The intervention effects of a community-based hypertension control programme in two rural South African towns: the CORIS study

The objective of the hypertension programme of the Coronary Risk Factor Study (CORlS) was to evaluate the effectiveness of the first 4 years of community-based intervention. The hypertension intervention model comprised a blood pressure station where the whole population was screened for hypertension, non-drug management was provided and hypertensives were monitored after referral to general practitioners for drug therapy. Two levels of intervention were maintained: in the high-intensity intervention town (N =2 278) hypertensives were actively followed up, and in the low-intensity intervention town (N =2 620) no active follow-up procedure existed. A third town acted as control (N= 2 290).In the cohort which was hypertensive at baseline, the net decreases in systolic blood pressure (mean ± SE) after correction for changes in the control town were 0,5 ± 2,2 mmHg (men) and 4,5 ± 2,2 mmHg (women) in the low-intensity intervention town, and 5,6 ± 2,3 mmHg (men) and 7,5 ± 2,2 mmHg (women) in the high-intensity intervention town. The net decrease in diastolic blood pressure was 3,4 ± 1,2 mmHg (men) and 4,4 ± 1,1 mmHg (women) in the low-intensity intervention town, and 6,1 ± 1,2 mmHg (men) and 5,9 ± 1,1 mmHg (women) in the high-intensity intervention town. These reductions were statistically significant with one exception. The changes in the total population in the 3 communities after 4 years of intervention were similar to those found in the hypertensive cohort.Decreases in mean blood pressure were accompanied by marked increases in the proportion of hypertensives on drug treatment and the proportion under control (< 160/95 mmHg).Distribution curves of blood pressure indicated a large effect in the subgroup above the cut-off point for hypertension; however, the entire curve also shifted to the left, indicating, in addition, benefit to the whole population. An increase in the appropriate knowledge and action for hypertension control was observed in the intervention towns compared with the control town.The CORlS community-based hypertension control programme successfully reduced the risk for cardiovascular diseases in the intervention towns compared with the control town

Apolipoprotein B levels and related factors in a rural white South African community - the CORIS study

No Abstract

A robust potato model : LINTUL-POTATO-DSS

In 1994, LINTUL-POTATO was published, a comprehensive model of potato development and growth. The mechanistic model simulated early crop processes (emergence and leaf expansion) and light interception until extinction, through leaf layers. Photosynthesis and respiration in a previous crop growth model—SUCROS— were substituted by a temperature-dependent light use efficiency. Leaf senescence at initial crop stages was simulated by allowing a longevity per daily leaf class formed, and crop senescence started when all daily dry matter production was allocated to the tubers, leaving none for the foliage. The model performed well in, e.g., ideotyping studies. For other studies such as benchmarking production environments, agroecological zoning, climatic hazards, climate change, and yield gap analysis, the need was felt to develop from the original LINTUL-POTATO, a derivative LINTULPOTATO- DSS with fewer equations—reducing the potential sources of error in calculations— and fewer parameters. This reduces the number of input parameters as well as the amount of data required that for many reasons are not available or not reliable. In LINTUL-POTATO-DSS calculating potential yields, initial crop development depends on a fixed temperature sum for ground cover development from 0% at emergence to 100%. Light use efficiency is temperature dependent. Dry matter distribution to the tubers starts at tuber initiation and linearly increases up to a fixed harvest index which is reached at crop end. Crop end is input of the model: it is assumed that the crop cycle determined by maturity matches the length of the available frost-free and or heat-free cropping season. LINTUL-POTATO-DSS includes novel calculations to explore tuber quality characteristics such as tuber size distribution and dry matter concentration depending on crop environment and management.http://link.springer.com/journal/11540am201

Long-range Angular Correlations On The Near And Away Side In P-pb Collisions At √snn=5.02 Tev

7191/Mar294

An evaluation of two guidance programmes to promote breast-feeding

During the past ten years a comprehensive research project has been undertaken to develop a guidance programme in three adjacent communities in the South- Western Cape with the aim o f lowering the high incidence o f coronary heart disease. The purpose o f this substudy was to determine whether the guidance provided in the different communities had any influence on the knowledge o f and attitudes towards the nutrition o f pregnant women, babies and infants as well as breast-feeding practices o f the women who gave birth during the period 1980 to 1986. In the first community guidance was provided by means o f small mass media and interpersonal communication whereas only the small mass media were employed in the second. The third served as the control community. The findings suggest that the combined interpersonal and mass media programme was more successful than the mass media programme alone

A Robust Potato Model : LINTUL-POTATO-DSS

In 1994, LINTUL-POTATO was published, a comprehensive model of potato development and growth. The mechanistic model simulated early crop processes (emergence and leaf expansion) and light interception until extinction, through leaf layers. Photosynthesis and respiration in a previous crop growth model—SUCROS—were substituted by a temperature-dependent light use efficiency. Leaf senescence at initial crop stages was simulated by allowing a longevity per daily leaf class formed, and crop senescence started when all daily dry matter production was allocated to the tubers, leaving none for the foliage. The model performed well in, e.g., ideotyping studies. For other studies such as benchmarking production environments, agro-ecological zoning, climatic hazards, climate change, and yield gap analysis, the need was felt to develop from the original LINTUL-POTATO, a derivative LINTUL-POTATO-DSS with fewer equations—reducing the potential sources of error in calculations—and fewer parameters. This reduces the number of input parameters as well as the amount of data required that for many reasons are not available or not reliable. In LINTUL-POTATO-DSS calculating potential yields, initial crop development depends on a fixed temperature sum for ground cover development from 0% at emergence to 100%. Light use efficiency is temperature dependent. Dry matter distribution to the tubers starts at tuber initiation and linearly increases up to a fixed harvest index which is reached at crop end. Crop end is input of the model: it is assumed that the crop cycle determined by maturity matches the length of the available frost-free and or heat-free cropping season. LINTUL-POTATO-DSS includes novel calculations to explore tuber quality characteristics such as tuber size distribution and dry matter concentration depending on crop environment and management

The lipid and lipoprotein profile of the urban black South African population of the Cape Peninsula - the BRISK study

No Abstract