Design and development of Taeneb City Guide - from paper maps and guidebooks to electronic guides

This paper reports the design, development and feedback from the initial trial of the Taeneb City Guide project developing tourist information software on Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) handheld computers. Based on the users' requirements for electronic tourists guides already published in the literature, the paper focuses on the three main technology features of the systems, which would give the advantage over the existing paper publication: query-able dynamic map interface, dynamic information content and community review systems and users' forum. The paper also reports the results of an initial trial of a City Guide for Glasgow conducted as part of the EMAC 03 conference

Private sector impact investment in water purification infrastructure in South Africa

Thesis (MCom)--Stellenbosch University, 2018.ENGLISH SUMMARY : Access to safe drinking water (also called potable water) is a basic human right. Humanity is, however, facing a significant decline in the quantity and quality of available fresh water. The consequences of water crises on human health and economic activity are widespread and likely to deteriorate in future. Presently, millions of South Africans lack acceptable access to potable water, particularly those living in rural and peri-urban areas. Private sector involvement is increasingly needed to address the large and growing financing gap in water infrastructure. Given the limited academic research, the researcher conducted an extensive study on the motives, barriers and opportunities associated with private sector impact investment in water purification infrastructure in South Africa. A qualitative research approach was selected to explore and describe the topic under investigation. To address the primary and secondary research objectives, a conceptual framework was developed, validated and revised. Secondary data were collected and analysed by means of a comprehensive literature review. The result of this literature review was the development of the proposed conceptual framework which outlined the motives of impact investors, ten barriers and seven opportunities in impact investing in general. Furthermore, six barriers and seven opportunities specific to impact investments in water purification infrastructure were presented. An interview guide was developed based on these factors. A combination of judgement and snowball sampling was used to identify 20 experts in the impact investment market and local water provision process. Semi-structured personal interviews were then conducted with the experts. The transcribed interviews were coded using directed content analysis to identify common and contradicting responses which were used to revise the conceptual framework. The findings indicate that most South African impact investors are finance-first investors (they prioritise financial returns over social and/or environmental impact). The critical barriers to impact investments included the shortage of investment-ready deals and the lack of detailed and clearly formulated social and/or environmental impact objectives. Major barriers to impact investing in water purification infrastructure in South Africa centred on the lack of lifecycle support, the possibility of political interference and low financial return expectations. A primary opportunity that was identified in impact investing in general was the prospect to earn a financial return while making major social and/or environmental impact. The large public financing gap in water infrastructure and investing in a convergence of sectors through innovative technologies in water purification infrastructure were the foremost opportunities outlined in impact investing in water purification infrastructure. Based on the results, the researcher made recommendations for impact investors, other role players in the impact investment market, government officials and other policy makers, educators and the media. The main recommendation was to improve lifecycle support to facilitate the growth of small and medium-sized social enterprises in South Africa thereby increasing the number of investment-ready deals. Other recommendations included the development of a standardised format to social and/or environmental impact reporting and the implementation of regulatory reforms to encourage more private sector impact investments.