High heterogeneity in the size distribution of the micellar fraction from in vitro digestions: sample preparation and reporting recommendations.

Background: Understanding the size and surface charge (ζ-potential) of particles in the mixed micellar fraction produced by in vitro digestion is crucial to understand their cellular absorption and transport. The inconsistent presentation of micellar size data, often limited to average particle diameter, makes comparison of studies difficult. The present study aimed to assess different size data representations (mean particle diameter, relative intensity- or volume-weighted size distribution) to better understand physiological mixed micelle characteristics and to provide recommendations for size reporting and sample handling.

HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis for men who have sex with men in west Africa: a multicountry demonstration study.

Background: HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) data in men who have sex with men (MSM) in west Africa are essential to guide its large-scale implementation. We assessed the uptake of event-driven and daily PrEP, HIV incidence, and changes over time in sexual behaviours and prevalence of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in MSM in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, and Togo.

Methods: We did a prospective cohort study from Nov 20, 2017, to April 14, 2020, in four community-based clinics in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire), Bamako (Mali), Lomé (Togo), and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso).

A descriptive study of the use of cardiac point of care ultrasound (PoCUS) in public emergency centres in Cape Town.

Introduction: The indications for cardiac point of care ultrasound (PoCUS) vary somewhat in different parts of the world, and training programs may also differ. We set out to describe the self-reported cardiac PoCUS indications and imaging windows used at a selection of secondary-level, public hospital emergency centres in Cape Town.

Methods: A descriptive study with prospective data collected from emergency centres of Mitchells Plain District, Victoria and New Somerset Hospitals in Cape Town were used.

Inflation of 430-parsec bipolar radio bubbles in the Galactic Centre by an energetic event.

The Galactic Centre contains a supermassive black hole with a mass of four million Suns within an environment that differs markedly from that of the Galactic disk. Although the black hole is essentially quiescent in the broader context of active galactic nuclei, X-ray observations have provided evidence for energetic outbursts from its surroundings. Also, although the levels of star formation in the Galactic Centre have been approximately constant over the past few hundred million years, there is evidence of increased short-duration bursts, strongly influenced by the interaction of the black hole with the enhanced gas density present within the ring-like central molecular zone at Galactic longitude |l| < 0.

Stabilized microwave-frequency transfer using optical phase sensing and actuation.

We present a stabilized microwave-frequency transfer technique that is based on optical phase sensing and optical phase actuation. This technique shares several attributes with optical-frequency transfer and, therefore, exhibits several advantages over other microwave-frequency transfer techniques. We demonstrated the stabilized transfer of an 8000 MHz microwave-frequency signal over a 166 km metropolitan optical fiber network, achieving a fractional frequency stability of 6.

Blood cultures taken from patients attending emergency departments in South Africa are an important antibiotic stewardship tool, which directly influences patient management.

Background: Febrile illness with suspected blood stream infection (BSI) is a common reason for admission to hospital in Africa and blood cultures are therefore an important investigation. Data on the prevalence and causes of community acquired BSI in Africa are scarce and there are no studies from South Africa. There are no validated clinical prediction rules for use of blood cultures in Africa.

Evaluation of the Sagittal Saw Blade as an Intraoperative Fomite During Diabetic Foot Surgery.

Unlabelled: Surgical site infection is a major potential complication of all operative interventions, and the diabetic foot is particularly at risk for bacterial recontamination and infectious sequelae. The objective of this study was to identify whether the sagittal saw blade used during partial foot amputations and diabetic foot debridements carries the potential to serve as a bacterial fomite. We physically cultured the sagittal saw blade during 20 foot debridements involving the resection of bone in patients diagnosed with a diabetic foot infection.

The relationship of denosumab pharmacology and osteonecrosis of the jaws.

Denosumab is a new bone antiresorptive agent that has received approval by the Food and Drug Administration for use in patients with osteoporosis and metastatic cancer to the bones. Like the bisphosponates that are used as antiresorptive medications, denosumab has been associated with osteonecrosis of the jaws (ONJ). However, because the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of denosumab differ from that of the bisphosphonates, ONJ related to denosumab may resolve more rapidly with a drug holiday than bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (BRONJ).

Angioarchitecture and treatment modalities in posttraumatic carotid cavernous fistulae.

Posttraumatic carotid cavernous fistulae are abnormal direct hole communications between the intracavernous carotid artery and the cavernous sinus that can result from both blunt and penetrating trauma. They can be challenging lesions to treat and a variety of modalities and approaches have been proposed since endovascular treatment has become the standard treatment. An analysis of the angioarchitecture of 32 consecutive patients treated in our service demonstrated that seven could be classified as small hole, eight medium and 17 large.

Normal anatomy of the extrinsic capsular wrist ligaments by 3-T MRI and high-resolution ultrasonography.

The anatomy of the extrinsic capsular wrist ligaments is complex. These ligaments are probably as important as the intrinsic interosseous ligaments for the maintenance of carpal stability. The extrinsic capsular wrist ligaments are frequently divided into dorsal, palmar, and collateral depending on their anatomical location.

Adequacy of the emergency point-of-care ultrasound core curriculum for the local burden of disease in South Africa.

Objective: This prospective cross-sectional study assesses the adequacy of the current South African emergency point-of-care ultrasound (EPCUS) core curriculum against the local burden of disease.

Method: Patients presenting to five Emergency Centres during July 2011 were eligible for inclusion. Patients under the age of 12, after-hour presentations, missing folders and folders with incomplete notes were excluded.

The simplified modification of diet in renal disease equation as a predictor of renal function after coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Background: After open-heart surgery, a percentage of patients have impaired renal function. This deterioration is even seen in patients with serum creatinine (s-creatinine) values that fall within the normal laboratory range, therefore s-creatinine is not an accurate reflection of renal function. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is a better indication of renal status.

