Haiti: The South African perspective

Background and problem statement. The South African response to the Haitian earthquake consisted of two independent nongovernment organisations (NGOs) working separately with minimal contact. Both teams experienced problems during the deployment, mainly owing to not following the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) guidelines. Critical areas identified. To improve future South African disaster responses, three functional deployment categories were identified: urban search and rescue, triage and initial stabilisation, and definitive care. To best achieve this, four critical components need to be taken into account: rapid deployment, intelligence from the site, government facilitation, and working under the auspices of recognised organisations such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization. Conclusion. The proposed way forward for South African medical teams responding to disasters is to be unified under a leading academic body, to have an up-to-date volunteer database, and for volunteers to be current with the international search and rescue course currently being developed by the Medical Working Group of INSARAG. An additional consideration is that South African rescue and relief personnel have a primary responsibility to the citizens of South Africa, then the Southern African Development Community region, then the rest of the African continent and finally further afield. The commitment of government, private and military health services as well as NGOs is paramount for a unified response

Supramolecular recognition of estrogens via molecularly imprinted polymers

The isolation and preconcentration of estrogens from new types of biological samples (acellular and protein-free simulated body fluid) by molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction has been described. In this technique, supramolecular receptors, namely molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are used as a sorbent material. The recognition sites of MIPs were prepared by non-covalent multiple interactions and formed with the target 17β-estradiol as a template molecule. High-performance liquid chromatography with spectroscopic UV, selective, and a sensitive electrochemical CoulArray detector was used for the determination of 17β-estradiol, estrone, and estriol in simulated body fluid which mimicked human plasma

CHROMATOGRAPHIC METHODS IN THE ANALYSIS OF CHOLESTEROL AND RELATED LIPIDS

Methods using thin-layer chromatography, solid-phase extraction, gas chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography and supercritical fluid chromatography are described for the analysis of single cholesterol, esterified and sulfated cholesterol, and for cholesterol in the context of other lipid components, like other sterols and lipid classes. In connection with these techniques several clinical applications are mentioned

SEPARATION OF CHOLESTEROL ESTERS BY SILVER ION CHROMATOGRAPHY USING HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY OR SOLID-PHASE EXTRACTION COLUMNS PACKED WITH A BONDED SULFONIC-ACID PHASE

Two methods for the separation of cholesterol esters, based on the number of double bonds in their fatty acid moieties, are presented. Silver ion chromatography, usually performed on thin-layer chromatographic plates, was made suitable for high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and solid-phase extraction. Separation on a bonded sulphonic acid phase loaded with silver ions was achieved with cholesterol esters containing up to six double bonds in their fatty acid moieties. No cross-contamination between fractions with different numbers of double bonds was detected with the HPLC method, as was demonstrated by subsequent gas chromatographic analysis of the fatty acid moieties, following transmethylation. For adequate separations with the solid-phase extraction columns it proved important to avoid overloading. The methods may be of use for the off-line analyses of the sterol compositions of the isolated fractions, which each contain sterol esters with an equal number of double bonds in their fatty acid moieties