Bibliometric Analysis of Citation Trends and Publications on E-government in Southern African Countries: A Human-computer Interactions and IT Alignment Debate

Due to technology adoption, many countries are embracing e-government. This study presents the growth and pattern of research on e-government articles and conference proceedings internationally, by scholars in the Southern African countries. It presents research patterns, trends and current gaps in e-government, as well as the most prolific authors and the level of outputs’ prominence. This paper uses bibliometric tools to present the analysis of articles on Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar databases. R computational programming for big data analysis was used to generate summarized metrics. The citation sample size was (n = 33,689), µ = 625, and the outputs impact based on total link strength of citations were; min =11.0, max = 1,686.0 and µ = 118.2, showing the Southern African scholars outputs visibility and prominence on e-government research. The findings present the most prolific authors in the Southern African region and the prominence of their outputs on e-governance. The study, through the computational synthesis of the data, also reveals some of the missing links in e-governance research designs and implementation. Furthermore, the study indicates that the service-oriented design of e-government platforms are still lacking, and the integration of Information Technology (IT) alignment, which is necessary to successfully implement e-government is lacking. The use and integration of mobile technology to enhance citizen-centric and participatory public governance platform and e-government implementation is not sufficiently addressed. Therefore, there is need to measure the maturity level of e-government IT deployment, its user-interfaces, as well as the design of an e-government that is able to respond to often embryonic and heterogeneous needs of citizens

Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay and CP Violation

We study the relation between the Majorana neutrino mass matrices and the neutrinoless double beta decay when CP is not conserved. We give an explicit form of the decay rate in terms of a rephasing invariant quantity and demonstrate that in the presence of CP violation it is impossible to have vanishing neutrinoless double beta decay in the case of two neutrino generations (or when the third generation leptons do not mix with other leptons and hence decouple).Comment: 9 pages, UTPT-93-1

Vacuum polarization in two-dimensional static spacetimes and dimensional reduction

We obtain an analytic approximation for the effective action of a quantum scalar field in a general static two-dimensional spacetime. We apply this to the dilaton gravity model resulting from the spherical reduction of a massive, non-minimally coupled scalar field in the four-dimensional Schwarzschild geometry. Careful analysis near the event horizon shows the resulting two-dimensional system to be regular in the Hartle-Hawking state for general values of the field mass, coupling, and angular momentum, while at spatial infinity it reduces to a thermal gas at the black-hole temperature.Comment: REVTeX 4, 23 pages. Accepted by PRD. Minor modifications from original versio

NLTE determination of the calcium abundance and 3D corrections in extremely metal-poor stars

Accepted in Astronomy and Astrophysics(Abridged) Extremely metal-poor stars contain the fossil records of the chemical composition of the early Galaxy. The NLTE profiles of the calcium lines were computed in a sample of 53 extremely metal-poor stars with a modified version of the program MULTI. With our new model atom we are able to reconcile the abundance of Ca deduced from the Ca I and Ca II lines in Procyon. -We find that [Ca/Fe] = 0.50 ± 0.09 in the early Galaxy, a value slightly higher than the previous LTE estimations. -The scatter of the ratios [X/Ca] is generally smaller than the scatter of the ratio [X/Mg] where X is a "light metal" (O, Na, Mg, Al, S, and K) with the exception of Al. These scatters cannot be explained by error of measurements, except for oxygen. Surprisingly, the scatter of [X/Fe] is always equal to, or even smaller than, the scatter around the mean value of [X/Ca]. -We note that at low metallicity, the wavelength of the Ca I resonance line is shifted relative to the (weaker) subordinate lines, a signature of the effect of convection. -The Ca abundance deduced from the Ca I resonance line (422.7 nm) is found to be systematically smaller at very low metallicity, than the abundance deduced from the subordinate lines

Musculoskeletal pain in 6-year-old children: the Generation R Study

Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain is frequently reported among adolescents and children and is a common reason for consultation in primary care. Our aim is to examine its prevalence in 6-year-old children in a general population and to assess associations with physical and psychosocial factors. Data from the Generation R Study, a population-based cohort, was used. Prevalence and characteristics of MSK pain were assessed with parent-reported questionnaires at 6 years of age (N = 6200). Demographics and data on physical activity, sedentary behaviors, previous reported MSK pain, and behavioral problems were extracted from questionnaires. The body mass index SD score was calculated from objectively measured weight and height. A 3-month prevalence of 10.0% was found for MSK pain in children, of which one-third was chronic, and 44.6% experienced together with pain at other sites. Univariate analyses showed that boys and children with lower socioeconomic status reported MSK pain more frequently compared to other pain and no pain. Although no associations were found between MSK pain and children's body mass index and physical activity level, children with MSK pain were more likely to watch television ≥2 hours/day. Multivariable analysis showed significant associations for MSK pain at 3 years of age (odds ratio 5.10, 95% confidence interval 3.25-7.98) and behavioral problems (odds ratio 2.10, 95% confidence interval 1.19-3.72) with the presence of MSK pain. So, MSK pain is already common in young children and is often chronic or recurrent. Previous reported MSK pain and behavioral

Defining hip pain trajectories in early symptomatic hip osteoarthritis - 5 year results from a nationwide prospective cohort study (CHECK)

