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Browsing Articles by Author "Gumbo, J. R."
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Item Open Access Assessment of Microbial Quality of Surface Water Sources of Luvuvhu River Catchment, South Africa(2017-11-28) Mailula, M. A.; Gumbo, J. R.The majority of global rural communities, including South Africa, rely on untreated surface water for human consumption. The consumption arises partly from the local municipalities’ erratic supply of treated drinking water to its residents. Here we report on the microbial load of surface water sources and after simple water treatment using hand dug wells in Vhembe District, South Africa. The results of the pH were in the range 6.90 to 8.86 with the water temperature ranging from 16 to 25 ºC. The turbidity values were in the range 2.53 to 393.67 NTU which shows problem of soil erosion, rainfall runoff and wastewater discharge by upstream sewage works. The faecal coliform counts varied between 0 cfu/100 ml to > 300 cfu/100 ml, E. coli counts varied between 0 cfu/100ml and >300 cfu/100 ml, and faecal Streptococci counts between 1.5 cfu/100 ml to >300 cfu/100 ml. The microbial load in the hand dug wells was considerably lower than that of the Nandoni reservoir (due to soil filtering capacity). The existence of a high microbial load that exceeded acceptable regulatory guidelines render these water sources unsafe for human consumption. Physical conditions, such as water temperature, also enable bacterial propagation. Thus, the advent of climate change and especially the warming of surface waters may exacerbate the current condition of the use of untreated surface water sources.Item Open Access Contamination of Soil due to Leakages of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) at a Vandalized Electrical Transformer Site(2017) Nedzamba, R. M.; Gumbo, J. R.Worldwide and including in South Africa, the use of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) has been banned as these have been implicated in the destruction of the ozone layer. The lack of the protective ozone layer has been widely blamed for increase in global warming. Here we report on impact of PCBs from a human vandalized electrical transformer on the soil environment at the Rietvlei farm in Louis Trichardt. The particle analysis showed that the soil was sandy followed by loam and then clay. The soil pH was in the range 6.79 to 10.15. The soil moisture content was on average below 6.8%. The analysis of Mg, Al, Ca and K for Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) was carried out to determine the fertility of the soil. The average CEC of the soil sample was 7.48 meq/g and therefore the soil was fertile and but lacked organic nutrients. However at this site where the transformer oil was spilled it was observed that no grass was growing. The analysis of samples by the GC-MS and GCECD at Waterlab and SABS showed that there were ultra-traces of PCBs in the soil samples. Probably the absence of grass growing at the contaminated site was due to presence of the ultra-trace levels of PCBs. Thus there is a need to improve plant growth at the contaminated site in order to prevent easy water infiltration that might contaminate groundwater supplies. Makhado local municipality draws some of its water supplies from borehole just 1 m from the contaminated site.Item Open Access Impact of Tea Processing Water Wastes on Phytoplankton Composition of Tshinane River, Limpopo Province(2017-11-28) Sinthumule, H.; Mokgoebo, M. J.; Gumbo, J. R.The discharge of industrial waste water on freshwater resources is on the increase worldwide, including in South Africa. The study aimed at assessing the response of phytoplankton upon exposure to high levels of nutrients along the Tshinane River Limpopo Province. The study showed different phytoplankton assemblages with different changes in physico-chemical levels. Environmental factors do have a noticeable effect on phytoplankton abundance as it was shown by statistical analysis. Results computed by the Czekanowski coefficient showed that various environmental factors components contributed to the different composition and types of phytoplankton abundance (p<0.05). When environmental factors showed fluctuation (Increase or decrease) a different type of plankton was found to be tolerant to those levels. A total of 64 species were identified upstream and 103 species identified downstream. Phytoplankton spectrums were recorded from six taxonomic groups namely Chrysophyta, Dinophyta, Chlorophyta, Bacillariophyta, Cyanophyta and Dinophyta. The dominant taxonomic group was Chlorophyta (Downstream) and Bacillariophyta was the dominant phytoplankton upstream. The results supports the assumption that an increase in nutrients lead to a diverse phytoplankton species even if all the other parameters are within the South African Water Quality Range for Aquatic ecosystems. This shows that tea processing waste has a minimal impact on the ecosystem health of Tshinane River and the river is able to recover from the nutrient enrichment.Item Open Access PhD by Publication or PhD by Traditional Model: Which Way to Go?