Rare Mutations of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma: Frequencies and Relationship with Insulin Resistance and Diabetes Risk in the Mixed Ancestry Population from South Africa

Background. Genetic variants in the nuclear transcription receptor, PPARG, are associated with cardiometabolic traits, but reports remain conflicting. We determined the frequency and the clinical relevance of PPARG SNPs in an African mixed ancestry population. Methods. In a cross-sectional study, 820 participants were genotyped for rs1800571, rs72551362, rs72551363, rs72551364, and rs3856806, using allele-specific TaqMan technology. The homeostatic model assessment of insulin (HOMA-IR), β-cells function (HOMA-B%), fasting insulin resistance index (FIRI), and the quantitative insulin-sensitivity check index (QUICKI) were calculated. Results. No sequence variants were found except for the rs3856806. The frequency of the PPARG-His447His variant was 23.8% in the overall population group, with no difference by diabetes status (). The His447His allele T was associated with none of the markers of insulin resistance overall and by diabetes status. In models adjusted for 2-hour insulin, the T allele was associated with lower prevalent diabetes risk (odds ratio 0.56 (95% CI 0.31–0.95)). Conclusion. Our study confirms the almost zero occurrences of known rare PPARG SNPs and has shown for the first time in an African population that one of the common SNPs, His447His, may be protective against type 2 diabetes

High prevalence of diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome in a South African coloured population: Baseline data of a study in Bellville, Cape Town

Objective. The coloured population has the second-highest prevalence of diabetes in South Africa. However, the data were based on a study conducted almost 20 years ago in a peri-urban coloured population of the Western Cape. We aimed to determine the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome in an urban coloured population in South Africa.Design. In a cross-sectional survey, 642 participants aged .31 years were drawn from an urban community of Bellville South, Cape Town, from mid-January 2008 to March 2009. Type 2 diabetes was assessed according to the WHO criteria, and metabolic syndrome was based on the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), ATP III and 2009 Joint Interim Statement (JIS) definition.Results. The crude prevalence of 28.2% (age-adjusted 26.3%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 22.0 - 30.3) for type 2 diabetes was: 4.4% (age-adjusted 3.2%, 95% CI 1.6 - 4.9) for impaired fasting glycaemia, and 15.3% (age-adjusted 15.0%, 95% CI 11.4 - 18.6) for impaired glucose tolerance. Undiagnosed type 2 diabetes was present in 18.1% (age-adjusted 16.8%, 95% CI 13.3 - 20.4). The crude prevalence of metabolic syndrome was higher with the JIS definition (62.0%) than the IDF (60.6%), and the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) ATP III (55.4%). There was good overall agreement between the MetS criteria, k=0.89 (95% CI 0.85 - 0.92).Conclusion. The prevalence of diabetes has increased hugely in the coloured community, and the high prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes portends that cardiovascular diseases might grow to epidemic proportions in the near future in South Africa

Waiting as a determinant of store image and customer satisfaction : a literature review

Verskeie studies is beskikbaar wat die multi-dimensionele konseptualisering van diensgehalte, winkelbeeld en verbruikers se tevredenheid met dienslewering in die kleinhandel aanspreek. Hoewel wagtyd ingesluit word in die hiërargiese konseptualisering van verbruikers se persepsie van dienskwalitiet en pertinent oorweeg word in terme van die invloed daarvan op die onderskeie konstrukte, is daar tot dusver in navorsing min aandag daaraan geskenk. Die meeste studies wat wel verbruikers se persepsie van wagtyd aangespreek het, is in die laboratorium gedoen. Ten spyte van die invloed van wagtyd op verbruikers se persepsie van diensverskaffers het navorsers tot onlangs nog daarna verwys as 'n konstruk wat onderskat word in terme van die invloed wat dit op verbruikers se gedrag het. Verskeie navorsers het ook tot die slotsom gekom dat die invloed van wagtyd in terme van verbruikers se winkelondersteuning en winkellojaliteit nie onderskat moet word nie. Verskeie teoretiese perspektiewe kan gebruik word om die gevolge van wagtyd vir verbruikers en vir die kleinhandel te verstaan. Uiteraard kan persoonlike faktore en persoonlikheid nie tot dieselfde mate as omstandigheidsfaktore in ag geneem word wanneer handelaars poog om hulle dienslewering te verbeter nie. Navorsingsbevindinge kan nietemin bydra om verbruikers se frustrasie, optrede en klagtes beter te verstaan. In hierdie literatuuroorsig word bestaande literatuur geïntegreer om die belangrikheid van die wagkonstruk uit 'n verbruikers- sowel as 'n handelaarsoogpunt te bevestig. 'n Konseptuele raamwerk word saamgestel en voorstelle word gemaak om toekomstige navorsing op hierdie gebied te rig en aan te moedig, veral in die konteks van ontwikkelende lande.http://www.up.ac.za/saafecs/am201

