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03 December 2018 | Story Ruan Bruwer
Janko Dreyer
Much will be expected from Kovsie opening batsmen Janko Dreyer at the University Sport South Africa tournament. He has been in great form recently.

The Kovsie Cricket team has enough motivation and are well aware of what’s at stake in the upcoming University Sport South Africa (USSA) championship that will be held in Stellenbosch from 3 to 7 December.

Kovsie Cricket are determined to secure a spot in next year’s Varsity Cricket tournament taking place in Potchefstroom in September, should they emerge as winners of Division B in the competition.

Scoring for the team

They will kick off with a clash against the Walter Sisulu University, followed by fixtures against the Tshwane University of Technology and Wits before the semi-finals on 6 December, with the final following on 7 December 2018.

A number of the Kovsie Cricket squad members have been on rich form with the bat lately. Opening batsman Janko Dreyer scored a century and two half-centuries in his last four innings for the Free State team in November.

Highly rated in SA

Batsmen Raynard van Tonder from the Kovsies Cricket team will feature as one of the most highly-rated young cricketers in the country. The captain of the South African U19 team smashed an unbeaten 250 runs for the Free State in the three-day provincial match last month. Likewise, Wihan Victor also scored a century for the Free State team in October.
More favourable news for the team is that Kovsie Cricket recently defeated the Central University of Technology with 185 runs.

The Kovsie Cricket squad consists of: Dilivio Ridgard, Nathan Roux, Sipho Mavanda, Wihan Victor, Sean Whitehead, Wizzard Ncedane, AJ van Wyk (captain), Nyiko Shikwambana, Jonathan Draai, Marno van Greuning, Beyers Swanepoel, Christo van Staden.

 

News Archive

Heart-valve studies receive international recognition
2017-07-11

 Description: Heart-valve studies Tags: Heart-valve studies  

Prof Francis Smit, Head of the Department of
Cardiothoracic Surgery at the UFS, and Manager of the
Robert WM Frater Cardiovascular Research Centre, with
Kyle Davis, Mechanical Engineer at the centre.
Photo: Rulanzen Martin

Three heart-valve studies which have been developed at the Robert WM Frater Cardiovascular Research Centre at the School of Medicine at the University of the Free State (UFS) were recently presented in Monte Carlo at the conference of the prestigious global Heart Valve Society (HVS).

These studies are all headed by Prof Francis Smit, Head of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the UFS, and Manager of the Robert WM Frater Cardiovascular Research Centre.
Prof Smit says the HVS is a combination of the former heart-valve societies of Europe and the US. “Studies on heart-valve disease, heart-valve-related products and operations, as well as the design and development of new valves were presented. There are both clinical and development divisions.

He says the study in which the hemodynamics of their redesigned mechanical poppet valve was compared to a commercial bi-leaflet mechanical heart valve, was named as the best poster presentation in the experimental valve development and numerical flow dynamics division. The study, which was presented by Kyle Davis, mechanical engineer at the centre, competed against some of the best heart-valve research units in the world.

The redesigned valve, based on the 1960s Cape Town poppet valve, has the potential to provide a low-cost solution for mechanical heart-valve replacement. It is possible to produce the titanium ring with 3-D printers and is, together with the silicon poppet valve, extremely inexpensive compared to current mechanical valve-manufacturing processes.
The advantages of this valve over current mechanical valves is that, due to the effective and laminar flow characteristics, as well as the simple locking mechanisms, there is a reduced chance of valve thrombosis, and the need for anti-clotting drugs is therefore limited.

It was also confirmed that the new valve more than meets the published FDA (Federal Drug Agency) requirements, which determine the minimum standards of valves for human use in the US.

The redesigned valve also has a very low platelet activation impact, which is responsible for platelet thrombosis and leads to valve thrombosis or strokes. This valve is another heart-valve project by the centre, which is also in the process of evaluating a tri-leaflet polyurethane valve developed by them.


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