Liquid Transport in Nylon 6.6 Woven Fabrics Used for Outdoor Performance Clothing

Book Chapter in the book Advances in Modern Woven Fabrics Technology,Edited by Dr. Savvas Vassiliadis.2011

Towards a framework for enhancing user trust in cloud computing

Cloud computing is one of the latest appealing technological trends to emerge in the Information Technology (IT) industry. However, despite the surge in activity and interest, there are significant and persistent concerns about cloud computing, particularly with regard to trusting the platform in terms of confidentiality, integrity and availability of user data stored through these applications. These factors are significant in determining trust in cloud computing and thus provide the foundation for this study. The significant role that trust plays in the use of cloud computing was considered in relation to various trust models, theories and frameworks. Cloud computing is still considered to be a new technology in the business world, therefore minimal work and academic research has been done on enhancing trust in cloud computing. Academic research which focuses on the adoption of cloud computing and, in particular, the building of user trust has been minimal. The available trust models, frameworks and cloud computing adoption strategies that exist mainly focus on cost reduction and the various benefits that are associated with migrating to a cloud computing platform. Available work on cloud computing does not provide clear guidelines for establishing user trust in a cloud computing application. The issue of establishing a reliable trust context for data and security within cloud computing is, up to this point, not well defined. This study investigates the impact that a lack of user trust has on the use of cloud computing. Strategies for enhancing user trust in cloud computing are required to overcome the data security concerns. This study focused on establishing methods to enhance user trust in cloud computing applications through the theoretical contributions of the Proposed Trust Model by Mayer, Davis, and Schoorman (1995) and the Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability (CIA) Triad by Steichen (2010). A questionnaire was used as a means of gathering data on trust-related perceptions of the use of cloud computing. The findings of this questionnaire administered to users and potential users of cloud computing applications are reported in this study. The questionnaire primarily investigates key concerns which result in self-moderation of cloud computing use and factors which would improve trust in cloud computing. Additionally, results relating to user awareness of potential confidentiality, integrity and availability risks are described. An initial cloud computing adoption model was proposed based on a content analysis of existing cloud computing literature. This initial model, empirically tested through the questionnaire, was an important foundation for the establishment of the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and therefore the framework to enhance user trust in cloud computing applications. The framework proposed by this study aims to assist new cloud computing users to determine the appropriateness of a cloud computing service, thereby enhancing their trust in cloud computing applications

The cost of health professionals' brain drain in Kenya

BACKGROUND: Past attempts to estimate the cost of migration were limited to education costs only and did not include the lost returns from investment. The objectives of this study were: (i) to estimate the financial cost of emigration of Kenyan doctors to the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA); (ii) to estimate the financial cost of emigration of nurses to seven OECD countries (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Portugal, UK, USA); and (iii) to describe other losses from brain drain. METHODS: The costs of primary, secondary, medical and nursing schools were estimated in 2005. The cost information used in this study was obtained from one non-profit primary and secondary school and one public university in Kenya. The cost estimates represent unsubsidized cost. The loss incurred by Kenya through emigration was obtained by compounding the cost of educating a medical doctor and a nurse over the period between the average age of emigration (30 years) and the age of retirement (62 years) in recipient countries. RESULTS: The total cost of educating a single medical doctor from primary school to university is US$65,997; and for every doctor who emigrates, a country loses about US$ 517,931 worth of returns from investment. The total cost of educating one nurse from primary school to college of health sciences is US$43,180; and for every nurse that emigrates, a country loses about US$ 338,868 worth of returns from investment. CONCLUSION: Developed countries continue to deprive Kenya of millions of dollars worth of investments embodied in her human resources for health. If the current trend of poaching of scarce human resources for health (and other professionals) from Kenya is not curtailed, the chances of achieving the Millennium Development Goals would remain bleak. Such continued plunder of investments embodied in human resources contributes to further underdevelopment of Kenya and to keeping a majority of her people in the vicious circle of ill-health and poverty. Therefore, both developed and developing countries need to urgently develop and implement strategies for addressing the health human resource crisis

A broken triangle: Students’ perceptions regarding the learning of nursing administration in a low-resource setting

Background. Nursing education institutions (NEIs) must ensure that their graduates are competent in nursing administration. The adoption of nursing administration-related learning outcomes in pre-registration nursing programmes in Africa has created a platform for the teaching and assessment of nursing administration. Challenges aligned with low-resource NEIs, such as rigid content-based vocational programmes, limit the value and utility of the teaching of nursing administration, resulting in graduates who are not able to manage healthcare units effectively. Therefore, this study explored students’ experiences of a nursing administration module with the hope that alignment of the outcomes, content and assessments would be pivotal in the module review to improve nurses’ efficiency in managing health units.Objectives. To describe student nurses’ perceptions regarding the alignment of learning outcomes, content and assessment of a nursing administration module in an NEI in a low-resource setting.Methods. A sequential mixed methods design was executed in three phases. Data were collected through documents, self-administered questionnaires and focus group discussions with students enrolled in a 3-year pre-registration programme at an NEI in a low-resource setting. The gathered documents were enumerated and mapped against the specific elements of a curriculum as described by Harden and Dent. The quantitative data were analysed through descriptive statistics, focusing on frequencies. The data generated from the focus groups were transcribed verbatim, and thematic analysis through an inductive reasoning approach was used.Results. The study revealed a non-alignment among learning outcomes, content and assessment of the administration module, causing students to struggle in meeting the expected learning outcomes of the module. In as much as the curriculum documents specified the learning outcomes, the classroom teaching seemed only to be aligned with the described curriculum. In addition to other challenges, the contextual characteristics of the related clinical environment did not support application of what was learnt in the classroom. The assessment practices mirrored the expectations of the curriculum, but were not aligned with contextual realities.Conclusion. Nursing students struggle to meet expected learning outcomes related to nursing administration due to the non-alignment among learning outcomes, content and assessment of the module. NEIs in low-resource settings must radically transform their pre-registration nursing curricula to incorporate contemporary issues and clinical contextual realities to enhance the utility of nursing administration learning outcomes