New radiological typing system for rhinosinusitis and comparison with existing system: initial finding.

The objective of this study was to determine whether the proposed Malan radiological sinusitis typing (RST) system facilitated a level of agreement and ease of use comparable with the Lund-Mackay (LM) system for chronic rhinosinusitis. Ten observers (one otolaryngologist and nine radiologists), in two separate centres (regional and tertiary), blinded to all clinical data, used these two systems to independently and randomly score and type 15 sets of scans, recording the time to score each film. Using unweighted kappa scores, both methods facilitated a moderate level of agreement, slightly better with the LM system.

Threat to ethnic identity: the experience of White Afrikaans-speaking participants in postapartheid South Africa.

The dismantling of apartheid and the postapartheid dispensation had far-reaching implications for all the citizens of South Africa. In an urban sample of White Afrikaans-speaking South Africans (Afrikaners) in postapartheid South Africa, the authors investigated perceptions of threat to ethnic identity, as well as correlates of those perceptions. The respondents experienced threat on 2 levels: The 1st was distinctive continuity, the concern that their ethnic group would not continue as a distinctive group in society.

Susceptibility of immature Ixodes scapularis (Acari:Ixodidae) to plant-derived acaricides.

Plant-derived acaricides, extracted from various botanical species, and commercially available phytochemicals were evaluated for biological activity against immature Ixodes scapularis (Say) using the disposable pipet method. In addition, residual activity of the plant extracts was determined. Of the 13 plant extracts tested, 9 exhibited biological activity with Alaska yellow cedar, Chamaecyparis nootkatensis (D.

A prospective randomised study in limited disease small cell carcinoma--doxorubicin and vincristine plus either cyclophosphamide or etoposide.

A prospective randomised study was undertaken in patients with limited disease small cell carcinoma of the lung (SCCL), which compared doxorubicin, 50 mg/m2, and vincristine, 2 mg i.v. (intravenously) on day 1, with either cyclophosphamide, 800 mg/m2 on day 1 (CAV) or etoposide, 60 mg/m2 i.

A critical review of hypopharyngeal carcinomas--1975-1985.

Seventy-seven patients with hypopharyngeal carcinomas who presented to Groote Schuur Hospital between 1975 and 1985 are reviewed. Of these patients 76.6%, mostly with pyriform fossa tumours, had advanced disease.

Ostrich (Struthio camelus) immobilisation using carfentanil and xylazine and reversal with yohimbine and naltrexone.

Ostriches (Struthio camelus) (n = 20) were immobilised from a helicopter by darting with a total dose of 3 mg carfentanil and 150 mg xylazine. An initial excitement phase was displayed, commencing on average at 2.67 min (S.

Plants of the Olympic Coastal Forests: ancient knowledge of materials and medicines and future heritage.

The indigenous people of the west coast of Washington State's Olympic Peninsula have used a wide variety of forest plants for centuries to make materials and medicines. The late David Forlines shared at least eight generations of the knowledge of uses of these plants for materials and medicines with us in hopes that this information might be used 'to help science catch up with the old people.' Dyes, paints and adhesives were some of the materials made.

Mastoid surgery at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital 1986-1988.

Eighty-three children between ages 0-12 years had mastoid surgery in the three year period 1986-88. The indications were acute mastoiditis (30 children), uncontrolled chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) (24 children), cholesteatoma (22 children) and a miscellaneous group (7 children). Forty-seven per cent of those with acute mastoiditis were under one year but the 27 per cent with cholesteatoma as the precipitating cause were 4-12 years.

Long-term follow-up of coarctation of the aorta repaired by patch angioplasty.

The long-term complications of patch plasty repair for coarctation of the aorta were assessed retrospectively in 119 patients who were operated upon from 4 days to 13 years of age. There were 7 late deaths and 17 patients were lost to follow-up. Thus 95 patients were followed up for a minimum period of 3 years (mean 6.

Factors influencing drinking behavior in alcoholic panickers and non-panickers.

Male alcoholics who (a) experienced panic attacks prior to abusing alcohol, (b) experienced panic attacks subsequent to abusing alcohol, and (c) had not experienced panic attacks were compared on three sets of measures: the Panic Attack Questionnaire, the Restrained Drinking Scale, and the Inventory of Drinking Situations. The results showed that two groups of Ss who experienced panic attacks were more likely than non-panickers to use drugs other than alcohol, began drinking at an earlier age, had a greater proportion of parents with panic and alcohol related problems, had higher drinking restraint scores, and drank in more situations. The Ss who experienced panic attacks prior to abusing alcohol were more likely than the other groups to drink in situations similar to those related to agoraphobic fears.

Chronopharmacokinetics of paracetamol in normal subjects.

The chronopharmacokinetics of paracetamol was studied in six male volunteers. Serum concentrations of paracetamol were determined after a single oral dose of 1 g, on three occasions, spaced at least 1 week apart. Plasma drug concentration vs time curves were obtained after dosage at 08.

Oxprenolol plus ethanol causes no central nervous system depression--a comparison with lorazepam plus ethanol.

Oxprenolol, a fat-soluble beta-adrenergic blocker, promoted as an anxiolytic agent to alleviate peripheral symptoms associated with anxiety, and lorazepam, a 1,4-benzodiazepine anxiolytic drug, may both depress central nervous system (CNS) function. It is generally accepted that ethanol, when concurrently ingested, potentiates the CNS-depressant effects of drugs. The effects on CNS function of oxprenolol, lorazepam and placebo alone and in combination with ethanol were determined by a Leeds Psychomotor Tester and we concluded that oxprenolol in combination with ethanol is less hazardous to people operating power tools/machines or driving motor vehicles than the combination of lorazepam with ethanol.