UWCScholar

This repository serves as a digital archive for the preservation of research outputs from the University of the Western Cape

Communities in UWCScholar

Select a community to browse its collections.

Now showing 1 - 5 of 11

Recent Submissions

Implementation of a genotyped African population cohort, with virtual follow-up: A feasibility study in the Western Cape Province, South Africa
(F1000 Research Ltd, 2025) Tamuhla, Tsaone; Tiffin, Nicki; Coussens, Anna
Background: There is limited knowledge regarding African genetic drivers of disease due to prohibitive costs of large-scale genomic research in Africa. Methods: We piloted a scalable virtual genotyped cohort in South Africa that was affordable in this resource-limited context, cost-effective, scalable virtual genotyped cohort in South Africa, with participant recruitment using a tiered informed consent model and DNA collection by buccal swab. Genotype data was generated using the H3Africa Illumina micro-array, and phenotype data was derived from routine health data of participants. We demonstrated feasibility of nested case control genome wide association studies using these data for phenotypes type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and severe COVID-19. Results: 2267346 variants were analysed in 459 participant samples, of which 229 (66.8%) are female. 78.6% of SNPs and 74% of samples passed quality control (QC). Principal component analysis showed extensive ancestry admixture in study participants. Of the 343 samples that passed QC, 93 participants had T2DM and 63 had severe COVID-19. For 1780 previously published COVID-19-associated variants, 3 SNPs in the pre-imputation data and 23 SNPS in the imputed data were significantly associated with severe COVID-19 cases compared to controls (p<0.05). For 2755 published T2DM associated variants, 69 SNPs in the pre-imputation data and 419 SNPs in the imputed data were significantly associated with T2DM cases when compared to controls (p<0.05). Conclusions: The results shown here are illustrative of what will be possible as the cohort expands in the future. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of this approach, recognising that the findings presented here are preliminary and require further validation once we have a sufficient sample size to improve statistical significance of findings. We implemented a genotyped population cohort with virtual follow up data in a resource-constrained African environment, demonstrating feasibility for scale up and novel health discoveries through nested case-control studies. Copyright: © 2025 Tamuhla T et al. What are we researching? Our study focuses on understanding the genetic causes of diseases in African populations, where there is very little genetic data available. Even though it's cheaper now to gather genetic data, it's still expensive to collect large amounts of data needed to study these populations properly. What were the aims of the research? Create an African Genotyped Cohort: This means gathering genetic information from African participants using tools made specifically for African genetics. Use Strong Informed Consent: We wanted to make sure participants understood and agreed to the study, allowing us to grow the cohort over time. Use Existing Health Data: To make the process affordable, we used health data that was already being collected. What did we do? We made sure our consent process was clear and thorough. We collected DNA samples from consenting participants using cheek swabs and existing blood samples. We generated and checked the quality of the genetic data. We tested if we could study diseases like Type 2 Diabetes and severe COVID-19 with this approach. What did we find? In our pilot study, we genotyped 459 samples, with 74% being good quality. We analysed over 2 million genetic markers, with 78.6% passing quality checks. Our study shows that this approach works well in African populations and can analyse their genetic diversity. The next step is to expand the cohort for more comprehensive studies
Assessing neglected and underutilised taro crop water status using physiological indicators and UAV multi-modal thermal-multispectral data
(Springer, 2026) Sibanda, Mbulisi; Ndlovu, Helen Snethemba; Odindi, John
Purpose: Taro (Colocasia esculenta (L)), a neglected and underutilized crop species (NUS), holds great potential as a future smart crop that can thrive under climate variability and change, hence sustaining food security. While taro exhibits tolerance to drought conditions, variations in physiological attributes such as leaf temperature that rises under water stress and the associated stomatal closure that is initiated to conserve water, compromise crop productivity and overall yield. Therefore, monitoring taro crop physiological indicators of water status allows for the implementation of timely interventions and targeted adaption strategies to mitigate the effects of water deficit on taro crop productivity. Methods: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), integrated with high-resolution thermal sensors, provide valuable platform for generating near-real-time spatially explicit information suitable for assessing taro crop water status physiological indicators at farm scale. Hence, this study sought to evaluate the utility of UAV multi-modal thermal remote sensing and deep neural network techniques to estimate the equivalent water thickness, fuel moisture content, stomatal conductance, canopy temperature, and the chlorophyll content of smallholder taro crops. Results: Findings showed that the multi-modal variable method achieves higher estimation accuracies in comparison to a single-modal technique, achieving R2 values greater than 0.91 and rRSME values less than 14.15% of equivalent water thickness, fuel moisture content, stomatal conductance, canopy temperature, and chlorophyll content. Additionally, the results illustrated that the thermal wavebands and derived thermal indices are the most influential variables in estimating stomatal conductance and leaf temperature, yielding R2 of 0.96 and 0.95, respectively. Conclusion: These research findings underscore the applicability of UAV-acquired thermal remote sensing in providing rapid and robust spatially explicit information on smallholder taro crop water status for ensuring crop productivity and developing early warning systems of water stress. These findings serve as a stepping stone towards advancing agricultural monitoring frameworks and integrating NUS, such as taro, into traditional farming.
