Digital Data Processing of Images

Digital data processing was investigated to perform image processing. Image smoothing and restoration were explored and promising results obtained. The use of the computer, not only as a data management device, but as an important tool to render quantitative information, was illustrated by lung function determination. The availability of on-line computers for image processing represents a major advance in the radiological investigation of organ function.S. Afr. Med. J., 48, 986 (1974)

Emerging Early Actions to Bend the Curve in Sub-Saharan Africa’s Nutrition Transition

BACKGROUND : Sub-Saharan Africa is the last region to undergo nutrition transition and can still avoid its adverse health outcomes. OBJECTIVE : The paper explores emerging responses to ―bend the curve‖ in sub-Saharan Africa‘s nutrition transition to steer public health outcomes onto a healthier trajectory. METHODS : Early responses in three countries at different stages in food system transformation are examined: South Africa -advanced, Ghana –intermediate, and Uganda -early. By comparing these with international experience, actions are proposed to influence nutrition and public health trajectories as Africa‘s food systems undergo rapid structural change. RESULTS : Arising from rapid urbanization and diet change, major public health problems associated with overweight are taking place, particularly in South Africa and among adult women. However, public health responses are generally tepid in sub-Saharan Africa. Only in South Africa have policy makers instituted extensive actions to combat overweight and associated non-communicable diseases through regulation, education and public health programmes. Elsewhere, in countries in the early and middle stages of transition, public health systems continue to focus their limited resources primarily on under-nutrition. Related pressures on the supply side of Africa‘s food systems are emerging that also need to be addressed. CONCLUSIONS :Three types of intervention appear most feasible: Maternal and child health programmes to simultaneously address short-term undernutrition problems while at the same time helping to reduce future tendencies towards overweigh; Regulatory and fiscal actions to limit access to unhealthy foods; Modernization of Africa‘s agrifood food system, through job skills training, marketing reforms and food industry entrepreneurship.http://www.elsevier.com /locate/compind2017-06-30hb2016Food Scienc

Global patterns of seasonal acclimatization in avian resting metabolic rates

The adjustment of resting metabolic rates represents an important component of avian seasonal acclimatization, with recent studies revealing substantial differences between summer and winter in birds from a wide range of latitudes. We compared seasonal variation in basal metabolic rate (BMR) and summit metabolism (Msum) between temperate and tropical/subtropical latitudes, and examined correlations with latitude and temperature. The direction and magnitude of seasonal adjustments in BMR are broadly related to temperature and latitude, but are significantly more variable among tropical and subtropical species compared to those inhabiting temperate zones. Winter adjustments in BMR among subtropical species, when expressed relative to summer values, range from decreases of approximately 35 % to increases of more than 60 %, whereas the majority of temperate-zone species show increases in BMR during winter. Relatively few seasonal Msum data exist for tropical/subtropical species, but those that are available involve responses ranging from winter decreases to increases of similar magnitude to those characteristic of many temperate-zone species. Recent studies also highlight the substantial variation in seasonal adjustments that may occur within species, and reiterate the need for further investigations of the relative roles of environmental variables such as temperature and food availability as determinants of seasonal metabolic variation.http://link.springer.com/journal/103362016-12-30hb201