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The potential for plant-origin essential oils to modulate rumen functions for reducing bio-hydrogenation of fatty acids and methane production has been a significant area of research in recent times. This study investigated the effects supplementation of garlic (Allium sativum) essential oils have on in vitro bio-hydrogenation of fatty acids, methanogenesis and fermentation characteristics of total mixed ration in buffalo with the aim of enhancing conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content in animal products as well as reducing environmental pollution. Allium sativum (AS) essential oils were examined at four levels [0 (Control), 33.33 µL (AS-1), 83.33 µL (AS-2) and 166.66 µL (AS-3) per litre of buffered rumen fluid] in a radio-frequency based automatic gas production system (ANKOM-RF). Two bottles per treatment per run over two incubation runs were undertaken to gain representative results. Oats hay and concentrate mixture (1:1) was used as a substrate (500 ± 5 mg) and incubated with 60 mL of buffered rumen fluid in 250 mL ANKOM bottles fitted with automatic an gas recording system at 39 °C for 24 h, following standard in vitro gas production protocols. The results demonstrated a reduction (p < 0.01) in lipid bio-hydrogenation, measured by lowered saturated fatty acids and enhanced unsaturated fatty acids on the supplementation of AS essential oils, irrespective of the dose levels. Moreover, the increased (p < 0.01) production of trans vaccenic (trans C18:1) acid (TVA) following graded dose supplementations of the AS essential oils increased the production of conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) in animal products. Although, reduced methane production (p < 0.01) was evidenced, the decrease in total gas production and feed digestibility (TDDM) demonstrated the strong antimicrobial properties of AS at all dose levels. The study reveals that the Allium sativam (Garlic) essential oils have the potential to be an agent for the reduction of the rumen biohydrogenation of fatty acids and methanogenesis. However, in vivo examination is necessary to validate the findings and confirm its suitability for use as an additive to enhance nutraceutical and organoleptic properties in animal products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The revitalisation of African higher education has been a policy imperative on the agenda of many international and African organisations in the last decade, as well as a focus for research and debate. Revitalisation is a theme which is itself framed by a larger set of current discourses about the powerful role of knowledge in society and in the economy, and about the possibilities and conditions for knowledge-based development. Central to the success of both the revitalisation and knowledge-based development agenda is a systematic and sustained approach to a package of issues relating to access, equity and quality in African higher education. This article examines trends and developments relating to these three issues in higher education in sub-Saharan Africa and reflects on their implications for a successful revitalisation strategy, as well as for knowledge-based development. (Contains 23 notes.)

A familiar discourse about higher education and social change today relates to higher education's socio-economic role within knowledge societies in a globalizing world. This paper addresses how issues of social justice feature in such discourses; whether social justice in higher education has been appropriated into a neo-liberal strategy for growing competitive economies; and whether it is possible to deploy an instrument of new public management for advancing the purposes of social justice in higher education. The paper reflects on some of the normative, policy and strategic ambiguities in the notion of social justice as currently invoked in higher education and social change discourses. (Contains 15 notes.)

The paper is a reflection on the pasts and futures of quality assurance in higher education. It poses questions about the correlation between the geographical and political spread of quality assurance on the one hand and the resulting educational benefits on the other; about the divergences between critics and practitioners on the likely impacts of quality assurance; about centres and peripheries in quality assurance and the power of "good practice" templates from the former over the latter; and about the possibilities for connecting quality assurance to broader social purposes beyond economic and consumerist notions of accountability. It concludes by raising the possibility that current versions of quality assurance may well cede ground to more metricated evaluation instruments as the economic and reputational "wars" in higher education intensify and the added dangers that this would pose to any quality assurance interest in strengthening reflexity in the academic project. (Contains 3 notes.)

In both policy and research contexts, internationalisation in African higher education is welcomed for its potential to strengthen local capacity and cautioned against for its potential to extend long-standing asymmetries of power in international partnerships. This paper examines two sets of developments which seek to re-orient internationalisation to allow for greater local control, local focus and local benefit. The one relates to a more formalised policy, planning and research approach to internationalisation and the other pertains to an intra-regional form of internationalisation under the influence of the Bologna process. The paper explores prospects for internationalisation on the continent to yield more equal North-South partnerships and to support the revitalisation agenda and its development priorities in higher education. It suggests that continuing lack of local capacity, continuing structural inequalities in partnerships, and insufficient interrogation of dominant concepts and models of internationalisation may still pose problems in moving towards an alternative internationalisation politics in African higher education. (Contains 10 notes.)

