Studies on bioflocculant production by a consortium of two bacterial species belonging to the Methylobacterium and Actinobacterium genera

Bioflocculants produced by two identified bacteria: Actinobacterium sp. Mayor and Methylobacterium sp. Obi were investigated with regard to their physicochemical and flocculating characteristics. The two strains were later combined to form a consortium for further studies. The optimum culture conditions for the bioflocculant production were similar for all strains except in the case of Actinobacterium sp. Mayor and the consortium, where glucose was replaced by sodium carbonate as a carbon source. Multi-nitrogen source was the best nitrogen source compare to individual sources for both strains. The divalent cation, Ca2+ proved to be a better flocculating activity stimulus for all produced bioflocculants in this study. The optimum flocculating activities obtained for both individual strains and the consortium were all at alkaline pH. The yield of purified bioflocculant produced by the consortium was 8.203 g/l, while 4.190 g/l and 4.610 g/l were recovered for single strains of Actinobacterium sp. Mayor and Methylobacterium sp. Obi respectively. Further characterization of pure bioflocculants revealed that a bioflocculant dosage of 0.3 mg/ml resulted in the highest flocculating activity for both individual strains while 1.0 mg/ml of the bioflocculant produced by the consortium was required to enhance maximum flocculating efficiency. These bioflocculants proved to be all thermo stable at a temperature range of 20 to 900°C with a heating rate of 10oC/min under a constant flow of nitrogen gas. The presence of functional groups normally required for bioflocculation such as hydroxyl, carboxyl and amino was also detected. The findings of this study suggest that the producedbioflocculants can be utilized as excellent substitutes for harmful synthetic flocculants in both water and wastewater treatments as well as in other industrial applications

Comparative analysis of financing instruments used by development finance institutions: lessons for Brics Development Bank

Financing instruments are the means by which development finance institutions carry out their mandate of addressing the socio-economic needs of the country, group of countries or a region. It is of great importance that the development and application of financing instruments should be in line with the objectives for which the development finance institutions were established. The literature reviewed was intended to establish the reasons for the existence of development finance institutions and their role in private sector development. Furthermore, literature was reviewed to establish various financing instruments developed and applied by development finance institutions. The study is premised on the fact that new DFIs can be complementary thus an assessment of DFIs will provide instrument and sectoral gaps which the BRCIS Bank can take advantage of. As such, the study was to examine the financing instruments that development finance institutions (DFIs) use to address their economic objectives and identify lessons for the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Development Bank. The study employed the qualitative exploratory research strategy. Documents and in-depth interviews were used as data. The sample included major multilateral, regional and bilateral development finance institutions operating in developing economies, including BRICS countries. The author established that there are varied founding objectives of development finance institutions and that there is wide use of traditional financing instruments of debt and equity. However, there is limited use of innovative financing instruments such as project finance and those applied in Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). The main recommendation made is that BRICS Bank should take advantage of the existing instrument and sectoral gaps if it is going to survive not only as a competitor but a complementary DFI. In addition it should consider the introduction of innovative instruments that take into account developing and emerging economies realities. In light of mission drift and agency issues the BRICS Bank should have robust governance and monitoring and evaluation frameworks that will ensure that its founding objectives are pursued

AI/Machine learning approach to identifying potential statistical arbitrage opportunities with FX and Bitcoin Markets

In this study, a methodology is presented where a hybrid system combining an evolutionary algorithm with artificial neural networks (ANNs) is designed to make weekly directional change forecasts on the USD by inferring a prediction using closing spot rates of three currency pairs: EUR/USD, GBP/USD and CHF/USD. The forecasts made by the genetically trained ANN are compared to those made by a new variation of the simple moving average (MA) trading strategy, tailored to the methodology, as well as a random model. The same process is then repeated for the three major cryptocurrencies namely: BTC/USD, ETH/USD and XRP/USD. The overall prediction accuracy, uptrend and downtrend prediction accuracy is analyzed for all three methods within the fiat currency as well as the cryptocurrency contexts. The best models are then evaluated in terms of their ability to convert predictive accuracy to a profitable investment given an initial investment. The best model was found to be the hybrid model on the basis of overall prediction accuracy and accrued returns

Reconstructing and developing the health system - the first 1 000 days

This paper attempts to document the successes and failures of the Department of Health during the first 1 000 days of the Government of National Unity. The achievements of the Department are reflected against the backdrop of the legacies inherited by the current Ministry and Department

