Importance of Scar Prevention and Treatment-An Approach From Wound Care Principles.

Background: The increased number of cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures has led to a greater demand to achieve aesthetically acceptable scars. Silicone gel (SG) dressings were evaluated in these cases following the principles of wound care and also minimizing abnormal scar formation.

Patients And Methods: A newly developed solution in wound care in the form of a SG has proven to be a highly effective treatment for a series of 4 clinically challenging cases presented in this article: postprocedure healing after a laser treatment, nonhealing scalp wounds, chronic relapsing xerotic eczematous cheilitis, and the treatment of scars caused by third degree burns.

Kinetic and high-pressure mechanistic investigation of the aqua substitution in the trans-aquaoxotetracyano complexes of re(v) and tc(v): some implications for nuclear medicine.

A kinetic study of the aqua substitution in the [TcO(OH(2))(CN)(4)](-) complex by different thiourea ligands (TU = thiourea, NMTU = N-methyl thiourea, NNDMTU = N, N'-dimethylthiourea) yielded second-order formation rate constants (25 degrees C) as follows [NNDMTU, NMTU, TU, respectively]: k(f) = 11.5 +/- 0.1, 11.

True acquired left ventricular aneurysms in childhood.

Aim: True left ventricular aneurysms are rarely encountered in childhood. Etiological factors are varied and often indeterminable. There is a paucity of literature detailing the surgical techniques used to repair pediatric aneurysms.

Yeasts as adjunct starters in matured Cheddar cheese.

Debaryomyces hansenii and Yarrowia lipolytica are typical foodborne yeast species frequently associated with dairy products and capable of predominating the yeast composition in such systems. The two species fulfil a number of criteria to be regarded as co-starters for cheesemaking. They are known for their proteolytic and lipolytic activity as well as their compatibility and stimulating action with the lactic acid starter cultures when co-inoculated.

Constitutional values and HIV/AIDS in the workplace: reflections on Hoffman v. South African Airways.

South Africa is experiencing an HIV/AIDS epidemic of enormous proportions. The workplace, like all the other sectors, is adversely affected. The tendency of a significant proportion of employers has been to discriminate against employees and job applicants living with HIV/AIDS through the use of HIV testing to exclude those that are HIV-positive.

Rhinitis (allergic and nonallergic) in an atopic pediatric referral population in the grasslands of inland South Africa.

Background: Allergic rhinitis is a common condition, which causes considerable morbidity. South African data are scarce.

Objective: We sought to describe allergic rhinitis in atopic children in inland South Africa.

Adapting to and implementing a problem- and community-based approach to nursing education.

The process of change, implemented by the School of Nursing at the University of the Orange Free State so that a paradigm shift in approaches to nursing education at undergraduate level could be achieved, is outlined. The necessity to change, the identification of external and internal variables that impact on change, the founding of a support system, the process of overcoming resistance to change, the evaluation of the process of change and options for the future, are discussed. The rationale for the implementation of a problem-based teaching strategy and the phasing in of a community-based approach to teaching as the heart of the process of change are discussed.

Beneficial effects of blood donation on high density lipoprotein concentration and the oxidative potential of low density lipoprotein.

According to some authors blood donors have a lower risk of cardiovascular incidents. This may be associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease reported by some authors, as well as with the oxidative changes caused by iron. The aim of this study was to determine, what happens to some of the factors contributing to atherosclerosis after the lowering of body iron.

An isoflavanoid-neoflavonoid and an O-methylated isoflavone from the heartwood of Dalbergia nitidula.

An isoflavanoid (6-->2) neoflavonoid dimer and a 4',5',7-trihydroxy-2'-methoxyisoflavone, both as the acetate derivatives were isolated from the heartwood of Dalbergia nitidula. Their structures were established by spectroscopic methods.

Bioprospecting for novel hydroxyoxylipins in fungi: presence of 3-hydroxy palmitic acid in Saccharomycopsis malanga.

Electron microscopy studies indicated that the major oxylipin 3-hydroxy palmitic acid (16:0) was associated with aggregating vegetative cells and formed a web-like structure around these cells. Cross sections through this structure showed a hydrophilic outer layer and a more hydrophobic inner layer suggesting that the web-like structure is in fact tube-like micelles. This information sheds more light on the role of these hydroxyoxylipins in fungi.

Bioprospecting for novel oxylipins in fungi: the presence of 3-hydroxy oxylipins in Pilobolus.

As previously found in various members of the Mucorales, 3-hydroxy oxylipins in Mucor genevensis are associated with the sporangia, i.e. mainly the columella structure and between aggregating sporangiospores.

National policy on testing for HIV in South Africa: an urgent need.

No National Policy exists in South Africa for the testing of persons who may be infected by HIV/AIDS. A Draft National Policy on Testing for HIV was published in the Government Gazette by the Minister of Health for commentary in December 1999. The policy provides for the following: circumstances under which HIV testing may be conducted; informed consent, pre-test and post-test counselling; and the interpretation of the policy.

An update on human ehrlichioses.

Recent applications of molecular approaches to research on ehrlichias have significantly advanced our understanding of the organisms and the diseases they cause. Most of this research has taken place in the USA and Europe where three new species of Ehrlichia that are pathogenic in people have been discovered in the last 15 years. There is still, however, little information on ehrlichia in Africa although limited studies have shown the organisms may be important pathogens on the continent.

13C and (15)N NMR Mechanistic Study of Cyanide Exchange on Oxotetracyanometalate Complexes of Re(V), Tc(V), W(IV), Mo(IV), and Os(VI).

