State of traffic signals and intelligent transport systems in South African cities

The presentation will cover the traffic signal system in eThekwini, including the number of signals, design, controller types and the In-station. It will also show the design of the signals for the Go!Durban IPTN system. The ITS part of the presentation will cover the Integrated Fare Management System, Public Transport Management Systems (Lite) and the Traffic Management Centre for Go!Durban. Lastly, the current state of the Freeway Management System will be discussed.Papers presented at the 40th International Southern African Transport Conference on 04 -08 July 202

The future of automated fare collection systems : a perspective from the eThekwini municipality

Papers presented virtually at the 41st International Southern African Transport Conference on 10-13 July 2023.In 2009, the National Department of Transport (NDoT) legislated, as per the National Land Transport Act (NLTA), 2009 (Act No.5 of 2009), that fare payments must be made through any bank-issued fare payment system and be interoperable through all participating banks. Commuters with participating bank accounts should be able to use bank cards and commuters without bank accounts should be able to use prepaid cards. NDoT defined an Automated Fare Collection (AFC) data structure that must be loaded onto all the Smart Cards and stipulated that the Europay, Mastercard, Visa (EMV) card is the standard of card technology that must be used to enable the hosting of the NDoT data structure. The eThekwini Municipality (herein after referred to as “the City”) went out to tender in 2010 for an AFC system that was compliant with the requirements of the Act and the system was successfully implemented in 2012 and is still in use today. The system did not meet all the objectives that it was originally intended to. There were aspects of the system that worked well but there were also several challenges that were experienced. One of the major issues with the system was related to the inoperability of the banks with the EMV/NDoT pre-paid cards. This issue only surfaced once the City had already implemented the first compliant system and was in the process of implementing a new system. The technical constraints were identified with NDoT and the participating banks at the time, but there was a lack of capacity by the banks to co-operate to resolve the issue. In addition the system was costly and complex to manage requiring cumbersome reconciliation processes and technical constraints imposed by the restriction to utilise the EMV/NDoT compliant card. The lessons learned from the AFC implementations conducted by the City to-date has informed the City’s procurement approach for future AFC systems. Research has been conducted through various literature and discussion with colleagues in the sector to establish the latest trends globally for AFC systems, exploring changes that have been made to the technology and implementation approach that is being adopted to cater for the future needs of Public Transport in the City. The findings show that the future of AFC’s should first and foremost take into consideration the needs of the commuters by providing convenience, ease of use and cater for seamless travel between multiple modes of ——————————————————————————————— 41st Southern African Transport Conference ISBN: 978-0-6397-8659-9 Produced by: www.betaproducts.co.za ——————————————————————————————— 10-13 July 2023 Pretoria, South Africa Conference Proceedings ——————————————————————————————— 41st Southern African Transport Conference ISBN: 978-0-6397-8659-9 Produced by: www.betaproducts.co.za ——————————————————————————————— 10-13 July 2023 Pretoria, South Africa Conference Proceedings transport. Consideration also needs to be given to the overall operating costs for the City and sustainability in terms of the ratio of AFC system implementation costs to fare revenue. The NDoT is in the process of legislating the South African National Roads Agency’s (SANRAL) Account Based Ticketing (ABT) system as the AFC solution to be adopted for all Public Transport in the South Africa (herein after referred to as “the country”). The City has engaged with other Cities regarding the benefits, pitfalls and views on the recommended approach with regards to AFC systems for use in Public Transport across the Country. Considering global trends, current limitations, and unique challenges within the context of the country, the collective view is that AFC systems should not be restricted to a “one-size-fits-all” approach and the objectives of customer centricity and minimising operating costs are paramount

