Perspectives of the stakeholders of the public transportation system on ICT solutions applicability in the Free State, South Africa

Published Conference ProceedingsInformation Communication Technologies have recently been adopted by transportation systems around the world to improve their services. In adopting these technologies, the stakeholders‘ involvement and perceptions regarding ICT should be considered. This paper, considering the study area, reflects on the perceptions of different stakeholders of the public transportation system towards the introduction of ICT solutions to the system. The methodology adopted was to understand the expectations of drivers, passengers and operators on integrating ICT solutions into the public transportation system, focusing on mini-bus taxis and Interstate Bus Line buses. The significant results of the study show that ICTs are anticipated and long overdue development to the system but the stakeholders have varying expectations. These results reflect on the priorities of the stakeholders, i.e., passengers yearn for improved service quality; drivers are concerned with their working conditions while the operators‘ interests are profit motivated. This paper highlights the ICT interests of passengers, drivers and operators. It compares passengers‘ needs, in terms of technologies, to improve the public transportations system against what the operators are enthusiastic to provide

Perspectives of the stakeholders of the public transportation system on ICT solutions applicability in the Free State, South Africa

Published Conference ProceedingInformation Communication Technologies have recently been adopted by transportation systems around the world to improve their services. In adopting these technologies, the stakeholders‘ involvement and perceptions regarding ICT should be considered. This paper, considering the study area, reflects on the perceptions of different stakeholders of the public transportation system towards the introduction of ICT solutions to the system. The methodology adopted was to understand the expectations of drivers, passengers and operators on integrating ICT solutions into the public transportation system, focusing on mini-bus taxis and Interstate Bus Line buses. The significant results of the study show that ICTs are anticipated and long overdue development to the system but the stakeholders have varying expectations. These results reflect on the priorities of the stakeholders, i.e., passengers yearn for improved service quality; drivers are concerned with their working conditions while the operators‘ interests are profit motivated. This paper highlights the ICT interests of passengers, drivers and operators. It compares passengers‘ needs, in terms of technologies, to improve the public transportations system against what the operators are enthusiastic to provide

Barriers identified that limited participation of Central University of Technology Academic Staff in National Research Foundation funding programmes

Published ArticleThese results suggest that those academics who have participated in NRF funding programmesmanage their time better. •Results suggest a link between the non participation rate of NRF funding, academic responsibilities and a lack of time management skills. •Dissonance is typically resolved by changing attitude, it is therefore recommended that time management training and platforms be created where staff can express free choice

Elucidation of Functions of the AKAP GSKIP

Glycogen synthase kinase 3β interaction protein (GSKIP), a ubiquitously expressed protein, was identified as a direct interaction partner of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) and protein kinase A (PKA). It was found to facilitate the PKA-mediated inhibitory phosphorylation of GSK3β, as well as modulate the phosphorylation of GSK3β and PKA substrates. Through this modulation, GSKIP has been implicated in the fine tuning of canonical Wnt signalling and was found to play a role in both mitochondrial fission and cancer cells dynamics. Building upon these findings, this thesis uncovers novel roles for GSKIP in actin cytoskeleton reorganization and maintenance of the epithelial phenotype. The reorganization of the cellular actin cytoskeleton is essential for various processes, among which are cell signalling, and the development and maintenance of cellular junctions and polarity. The biphasic modulation of actin dynamics is attained by the actin severing protein cofilin (CFL), which can induce either the disassembly or the assembly of the actin filaments through its ability to depolymerize and sever the filaments. The activity of CFL is negatively regulated by the Rho GTPases, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK), and PKA mediated phosphorylation at S3. The knockdown (KD) of GSKIP in various cancer cells was found to modulate this phosphorylation, with the human non-small lung adenocarcinoma cells, A549 and the human cervical adenocarcinoma cells, HeLa-S3 exhibiting the most marked decrease in phosphorylation. The KD of GSKIP in A549 cells was characterized by increased actin depolymerization at the cellular junctions and decreased CFL abundance in the filamentous polymerized actin fraction. Similarly, the KD of GSKIP in HeLa-S3 cells was associated with phenotypic changes and an altered actin cytoskeleton, which was marked by increased actin stress fiber formation. The molecular mechanisms underlying these cytoskeletal changes were found to be most likely PKA-dependent, since the KD of GSKIP in the studied cells did not alter either the Rho GTPases or the p38 MAPK-mediated phosphorylation of CFL. Taken together, these findings implicate GSKIP as a modulator of the PKA-mediated CFL-regulated actin dynamics. Investigating the GSKIP KD-induced phenotypic changes revealed a shift of the cells from the epithelial to the mesenchymal phenotype. Studying the associated molecular mechanisms showed downregulation of prominent epithelial markers, such as E-cadherin and β-catenin, as well as upregulation of the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) inducer ZEB1 in A549 and HeLa-S3 cells. The GSKIP KD-mediated loss of the epithelial phenotype was confirmed by investigating the integrity of crucial epithelial junctions, namely the adherens junction and the desmosomes. Both junctions displayed marked anomalies upon the KD of GSKIP, suggesting a decrease in the integrity of both and uncovering the essentiality of GSKIP for the maintenance of epithelial junctions

Utilization of Fly Ash in Road Construction in South Africa: Environmental Assessment

