Parent's use of strategies to monitor children's activities online

Thesis (M.Com. (Information Systems))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic and Business Sciences, 2017Although studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of different types of filtering software, limited knowledge is available on parents’ use of strategies to monitor their children’s activities online. Thus, identifying understanding parents’ use of strategies to monitor children’s activities online and the extent in which parents use content filtering software will contribute to the body of knowledge. The purpose of this study is to understand parent’s use of strategies to monitor children’s activities online and the extent in which they use content filtering software in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The study adopted a Social Cognitive Theory to develop a conceptual framework and identify existing theoretical concepts. The conceptual framework adapted Bandura’s (2001) framework to inform data analysis. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and qualitative, thematic content analysis was used for data analyses. The results of the study indicated that parents do use various strategies to monitor children’s activities online and further apply knowledge, experience, and social support as a rationale for using those strategies. The study further revealed that there is a gap between parents, technology industry and government regarding the use of content filtering software. Thus, the study recommends parents, industry and government work together to protecting children online through various strategies and address the concerns regarding the use of content filtering software. Parents’ need to understand the importance of content filtering software and discuss this with their children to be able to protect them online without restricting access to relevant information. Keywords: Harmful content, blocking, strategies, filtering, online content, software, use, non-use, strategiesGR201

The development of aptamer-based probes for the detection of TB antigens ESAT-6.CFP-10 potential TB diagnostic tools

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.Lack of point-of-care (PoC) diagnostic tools for TB hinders control of the disease, particularly in resource-limited, high HIV and TB prevalence countries. Therefore, there is a need for simple, rapid, accurate, and affordable PoC diagnostics to detect active TB early enough for opportune intervention. To develop TB detection probes that will constitute such diagnostics, our research group recently isolated DNA aptamers that bind to a putative marker for active TB; the ESAT-6.CFP-10 heterodimer. Aptamers are highly specific artificial mimics of antibodies that have shown great prospects in diagnostic applications. The aim of this study was to characterise the anti-ESAT-6.CFP-10 aptamers, and to optimise them into more specific and affordable detection probes for the development of potential PoC TB diagnostic tools

Design of a carbon fibre passenger car rim

The wheel is an important component for all land transport vehicles and the following research report investigates the feasibility of a passenger car wheel manufactured from carbon fibre. Previous research, evaluated a strain gauged BlackStone Tek motorcycle Ducati rim loaded to 700 Nm on a dynamic cornering test machine. In the current study, these experimental results were used to validate an FEA model of the BlackStone Tek Ducati rim. The validated FEA was used to investigate the feasibility of using carbon fibre to manufacture a passenger car rim. The FEA model did not include the aluminium hub, and the analysis was therefore considered valid for the spokes and rim only. The FEA strains of the Ducati rim spokes were within an acceptable 25% correlation range with the experimental results. The FEA strains were generally higher than the experimental results. Having validated the FEA model, a carbon fibre passenger car rim, was analysed at a bending moment of 2000 Nm. The inverse of the factor of safety from the spoke to the rim section was below 1. This indicates that the newly designed rim should pass the dynamic cornering test, a vital standard proving that the rim is structurally durable to function on a small to medium sized passenger car. In comparison to aluminium rims of the equivalent size, a weight saving of 62.2% can be expected from a carbon fibre passenger car rim

Good governance in the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD): a public administration perspective

The object of this study is good governance, the context for its consideration is the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), and the disciplinary perspective from which it is considered is Public Administration. Good governance is a conceptual problematique. It is multi-dimensional, value-laden, trans-contextual and nebulous. The question of what good governance means is a subject of contestation. Good governance is used in NEPAD as a principle without the attempt to clarify its meaning at the conceptual level. Much of the existing body of scholarship on NEPAD also considers good governance largely as a principle rather than a concept. This erroneously presupposes unanimity on its meaning. The African leadership is divided on what good governance means in the context of NEPAD. In this regard scholarship largely fails to provide an intellectual solution. The extent of complexity of the concept in the study lies in the fact that the context of its consideration [NEPAD] is itself a subject of contestation whereas the disciplinary perspective [Public Administration] from which it is considered has not yet reached a consensus with itself about its theoretical base. Against this background the question that the study asks is, what does the concept good governance in the context of NEPAD mean for Public Administration? The study examines this question to make a contribution towards a better insight into, and broadening of, the body of scientific knowledge by engaging in conceptual, theoretical and philosophical studies to understand good governance in the context of NEPAD and determine its meaning for Public Administration. The study finds that the paradigm of engagement in the existing body of literature is framed in the binary logic, which is rooted in realist epistemology or positivism. This approach to scientific discourse is limited in dealing with complex conceptual, theoretical and philosophical questions. The study develops, as a contribution to science, an alternative epistemological framework from which good governance in the context of NEPAD could be understood. Such epistemological framework is, for the purpose of this study, termed the contingent co-existence of opposites. It is used to conceptualise good governance in the context of NEPAD and determine its meaning for Public Administration.Public Administration and ManagementD. Litt. et Phil. (Public Administration

Selection and application of ssDNA aptamers to detect active TB from sputum samples

