Competition for nectar between Argentine ants (Iridomyrmex humilis) and honeybees (Apis mellifera) on black ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon)

Black ironbark trees secrete nectar during the night. Argentine ants collected 42% of the nectar before honeybees started foraging in the morning.S. Afr. J. Zool. 1987,22(2

Role of micronutrients in HIV infection

More than 60% of the estimated 40 million persons with HIV/AIDS worldwide live in sub-Saharan Africa, where poverty, social insecurity, food shortages and malnutrition are major problems.1 In children under the age of 5 years, who live in developing countries, malnutrition has been associated with 50% of the 10.8 million deaths mainly caused by neonatal disorders, diarrhoea, pneumonia, malaria and HIV/AIDS.2 Likewise micronutrient deficiencies are widespread and are associated with increased morbidity and mortality particularly in relation to infectious diseases.3 This review focuss on the interaction between micronutrients and HIV/AIDS and discusses recent research findings that may have important public health implications in terms of the case management of persons with HIV/AIDS Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine Vol. 6 (2) 2005: pp. 18-2

High ferritin levels have major effects on the morphology of erythrocytes in Alzheimer's disease

Introduction: Unliganded iron both contributes to the pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and also changes the morphology of erythrocytes (RBCs). We tested the hypothesis that these two facts might be linked, i.e., that the RBCs of AD individuals have a variant morphology, that might have diagnostic or prognostic value. Methods: We included a literature survey of AD and its relationships to the vascular system, followed by a laboratory study. Four different microscopy techniques were used and results statistically compared to analyze trends between high and normal serum ferritin (SF) AD individuals. Results: Light and scanning electron microscopies showed little difference between the morphologies of RBCs taken from healthy individuals and from normal SF AD individuals. By contrast, there were substantial changes in the morphology of RBCs taken from high SF AD individuals. These differences were also observed using confocal microscopy and as a significantly greater membrane stiffness (measured using force-distance curves). Conclusion: We argue that high ferritin levels may contribute to an accelerated pathology in AD. Our findings reinforce the importance of (unliganded) iron in AD, and suggest the possibility both of an early diagnosis and some means of treating or slowing down the progress of this disease

An adapted triage tool (ETAT) at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital Medical Emergency Unit, Cape Town: An evaluation

Objective. To evaluate the efficacy of an adapted Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment (ETAT) tool at a children’s hospital. Design. A two-armed descriptive study. Setting. Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. Methods. Triage data on 1 309 children from October 2007 and July 2009 were analysed. The number of children in each triage category (red (emergency), orange (urgent or priority) and green (non-urgent)) and their disposal were evaluated. Results. 1. The October 2007 series: 902 children aged 5 days - 15 years were evaluated. Their median age was 20 (interquartile range (IQR) 7 - 50) months, and 58.8% (n=530) were triaged green, 37.5% (n=338) orange and 3.8% (n=34) red. Over 90% of children in the green category were discharged (478/530), while 32.5% of children triaged orange (110/338) and 52.9% of children triaged red (18/34) were admitted. There was a significant increase in admission rate for each triage colour change from green through orange to red after adjustment for age category (risk ratio (RR) 2.6; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.2 - 3.1). 2. The July 2009 cohort: 407 children with a median age of 22 months (IQR 7 - 53 months) were enrolled. Twelve children (2.9%) were triaged red, 187 (45.9%) orange and 208 (51.1%) green. A quarter (101/407) of the children triaged were admitted: 91.7% (11/12) from the red category and 36.9% (69/187) from the orange category were admitted, while 89.9% of children in the green category (187/208) were discharged. After adjusting for age category, admissions increased by more than 300% for every change in triage acuity (RR 3.2; 95% CI 2.5 - 4.1). Conclusions. The adapted ETAT process may serve as a reliable triage tool for busy paediatric medical emergency units in resource-constrained countries and could be evaluated further in community emergency settings

An adapted triage tool (ETAT) at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital Medical Emergency Unit, Cape Town: An evaluation

Objective. To evaluate the efficacy of an adapted Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment (ETAT) tool at a children’s hospital. Design. A two-armed descriptive study. Setting. Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. Methods. Triage data on 1 309 children from October 2007 and July 2009 were analysed. The number of children in each triage category (red (emergency), orange (urgent or priority) and green (non-urgent)) and their disposal were evaluated. Results. 1. The October 2007 series: 902 children aged 5 days - 15 years were evaluated. Their median age was 20 (interquartile range (IQR) 7 - 50) months, and 58.8% (n=530) were triaged green, 37.5% (n=338) orange and 3.8% (n=34) red. Over 90% of children in the green category were discharged (478/530), while 32.5% of children triaged orange (110/338) and 52.9% of children triaged red (18/34) were admitted. There was a significant increase in admission rate for each triage colour change from green through orange to red after adjustment for age category (risk ratio (RR) 2.6; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.2 - 3.1). 2. The July 2009 cohort: 407 children with a median age of 22 months (IQR 7 - 53 months) were enrolled. Twelve children (2.9%) were triaged red, 187 (45.9%) orange and 208 (51.1%) green. A quarter (101/407) of the children triaged were admitted: 91.7% (11/12) from the red category and 36.9% (69/187) from the orange category were admitted, while 89.9% of children in the green category (187/208) were discharged. After adjusting for age category, admissions increased by more than 300% for every change in triage acuity (RR 3.2; 95% CI 2.5 - 4.1). Conclusions. The adapted ETAT process may serve as a reliable triage tool for busy paediatric medical emergency units in resource-constrained countries and could be evaluated further in community emergency settings

