Thermal Behaviour of Euclidean Stars

A recent study of dissipative collapse considered a contracting sphere in which the areal and proper radii are equal throughout its evolution. The interior spacetime was matched to the exterior Vaidya spacetime which generated a temporal evolution equation at the boundary of the collapsing sphere. We present a solution of the boundary condition which allows the study of the gravitational and thermodynamical behaviour of this particular radiating model.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Nurses’ monitoring of the Road to Health Chart at primary healthcare level in Makhado, Limpopo province

Background: The Road to Health Chart (RTHC) is a record chart carried by the caregiver that combines essential information on the growth monitoring of a child, immunisation, vitamin A supplementation, deworming medicine and other illnesses. It provides useful information to the parent and healthcare professional. This study sought to determine the challenges faced by professional nurses in monitoring the RTHC during consultation, the degree of implementation of the RTHC programme, and the most utilised aspect of the RTHC at Louis Trichardt Memorial Hospital and surrounding primary healthcare (PHC) clinics.Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 128 registered professional nurses. A self-administered questionnaire was used.Results: Ninety-six questionnaires were completed. Most of the respondents were female and aged 40-49 years. The majority of the PHC professional nurses stated that the challenges faced in monitoring the RTHC were staff shortages, lack of equipment, a work overload and unequal distribution of professional nurses on duty per shift. There was poor knowledge on how to identify malnutrition. The majority of PHC professional nurses had not completed their basic courses.Conclusion: PHC professional nurses voiced their concern that challenges encountered during consultations were direct reasons for their poor monitoring of the RTHC. The degree of implementation of the RTHC programme fell short of the norms and standards of the Department of Health and Social Development concerning child health care in South Africa. The most utilised aspect of the RTHC was the expanded programme on immunisation, vitamin A supplementation and deworming medicine.Keywords: immunisation, malnutrition, anthropometric indices, child mortality, child healt

The profile of disability grant applicants in Bishop Lavis, Cape Town

Background: Disability grants in South Africa increased from 600 000 in 2000 to almost 1.3 million in 2004. This rise can be attributed to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, South Africa’s high rate of unemployment and possibly an increased awareness of constitutional rights. The Western Cape, which hasa disability prevalence of 3.8%, has also experienced an influx of applications. The study was conducted at Bishop Lavis Community Health Centre (BLCHC) in the Cape Town Metropole, Western Cape.The primary aim of this study was to establish the profile of adults applying for disability grants at Bishop Lavis. The secondary aim was thedetermination of the degree of activity limitation and participation restriction by means of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) shortlist of activity and participation domains.Methods: A descriptive study was conducted with emphasis on identifying and quantifying the relevant factors. The population studied included allprospective adult (18–59-year-old females and 18–64-year-old males) disability grant applicants in Bishop Lavis over a two-month period (April–May 2007). A structured, self-compiled questionnaire was administered during face-to-face interviews with applicants. The questionnaire included the demographic details of the applicants, disability/chronic illness/condition, educational level and social/living conditions. The second part of the questionnaire was based on the ICF shortlist of activity and participation.Results: There were 69 respondents over the period of data collection. Of the 69 applicants who participated in the study, 45 (65%) receiveda temporary disability grant, 6 (8%) received a permanent grant and 18 (26%) applications were rejected. The results demonstrated that mostapplicants were females over the age of 50, were poorly educated with chronic medical conditions and were living in formal accommodation withgood basic services but with minimal or no disposable income. The ICF questionnaire responses showed that the majority of respondents had nodifficulty in most domains, except for the general tasks and demands (multiple tasks), mobility (lifting and carrying, fine hand use and walking) and domestic tasks domains, which showed high percentages of severe to complete difficulty. However, further statistical analysis showed no association between degree of difficulty in the above domains and eventual outcome of type of grant received.Conclusions: This study confirmed that unemployment and a lack of income are the factors influencing patients to seek assistance in the formof disability grants. Most applicants had a chronic medical condition and reported functional restrictions but only received a temporary grant. Thismay be an indication that most patients require further evaluation before a final decision can be made. There is a need for a standardised, objectiveassessment tool for disability grant applications. A campaign to educate patients about disability grants could save patients and hospital medicalservices time and money

Otolaryngological and head and neck manifestations in HIV-infected patients seen at Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria, South Africa

