Challenges and diagnosis of isolated left ventricular non-compaction: A case series of 4 patients with echocardiographic diagnosis of possible ILVNC

Isolated left ventricular non-compaction (ILVNC) is a rare, congenital, idiopathic cardiomyopathy that may present in adulthood. There is no true gold standard for the diagnosis of ILVNC. Two-dimensional echocardiography with colour Doppler is the modality of choice to diagnose the condition. However, the diagnosis should be confirmed with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI), as well as either a positive family history, complications of ILVNC or confirmatory genetic testing.We describe the clinical and echocardiographic features in 4 patients, each with a possible diagnosis of ILVNC, in the setting of potential alternative aetiologies for heart failure. Approval to present these cases was obtained from the institutional ethics committee and the patients also provided consent. Sufficient transthoracic echocardiographic (TTE) evidence of ILVNC according to previously published criteria was found in all the cases, although it was not confirmed with CMRI.This case series highlights the importance of routine echocardiography in all patients who present with heart failure – irrespective of associated risk factors. We caution against over-diagnosis of ILVNC with TTE alone, and recommend the use of CMRI as a second-line diagnostic investigation. Screening of family members and prevention of complications of confirmed cases of ILVNC are important

Professional internal auditing in the public sector

Thesis (MPA)--Stellenbosch University, 1998.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this study the assumption is made that the delivery of a professional internal audit service has a direct bearing on the improvement of effectiveness of services delivered. Internal auditing in the public sector, compared to the private sector, is still at an early stage of development. A change in emphasis brought about by the new Constitution has led to a demand for stronger accountability and transparency. The internal audit profession has an important role to play by assisting management in the effective, efficient and economic reaching of goals and objectives. To fulfil this role successfully it is necessary for the internal auditor to possess specific skills and knowledge to perform audit tasks unique to the public sector. The hypothesis as formulated emphasises the relationship between professional internal auditing and organisational effectiveness. Through the content of this study project it is endeavoured to prove this point. An investigation into the field of internal auditing was undertaken by means of a study of the available literature, including the Standards for Professional Practice of Internal Auditing. Opinions and information were obtained from management and other persons involved with auditing by means of a questionnaire. The opinions and information were. integrated to obtain a comprehensive picture. A study of the literature revealed that internal auditing is supported by four pillars, namely: - Achieving objectives - Safeguarding and using of assets - Economic, effective and efficient execution of functions - Compliance with policy, prescripts and regulations. The literature also describes a definite process followed during an audit. During the audit process risk factors must be taken into account. Technical aspects relating to internal auditing is covered in the literature, but references to examples in the public sector are lacking. This deficiency was identified during the field study by means of a questionnaire. Respondents indicated in questionnaires that effectiveness of management, financial information and compliance with controls must be subjected to internal auditing. Management views the internal audit as a source of information on the activities of every department. The recommendations for professional internal auditing in the public sector are aimed at promoting accountability and transparency in the organisation. To ensure effective internal auditing it is necessary for the internal auditor to take note of the environment in which the organisation's activities play a role. A study of public administration as a management science is therefore important for the internal auditor to obtain insight into a holistic approach regarding the activities of public sector organisations.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie studie word as uitgangspunt die aanname gemaak dat daar 'n verband bestaan tussen die lewering van 'n professionele diens deur die interne ouditeur en die effektiwiteit van dienste wat aan interne ouditering onderwerp word. Interne ouditering in die openbare sektor in vergelyking met die privaatsektor, is nog in 'n begin stadium van ontwikkeling. 'n Klemverskuiwing wat teweeggebring is deur die nuwe Grondwet het daartoe gelei dat groter rekenpligtigheid en deursigtigheid vereis word. Die interne oudit beroep het 'n belangrike rol te speel deur bestuur by te staan in die effektiewe, doelmatige en ekonomiese bereiking van doelwitte. am hierdie rol suksesvol te vervul is dit nodig dat die interne ouditeur oor bepaalde vaardighede en kennis sal beskik om oudittake uniek aan die openbare sektor professioneel uit te voer. Die hipotese soos geformuleer beklemtoon die verband tussen professionele interne ouditering en organisatoriese effektiwiteit. Met die inhoud van die werkstuk word daar gepoog om die punt te bewys. 'n Ondersoek na die gebied van interne ouditering is onderneem deur 'n studie te maak van beskikbare Iiteratuur, insluitend die Standaarde vir Professionele Praktykvoering van Interne Ouditering. Deur middel van 'n vraelys is menings en inligting van bestuur en persone betrokke by ouditering verkry. Die menings en inligting is saamgevoeg om 'n geheelbeeld te verkry. 'n Studie van die Iiteratuur toon dat interne oudit deur vier pilare ondersteun word naamlik: - Bereiking van doelwitte - Beveiliging en aanwending van bates - Ekonomiese, effektiewe en doelgerigte uitvoering van funksies - Nakoming van beleid, voorskrifte en regulasies. Die Iiteratuur beskryf 'n bepaalde proses wat gevolg word tydens ouditering. Gedurende die ouditproses moet risikofaktore in ag geneem word. Tegniese aspekte verbonde aan interne ouditering word gedek, maar verwysings na voorbeelde uit die openbare sektor ontbreek grootliks in die Iiteratuur, vandaar die noodsaaklikehid vir 'n veld studie wat deur middel van 'n vraelys gedoen is. Respondente het in die vraelyste aangedui dat effektiwiteit van bestuur, finansiele inligting en die nakoming van kontroles aan interne ouditering onderwerp moet word. Bestuur beskou die interne ouditeur as 'n bron van inligting oor die aktiwiteite van elke departement. Die aanbevelings vir professionele interne ouditering in die open bare sektor is daarop gemik om rekenpligtigheid en deursigtigheid van 'n organisasie te bevorder. Om effektiewe interne ouditering te verseker is dit noodsaaklik dat die interne ouditeur ook kennis dra van die omgewing waarin die organisasie se aktiwiteite 'n rol speel. 'n Studie van Publieke Administrasie as 'n bestuurswetenskap sal dus vir die interne ouditeur van belang wees om insig te verkry in 'n holistiese benadering tot aktiwiteite van openbare sektor-organisasies