Polymer-based protein delivery systems for loco-regional administration

With the advent of recombinant technology, a wide variety of biocompatible therapeutic proteins can be produced with relative ease. These proteins are formulated and subsequently administered in patients to treat various of diseases in a more effective and targeted manner. At the level of formulation development, protein molecules can be physically and/or chemically-conjugated to a wide array of naturally-occurring, semi-synthetic and synthetic biomaterials to form different types of protein delivery systems. Depending on their architecture and the extent of protein-scaffold interactions, these delivery systems can modify the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of the proteins. The versatility of polymer-based protein delivery systems such as micro/nanoparticles, hydrogels, porous scaffolds and fibrous scaffolds means it is possible to alter the spatial distribution of the protein load within the system as well as the protein release kinetics. These can then influence the ability of the protein molecules to exert their effects in their immediate microenvironments, be it to kill cancer cells or to recruit stem/progenitor cells. In this Chapter we discuss the production of protein therapeutics and the application of polymer-based biodegradable delivery systems for these proteins which include nanoparticles and scaffolds. We also include discussion of ‘green synthesis’ methods for production of these delivery systems

Using data smartly ? moving towards a smart city

The eThekwini Transport Authority (ETA) is currently developing and pursuing smart city strategies and interventions to make eThekwini more caring and liveable. A key component of smart cities is to use data smartly. This includes measuring, monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of current projects and programmes. To this end a GIS based tool comprising databases from various sectors has been developed to allow the ETA to research and evaluate the effectiveness of past and current management, maintenance and sector specific strategies.Paper presented at the 35th Annual Southern African Transport Conference 4-7 July 2016 "Transport ? a catalyst for socio-economic growth and development opportunities to improve quality of life", CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa.The Minister of Transport, South AfricaTransportation Research Board of the US

Integration of host strain bioengineering and bioprocess development using ultra-scale down studies to select the optimum combination: An antibody fragment primary recovery case study.

An ultra scale-down primary recovery sequence was established for a platform E. coli Fab production process. It was used to evaluate the process robustness of various bioengineered strains. Centrifugal discharge in the initial dewatering stage was determined to be the major cause of cell breakage. The ability of cells to resist breakage was dependant on a combination of factors including host strain, vector, and fermentation strategy. Periplasmic extraction studies were conducted in shake flasks and it was demonstrated that key performance parameters such as Fab titre and nucleic acid concentrations were mimicked. The shake flask system also captured particle aggregation effects seen in a large scale stirred vessel, reproducing the fine particle size distribution that impacts the final centrifugal clarification stage. The use of scale-down primary recovery process sequences can be used to screen a larger number of engineered strains. This can lead to closer integration with and better feedback between strain development, fermentation development and primary recovery studies. Biotechnol. Bioeng. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

A cost effective public transport management system for go!durban

The eThekwini Transport Authority (ETA) is implementing an Integrated Public Transport Network (Go!Durban) which is essentially a traditional BRT system. Go!Durban requires a Public Transport Management System (PTMS) in order to monitor the performance and compliance of the BRT operator and provide real time information on the BRT system. In 2014, the ETA advertised a tender for an Advanced PTMS. The lowest tender to specification was priced at around R350 million. This was deemed too expensive, and the tender was not awarded. Subsequent to this, in 2018 the ETA commenced discussions with Netstar, the current eThekwini fleet management contractor, to extend their fleet management system to include compliance monitoring, thus meeting the core functionality of a PTMS. The Go!Durban team developed a minimum User Requirements Specification (URS), based on the original ETA APTMS specification, which Netstar then used to map their proposal and cost estimate to develop the system. The system is being developed in two phases with a Proof of Concept or Pilot phase, building on their existing system functionality, followed by a Phase 2 to address the gaps in the APTMS minimum URS – essentially functionality that required further development. Based on the Netstar fleet management system, the ETA has thus developed a cost-effective PTMS to support the operations of the Go! Durban Integrated Public Transport Network (IPTN). This PTMS Lite system provides the essential functionality of the traditional PTMS at a fraction of the cost. The ETA PTM Lite System is a tool to manage bus movements against a static timetable on the Go!Durban corridors and provide appropriate reporting and bus communication for the Transport Operator. In order to drive down operational costs (and therefore subsidies) ITS practitioners have a significant role to play in looking for cost effective solutions. The Netstar system presented here offers significant cost savings for capital and operating budgets. It offers an application centric solution for passenger information and provides all the essential functionality of a traditional APTMS at around a tenth of the cost. This should assist planners in their quest for a more financially sustainable public transport system.Papers presented virtually at the 39th International Southern African Transport Conference on 05 -07 July 202

Experimental library screening demonstrates the successful application of computational protein design to large structural ensembles

