The impact of implementing a transport management system on a fertiliser supply chain: a case study

Abstract: Supply Chain Management (SCM) and logistics activities are key success factors in organisations and create value throughout the entire supply chain. In the current economic environment, organisations utilise information systems to optimise operations by reducing costs and improving productivity. The purpose of this article is to investigate the impact of the implementation of a Transport Management System (TMS) on the supply chain operations of a fertiliser organisation in South Africa. Primary data, obtained from questionnaires, as well as secondary data from the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system (before TMS implementation) and TMS database (after implementation) were analysed. The successful development and implementation of a TMS demonstrated a positive impact on the supply chain operations, with specific impact on volumes and number of loads handled, average tons per truck, average vehicle time at plant, production accuracy, reduced total transport costs and improved inventory accuracy

Professional quality of life of nurses in critical care units : influence of demographic characteristics

BACKGROUND. Professional quality of life, measured as compassion satisfaction, is a prerequisite for nurses working in intensive care units where patients rely on their care. Nurses who experience compassion satisfaction, or good professional quality of life, engage enthusiastically with all work activities and render quality patient care. In contrast, compassion fatigue eventually leads to disengagement from work activities and unsatisfactory patient outcomes. In this study, we described the demographic factors influencing professional quality of life of intensive care nurses working in public hospitals in Gauteng, South Africa (SA), during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE. To describe the demographic factors associated with professional quality of life of critical care nurses working in Gauteng, SA. METHODS. In this cross-sectional study, we used total population sampling and invited all nurses who had worked for at least 1 year in one of the critical care units of three selected public hospitals in Gauteng to participate. One-hundred and fifty-four nurses responded and completed the ProQol-5 tool during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS. The nurses’ average age was 45 years, and 59.1% (n=91) had an additional qualification in critical care nursing. Most of the nurses had a diploma (51.3%; n=79), with a mean work experience of 12.56 years. The main demographic variables that influenced professional quality of life were years of work experience (p=0.047), nurses’ education with specific reference to a bachelor’s degree (p=0.006) and nurse-patient ratio (p <0.001). CONCLUSION: Nurses working in critical care units in public hospitals in Gauteng experienced low to moderate compassion satisfaction, moderate to high burnout and secondary traumatic stress, suggesting compassion fatigue. The high workload, which may have been associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, influenced nurses' professional quality of life.http://www.sajcc.org.zadm2022Nursing Scienc

New possibilities for research on reef fish across the continental shelf of South Africa

[From introduction] Subtidal research presents numerous challenges that restrict the ability to answer fundamental ecological questions related to reef systems. These challenges are closely associated with traditional monitoring methods and include depth restrictions (e.g. safe diving depths for underwater visual census), habitat destruction (e.g. trawling), mortality of target species (e.g. controlled angling and fish traps), and high operating costs (e.g. remotely operated vehicles and large research vessels. Whereas many of these challenges do not apply or are avoidable in the shallow subtidal environment, the difficulties grow as one attempts to sample deeper benthic habitats. This situation has resulted in a paucity of knowledge on the structure and ecology of deep water reef habitats around the coast of South Africa and in most marine areas around the world. Furthermore, the inability to effectively survey deep water benthic environments has limited the capacity of researchers to investigate connectivity between shallow and deep water habitats in a standardised and comparable fashio

Physical and biological processes at the Subtropical Convergence in the South-west Indian Ocean

A detailed hydrographic and biological survey was conducted in the region of the Subtropical Convergence in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean in April 2007. Hydrographic data revealed that the subsurface expression of the Subtropical Convergence (at 200 m), marked by the 10°C isotherm, appeared to meander considerably between 41°S and 42°15’S. Total surface chlorophyll- a concentration was low and ranged from 0.03 to 0.42 µg l–1 and was always dominated by the pico- ( 0.05). The zooplankton community was dominated, numerically and by biomass, by mesozooplankton comprising mainly copepods of the genera, Oithona,Paraeuchaeta, Pleuromamma, Calanus and Clausocalanus. An exception was recorded at those stations in the region of the front where the tunicate, Salpa thompsoni, dominated the total zooplankton biomass

Physical and biological processes at the Subtropical Convergence in the South-west Indian Ocean

A detailed hydrographic and biological survey was conducted in the region of the Subtropical Convergence in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean in April 2007. Hydrographic data revealed that the subsurface expression of the Subtropical Convergence (at 200 m), marked by the 10°C isotherm, appeared to meander considerably between 41°S and 42°15'S. Total surface chlorophyll-a concentration was low and ranged from 0.03 to 0.42 μg l-1 and was always dominated by the pico- ( 0.05). The Zooplankton community was dominated, numerically and by biomass, by mesozooplankton comprising mainly copepods of the genera, Oithona, Paraeuchaeta, Pleuromamma, Calanus and Clausocalanus. An exception was recorded at those stations in the region of the front where the tunicate, Salpa thompsoni, dominated the total Zooplankton biomass