Incidence of parasitic trematodes effects on the energetics and behaviour of Coryogalops sordidus (Family: Gobiidae) resident in microbialite pools, warm temperate South Africa

Coryogalops sordidus(Epaulette goby), is a cryptobenthic species of the Family Gobiidae that iscommonly foundoccupying turbulent surf zones, calm rock pools, and sand and mud flats, where they are generally carnivorous predators. The distribution of C. sordidushas been recorded for Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and South Africa. The species is also resident in the microbialite pools on the temperate south east coast of South Africa. Recent reports indicated these gobies to be covered in numerous dark lesions, possibly suggesting that the microbialite pools are a sub-optimal habitat. Preliminary analyses have indicated that the dark lesions are a result of encysted metacercaria of a digenetic trematode (fluke). There werehowever,no current recorded parasiticspecies occurring within microbialite pool nor any records of any parasitic species utilizingC. sordidus as a host in South Africa. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate parasite-host interactions and parasite presence in and around themicrobialite pool systems of Algoa Bay using C. sordidusas a study species. Coryogalops sordiduswas identified to be parasitised by digenetic trematode metacercaria of the Family Diplostomidae Poirier, 1886, localised primarily to the host musculature, fins, eyes, and integument with no settlement on any of the visceral organs. Furthermore, C. sordidus was found additionally parasitised by a green leech (Class: Hirundinea) of the Family Piscicolidae Johnston, 1865, localised exclusively to the ventral body surface, underneath the pelvic fin of the host. Further investigation into the life cycle of the trematode, suggested that the most probable final hosts wereherons,namely Ardea cinereaand Egretta garzetta garzetta, and intermediate host likely being the freshwater gastropod Assimineacf.capensis, present inthe upper microbialite pools. In both the microbialite and neighbouring rock pools trematode prevalence was found to oscillate in response to seasonal chemical and climatic conditions, whereas the secondary piscicolid leech parasite was influencedmoreby host presence than environmental conditions. Greater prevalence and intensity were measured in the microbialite pools suggesting that these systems likely contained a suit of favourable conditions that allowed for greater trematode loads to be maintained as compared to neighbouring rock pools. As parasites often have deleterious effects on their hosts, the response can manifest as an altered host behaviour or an increased energetic debt due to elevated immune response activity and the associated cost of tissue repair at sites of parasite aggregation.This study further investigatedifgobies (C. sordidus) infected with metacercarial cysts display higher metabolic ratesordifferent swimming behaviour compared to non-infected individuals. The results indicated that the metacercarial load carried by infected hosts had on average no significant impact on energetics, swimming ability, or swimming behaviour, concluding that the average metacercarial intensity present on the gobies is therefore below the threshold of an altered host response.Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, School of Environmental Sciences, 202

Incidence of parasitic trematodes effects on the energetics and behaviour of Coryogalops sordidus (Family: Gobiidae) resident in microbialite pools, warm temperate South Africa

