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

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

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

Het ManagementKompasSysteem

In dit artikel wordt een systeem beschreven, door ons het ManagementKompasSysteem (MKS) genoemt, dat de bedrijfsadvisering van de accountant aan de MKB-ondernemer kan verbeteren. Het MKS ondersteunt ondernemers in het MKB bij de besluitvorming op basis van financiële en niet- financiële informatie en is gericht op het integreren van strategische en operationele beslissingen. Het MKS bestaat uit de volgende tien stappen: oriëntatie, missie/bedrijfsfilosofie, doelstellingen, diagnose, strategische keuzen, planning, meerjarenbegroting, jaarplan, resultatenvolgsysteem en tussentijdse cijfers. De gemiddelde resultaatverbetering bij bedrijven waarbij (delen van) het MKS reeds wordt toegepast wordt geschat op 25%

Treatment efficacy in a soman-poisoned guinea pig model: added value of physostigmine?

Current treatment of organophosphate poisoning is insufficient, and survivors may suffer from long-lasting adverse effects, such as cognitive deficits and sleep-wake disturbances. In the present study, we aimed at developing a guinea pig model to investigate the benefits of immediate and delayed stand-alone therapy on the development of clinical signs, EEG, heart rate, respiration and AChE activity in blood and brain after soman poisoning. The model allowed the determination of the therapeutic effects at the short-term of obidoxime, atropine and physostigmine. Obidoxime exerted the highest therapeutic efficacy at administration of the lowest dose (3.1 mg/kg i.m.), whereas two higher doses (9 and 18 mg/kg) were less effective on most parameters. Addition of atropine at 0.03 and 3 mg/kg (i.m.) to the treatment did not improve the therapeutic effects of obidoxime alone. Physostigmine (0.8 mg/kg im) at 1 min after poisoning increased mortality. Two lower doses (0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg i.m.) showed improvements on all parameters but respiration. The middle dose was most effective in preventing seizure development and therefore assessed as the most efficacious dose. Combined treatment of obidoxime and physostigmine shortened the duration of seizures, if present, from up to 80 min to ~10–15 min. In practice, treatment will be employed when toxic signs appear, with the presence of high levels of AChE inhibition in both blood and brain. Administration of physostigmine at that moment showed to be redundant or even harmful. Therefore, treatment of OP poisoning with a carbamate, such as physostigmine, should be carefully re-evaluated

'One Health' infectious diseases surveillance in Tanzania: Are we all on board the same flight?

Infectious diseases account for nearly 40% of the burden of human mortality and morbidity in low-income countries, of which 7% is attributable to zoonoses and 13% to recently emerging diseases from animals. One of the strategic approaches for effective surveillance, monitoring and control of infectious diseases compromising health in both humans and animals could be through a combination of multiple disciplines. The approach can be achieved through a joint effort from stakeholders comprising health professionals (medical and veterinary), social, economic, agricultural, environmental and other interested parties. With resource scarcity in terms of number of staff, skills and facility in low-income countries, participatory multi- sectoral and multidisciplinary approaches in limiting the burden of zoonotic diseases could be worthwhile. We review challenging issues that may limit the ‘One Health’ approach for infectious diseases surveillance in Tanzania with a focus on Health Policy and how best the human and animal health systems could be complemented or linked to suit the community in need for disease control under the theme’s context

Iron abundances from optical Fe III absorption lines in B-type stellar spectra

The role of optical Fe III absorption lines in B-type stars as iron abundance diagnostics is considered. To date, ultraviolet Fe lines have been widely used in B-type stars, although line blending can severely hinder their diagnostic power. Using optical spectra, covering a wavelength range ~ 3560 - 9200 A, a sample of Galactic B-type main-sequence and supergiant stars of spectral types B0.5 to B7 are investigated. A comparison of the observed Fe III spectra of supergiants, and those predicted from the model atmosphere codes TLUSTY (plane-parallel, non-LTE), with spectra generated using SYNSPEC (LTE), and CMFGEN (spherical, non-LTE), reveal that non-LTE effects appear small. In addition, a sample of main-sequence and supergiant objects, observed with FEROS, reveal LTE abundance estimates consistent with the Galactic environment and previous optical studies. Based on the present study, we list a number of Fe III transitions which we recommend for estimating the iron abundance from early B-type stellar spectra.Comment: 3 figures and 8 tables. Table 3 is to be published online only (included here on last page). Accepted for publication in MNRA