Atherosclerotic lesions in the thoracic aorta: A South African anatomical and histological mortuary study

Background. Worldwide, the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis is on the increase. Younger people may be especially vulnerable owing to their exposure to risk factors such as drug abuse and HIV. Methods. The thoracic aortas of 149 South Africans under the age of 50 years were collected at the Salt River Mortuary, Cape Town, and examined macroscopically and microscopically for evidence of anomalies. The sample comprised predominantly males, and included black, coloured and white individuals. Results. A significantly higher level of macroscopic pathology was found in coloured males, although overall prevalence of pathology in this sample was lower than expected. A positive association was also found between body mass index and vascular pathology in the black and coloured population groups. Microscopic anomalies were common and present at high levels, irrespective of age and racial grouping. Conclusions. The widespread prevalence of microscopic anomalies in all groups suggests that these are normal variations that result from haemodynamic forces. The higher prevalence of atherosclerotic lesions in coloured males, however, probably results from specific genetic conditions such as hypercholesterolaemia or lifestyle factors such as diet or tik abuse. The findings suggest that coloured individuals may be at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease

Atherosclerotic lesions in the thoracic aorta: A South African anatomical and histological mortuary study

Background. Worldwide, the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis is on the increase. Younger people may be especially vulnerable owing to their exposure to risk factors such as drug abuse and HIV. Methods. The thoracic aortas of 149 South Africans under the age of 50 years were collected at the Salt River Mortuary, Cape Town, and examined macroscopically and microscopically for evidence of anomalies. The sample comprised predominantly males, and included black, coloured and white individuals. Results. A significantly higher level of macroscopic pathology was found in coloured males, although overall prevalence of pathology in this sample was lower than expected. A positive association was also found between body mass index and vascular pathology in the black and coloured population groups. Microscopic anomalies were common and present at high levels, irrespective of age and racial grouping. Conclusions. The widespread prevalence of microscopic anomalies in all groups suggests that these are normal variations that result from haemodynamic forces. The higher prevalence of atherosclerotic lesions in coloured males, however, probably results from specific genetic conditions such as hypercholesterolaemia or lifestyle factors such as diet or tik abuse. The findings suggest that coloured individuals may be at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease

Atherosclerotic lesions in the thoracic aorta: A South African anatomical and histological mortuary study

Background. Worldwide, the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis is on the increase. Younger people may be especially vulnerable owing to their exposure to risk factors such as drug abuse and HIV. Methods. The thoracic aortas of 149 South Africans under the age of 50 years were collected at the Salt River Mortuary, Cape Town, and examined macroscopically and microscopically for evidence of anomalies. The sample comprised predominantly males, and included black, coloured and white individuals. Results. A significantly higher level of macroscopic pathology was found in coloured males, although overall prevalence of pathology in this sample was lower than expected. A positive association was also found between body mass index and vascular pathology in the black and coloured population groups. Microscopic anomalies were common and present at high levels, irrespective of age and racial grouping. Conclusions. The widespread prevalence of microscopic anomalies in all groups suggests that these are normal variations that result from haemodynamic forces. The higher prevalence of atherosclerotic lesions in coloured males, however, probably results from specific genetic conditions such as hypercholesterolaemia or lifestyle factors such as diet or tik abuse. The findings suggest that coloured individuals may be at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease

The fibromyalgia syndrome

The present study employed person-centred analyses that enabled identification of groups of students separated on the basis of their perceptions of social support (home and community), academic support, academic adversity and academic buoyancy. Among a sample of 249 young people, including many from high-needs communities, cluster analysis revealed three distinct groups of students: the thriver, supported struggler and at-risk struggler. We compared the three groups on their academic motivation. Analyses revealed significant differences between groups in adaptive motivation outcomes, but no differences in impeding or maladaptive motivation outcomes. Combined, the results speak to the importance of support and academic buoyancy for positive student outcomes

Microwave-assisted methods for the synthesis of pentacyclo[5.4.0.02,6.03,10.05,9]undecylamines

Efficient methodologies for the preparation of pentacyclo[5..4.0.02,6.03,10.05,9]undecane (PCU) amine derivatives are described via microwave-assisted synthesis. The obtained results revealed that microwave-assisted synthetic procedures under controlled conditions (power, temperature and time) are very convenient, high yielding, efficient and low-cost methods for the preparation of PCU amine derivatives. The new methods show several advantages including operational simplicity, good performance, significant reduction in reaction time, less by-product formation and easier purification.Web of Scienc

Are ‘Endurance’ Alleles ‘Survival’ Alleles? Insights from the ACTN3 R577X Polymorphism

