The association between dyslipidemia and anthropometric indicators in black and white adolescents residing in Tlokwe Municipality, North-West Province, South Africa: the PAHL study

Background: The dyslipidemia associated with excess weight is a risk for cardiovascular disease. Worldwide and in South Africa adolescent obesity has been reported.Objectives: To determine the association between dyslipidemia and anthropometric indices in black and white adolescents.Methods: The study involved 129 black and 69 white adolescents aged 12 to 16 years. Data collected included height, weight, waist circumference (WC) and skinfolds, blood pressure and blood for glucose, insulin, total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein (LDL), high density lipoprotein (HDL), triglycerides (Trig) and C - reactive protein (CRP).Results: WC correlated negatively with HDL in both blacks (p=0.042) and whites (p=0.008) and in whites it correlated positively with LDL (p=0.006); TC/HDL (p=<0.001) and LDL/HDL ratio (p<0.0001). WC/Hgt correlated negatively with HDL (p=0.028) and positively with LDL/HDL (p=0.026 and p<0.0001) in both races. In whites positive correlations were between WC/Hgt and TC (p=0.049); LDL (p=0.003) and TC/HDL (p<0.0001). BAZ correlated positively with TC/HDL ratio (p=0.004) and LDL/HDL ratio (p=0.002). The most common abnormalities were HDL and LDL.Conclusion: Whites exhibited more associations between dyslipidemia and anthropometric indicators as compared to Blacks, suggesting that there might be differences in the lipid metabolism or even susceptibility to risk factors in adolescents.Key words: dyslipidemia, anthropometry, adolescent

Foreign advertisements for doctors in the SAMJ 2006 - 2010

Background. There is much concern about the migration of health professionals from developing countries, and the contribution of active recruitment to the phenomenon. One active recruitment strategy is advertisements in professional journals and other media. Objective. To establish the trends in foreign advertisements for doctors placed in the South African Medical Journal (SAMJ) from January 2006 to December 2010. Methods. A retrospective review was conducted of 60 issues of the SAMJ published in the preview years. Printed journals were scanned for foreign advertisements. The findings were compared with a review of 2000 - 2004 in the same journal. Results. There were 1 176 foreign advertisements placed in the SAMJ in the review period, reducing from 355 in 2006 to 121 in 2010. The countries placing the most advertisements were Australia (n=428, 36.4%), Canada (n=286, 24.3%), New Zealand (n=191, 16.2%) and the UK (n=108, 9.2%). Compared with the earlier findings, there was a reduction in advertisements for the top countries, excepting Australia. The top 4 countries remained the same for the 2 review periods, but the order changed, with Australia superseding the UK. Conclusion. The number of foreign advertisements placed in the SAMJ declined over the period under review, and there was a change in ranking of the top 4 advertising countries. These findings are discussed from the perspective of global human resources for health initiatives

The impact of corporate entrepreneurship on service innovation: A case of a South African banking institution

Background: Financial services companies pride themselves on delivering quality services to customers. To sustain their revenue streams in tough macroeconomic times and rapid technological growth, they are challenged to continuously innovate their services. Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the dimensions of corporate entrepreneurship (management support, work discretion, rewards and reinforcement, organisational boundaries and time availability) that predict service innovation in the financial services companies. Setting: Business managers and analysts in a South African bank. Methods: A case study approach was used to gather responses from business managers and analysts in one of the leading South African banks. The quantitative data were collected through an online survey utilising scales for corporate entrepreneurship and service innovation. Factor analysis and multiple linear regression were inferential statistical techniques used to analyse the data. Results: The findings of the study illustrate that some dimensions of corporate entrepreneurship predicted service innovation. Rewards and recognition, management support and time availability significantly (p < 0.05) predicted service innovation. Work discretion and organisational boundaries were not significant predictors of service innovation. This may suggest that financial institutions limit employees’ freedom to make decisions, use standardised procedures that may reduce employees’ creativity to innovate and discourage employees from making mistakes. Conclusion: The insights gained from this study are useful to companies that are looking for methods to revive or improve commercial services offered to customers and build competitive advantage through corporate entrepreneurship