A range of complexes with general formula [MO(X)(CN)(4)](n)()(-) of W(IV), Mo(IV), Re(V), Tc(V), and Os(VI) were prepared and characterized by (13)C, (15)N, (17)O, and (99)Tc NMR, utilizing (13)C- and (15)N-enriched cyano complexes. A correlation between M-O and M-CN bond strength from X-ray crystallographic data and |(1)J((183)W-(13)C)| coupling is reported. The cyanide (HCN/CN(-)) exchange kinetics on the trans-dioxotetracyanometalate complexes and protonated/substituted ([MO(X)(CN)(4)](n)()(-)) forms thereof were studied in aqueous medium.

The interaction between yeasts and bacteria in dairy environments.

The general environment from which raw dairy products originate and the microbiological quality of the products in its processed state inevitably admit yeast growth and spoilage. Only part of the primary microflora survives under the selective pressures exerted by the intrinsic and extrinsic biotic factors present, processing procedures and preservatives. Yeasts that possess the proper physiological attributes to counteract the specific ecological determinants will be favored.

Polyaspartamides as water-soluble drug carriers. Part 1: Antineoplastic activity of ferrocene-containing polyaspartamide conjugates.

Background: Numerous detrimental side effects and/or lack of water-solubility of anticancer drugs often prove dose-limiting in chemotherapy. Water-soluble polymeric drug carriers may overcome/minimise many of these limitations.

Materials And Methods: Aspartic acid polymers to which ferrocene-containing antineoplastic agents are covalently bound, were tested for cytotoxicity against murine EMT-6 cancer cells.

Further offences by discharged psychiatric patients--can somebody be held liable?

The decision to release a state patient who is unfit to stand trial and/or not criminally responsible, who had been committed to a mental institution in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act or who was held in terms of section 28 of the Mental Health Act, may have harmful or even fatal consequences. The multi-professional team at Oranje Hospital will only institute discharge procedures regulated in terms of section 29 of the Mental Health Act when it is of the opinion that a state patient's mental illness is stable and well-controlled and his clinical picture is such that he qualifies to be discharged. In this discussion focus will be placed on: a.

Complications associated with cesarean section in HIV-infected patients.

Objective: To document complications associated with cesarean section in HIV-infected women.

Method: A cross-sectional study was done on 307 women who delivered by cesarean section. All these patients, irrespective of their HIV-status, were managed according to the same preset protocol.

Structure and stereochemistry of triflavanoids containing both ether and carbon-carbon interflavanyl bonds.

The first triflavanoids with both C-C and C-O-C interflavanyl bonds, epioritin-(4beta-->6)-epioritin-(4alpha-->4)-epioritin-4beta-ol, epioritin-(4beta-->3)-epioritin-(4beta-->6)-epioritin-4beta-ol and epioritin-(4beta-->3)-epioritin-(4beta-->6)-epimesquitol-4alpha-ol, were identified in the heartwood of Acacia caffra. The ethereal interflavanyl bond is readily susceptible to reductive cleavage with sodium cyanoborohydride in trifluoroacetic acid/dichloromethane which hence permits the unequivocal assignment of the absolute configuration of constituent flavanyl units.

Tumours and cancers in Graeco-Roman times.

In Graeco-Roman times all tumours (Greek: onkoi, abnormal swellings) were considered to be of inflammatory origin, the result of unfavourable humoural fluxes, and caused by an extravascular outpouring of fluid into tissue spaces. The neoplastic nature of tumours is a more recent concept, barely two centuries old. In Hippocratic literature tumours were mainly classified as karkinômata, phumata, and oidêmata.

Predicting the learning and consultation time in a computerized primary healthcare clinic.

Managers would like to know how long it takes healthcare service providers to achieve the same throughput of patients per day that they were used to with a pen-and-paper system. This study has been undertaken to derive a model for predicting the time it takes a service provider from a previously disadvantaged community to enter a patient's record in terms of his or her experience and the number of data units that have to be captured. A model was also derived to predict the average consultation time in terms of the number of data units that are captured by an experienced service provider.

Purification and identification of active antibacterial components in Carpobrotus edulis L.

Very little is known about the chemical composition of Carpobrotus edulis, also known as Hotnotsfig or sourfig. However, some claims have been made in the past by traditional healers, regarding its usage as a medicinal plant. In this investigation it was initially illustrated that a crude methanolic extract of the plant exhibits strong anti-bacterial activity.

Fanconi anemia. a statistical evaluation of cytogenetic results obtained from South African families.

Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder showing progressive bone marrow failure, and various phenotypic abnormalities. The lymphocytes show an increased sensitivity to the clastogenic agents diepoxybutane (DEB) or mytomycin C (MMC), measured as chromosomal aberrations. Statistical analysis of chromosome aberration yield showed that: (i) differentiation between obligate carriers and the control group was not possible; (ii) homozygotes were clearly distinguishable from heterozygotes as well as from controls by analyzing only 20 metaphase spreads per person; (iii) most of the FA patients had only one cell line present as measured by distribution of chromosomal damage among cells analyzed; (iv) and when the DEB sensitivity of a patient was high, the amount of cells without damage was low.

Genetic parameter estimates for pre-weaning weight traits in Dorper sheep.

Genetic parameters were estimated for birth-, 42-day, and 100-day (weaning) weight in the Dorper flock of the Glen Agricultural Institute in South Africa. Direct heritability estimates of 0.11, 0.