Temperature and frequency dependent electrical characterization of HfO2/InxGa1-xAs interfaces using capacitance-voltage and conductance methods

Electrical properties of metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors using atomic layer deposited HfO2 on n-type GaAs or InxGa1-xAs (x=0.53, 0.30, 0.15) epitaxial layers were investigated. Capacitance-voltage (CV) measurements indicated large temperature and frequency dispersion at positive gate bias in devices using n-type GaAs and low In content (x=0.30, 0.15) InxGa1-xAs layers, which is significantly reduced for devices using In0.53Ga0.47As. For In0.53Ga0.47As devices, the CV response at negative gate bias is most likely characteristic of an interface state response and may not be indicative of true inversion. The conductance technique on Pd/HfO2/In0.53Ga0.47As/InP shows reductions in interface state densities by In0.53Ga0.47As surface passivation and forming gas annealing (325 degrees C). (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. (DOI: 10.1063/1.3089688

Schistosomiasis and Urinary Bladder Cancer in North Western Tanzania: A Retrospective Review of 185 Patients.

Worldwide, cancers of the urinary bladder are well known to be associated with environmental chemical carcinogens such as smoking and occupational exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These cancers are typically transitional cell carcinoma (urothelial carcinoma). In areas where schistosomiasis is endemic there is a high incidence of squamous cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder. Schistosomiasis causes chronic granulomatous cystitis leading to squamous metaplasia of transitional epithelium, and subsequently development of squamous cell carcinoma. The western part of Tanzania on the shores of Lake Victoria is such an endemic area. This study was done to document the burden of urinary bladder cancer associated with schistosomiasis in this region. This was a descriptive retrospective study of histologically confirmed cases of urinary bladder cancer seen at the Department of Pathology Bugando Medical Centre (BMC) over a period of 10 years. Data were retrieved from the records of the Departments of Pathology, Medical Records and Surgery. Data were analyzed by the use of contingency tables. A total of 185 patients were diagnosed with cancer of the urinary bladder during the study period, where as 90 (48.6%) were males and 95 (51.4) were females. The mean age at diagnosis was 54.3 years. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most frequent histological type (55.1%), followed by conventional transitional cell carcinoma (40.5%). Eighty three of all cancer cases (44.9%) were found to have schistosomal eggs. Schistosomiasis was commonly associated with squamous cancers compared to non squamous cancers. Most of the cancers associated with schistosomiasis had invaded the muscularis propria of the urinary bladder at the time of diagnosis (p<0.001) and such cancers were frequent below 50 years of age with a significant statistical difference (p<0.001). Poorly differentiated tumors were more frequent in females than males with a significant statistical difference (p=0.006). The majority of urinary bladder cancers seen in the Lake Region were squamous cell carcinoma associated with schistosomiasis. These cancers showed an aggressive behavior and were commonly seen in the younger age groups. Effective control of schistosomiasis in this region should significantly reduce the burden of urinary bladder cancer

New possibilities for research on reef fish across the continental shelf of South Africa

[From introduction] Subtidal research presents numerous challenges that restrict the ability to answer fundamental ecological questions related to reef systems. These challenges are closely associated with traditional monitoring methods and include depth restrictions (e.g. safe diving depths for underwater visual census), habitat destruction (e.g. trawling), mortality of target species (e.g. controlled angling and fish traps), and high operating costs (e.g. remotely operated vehicles and large research vessels. Whereas many of these challenges do not apply or are avoidable in the shallow subtidal environment, the difficulties grow as one attempts to sample deeper benthic habitats. This situation has resulted in a paucity of knowledge on the structure and ecology of deep water reef habitats around the coast of South Africa and in most marine areas around the world. Furthermore, the inability to effectively survey deep water benthic environments has limited the capacity of researchers to investigate connectivity between shallow and deep water habitats in a standardised and comparable fashion

Heterogeneous Integration and Fabrication of III-V MOS Devices in a 200mm Processing Environment

We report on the fabrication of MOS capacitors on 200 mm virtual GaAs substrates using a Si CMOS processing environment. The fabricated capacitors were comparable to those processed on bulk GaAs material. Topside contact was made to the GaAs using a novel CMOS compatible self-aligned NiGe contact scheme resulting in a measured contact resistance of 0.26 [ohm sign].cm. Cross-contamination from various III-V substrates was investigated and it was found that by limiting the thermal budget to <= 300C cross-contamination from the outgassing of In, Ga and As could be eliminated. For wet processing the judicious choice of recipe and processing conditions resulted in no significant cross-contamination being detected as determined by TXRF monitoring. This achievement enables III-V device production using state-of-the-art Si processing equipment.Peer reviewe