http://hdl.handle.net/10386/2793 Sun, 12 Apr 2026 12:05:07 GMT 2026-04-12T12:05:07Z http://hdl.handle.net/10386/5110 An overview of disease and health research Vol. 3 Nozic, Darko (editor) This book covers key areas of disease and health. The contributions by the authors include functional neurological disorders, psychogenic nonepileptic seizures, psychogenic symptom, severe acute respiratory syndrome, cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, pandemic’s stress, medical staff members, essential micronutrients, fortification, micronutrient stability, rice consumption profile, gastroesophageal reflux disease, proton pump inhibitors, nutrient malabsorption, Nissen fundoplication, metal ceramic restorations, anterior maxillary teeth, fixed partial denture, zirconia-based materials, autosomal recessive spastic paraplegia-51, mutations, hereditary spastic paraplegia, genetic testing, respiratory allergy, allergic rhinitis, asthma, pollen allergies, sickle cell disease, homozygous state, Arab-Indian haplotype, betaglobin gene, antenatal care, rural-urban disparities, maternal health service, health care-seeking behaviour. This book contains various materials suitable for students, researchers, and academicians in the fields of disease and health. Book Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10386/5110 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10386/5103 Evaluations of morpho-physiological variances in soybean varieties under low water conditions Mangena, Phetole; Mabulwana, Paseka Tritieth This study used pot experiments with a completely randomized design (CRD) in triplicates to evaluate physiological and morphological attributes used for the characterization of drought stress tolerance in six soybean varieties (Knap, Mopani, LS677, LS678, Pan1564, and Sonop). Growth and physiological parameters analyzed in this study, included plant height, number of flowers, number of pods, seed number per pod, leaf surface area (LSA), grain yield, and total phenolics, flavonoids, ureides as well as antioxidant activity. Low water conditions caused varied negative effects depending on the level of stress on both morphological and physiological responses of the plants. Enhanced secondary products (ureides, total phenolic, and flavonoid content) were observed in plants subjected to severe water stress, in addition to reduced photosynthetic components and percentage grain yields. However, soybean variety Sonop, LS677, and LS678 consecutively, induced high secondary metabolite accumulations and antioxidant activity possibly preventing the occurrence of excessive oxidative stress damage caused by water shortage. The performance of LS varieties, Knap and Sonop were more prominent than Mopani and Pan1564. Results showed potential tolerance to stress in Sonop, LS678 and LS677, attributed to the strong free radical scavenging activity and maintenance of photosynthetic pigments used to achieve sufficient growth balance in plants. Journal article published in Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences, February - 2022; Volume – 10(1) page 12 – 20 Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10386/5103 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10386/5102 Thin films (FTO/BaTiO3/AgNPs) for enhanced piezo-photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue and ciprofloxacin in wastewater Masekela, Daniel; Hintsho-Mbita, Nomso Charmaine; Ntsendwana, Bulelwa; Mabuba, Nonhlangabezo In this study, we investigate the ability of barium titanate/silver nanoparticles (BaTiO3/AgNPs) composites deposited on a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass using tape-casting method to produce piezoelectric thin film (FTO/BaTiO3/AgNPs) for piezocatalytic, photocatalytic, and piezo-photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) in wastewater. The prepared piezoelectric materials (BaTiO3 and BaTiO3/AgNPs) were characterized using XRD, SEM, TEM, EDS, UV-DRS, TGA, PL, BET, EIS, and chronoamperometry. The UV-DRS showed the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of Ag nanoparticles on the surface of BaTiO3 at a wavelength of 505 nm. The TEM images revealed the average Ag nanoparticle size deposited on the surface of BaTiO3 to be in the range of 10−15 nm. The chronoamperometry showed that the photoreduction of silver nanoparticles(AgNPs) onto BaTiO3 (BTO) resulted in a piezo- electrochemical current enhancement from 0.24 to 0.38 mA. The composites (FTO/BaTiO3/AgNPs) achieved a higher degradation of MB and CIP when the photocatalysis and piezocatalysis processes were merged. Under both ultrasonic vibration and UV light exposure, FTO/BTO/AgNPs degraded about 72 and 98% of CIP and MB from wastewater, respectively. These piezoelectric thin films were shown to be efficient and reusable even after five cycles, suggesting that they are highly stable. Furthermore, the reactive oxygen species