Listing criteria for heart transplantation in the Netherlands

The updated listing criteria for heart transplantation are presented on behalf of the three heart transplant centres in the Netherlands. Given the shortage of donor hearts, selection of those patients who may expect to have the greatest benefit from a scarce societal resource in terms of life expectancy and quality of life is inevitable. The indication for heart transplantation includes end-stage heart disease not remediable by more conservative measures, accompanied by severe physical limitation while on optimal medical therapy, including ICD/CRT‑D. Assessment of this condition requires cardiopulmonary stress testing, prognostic stratification and invasive haemodynamic measurements. Timely referral to a tertiary centre is essential for an optimal outcome. Chronic mechanical circulatory support is being used more and more as an alternative to heart transplantation and to bridge the progressively longer waiting time for heart transplantation and, thus, has become an important treatment option for patients with advanced heart failure

Women in wage labour: A systematic review of the Effectiveness and Design Features of Interventions Supporting Women’s Participation in Wage Labour in Higher-growth and/or Male-dominated Sectors in Low- and Middle-income Countries

In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), women’s participation in wage labour is significantly lower than that of men. In addition, women’s participation is often clustered in particular sectors of the economy that are not well-remunerated and have lower prestige. Higher growth economic sectors such as ICT and finance are dominated by men, excluding women from lucrative opportunities for social and economic development. Even where women have equal access to wage labour opportunities, they often suffer from vertical occupational segregation, earning significantly less than men and being less likely to be promoted. This horizontal and vertical occupational segregation of wage labour markets in LMICs for women hinders both economic and social development. In response to this challenging gendered nature of wage labour markets in LMICs, a range of interventions and policies have been proposed to increase women’s employment. These interventions aim to overcome a range of barriers to women’s wage labour employment in highergrowth/male-dominated sectors, such as discrimination against women by markets and work institutions, or a lack of access to credit and assets and of technical and soft skills. However, these labour market programmes to increase women’s wage employment vary greatly, as do the barriers to women’s wage labour participation. Different programme designs assume different pathways to support women’s employment and it is not clear what programme approaches and design features are most effective

Identification and characterization of a novel non-structural protein of bluetongue virus

Bluetongue virus (BTV) is the causative agent of a major disease of livestock (bluetongue). For over two decades, it has been widely accepted that the 10 segments of the dsRNA genome of BTV encode for 7 structural and 3 non-structural proteins. The non-structural proteins (NS1, NS2, NS3/NS3a) play different key roles during the viral replication cycle. In this study we show that BTV expresses a fourth non-structural protein (that we designated NS4) encoded by an open reading frame in segment 9 overlapping the open reading frame encoding VP6. NS4 is 77–79 amino acid residues in length and highly conserved among several BTV serotypes/strains. NS4 was expressed early post-infection and localized in the nucleoli of BTV infected cells. By reverse genetics, we showed that NS4 is dispensable for BTV replication in vitro, both in mammalian and insect cells, and does not affect viral virulence in murine models of bluetongue infection. Interestingly, NS4 conferred a replication advantage to BTV-8, but not to BTV-1, in cells in an interferon (IFN)-induced antiviral state. However, the BTV-1 NS4 conferred a replication advantage both to a BTV-8 reassortant containing the entire segment 9 of BTV-1 and to a BTV-8 mutant with the NS4 identical to the homologous BTV-1 protein. Collectively, this study suggests that NS4 plays an important role in virus-host interaction and is one of the mechanisms played, at least by BTV-8, to counteract the antiviral response of the host. In addition, the distinct nucleolar localization of NS4, being expressed by a virus that replicates exclusively in the cytoplasm, offers new avenues to investigate the multiple roles played by the nucleolus in the biology of the cell

Activation of TRPC6 channels is essential for lung ischaemia–reperfusion induced oedema in mice

Lung ischaemia–reperfusion-induced oedema (LIRE) is a life-threatening condition that causes pulmonary oedema induced by endothelial dysfunction. Here we show that lungs from mice lacking nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase (Nox2y/−) or the classical transient receptor potential channel 6 (TRPC6−/−) are protected from LIR-induced oedema (LIRE). Generation of chimeric mice by bone marrow cell transplantation and endothelial-specific Nox2 deletion showed that endothelial Nox2, but not leukocytic Nox2 or TRPC6, are responsible for LIRE. Lung endothelial cells from Nox2- or TRPC6-deficient mice showed attenuated ischaemia-induced Ca2+ influx, cellular shape changes and impaired barrier function. Production of reactive oxygen species was completely abolished in Nox2y/− cells. A novel mechanistic model comprising endothelial Nox2-derived production of superoxide, activation of phospholipase C-γ, inhibition of diacylglycerol (DAG) kinase, DAG-mediated activation of TRPC6 and ensuing LIRE is supported by pharmacological and molecular evidence. This mechanism highlights novel pharmacological targets for the treatment of LIRE

A multimodal intervention to improve hand hygiene compliance via social cognitive influences among kindergarten teachers in China

Children attending kindergarten are at high risk for contracting infections, for which hand hygiene (HH) has been recognized as the most cost-effective prevention measure globally. Kindergarten teachers’ HH behavior plays a vital role in encouraging favorable hygiene techniques and environment. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a multimodal intervention at changing kindergarten teachers’ HH behavior and social cognitive factors that influences HH behavior in China