BACKGROUND: Despite the enormous global burden of tuberculosis (TB), conventional approaches to diagnosis continue to rely on tests that have major drawbacks. The improvement of TB diagnostics relies, not only on good biomarkers, but also upon accurate detection methodologies. The 10-kDa culture filtrate protein (CFP-10) and the 6-kDa early secreted antigen target (ESAT-6) are potent T-cell antigens that are recognised by over 70% of TB patients. Aptamers, a novel sensitive and specific class of detection molecules, has hitherto, not been raised to these relatively TB-specific antigens. METHODS: DNA aptamers that bind to the CFP-10.ESAT-6 heterodimer were isolated. To assess their affinity and specificity to the heterodimer, aptamers were screened using an enzyme-linked oligonucleotide assay (ELONA). One suitable aptamer was evaluated by ELONA using sputum samples obtained from 20 TB patients and 48 control patients (those with latent TB infection, symptomatic non TB patients, and healthy laboratory volunteers). Culture positivity for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) served as the reference standard. Accuracy and cut-points were evaluated using ROC curve analysis. RESULTS: Twenty-four out of the 66 aptamers that were isolated bound significantly (p<0.05) to the CFP-10.ESAT-6 heterodimer and six were further evaluated. Their dissociation constant (K D ) values were in the nanomolar range. One aptamer, designated CSIR 2.11, was evaluated using sputum samples. CSIR 2.11 had sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 68.75% using Youden's index and 35% and 95%, respectively, using a rule-in cut-point. CONCLUSION: This preliminary proof-of-concept study suggests that a diagnosis of active TB using anti-CFP-10.ESAT-6 aptamers applied to human sputum samples is feasible

Comparison of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT findings between different races in patients with low-risk prostate cancer

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SZzO-jWrUWhk5KNoj2LviVDCRHCdf4c-/view?usp=sharinghttps://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HCEseoxJvj0J_2MUrcaLivB933vZiDbM?usp=sharinghttps://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1RnVnA-vitkYBezFlKRpz9oTbWMm1gqgS?usp=sharin

[68 Ga]Ga-FAPi PET/CT vs [18F]F-FDG PET/CT in various cancers: Initial experience

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XJSXXwXb9eK56-UgDlrw69lIXleOi6IC/view?usp=sharinghttps://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KrqkKx5LQG9uPrY6_gsr7jjg7XEVv_To?usp=sharinghttps://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fpqwRHsic5hXdQnMQKRDXvm-_DzlLUfS?usp=sharin

[68Ga]Ga-NODAGAZOL uptake in atherosclerotic plaques correlates with the cardiovascular risk profile of patients

Please read abstract in the article.http://link.springer.com/journal/12149hj2023CardiologyNuclear Medicin

[68ga]ga-pentixafor for pet imaging of vascular expression of cxcr-4 as a marker of arterial inflammation in hiv-infected patients : a comparison with18f[fdg] pet imaging

People living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV) have excess risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Arterial inflammation is the hallmark of atherogenesis and its complications. In this study we aimed to perform a head-to-head comparison of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ([18F]FDG PET/CT) and Gallium-68 pentixafor positron emission tomography/computed tomography [68Ga]Ga-pentixafor PET/CT for quantification of arterial inflammation in PLHIV. We prospectively recruited human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients to undergo [18F]FDG PET/CT and [68Ga]Ga-pentixafor PET/CT within two weeks of each other. We quantified the levels of arterial tracer uptake on both scans using maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and target–background ratio. We used Bland and Altman plots to measure the level of agreement between tracer quantification parameters obtained on both scans. A total of 12 patients were included with a mean age of 44.67 ± 7.62 years. The mean duration of HIV infection and mean CD+ T-cell count of the study population were 71.08 ± 37 months and 522.17 ± 260.33 cells/µL, respectively. We found a high level of agreement in the quantification variables obtained using [18F]FDG PET and [68Ga]Ga-pentixafor PET. There is a good level of agreement in the arterial tracer quantification variables obtained using [18F]FDG PET/CT and [68Ga]Ga-pentixafor PET/CT in PLHIV. This suggests that [68Ga]Ga-pentixafor may be applied in the place of [18F]FDG PET/CT for the quantification of arterial inflammation.http://www.mdpi.com/journal/biomoleculespm2021Nuclear Medicin

A prospective investigation of tumor hypoxia imaging with 68Ga-nitroimidazole PET/CT in patients with carcinoma of the cervix uteri and comparison with 18F-FDG PET/CT : correlation with immunohistochemistry

Hypoxia in cervical cancer has been associated with a poor prognosis. Over the years 68Ga labelled nitroimidazoles have been studied and have shown improved kinetics. We present our initial experience of hypoxia Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging in cervical cancer with 68Ga-Nitroimidazole derivative and the correlation with 18F-FDG PET/CT and immunohistochemistry. Twenty women with cervical cancer underwent both 18F-FDG and 68Ga-Nitroimidazole PET/CT imaging. Dual-point imaging was performed for 68Ga-Nitroimidazole PET. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed with hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1 ). We documented SUVmax, SUVmean of the primary lesions as well as tumor to muscle ratio (TMR), tumor to blood (TBR), metabolic tumor volume (MTV) and hypoxic tumor volume (HTV). There was no significant difference in the uptake of 68Ga-Nitroimidazole between early and delayed imaging. Twelve patients had uptake on 68Ga-Nitroimidazole PET. Ten patients demonstrated varying intensities of HIF-1 expression and six of these also had uptake on 68Ga-Nitroimidazole PET. We found a strong negative correlation between HTV and immunohistochemical staining (r = 0.660; p = 0.019). There was no correlation between uptake on PET imaging and immunohistochemical analysis with HIF-1 . Two-thirds of the patients demonstrated hypoxia on 68Ga-Nitroimidazole PET imaging.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/jcmam2022Nuclear Medicin