Proefskrifbespreking

Van Deventer, HT 1985. Die begronding van die Nederduitsch HervormdeKerk van Afrika se onderwysbeleid, 1902—1985: 'n Bydrae tot 'n opvoedingsteologieOngepubliseerde DD-proefskrif, Universiteit van Pretoria. Promotor:Prof TFJ Dreyer; Mede-Promotor: Prof CH Rautenbac

Marxisme 'n Trojaanse perd

Marxism a Trojan horseCommunism is not a direct danger at this moment in South Africa. Communism is fought against by the government. Terrorism is our daily enemy. Communism is forbidden by law. Albeit Marxism proceeds on a broad spectrum of South African life by the influence of certain academics, church leaders and politicians. The excuse is that Marxism is to be differentiated from Marxism-Leninism. The latter is supposed to be Communism. In this way Marxism eventually becomes the Trojan horse for Communism in the South African community

Health surveillance of employees on a lead mine, 1979-1989

Health surveillance of employees at a lead mine in the northern Cape, employing about 1 400 people, is specifically aimed at early detection of excessive lead absorption, which is the main chemical hazard. Over a period of 9 years the blood lead level distribution showed very few values (2,5%) that exceeded 60 ug/100 ml. The predictive validity (calculated according to the method of Alessio) of zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) levels, at a cut-off level of 4 ug/g haemoglobin, to screen exposed workers in order to determine whether their blood lead level would exceed 50 ug/100 ml proved to be high (198). In 1988 a significant correlation between ZPP and blood lead levels was found in 195 employees at a low level of absorption manifested by an incidence of only 4% exceeding the cut-off level of 4 ug ZPP/g haemoglobin and only 2% exceeding a blood lead level of 50 ug/100 ml in that year. Monitoring by ZPP provides a high degree of safety for workers and is a relatively inexpensive, well-accepted and effective method

Part II: Ab Initio and NMR Investigations into the Barrier to Internal Rotation of various Oxo- and Thio- Analogues of 2-Oxo-2H-chromen-7-yl Dimethylcarbamates

A range of 2-oxo-2H-chromen-7-yl dimethylcarbamates were synthesized as described in part I of this publication, containing either an oxygen or sulphur α to the carbonyl or thiocarbonyl group of the amide moiety. Variable temperature and exchange spectroscopy NMR was performed on these compounds and the barrier to free amide rotation was calculated. Each of these compounds were also modelled ab initio and the gas phase barrier to rotation calculated. These three sets of data were compared and the influence of the α-heteroatom on rotation for amides and thioamides evaluated.Keywords: Thiocarbonyl, amide, rotational barrie

Boekbespreking

Landman, C & Whitelaw, DP (red) 1985 - Windows on origins / Oorspronge in oënskou: Opstelle oor die vroeë kerk ter ere van JAAA Stoop op sy sestigste verjaarsdagPretoria: Universiteit van Suid-Afrika. 102 bladsye. Prys R24 plus AVBBalke, W 1985 - Calvin und die Taufer: Evangelium oder religioser Humanismus. Ubersetzt von H Quistorp Minden - Westfalia Selbstverlag Pfr Dr HJJ Th Quistorp. 292 bladsye. Prys onbekend.Vorster, WS (red) 1985 - Views on violencePretoria: University of South Africa. 118 bladsye. Hardeband. Prys R13,00 plus AVB.Instituut vir Reformatoriese Studies, 1985 - Venster op die Onderwys. (Reeks nr S 3. Versamelwerke nr 24)Potchefstroom: PU vir CHO. 147 bladsye. Prys R7,00. 16 hoofstukke deur verskeie medewerkers

Short communication Increase in metal extractability after liming of sacrificial sewage sludge disposal soils

