and haloalkaliphilic nesterenkonia isolate
(American Society for Microbiology, 2011)Nesterenkonia strain AN1 was isolated from a screening program for nitrile- and amide-hydrolyzing microorganisms in Antarctic desert soil samples. Strain AN1 showed significant 16S rRNA sequence identity to known members ... -
The potential of leucosidea sericea against propionibacterium acnes
(Elsevier, 2014)The present study reports on the potential of Leucosidea sericea addressing acne vulgaris. Four known compounds namely phytol acetate, triacontanol, phytol and alpha kosin and one new compound namely, (E)-3,7,11,15-tetra ... -
Identification and characterization of a heat-inducible Hsp70 gene from Sorghum bicolor which confers tolerance to thermal stress
(Springer, 2015)This study describes the first detailed molecular characterization of the heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) gene from Sorghum bicolor, MN1618 designated as SbHsp70-1. The full-length cDNA of SbHsp70-1 consists of 2524 bp ... -
Documentation of antipsychotic-related adverse drug reactions: An educational intervention
(AOSIS, 2019)Antipsychotic agents are associated with harmful adverse reactions which impact negatively on patient adherence and clinical management. Accurate and complete documentation of signs and symptoms in the clinical notes is ... -
Effects of temperature and storage time on the motility, viability, DNA integrity and apoptosis of processed human spermatozoa
(Wiley, 2019)The aim of this study was to evaluate motility, viability, DNA integrity and apoptosis of spermatozoa when washed semen samples were kept for up to 12 days at 4–6°C and 25°C. In this experimental study, 26 normozoospermic ... -
Progress in remote sensing of grass senescence: A review on the challenges and opportunities
(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2021)Grass senescence estimation in rangeland is particularly important for monitoring the conditions of forage quality and quantity. During senescence, grasses lose their nutrients from the leaves to the root and thereby ... -
Nonlinear galactic dynamos and the magnetic pitch angle
(American Astronomical Society, 2015)Pitch angles p of the large-scale magnetic fields B of spiral galaxies have previously been inferred from observations to be systematically larger in magnitude than predicted by standard mean-field dynamo theory. ... -
Understanding the creek dynamics and environmental characteristics that determine the distribution of mangrove and salt marsh communities at Nahoon Estuary
(Elsevier, 2016)The southern distributional limit for mangroves on the east coast of Africa is thought to be at the planted mangrove forest at Nahoon Estuary (33° S) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. This study investigated the influence of ... -
Design and synthesis of acyldepsipeptide-1 analogues: antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity screening
(Arabian Journal of Chemistry, 2023)Acyldepsipeptides (ADEPs) are receiving more attention as prospective antimicrobial agents due to their unique mode of action and chemical properties. However, their therapeutic potential is limited by their poor pharmacokinetic ...
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