Missed opportunities for inununisation in Natal health facilities

The World Health Organisation currently recommends that preventive measures be promoted at every contact with health services. However, there is still no uniform policy on immunisation currently implemented at curative health facilities in Natal. Surveys of missed opportunities for immunisations in four health facilities in Natal revealed that, even in those with an immunisation policy, many opportunities are still being missed. The reasons for this included a lack of emphasis on preventive measures by health workers, reluctance to open vaccines for only a few children, and vaccines not being immediately to hand. It is recommended that a firm policy be implemented in Natal, with regular self-evaluation by the health facilities

Comparative costs of mobile and fixed-clinic primary health care services

With restructuring and rationalisation of health services in South Africa imminent, the  development of methods for comparing and evaluating health services is of great importance at both national and local level, including comparisons of cost-efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The costs of different methods of delivering primary health care in a local authority through mobile and fixed-clinic services have been analysed and aspects of their costefficiency compared. The information gained from such an analysis can be used for management purposes to optimise both the use of resources and the  quality of service provided at local level

Effect of an immunisation campaign in Natal and KwaZulu on vaccination coverage rates, 1990 - 1991

No Abstract

Influence of beet necrotic yellow vein virus on sugar beet storability

Rhizomania caused by Beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV) and storage losses are serious sugar beet production problems. To investigate the influence of BNYVV on storability, six sugar beet cultivars varying for resistance to BNYVV were grown in 2005 and 2006 in southern Idaho fields with and without BNYVV-infested soil. At harvest, samples from each cultivar were placed in an outdoor ventilated pile in Twin Falls, ID and were removed at 40-day intervals starting at the end of October. After 144 and 142 days in storage, sugar reduction across cultivars averaged 20 and 13% without and 68 and 21% with BNYVV for the 2005 and 2006 roots, respectively. In the December samplings, frozen root area was 1 and 2% without and 25 and 41% with BNYVV for the 2005 and 2006 roots, respectively. Root rot was always worse with stored roots from BYNVV-infested soil in December, January, and February samplings. Root weight loss was variable in 2005; however, in 2006, an increase in weight reduction always was associated with BNYVV-infested roots. In order to prevent losses in rhizomania-infested areas, cultivars should be selected for storability as well as rhizomania resistance

From Head to Hind: Elucidating Function through Contrasting Morphometrics of Ancient and Modern Pedigree Dogs.

Used together, caliper- and geometric-based morphometric analyses provide complimentary approaches to classifying form and function of archaeozoological remains. Here we apply these analytical tools to the skeletal remains of an ancient male dog unearthed from a rural farm settlement of Roman date near present day Warmington, UK. Our comparisons of the Warmington Roman dog against the morphological characteristics of modern dog breeds enabled us to establish the former's size and shape. It was of medium stature. Analysis of viscerocrania and neurocrania indicate it falls within the meso- to dolichocephalic rankings of modern dogs. The neurocranium shape and the dimensions of its long bones strongly suggest that the Warmington dog shares similarities to modern sight hounds. Historically sight hounds were bred for speed, as necessitated of a hunter that runs down small prey. Our analysis suggests that the Warmington dog was likely bred for, or derived from, Roman hunting stock. By revealing the Warmington Roman dog's form from cranial and postcranial analyses, we shed light on Roman life in one of the furthest outposts of the Roman Empire

HIV-1 shedding and chlamydial urethritis [1]

To the Editor.Drs. Schmid and Fontanarosa thoroughly discussed the causes and management of nongonococcal urethritis. However, they did not emphasize the link between treatment of sexually transmitted diseases and prevention of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

A pulsating white dwarf in an eclipsing binary

White dwarfs are the burnt-out cores of Sun-like stars and are the fate of 97 per cent of the stars in our Galaxy. The internal structure and composition of white dwarfs are hidden by their high gravities, which causes all elements apart from the lightest ones to settle out of their atmospheres. The most direct method of probing the inner structure of stars and white dwarfs in detail is via asteroseismology. Here we present a pulsating white dwarf in an eclipsing binary system, enabling us to place extremely precise constraints on the mass and radius of the white dwarf from the lightcurve, independent of the pulsations. This 0.325-solar-mass white dwarf—one member of the SDSS J115219.99+024814.4 system—will serve as a powerful benchmark with which to constrain empirically the core composition of low-mass stellar remnants and to investigate the effects of close binary evolution on the internal structure of white dwarfs

