A profile of resuscitations at the Kalafong Hospital Emergency Unit

Background: All serious emergency cases arriving at the Kalafong Hospital emergency department are first resuscitated by doctors from the Family Medicine Department. The aim of this study was to construct a profile of the patients that the emergency unit doctors consider necessary to admit to the resuscitation unit and to describe the procedures carried out on them. Method: All data from the records of resuscitated patients from 1 July 2000 until 31 December 2000 were included in the study. Results: During the period of the study, 309 patients were resuscitated. Two hundred and three patient records could be traced, of which five files were excluded due to insufficient data. Medical complications were the most common reasons for resuscitation. These patients presented with complications due to chronic diseases such as heart failure, myocardial infarction, diabetic complications, hypertensive crisis and stroke. Suicide attempts were also common, with organophosphates often being used in the attempted suicide. Men between the ages of 18 and 40 under the influence of alcohol were the most frequent type of patient resuscitated for trauma injuries. Gunshot wounds and car accidents were the major causes of serious injuries. Conclusions: The disease profile of the resuscitation patients reflects the medical and social problems of our society. A holistic, bio-psychosocial approach to health care in the primary health care setting could prevent resultant mortality and morbidity. For full text, click here:SA Family Pract 2004;46(6): 28-3

Knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation of clinicians at a South African tertiary hospital

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to assess clinicians’ knowledge about evaluating possible cardiac arrest patients and recognising cardiac arrest, to assess clinicians’ knowledge about appropriate decisions and actions during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and to determine which advanced life support courses had been undertaken and whether they were still valid.Design: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional survey. Setting and subjects: The subjects were doctors who worked in clinical disciplines at a South African tertiary hospital. Using convenience sampling, doctors from each clinical discipline were invited to participate. Those who consented were included, until a sample of 100 was obtained.Outcome measures: A self-administered, closed-ended questionnaire that was based on the course content of the American Heart Association (AHA) Basic Life Support (BLS) course was used. The minimum score of 84%, benchmarked against the AHA BLS course, was used to define adequate knowledge.Results: One hundred doctors participated. None of the participants showed adequate knowledge. The mean total score was 35.1% (95% CI: 31.7; 38.6). The mean adult CPR score was 40.6% (95% CI: 37.4; 45.6). The mean paediatric CPR score was 36.6% (95% CI: 37.0; 41.6).Conclusion: The participants’ knowledge of resuscitation was poor. This raises considerable concern about the effectiveness of the CPR that is performed. This study highlights the need for adequate training of clinicians in the skill of resuscitation and the importance of developing appropriate CPR training programmes that are accessible, innovative and inexpensive.S Afr Fam Pract 2012;54(5):447-45

Die betroubaarheid en faktorstruktuur van die aangepaste meervoudige keuse-formaat van die miner sentence completion scale (MSCS)

The original publication is available at http://www.sajip.co.zaThe reliability and factor structure of the adapted multiple choice version of the Miner Sentence Completion Scale (MSCS). In this study the multiple choice MSCS was adapted as a result of several criticisms thereof. The internal consistency and factor structure of the adapted MSCS were determined to ascertain the reliability and construct validity of the questionnaire. Results show that the internal consistency is unsatisfactory and that the factor structure is so complex that interpretation becomes virtually impossible. In light of the results of this study and other research findings of the psychometric properties of the MSCS, it is recommended that a new measuring instrument for managerial motivation be developed that will enable a valid testing of the managerial rolemotivation theory.Na aanleiding van verskeie punte van kritiek teen die MSCS is die meervoudige keuse-MSCS in hierdie studie aangepas. Ten einde 'n aanduiding van die betroubaarheid en konstrukgeldigheid van die aangepaste MSCS te verkry, is die interne konsekwentheid en faktorstruktuur daarvan bepaal. Die resultate dui daarop dat die interne konsekwentheid onbevredigend en die faktorstruktuur te kompleks vir interpretasie is. In die lig van die bevindinge van hierdie studie, en ander navorsingsbevindinge oor die psigometriese eienskappe van die MSCS, word aanbeveel dat 'n nuwe meetinstrument van bestuursmotivering ontwikkel word wat 'n geldige toetsing van die bestuursrol-motiveringsteorie moontlik sal maak.Publishers' Versio

Dynamical Phase Transitions In Driven Integrate-And-Fire Neurons

We explore the dynamics of an integrate-and-fire neuron with an oscillatory stimulus. The frustration due to the competition between the neuron's natural firing period and that of the oscillatory rhythm, leads to a rich structure of asymptotic phase locking patterns and ordering dynamics. The phase transitions between these states can be classified as either tangent or discontinuous bifurcations, each with its own characteristic scaling laws. The discontinuous bifurcations exhibit a new kind of phase transition that may be viewed as intermediate between continuous and first order, while tangent bifurcations behave like continuous transitions with a diverging coherence scale.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Malolactic Fermentation: The ABC’s of MLF

