Non-prescription sale and dispensing of antibiotics in community pharmacies in Zambia.

Background: In Zambia, antibiotics are categorized as prescription-only medicines. Antibiotics dispensed without a prescription pose a public health threat, which is a concern. Consequently, the aim is to ascertain the extent of non-prescription sales and dispensing of antibiotics in community pharmacies in Zambia.

Interactions between Bt crops and aquatic ecosystems: A review.

The term Bt crops collectively refers to crops that have been genetically modified to include a gene (or genes) sourced from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) bacteria. These genes confer the ability to produce proteins toxic to certain insect pests. The interaction between Bt crops and adjacent aquatic ecosystems has received limited attention in research and risk assessment, despite the fact that some Bt crops have been in commercial use for 20 yr.

The α2C-adrenoceptor antagonist, ORM-10921, has antipsychotic-like effects in social isolation reared rats and bolsters the response to haloperidol.

Early studies suggest that selective α2C-adrenoceptor (AR)-antagonism has anti-psychotic-like and pro-cognitive properties. However, this has not been demonstrated in an animal model of schizophrenia with a neurodevelopmental construct. The beneficial effects of clozapine in refractory schizophrenia and associated cognitive deficits have, among others, been associated with its α2C-AR modulating activity.

Associations between Common Variants in Iron-Related Genes with Haematological Traits in Populations of African Ancestry.

Background: Large genome-wide association (GWA) studies of European ancestry individuals have identified multiple genetic variants influencing iron status. Studies on the generalizability of these associations to African ancestry populations have been limited. These studies are important given interethnic differences in iron status and the disproportionate burden of iron deficiency among African ancestry populations.

Cerebrospinal fluid in tuberculous meningitis exhibits only the L-enantiomer of lactic acid.

Background: The defining feature of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collected from infants and children with tuberculous meningitis (TBM), derived from an earlier untargeted nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics study, was highly elevated lactic acid. Undetermined was the contribution from host response (L-lactic acid) or of microbial origin (D-lactic acid), which was set out to be determined in this study.

Methods: In this follow-up study, we used targeted ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS/MS) to determine the ratio of the L and D enantiomers of lactic acid in these CSF samples.

Medicine possession ratio as proxy for adherence to antiepileptic drugs: prevalence, associations, and cost implications.

Objective: To determine the adherence status to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) among epilepsy patients; to observe the association between adherence status and age, sex, active ingredient prescribed, treatment period, and number of comorbidities; and to determine the effect of nonadherence on direct medicine treatment cost of AEDs.

Methods: A retrospective study analyzing medicine claims data obtained from a South African pharmaceutical benefit management company was performed. Patients of all ages (N=19,168), who received more than one prescription for an AED, were observed from 2008 to 2013.

'Global health' and 'global nursing': proposed definitions from The Global Advisory Panel on the Future of Nursing.

Aims: To propose definitions of global health and global nursing that reflect the new paradigm that integrates domestic and international health.

Background: Increased globalization has led to expanded awareness of the importance of global health and global nursing among students and faculty in the health professions and among policymakers and practitioners.

Design: Discussion paper that includes a discussion and review of the literature related to global health and global nursing.

Of mice and marbles: Novel perspectives on burying behavior as a screening test for psychiatric illness.

Burying forms part of the normal behavioral routine of rodents, although its expression is species-specific. However, it has been suggested that aberrant burying behavior, of which marble-burying (MB) is an example, may represent neophobic and/or compulsive-like behavior. In the present investigation, we assessed MB in an established animal model of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)-namely, spontaneous stereotypy in the deer mouse-to establish whether high (H) stereotypy is associated with neophobia and/or another compulsive endophenotype, i.

Repurposing of antiparasitic drugs: the hydroxy-naphthoquinone buparvaquone inhibits vertical transmission in the pregnant neosporosis mouse model.

The three anti-malarial drugs artemiside, artemisone, and mefloquine, and the naphthoquinone buparvaquone known to be active against theileriosis in cattle and Leishmania infections in rodents, were assessed for activity against Neospora caninum infection. All four compounds inhibited the proliferation of N. caninum tachyzoites in vitro with IC50 in the sub-micromolar range, but artemisone and buparvaquone were most effective (IC50 = 3 and 4.

Social behavior in deer mice as a novel interactive paradigm of relevance for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Greater obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptom severity may be associated with poor social adjustment. Rather than possessing deficits in social skill per se, OCD patients may be more socially isolative in the presence of normal controls. We aimed to apply a novel social interaction challenge (SIC) to an established animal model of OCD, viz.

Variable selection for binary classification using error rate p-values applied to metabolomics data.

Background: Metabolomics datasets are often high-dimensional though only a limited number of variables are expected to be informative given a specific research question. The important task of selecting informative variables can therefore become complex. In this paper we look at discriminating between two groups.

Cost-Effectiveness Modelling of Sofosbuvir-Containing Regimens for Chronic Genotype 5 Hepatitis C Virus Infection in South Africa.

Background: The recently launched nucleotide polymerase inhibitor sofosbuvir represents a significant turn in the treatment paradigm of chronic hepatitis C. While effective, sofosbuvir is also associated with a considerable cost.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the cost effectiveness of sofosbuvir-containing regimens in treatment-naive patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 5 (HCV-G5) mono-infection in South Africa (SA).

A greenhouse trial to investigate the ameliorative properties of biosolids and plants on physicochemical conditions of iron ore tailings: Implications for an iron ore mine site remediation.

