Monitoring urban growth around Rustenburg, South Africa, using SPOT 5

Understanding urban spatial growth is critical for sustainable urban infrastructure and service planning. Urban growth information is an important input into predicting future land cover and land use change and sustainable growth management. Rapid urbanization has resulted in expanded urban land use and has led to population explosions in urban areas and undesirable environmental impacts in South Africa. This research is aimed at studying urban spatial growth of Rustenburg city in South Africa from 2007 to 2012 using temporal imagery acquired by Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terra (SPOT) 5 satellite. Multi-temporal images acquired in 2007, 2009 and 2012 were used to assess urban spatial growth of Rustenburg. Post-classification change detection method was used to quantify urban growth. For the purpose of this study, only two classes, urban and non-urban land use classes, were mapped and assessed. The urban spatial growth between 2007 and 2009 was 16.8% while 8.7% urban growth was observed between 2009 and 2012. The total spatial urban growth between 2007 and 2012 was 25.5%. This information can be used by the municipal authorities and decision makers as input during urban and environmental planning

Analysis of femtocell for better reliability and high throughput

Abstract: An unrelenting need for mobile broadband data has become the norm for end users. Mobile operators are now faced with a challenge to deliver higher data rates thus has prompted developments for new innovations in mobile technology to satisfy this data hungry generation. Poor indoor building penetration have been a major stumbling block in achieving higher data rates as good signal strength of better quality influences higher data rates. Methods to solve indoor penetration problems such as cranking up power on existing base stations can be an alternate but this can potentially introduce high interference to the system and effectively decrease system capacity. Like in any other wireless communication environment, having a transmitter and receiver closer to each other will potentially increase signal strength thus effectively increasing signal quality and potentially higher data rates. This inevitably means more base stations need to be installed to improve coverage. This idea is not feasible ! in practice based on financial constraints using traditional macro and micro sites thus the emergence of FemtoCell seems to be a feasible endeavour. A FemtoCell BS is a self-installed low powered base station connected to the mobile operator via backhaul using IP connection. This device brings a lot of benefits such as Opex savings, increased spectral efficiency, improved battery life and higher data rates for customers resulting from increased signal Strength. In this paper an overview of advancement of cellular networks from legacy standards 2G to 4G-LTE/LTE-A and benefits/challenges of FemtoCell are analysed

Application of semi-automated settlement detection for an integrated topographic map information system update in South Africa

Complete, accurate and up-to-date topographic data is of vast importance as it is widely required by different government agencies, non-governmental organisations, the private sector as well as the general public for urban mapping, rural development and environmental management, to mention but a few applications. Efficient semi-automatic methods for detecting settlements as change area indicators are required in order to achieve a sustainable up-to-date topographic database. This study reviewed the capability of geographic object based image analysis (GEOBIA) as a semi-automated method for settlement detection using 2012 SPOT 5imagery in the KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.The application of GEOBIA provide the ability to segment imagery into areas resembling features of interest. For this study GEOBIA settlement detection provided 70.7% overall accuracy while the existing semi-automated South African global human settlement layer (SA_GHSL) had 60% overall accuracy. These results presents an opportunity to apply GEOBIA semi-automated method to target areas of new settlement development more efficiently and with consistent repeatable manner. Thus assisting topographic update analyst to be drawn to more areas of new settlement development at an enhanced efficient rate. However the spectral variability of roof tops which are prominent identifiable feature by remote sensing for settlement areas prove to be the most challenging obstacle towards semi-automated settlement detection

ESSENTIAL OIL COMPOSITION OF ARTEMISIA VULGARIS GROWN IN EGYPT

Objective: The objective of this research was to evaluate the significance of the plant's origin and to assess the essential oil composition of Artemisia vulgaris grown in Egypt simultaneously evaluating the effect of environmental conditions on essential oil composition.Methods: Seeds were planted and the essential oils extracted, using hydrodistillation, from the plants that grew. The resulting essential oils were examined, using gas chromatography linked to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Thus also evaluating the essential oil chemotype fingerprint†in A. vulgarisResults:  The study identified: the most abundant compounds being camphor, 3, 5-dimethylcyclohexane, germacrene D, cubebene, yomogi alcohol, artemisia alcohol, caryophyllene, while is lower concentrations thujopsene, muurolene, borneol, terpinen-4-ol, valencene, elemene and humulene. Despite the origins of the seeds, the chemical profile was very similar to those of plants grown in Egypt, thus suggesting essential oil composition was significantly influenced by the environmental conditions.Conclusion: Based on the present study, It is suggested that seed origin may play a less significant part if the seed is planted in an environment different to that of its origin, this study proved that and favors the plant-environment interaction to influence the secondary metabolite composition. This supports that plant metabolite profiles are greatly affected by the environment they are grown in.Â