Coryogalops sordidus(Epaulette goby), is a cryptobenthic species of the Family Gobiidae that iscommonly foundoccupying turbulent surf zones, calm rock pools, and sand and mud flats, where they are generally carnivorous predators. The distribution of C. sordidushas been recorded for Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and South Africa. The species is also resident in the microbialite pools on the temperate south east coast of South Africa. Recent reports indicated these gobies to be covered in numerous dark lesions, possibly suggesting that the microbialite pools are a sub-optimal habitat. Preliminary analyses have indicated that the dark lesions are a result of encysted metacercaria of a digenetic trematode (fluke). There werehowever,no current recorded parasiticspecies occurring within microbialite pool nor any records of any parasitic species utilizingC. sordidus as a host in South Africa. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate parasite-host interactions and parasite presence in and around themicrobialite pool systems of Algoa Bay using C. sordidusas a study species. Coryogalops sordiduswas identified to be parasitised by digenetic trematode metacercaria of the Family Diplostomidae Poirier, 1886, localised primarily to the host musculature, fins, eyes, and integument with no settlement on any of the visceral organs. Furthermore, C. sordidus was found additionally parasitised by a green leech (Class: Hirundinea) of the Family Piscicolidae Johnston, 1865, localised exclusively to the ventral body surface, underneath the pelvic fin of the host. Further investigation into the life cycle of the trematode, suggested that the most probable final hosts wereherons,namely Ardea cinereaand Egretta garzetta garzetta, and intermediate host likely being the freshwater gastropod Assimineacf.capensis, present inthe upper microbialite pools. In both the microbialite and neighbouring rock pools trematode prevalence was found to oscillate in response to seasonal chemical and climatic conditions, whereas the secondary piscicolid leech parasite was influencedmoreby host presence than environmental conditions. Greater prevalence and intensity were measured in the microbialite pools suggesting that these systems likely contained a suit of favourable conditions that allowed for greater trematode loads to be maintained as compared to neighbouring rock pools. As parasites often have deleterious effects on their hosts, the response can manifest as an altered host behaviour or an increased energetic debt due to elevated immune response activity and the associated cost of tissue repair at sites of parasite aggregation.This study further investigatedifgobies (C. sordidus) infected with metacercarial cysts display higher metabolic ratesordifferent swimming behaviour compared to non-infected individuals. The results indicated that the metacercarial load carried by infected hosts had on average no significant impact on energetics, swimming ability, or swimming behaviour, concluding that the average metacercarial intensity present on the gobies is therefore below the threshold of an altered host response.Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, School of Environmental Sciences, 202

Sekerheid in elektroniese data-uitruiling

M.Sc. (Computer Science)Please refer to full text to view abstrac

Continuous power generation from glucose with two different miniature flow-through enzymatic biofuel cells

AbstractEnzymatic biofuel cells (EBFCs) can generate energy from metabolites present in physiological fluids. They represent an attractive alternative to lithium batteries to power implantable devices, as they work at body temperature, are light and easy-to-miniaturise. To be implantable in blood vessels, EBFCs should not only be made of non-toxic and biocompatible compounds but should also be able to operate in continuous flow-through mode. The EBFC devices reported so far, however, implement carbon-based materials of questionable toxicity and stability, such as carbon nanotubes, and rely on the use of external redox mediators for the electrical connection between the enzyme and the electrode. With this study, we demonstrate for the first time continuous power generation by flow through miniature enzymatic biofuel cells fed with an aerated solution of glucose and no redox mediators. Non-toxic highly porous gold was used as the electrode material and the immobilisation of the enzymes onto the electrodes surface was performed via cost-effective and easy-to-reproduce methodologies. The results presented here are a significant step towards the development of revolutionary implantable medical devices that extract the power they require from metabolites in the body

Glucose oxidase directly immobilized onto highly porous gold electrodes for sensing and fuel cell applications

AbstractThe successful implementation of redox-enzyme electrodes in biosensors and enzymatic biofuel cells has been the subject of extensive research.For high sensitivity and high energy-conversion efficiency, the effective electron transfer at the protein-electrode interface has a key role. This is difficult to achieve in the case of glucose oxidase, due to the fact that for this enzyme the redox centre is buried inside the structure, far from any feasible electrode binding sites.This study reports, a simple and rapid methodology for the direct immobilisation of glucose oxidase into highly porous gold electrodes. When the resulting electrode was tested as glucose sensor, a Michaelis-Menten kinetic trend was observed, with a detection limit of 25μM. The bioelectrode sensitivity, calculated against the superficial surface area of the bioelectrode, was of 22.7±0.1μAmM−1cm−2.This glucose oxidase electrode was also tested as an anode in a glucose/O2 enzymatic biofuel cell, leading to a peak power density of 6μWcm−2 at a potential of 0.2V

Liturgical pharmacology : time of the question, complexity and ethics

Bernard Stiegler depicts technics as the human’s tertiary memory retention generating a pharmakon with both curative and malignant potential. He additionally rues the posthuman epoch’s depletion of a ‘time of the question’: revealed in the prevalent inaptitude for wisdom – scilicet long-term acuity. We offer Christian liturgy as an abeyant psychotechnique arcing the current pharmakon to cure through soliciting a ‘time of the question’. Rejuvenating Christian liturgy as a psychotechnique can bolster a broader societal ‘time of the question’. Firstly, we describe technic’s du jour mise on scène. Secondly, we constrain Christian liturgies as complex systems incorporating malleability, temporality, and instability. Thirdly, we imagine Christian liturgy as empty tradition allowing amateur repetition of ancient art enticing a ‘time of the question’.http://www.hts.org.zaam2016Procedural La