Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
07 September 2020 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Pexels

Researchers from the University of the Free State (UFS) and the Central University of Technology (CUT) have recently learned that their research projects will be funded, with one research project even getting double the amount of funding requested. 

The research project of Dr Doors Fonternel, an MMed student working under Dr Edwin Turton in the Department of Anaesthesiology at the UFS, and Prof Ihar Yadroitsau (Igor Yadroitsev), Research Chair in Medical Product Development through Additive Manufacturing and the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology at CUT, titled 3D Printed laryngoscope for endotracheal intubation, received R400 000 in funding. The project only requested half the amount, but in granting the funding, the evaluation committee was of the opinion that due to the relevance of the research and the long-term sustainability of the project, funding should be adjusted to R400 000.  

Another research project receiving R400 000 in funding, is a project by Dr Alice Brink, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at the UFS, and Dr Tshepiso J Makhafola, Assistant Dean: Research, Innovation and Engagement and Senior Lecturer: Clinical Technology in the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences at CUT. The committee supported the novelty of the project and the contribution towards both applicants’ participation in the Future Professors’ Programme.
These projects are part of nine collaboration projects between researchers from the UFS and CUT that were approved for funding between 2019 and 2020. The funding ranges from R50 000 to R400 000. 

Using 3D printer technology 

Dr Fonternel says getting more funding than expected gives them the motivation to push through the obstacles presented by a project like this. 

“It is innovative and uncharted, so it helps to know that others also believe in the possibilities. Apart from the design, testing, and validation that this project aims to achieve, we are looking to broaden the scope into materials and sterilisation. We are also looking at acquiring equipment to enable the UFS to be able to design and manufacture devices of similar need and purpose,” says Dr Fonternel.

According to Dr Fonternel, who designed, developed, and then prototyped the video laryngoscope with the help of the Product Development and Testing Station (PDTS) at CUT, he hopes that with this new research, the validated technology of video laryngoscopy could be provided to a much larger medical community.

Prof Yadroitsau’s role is the overall project management, mechanical testing, project analysis, and possible additional fundraising.

“This can be beneficial to rural hospitals and centres with limited funds and equipment and can make a difference in the quality of care we provide to our patients. It has the potential to improve the safety of patients and healthcare workers in our current COVID-19 battle by bringing First World technology to the front line.” 

Valuable contribution to cancer research

Drs Brink and Makhafola will be collaborating on the development and testing of organometallic complexes, primarily model pharmaceuticals that can carry a radioactive metal centre. Their collaboration will develop model lead compounds and then test their biological activity, particularly for anticancer and antimicrobial activities, including toxicological profiling to determine if it is a viable option for future cancer treatment. 

“Drug development has significant challenges, particularly for academic institutions that do not have access to the focused and integrated specialty networks as developed by Big Pharma such as Roche, Novartis, Bayer, etc.  The research and development pathway of a new pharmaceutical agent that becomes commercially available, takes on average 12 years and costs approximately £1,15 bn.”

“For every single drug that receives approval, an estimated 10 000 compounds have been considered as viable options but have failed for one reason or another. Our research collaboration focuses on addressing these two main challenges that hinder academia from successfully entering the drug market.  We hope to identify potential lead compounds with novel mechanisms of action for the development of cancer therapeutics,” says Dr Brink.

This collaborative team hopes to promote and make a valuable contribution to cancer research, specifically towards the discovery of new effective cancer treatments/drugs. 

New ways of imaging patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Dr Evbuomwan Osayande, a nuclear medicine specialist at the UFS/Universitas Academic Hospital, says his research will compare the efficacy of EC-DG (ethylenedicysteine-deoxyglucose) imaging with ultrasound imaging in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. At this stage, the research is still in the protocol phase. A protocol has been submitted to the Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee of the UFS for approval. The project received R350 000. 

“If this imaging modality proves to be highly accurate and can detect disease activity, including low disease activity, much earlier than other investigational tools, it might become a routine imaging modality in the management of patients with rheumatoid arthritis,” says Dr Osayande, the principal investigator in this research.

If we can detect low disease activity with the EC-DG imaging, says Dr Osayande, it will ensure that the rheumatologists will continue patient treatment and thus prevent them from having complications, such as bone erosions and joint destruction. “It is an exciting project and we are all looking forward to the outcome.”

Embracing 4IR

The research project of Dr Thuthukile Jita, Senior Lecturer in the UFS School of Education Studies, and Dr Carlie Luzaan Schlebusch from CUT, investigates the possibilities and affordances of training student teachers to embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution, specifically by learning to teach Science in schools using mobile devices and mobile apps. The project received R50 000 in funding.