Stratigraphic columns for the Neogene succession exposed in central parts of Hawke’s Bay Basin, eastern North Island, New Zealand

This report is a compilation of stratigraphic columns for geological sections and outcrops of Neogene sedimentary units in central parts of Hawke’s Bay Basin, eastern North Island, New Zealand. The columns have been prepared as part of a basin analysis investigation undertaken by the Sedimentary and Petroleum Geology Research Group in the Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of Waikato and have been compiled into a common format from six recent MSc and PhD theses to make the information more readily available, principally to assist hydrocarbon exploration activities in the region. The columns represent a level of detail underpinning a rationalized lithostratigraphy of the Neogene basin fill. The systematic lithostratigraphic description of the basin fill is given in a companion report (Bland et al. 2007)

ABC transporter genes ABC-C6 and ABC-G33 alter plant-microbeparasite interactions in the rhizosphere

Open Access Journal; Published online: 27 Dec 2019Plants are master regulators of rhizosphere ecology, secreting a complex mixture of compounds into the soil, collectively termed plant root exudate. Root exudate composition is highly dynamic and functional, mediating economically important interactions between plants and a wide range of soil organisms. Currently we know very little about the molecular basis of root exudate composition, which is a key hurdle to functional exploitation of root exudates for crop improvement. Root expressed transporters modulate exudate composition and could be manipulated to develop beneficial plant root exudate traits. Using Virus Induced Gene silencing (VIGS), we demonstrate that knockdown of two root-expressed ABC transporter genes in tomato cv. Moneymaker, ABC-C6 and ABC-G33, alters the composition of semi-volatile compounds in collected root exudates. Root exudate chemotaxis assays demonstrate that knockdown of each transporter gene triggers the repulsion of economically relevant Meloidogyne and Globodera spp. plant parasitic nematodes, which are attracted to control treatment root exudates. Knockdown of ABC-C6 inhibits egg hatching of Meloidogyne and Globodera spp., relative to controls. Knockdown of ABC-G33 has no impact on egg hatching of Meloidogyne spp. but has a substantial inhibitory impact on egg hatching of G. pallida. ABC-C6 knockdown has no impact on the attraction of the plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens, or the plant growth promoting Bacillus subtilis, relative to controls. Silencing ABC-G33 induces a statistically significant reduction in attraction of B. subtilis, with no impact on attraction of A. tumefaciens. By inoculating selected differentially exuded compounds into control root exudates, we demonstrate that hexadecaonic acid and pentadecane are biologically relevant parasite repellents. ABC-C6 represents a promising target for breeding or biotechnology intervention strategies as gene knockdown leads to the repulsion of economically important plant parasites and retains attraction of the beneficial rhizobacterium B. subtilis. This study exposes the link between ABC transporters, root exudate composition, and ex planta interactions with agriculturally and economically relevant rhizosphere organisms, paving the way for new approaches to rhizosphere engineering and crop protection

'To live and die [for] Dixie': Irish civilians and the Confederate States of America

Around 20,000 Irishmen served in the Confederate army in the Civil War. As a result, they left behind, in various Southern towns and cities, large numbers of friends, family, and community leaders. As with native-born Confederates, Irish civilian support was crucial to Irish participation in the Confederate military effort. Also, Irish civilians served in various supporting roles: in factories and hospitals, on railroads and diplomatic missions, and as boosters for the cause. They also, however, suffered in bombardments, sieges, and the blockade. Usually poorer than their native neighbours, they could not afford to become 'refugees' and move away from the centres of conflict. This essay, based on research from manuscript collections, contemporary newspapers, British Consular records, and Federal military records, will examine the role of Irish civilians in the Confederacy, and assess the role this activity had on their integration into Southern communities. It will also look at Irish civilians in the defeat of the Confederacy, particularly when they came under Union occupation. Initial research shows that Irish civilians were not as upset as other whites in the South about Union victory. They welcomed a return to normalcy, and often 'collaborated' with Union authorities. Also, Irish desertion rates in the Confederate army were particularly high, and I will attempt to gauge whether Irish civilians played a role in this. All of the research in this paper will thus be put in the context of the Drew Gilpin Faust/Gary Gallagher debate on the influence of the Confederate homefront on military performance. By studying the Irish civilian experience one can assess how strong the Confederate national experiment was. Was it a nation without a nationalism