Perspectives and attitudes of South African medical professionals towards active euthanasia.

Background: Active euthanasia is a controversial subject both globally and in South Africa. Recent legal cases have kept this topic in the public discourse. Yet, there remains a dearth of quality local research on this issue.

Life Cycle Assessment of an Avocado: Grown in South Africa-Enjoyed in Europe.

Food production is known to have significant environmental impacts, with the main contributors residing in the farming and transportation life cycle phases. Of the various food products transported around the world, avocados have increasingly gained attention as a high-commodity superfood. Avocados require specific climatic and agricultural conditions for farming, with the most fertile land and conditions located outside Europe.

smAvo and smaTo: A fruity odyssey of smart sensor platforms in Southern Africa.

Avocado and tomato production are key agricultural sectors for many economies including South Africa. The quality of avocadoes and tomatoes that reach consumers is directly dependent on the handling at the postharvest stage. The fruit undergoes an extensive journey, and subsequently stress, comprised of several steps, including harvesting, application of postharvest treatments, packaging and transportation by road and sea to reach the export markets.

Shock index thresholds to predict adverse outcomes in maternal hemorrhage and sepsis: A prospective cohort study.

Introduction: Shock index (SI) is a predictor of hemodynamic compromise in obstetric patients. The SI threshold for action is not well understood. We aimed to evaluate SI thresholds as predictors of outcomes in obstetric patients.

The CRADLE vital signs alert: qualitative evaluation of a novel device designed for use in pregnancy by healthcare workers in low-resource settings.

Background: Vital signs measurement can identify pregnant and postpartum women who require urgent treatment or referral. In low-resource settings, healthcare workers have limited access to accurate vital signs measuring devices suitable for their environment and training. The CRADLE Vital Signs Alert (VSA) is a novel device measuring blood pressure and pulse that is accurate in pregnancy and designed for low-resource settings.

Early warning system hypertension thresholds to predict adverse outcomes in pre-eclampsia: A prospective cohort study.

Objectives: To evaluate the association between blood pressure (BP) measurements and adverse outcomes in women with pre-eclampsia.

Study Design: A prospective cohort study of women with pre-eclampsia admitted to three South African tertiary facilities. BP was measured using the CRADLE Vital Signs Alert (VSA), incorporated with a traffic light early warning system; green: systolic BP <140 mmHg and diastolic BP <90 mmHg, yellow: systolic BP 140-159 and/or diastolic BP 90-109 mmHg (but neither is above the upper threshold), red: systolic BP ≥160 mmHg and/or diastolic BP ≥110 mmHg.

Mild ovarian stimulation for in vitro fertilization: are we ready to change? A meta-analysis.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of mild ovarian stimulation versus conventional stimulation in in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Design: Meta-analysis.

Search Strategy: A systemic literature search was carried out for prospective randomised clinical trials.

PP136. Blood pressure patterns in pregnant women who developed pre-eclampsia or hypertension.

Introduction: Early recognition of pregnant women at risk of pre-eclampsia (PE) in developing countries is essential to ensure timely transfer to the appropriate level of care.

Objectives: Our aim was to determine the predictive value of blood pressure (BP) measurements taken in 4 week windows to identify women who will develop PE or new onset hypertension (NOHPT).

Methods: A prospective observational study.

Nevirapine plasma concentrations in premature infants exposed to single-dose nevirapine for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1.

Background: No pharmacokinetic data exist for premature infants receiving single-dose nevirapine (sd NVP) for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV.

Aim: To describe NVP decay pharmacokinetics in two groups of premature infants - those whose mothers either received or did not receive NVP during labour.

Methods: Infants less than 37 weeks' gestation were prospectively enrolled.

Total perinatally related losses at Tygerberg Hospital - a comparison between 1986, 1993 and 2006.

Objective: To determine the leading causes of perinatal deaths and to evaluate any changes, with the inclusion of placental histology.

Method: At perinatal mortality meetings, primary and final causes of death were assigned for the period 1 July 2006 - 30 June 2007. All singleton babies born to women residing in the metropolitan area serviced by Tygerberg Hospital were included in the prospective descriptive study.

Evidence for a photoprotective function of low-temperature-induced anthocyanin accumulation in apple and pear peel.

The light requirement and low-temperature stimulation of anthocyanin synthesis in peel of apple (Malus domestica) and pears (Pyrus communis) and the presence of anthocyanins in immature fruits are not congruent with a visual function in dispersal. We hypothesized that anthocyanins afford photoprotection to peel during low-temperature-induced light stress and that the protection is not a fortuitous side-effect of light absorption by anthocyanin. The extent of photoinhibition at harvest and after light stress treatment in pear cultivars differing in redness decreased with increasing red color on the sun-exposed sides of fruits.

Segmental nerve damage during a McBurney's incision: a cadaveric study.

Injury to the ilioinguinal and iliohypogastric nerves after a McBurney's incision have been reported to cause paralysis of the conjoint tendon that may lead to the development of an indirect inguinal hernia. This study reports on the incidence of ilioinguinal and iliohypogastric nerve sectioning after the performance of a classic McBurney's incision as well as the distance and relationship of the ilioinguinal and iliohypogastric nerves to the anterior superior iliac spine and a classic McBurney's incision. The right iliac fossa and lumbar region of 33 cadavers were dissected for the uncovering of the ilioinguinal and iliohypogastric nerves after a correct McBurney's incision was made.

Anthocyanins in vegetative tissues: a proposed unified function in photoprotection.

The function of anthocyanins in green, vegetative tissues has always been a contentious issue. Here we evaluate their proposed photoprotective function since recent findings have shown that anthocyanins reduce photoinhibition and photobleaching of chlorophyll under light stress conditions. Anthocyanins generally accumulate in peripheral tissues exposed to high irradiance, although there are some exceptions (e.

Umbilical cord blood gas analysis; a comparison of two simple methods of sample storage.

Umbilical cord vessel acid-base analysis is increasingly employed as an end-point in the study of ante-partum and intra-partum care. Delay in processing the sample can results in erroneous values as a result of gaseous diffusion and continuing metabolism. The effect of delay was investigated for samples stored in heparinized syringes at room temperature and simultaneously stored samples in double clamped cord segments.

Favorable neonatal outcome after fetal entrapment and partially successful Zavanelli maneuver in a case of breech presentation.

A 16-year-old primigravida woman presented in advanced labor with a singleton breech presentation. Vaginal delivery was considered to be possible, but entrapment at the level of the fetal thorax occurred. The Zavanelli maneuver was attempted unsuccessfully.

Does a nonreactive fetal heart rate pattern really mean fetal distress?

The aim of the study was to compare three different fetal heart rate (FHR) patterns, namely, a nonreactive pattern with good long-term variability (fluctuation of 5 or more beats/min), a reactive pattern, and a nonreactive pattern with poor long-term variability (less than 5 beats/min). For this purpose, nonstress tests done less than 24 hours before delivery and FHR patterns recorded during labor were separately assessed. Endpoints for comparison were 5-minute Apgar scores, intrauterine growth retardation, and umbilical blood gas values at birth.