“The study is perfectly timed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in large-scale disruption of schooling as we know it.  The call for teachers and learners and the education system generally to embrace technology and use information and communication technology (ICT) to continue and restore teaching and learning in some way, has been overwhelming.” 

“Consequently, there has been an almost overnight surge in the use of mobile devices for teaching and learning in schools. Sadly, the pandemic has further exposed the digital-divide reality that not all schools, teachers, and/or learners are able to engage effectively with the technology.” 

“Therefore, this study will assist in repositioning teacher preparation to use mobile devices and applications that are relevant for the topics covered in the national Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) document, starting with the subject Natural Sciences for the senior phase, which include Grades 7 to 9,” says Dr Jita, who is the principal investigator of the project and who is also responsible for the conceptualisation and overall direction of the project milestones.

Research projects that have also received funding, include: 

• IoT-based early diagnostics of mobility challenges in the elderly by Elisha Markus (CUT) and Paul Kogeda (UFS). 
• Impact of urban development on environmental sustainability: Case study of Mangaung Metropolitan municipality by Dr SA Oke (CUT) and Dr Olusola Ololade (UFS).
• Promoting inclusive pedagogies through transformative learning modalities in multicultural educational settings by Dr June Palmer (CUT) and Dr Rantsie Kgothule (UFS).
• Optimisation of imaging protocols for maxillofacial reconstructive prosthesis design and modelling by Prof Deon de Beer (CUT) and Dr Jacques Janse van Rensburg (UFS).
• LET-MI-C project (Lumbar ErecTor spinae block spread using MRI and CT) by Dr Je’nine Horn-Lodewyk (CUT) and Prof Gillian Lamacraft (UFS).  

News Archive

Research helps farmers save with irrigation
2017-02-15

Description: Irrigation research Tags: Irrigation research

Marcill Venter, lecturer in the Department of
Agricultural Economics at the University of the
Free State, has developed the mathematical
programming system, Soil Water Irrigation
Planning and Energy Management in order to
determine irrigation pump hours.
Photo: Rulanzen Martin

Her advice to farmers is that they should make sure they are aware of the total cost (investment and operating costs) of an irrigation system. In most cases the investment cost is low, but the operating cost over the lifetime of the system is high.

“It is very important to have a look at the total cost and to install the most economic system,” says Marcill Venter, lecturer at the University of the Free State (UFS), who has done research on the economic sustainability of water-pipe systems.

Irrigation systems important components for farming
This research comes at a time when many farmers are relying on their irrigation systems due to persistent drought and low rainfall during 2016. South Africa has also experienced an abnormal increase in electricity tariffs in recent years. Due to tariff increases which threaten the future profitability of irrigation producers, the Water Research Commission (WRC) has launched and financed a project on the sustainable management of irrigation farming systems. “I had the opportunity to work on the project as a researcher,” says Venter.

The heart of every irrigation system is the water pipes that bring life to crops and livestock, and this is what Venter’s research is about. “Water pipes are part of the whole design of irrigation systems. The design of the system impact certain factors which determine the investment and operating costs,” she says.

Mathematical system to help farmers
Venter and Professor Bennie Grové, also from the Department of Agricultural Economics at the UFS, designed the Soil Water Irrigation Planning and Energy Management (SWIP-E) programming model as part of the WRC’s project, as well as for her master’s degree. “The model determines irrigation pump hours through a daily groundwater budget, while also taking into account the time-of-use electricity tariff structure and change in kilowatt requirements arising from the main-line design,” says Venter. The model is a non-linear programming model programmed in General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS).

Design of irrigation system important for sustainability

The main outcome of the study is that the time-of-use electricity tariff structure (Ruraflex) is always more profitable than the flat-rate structure (Landrate). The interaction between the management and design of a system is crucial, as it determines the investment and operating costs. Irrigation designers should take the investment and operating cost of a system into account during the design process. The standards set by the South African Irrigation Institute (SAII) should also be controlled and revised.

Water-pipe thickness plays major role in cost cuts
There is interaction between water-pipe thickness, investment and operating costs. When thinner water pipes are installed, it increases the friction in the system as well as the kilowatt usage. A high kilowatt increases the operating cost, but the use of thinner water pipes lowers the investment cost. Thicker water pipes therefore lower the friction and the kilowatt requirements, which leads to lower operating costs, but thicker pipes have a higher investment cost. “It is thus crucial to look at the total cost (operating and investment cost) when investing in a new system. Farmers should invest in the system with the lowest total cost,” says Venter.

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept