Factors influencing peak expiratory flow in teenage boys

Background. Peak expiratory flow (PEF) is a useful measure of pulmonary health status and is frequently utilised in asthm, management. Reduction in PEF is usually indicative of OIlS( of asthma symptoms. However, use can be made of PEF values only if normal values are known. The definition of normal range is always difficult and may vary between regions and be affected by a variety of factors.Objective. To establish PEF values for teenage boys in a Cape Town suburb and examine factors that possibly influence this measurement.Setting. A high school for boys in the southern suburbs of Cape Town.Methods. Measurements of PEF were taken for 124 boys. Subjects were approximately 16 years old and apparently healthy at the time of survey. Further details were provid by means of a questionnaire.Results. PEF ranged from 350 to 760 1/min, with a mean (± standard deviation (SD» of 539 ± 681/min. Factors expected to influence PEF included height and mass, where is unexpected factors included sport intensity and academic grade. A trend to reduced peak flow was already evident in boys who smoked and boys from homes where a parent smoked. Regression analysis suggested peak flow differenct.s in our population compared with the standard reference.Conclusion. Interpretation of results obtained from peak-flow instruments should take into account additional knowledge concerning the individual. Further surveys of the South African population and of different groups should be done to establish local standards and factors influencing PE

Application of regulatory sequence analysis and metabolic network analysis to the interpretation of gene expression data

We present two complementary approaches for the interpretation of clusters of co-regulated genes, such as those obtained from DNA chips and related methods. Starting from a cluster of genes with similar expression profiles, two basic questions can be asked: 1. Which mechanism is responsible for the coordinated transcriptional response of the genes? This question is approached by extracting motifs that are shared between the upstream sequences of these genes. The motifs extracted are putative cis-acting regulatory elements. 2. What is the physiological meaning for the cell to express together these genes? One way to answer the question is to search for potential metabolic pathways that could be catalyzed by the products of the genes. This can be done by selecting the genes from the cluster that code for enzymes, and trying to assemble the catalyzed reactions to form metabolic pathways. We present tools to answer these two questions, and we illustrate their use with selected examples in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The tools are available on the web (http://ucmb.ulb.ac.be/bioinformatics/rsa-tools/; http://www.ebi.ac.uk/research/pfbp/; http://www.soi.city.ac.uk/~msch/)

Development of a high-throughput microsatellite typing approach for forensic and population genetic analysis of wild and domestic African Bovini

Conservation management and forensic traceability of African buffalo and cattle rely on the timely provision of unbiased and accurate genetic information. An approach in which 17 cattle microsatellite markers are co-electrophoresed, following amplification in three core multiplex reactions was established for this purpose. Mean allelic richness per locus was 8.24 and 6.47, for buffalo and Bonsmara cattle, respectively, whilst an unbiased match probability of 6.5x×10-17 and 1.03 × 10-16 was obtained for each. These results confirm the usefulness of this rapid, cost-effective typing approach for forensic, paternity and fine-scale genetic analyses of wild and domestic African Bovini tribe member

Post-apartheid Pretoria: Verskuiwings in die sosio-ruimtelike landskap, 1996-2001

The article examines shifts in population and related social phenomena in the functional area of Greater Pretoria, presently known as City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. The study was based on data from the 1996 and 2001 national censuses. It was found that blacks have moved into the former ‘white’ neighbourhoods, albeit not in equal measure and that their movement mainly follows the route of least resistance through the older, lower income areas to the west of the city centre. Although a number of formerly ‘white’ neighbourhoods became predominantly ‘black’ in the period of study, overall segre gation levels have in fact increased slightly. Peripherally located black townships remained exclusively black and through their extension, old apartheid patterns became even futher entrenched. Distinct core areas are in the process of taking shape with high income, pre dominantly white neighbourhoods, moving further away in a south easterly direction. Also evident was a large scale redistribution of concomitant social phenomena such as household incomes, skills levels and unemployment.*Article written in Afrikaan

Incidence of heat-labile enterotoxin-producing Escherichia coli detected by means of polymerase chain reaction amplification

CITATION: Winterbach, R. et al. 1994. Incidence of heat-labile enterotoxin-producing Escherichia coli detected by means of polymerase chain reaction amplification. South African Medical Journal, 84:85-87.The original publication is available at http://www.samj.org.zaDiarrhoea can be caused by many different organisms, some of which are notoriously difficult to identify. One of these is enterotoxin-producing Escherichia coli. Recently a new diagnostic technique that uses polymerase chain reaction DNA amplification was developed for detection of the 'A' subunit of the labile enterotoxin-producing E. coli gene. This technique was used to evaluate the incidence of heat-labile (LT+) enterotoxin-producing E. coli in the causation of diarrhoea. The results from this study showed that LT+ E. coli is a cause of diarrhoea in the western Cape and that 5,3% of non-diagnosed diarrhoea patients in Tygerberg Hospital were infected with this pathogen. This represented less than 1% of the total number of cases of diarrhoea investigated in this hospital. The peak coincides with the wetter months in this locality and the infection rate is lower than that reported in most other countries. Given the low incidence of occurrence of this organism we do not recommend routine implementation of the diagnostic procedure. However, this test may be useful at times, e.g. to ascertain the source of a diarrhoea epidemic.Publisher’s versio

Development of a high-throughput microsatellite typing approach for forensic and population genetic analysis of wild and domestic African Bovini.

Conservation management and forensic traceability of African buffalo and cattle rely on the timely provision of unbiased and accurate genetic information. An approach in which 17 cattle microsatellitemarkers are co-electrophoresed, following amplification in three core multiplex reactions was established for this purpose. Mean allelic richness per locus was 8.24 and 6.47, for buffalo and Bonsmara cattle, respectively, whilst an unbiased match probability of 6.5x10-17 and 1.03 x 10-16 wasobtained for each. These results confirm the usefulness of this rapid, cost-effective typing approach for forensic, paternity and fine-scale genetic analyses of wild and domestic African Bovini tribe members

Automated Method for the Determination of 5′-Nucleotidase in Serum by Continuous Flow Analysis

Peer Reviewe

Restoring soil functionality in degraded areas of organic vineyards - Preliminary results of the ReSolVe project in the French vineyards

Degraded soil areas in vineyards are associated with problems in vine health, grape production and quality. Different causes for soil degradation are possible such as poor organic matter content, lower plant nutrient availability, pH, water deficiency, soil compaction / lower oxygenation… The aim of this preliminary study is to assess soil functionality (OM decomposition), biodiversity through mesofauna diversity and consequences for vine growth and quality