The stability, activity, and solubility of a protein sequence are determined by a delicate balance of molecular interactions in a variety of conformational states. Even so, most computational protein design methods model sequences in the context of a single native conformation. Simulations that model the native state as an ensemble have been mostly neglected due to the lack of sufficiently powerful optimization algorithms for multistate design. Here, we have applied our multistate design algorithm to study the potential utility of various forms of input structural data for design. To facilitate a more thorough analysis, we developed new methods for the design and high-throughput stability determination of combinatorial mutation libraries based on protein design calculations. The application of these methods to the core design of a small model system produced many variants with improved thermodynamic stability and showed that multistate design methods can be readily applied to large structural ensembles. We found that exhaustive screening of our designed libraries helped to clarify several sources of simulation error that would have otherwise been difficult to ascertain. Interestingly, the lack of correlation between our simulated and experimentally measured stability values shows clearly that a design procedure need not reproduce experimental data exactly to achieve success. This surprising result suggests potentially fruitful directions for the improvement of computational protein design technology

Favourable outcomes for the first 10 years of kidney and pancreas transplantation at Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa

Background. It is important for centres participating in transplantation in South Africa (SA) to audit their outcomes. Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre (WDGMC), Johannesburg, SA, opened a transplant unit in 2004. The first 10 years of kidney and pancreas transplantation were reviewed to determine outcomes in respect of recipient and graft survival.Methods. A retrospective review was conducted of all kidney-alone and simultaneous kidney-pancreas (SKP) transplants performed at WDGMC from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2013, with follow-up to 31 December 2014 to ensure at least 1 year of survival data. Information was accessed using the transplant registers and clinical records in the transplant clinic at WDGMC. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate 1-, 5- and 10-year recipient and graft survival rates for primary (first graft) kidney-alone and SKP transplants.Results. The overall 10-year recipient and graft survival rates were 80.4% and 66.8%, respectively, for kidney-alone transplantation. In the kidney-alone group, children tended towards better recipient and graft survival compared with adults, but this was not statistically significant. In adults, recipient survival was significantly better for living than deceased donor type. Recipient and graft survival were significantly lower in black Africans than in the white (largest proportion in the sample) reference group. For SKP transplants, the 10-year recipient survival rate was 84.7%, while kidney and pancreas graft survival rates were 73.1% and 43.2%, respectively.Conclusion. Outcomes of the first 10 years of kidney and pancreas transplantation at WDGMC compare favourably with local and international survival data

Neonatal listeriosis during a countrywide epidemic in South Africa: A tertiary hospital’s experience

Background. A countrywide epidemic of Listeria monocytogenes (LM) in South Africa began in the first quarter of 2017, rapidly becoming the world’s largest LM outbreak to date.Methods. We describe the clinical course of neonates with culture-confirmed LM infection admitted to a tertiary neonatal unit at Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town (1 January 2017 - 31 January 2018). Current epidemic LM cases were compared with a historical cohort of sporadic neonatal LM cases at our institution (2006 - 2016). The global literature on epidemic neonatal LM outbreaks (1 January 1978 - 31 December 2017) was reviewed.Results. Twelve neonates (median gestational age 35 weeks, median birth weight 2 020 g) were treated for confirmed LM bacteraemia in 2017/18, presenting at a median age of 0.5 days. In 5 cases, neurolisteriosis was suspected. Three neonates died (25.0%) v. 8/13 neonatal deaths (61.6%) in the sporadic listeriosis cohort (2006 - 2016) (p=0.075). The institution’s neonatal LM infection incidence increased significantly in 2017 from a historical rate of 0.17/1 000 live births to 1.4/1 000 (p<0.001). During the current LM epidemic, the crude neonatal fatality rate exceeded the average calculated global epidemic neonatal LM mortality (3/12 (25.0%) v. 50/290 (17.2%); p=0.448). Possible factors contributing to the high mortality rate in this epidemic LM neonatal cohort may include more virulent disease associated with sequence type 6 and the predominance of early-onset disease.Conclusions. Epidemic neonatal listeriosis at Tygerberg Hospital was associated with a predominance of bacteraemic, early-onset disease. Listeriosis-associated mortality rates were higher than previously published, but lower than the rate in a historical institutional cohort.