Exercise phenotypes have played a key role for ensuring survival over human evolution. We speculated that some genetic variants that influence exercise phenotypes could be associated with exceptional survival (i.e. reaching ≥100years of age). Owing to its effects on muscle structure/function, a potential candidate is the Arg(R)577Ter(X) polymorphism (rs1815739) in ACTN3, the structural gene encoding the skeletal muscle protein α-actinin-3. We compared the ACTN3 R577X genotype/allele frequencies between the following groups of ethnically-matched (Spanish) individuals: centenarians (cases, n = 64; 57 female; age range: 100–108 years), young healthy controls (n = 283, 67 females, 216 males; 21±2 years), and humans who are at the two end-points of exercise capacity phenotypes, i.e. muscle endurance (50 male professional road cyclists) and muscle power (63 male jumpers/sprinters). Although there were no differences in genotype/allele frequencies between centenarians (RR:28.8%; RX:47.5%; XX:23.7%), and controls (RR:31.8%; RX:49.8%; XX:18.4%) or endurance athletes (RR:28.0%; RX:46%; XX:26.0%), we observed a significantly higher frequency of the X allele (P = 0.019) and XX genotype (P = 0.011) in centenarians compared with power athletes (RR:47.6%; RX:36.5%;XX:15.9%). Notably, the frequency of the null XX (α-actinin-3 deficient) genotype in centenarians was the highest ever reported in non-athletic Caucasian populations. In conclusion, despite there were no significant differences with the younger, control population, overall the ACTN3 genotype of centenarians resembles that of world-class elite endurance athletes and differs from that of elite power athletes. Our preliminary data would suggest a certain ‘survival’ advantage brought about by α-actinin-3 deficiency and the ‘endurance’/oxidative muscle phenotype that is commonly associated with this condition

SHOX2 DNA Methylation is a Biomarker for the diagnosis of lung cancer based on bronchial aspirates

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study aimed to show that SHOX2 DNA methylation is a tumor marker in patients with suspected lung cancer by using bronchial fluid aspirated during bronchoscopy. Such a biomarker would be clinically valuable, especially when, following the first bronchoscopy, a final diagnosis cannot be established by histology or cytology. A test with a low false positive rate can reduce the need for further invasive and costly procedures and ensure early treatment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Marker discovery was carried out by differential methylation hybridization (DMH) and real-time PCR. The real-time PCR based HeavyMethyl technology was used for quantitative analysis of DNA methylation of SHOX2 using bronchial aspirates from two clinical centres in a case-control study. Fresh-frozen and Saccomanno-fixed samples were used to show the tumor marker performance in different sample types of clinical relevance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Valid measurements were obtained from a total of 523 patient samples (242 controls, 281 cases). DNA methylation of SHOX2 allowed to distinguish between malignant and benign lung disease, i.e. abscesses, infections, obstructive lung diseases, sarcoidosis, scleroderma, stenoses, at high specificity (68% sensitivity [95% CI 62-73%], 95% specificity [95% CI 91-97%]).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Hypermethylation of SHOX2 in bronchial aspirates appears to be a clinically useful tumor marker for identifying subjects with lung carcinoma, especially if histological and cytological findings after bronchoscopy are ambiguous.</p

Tackling child poverty in South Africa: Implications of ubuntu for the system of social grants

In the South African context both liberal and – in the form of the southern African idea of ubuntu – more communitarian and relational discourses of citizenship can be seen. The policy framework to tackle child policy, however, is dominated by the framework of liberal citizenship, most clearly through the Bill of and the various social grants. Using analyses from an original microsimulation model developed by one of the authors the paper shows however how a neglect of children’s relationships and inter-connectedness with their adult parents/carers in the current liberal citizenship inspired policy approach limits the effectiveness of this child poverty strategy. The empirical analyses demonstrate how a greater recognition in policy of the relational principles of ubuntu through more fully addressing the needs of children’s parents/carers via the creation of a comprehensive social security grant for working age adults is needed to effectively reduce child poverty as well as working age poverty

Prey preferences of modern human hunter-gatherers

Understanding traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyles in our modern world is fundamental to our understanding of their viability, as well as the role of humans as predators in structuring ecosystems. Here, we examine the factors that drive prey preferences of modern hunter-gatherer people by reviewing 85 published studies from 161 tropical, temperate and boreal sites across five continents. From these studies, we estimated Jacobs' selectivity index values (D) for 2243 species/spatiotemporal records representing 504 species from 42 vertebrate orders based on a sample size of 799,072 kill records (median = 259). Hunter-gatherers preferentially hunted 11 large-bodied, riskier species, and were capable of capturing species ranging from 0.6 to 535.3 kg, but avoided those smaller than 2.5 kg. Human prey preferences were driven by whether prey were arboreal or terrestrial, the threats the prey afforded hunters, and prey body mass. Variation in the size of prey species pursued by hunter-gatherers across each continent is a reflection of the local size spectrum of available prey, and historical or prehistorical prey depletion during the Holocene. The nature of human subsistence hunting reflects the ability to use a range of weapons and techniques to capture food, and the prey deficient wildlands where people living traditional lifestyles persist

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700