Phytochemicals in prostate cancer: From bioactive molecules to upcoming therapeutic agents

Prostate cancer is a heterogeneous disease, the second deadliest malignancy in men and the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men. Traditional plants have been applied to handle various diseases and to develop new drugs. Medicinal plants are potential sources of natural bioactive compounds that include alkaloids, phenolic compounds, terpenes, and steroids. Many of these naturally-occurring bioactive constituents possess promising chemopreventive properties. In this sense, the aim of the present review is to provide a detailed overview of the role of plant-derived phytochemicals in prostate cancers, including the contribution of plant extracts and its corresponding isolated compounds.This work was supported by CONICYT PIA/APOYO CCTE AFB170007. N. Martins would like to thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT–Portugal) for the Strategic project ref. UID/BIM/04293/2013 and “NORTE2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte” (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012) and C. F. Rodrigues for the UID/EQU/00511/2019 Project—Laboratory of Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology, and Energy—LEPABE financed by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC)

Safety of Induced Sputum Collection in Children Hospitalized With Severe or Very Severe Pneumonia.

BACKGROUND.: Induced sputum (IS) may provide diagnostic information about the etiology of pneumonia. The safety of this procedure across a heterogeneous population with severe pneumonia in low- and middle-income countries has not been described. METHODS.: IS specimens were obtained as part a 7-country study of the etiology of severe and very severe pneumonia in hospitalized children <5 years of age. Rigorous clinical monitoring was done before, during, and after the procedure to record oxygen requirement, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, consciousness level, and other evidence of clinical deterioration. Criteria for IS contraindications were predefined and serious adverse events (SAEs) were reported to ethics committees and a central safety monitor. RESULTS.: A total of 4653 IS procedures were done among 3802 children. Thirteen SAEs were reported in relation to collection of IS, or 0.34% of children with at least 1 IS specimen collected (95% confidence interval, 0.15%-0.53%). A drop in oxygen saturation that required supplemental oxygen was the most common SAE. One child died after feeding was reinitiated 2 hours after undergoing sputum induction; this death was categorized as "possibly related" to the procedure. CONCLUSIONS.: The overall frequency of SAEs was very low, and the nature of most SAEs was manageable, demonstrating a low-risk safety profile for IS collection even among severely ill children in low-income-country settings. Healthcare providers should monitor oxygen saturation and requirements during and after IS collection, and assess patients prior to reinitiating feeding after the IS procedure, to ensure patient safety

Standardization of Clinical Assessment and Sample Collection Across All PERCH Study Sites.

BACKGROUND.: Variable adherence to standardized case definitions, clinical procedures, specimen collection techniques, and laboratory methods has complicated the interpretation of previous multicenter pneumonia etiology studies. To circumvent these problems, a program of clinical standardization was embedded in the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) study. METHODS.: Between March 2011 and August 2013, standardized training on the PERCH case definition, clinical procedures, and collection of laboratory specimens was delivered to 331 clinical staff at 9 study sites in 7 countries (The Gambia, Kenya, Mali, South Africa, Zambia, Thailand, and Bangladesh), through 32 on-site courses and a training website. Staff competency was assessed throughout 24 months of enrollment with multiple-choice question (MCQ) examinations, a video quiz, and checklist evaluations of practical skills. RESULTS.: MCQ evaluation was confined to 158 clinical staff members who enrolled PERCH cases and controls, with scores obtained for >86% of eligible staff at each time-point. Median scores after baseline training were ≥80%, and improved by 10 percentage points with refresher training, with no significant intersite differences. Percentage agreement with the clinical trainer on the presence or absence of clinical signs on video clips was high (≥89%), with interobserver concordance being substantial to high (AC1 statistic, 0.62-0.82) for 5 of 6 signs assessed. Staff attained median scores of >90% in checklist evaluations of practical skills. CONCLUSIONS.: Satisfactory clinical standardization was achieved within and across all PERCH sites, providing reassurance that any etiological or clinical differences observed across the study sites are true differences, and not attributable to differences in application of the clinical case definition, interpretation of clinical signs, or in techniques used for clinical measurements or specimen collection

Microscopic Analysis and Quality Assessment of Induced Sputum From Children With Pneumonia in the PERCH Study.