Published Conference ProceedingUsing fly ash as alterative material in place of conventional materials is continually gaining interest over decades. This results from its international recognition as non-hazardous construction material. However, fly ash composition varies and thus it cannot be generalized that every fly ash is non-hazardous. In South Africa, fly ash is produced in large quantity, yet its utilization on annual basis remains at 6 percent which is majorly utilized in cement and concrete production. Thus, this study focuses on investigating leaching of major elements in South Africa Class F fly ash when used as a stabilizer in road construction. Three different specimens of fly ashes, namely; Kendal Dump Ash, Durapozz and Pozzfill enhanced with different cements were used as stabilizer for G5 soil use in road construction. Using an X-Ray spectrometry analyser the samples were tested for any possible leach elements. Leach tests results show that fly ash enhanced with cement as soil stabilizer in road construction is not harmful as the fly ash constituents‘ exhibit limited mobility. However, results also indicated that fly ash left in dump sites can be harmful, if some of the leached elements find their way to the ground water. Thus, utilization of fly ash for road construction is an environmental sustainable option and has engineering advantages when properly used for soil stabilization

EFFECTIVENESS OF COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN ROAD TRANSPORTATION: NIGERIAN PERSPECTIVE

Published Conference ProceedingsContinuous increase in death toll as a result of road accident is at an alarming rate. Recent World Health Organization (WHO) global annual report estimated that about 1.25 million people die in road crashes and Africa region as the highest contributor. This traffic fatality rate has, however, been associated with poor roads condition, drink-driving, over speeding, violation of traffic rules, and careless attitude of the road users. Over the years, various measures such as rehabilitation of poor roads and traffic regulations …etc., has been put in place to avert this predicament but the reverse is the case as death toll through road accident increases by years. Additional measures also include the use of traffic communication tools. Although various communication tools exist on the road, this ought to guide the road users and in a way avert the dangers upcoming; however, this is not the case. In Nigeria, various studies have been conducted to this regards but little or no attention is given to the road marking as a communication tool, thus, these three question remains for Nigeria road network; (1) Do these tools (especially, road marking) exist on roads where accidents are frequent? (2) Are these tools effective? (3) What is the understanding of the road users of these tools? Therefore, this study pertains to the effectiveness of the communication tools in road transportation by considering the Nigeria road features and views of the road users. Results show that the drivers have a good knowledge of these traffic communication tools but on an average of 92%, the road marking sampled are not available on the roads and have in one way or the other contributed to the fatality rate experienced. There is a need for stakeholder’s interventions which include regular funding and schedule for routine maintenance with more focus on road marking

Ultra-wideband CMOS power amplifier for wireless body area network applications: a review

A survey on ultra-wideband complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) power amplifiers for wireless body area network (WBAN) applications is presented in this paper. Formidable growth in the CMOS integrated circuits technology enhances the development in biomedical manufacture. WBAN is a promising mechanism that collects essential data from wearable sensors connected to the network and transmitted it wirelessly to a central patient monitoring station. The ultra-wideband (UWB) technology exploits the frequency band from 3.1 to 10.6 GHz and provides no interference to other communication systems, low power consumption, low-radiated power, and high data rate. These features permit it to be compatible with medical applications. The demand target is to have one transceiver integrated circuit (IC) for WBAN applications, consequently, UWB is utilized to decrease the hardware complexity. The power amplifier (PA) is the common electronic device that employing in the UWB transmitter to boost the input power to the desired output power and then feed it to the antenna of the transmitter. The advance in the design and implementation of ultra-wideband CMOS power amplifiers enhances the performance of the UWB-transceivers for WBAN applications. A review of recently published CMOS PA designs is reported in this paper with comparison tables listing wideband power amplifiers' performance

Routine versus selective plasma exchange before thymectomy in myasthenia gravis

Background: Prethymectomy plasma exchange may improve the outcome of surgery; however, the technique is associated with an increased risk of complications. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare selective versus routine plasma exchange before thymectomy in patients with myasthenia gravis. Method: We conducted a prospective multi-center cohort study to compare two protocols for plasma exchange before thymectomy. We compared the routine plasma exchange in all patients undergoing thymectomy for myasthenia gravis (group I; n= 30) versus selective exchange (Group II; n= 30). Endpoints were the duration of postoperative mechanical ventilation, plasma exchange, and operative complications. Results: There was no difference in age between both groups (30± 10.1 vs. 29± 9.2 years in Group I and II, respectively; p= 0.69). There were 17 females in Group I (56.67%) vs. 16 in group II (53.33%) (p= 0.8). Comorbidities are comparable between groups. All patients preoperative pyridostigmine, and 27 patients (90%) in Group I and 26 patients (87%) in Group II received glucocorticoids. There was no difference in pulmonary function tests between groups. Plasma exchange related complications were not different between groups. Immediate extubation was achieved in 29 patients (97%) in Group II, and after 6 hours in one patient (3.33%). In Group I, 28 patients (93%) extubated immediately, and two patients were ventilated for 7-12 hours. The mean ICU stay was 1.5 days in Group I and 1.4 days in group II (p= 0.615). The mean hospital stay was 8.5 days in Group I and 9.2 days in group II (p= 0.118). There was no significant difference in pathology between groups (p= 0.137). Conclusion: Selective plasma exchange is feasible before thymectomy for myasthenia gravis. Selective plasma exchange may decrease exchange related complications without affecting the operative outcomes