Altered fatty acid metabolism due to rifampicin-resistance conferring mutations in the rpoB Gene of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: mapping the potential of pharmaco-metabolomics for global health and personalized medicine.

Abstract We investigated the use of gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) metabolomics to better characterize rifampicin-resistance by comparing the fatty acid metabolomes of two rpoB mutant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains (S522L and S531L) to that of a fully susceptible wild-type parent strain. Using the generated GC-MS metabolite data, principal component analysis (PCA) showed a clear differentiation between all three sample groups analyzed. We subsequently identified those metabolites contributing most to the variation in the data using PCA and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA).

Effects of different soil ameliorants on karee trees (Searsia lancea) growing on mine tailings dump soil-part I: pot trials.

Rehabilitation of mine tailings dams is often a challenge due to a lack of nutrients and a poor humus reservoir prevailing in tailings soils. This is especially true for establishing longer lived species such as trees. For these reasons the effects of different soil ameliorants (woodchips compost, vermicompost, mature sewage sludge), added to the root system of Karee (Searsia lancea) saplings were tested in pot trials.

Practice environment, job satisfaction and burnout of critical care nurses in South Africa.

Aim: To describe the practice environment, job satisfaction and burnout of critical-care nurses (CCNs) in South Africa (SA) and the relationship between these variables.

Background: CCNs are more sensitive to job satisfaction and burnout, and several studies have been published on the relationship between these variables. However, the research that was undertaken did not focus exclusively on the practice environment of CCNs or the context of SA.

Clinical variability of isovaleric acidemia in a genetically homogeneous population.

Isovaleric acidemia (IVA) is one of the most common organic acidemias found in South Africa. Since 1983, a significant number of IVA cases have been identified in approximately 20,000 Caucasian patients screened for metabolic defects. IVA is caused by an autosomal recessive deficiency of isovaleryl-CoA dehydrogenase (IVD) resulting in the accumulation of isovaleryl-CoA and its metabolites.

Increased excretion of c4-carnitine species after a therapeutic acetylsalicylic Acid dose: evidence for an inhibitory effect on short-chain Fatty Acid metabolism.

Acetylsalicylic acid and/or its metabolites are implicated to have various effects on metabolism and, especially, on mitochondrial function. These effects include both inhibitory and stimulatory effects. We investigated the effect of both combined and separate oral acetylsalicylic acid and acetaminophen administration at therapeutic doses on the urinary metabolite profile of human subjects.

Rural and urban older African caregivers coping with HIV/AIDS are nutritionally compromised.

This article describes the nutritional status of a group of rural and urban free living African older surrogate parents caring for HIV/AIDS orphans and grandchildren. Multiple sources of data collection were used, including anthropometry, biochemical analyses, and quantitative questionnaires. The diets of these older participants were marginal.

Metabotropic and ionotropic glutamate receptors as neurobiological targets in anxiety and stress-related disorders: focus on pharmacology and preclinical translational models.

Anxiety disorders are amongst the most common and disabling of psychiatric illnesses and have severe health and socio-economic implications. Despite the availability of a number of treatment options there is still a strong medical need for novel and improved pharmacological approaches in treating these disorders. New developments at the forefront of preclinical research have begun to identify the therapeutic potential of molecular entities integral to the biological response to adversity, particularly molecules and processes that may pre-determine vulnerability or resilience, and those that may act to switch off or "unlearn" a response to an aversive event.

Blood glucose and nocturnal blood pressure in African and Caucasian men: The SABPA study.

Aim: To investigate the relationship between nocturnal blood pressure and chronically elevated blood glucose to determine if these elevated blood glucose concentrations contribute to a non-dipping blood pressure, especially in high-risk groups such as Africans.

Methods: Nocturnal blood pressures and blood glucose levels of 41 non-dipping African and 28 non-dipping Caucasian men were investigated. Ambulatory systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured and blood collected in sodium fluoride tubes from the antebrachial vein to determine serum glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) percentage.