Modelling MgCO3 buffered succinic acid production by Actinobacillus succinogenes

Thie current study focused on using a previously published model known to accurately predict the cultivation of Actinobacillus succionogenes on glucose in a NaOH neutralised system, for the prediction of batch system behaviour when MgCO3 is used as a pH buffer in a batch reactor system. The use of MgCO3 as a neutralising agent resulted in a biomass growth lag of about 8 h, followed by a sharp increase untill 15 h at which point the biomass concentration remained constant throughout the fermentation run. The maximum biomass concentration was 3.62 g/L. The fermentation ceased at a final SA concentration of 38.12 g/L and the SA yield on glucose was 0.81 g/g from an initial glucose concentration of 60 g/L. At the end of the fermentation, 79 % of the glucose as consumed. A residual glucose concentration of 12.84 g/L at the maximum SA concentration indicated product-related inhibition. The biomass, acetic acid (AA), and formic acid (FA) concentrations were incorrectly predicted by the model which implies that the use of MgCO3 as a buffer agent changed the metabolic fluxes of the organism.http://www.aidic.it/cetam2023Chemical Engineerin

Is Overweight in Stunted Preschool Children in Cameroon Related to Reductions in Fat Oxidation, Resting Energy Expenditure and Physical Activity?

Recent studies suggest that early modifications in metabolic pathways and behaviour, leading to energy conservation and reduced linear growth, could represent adaptations to nutritional constraints during foetal life and infancy. Impaired fat oxidation, low resting energy expenditure and reduced physical activity, resulting from these adaptations, could facilitate fat storage and development of overweight in growth-retarded children that consume more energy-dense food. This study aims at assessing whether: (1) dual-burden preschool children (simultaneously stunted and overweight) of Yaounde (Cameroon) have low birth-weight (indicator of foetal undernutrition) and reductions in fat oxidation, resting energy expenditure (REE) and physical activity, (2) fat oxidation, REE and physical activity are associated with foetal growth.162 children (24-72 months) were considered: 22 stunted-overweight (SO), 40 stunted (S), 41 overweight (O), and 59 non stunted-non overweight (NSNO). Nutritional status and body composition were assessed using anthropometry and multifrequency bioimpedance analysis. Fasting respiratory quotient (RQ) and REE were measured by indirect calorimetry. Physical activity was determined using accelerometers, food questionnaires were used for diet assessment and birth-weight was noted. Mean RQs and REE (weight adjusted) did not differ between stunted children (SO and S) and non-stunted children (O and NSNO). SO and S children spent more time in sedentary activities than O children (p = 0.01 and p = 0.02, respectively) and less time in moderate-to-vigorous activities than NSNO children (p = 0.05 and p = 0.04, respectively). SO children's diet was less diverse (p = 0.01) with less animal products (p = 0.006). Multiple linear regressions model revealed that birth-weight is predictive of RQ (β = 0.237, p<0.01, R(2) = 0.08).This study showed that growth retardation in stunted-overweight children could be associated with postnatal nutritional deficiencies. Overweight in stunted children could be associated with reduced physical activity in the context of nutrition transition. High birth-weight was a predictor of reduced lipid oxidation, a risk factor of fat deposition

Social circumstances and cultural beliefs influence maternal nutrition, breastfeeding and child feeding practices in South Africa:

Maternal and child undernutrition remain prevalent in developing countries with 45 and 11% of child deaths linked to poor nutrition and suboptimal breastfeeding, respectively. This also has adverse effects on child growth and development. The study determined maternal dietary diversity, breastfeeding and, infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices and identified reasons for such behavior in five rural communities in South Africa, in the context of cultural beliefs and social aspects

Malaria and Under-Nutrition: A Community Based Study Among Under-Five Children at Risk of Malaria, South-West Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: The interaction between malaria and under-nutrition is not well elucidated in Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to assess the magnitude of under-nutrition and its correlation with malaria among under-five children in south-west Ethiopia. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was undertaken during March-February, 2009 as part of the baseline assessment of a cluster randomized trial around Gilgel Gibe Hydroelectric dam, south-west Ethiopia. A total of 2410 under-five children were included for anthropometric measurement and blood investigation for the diagnosis of malaria and anemia. The nutritional status of children was determined using the International Reference Population defined by the U.S National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Blood film was used to identify malaria parasite and haemoglobin concentration was determined by Hemo Cue analyzer (HemoCue Hb 301, Sweden). RESULTS: Significant proportion (40.4%) of under-five children were stunted (height-for-age<-2SD). The prevalence of under-weight was 34.2%. One third and one tenth of the children had anemia and malaria parasite respectively. Older children were more likely to have under-nutrition. There was no association between malaria and under-nutrition. Children who had malaria parasite were 1.5 times more likely to become anaemic compare to children who had no malaria parasite, [OR = 1.5, (95% CI: 1.1-2.0)]. CONCLUSION: In this study, there is no association between malaria and under-nutrition. Children who have malaria are more likely to be anaemic. Malaria prevention and control program should consider nutrition interventions particularly anemia