A review of blood transfusions in a trauma unit for young children

Background. Trauma is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Blood transfusions play an incremental role in the acute phase, yet practice varies owing to variations in transfusion thresholds and concerns about potential complications, especially in children.Objectives. To evaluate protocol adherence to blood transfusion thresholds in paediatric trauma patients and determine the degree of blood product wastage, as defined by discarded units.Methods. A retrospective, descriptive study of trauma patients (age 0 - 13 years) who received a blood transfusion in the trauma unit at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa, over a 5.5-year period (1 January 2009 - 1 July 2014). Haemoglobin (Hb) transfusion thresholds were defined as 10 g/dL for neurotrauma patients and patients requiring skin grafting or a musculocutaneous flap (group 1). All other trauma patients had an Hb transfusion threshold of 7 g/dL (group 2).Results. A total of 144 patients were included (mean age 5.2 years (standard deviation (SD) 3.3), 68.1% male). The mean Hb increase after transfusion was 3.5 g/dL (SD 1.7). Adherence to the transfusion Hb threshold protocol was 96.7% for group 1 v. 34.0% for group 2. No complications were reported. Average blood wastage was 3.5 units per year during the study period.Conclusions. Adherence to paediatric blood transfusion protocol was low in the Hb threshold group <7 g/dL. However, transfusion-related complications and wastage were minimal. Further prospective research is required to determine optimal blood transfusion guidelines for paediatric trauma patients

Decreased soluble guanylate cyclase contributes to cardiac dysfunction induced by chronic doxorubicin treatment in mice

Aims: The use of doxorubicin, a potent chemotherapeutic agent, is limited by cardiotoxicity. We tested the hypothesis that decreased soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) enzyme activity contributes to the development of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity. Results: Doxorubicin administration (20 mg/kg, intraperitoneally [IP]) reduced cardiac sGC activity in wild-type (WT) mice. To investigate whether decreased sGC activity contributes to doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity, we studied mice with cardiomyocyte-specific deficiency of the sGC alpha 1-subunit (mice with cardiomyocyte-specific deletion of exon 6 of the sGC alpha 1 allele [sGC alpha 1(-/-CM)]). After 12 weeks of doxorubicin administration (2 mg/kg/week IP), left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction was greater in sGC alpha 1(-/-CM) than WT mice. To further assess whether reduced sGC activity plays a pathogenic role in doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity, we studied a mouse model in which decreased cardiac sGC activity was induced by cardiomyocyte-specific expression of a dominant negative sGC alpha 1 mutant (DNsGC alpha 1) upon doxycycline removal (Tet-off). After 8 weeks of doxorubicin administration, DNsGC alpha 1(tg/+), but not WT, mice displayed LV systolic dysfunction and dilatation. The difference in cardiac function and remodeling between DNsGC alpha 1(tg/+) and WT mice was even more pronounced after 12 weeks of treatment. Further impairment of cardiac function was attenuated when DNsGC alpha 1 gene expression was inhibited (beginning at 8 weeks of doxorubicin treatment) by administering doxycycline. Furthermore, doxorubicin-associated reactive oxygen species generation was higher in sGC alpha 1-deficient than WT hearts. Innovation and Conclusion: These data demonstrate that a reduction in cardiac sGC activity worsens doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in mice and identify sGC as a potential therapeutic target. Various pharmacological sGC agonists are in clinical development or use and may represent a promising approach to limit doxorubicin-associated cardiotoxicity

Comparison of United States and Canadian Glaucoma Medication Costs and Price Change from 2006 to 2013

Objective. Compare glaucoma medication costs between the United States (USA) and Canada. Methods. We modelled glaucoma brand name and generic medication annual costs in the USA and Canada based on October 2013 Costco prices and previously reported bottle overfill rates, drops per mL, and wastage adjustment. We also calculated real wholesale price changes from 2006 to 2013 based on the Average Wholesale Price (USA) and the Ontario Drug Benefit Price (Canada). Results. US brand name medication costs were on average 4x more than Canadian medication costs (range: 1.9x–6.9x), averaging a cost difference of $859 annually. US generic costs were on average the same as Canadian costs, though variation exists. US brand name wholesale prices increased from 2006 to 2013 more than Canadian prices (US range: 29%–349%; Canadian range: 9%–16%). US generic wholesale prices increased modestly (US range: −23%–58%), and Canadian wholesale prices decreased (Canadian range: −38%–0%). Conclusions. US brand name glaucoma medications are more expensive than Canadian medications, though generic costs are similar (with some variation). The real prices of brand name medications increased more in the USA than in Canada. Generic price changes were more modest, with real prices actually decreasing in Canada

Food Microbial Assurance 4

Exam paper (Supplementary Exam) for second semeste