Awareness, knowledge and practices with regards to alcohol use of pregnant women in the Missionvale area
- Authors: Du Preez, Mingon
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Pregnant women -- Alcohol use
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/46404 , vital:39572
- Description: South African statistics, when compared to global statistics, has an above-average occurrence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder(FASD). Alcohol use during pregnancy is on the rise globally and has far-reaching consequences. FASD is an umbrella term that describes the range of effects that can occur in an individual whose mother consumed alcohol during pregnancy.FASDnot only has an abiological, social and emotional negative impact on the individual, but also creates an added burden on the family caring for such an individual. When this condition occurs in a third world country, like South Africa, there is an economic impact as this country has limited physical and human resources to deal with the multitude of repercussions associated with this condition. This study was conducted in the Missionvale Community, an impoverished area of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. Participants were selected from this community, as clients attending the psychology clinic in the area frequently present with diagnosed FASD and co-concurring conditions, such as scholastic underachievement and behavioural conditions. These factors perpetuate an individuals inability to rise above their current circumstances as they are frequently unable to complete their schooling and are consequently unable to find unemployment. Prevention of FASD is a social, public and personal health issue that requires a multifaceted approach to intervention. The present study aimed to determine participants’ awareness, knowledge levels and practices with regard to alcohol use during pregnancy. Previous studies conducted in the Eastern Cape have primarily focused on the outcomes of prenatal alcohol exposure rather than the contributing factors, thus making this study the first of its kind to be conducted in the Eastern Cape. The study was quantitative in nature and participants were obtained through purposive sampling. A questionnaire, comprising of four different sections was used to obtain the necessary information. The sections in the questionnaire tapped information about the following concepts: Demographics, awareness, knowledge, and practices of alcohol use by pregnant women. The statistical results and additional comments by the participants assisted the researcher to gain a better understanding of the awareness levels, knowledge, and practices with regard to alcohol use of pregnant women residing in the Missionvale area. The results from the study indicate that participants have a general awareness that alcohol use during pregnancy could be harmful to an unborn baby but lack in-depth specific knowledge of the adverse effects of prenatal alcohol exposure.
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- Date Issued: 2020
Investigation of the thermo-chemical behaviour of coal-algae agglomerates
- Authors: Baloyi, Hope
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Biomass energy , Coal -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/23913 , vital:30642
- Description: There is a growing research interest in the co-processing of biomass and coal, with the aim of addressing the negative attributes associated with the thermal processing of coal alone. Biomass feedstocks are regarded as a clean, renewable source, and the co-utilization of biomass feedstocks with coal is deemed to have a potential to reduce emission of pollutants (i.e. NOx and SOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC’s). Moreover, biomass are thermally reactive and thus facilitate the conversion of coal during co-processing. Biomass material and coal are two autonomous fuel materials with different chemical characteristics and have a dissimilar thermal behaviour making it difficult to achieve chemical interaction between the two solid fuels to contribute to the formation of products. Coalgae® Technology developed at the Nelson Mandela University, involves the biological treatment of coal fines by adsorbing live microalgae biomass (in slurry form) onto waste coal fines to form coal-microalgae agglomerates. This new innovative approach seeks to integrate bio-based feedstock into coal thermal processing and to improve the utilization and thermal efficiency of coal fines as well as the interaction between the volatile components of biomass and coal during thermal processing (e.g. devolatilization), thereby overcoming some of the challenges that confront the co-processing of coal and biomass. Coal fines are low-ranked coals, generally characterized by high contents of sulphur, high ash yields, low calorific values and poor thermal reactivity, and these attributes limits the thermo-chemical processing of the coal fines. Therefore, this investigation was undertaken to assess the thermo-chemical behaviour of coal-microalgae agglomerates, formed by adsorbing live microalgae slurry at varying ratios onto coal fines. For this purpose, the effects of adsorbing microalgae at varying ratios on the chemical characteristics and thermal behaviour of coal fines under pyrolytic conditions were investigated. The primary aim was to assess whether the thermo-chemical behaviour of coal-microalgae agglomerates, formed by adsorption of live microalgae onto fine coal, is substantively modified compared to a simple additive model of the original coal and pre-dried microalgae biomass samples. Results obtained from the proximate analyses performed on an Eltra Thermo-gravimetric analyzer (TGA) thermostep, have shown that the adsorption of microalgae slurry onto coal fines does not possess greater influence in improving the yield of volatiles and ash in coal fines than can be expected from a simple additive model of the original raw materials. Based on the ultimate analyses results, it was found that the adsorption