Revegetation of a uranium mine dump by using fertilizer treated sessile oaks.

The rehabilitation of contaminated sites and the establishment of suitable trees for revegetation purposes is often problematic due to the mostly suboptimal nutrient supply and the poor humus reservoir. For these reasons hydrogels (Stockosorb) and novel humus substitutes (NOVIHUM), serving as long lasting fertilizer (LLF), were recently tested successfully. At the beginning of this multiyear study, those LLFs were administered to the root zone of young sessile oaks (Quercus petraea (Mattuschka) Liebl.

Arterial stiffness, ambulatory blood pressure and low-grade albuminuria in non-diabetic African and Caucasian men: the SABPA study.

Recent evidence suggests that low-grade urinary albumin excretion is a marker of early general attenuation of vascular function, but studies are limited to Caucasian population groups. We compared low-grade urinary albumin excretion (<3.5 mg mmol(-1) or 30 μg mg(-1)) between non-diabetic African (aged, 41.

Cortico-striatal oxidative status, dopamine turnover and relation with stereotypy in the deer mouse.

The deer mouse presents with spontaneous stereotypic movements that resemble the repetitive behaviours of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and demonstrates a selective response to serotonin reuptake inhibitors. OCD has been linked to altered redox status and since increased dopamine signalling can promote stereotypies as well as oxidative stress, we investigated whether the severity of deer mouse stereotypy may be associated with altered dopamine turnover and cortico-striatal redox status. Deer mice were separated into high (HSB), low (LSB) and non-stereotypy (NS) groups.

Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) is associated with metabolic changes in HIV-1-infected Africans: a prospective study.

Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) is associated with inflammation and may predict lipodystrophy and dysmetabolism in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals on antiretroviral therapy. We aimed to assess firstly, whether suPAR levels are elevated in treated and untreated HIV-1-infected Africans compared to uninfected controls at baseline and at a 3-year follow-up, and secondly whether suPAR levels are correlated with cardiovascular and/or metabolic changes. SuPAR, cardiovascular, and metabolic variables were assessed and the percentage change was determined.

Associations between reactive oxygen species, blood pressure and arterial stiffness in black South Africans: the SABPA study.

Many mechanisms, including oxidative stress, contribute to hypertension. This study investigated the possible associations between oxidative stress, blood pressure and arterial stiffness in black South Africans. Ambulatory blood pressure measurements were taken for 101 black South African men and 99 women.

Point-of-use micronutrient fortification: lessons learned in implementing a preschool-based pilot trial in South Africa.

This current pilot trial assessed the feasibility of implementing a point-of-use (PoU) micronutrient fortification in preschool settings. Preschool children (n = 151) aged 36-79 months were randomized into intervention (n = 76) and control (n = 75) groups, both receiving breakfast maize-porridge with added micronutrient or placebo powder for 52 school days. Process evaluation and early childhood development indicators were used to assess trial feasibility.

Role of monoamine oxidase, nitric oxide synthase and regional brain monoamines in the antidepressant-like effects of methylene blue and selected structural analogues.

Dual action antidepressants have important therapeutic implications. Methylene blue (MB), a charged compound structurally related to tricyclic antidepressants, acts on both monoamine oxidase (MAO) and the nitric oxide (NO)-cGMP pathway, and has demonstrated antidepressant activity in rodents. We investigated the antidepressant properties of MB and selected structural analogues and whether their actions involve MAO, NO synthase (NOS) and regional brain monoamines.

Compassion fatigue within nursing practice: a concept analysis.

"Compassion fatigue" was first introduced in relation to the study of burnout among nurses, but it was never defined within this context; it has since been adopted as a synonym for secondary traumatic stress disorder, which is far removed from the original meaning of the term. The aim of the study was to define compassion fatigue within nursing practice. The method that was used in this article was concept analysis.

Serum calcium revisited: associations with 24-h ambulatory blood pressure and cardiovascular reactivity in Africans.

