Search

This paper presents a review of numerous items of published literature on the use of spatial technology for malaria epidemiology in South Africa between 1930 and 2013. In particular, focus is on the use of statistical and mathematical models as well as geographic information science (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) technology for malaria research. First, the review takes cognisance of the use of predictive models to determine the association between climatic factors and malaria epidemics only in KwaZulu-Natal province. Similar studies in other endemic regions such as Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces have not been reported in the literature. While the integration of GIS with remote sensing has the potential of identifying, characterising, and monitoring breeding habitats and mapping malaria risk areas in South Africa, studies on the application of spatial technology in malaria research and control in South Africa are inexhaustive and have not been reported in the literature. As a result, a critical robust malaria warning system, which uses GIS and RS in South Africa, is yet to be realised. It is recommended that the wide range of datasets available from different sources including RS and global positioning systems (GPS) ought to be integrated into a GIS system, which is a core spatial technology vital for understanding the epidemiological processes of malaria and hence support in decision-making in malaria control.

Munc13-1 may be a key factor in regulating insulin exocytosis, but its exact expression and role have not been clarified yet, especially during pancreatic development. We attempted to investigate the expression and function of Munc13-1 during embryonic pancreatic development in rats and determine the effects on insulin secretion. In the present study, pancreata of rats at embryonic day 12.5 (E12.5), E15.5, E18.5, new-born, 21 after birth (P21), and adult stage were dissected under microscope. The rat model of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) was made by 50% calorie restriction in pregnant rats from gestational day 15 until term. The expression of Munc13-1 and insulin secretion was studied by the techniques of RT-PCR, real-time PCR, Western blot, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence were used to define the location of Munc13-1. We found that Munc13-1 was located at islet along with insulin. Insulin- and Munc13-1-specific mRNA were not detected until E12.5 and E15.5, respectively, and increased with the development of the fetus. Western blot showed that Munc13-1 was low at E15.5 and E18.5 and increased later. The blood insulin level and Munc13-1 were reduced simultaneously in IUGR newborn rats compared with normal ones. These results suggest that Munc13-1 exists in pancreas islets during fetus development and its deficiency in the pancreas, as occurs in IUGR, was in accordance with decreased blood insulin level. Munc13-1 may play an essential role in insulin exocytosis.

We have reviewed the literature on the anatomy of the posteromedial peripheral ligamentous structures of the knee and found differing descriptions. Our aim was to clarify the differing descriptions with a simplified interpretation of the anatomy and its contribution to the stability of the knee.We dissected 20 fresh-frozen cadaver knees and the anatomy was recorded using video and still digital photography. The anatomy was described by dividing the medial collateral ligament (MCL) complex into thirds, from anterior to posterior and into superficial and deep layers. The main passive restraining structures of the posteromedial aspect of the knee were found to be superficial MCL (parallel, longitudinal fibres), the deep MCL and the posteromedial capsule (PMC). In the posterior third, the superficial and deep layers blend. Although there are oblique fibres (capsular condensations) running posterodistally from femur to tibia, no discrete ligament was seen. In extension, the PMC appears to be an important functional unit in restraining tibial internal rotation and valgus.Our aim was to clarify and possibly simplify the anatomy of the posteromedial structures. The information would serve as the basis for future biomechanical studies to investigate the contribution of the posteromedial structures to joint stability.

Bayesian estimator is a commonly used statistical optimization technique for finite element model updating. This paper presents a modified Bayesian estimator and discusses its unbiasedness, efficiency, learning ability and robustness. The main differences from other estimators, for instance, the least-squares method, are shown. The new Bayesian estimator can also be used as a multi-objective, multi-design variable optimization method. An example is presented to demonstrate its features.

Considerable experience of the treatment of irresectable hepatic colorectal metastases has accumulated over the past three decades. In this review, the rationale for hepatic artery treatment of colorectal metastases to the liver is presented and various access techniques and chemotherapeutic agents for infusion are discussed. Randomized trials of hepatic artery chemotherapy (HAC) are analysed, and the promising results of recent studies combining less toxic and more effective agents are summarized. Continuous infusion pumps provide the most reliable and long-lasting access for HAC. Appropriate surgical techniques and medical management can minimize complications. Although tumour progression is best controlled by HAC, a clear-cut survival advantage has yet to be demonstrated. While hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy cannot yet be recommended outside investigational protocols, the experience gained so far should stimulate further studies.