An iron ore mine site in Swaziland is currently (2015) in a derelict state as a consequence of past (1964-1988) and present (2011 - current) iron ore mining operations. In order to control problems associated with mine wastes, the Swaziland Water Services Corporation (SWSC) recently (2013) proposed the application of biosolids in sites degraded by mining operations. It is thought that this practice could generally improve soil conditions and enhance plant reestablishment.

Reliability and validity of the 6-min walk test in adults and seniors with intellectual disabilities.

Introduction: Adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) have significantly lower rates of physical activity and fitness than adults without ID. The 6-min walk test (6 MWT) is an inexpensive and simple way to test mobility and submaximal work capacity.

Purpose: To evaluate the test-retest reliability and validity of the 6 MWT in adults and seniors with ID and explore factors contributing to the 6 MWT distance (6 MWD).

Inflammation as Possible Mediator for the Relationship Between Lung and Arterial Function.

Introduction: Reduced lung function is associated with a risk for the development of cardiovascular disease. This association may be due to chronic inflammation which is often present in those with reduced lung function.

Purpose: We investigated the possible role of systemic inflammation as the mediator between lung function and arterial stiffness in 1534 black South Africans.

-Butanol derived from biochemical and chemical routes: A review.

Traditionally, bio-butanol is produced with the ABE (Acetone Butanol Ethanol) process using species to ferment sugars from biomass. However, the route is associated with some disadvantages such as low butanol yield and by-product formation (acetone and ethanol). On the other hand, butanol can be directly produced from ethanol through aldol condensation over metal oxides/ hydroxyapatite catalysts.

A hypothetical astrocyte-microglia lactate shuttle derived from a H NMR metabolomics analysis of cerebrospinal fluid from a cohort of South African children with tuberculous meningitis.

Tuberculosis meningitis (TBM) is the most severe form of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis and is particularly intense in small children; there is no universally accepted algorithm for the diagnosis and substantiation of TB infection, which can lead to delayed intervention, a high risk factor for morbidity and mortality. In this study a proton magnetic resonance (H NMR)-based metabolomics analysis and several chemometric methods were applied to data generated from lumber cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from three experimental groups: (1) South African infants and children with confirmed TBM, (2) non-meningitis South African infants and children as controls, and (3) neurological controls from the Netherlands. A total of 16 NMR-derived CSF metabolites were identified, which clearly differentiated between the controls and TBM cases under investigation.

In vitro effects of new artemisinin derivatives in Neospora caninum-infected human fibroblasts.

From a panel of 34 artemisinin derivatives tested in vitro, artemisone, GC007 and GC012 were most efficacious at inhibiting Neospora caninum replication (IC50 values of 3-54nM), did not notably impair the invasiveness of tachyzoites and were non-toxic for human foreskin fibroblasts (HFFs). Transmission electron microscopy of drug-treated N. caninum-infected HFFs demonstrated severe alterations in the parasite cytoplasm, changes in the composition of the matrix of the parasitophorous vacuole (PV) and diminished integrity of the PV membrane.

Low BMI is inversely associated with arterial stiffness in Africans.

In low socio-economic status communities in South Africa, African men showed a low BMI. Data on the effect of low BMI on cardiovascular function are scant. The present study aimed to assess the associations between low BMI and markers of cardiovascular function such as pulse wave velocity (PWV) and blood pressure in Africans aged 35-65 years, with low socio-economic status.

The association between dyslipidemia and anthropometric indicators in black and white adolescents residing in Tlokwe Municipality, North-West Province, South Africa: the PAHL study.

Background: The dyslipidemia associated with excess weight is a risk for cardiovascular disease. Worldwide and in South Africa adolescent obesity has been reported.

Objectives: To determine the association between dyslipidemia and anthropometric indices in black and white adolescents.

A revision of the genus Conicofrontia Hampson (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Apameini, Sesamiina), with description of a new species: new insights from morphological, ecological and molecular data.

The aim of this study was to review the species of Conicofrontia Hampson, a small genus of noctuid stem borers (Noctuidae, Apameini) that is distributed in East and Southeastern Africa. We review the morphology of species in this group and provide new diagnoses and ecological data for five species. The following taxonomic changes are proposed: Hygrostola dallolmoi (Berio, 1973) (= Conicofrontia dallolmoi Berio, 1973) comb.

Obesity and metabolomics: metallothioneins protect against high-fat diet-induced consequences in metallothionein knockout mice.

Obesity continues to rise as an alarming global epidemic. System level mechanisms, diagnostics, and therapeutics are sorely needed so as to identify at risk individuals and design appropriate population scale interventions. The present study evaluated the protective role of metallothioneins (MTs) against obesity and high-fat diet-induced effects such as insulin resistance in both male and female MT-1+2 knockout and MT-3 knockout mice.

Cornell product relates to albuminuria in hypertensive black adults independently of blood pressure: the SABPA study.

Evidence of the relationship between left ventricular hypertrophy and urinary albumin excretion is contradictory and limited in black adults in whom hypertensive heart disease is common. We aimed to investigate the relationship between subclinical left ventricular hypertrophy and albuminuria in non-diabetic hypertensive blacks. Urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) was determined from 8-hour overnight urine collection.

Non-nursing tasks, nursing tasks left undone and job satisfaction among professional nurses in South African hospitals.

Aim: To investigate the relationship between non-nursing tasks (NNTs), nursing tasks left undone (NTLU) and job satisfaction among professional nurses (PNs) in South Africa (SA).

Background: This study adds to the international debate about the relationship between non-nursing tasks, nursing tasks left undone and job satisfaction by studying the variables at individual nurse and hospital unit level.

Method: A cross-sectional survey design of 1166 PNs in 60 medical and surgical units in 55 private hospitals and seven public hospitals.