studies demonstrated that hydroxyl radicals (·OH) were the most effective species during degradation of MB, with minor superoxide radicals (·O2 −) and holes (h+ ). From this study, we were able to show that these materials can be used as multifunctional materials as they were able to degrade both the dye and pharmaceutical pollutants. Moreover, they were more efficient through the piezo-photocatalytic process Journal article published in ACS Omega 2022, 7, 24329−24343 Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10386/5102 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10386/4936 Assessing the agro-environmental efficiency from electricity production of BRICS countries using desirable and undesirable inputs : the enhanced DEA approach Ndwambi, Tikanani The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is a well-established non-parametric methodology for evaluating the relative efficiency of a set of comparable entities called decision making units (DMUs) with multiple inputs and output. In existing studies that benchmarked energy, the DEA has been widely used to study and compare the efficiency of energy industries, particularly in the electricity industry. Agro-environmental efficiency, as adopted by this study, is the ability of using the desirable and undesirable inputs in the electricity production, minimize them to obtain the desirable outcome of outputs (GDP and Income per capita) through the increased agricultural production. Agro-environmental efficiency refers to a kind of efficiency that considers both the economic and the agro-environmental factors in a system. This paper proposes two methods of data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to assess the environmental efficiency of electricity production in BRICS countries namely, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa using desirable and undesirable inputs. The study aimed at assessing the Agro-environmental efficiency from electricity production of BRICS countries using desirable and undesirable inputs. The study has three objectives which are to estimate the Agro-environmental efficiency of BRICS countries from electricity production using desirable inputs, to measure the Agro-environmental efficiency of the BRICS countries from electricity production using undesirable inputs and to determine socio-economic factors that affect Agro-environmental efficiency from electricity production of the BRICS countries using desirable and undesirable inputs. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) results in method 1 showed that the Agri-environmental efficiency (AEE) scores of the states in the BRICS countries had a mean of 47.12% with a minimum of 10% and a maximum of 100%. The implications are that BRICS countries were Agro-environmental inefficient on average. The use of the undesirable inputs should be minimized, as well as the undesirable outputs on average by approximately 52.88% and maximize the use of desirable inputs to obtain the same output level. The Agro-environmental efficiency scores in method 2 showed that the states of the BRICS countries had a mean of 54.06% with a minimum of 1% and a maximum of 100%. The AEE score in this method shows that the states in the BRICS countries are ii Agro-environmental inefficient. This implies that states are not minimizing undesirable inputs fully (Methane and CO2) to maximize the use of desirable inputs (Coal, diesel, and Gasoline) in electricity generation. The undesirable inputs in the electricity production could be decreased by approximately 45.94% on average to obtain the same level of output. The study also found that socioeconomic factors attributed to Agro-environmental efficiency in the BRICS countries were population, an agricultural area, industrial area, and rapid urbanisation. The population is significant towards the Agro-environmental efficiency of the BRICS countries at 5% significance level with a positive coefficient of 2.013. the agricultural area was found to positively influence Agro-environmental efficiency at a 1% significance level with a positive coefficient of 1.052. The industrial area was found to have the negative relationship with the Agro-environmental efficiency with a significance level at 10% and a coefficient of -2.001. the rapid urbanisation is significant towards the Agro-environmental efficiency at 5% significance level with a positive coefficient of 1.082. The study recommends the measures to improve efficiency in the electricity production in the BRICS countries. Such measure amongst others are to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, ensure that food production is not threatened, and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner. Thesis (M.Sc. (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2023 Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10386/4936 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z