A simple and sensitive flow cytometric method is presented for the quantitation of erythrocyte subpopulations. Cells were indirectly labelled using human antisera (mostly crude) and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated anti-human IgG Fab. The method was evaluated by analysing artificial mixtures of blood group antigens A, B, D, E, c, K and Fya. Intra-assay coefficients of variation were found to be 7.2% for 1% D-positive mixtures and 2.2% for 10% D-positive mixtures; the inter-assay coefficients of variation were 9.5% and 6.0% respectively. The sensitivity of the method was found to be 0.31%. The method has shown to be suitable for the routine follow-up of patients after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT).

As shown by an extensive echo-sounding survey, the morphology of Lake Waikaremoana is a drowned valley system; complex troughs and banks at the eastern end are consistent with infilling and damming by slip material. In September 1972, water temperatures were near isothermal (surface-bottom, 9.3-8.8°c), and clarity measured by secchi disc averaged 12.2 m. Very fine-grained clayey silts occur on the surface of sediments throughout the lake.Five benthic dredging stations yielded ten groups of organisms; of these, oligocheates and gasteropods (Potamopyrgus antipodarum only) occurred most widely, to the greatest depths (248 m), and in the greatest numbers. Animals in the eight remaining groups were few and limited to shallower depths.

The specificity of antisense oligonucleotides targeted to the mRNA breakpoint region of the Bcr-Abl oncogene, found in leukaemic cells from patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia, remains controversial due to non-specific effects. To prevent protein binding of oligonucleotides we designed and tested a methylphosphonate oligonucleotide with an attached 3′ soluble phosphodiester tail. Growth of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) cell lines BV173, KCL-22 and cells of CML patients tested was inhibited by the b2a2 type antisense Bcr-Abl oligonucleotide and not with controls. Also the growth of control CD34+ cells of two healthy donors, control cell lines and cells from AML patients was only moderately affected or not affected. Bcr-Abl protein studies in combination with growth-determination experiments indicated that the antisense methylphosphonate Bcr-Abl oligonucleotide tested is a potent inhibitor of the growth of CML cells but works in a non-antisense manner.

Pgp is expressed on normal haemopoietic progenitor cells. The significance of the efflux pump in protecting normal progenitors for anthracycline toxicity is not defined and is the subject of this study. Pgp was measured in CD34+ progenitors with a rhodamine efflux assay. A high efflux, modulated by verapamil, was only found in a distinct subpopulation (20–30%). Pgp measured by the monoclonal antibody antibody (MoAb) MRK-16 was low in the rhodamine dull, but significantly (P < 0.04) higher than in the rhodamine bright cells. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of MDR1 mRNA showed a very weak signal in both populations. In a single-cell clonogenic assay, rhodamine dull cells appeared less sensitive to anthracyclines (IC50 daunorubicin 0.005 μg/ml; adriamycin 0.03 μg/ml) compared to rhodamine bright cells (IC50 daunorubicin 0.0025 μg/ml; adriamycin 0.01 μg/ml). Furthermore, verapamil significantly (P < 0.05) potentiated anthracycline toxicity only in the rhodamine dull cells, proving its Pgp-specific modulating effect. Rhodamine dull cells gave larger and more mixed colonies compatible with a more primitive origin. Although detection with MoAbs and RT-PCR revealed a low Pgp level, functionally this Pgp appeared to be very important in protecting primitive progenitors against anthracycline toxicity. This protection can be jeopardized by administration of Pgp modulators.

An alloy consisting of a eutectic mix of aluminum and silicon to which traces of Sr and Mg have been added forms an important product of a major aluminum smelter (ALUSAF). Casts of this alloy, when cut and polished, display plate-like structures when viewed through an optical microscope. These structures are bound to have an effect on the physical properties of the alloy, for which strength is important. In this work we have used a nuclear microprobe to map areas of interest and determine the composition of the structures observed, using proton and alpha beams for proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and Rutherford backscattering (RBS) analysis. The platelets were proved to be formed by the trace element strontium, a fact which has important metallurgical implications.

The slurry that appears at the cyclone overflow of a mineral-processing plant is the final product of the crushing and grinding stage, the sole purpose of which is to transform the ore to the optimum size for extraction of the valuable material. It is therefore very important to measure the particle-size distribution in the slurry, whether such measurements are to be used in the implementation of automatic control of the milling process, or simply to indicate how well the milling and classification is being performed. Traditional methods of measurement have involved manual sampling and analysis by, for example, sieving. An on-line technique that has been practised for several years uses the attenuation of ultrasound at two different frequencies for the measurement of a single point on the distribution curve - usually the percentage of material smaller than 75µm. Laser-based instruments can perform multipoint analysis, but their application as on-line meters is limited. The use of ultrasound attenuation might result in measurements that are faster and, because a larger sample can be examined, possiby more accurate and reliable.