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Toegang tot veilige drinkwater is ‘n basiese mensereg. Die samelewing word egter blootgestel aan ‘n skerp daling in die hoeveelheid en gehalte van beskikbare vars water. Hierdie waterkrisisse het omvangryke gevolge vir mense se gesondheid en ekonomiese bedrywighede en sal na verwagting verdere afmetings in die toekoms aanneem. Tans is miljoene Suid-Afrikaners uitgelewer aan onaanvaarbaar lae vlakke van toegang tot drinkbare water, veral diegene wat in landelike of buitestedelike gebiede woon. Daar is ‘n toenemende behoefte aan die privaatsektor se betrokkenheid om die groot en stygende finansieringsgaping ten opsigte van waterinfrastruktuur in die land to oorbrug. Op grond van die huidige gebrek in akademiese navorsingskennis, was die hoofdoel van hierdie studie om dryfvere, hindernisse en geleenthede wat verband hou met privaatsektor impakinvestering in watersuiweringsinfrastruktuur in Suid-Afrika te ondersoek. ‘n Kwalitatiewe navorsingsproses is gevolg. ‘n Konseptuele raamwerk is ontwikkel, vir geldigheid getoets, en aangepas ten einde die primêre en sekondêre navorsingsdoelwitte te ondersoek. Sekondêre data is ingesamel as deel van ‘n omvattende literatuuroorsig. Die faktore wat beleggers motiveer om te belê met die doel om ‘n impak te maak op die samelewing en/of die omgewing is in die konseptuele raamwerk uitgelê wat gebaseer was op die literatuuroorsig. In die raamwerk word tien hindernisse en sewe geleenthede in algemene impakinvestering uitgewys. ‘n Verdere ses hindernisse en sewe geleenthede word genoem wat spesifiek verband hou met impakinvestering in watersuiweringsinfrastruktuur. ‘n Onderhoudsgids is ontwikkel op grond van hierdie faktore. ‘n Kombinasie van oordeel- en sneeubalsteekproefneming is gebruik om 20 kundiges in die impakinvesteringsmark asook die plaaslike watervoorsieningsproses te identifiseer. Semigestruktureerde persoonlike onderhoude is met die kundiges gevoer. Die onderhoude is getranskribeer en gekodeer met behupl van gerigte inhoudsontleding om beide gemeenskaplike en teenstrydige response van die deelnemers te identifiseer, wat gebruik is as riglyn om die konseptuele raamwerk aan te pas. Die bevindinge dui aan dat die meeste Suid-Afrikaanse impakinvesteerders as ‘finansies-eerste’ investeerders geklassifiseer kan word, waar finansiële opbrengs belangriker geag word as samelewing en/of omgewing impak. Onvolledige en onduidelik uiteengesette impakdoelwitte asook ‘n gebrek aan transaksies wat investeringsgereed is ten opsigte van die samelewing en/of omgewing ‘n kritieke hindernis in impakinvestering. Gebrek aan lewensiklusondersteuning, die moontlikheid van politieke inmenging en ‘n verwagte swak finansiële opbrengs verteenwoordig die grootste hindernisse ten opsigte van impakinvestering in watersuiweringsinfrastruktuur in Suid-Afrika. Die voorste geleentheid van belang in die algemene impakinvestering was ‘n vooruitsig van ‘n finansiële opbrengs gekoppel met ‘n beduidende impak op die samelewing en/of omgewing. Die twee vernaamste watersuiweringsinfrastruktuur investeringsgeleenthede was die ernstige openbare sektor finansieringstekort sowel as belegging in ‘n verskeidenheid sektore deur middel van vernuwende tegnologie in watersuiweringsinfrastruktuur. Na aanleiding van die bevindinge, word ‘n aantal aanbevelings relevant tot impakinvesteerders, ander rolspelers in die impakinvesteringsmark, regeringsinstansies, beleidsmakers, opvoedkundiges en die media gemaak. Die belangrikste aanbeveling is om die lewensiklus van klein- en mediumgroot maatskaplike ondernemings in Suid-Afrika te ondersteun ten einde die groter aantal transaksies te verhoog. Ander aanbevelings sluit in die aangaande ontwikkeling van ‘n standard formaat vir verslaglewering oor die samelewing en/of die omgewing impak en regulatoriese hervorminge ten einde stukrag aan impakinvestering deur die privaatsektor te gee