(2017-07) Gumbo, J. R.South Africa is at the cross-roads with the knowledge production economy. The DST target is 6000 PhD graduates per million by 2018. The knowledge economy is important for South Africa as it is the engine for economic growth. There is a link between knowledge production and economic growth of a country by comparing the citation intensity and the economic wealth of the country. In addition to the knowledge production other factors such as political and macro-economic factors, infrastructure investments, providing clean water and sanitation, roads must be in place for sustainable economic development. This can only be sustained through the ‛production of highly trained people’ the PhD students. But the trick is which PhD model should I take? On the PhD model, the ASSAF study showed that South Africa produced most of the PhDs through the traditional model. However, for South Africa to produce more PhDs in a shorter time period there is a need to move away from the traditional model and embrace other forms of PhD production. The alternative model is the PhD by publication. This is able to produce PhD graduates in shorter pace of time with high quality impact publications.Item Open Access A Review: Spirulina a source of bioactive compounds and nutrition(2017-09) Gumbo, J. R.; Nesamvuni, C. N.The attainment of the nutrition related sustainable development goals (SDGs) is a challenge to South Africa. Part of the challenge is related to access to affordable nutrition by poor communities. Spirulina presents with nutritional benefits including 50 to 70% protein, and all essential amino acids in complete balance, 5 to 10% lipids and 10 to 20% carbohydrates, 10 vitamins especially vitamin B12 and pro-vitamin A (β-carotene), minerals such as iron and one of the few sources of dietary γ-linolenic acid (GLA). Health factors linked to Spirulina include anticarcinogenic, hypocholesterolemic and antioxidant properties. Spirulina is part of the cyanobacteria family of the Arthrospira species. The challenges that are there is to ensure that the isolates are pure and free from microbial, chemical and physical contamination during the cultivation phase. The cultivation is either in closed semi-continuous batch systems or open raceway that are prone to contamination from environmental elements. This paper highlights Spirulina use as a potential strategy to meet nutrition related Sustainable Development goals.Item Open Access To Patent or Not to Patent: Which One is the Better Alternative?(2017-07) Gumbo, J. R.Publishing of research findings is an important activity in the academic fraternity. However, if the research findings are novel it is better to patent protect first and then publish later in an open forum. An invention is owned by you until it is patented. Patent is the culmination process of knowledge production and thus must be protected and then exploited for socio-economic gain. The patent process is long and arduous and involves the Technology Transfer Office of the Directorate for Research & Innovation. The process involves patent search, appointment of patent attorney and then writing in legal language the scientific invention. This aspect is important as this cover the areas or loopholes where others might infringe on the patent. The patent search involves the searching of the invention in all patent databases so not infringe on other patents. The patent attorney is an expert on law and also in scientific matters and will guide you in the patent search and drafting the patent document that outlines your invention. Once the provisional or complete patent is filed and registered nationally and or international (Patent Cooperation Treaty), the inventor(s) can then proceed to harvest the benefits of the patent for the next 20 years. Now the paper can be published in peer reviewed journal (open public forum). The inventors also gain two things: the patent and the publication. The benefits accrue to the inventors and applicant, in this case the University where the research was conducted. University Rankings take into account the patents held by universities annually. Thus taking a patent has more benefits and it is better to patent protect the novel idea and then publish later.Item Open Access The Use of Ceramic Water Filters in Improving the Microbial Quality of Drinking Water(2017-11-28) Tshishonga, M.; Gumbo, J. R.Water borne infections are the number killer of children under five years in developing countries. The main reason is the consumption of untreated drinking water. Here we report on the use of ceramic water filters in reducing Escherichia coli, a surrogate for pathogens in drinking water and can be applied in a rural household. For microbiological analysis, the two ceramic water filters, one from Mukondeni and the other one from Sese in Zimbabwe reduced the high microbial load of the raw water. The result showed that the counts as colony form units, of coliform in the purified water was zero and in raw water was too many to count; these colonies were probably removed by the ceramic water filter. The microbial counts in the purified water were zero colony forming units per 100 ml and within the SANS 241 guidelines values. The ceramic water filters from Mukondeni and Sese were able to improve the microbial quality of the raw water. The Sese ceramic water filter was slow and thus further improvements are required in the composition of materials by increasing the saw dust component and reducing the clay component. Thus, ceramic water filters are suitable for use at household level.