Sub-Saharan Africans face an increasing burden of hypertension. Although controversial, recent experimental evidence strongly suggests that serum calcium contributes to elevated blood pressure through increased vascular resistance. We investigated the associations of 24-h blood pressure and cardiovascular reactivity with serum calcium in African men stratified by age.

A significant decline in IGF-I may predispose young Africans to subsequent cardiometabolic vulnerability.

Objectives: Low serum IGF-I is an independent risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. These noncommunicable diseases are extremely common in urban black South Africans, but their IGF-I concentration is unknown. We aimed to compare serum IGF-I concentrations of African and Caucasian people, investigate their age-related IGF-I decline, and determine whether IGF-I could account, at least in part, for the high prevalence of noncommunicable diseases in black Africans.

Dimethylarginines: their vascular and metabolic roles in Africans and Caucasians.

Objective: Alarming increases in hypertension and type 2 diabetes among Africans accentuate the need to identify factors that could serve as targets for prevention or treatment. In Caucasian populations, asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), the predominant endogenous nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, is associated with cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance (IR). ADMA's counterpart, symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA), originally thought to be inert, was recently also linked with cardiovascular risk.

Blood glutathione and subclinical atherosclerosis in African men: the SABPA Study.

Background: Sub-Saharan Africans face an increasing burden of hypertension and related cardiac and cerebrovascular morbidity and mortality, making the identification of factors leading to early vascular abnormalities imperative.

Methods: We investigated the possible influence of the antioxidant glutathione (GSH) on early subclinical atherosclerosis in 63 hypertensive (aged 45.2 years) and 34 normotensive (aged 38.

Changes in coronary heart disease risk profile of adults with intellectual disabilities following a physical activity intervention.

Background: Regular physical activity is one of the modifiable risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD). With an increasing age profile and similar patterns of morbidity to the general population, persons with intellectual disabilities (ID) and their caregivers would benefit from data that indicate CHD risk factors. Knowledge of the CHD risk factors and the changes a physical activity intervention may have on theses risk factors will facilitate future intervention programmes.

Cortico-striatal cyclic AMP-phosphodiesterase-4 signalling and stereotypy in the deer mouse: attenuation after chronic fluoxetine treatment.

Motor stereotypies, described as repetitive, topographically invariant and seemingly purposeless behaviours, are common to several developmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. While drug induced stereotypy has been extensively studied, the neurobiology of spontaneous stereotypy is poorly understood. Deer mice present with naturalistic stereotypic behaviours that are selectively suppressed by fluoxetine.

Expectations of postgraduate nursing students: an inquiry.

Postgraduate supervision in South Africa currently takes place in the context of university transformation with a notable increase in concern for quality. The latter is determined by the extent to which students' expectations within a supervisory practice are met. This study investigated students' expectations regarding their research supervision in a postgraduate nursing programme.

Nitric oxide synthase inhibition by pentacycloundecane conjugates of aminoguanidine and tryptamine.

This paper describes the synthesis and in-vitro activity of pentacycloundecane-conjugated aminoguanidine and tryptamine analogues on nitric oxide synthase (NOS) using rat brain homogenate. Both aminoguanidine and tryptamine-derived NOS inhibitors show selectivity towards the inducible and neuronal isoforms of the NOS enzyme, but are weak inhibitors and complete inhibition of the enzyme occurs only at high millimolar concentrations. In view of the increased NOS inactivation observed with alkyl substitution of these structures, the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of the pentacycloundecane cage moiety as an alkyl substituent on the in vitro NOS inhibition of aminoguanidine and tryptamine compounds.

Classifying Africans with the metabolic syndrome.

This study was aimed to compare prevalences of the metabolic syndrome in Africans using five definitions as proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Group for the Study of Insulin Resistance (EGIR), the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults [Adult Treatment Panel (ATPIII)], the American College of Endocrinology (ACE), and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). A further objective was to identify difficulties in classifying Africans with the metabolic syndrome and to suggest specific areas where criteria adjustments for identifying Africans should be made. A case-case-control cross-sectional study involved 102 urban African women.