Perceptions of childhood immunisations in rural Transkei - a qualitative study

Objectives. To examine perceptions of childhood illnesses, and the role of immunisation in preventing them, among caretakers of young children in Mhlakulo, a rural community in Transkei, Eastern Cape, and to suggest reasons for the low uptake of immunisations in that area. Design. In-depth qualitative research using semi-structured questionnaires, focus groups, and free listing. Methods. Detailed interviews were conducted using standardised semi-structured questionnaires. Interviews involved 60 caretakers of children aged under 5 years brought to a community health centre. Interviews were followed by two focus groups and free listing interviews to validate results of these questionnaires. Results. There was widespread acceptance of the value of immunisations in preventing childhood illnesses, but only vague knowledge of why they are given, and for what illnesses. The most common knowledge was of measles and polio, but there was only limited knowledge of BCG, DPT and other immunisations. Childhood illnesses were seen as multi-causal in origin, but there was a marked absence of germ theory in explaining them. Attitudes to the use of traditional medicines in childhood were generally negative. Conclusions. Despite positive perception of immunisations, there is widespread ignorance of what they are for, and how they work. This suggests the need for increased health education, more community participation, and organisational changes in primary care clinics to make them more userfriendly to caretakers of infants and young children. S Afr Med J 2004; 94: 835-838

Doença versus Enfermidade na Clínica Geral

Tradução deo artigo "Disease versus illness in general practice", publicado em 1981 pelo The Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners

Disruption of the MyoD/p21 Pathway in Rhabdomyosarcoma

Purpose. Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is an embryonal tumor thought to arise from skeletal muscle cells that fail to differentiate terminally. The majority of RMSs express MyoD, a protein essential to the differentiation of skeletal muscle. It was recently shown that during myogenesis, MyoD activates the expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CDKi), p21, which itself plays a critical role in normal muscle development. To investigate the integrity of the MyoD/p21 pathway in RMS, we analyzed p21 and its relationship to MyoD expression in RMS

Effect of dietary protein on calpastatin in canine skeletal muscle

The cysteine proteinases, μ- and m-calpain, along with their inhibitor, calpastatin, have been hypothesized to play a role in skeletal muscle protein degradation. Because nutrition has previously been shown to influence the expression of calpastatin, the working hypothesis of this study was that the quantity and source of dietary protein could influence regulation of the calpain system in muscle. The objectives to support this hypothesis were to determine the effects of dietary protein (amount and source) on the expression of calpastatin in canine skeletal muscle. This study comprised eight diets with seven dogs per diet. A biopsy was taken from the biceps femoris of all 56 dogs before and after 10 wk on their respective diets. This experimental design allowed examination of change within individual dogs. Diets 1 to 4 contained 12% total protein derived from chicken and/or corn gluten meal in ratios of 100:0, 67:33, 33:67, and 0:100%, respectively. Diets 5 to 8 contained 28% total protein with protein sources and ratios identical to Diets 1 to 4. Differences in calpastatin were examined qualitatively using SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting, and semiquantitatively with densitometric analyses. The majority of the calpastatin blots showed three distinct calpastatin bands, the uppermost appearing at approximately 110 kDa. Diet 5 (28% CP, 100% chicken) resulted in an increase in the expression of the 110-kDa calpastatin band compared with the other two lower molecular weight bands in the same samples. Muscle from dogs fed Diet 5 showed greater increase in (P \u3c 0.05) calpastatin intensity of the topmost band than those fed Diet 8 (0:100; chicken:corn gluten meal). Diet 5 (100:0; chicken:corn gluten meal) showed greater total calpastatin intensity than Diet 8 (0:100; chicken: corn gluten meal). These data suggest that dogs fed a diet containing a higher total percentage of chicken protein may have a greater potential to regulate calpain-mediated degradation of muscle protein than dogs fed diets containing corn gluten meal

Strategic review of the management of occupational road risk

The reduction of injuries and deaths sustained from work-related driving is a priority for occupational health. It is widely accepted that for most workers driving is one of the riskiest activities undertaken as part of work. In Great Britain (GB) it is estimated that at least a fifth of road injuries are sustained in a collision in which someone was driving for work at the time. The management of occupational road risk (MORR) is intended as a means of improving work related road safety (WRRS). In GB, from origins in the late 1980s, throughout the 1990s and 2000s, and into the 2010s there has been a plethora of initiatives focused on encouraging the wider uptake of MORR. The ultimate objective of this movement is to see WRRS managed just like any other aspect of safety at work. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) commissioned TRL and UCL to conduct this strategic review of MORR. The intention is that the review serves as a record of progress in MORR since the 1990s, and also as a basis for making recommendations for action to help sustain this progress

Thermal effects on atomic friction

We model friction acting on the tip of an atomic force microscope as it is dragged across a surface at non-zero temperatures. We find that stick-slip motion occurs and that the average frictional force follows $|\ln v|^{2/3}$, where $v$ is the tip velocity. This compares well to recent experimental work (Gnecco et al, PRL 84, 1172), permitting the quantitative extraction of all microscopic parameters. We calculate the scaled form of the average frictional force's dependence on both temperature and tip speed as well as the form of the friction-force distribution function.Comment: Accepted for publication, Physical Review Letter

Navigating through the minefield of read-across frameworks: A commentary perspective

Read-across is a popular data gap filling technique used within analogue and category approaches for both regulatory and product stewardship purposes. In recent years there have been many efforts focused on the challenges involved in read-across development, its scientific justification and documentation for both chemical hazard and risk assessment purposes. Here, we summarise a selection of the read-across frameworks published in technical guidance documents or in the literature, and review their respective similarities and differences. There was a great deal of consensus between the different frameworks in terms of the general steps outlined and the similarity contexts considered although the terminology, decision context (chemical hazard and/or risk assessment purposes) and scope varied. A harmonised hybrid framework is proposed to help reconcile the common guiding principles and steps of the read-across process which should be helpful in expanding the scope and decision context of the existing frameworks. This harmonised framework is also intended to illustrate where generalised and systematic read-across approaches taking into consideration new approach methodology (NAM) information can be applied