BACKGROUND.: It is standard practice for laboratories to assess the cellular quality of expectorated sputum specimens to check that they originated from the lower respiratory tract. The presence of low numbers of squamous epithelial cells (SECs) and high numbers of polymorphonuclear (PMN) cells are regarded as indicative of a lower respiratory tract specimen. However, these quality ratings have never been evaluated for induced sputum specimens from children with suspected pneumonia. METHODS.: We evaluated induced sputum Gram stain smears and cultures from hospitalized children aged 1-59 months enrolled in a large study of community-acquired pneumonia. We hypothesized that a specimen representative of the lower respiratory tract will contain smaller quantities of oropharyngeal flora and be more likely to have a predominance of potential pathogens compared to a specimen containing mainly saliva. The prevalence of potential pathogens cultured from induced sputum specimens and quantity of oropharyngeal flora were compared for different quantities of SECs and PMNs. RESULTS.: Of 3772 induced sputum specimens, 2608 (69%) had 25 PMNs per LPF, measures traditionally associated with specimens from the lower respiratory tract in adults. Using isolation of low quantities of oropharyngeal flora and higher prevalence of potential pathogens as markers of higher quality, 25 PMNs per LPF) was the microscopic variable most associated with high quality of induced sputum. CONCLUSIONS.: Quantity of SECs may be a useful quality measure of induced sputum from young children with pneumonia

The Incremental Value of Repeated Induced Sputum and Gastric Aspirate Samples for the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Young Children With Acute Community-Acquired Pneumonia

Background. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) contributes to the pathogenesis of childhood acute community-acquired pneumonia in settings with a high tuberculosis burden. The incremental value of a repeated induced sputum (IS) sample, compared with a single IS or gastric aspirate (GA) sample, is not well known. Methods. Two IS samples were obtained for Mtb culture from children enrolled as cases in the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) study in South Africa. Nonstudy attending physicians requested GA if pulmonary tuberculosis was clinically suspected. We compared the Mtb yield of 2 IS samples to that of 1 IS sample and GA samples. Results . Twenty-seven (3.0%) culture-confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis cases were identified among 906 children investigated with IS and GA samples for Mtb. Results from 2 IS samples were available for 719 children (79.4%). Of 12 culture-confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis cases identified among children with ≥2 IS samples, 4 (33.3%) were negative at the first IS sample. In head-to-head comparisons among children with both GA and IS samples collected, the yield of 1 GA sample (8 of 427; 1.9%) was similar to that of 1 IS sample (5 of 427, 1.2%), and the yield of 2 GA samples (10 of 300; 3.3%) was similar to that of 2 IS samples (5 of 300; 1.7%). IS samples identified 8 (42.1%) of the 19 culture-confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis cases that were identified through submission of IS and GA samples. Conclusions. A single IS sample underestimated the presence of Mtb in children hospitalized with severe or very severe pneumonia. Detection of Mtb is enhanced by combining 2 IS with GA sample collections in young children with acute severe pneumonia

Earth observation for sustainable urban planning in developing countries: needs, trends, and future directions

Abstract: Cities are constantly changing and authorities face immense challenges in obtaining accurate and timely data to effectively manage urban areas. This is particularly problematic in the developing world where municipal records are often unavailable or not updated. Spaceborne earth observation (EO) has great potential for providing up-to-date spatial information about urban areas. This article reviews the application of EO for supporting urban planning. In particular, the article overviews case studies where EO was used to derive products and indicators required by urban planners. The review concludes that EO has sufficiently matured in recent years but that a shift from the current focus on purely science-driven EO applications to the provision of useful information for day-to-day decision-making and urban sustainability monitoring is clearly needed