There are two main fermentations associated with the winemaking process. Alcoholic fermentation is conducted bythe yeast culture and malolactic fermentation takes place as a result of the metabolic activity of lactic acid bacteria,specifically from the genera Oenococcus, Lactobacillus, Pediococcus and Leuconostoc. Malolactic fermentation isdefined as the conversion of malic acid to lactic acid and CO2 and besides deacidification also contributes to microbialstability and modification of the aroma profile. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review discussing all themain aspects and factors related to malolactic fermentation, including practical considerations for monitoring andensuring a successful fermentation

Does growing grain legumes or applying lime cost effectively lower greenhouse gas emissions from wheat production in a semi-arid climate?

Agriculture production contributes to global warming directly via the release of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide emissions, and indirectly through the consumption of inputs such as fertilizer, fuel and herbicides. We investigated if including a grain legume (Lupinus angustifolius) in a cropping rotation, and/or applying agricultural lime to increase the pH of an acidic soil, decreased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wheat production in a semi-arid environment by conducting a streamlined life cycle assessment analysis that utilized in situ GHG emission measurements, rather than international default values. We also assessed the economic viability of each GHG mitigation strategy. Incorporating a grain legume in a two year cropping rotation decreased GHG emissions from wheat production by 56% on a per hectare basis, and 35% on a per tonne of wheat basis, primarily by lowering nitrogen fertilizer inputs. However, a large incentive ($93 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalents reduced) was required for the inclusion of grain legumes to be financially attractive. Applying lime was profitable but increased GHG emissions by varying amounts depending upon whether the lime was assumed to dissolve over one, five or 10 years. We recommend further investigating the impact of liming on both CO2 and non-CO2 emissions to accurately account for its effect on GHG emissions from agricultural production

Sodium reduction regulations in South Africa – the consumer perspective

The prevalence of adult hypertension has increased at an alarming rate in recent years in South Africa. Salt reduction legislation is considered a cost-effective way to reduce this burden, as salt is a driver of hypertension. This cross-sectional, descriptive study aimed to determine consumers’ awareness of, and perceptions towards, the salt legislation, and their salt consumption habits. An interviewer-administered survey was used to gather data from literate adult consumers (N=583) at four randomly selected shopping malls in the Tygerberg Health sub-district, City of Cape Town. More than half (56.9%) of all participants tried to consume less salt because they thought it was healthier (38.3%) yet processed foods were a major source of salt in their diets (50.4%). Only 16.5% of participants were aware of the national salt legislation. Almost half of participants (47.9%) thought the legislation would affect the taste of food negatively, yet 80.9% have not noticed a change after implementation of the first phase of the legislation. To conclude, regulating manufacturers of food products could facilitate a reduction in population salt intake. An integrative strategy and collaboration between all stakeholders with regards to legislation, labelling and health education is needed in order to achieve health targets for population salt reduction

Quantitative Changes In Antibodies Against Onchocercal Native Antigens Two Months Postivermectin Treatment Of Onchocerciasis Patients

Serum antibodies to Onchocerca volvulus native sodium duodecylsulphate slat extracted antigens and epitopes recognized by three monoclonal antibodies designated Cam8, Cam22, and Cam28 were measured using indirect (sandwich) and competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Paired serum samples (n=32) were obtained before and two months post-ivermectin treatment. Those with increases of ten percent and above (≥10%) were 16 (50%) for IgG, 13 (40.7%) for both IgG1 and IgG4. Nine (28.2%) for IgM, eight (25%) for IgG3, IgA with four (12.5%) was the least, while IgG2 was not assayed due to cross-reaction. The higher increases in IgG, IgG1 and IgG4 antibodies in females (n=16) than males (n=16) were significant by T-test of unpaired data (

Elliptical double corrugated tubes for enhanced heat transfer

The thermal performance at constant pumping power conditions was numerically investigated in ellipse and super ellipse-based double corrugated tubes. A significant increase in thermal efficiency in double corrugated tubes is accompanied with a reasonable penalty in flow reduction for the cases modelled. An ellipse and a super ellipse-based double corrugated tubes were modelled at laminar fully hydraulically developed incompressible flow. Each base geometry was analysed holding either hydraulic diameter constant or the cross-sectional area constant. The pressure drop was normalized to the length of each modelled tube in order to maintain the pumping power. Thermal analysis was conducted under constant wall temperature boundary condition. The governing equations for non-isothermal flow were solved using the finite element method, and the results of the simulations were normalized to an equivalent straight tube. Numerical results predict a thermal efficiency enhanced by 400% maintaining 4.2 times lower volumetric flow rate in double corrugated tubes at the same pressure drop. The global performance evaluation criterion increases up to 14% for the double corrugated tubes with an ellipse-base and up to 11% for the tubes with super ellipse-base