A highly differentiated rat glucose-responsive insulin producing cell line INS-1 expresses high levels of insulin-like growth factor-II (IGF-II). Basal levels of IGF-II gene mRNA were expressed in cells cultured at 1–6 mmol/l glucose. At glucose concentrations of 10–20 mmol/l, IGF-II mRNA was increased more than threefold after 44 h of incubation. Levels of IGF-II mRNA in INS-1 cells incubated at 5.6 and 20 mmol/l glucose in the presence of 4 Μg/ml actinomycin D are comparable and are not reduced during 20 h of treatment, indicating the high stability of IGF-II mRNA in this cell line. From the three rat IGF-II promoters, promoter 3 is by far the most active in INS-1 cells. The IGF-II promoter 3 activity and IGF-II mRNA production at high glucose concentrations increased threefold over their respective levels at low glucose concentration, suggesting that the glucose-induced IGF-II gene expression in this beta-cell line might be transcriptionally controlled. The up-regulation of IGF-II mRNA by glucose was not due to the increased intracellular cyclic AMP levels or protein kinase C activation. A protein kinase C activator had no effect on IGF-II gene expression, and an adenylate cyclase activator (forskolin), suppressed the stimulatory effects of glucose on the IGF-II mRNA. Under all the experimental conditions examined, the IGF-II and insulin genes were differentially regulated in INS-1 cells. The IGF-II gene expression and DNA synthesis, however, were regulated in parallel, suggesting that these two cellular activities are closely associated.

One hundred and eighty-one consecutive patients with standard-risk leukaemia were transplanted with HLA-identical sibling grafts depleted of lymphocytes using counterflow centrifugation. In 116 patients, standard conditioning was intensified by the addition of anthracyclines.

The distributions of two swimming crabs endemic to the New Zealand region are described, mostly from material obtained at 118 of 2544 New Zealand Oceanographic Institute benthic stations sampled.Nectocarcinus antarcticus (Jacquinot) was found within the geographic limits 34°S-51°S and 166° E-176° W, with concentrations around Cook Strait, the Chatham Rise, Foveaux Strait, and the Auckland Is. N. bennetti (Takeda & Miyake) occurred between 44° S and 53° S, and 165° E and 180°, most frequently in the south and west, on the 'highs' of the Campbell Plateau. Although the distributions overlap between 44° S and 51° S, and this overlap zone produced most of the available material, only one joint occurrence of the two species was noted. This apparent separation was not satisfactorily explained by any of the ecological factors recorded. The depth ranges of both species were broadly similar (0-550 m for TV. antarcticus, 20-474 m for JV. bennetti); both were most frequently obtained at depths less than 200 m. Both occurred primarily on the coarser sediment grades, though N. antarcticus occupied a broader range of grades than N. bennetti.The size ranges of the two species were similar; carapace lengths were 8.0-62.0 mm for N. antarcticus and 5.8-68.0 mm for N. bennetti. The larger specimens of both species were found towards the southern limits of distribution. Larger specimens of N. antarcticus were absent from depths greater than 120 m; smaller N. antarcticus and all N. bennetti occurred throughout their respective depth ranges. Ovigerous N. antarcticus (smallest, 8.8 mm carapace length) were obtained at depths of 17-263 m from May to October; ovigerous N. bennetti (smallest 36.1 mm) were from depths of 150-183 m in May only.

Acetone extract of sheep cardiac muscle lyophilized and redissolved in Tyrode's solution inhibits the growth of chicken fibroblasts and mouse breast tumor cells in vitro.A similar inhibitory activity of varying degree is exhibited against standard strains of tubercle bacilli, hemolytic Streptococcus aureusand E. coll.

It is established that the bleeding tendency in obstructive jaundice and biliary fistula is due to a lowering of the plasma prothrombin. Both on clinical1and experimental2grounds, blood transfusion is known to effect temporary improvement in the hemorrhagic state. Warner, Brinkhous and Smith2have shown in dogs with a biliary fistula of long duration that after a blood transfusion there is a temporary rise in plasma prothrombin with a cessation of bleeding.The purpose of this report is to demonstrate in dogs that it is possible to determine quantitatively the prothrombin change which occurs following transfusion and that the change is purely one of summation.The animals used as recipients were of 3 types: 2 animals were normal dogs, 2 were dogs with obstructive jaundice, and one was a dog with a cholecyst-nephrostomy.3Normal dogs were used as donor animals. Plasma volumes before transfusion were determined by the vital red method.4The plasma volume after transfusion was calculated by addition of the volume of transfused plasma to the pretransfusion value. Prothrombin units before and 3 hours after the transfusion were determined by the method of Warner, Brinkhous and Smith.5All transfusions were performed by the indirect method, using sodium citrate as the anticoagulant.The experiments in Table I show the effect of transfusions of citrated blood. Within the limits of experimental error, the actual total prothrombin content of the plasma of the recipient determined three hours after transfusion corresponds closely with the expected total. The error varies from plus 6.3% to minus 8.4% with an average of minus 1.3%. This indicates that the prothrombin in the plasma of the donor is distributed throughout the plasma of the recipient and can be detected quantitatively in the latter 3 hours after the transfusion. It further indicates that the change following transfusion is simply one of summation.

