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Malnutrition is a global concern and it impacts negatively on mortality, morbidity, educability and productivity. Millions of children in South Africa are affected. This study examines the key factors associated with malnutrition among children aged six months to five years in a semi-rural area of the Western Cape, South Africa. A quantitative research approach was employed by using a descriptive and exploratory design. All parents and caregivers who accompanied the children (under the age of five years old), visiting the clinic, were given an opportunity to participate in the study on a voluntary basis. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to parents and caregivers (n=100) for data collection. SPSS statistical software (V24) was used to analyse the data. The results indicated that the factors were grouped and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was determined as greater than 0.7. The results revealed that these factors included obesity (26%), underweight (51%), stunting (14%), severe acute (4%) and moderate acute (5%) malnutrition. The results also revealed that the majority of households were single mothers with low income (51% have a monthly income of between R2 000 and R5 000, and 30% of families who earn a monthly salary of less than R2 000) and a poor educational background. This study concluded that more male children were diagnosed with malnutrition than females. The employment status of the mothers also affects the nutritional status of the child. More children from unemployed mothers and a few children from self-employed mothers had moderate acute malnutrition compared to employed mothers who had no children suffering from malnutrition.

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Commodity evaluation on e-commerce platforms affects the sale of goods and the behavior of buyers. Although the observation point of static event theory is stable, it emphasizes one-sided data too much. It ignores the interconnections in the development of events and makes it difficult to effectively analyze the validity of commodity evaluation behaviors. Under the concept of dynamic transaction events based on dynamic development, the validity of commodity evaluation is calculated from time, space and intensity factors. This can consider the influence of individual evaluator and overall evaluator to evaluate the validity of commodity evaluation systematically and objectively.

Malnutrition is a global concern and it impacts negatively on mortality, morbidity, educability and productivity. Millions of children in South Africa are affected. This study examines the key factors associated with malnutrition among children aged six months to five years in a semi-rural area of the Western Cape, South Africa. A quantitative research approach was employed by using a descriptive and exploratory design. All parents and caregivers who accompanied the children (under the age of five years old), visiting the clinic, were given an opportunity to participate in the study on a voluntary basis. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to parents and caregivers (n=100) for data collection. SPSS statistical software (V24) was used to analyse the data. The results indicated that the factors were grouped and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was determined as greater than 0.7. The results revealed that these factors included obesity (26%), underweight (51%), stunting (14%), severe acute (4%) and moderate acute (5%) malnutrition. The results also revealed that the majority of households were single mothers with low income (51% have a monthly income of between R2 000 and R5 000, and 30% of families who earn a monthly salary of less than R2 000) and a poor educational background. This study concluded that more male children were diagnosed with malnutrition than females. The employment status of the mothers also affects the nutritional status of the child. More children from unemployed mothers and a few children from self-employed mothers had moderate acute malnutrition compared to employed mothers who had no children suffering from malnutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of green gasoline, jet, and diesel biofuels from waste greases was achieved using a novel hydrothermal, continuous‐flow catalytic process operating under supercritical water conditions, with recycled water the only added chemical. Thermally and chemically stable catalysts were explored to optimize yields of liquid biofuels and to minimize production of gases and acidic compounds. A 50:50 mixture of brown and yellow waste greases converted into 76.6 wt% liquid biocrude (BC); the remainder converted to water and gases. Less than 0.2% of the feedstock (FS) formed carbon char (mainly amongst catalyst particles). Various tubular reactors (Inconel, Hastelloy, titanium, stainless) showed no interior defects, erosion, or mass loss after runs. The titanium catalyst was fully recovered and regenerated back to its original potency. The BC was further refined into 28%, 48%, 20%, and 4 wt%, respectively for green gasoline, jet, diesel, and bunker. Biofuels were analyzed for compound class compositions and reaction mechanisms were proposed. Hundreds of identified fuel products (C3‐C35) from processing oleic acid as a pure model compound were identified. The neat green gasoline and diesel biofuels, along with a 50% green jet blend (with petroleum Jet A), were tested in appropriate spark ignition, turbine, and diesel engines at the University of Minnesota Engine Labs. The biofuels achieved 107.7%, 97.2%, and 101.3% engine power performance levels relative to petroleum fuels (91‐Octane, Jet A, #2 Diesel) along with lower CO and pollutant emissions. The biofuels complied with American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) fuel specifications (D4814, D7566, D975) including mandated corrosion and low sulfur limits of all three biofuels. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Work design and, in particular, work procedures have been a focus of much research in organisational development studies. However, their relevance and practice are rarely researched in public administration. This article presents an analysis of important design factors to be considered in the development of work procedures. The relevance of this study in the context of a developmental local government in South Africa is critical at a time when many municipalities are grappling with institutionalising service delivery administrative processes for the effective delivery of basic services. A quantitative research approach using a cross-sectional survey design involved 250 employees from three municipalities in South Africa. Structural equation modelling was used to determine the impact of critical factors on the design of work procedures for local municipalities. The study finds that out of the eight critical factors tested, the participation of local government employees in the development of work procedures and an effective municipal communication apparatus are significantly associated with the design of work procedures. We conclude that the design of work procedures should entail employee participation engendered through communication that freely and openly allows all stakeholders to share a common vision for service delivery. The findings further provide a theoretically underpinned framework as regards setting policy for achieving effective work procedures in similar local government contexts across the developing world. Points for practitioners: While leadership and accountability, continuous improvement, shared vision, effective communication, and organisational policy are important factors to consider, employee participation is the most critical factor that affects the design and utilisation of work procedures in local municipalities. Policymakers/practitioners must seek empirical evidence as a basis for determining design considerations for effective work procedure design and redesign. This article provides a theoretically underpinned framework as regards setting policy for achieving effective work procedures in local municipalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel liquid chromatographic system which enables high temperature ultrafast liquid chromatography (HTU-FLC) has been designed through the careful consideration of heat transfer, band broadening, and pressure drop. Studies of the effect of linear velocity on the HETP show that column efficiency at high velocity, especially of well-retained solutes, dramatically improves at higher temperatures. At 150 degrees C, at a flow rate of 15 mL/min with a 5 cm by 4.6 mm (i.d.) column packed with 3 (mu)m polystyrenecoated zirconia porous particles, long chain alkylphenones were completely resolved, and the analysis time could be decreased by a factor of 50 compared to that at room temperature (25 degrees C) at a conventional flow rate (4 mL/ min). In addition, using pure water as the mobile phase, five phenols were separated in less than 30 s.

This multicomponent analysis of anti-parasitic drugs achieves baseline resolution of six closely related compounds in under 20 min using gradient elution and the unique selectivity of ZirChrom®-PBD. ********** Benzimidazoles are [...]

Method development in reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) can be challenging for structurally similar compounds. Validation methods often require a column of orthogonal selectivity be used to ensure no impurities are [...]

Objective To clarify the expression and clinical significance of ARHGAP11A in lung adenocarcinoma. Methods The expression of ARHGAP11A in lung adenocarcinoma and normal tissue was obtained and analyzed by searching online databases such as Oncomine, and bioinformatic analysis was carried out on the relevant clinicopathological parameters and survival data of lung cancer patients. PrognoScan prognostic analysis database was used to analyze the relationship between ARHGAP11A gene expression and prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma. STRING database was used to construct ARHGAP11A and its function-related gene network. Results Compared with normal tissue, ARHGAP11A was highly expressed in lung adenocarcinoma, and the later the clinical stage and the worse the differentiation, the higher the expression of ARHGAP11A and the worse the prognosis. Conclusion ARHGAP11A is highly expressed in lung adenocarcinoma and is related to poor prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma.