Capacity Building for Lavumisa Irrigation Development Project: process documentation

Water resource management / Multiple use / Project planning / Project management / Stakeholders / Agricultural cooperatives / Participatory management / Sugarcane / Irrigated farming / Water supply / Drinking water / Sanitation / Swaziland / Maplotini / Lavumisa Irrigation Development Project

Super-Beacons: open-source probes with spontaneous tuneable blinking compatible with live-cell super-resolution microscopy

Localization based super-resolution microscopy relies on the detection of individual molecules cycling between fluorescent and non-fluorescent states. These transitions are commonly regulated by high-intensity illumination, imposing constrains to imaging hardware and producing sample photodamage. Here, we propose single-molecule self-quenching as a mechanism to generate spontaneous photoswitching independent of illumination. To demonstrate this principle, we developed a new class of DNA-based open-source Super-Resolution probes named Super-Beacons, with photoswitching kinetics that can be tuned structurally, thermally and chemically. The potential of these probes for live-cell friendly Super-Resolution Microscopy without high-illumination or toxic imaging buffers is revealed by imaging Interferon Inducible Transmembrane proteins (IFITMs) at sub-100nm resolutions

Water as the Pore Former in the Synthesis of Hydrophobic PVDF Flat Sheet Membranes for Use in Membrane Distillation

Although PVDF flat sheet membranes have been widely tested in MD, their synthesis and modifications currently require increased use of green and inexpensive materials. In this study, flat sheet PVDF membranes were synthesized using phase inversion and water as the pore former. Remarkably, the water added in the casting solution improved the membrane pore sizes; where the maximum pore size was 0.58 µm. Also, the incorporation of f-SiO2NPs in the membrane matrix considerably enhanced the membrane hydrophobicity. Specifically, the membrane contact angles increased from 96° to 153°. Additionally, other parameters investigated were mechanical strength and liquid entry pressure (LEP). The maximum recorded values were 2.26 MPa and 239 kPa, respectively. The modified membranes (i.e., using water as the pore former and f-SiO2NPs) were the most efficient, showing maximum salt rejection of 99.9% and water flux of 11.6 LMH; thus, indicating their capability to be used as efficient materials for the recovery of high purity water in MD

A review of shaped carbon nanomaterials

Materials made of carbon that can be synthesised and characterised at the nano level have become a mainstay in the nanotechnology arena. These carbon materials can have a remarkable range of morphologies. They can have structures that are either hollow or filled and can take many shapes, as evidenced by the well-documented families of fullerenes and carbon nanotubes. However, these are but two of the shapes that carbon can form at the nano level. In this review we outline the types of shaped carbons that can be produced by simple synthetic procedures, focusing on spheres, tubes or fibres, and helices. Their mechanisms of formation and uses are also described

Cyclodextrin-Based Nanofibers and Membranes: Fabrication, Properties and Applications

Cyclodextrin (CD)-based electrospun nanofibers have become critical role players in the water treatment arena due to their high porosities, small diameters, high surface area-to-volume ratio and other unique properties they exhibit. Investigations demonstrate that nanofibers containing CD molecules can be facially blended with other polymeric species and/or photocatalytic and magnetic nanoparticles to enhance their rates of adsorption, inclusion complexation and selective photodegradation. These properties make them excellent candidates for the removal of water pollutants. On the other hand, the electrospinning process has become the method of choice in the fabrication of various types of CD nanofibrous mats due to its versatility, cost-effectiveness and its potential for the mass production of uniform nanofibers. CDs and CD-derivatives have also found application in membrane technologies, particularly in mixed matrix and thin film composite membranes. CD-blended membranes display improved performances in terms of selectivity, rejection, permeation and flux with reduced fouling propensities and can be used for drinking water purification and removal of emerging micropollutants. This chapter critically reviews CD-based electrospun nanofibers looking at their production, characterization methods and various applications. The use of CDs as membrane materials and how they can be fully explored in water treatment are also investigated

Prison conditions and standards of health care for women and their children incarcerated in Zimbabwean prisons

