Evaluation of office space utilisation in South African municipalities

PURPOSE: Office space planning requires design skills and space planning norms to ensure space efficient office areas allowing occupants to perform optimally. No specific space norms exist for South African municipalities. Municipal facilities are unique and fulfil many functions, challenging the application of space norms. This study was part of work commissioned by the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) to understand municipal office space use in preparing a guideline for future municipal office building funding applications. The study evaluated current South African municipal office space allocation, compared it to office space planning norms for South African organs of state and identified possible challenges to applying the said space planning norms to municipal office space planning. DESIGN: The study was based on data from fieldwork surveys by professional quantity surveyors and valuators on municipal office space utilisation. Time and cost constraints restricted the survey to non-metropolitan municipalities in four provinces. The study adopted qualitative and quantitative methods to reach the findings. FINDINGS: The study revealed significant comparisons and deviations from South African and international space planning norms and identified challenges for municipalities to apply space planning norms. VALUE: This study provides insight into the current state and efficiency of municipal office space utilisation. By identifying challenges for applying space planning norms to municipalities the study suggests where future action should be focused to address the problem.http://asocsa.org/publications.htmlam201

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A method to determine the performance characteristics of cooling tower spray zones

Cooling tower spray zones play an important role in cooling tower performance. Ideally they must distribute the cooling water uniformly onto the fill and must produce small drops at minimal pressure head to maximise heat and mass transfer in the spray zone with minimal pumping power. Limited thermal performance characteristic data is found in literature for cooling tower spray zones, since it is virtually impossible to measure spray zone performance accurately. In this paper, the method used to model the performance of cooling tower spray zones and results obtained for a medium pressure swirl nozzle are presented. Water flow distribution and drop size distribution tests are conducted on cooling tower spray nozzles to investigate the effects of varying different operating parameters, such as air and water flow rates, and installation parameters, such as nozzle height, nozzle spacing and direction of spray, on performance. The suitability of superimposing single nozzle flow distribution data to obtain the water distribution for a grid of equally spaced nozzles with variable nozzle spacing is investigated. Furthermore, a single nozzle simulation model is developed and used to model single spray nozzles. The single nozzle model and the superposition model are subsequently used to obtain initial drop conditions to model the spray zone using the commercial CFD package FLUENT®. The proposed modelling approach allows for the evaluation and performance prediction of existing and new nozzle design configurations. Correlations are presented for the Merkel number and loss coefficient for the downspray nozzle investigated. © 2010 by ASME

Psychopharmacology of maternal separation anxiety in vervet monkeys.

Maternal separation in non-human primates has been proposed as a model of early adversity. The symptoms of separation anxiety were studied in vervet monkeys, during the weaning period, when psychotropic medications were administered. The control group received a normal diet and treatment groups received citalopram, reboxetine or lamotrigine in their food daily. Treatment was given for 7 weeks starting 1 month prior to weaning. Behavior was recorded twice weekly for 8 weeks, and was rated for anxiety and depression. Cerebrospinal fluid was collected at the beginning and end of the trial and analyzed for monoamines and metabolites using High Performance Liquid Chromatography. Citalopram pretreatment prevented the reduction of affiliation behavior and reduced stereotypies after weaning, and both citalopram and reboxetine abolished the increase in activity seen in control monkeys after weaning, but no statistically significant differences were found between groups. Citalopram pretreatment also significantly increased noradrenaline and 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (5-HIAA) levels and reboxetine significantly decreased dopamine levels over time. The 5-HIAA levels of reboxetine and lamotrigine treated monkeys were significantly lower than that of the control group at the end of the trial. Although limited by a small sample size, this study demonstrates the possibility of investigating the psychopharmacology of early adversity in a non-human primate model.Articl

Use of green rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) extract and water-soluble nanomicelles of green rooibos extract encapsulated with ascorbic acid for enhanced aspalathin content in ready-to-drink iced teas

Heat-induced changes in aspalathin, iso-orientin, and orientin content of ready-to-drink (RTD) green rooibos iced tea formulations were investigated. An organic-solvent-based aspalathin-enriched extract prepared from green rooibos was used "as-is" or encapsulated with ascorbic acid in a water-soluble nanomicelle-based carrier system. The common iced tea ingredients, ascorbic acid, and/or citric acid were added to the iced tea containing green rooibos extract. Only citric acid was added to the iced tea containing the nanomicelles. Heat treatments consisted of pasteurization (93 °C/5 min and 93 °C/30 min), normaltemperature sterilization (NTS; 121 °C/15 min), and high-temperature sterilization (HTS; 135 °C/4 min). Pasteurization had little or no effect on the flavonoid content. NTS and HTS induced significant losses in the flavonoids. The addition of citric and ascorbic acids improved the stability of the flavonoids, but encapsulation of green rooibos extract with ascorbic acid in nanomicelles did not offer additional stability. The only benefit of using the water-soluble nanomicelles was the improved clarity of the RTD product. Isoorientin and orientin contents were substantially less affected than aspalathin by the heat treatments, partially because of conversion of aspalathin to these flavones, which countered losses. 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a known dehydration product of hexoses under mild acidic conditions and also a degradation product of ascorbic acid, was observed in formulations containing citric and/or ascorbic acids. ©2010 American Chemical Society.Articl

Causes of cross-border migration between South Africa and respectively Mozambique and Zimbabwe

This report focuses on the causes and implications of cross-border migration between Mozambique and South African and between Zimbabwe and South Africa

Pretoriana, no. 031, Dec. 1959

Our indebtedness to Dr. Punt / J.H. Davies -- Dr. W. Punt en die Genootskap Oud-Pretoria / F.J.du Toit Spies -- Dr. Willem Punt as onderwysman / C.F. Hendrikz -- Ons nuwe voorsitter se waardering vir die werk van Dr. Punt / G.W. Eybers -- Dr. en mev. I.M. Meyer : in memoriam / A.J. Roode -- God spreek deur hulle dood / D.J. Viljoen -- Huldigingsrede oor wyle dr. en mev. I.M. Meyer / R.E. Lighton -- Huldigingswoorde tydens onthulling van gedenkplaat op rots / J.J. Mulder -- Onthulling van die naamplaat van Huis Meyer / E.C. Steyn -- Boodskap aan die personeellede van die Onderyskollege, Pretoria / R.S. Meyer -- Genootskap Oud-Pretoria jaarverslag 1959 = Association Old Pretoria annual report 1959p. 23 follows on p. 13