Monolith Catalyst Supports for Hydrogen Production

Due to increasing energy demands and environmental concerns, more research studies arc conducted on alternative energy sources. Hydrogen fuel cells arc one of the desired alternatives. The CCT Catalysis Institute has demonstrated the entire hydrogen production process from propane (LPG) reforming. This is aimed for off-grid and backup pOver supply to rural areas and telecommunication towers respectively. The steam reforming unit employs ruthenium supported on gamma-alumina (Ru/ -AbOo) catalyst.. However, it has been observed that. upon increasing the sea.le, pressure-drop and mass transfer limitations become significant issues. It is, therefore, desired to shift from packed bed reactors to monolithic reactors to overcome these issues. :Vfonoliths arc attractive due to their high open frontal area., stability, good mass and heat transfer, as well as easy sea.ling up. The main focus of this study is to coat. monoliths ,vith a. homogeneous and stable layer of Ru/ AbO3. Viscosity, pH and slurry solid content are investigated as these are the main factors affecting washcoat loading, morphology and adherence. A slurry coating technique was used to deposit. the alumina. layer onto t he monolit hs which were then subjected to ult.ra.sonica.t ion and thermal shock treatment. to test. for adherence. The active phase ,vas deposited by ion exchange and dry impregnation of the alumina coated monoliths by making use of a RuCb.xH"O solution. SEivI was employed to analyse the morphology of the layer, as well as its metal content and distribution. An experimental design soft,vare, Design Expert. was used to generate statistically significant and robust models for the results. It was found that washcoat loading, stability and morphology arc highly dependent on slurry solid content betvveen 20 and 45 v,rt.%, slightly affected by viscosity bet,veen 20 and 45 mPa.s and almost insensitive to pH beluw isoelectric point. Increasing slurry solid content results in an increase in washcoat loading which, in turn, results in thick and inhomogeneous layers which, in turn, arc more prone to cracking and to lo,v mcclmnical and thermal stability. The optimal point. that. gives a. st.able, homogeneous layer a.t the desired loading was identified to be at pH of 4, viscosity of 20 mPa.s and slurry solid content of 20 wt%. The resulting washcoat. layer is 'crack-free', uniform, and characterised by a washcoat loading of 10.8 wt%, an average thickness of 30 m, and mechanical and thermal weight losses of 0.79 and 1.42 wt%., respectively. The ion exchange techniques resulted in small and poorly distributed metal loading while dry impregnation resulted in sufficient metal loading and good distribution throughout t.he monolith channels

The rule of law, the principle of legality and the test for rationality: a critical analysis of the South African jurisprudence in the light of the separation of powers.

Master of Law. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2016.Over the past twenty (20) years the South African jurisprudence has been shaped by numerous factors that emanate primarily from the interpretation of the Constitution. As a result the study, knowledge and philosophy of law has witnessed vital developments which at some point seem to cause confusions in the legal fraternity. Among other confusions that exist is what constitutes “rationality” in law, what factors are relevant in defining rationality, how has rationality been defined and how has it been applied? The thesis explores various instances where our courts particularly the Constitutional Courts and the Supreme Court of Appeal has defined and applied the rationality test when testing for the exercise of public power by the public functionaries. To begin with, our courts have held that rationality is a central principle under the principle of legality which is an implicit term to the study of the rule of law. The rule of law itself has been held to be an implicit term to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and that all actions will only be valid if they comply with the rule of law as a constitutional value thereof. However this is not to imply that other values of the constitution like transparency, openness and accountability are less important than the rule of law but most litigation has occurred under rule of law, hence why the focus of this thesis is on the rule of law. Under this legality principle, there are a lot of principles like the principle of authority but rationality appears to be the most significant and the courts have focused mostly on it. In defining what legality rationality is, our courts have pronounced that it is a legal safety-net applicable to every exercise of public power but more particularly where no constitutionally defined right has been violated, it protects individuals against the abuse of power. The courts initially envisaged a ‘poor rationality”, however when comparing how the principle has developed over years it is clear that the principle has been used variably. At some point rationality has been applied leniently while at some point more stringently without any clear guidance, which creates uncertainty as to the correct legal position. Among other considerations of the thesis includes the fact that when the rationality principle is stringently applied, it has been held to threaten the principle of the separation of powers, however when the same principle is leniently applied, it has been held to fall short of the required standards and the demands of the constitutions especially the transparent basis of the decisions. And when this principle is applied variably, it has been seen to undermine the very principle of the rule of law that it is meant to give effect to; this is because the rule of law demands that law should be static and predictable. This confusion stimulates the construction of the thesis as different developments have been formulated but most interestingly proposes the different standards that should apply to executive and legislative decisions

Estimating risk determinants of HIV and TB in South Africa.

Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009Where HIV/AIDS has had its greatest adverse impact is on TB. People with TB that are infected with HIV are at increased risk of dying from TB than HIV. TB is the leading cause of death in HIV individuals in South Africa. HIV is the driving factor that increases the risk of progression from latent TB to active TB. In South Africa no coherent analysis of the risk determinants of HIV and TB has been done at the national level this study seeks to mend that gab. This study is about estimating risk determinants of HIV and TB. This will be done using the national household survey conducted by Human Sciences Research Council in 2005. Since individuals from the same household and enumerator area more likely to be more alike in terms of risk of disease or correlated among each other, the GEEs will be used to correct for this potential intraclass correlation. Disease occurrence and distribution is highly heterogeneous at the population, household and the individual level. In recognition of this fact we propose to model this heterogeneity at community level through GLMMs and Bayesian hierarchical modelling approaches with enumerator area indicating the community e ect. The results showed that HIV is driven by sex, age, race, education, health and condom use at sexual debut. Factors associated with TB are HIV status, sex, education, income and health. Factors that are common to both diseases are sex, education and health. The results showed that ignoring the intraclass correlation can results to biased estimates. Inference drawn from GLMMs and Bayesian approach provides some degree of con dence in the results. The positive correlation found at an enumerator area level for both HIV and TB indicates that interventions should be aimed at an area level rather than at the individual level

Exploring family support for adolescents after rehabilitation for drug abuse

Despite the fact that a lot of information exist in the literature regarding factors leading to drug abuse, consequences of drug abuse for adolescents; little exists that focuses on family support for adolescents after rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to explore family support for adolescents after rehabilitation for drug abuse. The study was based on semi-structured interview based qualitative research. Findings during interviews was that the families have no clear understanding or are not skilled as to how to continue supporting the adolescents after they are discharged from the rehabilitation centre. What was also interesting according to the participants was that even in the rehabilitation centres families are not made part of or involved during the rehabilitation process. There is a need to make the rehabilitation centres aware that families need to be involved during the rehabilitation process of the adolescent so that it becomes easy for the families to continue supporting the adolescents after they have completed the rehabilitation process.Health StudiesM.A. (Health Studies

Modelling the performance of a calorifier installed at a university residence intended to be retrofited by an air source heat pump

Sanitary hot water production contributes significantly to the electrical energy consumption in the university campus. An in-depth understanding of the current hot water technology, number of students, capacity of water used per student, time of use of hot water, total volume of hot water consumed and the total energy used on an average weekday in a university residence are very crucial in opting for energy efficient technology like an air source heat pump (ASHP) water heater. The study focused on quantitative and qualitative analysis of data collected for the hot water profiles in one of the university residences (Elitheini 1) from the conduction of experiment and questionnaires. The results revealed that 94% of the 75 students used hot water during the Eskom morning peak and 61% during the Eskom evening peak. In addition, the average daily energy consumption of the 12 kW Calorifier was 139.49 kWh, while the measured volume of hot water usage was 1950 L which is in strong agreement with the total volume (1945 L) of hot water consumption from the questionnaires. The p-value of the average volume of hot water usage measured by experiment and questionnaires was 0.7 and is of no mean significant difference. The monthly energy consumption for the week days was projected to be 2929.31 kWh. By retrofitting of calorifier with an ASHP unit, the energy consumption could reduce to 976.43 kWh based on its consecutive coefficient of performance of 3. Finally, from the energy consumption reduction analysis and the current Eskom tariffs, it can be alluded that the payback period of the proposedASHP unit as a retrofit to the calorifier is going to be less than 2 years and is worthy to invest into such technology under this study due to its favourable payback period and the reliability and lifespan of the ASHP unit

Age at sexual debut: A determinant of multiple partnership among South African youth

Age at sexual debut is an important determinant of HIV infection. The paper investigates the effects of age at sexual debut on sexual behaviour among South African youth. Among 2 875 respondents who ever had sexual intercourse, 39% had early sexual debut (sexual debut at age 16 years and below). Males (44.6%) were significantly more likely than females (35.1%) to report early sexual debut (odds ratio (OR)=1.45, p-value <0.001). Multiple sexual partners are significantly more common among those that had early sexual debut (10.4% vs. 4.8%) than those who had late sexual debut, (OR=2.29, p-value<0.001). Those aged 15 to 19 years were 1.4 times more likely to report multiple partners compared to those aged 20 to 24 years. Delaying sexual debut is a strategy many national programmes are promoting. The results of this study provide additional arguments to support such initiatives and show the need to strengthen intervention targeting youth (Afr. J. Reprod. Health 2010; 14[2]:47-54)

