An Evaluation of the Biological Availability of Chloramphenicol

The biological availability of chloramphenicol from different commercial preparations was investigated. Methods used to evaluate the in vitro release were disintegration, de-aggregation and dissolution tests and particle size measurement. Considerable differences between the rate of release of the antibiotic from the different capsule preparations were detected. These differences can be attributed to the formulation used during the preparation of the different products. The absorption characteristics of chloramphenicol from 3 brands of chloramphenicol capsules and 3 chloramphenicol powder samples from different sources were tested on 6 healthy male subjects in a cross-over trial. Each subject received 500 mg as a single oral dose at intervals of one week. Significant differences between the average amount of chloramphenicol excreted in the urine from the different preparations were noted 1-2 hours after administration of the dose. The experimental results were used to compute the absorption rate of the antibiotic from different preparations. The differences observed in the in vitro release were confirmed by the in vivo results. The differences between the release of the antibiotic from the different capsule preparations could be ascribed to the method of formulation of the antibiotic which is poorly soluble in water.S. Afr. Med. J., 47, 94 (1973

Low-complexity wavelet-based scalable image & video coding for home-use surveillance

We study scalable image and video coding for the surveillance of rooms and personal environments based on inexpensive cameras and portable devices. The scalability is achieved through a multi-level 2D dyadic wavelet decomposition featuring an accurate low-cost integer wavelet implementation with lifting. As our primary contribution, we present a modification to the SPECK wavelet coefficient encoding algorithm to significantly improve the efficiency of an embedded system implementation. The modification consists of storing the significance of all quadtree nodes in a buffer, where each node comprises several coefficients. This buffer is then used to efficiently construct the code with minimal and direct memory access. Our approach allows efficient parallel implementation on multi-core computer systems and gives a substantial reduction of memory access and thus power consumption. We report experimental results, showing an approximate gain factor of 1,000 in execution time compared to a straightforward SPECK implementation, when combined with code optimization on a common digital signal processor. This translates to 75 full color 4CIF 4:2:0 encoding cycles per second, clearly demonstrating the realtime capabilities of the proposed modification

Malnutrition: More that the eye can see

Objectives: To assess the magnitude of malnutrition in a hospital setting and to relate anthropometric measures to the clinical diagnosis of malnutrition.Design: A descriptive study whereby anthropometric measures (length and weight) were taken of every child under the age of five years who was admitted to the hospital. The anthropometric data were analysed using the EPI-Info statistical package, which calculates z-scores for weight-for-age, weight-for-height and height-for-age. As reference curve, the reference growth curves of the NCHS were used. Of all the children who were classified as being malnourished, it was recorded if the clinical diagnosis of malnutrition was made at the time of admission or during the hospital stay.Setting: Misikhu Mission Hospital, western Kenya.Subjects: Every child under the age of five years who was admitted to the hospital, was eligible to enter the study. The data of 1130 children were used. The data of 40 other children who were admitted in this period were not complete and could therefore not be used.Results: An overall percentage for malnutrition of 44.3 was found. Only fourteen per cent of the malnourished children were clinically diagnosed as having malnutrition.Conclusion: Anthropometric measures are an easy, but time-consuming way of identifying children with malnutrition, it identifies more children with malnutrition than clinical diagnosis alone. Therefore it should be considered to implement standardised anthropometry in a hospital setting

Die invloed van farmaseutiese en fisies-chemiese faktore van geneesmiddles op die uitslag van kliniese toetse: Chlooramfenikolpalmitaat

No Abstract

A careful solution: patient scheduling in health care

Koole, G.M. [Promotor

C'est le ton qui fait la musique: Private en publieke toezichthouders over de reacties van het publiek

Criminal Justice: Legitimacy, accountability, and effectivit

China's Efforts to Dominate Information: Domestic, International, and Global Applications of Information Control