The analytical literature as well as a plethora of policy documents in higher education demonstrate the extent to which diversity and differentiation have become staples of higher education reform and indicators of progress in many countries with very different histories and development trajectories. Despite its global appeal, many issues of interpretation, implementation and impact remain contested and context-bound. This paper seeks to problematize differentiation through examining some of its assumptions and rationales, which invoke both social justice and efficiency considerations. The paper then draws on issues from the post-1994 restructuring of South African higher education in order to reflect on the conditions under which differentiation could yield optimal levels of social and educational value, especially in contexts of severe socio-economic inequality. The paper argues that the potential value of differentiation as a policy goal or strategy must be seen in tandem with the possible risks that accompany it. It also points to the need to negotiate tensions and conflicts between differentiation and other chosen policy goals.

In July 2005 the Council on Higher Education in South Africa constituted a Task Team to conduct an investigation into the regulation of higher education by government and other agencies during the past decade, and to promote debate on conceptions of institutional autonomy, academic freedom and public accountability in general, and in the specific context of the transformation and development of South African higher education.

The Higher Education Quality Committee of the Council on Higher Education in South Africa recently carried out an evaluation of all MBA programmes offered in the country by South African as well as foreign higher education institutions. The MBA review is located within the context of the implementation of a comprehensive external quality assurance system in South African higher education, which is itself in a phase of radical restructuring. The article sets out the rationale for evaluating the MBA as well as the process and methodology that was followed by the HEQC. It also indicates some of the follow-up steps that are being taken by the HEQC beyond the accreditation process, for example, the preparation of an analytical report on the State of MBA Provision in South Africa. The article concludes with reflections on some of the political, methodological and educational issues relating not only to the MBA but to quality assurance in a developing country context.

Byline: Mala. Singh, Mohmmad. Mansuri, Shahnawaz. Jadeja, Yogesh. Marfatia, Rasheedunnisa. Begum Background: Vitiligo is a multifactorial, polygenic, autoimmune skin disorder caused by selective destruction of melanocytes. Interleukin 1 receptor antagonist [...]

Research question: What is extent of relation between full/new moon and outcome of pregnancy. Objectives: To investigate the extent of truth of the folklore that full or new moon has effect on sex and weight of baby, maturity and gravida of pregnancy and the normal delivery. Study design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Urban teaching institute. Participants: Deliveries conducted in the hospital in five calendar years. Sample size: A cohort of 7961 deliveries which occurred between January 1, 1988 and December 31, 1992 in a teaching hospital at Pune. Study variables: Gravida, sex, gestational age, birth weight, caesarean section, full moon days, new moon days. Statistical analysis: Simple proportions and chi square test. Results: Full moon or new moon has no effect on sex or birth weight of the baby, gravida or maturity of pregnancy or on incidence of caesarean section. Association of moon phases with outcome of pregnancy is a mere folklore.

Interleukin-6 (IL6) is involved in pathogenesis of several autoimmune disorders including vitiligo. Hence, we aimed to investigate the association of IL6 −174 G/C and −572 G/C polymorphisms and its transcript levels with vitiligo; to evaluate the effect of IL-6 on normal human melanocyte (NHM) viability and expression of IL6R, MITF and TYR. IL6 -174 G/C and −572 G/C polymorphisms were genotyped by ARMS-PCR and PCR-RFLP respectively in 343 controls and 322 vitiligo patients. IL6 transcript levels were estimated from PBMCs (96 controls and 77 patients) and skin samples (15 controls and 15 patients) by qPCR. NHM viability was assessed by MTT; IL6R, MITF and TYR transcript and protein levels were monitored by qPCR and ICC respectively. Genetic analyses revealed no association of IL6 −174 G/C polymorphism (p>.05) with vitiligo. Analysis of IL6 −572 G/C revealed reduced risk of vitiligo in individuals with GC/CC genotypes compared to GG genotype (p =.010). IL6 expression was significantly increased (p =.0197) in PBMCs of patients. Further, IL6 expression was significantly higher in non-lesional skin compared to controls (p =.009). In-vitro NHM viability was decreased upon IL-6 exposure (10-50 ng/ml; p<.05), with significantly increased IL6R transcript (p =.042) and protein levels (p =.003) however, MITF transcript (p =.0003) and protein levels (p =.016), and TYR transcript levels (p =.001) were significantly decreased. The results suggest that IL6 −572 G/C polymorphism might be associated with vitiligo susceptibility in Gujarat population. Moreover, increased IL6 expression in vitiligo patients and its effect on NHM suggest a potential role in melanocyte biology. The results suggest that IL6 − 572 G/C polymorphism might be associated with vitiligo susceptibility in Gujarat population. Moreover, increased IL6 expression in vitiligo patients and its effect on NHM suggest a potential role in melanocyte biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]