Differential inflammatory response to Helicobacter pylori infection: etiology and clinical outcomes

The bacterial pathogen Helicobacter pylori commonly colonizes the human gastric mucosa during early childhood and persists throughout life. The organism has evolved multiple mechanisms for evading clearance by the immune system and, despite inducing inflammation in the stomach, the majority of infections are asymptomatic. H. pylori is the leading cause of peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer. However, disease outcomes are related to the pattern and severity of chronic inflammation in the gastric mucosa, which in turn is influenced by both bacterial and host factors. Despite over 2 decades of intensive research, there remains an incomplete understanding of the circumstances leading to disease development, due to the fascinating complexity of the host-pathogen interactions. There is accumulating data concerning the virulence factors associated with increased risk of disease, and the majority of these have pro-inflammatory activities. Despite this, only a small proportion of those infected with virulent strains develop disease. Several H. pylori virulence factors have multiple effects on different cell types, including the induction of pro- and anti-inflammatory, immune stimulatory, and immune modulatory responses. The expression of multiple virulence factors is also often linked, making it difficult to assess the meaning of their effects in isolation. Overall, H. pylori is thought to usually modulate inflammation and limit acute damage to the mucosa, enabling the bacteria to persist. If this delicate balance is disturbed, disease may then develop

Same-sex marriage in South Africa: The road ahead

n hierdie bydrae word die problematiek oor "huwelike" tussen persone van dieselfde geslag aan die orde gestel. 'n Oorsig word gebied oor die verskillende fasette van die debat en die argumente wat tipies daarin aangevoer word. Op grond van 'n teoretiese verantwoording oor die aard van die huwelik word standpunt oor hierdie kwessie ingeneem. Nadat moontlike modelle oorweeg is word daar met inagneming van grondwetlike oorwegings 'n aanbeveling oor hierdie aangeleentheid gedoen

Matrimonial property regimes and damages: the far reaches of the South African constitution

Section 18(b) of the Matrimonial Property Act 88 of 1984 allows for non-patrimonial damages to be claimed by a spouse married in community of property against his/her spouse. In Van der Merwe v Road Accident Fund 2006 4 SA 230 (CC) the court extended this exception to the notional purity of community of property to include patrimonial damages on the basis that section 18(b) discriminated unfairly against spouses married in community of property vis-à-vis spouses married out of community. The implications of this decision on commercial intercourse are discussed in this contribution against the background of prior decisions relating to the insolvency of spouses married in community of property

Quantifying and evaluating the risk posed to straw bale constructions from moisture

The level of moisture a construction is exposed to may have an adverse effect on health and structure. Using straw, an organic material, as the construction medium, introduces concerns about biodegradability and spore germination, highlighting the uncertainties surround the level at which straw is susceptible to decay. A physical model is presented in this thesis offering a method by which to quantify and evaluate the risk posed to straw bale constructions from moisture. The model, utilising the development of an innovative Risk Assessment System based on fuzzy logic, is supported by empirical research conducted in static and dynamic environments. The model relies upon the interpretation of data provided by monitoring devices, and an understanding as to the complexities of vapour transition through a straw bale and the interaction of moisture within. Using commonly descriptive terminology to describe the risk posed to the straw, the model, is capable of providing a greater understanding of straw bale construction and advising interested parties on potential weaknesses, taking into account: moisture, temperature, historic and predicted environmental conditions, limitations of analytical techniques, and the effect of direct sunlight. The concept of the model is to provide an early response mechanism to warn of the potential of adverse effects and thereby averting the need for destructive investigation and remedial action

Children's rights in the South African Constitution

Children were in many respects defenceless victims of discriminatory practices in ‘apartheid South Africa’. In fact, discrimination on the basis of gender, race and other inequalities were inscribed in the social fabric of the previous constitutional dispensation. The constitutional dispensation that came into effect on the 27th April 1994 was therefore designed to innovate social, political and legal structures that would be radically different from those of the country’s past history.  In this contribution the impact of the Constitution upon the rights of children are considered. In order to fathom the impact. a general overview of constitutional principles and provisions necessary for the comprehension of the rights of children is provided. Thereafter the rights of children expressly mentioned in the Constitution will be addressed. Attention is also paid to the equal protection and non-discrimination provisions of the Constitution, albeit only indirectly.

Reconstruction of the Shapes of Gold Nanocrystals using Coherent X-ray Diffraction

Inverse problems arise frequently in physics: The magnitude of the Fourier transform of some function is measurable, but not its phase. The “phase problem” in crystallography arises because the number of discrete measurements (Bragg peak intensities) is only half the number of unknowns (electron density points in space). Sayre first proposed that oversampling of diffraction data should allow a solution, and this has recently been demonstrated. Here we report the successful phasing of an oversampled hard x-ray diffraction pattern measured from a single nanocrystal of gold

Children's Rights in the South African Constitution

Children were in many respects defenceless victims of discriminatory practices in ‘apartheid South Africa’. In fact, discrimination on the basis of gender, race and other inequalities were inscribed in the social fabric of the previous constitutional dispensation. The constitutional dispensation that came into effect on the 27th April 1994 was therefore designed to innovate social, political and legal structures that would be radically different from those of the country’s past history.  In this contribution the impact of the Constitution upon the rights of children are considered. In order to fathom the impact. a general overview of constitutional principles and provisions necessary for the comprehension of the rights of children is provided. Thereafter the rights of children expressly mentioned in the Constitution will be addressed. Attention is also paid to the equal protection and nondiscrimination provisions of the Constitution, albeit only indirectly.   &nbsp

Matrimonial Property Regimes and Damages: The Far Reaches of the South African Constitution

Section 18(b) of the Matrimonial Property Act 88 of 1984 allows for non-patrimonial damages to be claimed by a spouse married in community of property against his/her spouse. In Van der Merwe v Road Accident Fund 2006 4 SA 230 (CC) the court extended this exception to the notional purity of community of property to include patrimonial damages on the basis that section 18(b) discriminated unfairly against spouses married in community of property vis-à-vis spouses married out of community. The implications of this decision on commercial intercourse are discussed in this contribution against the background of prior decisions relating to the insolvency of spouses married in community of property.  &nbsp

International Law and Child Soldiers by Gus Waschefort

Long gone are the days that the law pertaining to children essentially dealt with the position of children within the parent-child relationship. On the contrary it has become a highly specialised legal discipline in which international and regional conventions progressively establish norms and standards to be adhered to. This book by Waschefort, the 53rd volume in the series Studies in International Law, bears ample testimony to this. It reviews all of the international instruments containing proscriptive norms to prohibit the use and recruitment of child soldiers. It commences with an analysis of the current state of child soldiering internationally, after which relevant international instruments are comprehensively discussed with a clear focus on the question of whether or not the prohibitive norms are optimally enforced – are they capable of better enforcement

IPD—the Immuno Polymorphism Database

The Immuno Polymorphism Database (IPD), http://www.ebi.ac.uk/ipd/ is a set of specialist databases related to the study of polymorphic genes in the immune system. The IPD project works with specialist groups or nomenclature committees who provide and curate individual sections before they are submitted to IPD for online publication. The IPD project stores all the data in a set of related databases. IPD currently consists of four databases: IPD-KIR, contains the allelic sequences of killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors, IPD-MHC, a database of sequences of the major histocompatibility complex of different species; IPD-HPA, alloantigens expressed only on platelets; and IPD-ESTDAB, which provides access to the European Searchable Tumour Cell-Line Database, a cell bank of immunologically characterized melanoma cell lines. The data is currently available online from the website and FTP directory. This article describes the latest updates and additional tools added to the IPD project