The customer's quest to manage funds digitally: exploring the factors that influence the intention to use and the ongoing use of mobile banking apps
(Elsevier Ltd, 2026) Maziriri, Eugine Tafadzwa; Rukuni, Tarisai Fritz; Nyagadza, Brighton
Despite the widespread use of mobile technologies, the adoption and ongoing use of mobile banking apps in developing countries like Zimbabwe remain limited. This research aims to identify the factors affecting people's intention to adopt and continue to use mobile banking apps, addressing the gap in context-specific studies and the low bank penetration rates, despite high mobile device usage. Using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), and the User Experience (UX) model, the study explored how factors such as effort expectancy, social influence, perceived enjoyment, user experience, perceived interaction, trust, and risk influence user behaviour. Data were gathered from 377 mobile banking users in Zimbabwe through a quantitative survey, and Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed for data analysis. The findings show that effort expectancy, perceived enjoyment, perceived interaction, and perceived risk significantly impact the intention to use mobile banking apps. In contrast, social influence, user experience, and perceived trust do not have a significant effect. Additionally, the intention to use, perceived trust, and perceived risk significantly affect continued usage. Continued use, in its turn, enhances customer loyalty and electronic word of mouth (e-WOM). These findings are useful for mobile app developers and bank managers looking to increase client retention and service quality in contexts characterised by low levels of trust and high levels of risk. The study enhances previous literature by providing an empirically-verified paradigm for understanding digital banking behaviour in underdeveloped economies and emphasises the specific factors impacting mobile financial service uptake in Zimbabwe.
Optical dating of Holocene extreme flood events in eastern South Africa and their connection to ENSO variability
(Elsevier Ltd, 2026) Grenfell, Michael C; Wood, Jamie C; Toms, Phillip S
Existing research examining tributary blocked-valley lake and wetland development upon the Mfolozi River floodplain (South African east coast) has highlighted the potential for blocked-valley lakes to act as mainstem palaeoflood archives. Sand and silt units preserved within the organic deposits of these floodplain-impounded features represent relatively large flood events and provide an opportunity to establish the frequency of extreme flooding in the region beyond the timespan of instrumental and historical records, thereby helping to reduce uncertainty around future tropical cyclone activity in a warming world. However, absolute age estimates for these sequences have been limited to radiocarbon dating of organic units, restricting flood history reconstruction. This study had two inter-related aims. Firstly, to evaluate the use of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating for chronicling clastic sediments associated with the floodplain's blocked-valley lakes. Secondly, in combination with radiocarbon dating and Bayesian age-depth modelling, to reconstruct flood history across three sites on the Mfolozi floodplain and investigate the climatic factors that drove past extreme flooding in the region. The Finite Mixture Model (FMM) applied to single grain OSL data was identified as the most suitable equivalent dose (De) model, producing age estimates that either aligned with historical records and/or accounted for the largest population of grains with a common dose. The deposition models developed provide evidence for the occurrence of multiple extreme floods since the first event identified at 7.2 ka, providing the first long-term flood record for the region. Comparison of the Mfolozi palaeoflood record with independent sedimentary hydroclimatic evidence from the region indicates a historical tendency for more frequent extreme floods during weakened El Niño conditions (i.e., La Niña or neutral ENSO phases). This suggests that variations in ENSO conditions through the mid-to-late Holocene likely played a fundamental role in triggering extreme flooding along South Africa's east coast.
On Császár structures and pre-nearness on frames
(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2026) Holgate, David; Iragi, Bakulikira
The aim of this paper is to introduce the concept of semi-Császár structures and investigate their relationship with the well-known notion of pre-nearness structures on frames. More explicitly, we define the category of semi-Császár frames and establish a connection with the category of covering pre-nearness frames. We provide conditions under which semi-Császár structures relate with pre-uniformities on frames. Finally, we present a frame counterpart to the relationship between symmetric syntopogenous structures and nearness spaces as established by Herrlich (Gen Topol Appl 4(3):191–212, 1974).