Customised patient implants : future lifeline of the medical industry

Published ArticleLong-term growth in the additive fabrication industry will come from designs that are difficult, time-consuming, costly, or impossible to produce using standard techniques. Growth will occur with advances in the current additive processes, coupled with breakthroughs in new materials, which are expected to emerge over the next five to 10 years. These advanced materials will better satisfy the design requirements of many new products. The paper considers currently available technologies and discusses recent advancements in direct metal freeform fabrication and its potential of revolutionising the medical industry

Immune interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and Mycobacterium tuberculosis

SARS-CoV-2 and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) are major infectious causes of death, with meta-analyses and population-based studies finding increased mortality in co-infected patients simultaneously diagnosed with COVID-19 and tuberculosis (TB). There is a need to understand the immune interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and Mtb which impacts poor outcomes for those co-infected. We performed a PubMed and preprint search using keywords [SARS-CoV-2] AND [tuberculosis] AND [Immune response], including publications after January 2020, excluding reviews or opinions. Abstracts were evaluated by authors for inclusion of data specifically investigating the innate and/or acquired immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 and Mtb in humans and animal models, immunopathological responses in co-infection and both trials and investigations of potential protection against SARS-CoV-2 by Bacille Calmette Guérin (BCG). Of the 248 articles identified, 39 were included. Incidence of co-infection is discussed, considering in areas with a high burden of TB, where reported co-infection is likely underestimated. We evaluated evidence of the clinical association between COVID-19 and TB, discuss differences and similarities in immune responses in humans and in murine studies, and the implications of co-infection. SARS-CoV-2 and Mtb have both been shown to modulate immune responses, particularly of monocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, and T cells. Co-infection may result in impaired immunity to SARS-CoV-2, with an exacerbated inflammatory response, while T cell responses to Mtb may be modulated by SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, there has been no proven potential COVID-19 clinical benefit of BCG despite numerous large-scale clinical trials

High fidelity estimates of paratransit energy consumption from per-second GPS tracking data

Paratransit, in particular the minibus taxi, is the mainstay of public transport in sub-Saharan Africa. These vehicles are often second-hand, ageing, fuel inefficient, and expensive to operate - issues that electrification can ameliorate. However, modeling and planning large-scale transitions to electric paratransit require reliable estimates of vehicle energy consumption. This paper provides such estimates by applying a vehicle kinetic model to per-second GPS data gathered on minibus taxis. Data include 62 trips across three routes with different driving conditions near Stellenbosch, South Africa. We find a range of energy consumption from 0.29 to 0.51 kWh/km (mean = 0.39 kWh/km). Past estimates in literature relied on per-minute GPS data, which we show leads to inaccurate energy consumption estimates. We recommend new kWh/km values for modeling vehicle operations and grid impact, and discuss how future work can utilize our analysis to advance the transition to electric paratransit sub-Saharan Africa

Developing a Patient-Specific Maxillary Implant Using Additive Manufacturing and Design

Published Conference ProceedingsMaxillectomy is the surgical removal or resection of the maxilla or upper jaw bone. A total or partial maxillectomy can be performed depending on how far the tumour has spread. This paper will discuss a patient diagnosed with an aggressive tumour in half of the top jaw who had to undergo an operation to remove the hemi-maxilla and orbital floor. Due to the extent and complexity of the defect, it was decided to manufacture an anatomical model of the hard tissues for planning a possible laser-sintered titanium implant using Additive Manufacturing (AM). The CRPM had only two weeks to design and manufacture the titanium implant, due to the severity of the tumour. The anatomical model was sent to the surgeon to cut the nylon model where the bone resection was planned. Furthermore, the prosthodontist made a wax model of the planned titanium frame that was reverse- engineered and used as reference geometry in the design software.Materialise® design suite was used to design the patient-specific maxilla and cutting jig. The EOS M280 Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) system was instrumental in achieving the direct manufacturing of the bio-compatible titanium implant. The EOS P385 system was used to manufacture the pre-operation planning model as well as the cutting jig.The process chain followed to complete this case study will be discussed showing how this intervention improved the quality of life of a SA patient. Furthermore, the proposed paper and presentation will discuss the post-operation review of the patient showing the impact AM had in accelerating patient-specific implant manufacturing. The authors seek to claim a progressed level of maturity in the proposed manufacturing value chain. The claim is based on the successful completion of the analysis and synthesis of the problem , the validated proof-of-concept of the manufacturing process and the in-vivo implementation of the final product

Culinary mapping and tourism development in South Africa's Karoo region

Successful development of cuisine as a niche tourism product has been portrayed in various countries in the world. The paper argues that the Karoo provides evidence of a substantial culinary resource base and an established local food identity. This, in turn, can be promoted as a tourism destination by means of culinary mapping. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools are used, supported by a culinary database with information compiled from various sources in literature, the internet, lifestyle magazines, recipe books, census data and tourism structures. A proposed culinary route/itinerary synthesizes the data, identifying authentic food experiences as a niche tourism product, based on a regional cuisine.http//: www.ajhtl.comam2017Consumer ScienceGeography, Geoinformatics and Meteorolog

Using sparse categorical principal components to estimate asset indices: new methods with an application to rural southeast asia

PRIFPRI3; DCA; ISI; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural EconomiesDSG

Multidimensional Poverty and Child Survival in India

Background: Though the concept of multidimensional poverty has been acknowledged cutting across the disciplines (among economists, public health professionals, development thinkers, social scientists, policy makers and international organizations) and included in the development agenda, its measurement and application are still limited. Objectives and Methodology: Using unit data from the National Family and Health Survey 3, India, this paper measures poverty in multidimensional space and examine the linkages of multidimensional poverty with child survival. The multidimensional poverty is measured in the dimension of knowledge, health and wealth and the child survival is measured with respect to infant mortality and under-five mortality. Descriptive statistics, principal component analyses and the life table methods are used in the analyses. Results: The estimates of multidimensional poverty are robust and the inter-state differentials are large. While infant mortality rate and under-five mortality rate are disproportionately higher among the abject poor compared to the nonpoor, there are no significant differences in child survival among educationally, economically and health poor at the national level. State pattern in child survival among the education, economical and health poor are mixed. Conclusion: Use of multidimensional poverty measures help to identify abject poor who are unlikely to come out of poverty trap. The child survival is significantly lower among abject poor compared to moderate poor and non-poor. We urge t

Assessing household wealth in health studies in developing countries: a comparison of participatory wealth ranking and survey techniques from rural South Africa

BACKGROUND: Accurate tools for assessing household wealth are essential for many health studies in developing countries. Household survey and participatory wealth ranking (PWR) are two approaches to generate data for this purpose. METHODS: A household survey and PWR were conducted among eight villages in rural South Africa. We developed three indicators of household wealth using the data. One indicator used PWR data only, one used principal components analysis to combine data from the survey, while the final indicator used survey data combined in a manner informed by the PWR. We assessed internal consistency of the indices and assessed their level of agreement in ranking household wealth. RESULTS: Food security, asset ownership, housing quality and employment were important indicators of household wealth. PWR, consisting of three independent rankings of 9671 households, showed a high level of internal consistency (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.81, 95% CI 0.79-0.82). Data on 1429 households were available from all three techniques. There was moderate agreement in ranking households into wealth tertiles between the two indicators based on survey data (spearman rho = 0.69, kappa = 0.43), but only limited agreement between these techniques and the PWR data (spearman rho = 0.38 and 0.31, kappa = 0.20 and 0.17). CONCLUSION: Both PWR and household survey can provide a rapid assessment of household wealth. Each technique had strengths and weaknesses. Reasons for differences might include data inaccuracies or limitations in the methods by which information was weighted. Alternatively, the techniques may measure different things. More research is needed to increase the validity of measures of socioeconomic position used in health studies in developing countries