PERSONAL AND INTERPERSONAL EFFECTS OF A LIFE SKILLS PROGRAMME ON GRADE 7 LEARNERS

Life skills education covers the skills and competencies that an individual needs for sustaining and enriching life and also the kind of behaviour-based learning that the individual needs for coping with predictable developmental tasks (Adkins, 1984:53-54; Pickworth, 1989:105: Schmidt, Brown & Waycott, 1988:13). The central reason for including life skills education in the school curriculum is that an interventional, preventive and developmental approach to equipping schoolchildren (learners) with coping skills will help them to deal effectively with predictable developmental tasks and an ever-changing world (Department of Education, 1997

Vitamin D status of older South Africans

Objective: To detennine the vitamin D status of older 'coloured' South Africans who had not sustained a fracture. Design: Cross-sectional analytic study. Methods: A random sample of 200 non-institutionalised subjects in Cape Town aged ≥65 years was drawn using a two-stage cluster design. Trained fieldworkers interviewed subjects to obtain demographic, dietary and lifestyle data, to draw fasting blood samples for the analysis of serum 25-hydroxyvilamin D (25(OH)D) and other biochemical parameters. and to take anthropometric measurements. Results: Seventeen per cent of the subjects (95% Cl: 11.4 - 22.6%) had serum 25(OH)D levels in the deficient range for the elderly < 10 nglml); 7.5% (95% Cl: 3.611.4%) had concentrations in the moderately severe range of deficiency < 8 nglml). Sixty-three per cenl of the subjects had raised serum alkaline phosphatase concentrations. Regression modelling showed neither a sex difference in 25(OH)D levels nor a sex-age interaction; however, a negative association with age was found (r = -0.18; P < 0.05). Mean oral vitamin D intake was low (3.6 (SO = 2.7) µg and 2.8 (SO = 1.7) µg for men and women, respectively), but no association between dietary vitamin D intake and serum 25(OH)D was found. Conclusions: The prevalence of suboptimal vitamin D status was high. However, the interpretation of the data, with regard to bone health, is limited by the crosssectional design of the study. Further investigation is required to detennine the potential benefits of intervention in this age group.S Afr Med J 1996; 86: 1406-141

Efficacy of albendazole against the whipworm Trichuris trichiura - a randomised, controlled trial

Objectives and design. To test the efficacy of albendazole against the whipworm Trichuris trichiura for  school-based deworming in the south-western Cape, South Africa. Children infected with Trichuris were  randomised to 3 doses of albendazole (400; 800 or 1 200 mg), each repeated 4 times. The boy I girl ratio was 1. A group not infected With worms was treated with placebo, creating a negative control. Subjects and setting. Pupils at a primary school serving a wineproducing area approximately 90 km east of Cape Town.Outcome measures. Trichuris cure rates and reduction in the number of eggs/gin faeces, as well as the  infection dynamics of Trichuris and Ascaris during treatment with placebo.Results. Albendazole treatment was associated with Trichuris cure rates of 23% (400 mg), 56% (800  mg) and 67% (1 200 mg) after the final treatment. The corresponding reductions in the number of eggs/g of faeces were 96.8%, 99.3% and 99.7%. Environmental pollution by human faeces was confirmed because worm egg-negative children in the placebo group became egg-positive while the study was in progress.Conclusion. The 400 mg stat dose had a low Trichuris cure rate. To repeat the dose on 2 or 3 days would  increase cost, reduce compliance and complicate management. Albendazole cannot be used in deworming programmes in South Africa because it is a Schedule 4 prescription medicine. De-scheduling is needed urgently, particularly because of high efficacy against hookworm in KwaZulu-Natal and  neighbouring countries

Risk factors for coronary heart disease in the black population of the Cape Peninsula The BRISK study

A cross-sectional study of risk factors for ischaemic heart disease (IHO) in a random sample of 986 black people aged 15 - 64 years living in the Cape Peninsula revealed a population at lower risk for IHO than other South Africans. Blood pressures of 140/95 mmHg or above were found in 14,4% of males and 13,7% of females. Fifty-two per cent of males and 8,4% of females smoked, while 16,5% of males and 25,8% of females had a total cholesterol (TC) level imparting risk for developing IHO. In this population the TC level is not a good surrogate measure for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol because of the high level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HOLC) found in this population. A protective HOLC/TC ratio of 20% was found in 96% of males and 96,1% of females. When considering the three major reversible IHO risk factors at a high level of risk, 30,8% of males and 12,5% of females had at least one such a risk factor. The population was frequently exposed to the media, with 80% listening to the radio every day and 55% watching television at least once a week. This suggests that a healthy lifestyle could be promoted successfully by means of these media. In addition, schools should promote a healthy lifestyle and the prevention of chronic degenerative diseases should be incorporated into the evolving primary health care services in South Africa

Dietary Restriction Depends on Nutrient Composition to Extend Chronological Lifespan in Budding Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

10.1371/journal.pone.0064448PLoS ONE85

How Immunocontraception Can Contribute to Elephant Management in Small, Enclosed Reserves: Munyawana Population as a Case Study

