Asbestos in the non-mining industry on the Witwatersrand, South Africa

Background and introduction. For many decades, and until fairly recently, asbestos was commonly found in most sectors of South African industry. Consequently there is a large but indeterminate pool of formerly exposed workers, some of whom will present to medical practitioners for evaluation of possible asbestosis, the pneumoconiosis caused by the fibre. Fundamental to the diagnosis of asbestosis is a history of asbestos exposure sufficient to cause the disease. Attending practitioners need to be aware of the common asbestosis inducing industries and jobs and the duration of exposure reported by patients if we are to obtain and interpret their exposures. This paper describes asbestos exposure in 141 cases of asbestosis. Methods. Cases were identified from patient records at the Occupational Medicine Clinic of the National Institute for Occupational Health (NIOH, formerly NCOH), for the years 1980 - 2000. Patients were only included in the series if they had no asbestos exposure in mining, if they had been certified with asbestosis by a compensation panel, and if on re-reading of the chest radiograph a radiologist reported irregular opacities (profusion 1/0 or greater on the International Labour Organisation (ILO) scale). Asbestos exposure was taken from the patient's records. Results. Only one patient was exposed in an industry where asbestos was incidental to the enterprise's operation, while 54% of cases arose from exposure in primary asbestos industries, i.e. companies selling, distributing, refining, milling or using raw asbestos to manufacture products. The mean reported duration of exposure was 17.5 years. Surprisingly, 21 cases (15%) reported less than 5 years' exposure. Unexpectedly, 7 cases had a latency period from first exposure to diagnosis of less than 6 years. Conclusion. The data presented should assist practitioners in the purposeful exploration of asbestos exposure and in interpretation of its significance with regard to asbestosis. S Afr Med J 2005; 95: 47-51

CD4 cells profile of HAART naive HIV seropositive clients in Kogi State University Teaching Hospital, Anyigba, Kogi State. Nigeria

CD4 lymphocyte cells are the primary targets of Human immune-deficiency virus (HIV). Enumeration of CD4 T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood is used in the assessment of disease clinical stage, risk of  opportunistic infections, evaluation of prognosis and guide decision on the commencement of  antiretroviral therapy. The objective was to determine CD4 cells profile of HIV sero-positive naïve  patients in Kogi State University Teaching Hospital( KSUTH) Anyigba. A total of 404 HIV sero-positive Highly Active Anti Retro Viral Treatment ( HAART) naïve patients comprising 147(36.4%) males and  257 (63.6%) females were examined. Approval was obtained from ethical committee of Kogi State University Teaching Hospital (KSUTH), Anyigba. Written and verbal informed consent was taken from all patients. The overall mean age of patients was 33.0 ± 12.7 years and female-male ratio was  1.7:1. Majority of patients were in the clinical stage two 121(30.5%) and three 200(50.4%). Patients had overall mean CD4 cells count of 381.8 ± 240.8 cells /mm3. Patients CD4 cells count varied statistically with the HIV clinical staging (F =4.512 & P value=0.004) and statistically insignificant with gender (P value = 0.7562 & t Test= 0.3106) and tuberculosis status (P value=0.223 & F=  1.505).Conclusion: This study showed HIV sero-positive HAART naive patients presented in KSUTH with mean age of 33 years. Majority of patients presented in disease clinical stage two and three with a mean CD4 cells counts of 381.8 cells/mm3 . This study recommend the need to reduce stigmatization, discrimination and promote early access to treatment , care and support services.Keywords: HIV/AIDS, CD4, Patient/clients, KSUTH, Nigeria

Measuring Political Deliberation: A Discourse Quality Index

In this paper, we develop a discourse quality index (DQI) that serves as a quantitative measure of discourse in deliberation. The DQI is rooted in Habermas' discourse ethics and provides an accurate representation of the most important principles underlying deliberation. At the same time, the DQI can be shown to be a reliable measurement instrument due to its focus on observable behavior and its detailed coding instructions. We illustrate the DQI for a parliamentary debate in the British House of Commons. We show that the DQI yields reliable data and we discuss how these data could be used in subsequent analysis. We conclude by discussing some limitations of the DQI and by identifying some areas in which it could prove useful. Introduction Over the past decade, deliberative politics has moved to the forefront of political theory. 1 Deliberation implies that political decision-making is or should be 'talk-centric' rather than 'vote-centric Despite the advances in the political theory of deliberation and despite deliberative theorists' claims about the importance of discourse, empirically 2 This is partially a reflection of the continued predominance of social choice theory and other theories that treat preferences as given and view decision-making as a process of preference aggregation. However, a larger issue may be the dearth of measurement instruments that allow researchers to operationalize and quantify the quality of discourse, and that open up deliberation for empirical research. In this article, we develop a measurement instrument of deliberative quality -the discourse quality index (DQI). This measurement instrument has the advantage that it is theoretically grounded, finding its origins in Habermas (1981, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996) as well as other theorists. At the same time, the DQI can be applied easily and reliably to a wide range of deliberative contexts. Thus, the DQI opens up deliberation for empirical research, allowing this research to interface with political theory. We should point out at the outset that this is a measurement paper. We lack the space to investigate actually the impact of discourse quality on political outcomes. Although many theorists believe that deliberative politics leads to better outcomes, there is no consensus on this matter, with some arguing vociferously that an automatic connection between deliberation and just outcomes cannot be presumed We organize this article as follows. First, we discuss the criteria that a measure of the nature of discourse should satisfy. Next, we discuss two past efforts at measuring deliberation. Third, we discuss the theoretical foundation of the DQI. Having laid the groundwork, we then provide a detailed discussion of the DQI. This is followed by an empirical illustration that shows the coding procedures as well as the measurement properties of the DQI. We then discuss how the DQI can be employed in empirical research. We conclude by discussing some limitations of the DQI and opportunities for its use. Measurement Criteria A measure of the nature of discourse can serve as a bridge between political theory and empirical scholarship only if it does justice to the former and provides guidance to the latter. We believe, therefore, that such a measure should meet four different criteria: (1) it should be theoretically grounded, (2) it should tap into observable phenomena, (3) it should be general, and (4) it should be reliable. The first criterion is essential because it concerns the validity of the discourse measure. An improperly grounded measure lacks construct validity, would be of little practical use and would fail to convince theorists. The complication here is the lack of agreement among political theorists about what constitute deliberation and discourse. One could attempt to develop a measure that captures all of the different conceptions of these concepts, but this would result in an instrument that is too complex to be of practical value and one that lacks internal consistency (since the different theories are not necessarily compatible). Our approach is different; we have selected a particular theory of deliberation, one that is most closely associated with The second to fourth criteria speak to the empirical power of a discourse measure. Most importantly, the measurement instrument should tap into observable discourse behavior. This is essential if the measurement instrument is to produce reliable data and if it is to convince empirical scholars. In addition, an ideal measure of discourse quality should be general, so that it can be transported from one research domain to the next. Finally, such a measure should be reliable. This requires not only that it is based on observable behavior, but also that its coding instructions are specific, and that its coding categories are sufficiently clear that different coders could agree on the classification of the same discourse. Of course, reliable measurement is never guaranteed, so that empirical reliability assessments should be a standard practice in discourse analysis. Below, we shall argue that the DQI meets these criteria. However, before outlining the logic of this measure, we should review past efforts at measuring discourse. As we shall see, these efforts leave considerable room for improvement