Optimisation of the membrane-assisted passive sampler and its comparison with solid phase extraction technique

A novel membrane-assisted passive sampler was further optimised in the laboratory. It was then compared to the solid phase extraction technique in terms of the extraction efficiency, enrichment factor, detection limit and selectivity in wastewater. The passive sampler was exposed to 3 ℓ wastewater samples under laboratory conditions for 3 days. Five hundred millilitres of wastewater was extracted with C18 cartridges. The extraction efficiency of the passive sampler ranged from 4 to 10% while in solid phase extraction it was 40 to 67% for the 3 chlorophenols. In both cases, extraction efficiency was highest for 2,4-dichlorophenol. The low extraction efficiency in the passive sampler supports the idea that it is not an exhaustive extraction technique and does not disturb the chemical equilibrium of the sample. It therefore measures the bioavailable fraction of the compound and can be used for equilibrium sampling and extraction. The obtained enrichment factors from the passive sampler were 89 and 295 for 2-chlorophenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol, respectively. From solid phase extraction, enrichment factors of 102, 113 and 167 were obtained for 2-chlorophenol, 4-chlorophenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol, respectively. The enrichment factor (~2.5) and sampling rates (~28 μℓ∙h-1) were both low for 4-chlorophenol in wastewater from passive sampler extraction. The calculated sampling rates were found to be 2 604 μℓ∙h-1 for 2-chlorophenol, 1 074 μℓ∙h-1 for 4-chlorophenol and 5 089 μℓ∙h-1 for 2,4-dichlorophenol in spiked deionised water. In wastewater, the sampling rates were found to be 1 544 μℓ∙h-1 for 2-chlorophenol, 28 μℓ∙h-1 for 4-chlorophenol and 5 106 μℓ∙h-1 for 2,4-dichlorophenol. The passive sampler was found to be superior in its selectivity towards the target compounds compared to solid phase extraction technique with C18 sorbent. Chromatograms from solid phase extraction of wastewater contained high peaks of unidentified, potentially interfering compounds, especially in the early part of the chromatogram. In contrast, chromatograms from the passive sampler extraction were very clean. The detection limits of the passive sampler were comparable with that of solid phase extraction and were around 1.5 μg∙ℓ-1 except for 4-chlorophenol that was high in wastewater (~100 μg∙ℓ-1) Keywords: passive sampler, solid phase extraction, water monitoring, chlorophenols, selectivit

Sex Specific Genetic and Environmental Trends in Birth Weight of Indigenous Nguni Conservation Cattle Herd of Zimbabwe

Best linear unbiased predictors (BLUP) of breeding values for additive direct and additive maternal genetic effects were estimated from pedigree birth weight (BWT) records of 4272 indigenous Nguni cattle of Zimbabwe, born between 1988 and 1997.  Data was partitioned according to sex and breeding values for direct additive and maternal additive and were estimated using an univariate animal models. Estimates of sex specific genetic trends for direct and maternal effects were obtained by averaging corresponding breeding values for partitioned data of animals born in a given year, and regressing these averages on year of birth. The regression of average direct breeding values on year for males and females were –0.0236 and –0.1263 kg/yr, respectively, and the regression of average maternal breeding values on year for birth were -0.0355 and –0.0173 kg/yr for males and females respectively. A positive environmental trend was observed for both sexes but was non-significant. Estimation of sex specific variance components had no significant influence on the direction and magnitude of genetic trends indicating of homogeneity of variance by sex for birth weight in this population. Keywords: Breeding values, maternal genetic effects, birth weight, Nguni cattle, Zimbabw

In Situ Generation of Fouling Resistant Ag/Pd Modified PES Membranes for Treatment of Pharmaceutical Wastewater

In this study, Ag and Pd bimetallic nanoparticles were generated in situ in polyethersulfone (PES) dope solutions, and membranes were fabricated through a phase inversion method. The membranes were characterized for various physical and chemical properties using techniques such as FTIR, SEM, AFM, TEM, EDS, and contact angle measurements. The membranes were then evaluated for their efficiency in rejecting EOCs and resistance to protein fouling. TEM micrographs showed uniform distribution of Ag/Pd nanoparticles within the PES matrix, while SEM images showed uniform, fingerlike structures that were not affected by the presence of embedded nanoparticles. The presence of Ag/Pd nanoparticles resulted in rougher membranes. There was an increase in membrane hydrophilicity with increasing nanoparticles loading, which resulted in improved pure water permeability (37–135 Lm2h−1bar−1). The membranes exhibited poor salt rejection (<15%), making them less susceptible to flux decline due to concentration polarization. With a mean pore radius of 2.39–4.70 nm, the membranes effectively removed carbamazepine, caffeine, sulfamethoxazole, ibuprofen, and naproxen (up to 40%), with size exclusion being the major removal mechanism. Modifying the membranes with Ag/Pd nanoparticles improved their antifouling properties, making them a promising innovation for the treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater

Tutorials to support learning: Experiences of nursing students in a competency-based nursing programme

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