During the past thirty-five years, there has been considerable speculation as to the rôle played in pathology by abnormal increases and decreases in the state of swelling or water holding power of tissues.1The resultant swelling tendency exerted upon tissue by plasma, or the lymph derived therefrom, is necessarily a function of the concentrations of a number of the plasma constituents. The writers believed that it would be desirable to have some single test available for this resultant tendency, and that such a test might be afforded by observation of the effect of plasma or serum upon some standard swelling material such as gelatin.Small squares of Eastman Kodak Company's “ash-free” gelatin, weighing about .05 gm., were placed in Ringer-Tyrode solution (glucose omitted) and allowed to swell for 40 hours at about 10° C. The solution contained sodium bicarbonate, and was kept in contact with alveolar air. The pH was maintained within the range pH 7.2-pH 7.6. The percentage swelling of the squares was determined from a comparison of their swollen and original dry weights. It was of the order of 11 times in all cases, and, in any one series, the maximum difference between values was about 2 parts per hundred.Blocks of gelatin were thus provided in a standard state of swelling. It was hoped that this state would be such that the blocks would swell further in some sera and shrink in others. This proved to be the case.In a series of 22 normal and pathological sera, the one showing the greatest swelling tendency caused a standard block to swell 5.1% further, and the one showing the least swelling tendency caused a 1.2% shrinkage. A standard block, as described above, was immersed in each serum for 20 hours in the ice chest, after which any change in weight was noted. The pH of each serum was adjusted by saturation with alveolar air and controlled between the limits pH 7.2-pH 7.8 throughout. Duplicate experiments indicated an unavoidable experimental variation of less than one percent.The foregoing results indicated that, in a series of sera, the resultant swelling tendencies with regard to standard gelatin blocks may be measured and clearly differentiated. It next became of interest to determine the composition variable or variables primarily responsible for the swelling variations observed.

IMPORTANCE: Although consensus statements support the preoperative treatment of borderline resectable pancreatic cancer, no prospective, quality-controlled, multicenter studies of this strategy have been conducted. Existing studies are retrospective and confounded by heterogeneity in patients studied, therapeutic algorithms used, and outcomes reported. OBJECTIVE: To determine the feasibility of conducting studies of multimodality therapy for borderline resectable pancreatic cancer in the cooperative group setting. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A prospective, multicenter, single-arm trial of a multimodality treatment regimen administered within a study framework using centralized quality control with the cooperation of 14 member institutions of the National Clinical Trials Network. Twenty-nine patients with biopsy-confirmed pancreatic cancer preregistered, and 23 patients with tumors who met centrally reviewed radiographic criteria registered. Twenty-two patients initiated therapy (median age, 64 years [range, 50-76 years]; 55% female). Patients registered between May 29, 2013, and February 7, 2014. INTERVENTIONS: Patients received modified FOLFIRINOX treatment (85 mg/m2 of oxaliplatin, 180 mg/m2 of irinotecan hydrochloride, 400 mg/m2 of leucovorin calcium, and then 2400 mg/m2 of 5-fluorouracil for 4 cycles) followed by 5.5 weeks of external-beam radiation (50.4 Gy delivered in 28 daily fractions) with capecitabine (825 mg/m2 orally twice daily) prior to pancreatectomy. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Feasibility, defined by the accrual rate, the safety of the preoperative regimen, and the pancreatectomy rate. RESULTS: The accrual rate of 2.6 patients per month was superior to the anticipated rate. Although 14 of the 22 patients (64% [95% CI, 41%-83%]) had grade 3 or higher adverse events, 15 of the 22 patients (68% [95% CI, 49%-88%]) underwent pancreatectomy. Of these 15 patients, 12 (80%) required vascular resection, 14 (93%) had microscopically negative margins, 5 (33%) had specimens that had less than 5% residual cancer cells, and 2 (13%) had specimens that had pathologic complete responses. The median overall survival of all patients was 21.7 months (95% CI, 15.7 to not reached) from registration. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The successful completion of this collaborative study demonstrates the feasibility of conducting quality-controlled trials for this disease stage in the multi-institutional setting. The data generated by this study and the logistical elements that facilitated the trial’s completion are currently being used to develop cooperative group trials with the goal of improving outcomes for this subset of patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01821612