Purpose The Sub Saharan (SSA) region remains at the epicentre of the HIV epidemic and disproportionately affecting women, girls and prisoners. Women in prison are a minority group and their special health needs relating to gender sensitivity, reproductive health, their children, and HIV/AIDs are frequently neglected. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study using focus group discussions and key informant interviews explored the perspectives of women in prison, correctional officers, correctional health professionals, and non-governmental organisations around prison conditions and standards of health care whilst incarcerated in a large female prison in Zimbabwe. Narratives were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings Three key themes emerged: ‘Sanitation and hygiene in the prison’; ‘Nutrition for women and children’ and ‘Prison based health services and health care’. Divergence or agreement across perspectives around adequate standards of sanitation, hygiene, quality and adequacy of food, special diets for those with health conditions, access to healthcare in prison and the continuum of care across incarceration and community are presented. Practical implications Understanding prison environmental cultures which shape correctional staff understanding and responsiveness to women in prison, environmental health conditions and access to healthcare is vital to improve conditions and continuum of care in Zimbabwe. Originality/value Policy and technical guidance continues to emphasise the need for research in SSA prisons to garner insight into the experiences of women and their children, with a particular emphasis on the prison environment for them, their health outcomes and healthcare continuum. Our unique study responded to this need

A homozygous ADAMTS2 nonsense mutation in a Doberman Pinscher dog with Ehlers Danlos syndrome and extreme skin fragility

An eight-week old Doberman Pinscher was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos syndrome based on the dog's hyper-mobile carpal, tarsal and stifle joints and abnormal skin. The skin was loose and hyper-elastic with several wounds and large atrophic scars. The dog was euthanized after a severe degloving injury from minimal trauma. A whole-genome sequence, generated with DNA from the dog's blood, contained a rare, homozygous C-to-T transition at position 2408978 on chromosome 11. This transition is predicted to alter the ADAMTS2 transcript (ADAMTS2:c.769C>T) and encode a nonsense mutation (p.Arg257Ter). Biallelic ADAMTS2 mutations have caused a type of Ehlers Danlos syndrome known as dermatosparaxis in other species

Design of trials in lacunar stroke and cerebral small vessel disease: review and experience with the LACunar Intervention Trial 2 (LACI-2)

Cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) causes lacunar stroke (25% of ischaemic strokes), haemorrhage, dementia, physical frailty, or is 'covert', but has no specific treatment. Uncertainties about the design of clinical trials in cSVD, which patients to include or outcomes to assess, may have delayed progress. Based on experience in recent cSVD trials, we reviewed ways to facilitate future trials in patients with cSVD. We assessed the literature and the LACunar Intervention Trial 2 (LACI-2) for data to inform choice of Participant, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome, including clinical versus intermediary endpoints, potential interventions, effect of outcome on missing data, methods to aid retention and reduce data loss. We modelled risk of missing outcomes by baseline prognostic variables in LACI-2 using binary logistic regression. Imaging versus clinical outcomes led to larger proportions of missing data. We present reasons for and against broad versus narrow entry criteria. We identified numerous repurposable drugs with relevant modes of action to test in various cSVD subtypes. Cognitive impairment is the most common clinical outcome after lacunar ischaemic stroke but was missing more frequently than dependency, quality of life or vascular events in LACI-2. Assessing cognitive status using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders Fifth Edition can use cognitive data from multiple sources and may help reduce data losses. Trials in patients with all cSVD subtypes are urgently needed and should use broad entry criteria and clinical outcomes and focus on ways to maximise collection of cognitive outcomes to avoid missing data

Effect of a titania covering on CNTS as support for the Ru catalysed selective CO methanation

One of the major set-backs in the selective CO methanation process, as the final clean-up step in removing residual CO from reformate gas feed, is the reverse water gas shift (RWGS) reaction. This reaction is an undesired reaction because, it runs parallel with the selective CO methanation reaction. This increases the CO outlet concentration. The catalytic performance of ruthenium supported on carbon nanotubes (CNTs), nitrogen doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs), titania coated carbon nanotubes (NCNT-TiO2 and CNTs-TiO2) and TiO2 anatase (TiO2-A) for selective CO methanation was investigated. The feed composition relevant to reformate gas was used but in the absence of steam. The experiments were conducted within a temperature range of 100 °C and 360 °C. It was observed that carbon dioxide methanation was suppressed until CO methanation attained a maximum conversion for all the catalysts studied. The Ru/NCNT showed higher activity than Ru/CNT at all temperatures examined due to the nitrogen incorporation in the carbon domains. Both Ru/CNT and Ru/NCNT however promoted the RWGS reaction at temperatures above 250 °C. The Ru/CNT-TiO2 catalyst recorded the highest activity for both the CO and selective CO methanation followed by Ru/TiO2-A. The presence of titania on the carbon nanotubes significantly retarded the RWGS reaction from about −120% CO conversion to about 80% CO conversion, while selectivity towards methane increased in all catalysts with increasing temperature