Towards the legalisation of artisanal small-scale mining in South Africa

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) includes 20 to 30 million people worldwide, with three to five times that number indirectly supported through their activities. The aartisanal small-scale mining sector has emerged as a sector that is a net contributor to sustainable development and is a poverty alleviation intervention. ASM provides numerous opportunities for women though the extent varies from country to country. While this sector contributes to poverty alleviation, it is by no means associated with socio-economic misgivings. Governments, industry players and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have neglected this fast-growing sector, focusing on the negative impacts of ASM rather than on addressing its structural challenges to improve the sector’s opportunities for sustainable development. This has been the case because ASM is very often associated with challenges, including a poor environment; health and safety practices; the spread of communicable diseases; heightened security risks to neighbouring communities and operations; forced child labour; inequitable distribution of benefits in communities; and illegal trade. South Africa is no exception with a recorded rise in ASMs, referred to as zama-zamas, an operation characterised by non-citizens, a situation that ushered in a security risk. Artisanal small-scale mining as a fast-growing sector demanding recognition and profiling of the sector with its requisite enablers within legislation. The question the dissertation addresses is whether the social contract provided for in the Policy on Mineral Resources and codified through legislation has created a mining sector that contributes to the poverty alleviation agenda of South Africa. The dissertation aims to assess the extent to which South Africa‘s legislative framework provides for the development and incorporation of ASM as a fast-growing sector that requires support, regulation, monitoring and evaluation. The approach adopted entails the contextualisation of ASM as well as a dissection of its attributes, and an analysis of South African policies and legislation. Further, Ghana and Tanzania are utilised as test cases to provide some evidence of the recognition of the ASM sector and improvements to legislation to promote local content. The two test cases are utilised to propose areas that require consideration in the South African legislation to enable the ASM sector to receive the support to ensure compliance. South Africa has commenced with initiatives to recognise the existence of ASM by issuing licences and promoting cooperatve arrangements within mining.The attribution of ASM as lillegal mining and a security risk for South Africa is unfortunate. South Africa must embrace practices that prevail in the Communities of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (CASM) Charter, the Yaoundé Vision and the Africa Mining Vision, where the practice of informal artisanal mining (IAM) is not criminalised but is encouraged as a niche source for sustainable livelihoods.Mini Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2017.Public LawLLMUnrestricte

An evaluation of the effectiveness of Walter Sisulu University's teaching practice as a context for student teachers' competence development

This study was aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of teaching practice as a context for the development of student teachers’ competences at Walter Sisulu University. The study was necessitated by the lack of information on whether teaching practice really provides an effective context or not. A literature study focusing on planning of teaching practice, preparation of student teachers for teaching practice, placement of student teachers for teaching practice, mentoring during teaching practice as well as supervision and assessment of teaching practice was conducted. The activity and situated learning theories provided a theoretical framework for studying teaching practice. The mixed-methods approach consisting of quantitative and qualitative approaches was used and data was collected through questionnaires and focus group discussions. The participants in the study were: thirty (30) student teachers in their third year of study; ten (10) host teachers who were hosting student teachers at the time of data collection for this study and ten (10) university supervisors responsible for teaching practice supervision. Data from closed-ended questionnaire items were analysed statistically. Frequencies and percentages were derived. Content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data. The results of the study revealed that there was a serious lack of communication between the university and the schools used for teaching practice and as a result student teachers were subjected to a wide range of treatment when they arrived at the schools. The findings also showed that student teachers were inadequately prepared for teaching practice. Student teachers were faced with serious challenges with regard to placement and there was no common programme of mentoring. The schools, as a result, did not provide a sufficiently-appropriate environment for teaching practice to become an effective context for student teachers‘ competence development. The recommendations made include suggestions for the improvement of the general organisation of teaching practice with the university and the schools working as partners in all the activities of teaching practice. The introduction of a formal programme for the preparation of student teachers for teaching practice is suggested and a teaching practice model is also proposed

An assessment of rural women's co-operatives in the Tsojana Village as regards meeting the objectives of sustainable livelihood and socio-economic development

This thesis is based on an in-depth assessment of the three rural women co-operatives in the Tsojana village, within the Intsika Yethu Local Municipality, which is the largest and most rural municipality within the Chris Hani District Municipality. 95 percent of households in this municipality live in rural areas or villages (Integrated Development Plan (IDP), 2010-2011). Rural areas are characterised by high levels of poverty, deprivation, poor infrastructure, and poor linkages to markets. Rural women are the ones experiencing poverty at first hand due to the fact that they are less mobile; when food crisis hits, men tend to leave to look for work or income in towns/cities, while women stay behind to look after their families (Moyo-Mhlanga, 2001). In 1975, the World Bank addressed the question of how women can become effective in economic development, hence the establishment of Women in Development Projects to encourage them to be more involved in income-generating activities like rural projects, co-operatives (co-ops) and self-help groups. A co-operative is an autonomous association of people who join voluntarily to meet their socio-economic and cultural needs through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise (International Labour Organization (ILO), 2002). The United Nations (UN) recognized the contribution cooperatives can make to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through productive employment, eradicating poverty, enhancing social integration and promoting the advancement of women. This research study was motivated by the fact that- there are various women development projects/co-operatives in Tsojana Administrative Area (A/A) which aim to improve the lives of the rural people for the better, but most of these co-ops are not sustainable and financially viable. Rural women have realized that in order to sustain development they have to integrate themselves into village development structures, as in various co-operatives, informal rural entrepreneurs and agricultural and non-farm income-generating activities. The study proposes to investigate the reasons for the failure of these co-ops to create sustainable rural livelihoods. The study further attempts to explore development strategies that will assist to transform and advance the co-ops towards sustainable development for all. It also aims to explore strategies that will alleviate poverty, create jobs, and address all factors of underdevelopment and deprivation. The overall methodological approach in this study is qualitative in nature, as it is based on the understanding of the situation from the participant‟s point of view, or perspective. It seeks to describe, investigate and explore aspects of development projects, and to also understand the aspects of socio-economic life of rural women. It combines three traditions of enquiry, i.e. case study, phenomenology, and ethnography. A non-probability type of sampling, in particular purposive sampling, was used for the study because the researcher‟s samples are based on her judgement. Interpretive research paradigm was used to allow the researcher to study meaningful social action, not just the external or observable behaviour of people, and various research tools were used to collect data. These co-operatives have been identified as struggling for survival, and lacking training, and material and financial resources. The co-operatives require support for expansion and modernizing their operations

