Omgewingsbestuur vanuit ’n Christelike lewensbeskouing – riglyne vir volhoubare ontwikkeling

Environmental management from the perspective of a Christian world view – guidelines for sustainable development The ecological crisis facing humanity requires that the current approach to developmental thinking and decision-making be reconsidered. This implies that the impact of development on economic, social and biological systems be balanced to ensure that the optimal outcome is ensured. Environmental management is a science that studies the interrelationships among these systems. The concept of sustainable development is proposed as the ideal approach to development and is considered as the ultimate aim of environmental management. Metatheoretical, philosophical and ideological viewpoints are, however, also decisive in determining our views on development. This article will provide an overview of Christian principles with regard to sustainable development that could serve as a basis for Christianity’s approach to environmental management

BEGRAFNISGEBRUIKE EN DOODSBESOEDELING IN ANTIEKE ROME: PROSEDURES EN PARADOKSE

Funerary practices and death pollution in ancient Rome: Procedures and paradoxes The Romans’ attitude towards the dead at the end of the Republic and high tide of the Empire was mainly determined by religious views on the (im)mortality of the soul and the concept of “death pollution”. Pollution through contact with the dead was thought to affect interpersonal relationships, hamper official duties and obstruct contact with the gods. However, hygienic considerations arising from possible physical pollution from the dead also played a role. Traditions regarding the correct preparation of the body and subsequent funerary procedures leading up to inhumation or incineration, are reviewed, with reference to the impact of social status. Obvious paradoxes in the Romans’ attitude towards the dead are discussed, e.g. the contrast between respect for the recently departed on the one hand and condonation of brutal executions and public blood sport on the other. These paradoxes can to a large extent be explained as the very practical policy of law-makers and priests who were more interested in accommodating hygienic considerations than cultural-religious views

Owren se siekte (Kongenitale faktor V-tekort, parahemofilie) by twee kleurlingsusters

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CITY PLANNING IN GRAECO-ROMAN TIMES WITH EMPHASIS ON HEALTH FACILITIES

In this overview of city planning in Graeco-Roman times, starting with Greek gridiron street planning and functional city zoning in the 9th century BC, emphasis is placed on those aspects related to urban health and recreational activities. Etruscan-Roman expertise in hydraulic engineering facilitated the availability of ample water supplies, e.g. for public baths and latrines, and for efficient drainage systems, which had been problematic in the earlier Greek era. The Pax Romana obviated the need for defensive city walls and also potentiated the establishment and maintenance of long distance water supplies. Before the xenodocheia of the Christian era the only hospitals were Roman military institutions (valetudinaria) and some latifundia for sick slaves on large farms. Doctors practiced from very basic consulting facilities (iatreia, later tabernae). Graeco-Roman concepts of “death pollution” restricted structural burial facilities to a minimum, and situated outside the city walls. Greek recreation revolved around athletic sports practiced in stadia, gymnasia and occasionally in urban agoras; dramas were performed in open air theatres. The Romans preferred horse races and blood-thirsty sports in huge amphitheatres in which gladiators fought each other to the death

The history and pathology of crucifixion

In antiquity crucifixion was considered one of the most brutal and shameful modes of death. Probably originating with the Assyrians and Babylonians, it was used systematically by the Persians in the 6th century BC. Alexander the Great brought it from there to the eastern Mediterranean countries in the 4th century BC, and the Phoenicians introduced it to Rome in the 3rd century BC. It was virtually never used in pre-Hellenic Greece. The Romans perfected crucifixion for 500 years until it was abolished by Constantine I in the 4th century AD. Crucifixion in Roman times was applied mostly to slaves, disgraced soldiers, Christians and foreigners - only very rarely to Roman citizens. Death, usually after 6 hours - 4 days, was due to multifactorial pathology: after-effects of compulsory scourging and maiming, haemorrhage and dehydration causing hypovolaemic shock and pain, but the most important factor was progressive asphyxia caused by impairment of respiratory movement. Resultant anoxaemia exaggerated hypovolaemic shock. Death was probably commonly precipitated by cardiac arrest, caused by vasovagal reflexes, initiated inter alia by severe anoxaemia, severe pain, body blows and breaking of the large bones. The attending Roman guards could only leave the site after the victim had died, and were known to precipitate death by means of deliberate fracturing of the tibia and/or fibula, spear stab wounds into the heart, sharp blows to the front of the chest, or a smoking fire built at the foot of the cross to asphyxiate the victim

BEES, HONEY AND HEALTH IN ANTIQUITY

In antiquity bees and honey had a very special significance. Honey was indeed considered to drip from heaven as the food of the gods. As an infant Zeus was fed on honey in the cave of Dicte, by bees and the beautiful Melissa, whose name became the Greek word for “bee”. When the ancient Romans wished you luck they said “May honey drip on you!” and for the Israelites Palestine was a “land of milk and honey” (Forbes 1957:85-87). In his Georgics Vergil likened the inhabitants of the new Golden Age to an orderly swarm of bees (Johnson 1980:90-105), and the word “honeymoon” probably derived from the ancient custom of newlyweds to drink mead (honey-wine) for a month after their wedding (Hajar 2002:5-6). Allsop and Miller state that even today honey is popularly associated with warmth, nostalgia, goodness and flattery (1996:513-520).In this study the origins of apiculture (bee-keeping) and the status and uses of honey in antiquity are analysed – with emphasis on its assumed value as a health promoting agent

Illnesses of Herod the Great

Herod the Great, ldumean by birth, was king of the Jews from 40 to 4 BC. An able statesman, builder and warrior, he ruthlessly stamped out all perceived opposition to his rule. His last decade was characterised by vicious strife within his family and progressive ill health. We review the nature of his illnesses and suggest that he had meningoencephailitis in 59 BC, and that he died primarily of uraemia and hypertensive heart failure, but accept diabetes mellitus as a possible underlying aetiological factor. The possibility that Josephus' classical descriptions of Herod's disease could be biased by 'topos' biography (popular at the time), is discussed. The latter consideration is particularly relevant in determining the significance of the king's reputed worm infestation

Acute haemolytic anaemia as a complication of thyphoid fever

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Die Mieloproliferatiewe Sindroom, Mielofibrose en Eritrositose

In a retrospective survey over 27 months the records of 76700 patients (39300 White, 37400 Black) admitted to the Bloemfontein Teaching Hospitals, were analysed in order to assess the incidence and nature of the myeloproliferative syndromes, myelofibrosis and erythrocytosis. Erythraemia (polycythaemia vera) was much less common among Black (1,7%) than among White (9,0%) patients, when expressed as a percentage of total patients with raised- haemoglobin and haematocrit. Myelofibrosis as part of the classical myeloproliferative syndrome was rare among the Black patients (1 out of 5 with histologically proven bone marrow fibrosis), and more common among Whites (3 out of 4 with marrow fibrosis). Chronic myeloid leukaemia showed no difference in racial incidence. Erythrocytosis (secondary polycythaemia) was common in both races (57 Blacks, 92 Whites), and causative analysis showed no significant sexual or racial differences, although the study was hampered by inadequate clinical data. Cyanotic heart and lung disease was responsible for 61,7% of cases. An association with tumours (9,3%) and hypertension and/or obliterative vascular disease (21,4%) was evident