This thesis explores and analyses China’s internal and external information control capabilities, as well as China’s quest to influence Internet governance. China’s external espionage, IP theft, and network manipulation is researched in parallel to its ‘peaceful rise’ rhetoric. The paper finds that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses these capabilities to stimulate continued economic growth, and that these actions are based in resentment for past Western behavior. The image of ‘peaceful rise’ does not completely contradict China’s information theft and sabotage. Analysis shows this paradox of action and word is a reflection of disagreement at the highest levels of the CCP. The second chapter studies China’s internal information control. Within China’s national borders, the CCP carries out pervasive propaganda, censorship, and control efforts, including who has online access; what they can access, and what their personal communications content is. One goal of this information control and propaganda is to nurture a passionate nationalism to increase political and social stability. These methods to influence and their results are explored to determine if these efforts are successful. Chinese nationalism does add legitimacy to the CCP regime, but does not increase social stability. Furthermore, the study discovered a bottom-up nationalism that is committed to improving their motherland, yet does not attract strong CCP support. The third chapter looks at China’s current push to influence Internet governance. In light of the Snowdon revelations, distrust of US oversight of ICANN has increased, especially due to its present US Department of Commerce oversight. This paper looks at scholarly discussions about Internet governance, specifically the multi-stakeholder model, including the present culture of the current Internet governance (IG). It compares Internet governance models, including the top-down strong government control model China advocates. This paper finds the Internet must be governed by a technically specialized array of people, business, and organizations to continue innovation and speedy communications. Too much government influence will hamper the Internet’s capabilities. IG must focus on retaining a multi-organization, multi-stakeholder model, while seeking to educate developing nations on the economic advantages of an open Internet, and welcoming government influence in specific areas, such as capacity building and information sharing in key areas. Thesis advisor: Professor Dorothea Wolfson Thesis reviewers: Professor Ken Masugi and Dr. Yoonho Ki

Identification of TUB as a novel candidate gene influencing body weight in humans

Previously, we identified a locus on 11p influencing obesity in families with type 2 diabetes. Based on mouse studies, we selected TUB as a functional candidate gene and performed association studies to determine whether this controls obesity. We analyzed the genotypes of 13 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) around TUB in 492 unrelated type 2 diabetic patients with known BMI values. One SNP (rs1528133) was found to have a significant effect on BMI (1.54 kg/m(2), P = 0.006). This association was confirmed in a population enriched for type 2 diabetes, using 750 individuals who were not selected for type 2 diabetes. Two SNPs in linkage disequilibrium with rs1528133 and mapping to the 3' end of TUB, rs2272382, and rs2272383 also affected BMI by 1.3 kg/m2 (P = 0.016 and P = 0.010, respectively). Combined analysis confirmed this association (P = 0.005 and P = 0.002, respectively). Moreover, comparing 349 obese subjects (BMI >30 kg/m(2)) from the combined cohort with 289 normal subjects (BMI <25 kg/m(2)) revealed that the protective alleles have a lower frequency in obese subjects (odds ratio 1.32 [95% CI 1.04-1.67], P = 0.022). Altogether, data from the tubby mouse as well as these data suggest that TUB could be an important factor in controlling the central regulation of body weight in humans

Distinct genetic basis of common epilepsies and structural magnetic resonance imaging measures

Focal and generalized epilepsies are associated with robust differences in MRI measures of subcortical structures, grey matter and white matter. However, it is unknown whether such structural brain differences reflect the cause or consequence of epilepsy or its treatment. Analyses of common genetic variants underlying both common epilepsy and variability in structural brain measures can give further insights, since such inherited variants are not influenced by disease or treatment. Here, we performed genetic correlation analyses using data from the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) on common epilepsy (n=27,559 cases and 42,436 controls) and GWAS on MRI measures of white (n=33,292) or grey matter (n=51,665). We did not detect any significant genetic correlation between any type of common epilepsy and any of 280 measures of grey matter, white matter or subcortical structures. These results suggest that there are distinct genetic bases underlying risk of common epilepsy and for structural brain measures. This would imply that the genetic basis of normal structural brain variation is unrelated to that of common epilepsy. Structural changes in epilepsy could rather be the consequence of epilepsy, its comorbidities or its treatment, offering a cumulative record of disease