Objective: To define distinct hip pain trajectories in individuals with early symptomatic hip osteoarthritis (OA) and to determine risk factors for these pain trajectories. Method: Data were obtained from the nationwide prospective Cohort Hip and Cohort Knee (CHECK) study. Participants with hip pain or stiffness and a completed 5-year follow-up were included. Baseline demographic, anamnestic, physical examination characteristics were assessed. Outcome was annually assessed by the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for pain. Pain trajectories were retrieved by latent class growth analysis (LCGA). Multinomial logistic regression was used to calculate risk ratios. Results: 545 participants were included. Four distinct pain trajectories were uncovered by LCGA. We found significant differences in baseline characteristics, including body mass index (BMI); symptom severity; pain coping strategies and in criteria for clinical hip OA (American College of Rheumatology (ACR)). Lower education, higher activity limitation scores, frequent use of pain transformation as coping strategy and painful internal hip rotation were more often associated with trajectories characterized by more severe pain. No association was found for baseline radiographic features. Conclusion: We defined four distinct pain trajectories over 5 years follow-up in individuals with early symptomatic hip OA, suggesting there are differences in symptomatic progression of hip OA. Baseline radiographic severity was not associated with the pain trajectories. Future research should be aimed at measuring symptomatic progression of hip OA with even more frequent symptom assessment

Efficacy of single pass UVC air treatment for the inactivation of coronavirus, MS2 coliphage and Staphylococcus aureus bioaerosols

Publication history: Accepted - 20 April 2022; Published online - 26 April 2022There is strong evidence that SARS-CoV-2 is spread predominantly by airborne transmission, with high viral loads released into the air as respiratory droplets and aerosols from the infected subject. The spread and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in diverse indoor environments reinforces the urgent need to supplement distancing and PPE based approaches with effective engineering measures for microbial decontamination – thereby addressing the significant risk posed by aerosols. We hypothesized that a portable, single-pass UVC air treatment device (air flow 1254 L/min) could effectively inactivate bioaerosols containing bacterial and viral indicator organisms, and coronavirus without reliance on filtration technology, at reasonable scale. Robust experiments demonstrated UVC dose dependent inactivation of Staphylococcus aureus (UV rate constant (k) = 0.098 m2/J) and bacteriophage MS2, with up to 6-log MS2 reduction achieved in a single pass through the system (k = 0.119 m2/J). The inclusion of a PTFE diffuse reflector increased the effective UVC dose by up to 34% in comparison to a standard Al foil reflector (with identical lamp output), resulting in significant additional pathogen inactivation (1-log S. aureus and MS2, p < 0.001). Complete inactivation of bovine coronavirus bioaerosols was demonstrated through tissue culture infectivity (2.4-log reduction) and RT-qPCR analysis – confirming single pass UVC treatment to effectively deactivate coronavirus to the limit of detection of the culture-based method. Scenario-based modelling was used to investigate the reduction in risk of airborne person-to-person transmission based upon a single infected subject within the small room. Use of the system providing 5 air changes per hour was shown to significantly reduce airborne viral load and maintain low numbers of RNA copies when the infected subject remained in the room, reducing the risk of airborne pathogen transmission to other room users. We conclude that the application of single-pass UVC systems (without reliance on HEPA filtration) could play a critical role in reducing the risk of airborne pathogen transfer, including SARS-CoV2, in locations where adequate fresh air ventilation cannot be implemented.This research was partly funded through the Invest Northern Ireland Innovation Voucher Programme (IV130218200 and IV130232906). We are grateful to the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) UK Research and Innovation (SAFEWATER; EPSRC Grant Reference EP/P032427/1) for supporting Mr Arsalan Afkhami, Dr William J Snelling and Dr Jeremy W.J. Hamilton. Research at AFBI is funded by US-Ireland Research and Development Partnership in Agriculture grants BRDC-Seq and BRDC-URTMVP. We wish to thank Jonathan McMaw at AFBI for acquisition of images

Opioid prescriptions in patients with osteoarthritis: a population-based cohort study

OBJECTIVES: To examine the incidence, prevalence and trends for opioid prescriptions in patients with OA. Furthermore, types of opioids prescribed and long-term prescription rates were examined. Finally, the patient characteristics associated with the prescription of opioids wer

Chapter Green Nanotechnology: Development of Nanomaterials for Environmental and Energy Applications

This book chapter discusses the syntheses of various nanomaterials, for green nanotechnology applications in detail. Special attention is given to the development of emerging areas, such as environmental as well as energy materials. Various approaches for preparing nanostructured photocatalysts, such as titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, iron oxide, and metal sulfides, different conventional methods and novel methods, including sol-gel methods, hydrothermal methods, microwave-assisted methods and sonochemical methods are introduced. The use of nanomaterials as photocatalysts, supporting materials for solar cells, and disinfectants is reported for environmental remediation and energy applications. Advanced applications of nanomaterials for water detoxification, air purification, and the inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms in water as well as dye-sensitized solar cells is also discussed. The enhancement of selectivity of photocatalysis, especially TiO2 systems, for the destruction of target contaminants in water is comprehensively presented. Finally, the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as hydroxyl radical (•OH), superoxide anion radical (O2•-), singlet oxygen (1O2) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), in semiconductor photocatalysis is introduced and various experimental techniques to detect ROS are also discussed