Antenatal care quality and detection of risk among pregnant women: An observational study in Ethiopia, India, Kenya, and South Africa

Background Antenatal care (ANC) is an essential platform to improve maternal and newborn health (MNH). While several articles have described the content of ANC in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), few have investigated the quality of detection and management of pregnancy risk factors during ANC. It remains unclear whether women with pregnancy risk factors receive targeted management and additional ANC. Methods and findings This observational study uses baseline data from the MNH eCohort study conducted in 8 sites in Ethiopia, India, Kenya, and South Africa from April 2023 to January 2024. A total of 4,068 pregnant women seeking ANC for the first time in their pregnancy were surveyed. We built country-specific ANC completeness indices that measured provision of 16 to 22 recommended clinical actions in 5 domains: physical examinations, diagnostic tests, history taking and screening, counselling, and treatment and prevention. We investigated whether women with pregnancy risks tended to receive higher quality care and we assessed the quality of detection and management of 7 concurrent illnesses and pregnancy risk factors (anemia, undernutrition, obesity, chronic illnesses, depression, prior obstetric complications, and danger signs). ANC completeness ranged from 43% in Ethiopia, 66% in Kenya, 73% in India, and 76% in South Africa, with large gaps in history taking, screening, and counselling. Most women in Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa initiated ANC in second or third trimesters. We used country-specific multivariable mixed-effects linear regression models to investigate factors associated with ANC completeness. Models included individual demographics, health status, presence of risk factors, health facility characteristics, and fixed effects for the study site. We found that some facility characteristics (staffing, patient volume, structural readiness) were associated with variation in ANC completeness. In contrast, pregnancy risk factors were only associated with a 1.7 percentage points increase in ANC completeness (95% confidence interval 0.3, 3.0, p-value 0.014) in Kenya only. Poor self-reported health was associated with higher ANC completeness in India and South Africa and with lower ANC completeness in Ethiopia. Some concurrent illnesses and risk factors were overlooked during the ANC visit. Between 0% and 6% of undernourished women were prescribed food supplementation and only 1% to 3% of women with depression were referred to a mental health provider or prescribed antidepressants. Only 36% to 73% of women who had previously experienced an obstetric complication (a miscarriage, preterm birth, stillbirth, or newborn death) discussed their obstetric history with the provider during the first ANC visit. Although we aimed to validate self-reported information on health status and content of care with data from health cards, our findings may be affected by recall or other information biases. Conclusions In this study, we observed gaps in adherence to ANC standards, particularly for women in need of specialized management. Strategies to maximize the potential health benefits of ANC should target women at risk of poor pregnancy outcomes and improve early initiation of ANC in the first trimester

Immunological non-inferiority of a new fully liquid presentation of the MenACWY-CRM vaccine to the licensed vaccine : results from a randomized, controlled, observer-blind study in adolescents and young adult

A fully liquid MenACWY-CRM vaccine presentation has been developed, modifying the meningococcal serogroup A (MenA) component from lyophilized to liquid. The safety and immunogenicity of the liquid presentation at the end of the intended shelf-life (aged for 24 or 30 months) were compared to the licensed lyophilized/liquid presentation. This multicenter, randomized (1:1), observer-blind, phase 2b study (NCT03433482) enrolled adolescents and young adults (age 10-40 years). In part 1, 844 participants received one dose of liquid presentation stored for approximately 24 months or licensed presentation. In part 2, 846 participants received one dose of liquid presentation stored for approximately 30 months or licensed presentation. After storage, the MenA free saccharide (FS) level was approximately 25% and O-acetylation was approximately 45%. The primary objective was to demonstrate non-inferiority of the liquid presentation to licensed presentation, as measured by human serum bactericidal assay (hSBA) geometric mean titers (GMTs) against MenA, 1-month post-vaccination. Immune responses against each vaccine serogroup were similar between groups. Between-group ratios of hSBA GMTs for MenA were 1.21 (part 1) and 1.11 (part 2), with two-sided 95% confidence interval lower limits (0.94 and 0.87, respectively) greater than the prespecified non-inferiority margin (0.5), thus meeting the primary study objective. No safety concerns were identified. Despite reduced O-acetylation of MenA and increased FS content, serogroup-specific immune responses induced by the fully liquid presentation were similar to those induced by the licensed MenACWY-CRM vaccine, with non-inferior anti-MenA responses. The safety profiles of the vaccine presentations were similar.GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SAhttps://www.tandfonline.com/journals/KHVIMedical Microbiolog