Immune-Neuroendocrine Interactions: Evolution, Ecology, and Susceptibility to Illness

The integration between immune and neuroendocrine systems is crucial for maintaining homeostasis from invertebrates to humans. In the first, the phagocytic cell, i.e., the immunocyte, is the main actor, while in the latter, the principle player is the lymphocyte. Immunocytes are characterized by the presence of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) peptides, CRH, and other molecules that display a significant similarity to their mammalian counterparts regarding their functions, as both are mainly involved in fundamental functions such as immune (chemotaxis, phagocytosis, cytotoxicity, etc.) and neuroendocrine (stress) responses. Furthermore, the immune-neuroendocrine system provides vital answers to ecological and immunological demands in terms of economy and efficiency. Finally, susceptibility to disease emerges as the result of a continuous dynamic interaction between the world within and the world outside. New fields such as ecological immunology study the susceptibility to pathogens in an evolutionary perspective while the field of neuro-endocrine-immunology studies the susceptibility from a more immediate perspective

The Reproducibility of Berg Balance Scale and the Single-Leg Stance in Chronic Stroke and the Relationship Between the Two Tests.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the reproducibility of the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and the Single-leg Stance (SLS), and the validity of the SLS as an independent test of upright postural control in patients with chronic stroke. DESIGN: An intra-rater test-retest reproducibility study. The BBS and the SLS were assessed twice, 7 days apart. SETTING: A university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty individuals; 6-46 months after a stroke. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: The reproducibility of the BBS and the SLS was evaluated with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC(2,1)), the mean difference between the 2 test sessions (d̄) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI), the standard error of measurement (standard error of measurement [SEM]%), the smallest real difference (SRD%), and the Bland-Altman graphs. To assess validity of SLS, the relationship between the SLS and the BBS was analyzed by the Pearson correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The ICC(2,1) was 0.88 for the BBS, and the ICC(2,1) values were 0.88 for the nonparetic limb and 0.92 for the paretic lower limb for the SLS. The smallest change that indicates a real improvement for a group of individuals, SEM%, was 3% for BBS, 15% for the nonparetic limb and 27% for the paretic limb for SLS. The smallest real difference for a single individual was 8% for BBS but was higher for SLS, at 42% for the nonparetic limb, and 74% for the paretic limb. There was a significant relationship between the SLS and the BBS (r = 0.65-0.79; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The BBS and the SLS are reproducible measurements in patients with chronic stroke, but only the BBS is sensitive enough to follow changes over time or after an intervention. The SLS is strongly related to the BBS and can be used as an independent test to measure upright postural control after a stroke

The ideal of an integrated national qualifications framework

This study deals with the extent to which the South African education and training system reflects in principle, perception and practice, the ideal of an integrated national qualifications framework. It examines the uses and meaning of ‘integration’ through a number of lenses. These lenses include policy symbolism and a guiding philosophy for the emerging system; pragmatic and technical considerations; communities of practice; the complementarity of education and training; and curricular integration. In relation to the first two lenses, it is evident that an integrated framework is a powerful symbol of the break from a past system characterised by inequality, unfairness and deliberate mediocrity, to the extent that ‘integration’ has become the underpinning guiding philosophy for a new education and training system. However, such socio-political aspirations tend to place unreasonable demands on the system. The second set of lenses indicate that the ‘comprehensiveness’ of the system could work against the notion of integration, and in South Africa, has led to acute paralysis of the system. The strongest evidence of integration emerges from the last set of lenses namely, the grounded, meaningful practice through principled partnerships, as reflected in the development of sub-frameworks and communities of practice and the necessary collaboration needed for curricular integration and education and training delivery. Thus, it seems, to make integration meaningful, the persuasive logic of innovative, grounded practice, could be enabled and facilitated by less, not more, regulation and could be enhanced by structures that reflect the grounded practice. Copyright 2006, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Blom, JP 2006, The ideal of an integrated national qualifications framework, PhD thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd Thesis (PhD (Education Management and Policy Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2007.Education Management and Policy Studiesunrestricte