of microalgae slurry resulted in a systematic reduction in the sulphur content, a notable increase in the hydrogen and oxygen contents, however, no significant disparities were found between the measured ultimate properties of coal-microalgae agglomerates as compared to the theoretically-expected ultimate properties from a simple linear combination of parental coal and microalgae biomass. Assessment of the thermal behaviour of parental samples and coal-microalgae agglomerates involved the use non-isothermal (40-900ºC, 20 K/min) thermogravimetry under inert conditions. It was found that the adsorption of microalgae slurry onto coal fines resulted in an improved thermal reactivity of coal fines, although, did not affect the overall pyrolysis characteristics of the coal fines. Comparison of the thermal profiles (measured and calculated TG/DTG curves), revealed that the yield of volatile products during the pyrolysis of coal-microalgae blends do not exceed the expected volatile yields from a simple combination of coal and microalgae biomass. These results suggest that there was no positive or accelerative synergistic interaction between volatile components of adsorbed microalgae and coal fines during pyrolysis. Mild pyrolysis of raw coal and coal-microalgae performed in a fixed-bed reactor furnace (450ºC), resulted in improved yields of Fossil-Bio crude (FBC) oil (derived from coal-microalgae pyrolysis), at increased biomass ratio compared to coal tar. FBC Oil was found to contain relatively high contents of oxygen, hydrogen, and low sulphur content than coal tar. GC-MS analyses showed the presence of a heterocyclic compounds (i.e. Indole and 2, 6 dimethyl pyridine) in the FBC oil and these were not identified in the coal tar. Furthermore, high boiling compounds such as Flourene, pyrene and pentacosane were identified in the coal tar, however not identified in the FBC oil. Simulated distillation results showed notable differences between the FBC oil and coal tar in terms of the distribution of boiling point fractions particularly, high boing point components. Semi-devolatilized chars derived from coal-microalgae agglomerates showed substantial degree of decarboxylation and dehydrogenation compared to the coal chars.
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- Date Issued: 2018
The assembly of p-aryl triazole foldamers into double and other super- helical structures
- Authors: Okerio, Jaspher Mosomi , Klumperman, Bert
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Supramolecular chemistry Chemistry
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/20548 , vital:29319
- Description: The assembly of poly(para-aryltriazoles) (pPATs), synthesized via Cu(I)-catalysed azide-alkyne cycloaddition, into highly ordered structures is investigated. Firstly, the assembly of the pPATs into double helical structures, as a function of solvent quality and side chain chirality, was studied. The solvents employed (DMF and water) induced changes in van der Waals forces and surface free energy thus influencing the order of the pPATs’ random coils into double helical structures. The observed double helical structures, assembly that was analyzed using ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) specroscopy, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and confocal fluorescence imaging microscopy upon addition of 0 – 80% water into the pPATs’ random coils, exhibit stable morphologies stabilized by π-π stacking and hydrogen bonding at 80% water content. The pPATs exist as random coils at 10% water in DMF. At 40% water in DMF, the pPATs’ strands were observed to exist in a side-by-side orientation. The adjacent strands, side by side, intertwine into double helices and eventually stack as the amount of water is increased to 80%. The obtained results present a facile strategy for the fabrication of polymeric double helical structures with stable morphologies. The average diameter of the resulting one-handed and opposite handed double helical structures is about 200 nm, a pitch of 170 nm and an overall length of several micrometres. The assembly of the pPATs into ordered structures in the presence of a neutral organic template and anions was also assessed. Hydrophobic poly(γ-benzyl-L-glutamate) (PBLG) template was introduced at various concentrations and transition region of the pPATs (10% water in DMF). At this stage the PBLG template is CD inactive. The template modified the assembly mechanism to afford structures, which cannot be achieved in its absence. It disallows the organization of the pPATs into double helical structures. The pPATs strands thread around the template and stack into long tubules of up to 10 microns and irregular diameter. The irregular diameter is attributed to uneven threading of pPATs strands around the template at some sections. The sensitivity and binding ability of the pPAT system to halide ions such as F-, Cl- and Br- , which involves re-organization of the aryl-triazole bonds, is explored using NMR and UV-Vis and CD spectroscopies. Br- which induces the highest shift of the triazole C-H proton signal in the NMR analysis also shows the highest dynamic quenching of the pPATs’ UV-Vis and CD spectra. The UV-Vis and CD signals are linearly dependent on the concentration of the anions. This confirms non-aggregation assembly in the presence of anions. Conclusively, the pPATs interact with the bromide anion in aqueous solution, which consequently prevents the aggregation of the foldamers. Finally, using PATs with different amounts of chiral side chains, co-operativity among side chains that leads to transfer, propagation and amplification of chirality is confirmed. A non-linear dependence of the CD signal on the amount of chiral side chains was observed. Chiral amplification was observed as low as 1% of the chiral side chains. However, approximately 20% of the chiral side chains are needed to obtain half the intensity of the cotton effect exhibited by the homochiral pPAT.
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- Date Issued: 2017