Immunocontraception has been widely used as a management tool to reduce population growth in captive as well as wild populations of various fauna. We model the use of an individual-based rotational immunocontraception plan on a wild elephant, Loxodonta africana, population and quantify the social and reproductive advantages of this method of implementation using adaptive management. The use of immunocontraception on an individual, rotational basis stretches the inter-calving interval for each individual female elephant to a management-determined interval, preventing exposing females to unlimited long-term immunocontraception use (which may have as yet undocumented negative effects). Such rotational immunocontraception can effectively lower population growth rates, age the population, and alter the age structure. Furthermore, such structured intervention can simulate natural process such as predation or episodic catastrophic events (e.g., drought), which regulates calf recruitment within an abnormally structured population. A rotational immunocontraception plan is a feasible and useful elephant population management tool, especially in a small, enclosed conservation area. Such approaches should be considered for other long-lived, social species in enclosed areas where the long-term consequences of consistent contraception may be unknown

RNA-sequencing reveals the complexities of the transcriptional response to lignocellulosic biofuel substrates in Aspergillus niger

Background: Saprobic fungi are the predominant industrial sources of Carbohydrate Active enZymes (CAZymes) used for the saccharification of lignocellulose during the production of second generation biofuels. The production of more effective enzyme cocktails is a key objective for efficient biofuel production. To achieve this objective, it is crucial to understand the response of fungi to lignocellulose substrates. Our previous study used RNA-seq to identify the genes induced in Aspergillus niger in response to wheat straw, a biofuel feedstock, and showed that the range of genes induced was greater than previously seen with simple inducers. Results: In this work we used RNA-seq to identify the genes induced in A. niger in response to short rotation coppice willow and compared this with the response to wheat straw from our previous study, at the same time-point. The response to willow showed a large increase in expression of genes encoding CAZymes. Genes encoding the major activities required to saccharify lignocellulose were induced on willow such as endoglucanases, cellobiohydrolases and xylanases. The transcriptome response to willow had many similarities with the response to straw with some significant differences in the expression levels of individual genes which are discussed in relation to differences in substrate composition or other factors. Differences in transcript levels include higher levels on wheat straw from genes encoding enzymes classified as members of GH62 (an arabinofuranosidase) and CE1 (a feruloyl esterase) CAZy families whereas two genes encoding endoglucanases classified as members of the GH5 family had higher transcript levels when exposed to willow. There were changes in the cocktail of enzymes secreted by A. niger when cultured with willow or straw. Assays for particular enzymes as well as saccharification assays were used to compare the enzyme activities of the cocktails. Wheat straw induced an enzyme cocktail that saccharified wheat straw to a greater extent than willow. Genes not encoding CAZymes were also induced on willow such as hydrophobins as well as genes of unknown function. Several genes were identified as promising targets for future study. Conclusions: By comparing this first study of the global transcriptional response of a fungus to willow with the response to straw, we have shown that the inducing lignocellulosic substrate has a marked effect upon the range of transcripts and enzymes expressed by A. niger. The use by industry of complex substrates such as wheat straw or willow could benefit efficient biofuel production

Both telomeric and non-telomeric DNA damage are determinants of mammalian cellular senescence

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cellular senescence is a state reached by normal mammalian cells after a finite number of cell divisions and is characterized by morphological and physiological changes including terminal cell-cycle arrest. The limits on cell division imposed by senescence may play an important role in both organismal aging and in preventing tumorigenesis. Cellular senescence and organismal aging are both accompanied by increased DNA damage, seen as the formation of γ-H2AX foci (γ-foci), which may be found on uncapped telomeres or at non-telomeric sites of DNA damage. However, the relative importance of telomere- and non-telomere-associated DNA damage to inducing senescence has never been demonstrated. Here we present a new approach to determine accurately the chromosomal location of γ-foci and quantify the number of telomeric versus non-telomeric γ-foci associated with senescence in both human and mouse cells. This approach enables researchers to obtain accurate values and to avoid various possible misestimates inherent in earlier methods.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using combined immunofluorescence and telomere fluorescence <it>in situ </it>hybridization on metaphase chromosomes, we show that human cellular senescence is not solely determined by telomeric DNA damage. In addition, mouse cellular senescence is not solely determined by non-telomeric DNA damage. By comparing cells from different generations of telomerase-null mice with human cells, we show that cells from late generation telomerase-null mice, which have substantially short telomeres, contain mostly telomeric γ-foci. Most notably, we report that, as human and mouse cells approach senescence, all cells exhibit similar numbers of total γ-foci per cell, irrespective of chromosomal locations.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that the chromosome location of senescence-related γ-foci is determined by the telomere length rather than species differences <it>per se</it>. In addition, our data indicate that both telomeric and non-telomeric DNA damage responses play equivalent roles in signaling the initiation of cellular senescence and organismal aging. These data have important implications in the study of mechanisms to induce or delay cellular senescence in different species.</p