84 research outputs found
Communication
This chapter discusses research on the
capacity and effectiveness of government’s
communications strategy as South Africa
went through the various stages of lockdown
during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. It
probes the working relationship between
communications from all spheres of
government and community, private, digital,
and social media, as well as organised civil
society before and during the lockdown and
assesses its impact and efficacy.
Recognising the multilingual nature of
South African society, the urban–rural
digital divide, and the prohibitive costs of
data, the chapter identifies lessons and
reaffirms the relevance of the development
communications approach to government–
citizen communications. It motivates for the prioritisation of accessible, multilingual digital
communications with a citizen feedback loop
that is transparent and responsive to ensure
people are informed and empowered, as
envisioned in the Constitution.
Such responsiveness needs an enabling
environment from government and from
the public, private, and community media
landscape. Collaboration and cooperation
across these sectors with government
communications and with the nongovernmental
health and communications
sectors is critical in such an all-encompassing
crisis. The chapter highlights the need to
continue to understand South Africa’s highly
diverse communication space, in which
digital new media platforms exist alongside
loudhailers, and make accommodations in
legislation, policy, and government coordination
with social partners to reach all people across
the digital, class, and language divides.This chapter 4 is published in the first edition of South Africa Covid-19 country report in June 2021.https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202206/sa-covid-19-reporta.pd
Cannabidiol Reduces Aβ-Induced Neuroinflammation and Promotes Hippocampal Neurogenesis through PPARγ Involvement
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) has been reported to be involved in the etiology of pathological features of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Cannabidiol (CBD), a Cannabis derivative devoid of psychomimetic effects, has attracted much attention because of its promising neuroprotective properties in rat AD models, even though the mechanism responsible for such actions remains unknown. This study was aimed at exploring whether CBD effects could be subordinate to its activity at PPARγ, which has been recently indicated as its putative binding site. CBD actions on β-amyloid-induced neurotoxicity in rat AD models, either in presence or absence of PPAR antagonists were investigated. Results showed that the blockade of PPARγ was able to significantly blunt CBD effects on reactive gliosis and subsequently on neuronal damage. Moreover, due to its interaction at PPARγ, CBD was observed to stimulate hippocampal neurogenesis. All these findings report the inescapable role of this receptor in mediating CBD actions, here reported
Pathobiology of tobacco smoking and neurovascular disorders: untied strings and alternative products
Heat Integration and Heat Recovery at a Large Chemical Manufacturing Plant
The Honeywell chemical plant located in Hopewell, Virginia includes processing units that purify raw phenol, react the phenol with hydrogen to form crude cyclohexanone, and purify the crude cyclohexanone. In order to reduce energy usage, two opportunities for heat recovery and heat integration were identified. A feasibility study and economic analysis were performed on the two opportunities, and both projects were implemented.
The first project utilized the heat contained in a distillation process overheads stream to preheat the raw material entering the distillation process. This was accomplished via a heat exchanger, and reduced the utility steam requirement by 10,000 pph.
The second project utilized the heat generated by the hydrogenation reaction (in the form of waste heat steam) to preheat the feed material in an adjacent process. This was accomplished via a heat exchanger, and reduced the utility steam requirement by 8,000 pph.
These two energy projects required 1.0 million in utility steam annually
Toxicity and biocompatibility of carbon nanoparticles
A review is presented of the literature data concerning the effects induced by carbon nanoparticles on the biological environment and the importance of these effects in human and animal health. The discovery in 1985 of fullerenes, a novel carbon allotrope with a polygonal structure made up solely by 60 carbon atoms, and in 1991 of carbon nanotubes, thin carbon filaments (1-3 mu m in length and 1-3 nm in diameter) with extraordinary mechanical properties, opened a wide field of activity in carbon research. During the last few years, practical applications of fullerenes as biological as well as pharmacological agents have been investigated. Various fullerene-based compounds were tested for biological activity, including antiviral, antioxidant, and chemiotactic activities. Nanotubes consist of carbon atoms arranged spirally to form concentric cylinders, that are perfect crystals and thinner than graphite whiskers. They are stronger than steel but very flexible and lightweight and transfer heat better than any other known material. These characteristics make them suitable for various potential applications such as super strong cables and tips for scanning probe microscopes, as well as biomedical devices for drug delivery, medical diagnostic, and therapeutic applications. The effects induced by these nanostructures on rat lung tissues, as well as on human skin and human macrophage and keratinocyte cells are presented
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