Comparative study on energy consumption at the University of Johannesburg residences

Abstract: This study evaluates the pattern of energy usage at the twenty-eight residences of the University of Johannesburg during the 2016 academic year. The study investigates the trend of energy consumption based on total energy usage per residence in terms of the number of students at each of the residences on a monthly and daily basis. The data employed in this study were collected over a period of eleven months which is the overall effective academic calendar. The results obtained showed a contrast between the total energy usage per residence and energy usage per student. Sophia town residence recorded the highest total annual energy usage of 149286 kWh while Takalani residence recorded the least which was 97093 kWh of all the residences considered in this study. However, when energy consumption was measured as a function of number of students in each residence, Goudstad residence recorded the highest monthly energy usage per student (450.69 kWh), followed by YMCA (389.09 kWh) while the least monthly energy usage of 51.30 kWh was recorded in Maqhawe residence. Similarly, results obtained from the study on daily energy usage per student in the last five months of the 2016 academic year showed Goudstad residence (23.32 kWh) and YMCA (20.34) as the two residences with the highest daily energy usage per student respectively. However, the energy usage does not follow a regular pattern within the period under consideration

Which method is best for the induction of labour?: A systematic review, network meta-analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis

Background: More than 150,000 pregnant women in England and Wales have their labour induced each year. Multiple pharmacological, mechanical and complementary methods are available to induce labour. Objective: To assess the relative effectiveness, safety and cost-effectiveness of labour induction methods and, data permitting, effects in different clinical subgroups. Methods: We carried out a systematic review using Cochrane methods. The Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group’s Trials Register was searched (March 2014). This contains over 22,000 reports of controlled trials (published from 1923 onwards) retrieved from weekly searches of OVID MEDLINE (1966 to current); Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library); EMBASE (1982 to current); Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (1984 to current); ClinicalTrials.gov; the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Portal; and hand-searching of relevant conference proceedings and journals. We included randomised controlled trials examining interventions to induce labour compared with placebo, no treatment or other interventions in women eligible for third-trimester induction. We included outcomes relating to efficacy, safety and acceptability to women. In addition, for the economic analysis we searched the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, and Economic Evaluations Databases, NHS Economic Evaluation Database and the Health Technology Assessment database. We carried out a network meta-analysis (NMA) using all of the available evidence, both direct and indirect, to produce estimates of the relative effects of each treatment compared with others in a network. We developed a de novo decision tree model to estimate the cost-effectiveness of various methods. The costs included were the intervention and other hospital costs incurred (price year 2012–13). We reviewed the literature to identify preference-based utilities for the health-related outcomes in the model. We calculated incremental cost-effectiveness ratios, expected costs, utilities and net benefit. We represent uncertainty in the optimal intervention using cost-effectiveness acceptability curves. Results: We identified 1190 studies; 611 were eligible for inclusion. The interventions most likely to achieve vaginal delivery (VD) within 24 hours were intravenous oxytocin with amniotomy [posterior rank 2; 95% credible intervals (CrIs) 1 to 9] and higher-dose (≥ 50 μg) vaginal misoprostol (rank 3; 95% CrI 1 to 6). Compared with placebo, several treatments reduced the odds of caesarean section, but we observed considerable uncertainty in treatment rankings. For uterine hyperstimulation, double-balloon catheter had the highest probability of being among the best three treatments, whereas vaginal misoprostol (≥ 50 μg) was most likely to increase the odds of excessive uterine activity. For other safety outcomes there were insufficient data or there was too much uncertainty to identify which treatments performed ‘best’. Few studies collected information on women’s views. Owing to incomplete reporting of the VD within 24 hours outcome, the cost-effectiveness analysis could compare only 20 interventions. The analysis suggested that most interventions have similar utility and differ mainly in cost. With a caveat of considerable uncertainty, titrated (low-dose) misoprostol solution and buccal/sublingual misoprostol had the highest likelihood of being cost-effective. Limitations: There was considerable uncertainty in findings and there were insufficient data for some planned subgroup analyses. Conclusions: Overall, misoprostol and oxytocin with amniotomy (for women with favourable cervix) is more successful than other agents in achieving VD within 24 hours. The ranking according to safety of different methods was less clear. The cost-effectiveness analysis suggested that titrated (low-dose) oral misoprostol solution resulted in the highest utility, whereas buccal/sublingual misoprostol had the lowest cost. There was a high degree of uncertainty as to the most cost-effective intervention