Insights into frequent asthma exacerbations from a primary care perspective and the implications of UK National Review of Asthma Deaths recommendations

The United Kingdom National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD) recommends that patients who require ≥3 courses of oral corticosteroids (OCS) for exacerbations in the past year or those on British Thoracic Society (BTS) Step 4/5 treatment must be referred to a specialist asthma service. The aim of the study was to identify the proportion of asthma patients in primary care that fulfil NRAD criteria for specialist referral and factors associated with frequent exacerbations. A total of 2639 adult asthma patients from 10 primary care practices in Glasgow, UK were retrospectively studied between 2014 and 2015. Frequent exacerbators and short-acting β2-agonist (SABA) over-users were identified if they received ≥2 confirmed OCS courses for asthma and ≥13 SABA inhalers in the past year, respectively. Community dispensing data were used to assess treatment adherence defined as taking ≥75% of prescribed inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) dose. The study population included 185 (7%) frequent exacerbators, 137 (5%) SABA over-users, and 319 (12%) patients on BTS Step 4/5 treatment. Among frequent exacerbators, 41% required BTS Step 4/5 treatment, 46% had suboptimal ICS adherence, 42% had not attended an asthma review in the past year and 42% had no previous input from a specialist asthma service. Older age, female gender, BTS Step 4/5, SABA over-use and co-existing COPD diagnosis increased the risk of frequent exacerbations independently. Fourteen per 100 asthma patients would fulfil the NRAD criteria for specialist referral. Better collaboration between primary and secondary care asthma services is needed to improve chronic asthma care

Work-related stress:The impact of COVID-19 on critical care and redeployed nurses: A mixed-methods study

Lisa Salisbury - ORCID: 0000-0002-1400-3224 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1400-3224Replaced AM with VoR 2021-07-08.Introduction: We need to understand the impact of COVID-19 on Critical Care (CCNs) and redeployed nurses and NHS organisations. Methods and analysis: This is a mixed methods study (QUANT – QUAL), underpinned by a theoretical model of occupational stress, the Job-Demand Resources Model (JD-R). Participants are critical care and redeployed nurses from Scottish and three large English units. Phase one is a cross-sectional survey in part replicating a pre-COVID-19 study and results will be compared with this data. Linear and logistic regression analysis will examine the relationship between antecedent, demographic, and professional variables on health impairment (burnout syndrome, mental health, posttraumatic stress symptoms), motivation (work engagement, commitment), and organisational outcomes (intention to remain in critical care nursing and quality of care). We will also assess the usefulness of a range of resources provided by the NHS and professional organisations. To allow in-depth exploration of individual experiences, phase two will be one-to-one semi-structured interviews with 25 CCNs and 10 redeployed nurses. The JD-R model will provide the initial coding framework to which the interview data will be mapped. The remaining content will be analysed inductively to identify and chart content that is not captured by the model. In this way the adequacy of the JD-R model is examined robustly and its expression in this context will be detailed. Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval was granted from the University of Aberdeen CERB2020101993. We plan to disseminate findings at stakeholder events, publish in peer reviewed journals and at present at national and international conferences.https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-05132611pubpub

The Drosophila snr1 and brm Proteins are Related to Yeast SWI/SNF Proteins and are Components of a Large Protein Complex

During most of Drosophila development the regulation of homeotic gene transcription is controlled by two groups of regulatory genes, the trithorax group of activators and the Polycomb group of repressors. brahma (brm), a member of the trithorax group, encodes a protein related to the yeast SWI2/SNF2 protein, a subunit of a protein complex that assists sequence-specific activator proteins by alleviating the repressive effects of chromatin. To learn more about the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of homeotic gene transcription, we have investigated whether a similar complex exists in flies. We identified the Drosophila snr1 gene, a potential homologue of the yeast SNF5 gene that encodes a subunit of the yeast SWI/SNF complex. The snr1 gene is essential and genetically interacts with brm and trithorax (trx), suggesting cooperation in regulating homeotic gene transcription. The spatial and temporal patterns of expression of snr1 are similar to those of brm. The snr1 and brm proteins are present in a large (> 2 x 10(6) Da) complex, and they co-immunoprecipitate from Drosophila extracts. These findings provide direct evidence for conservation of the SWI/SNF complex in higher eucaryotes and suggest that the Drosophila brm/snr1 complex plays an important role in maintaining homeotic gene transcription during development by counteracting the repressive effects of chromatin

The Drosophila snr1 and brm Proteins are Related to Yeast SWI/SNF Proteins and are Components of a Large Protein Complex