Background. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest incidence of HIV infection. According to recent census statistics, 5.6 million people in South Africa (SA) are HIV-positive, the highest number of infected individuals worldwide. Over 80% of HIV-infected individuals will present with ear, nose and throat (ENT) manifestations. Previous studies show that oral diseases seem to be the most common ENT-related manifestation, reported in about 40 - 50% of HIV-infected patients. In SA, there is lack of local information regarding the otolaryngological and head and neck manifestations in HIV-infected individuals.Objective. To ascertain our local trends of ENT and head and neck manifestations in HIV-infected patients seen at our specialised ENT-HIV Clinic, Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Pretoria, Gauteng Province, SA.Methods. A 1-year prospective study involving 153 HIV-infected patients was conducted in the clinic from January to December 2011. Patient history was taken and examinations were performed based on the World Health Organization (WHO) HIV/AIDS classification system. Data analysis was performed using Epi Info 7 software.Results. The most common manifestations were adenoid  hypertrophy/hyperplasia followed by cervical lymphadenopathy, chronic suppurative otitis media, otitis media with effusion and sensory-neural hearing loss.Conclusion. Patients typically presented with early manifestations during symptomatic WHO stages I and II in contrast to results reported in similar developing world studies from Iran, Nigeria and India. A possible explanation may lie in the SA government HIV Counselling and Testing campaign and the antiretroviral rollout programme, the effectiveness of which is becoming evident

Computer Simulation Studies of Trishomocubane Heptapeptide of the Type Ac-Ala3-Tris-Ala3-NHMe

As part of an extension on the cage peptide chemistry, the present work involves an assessment of the conformational profile of trishomocubane heptapeptide of the type Ac-Ala3-Tris-Ala3-NHMe using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. All MD protocols were explored within the framework of a molecular mechanics approach using the PARM94 force field parameters modified in-house to mimic the implicit and explicit solvent conditions. The 50 ns MD trajectories revealed a tendency of the trishomocubane polypeptide to adopt bent conformations in vacuo, MEOH and TIP3P solvent models, consistent with previous studies undertaken in our laboratory. The aim of this paper is to exemplify the tendency of the highly constrained cage residues to promote reverse-turn characteristics in the polypeptide chains, which could play a pivotal role in the design of new cagepeptidomimetics.Keywords: Trishomocubane, molecular dynamics, Amber, CLASICO, β-turn, α-helical PDF and supplementary file attached

Synthesis, characterization and biocompatibility of a multifunctional gold nanoparticle system for the delivery of single-stranded RNA to lymphocytes

The use of RNA macromolecules as therapeutic agents for HIV and other infectious diseases is promising but limited by suboptimal delivery to the target site. With HIV infection, this is particularly challenging since lymphocytes are particularly difficult to transfect. This paper describes an innovative strategy for the intracellular delivery of a novel single-stranded RNA (oligoribonucleotide) with putative anti-HIV activity. This strategy is based on a PEGylated gold nanoparticle scaffold covalently linked to the thiol-modified oligoribonucleotide via a cleavable N-succinimidyl 3-(2-pyridyldithio) propionate (SPDP) linker molecule. The nanoparticle was then coated with a cationic polymer (polyethyleneimine) to facilitate cell entry and endosomal escape. A synthetic anti-CD4 cyclic targeting peptide was attached to the polyethyleneimine-coated nanoparticle via an SPDP linker molecule, in an attempt to enhance uptake and selectivity. Synthesis, characterization, SPDP and RNA loading, cytotoxicity and antiviral activity of the nanoparticle are described. Approximately 45 000 strands of RNA were taken up per lymphocyte. Uptake was limited by relatively inefficient loading ofRNAonto the gold nanoparticle surface (1 strand per 4.8 nm2 of nanoparticle surface area) and significant aggregation of the nanoparticle in physiological solutions. No antiviral activity was demonstrated, possibly due to insufficient intracytoplasmic delivery of the RNA.Keywords: Gold nanoparticle, polyethyleneimine, transfection, RNA deliver

(S)-2-Benzyl-N-(2,6-diisopropyl­phen­yl)-1,2,3,4-tetra­hydro­isoquinoline-3-carboxamide

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C29H34N2O, contains two mol­ecules in which the N-containing six-membered rings assume different conformations viz. half-chair and envelope. Inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonding via the amide groups cross-link the mol­ecules in the crystal structure