Modulatory effects of cAMP and PKC activation on gap junctional intercellular communication among thymic epithelial cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We investigated the effects of the signaling molecules, cyclic AMP (cAMP) and protein-kinase C (PKC), on gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) between thymic epithelial cells (TEC).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Treatment with 8-Br-cAMP, a cAMP analog; or forskolin, which stimulates cAMP production, resulted in an increase in dye transfer between adjacent TEC, inducing a three-fold enhancement in the mean fluorescence of coupled cells, ascertained by flow cytometry after calcein transfer. These treatments also increased Cx43 mRNA expression, and stimulated Cx43 protein accumulation in regions of intercellular contacts. VIP, adenosine, and epinephrine which may also signal through cyclic nucleotides were tested. The first two molecules did not mimic the effects of 8-Br-cAMP, however epinephrine was able to increase GJIC suggesting that this molecule functions as an endogenous inter-TEC GJIC modulators. Stimulation of PKC by phorbol-myristate-acetate inhibited inter-TEC GJIC. Importantly, both the enhancing and the decreasing effects, respectively induced by cAMP and PKC, were observed in both mouse and human TEC preparations. Lastly, experiments using mouse thymocyte/TEC heterocellular co-cultures suggested that the presence of thymocytes does not affect the degree of inter-TEC GJIC.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Overall, our data indicate that cAMP and PKC intracellular pathways are involved in the homeostatic control of the gap junction-mediated communication in the thymic epithelium, exerting respectively a positive and negative role upon cell coupling. This control is phylogenetically conserved in the thymus, since it was seen in both mouse and human TEC preparations. Lastly, our work provides new clues for a better understanding of how the thymic epithelial network can work as a physiological syncytium.</p

Prevalence of respiratory health symptoms among landfill waste recyclers in the City of Johannesburg, South Africa

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Novel Cytokinin Derivatives Do Not Show Negative Effects on Root Growth and Proliferation in Submicromolar Range

BACKGROUND: When applied to a nutrition solution or agar media, the non-substituted aromatic cytokinins caused thickening and shortening of the primary root, had an inhibitory effect on lateral root branching, and even showed some negative effects on development of the aerial part at as low as a 10 nanomolar concentration. Novel analogues of aromatic cytokinins ranking among topolins substituted on N9-atom of adenine by tetrahydropyranyl or 4-chlorobutyl group have been prepared and tested in standardized cytokinin bioassays [1]. Those showing comparable activities with N(6)-benzylaminopurine were further tested in planta. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The main aim of the study was to explain molecular mechanism of function of novel cytokinin derivatives on plant development. Precise quantification of cytokinin content and profiling of genes involved in cytokinin metabolism and perception in treated plants revealed several aspects of different action of m-methoxytopolin base and its substituted derivative on plant development. In contrast to standard cytokinins, N9- tetrahydropyranyl derivative of m-topolin and its methoxy-counterpart showed the negative effects on root development only at three orders of magnitude higher concentrations. Moreover, the methoxy-derivative demonstrates a positive effect on lateral root branching and leaf emerging in a nanomolar range of concentrations, in comparison with untreated plants. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Tetrahydropyranyl substitution at N9-position of cytokinin purine ring significantly enhances acropetal transport of a given cytokinins. Together with the methoxy-substitution, impedes accumulation of non-active cytokinin glucoside forms in roots, allows gradual release of the active base, and has a significant effect on the distribution and amount of endogenous isoprenoid cytokinins in different plant tissues. The utilization of novel aromatic cytokinin derivatives can distinctively improve expected hormonal effects in plant propagation techniques in the future

Trends in type 2 diabetes incidence and mortality in Scotland between 2004 and 2013

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