During most of Drosophila development the regulation of homeotic gene transcription is controlled by two groups of regulatory genes, the trithorax group of activators and the Polycomb group of repressors. brahma (brm), a member of the trithorax group, encodes a protein related to the yeast SWI2/SNF2 protein, a subunit of a protein complex that assists sequence-specific activator proteins by alleviating the repressive effects of chromatin. To learn more about the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of homeotic gene transcription, we have investigated whether a similar complex exists in flies. We identified the Drosophila snr1 gene, a potential homologue of the yeast SNF5 gene that encodes a subunit of the yeast SWI/SNF complex. The snr1 gene is essential and genetically interacts with brm and trithorax (trx), suggesting cooperation in regulating homeotic gene transcription. The spatial and temporal patterns of expression of snr1 are similar to those of brm. The snr1 and brm proteins are present in a large (> 2 x 10(6) Da) complex, and they co-immunoprecipitate from Drosophila extracts. These findings provide direct evidence for conservation of the SWI/SNF complex in higher eucaryotes and suggest that the Drosophila brm/snr1 complex plays an important role in maintaining homeotic gene transcription during development by counteracting the repressive effects of chromatin

Transcription Factor Binding Site Polymorphism in the Motilin Gene Associated with Left-Sided Displacement of the Abomasum in German Holstein Cattle

Left-sided displacement of the abomasum (LDA) is a common disease in many dairy cattle breeds. A genome-wide screen for QTL for LDA in German Holstein (GH) cows indicated motilin (MLN) as a candidate gene on bovine chromosome 23. Genomic DNA sequence analysis of MLN revealed a total of 32 polymorphisms. All informative polymorphisms used for association analyses in a random sample of 1,136 GH cows confirmed MLN as a candidate for LDA. A single nucleotide polymorphism (FN298674:g.90T>C) located within the first non-coding exon of bovine MLN affects a NKX2-5 transcription factor binding site and showed significant associations (ORallele = 0.64; −log10Pallele = 6.8, −log10Pgenotype = 7.0) with LDA. An expression study gave evidence of a significantly decreased MLN expression in cows carrying the mutant allele (C). In individuals heterozygous or homozygous for the mutation, MLN expression was decreased by 89% relative to the wildtype. FN298674:g.90T>C may therefore play a role in bovine LDA via the motility of the abomasum. This MLN SNP appears useful to reduce the incidence of LDA in German Holstein cattle and provides a first step towards a deeper understanding of the genetics of LDA

Intrapulmonary Pharmacokinetics of First-line Anti-tuberculosis Drugs in Malawian Patients With Tuberculosis

BACKGROUND: Further work is required to understand the intrapulmonary pharmacokinetics of first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs. This study aimed to describe the plasma and intrapulmonary pharmacokinetics of rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol, and explore relationships with clinical treatment outcomes in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. METHODS: Malawian adults with a first presentation of microbiologically-confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis received standard 6-month first-line therapy. Plasma and intrapulmonary samples were collected 8 and 16 weeks into treatment and drug concentrations measured in plasma, lung/airway epithelial lining fluid, and alveolar cells. Population pharmacokinetic modelling generated estimates of drug exposure (Cmax and AUC) from individual-level post-hoc Bayesian estimates of plasma and intrapulmonary pharmacokinetics. RESULTS: One-hundred-and-fifty-seven patients (58% HIV co-infected) participated. Despite standard weight-based dosing, peak plasma concentrations of first-line drugs were below therapeutic drug monitoring targets. Rifampicin concentrations were low in all three compartments. Isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol achieved higher concentrations in epithelial lining fluid and alveolar cells than plasma. Isoniazid and pyrazinamide concentrations were 14.6 (95% CI: 11.2-18.0) and 49.8-fold (95% CI: 34.2-65.3) higher in lining fluid than plasma respectively. Ethambutol concentrations were highest in alveolar cells (alveolar cells:plasma ratio 15.0, 95% CI 11.4-18.6). Plasma or intrapulmonary pharmacokinetics did not predict clinical treatment response. CONCLUSIONS: We report differential drug concentrations between plasma and the lung. While plasma concentrations were below therapeutic monitoring targets, accumulation of drugs at the site of disease may explain the success of the first-line regimen. The low rifampicin concentrations observed in all compartments lend strong support for ongoing clinical trials of high-dose rifampicin regimens