A sandy and a sandy clay-loam soil from two dedicated (sacrificial) sewage sludge disposal sites were incubated with a total lime equivalent of 45 Mg·ha-1. Both these soils were acidified (pH 4.0 to 4.2) and had a significant accumulation of organic material (organic C of 2.9 to 3.7 %) compared to non-polluted soils (organic C of 0.6 to 1.0 %). The limed soils did not attain the desired pH of 6.5 after 6 months\' incubation due to a high buffer capacity. After incubation, soil samples were taken from the incubated pots and the levels of Al, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) after extraction with NH4-EDTA and BaCl2. Most of the metals extracted with BaCl2 (except Mn in the sandy soil and Cd in both soils) decreased after liming. The EDTA-extractable Mn, Fe, and Cd in both soils and Cu and Pb in the sandy clayloam soil increased after liming, whereas Al and Zn, decreased in extractability (Statistically significant differences could not be determined for the trial due to the trial not having been designed for the results that were obtained). Similar results were reported in the literature for EDTA metal extraction but the phenomenon was not elaborated upon, except for Cr. The increased extractability of some of the metals after liming could negatively influence the use of EDTA as an extracting agent in proposed heavy-metal guidelines for similar sacrificial soils. Should liming be considered as a strategy to decrease metal mobility in sacrificial soils, the observed increase in extractability becomes a cause for concern and should receive attention in further research. Water SA Vol. 31 (2) 2005: pp.271-27

Emerging evidence for CHFR as a cancer biomarker : from tumor biology to precision medicine

Novel insights in the biology of cancer have switched the paradigm of a "one-size-fits-all" cancer treatment to an individualized biology-driven treatment approach. In recent years, a diversity of biomarkers and targeted therapies has been discovered. Although these examples accentuate the promise of personalized cancer treatment, for most cancers and cancer subgroups no biomarkers and effective targeted therapy are available. The great majority of patients still receive unselected standard therapies with no use of their individual molecular characteristics. Better knowledge about the underlying tumor biology will lead the way toward personalized cancer treatment. In this review, we summarize the evidence for a promising cancer biomarker: checkpoint with forkhead and ring finger domains (CHFR). CHFR is a mitotic checkpoint and tumor suppressor gene, which is inactivated in a diverse group of solid malignancies, mostly by promoter CpG island methylation. CHFR inactivation has shown to be an indicator of poor prognosis and sensitivity to taxane-based chemotherapy. Here we summarize the current knowledge of altered CHFR expression in cancer, the impact on tumor biology and implications for personalized cancer treatment

Reducing the anticholinergic and sedative load in older patients on polypharmacy by pharmacist-led medication review: A randomised controlled trial

© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted. Objective To evaluate if a pharmacist-led medication review is effective at reducing the anticholinergic/sedative load, as measured by the Drug Burden Index (DBI). Design Randomised controlled single blind trial. Setting 15 community pharmacies in the Northern Netherlands. Participants 157 community-dwelling patients aged ≥65 years who used ≥5 medicines for ≥3 months, including at least one psycholeptic/psychoanaleptic medication and who had a DBI≥1. Intervention A medication review by the community pharmacist in collaboration with the patient's general practitioner and patient. Primary and secondary outcomes measures The primary outcome was the proportion of patients whose DBI decreased by at least 0.5. Secondary outcomes were the presence of anticholinergic/sedative side effects, falls, cognitive function, activities of daily living, quality of life, hospital admission and mortality. Data were collected at baseline and 3 months follow-up. Results Mean participant age was 75.7 (SD, 6.9) years in the intervention arm and 76.6 (SD, 6.7) years in the control arm, the majority were female (respectively 69.3% and 72.0%). Logistic regression analysis showed no difference in the proportion of patients with a≥0.5 decrease in DBI between intervention arm (17.3%) and control arm (15.9%), (OR 1.04, CI 0.47 to 2.64, p=0.927). Intervention patients scored higher on the Digit Symbol Substitution Test, measure of cognitive function (OR 2.02, CI 1.11 to 3.67, p=0.021) and reported fewer sedative side effects (OR 0.61, CI 0.40 to 0.94, p=0.024) at follow-up. No significant difference was found for other secondary outcomes. Conclusions Pharmacist-led medication review as currently performed in the Netherlands was not effective in reducing the anticholinergic/sedative load, measured with the DBI, within the time frame of 3 months. Preventive strategies, signalling a rising load and taking action before chronic use of anticholinergic/sedative medication is established may be more successful. Trial registration number NCT02317666