Beliefs of South Africans regarding food and cardiovascular health

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the beliefs of South African metropolitan adults regarding the importance of influencing cardiovascular health by eating certain food types, and to compare these beliefs between different race, living standards, age and gender groups. DESIGN: Randomised cross-sectional study. Trained fieldworkers administered questionnaires by conducting face-to-face interviews with consumers. SUBJECTS: Two thousand South Africans (16 years and older) were randomly selected from metropolitan areas in South Africa. The data were weighted to be representative of the total South African metropolitan population (N = 10 695 000) based on gender, age and race distribution. RESULTS: The majority (94 %) of the population indicated that it is important to influence cardiovascular risk-related health issues by eating certain food types, especially the higher LSM (Living Standard Measure) groups within the different race groups. Weight loss was considered the least important (61 % indicated that it is important) compared with cholesterol lowering (80 %), blood pressure (89 %), diabetes (86 %) and healthy blood vessels (89 %). In the higher LSM groups (7-10) higher proportions of respondents agreed than in the lower LSM groups (2 and 3). No differences were seen in responses between different gender, race and age groups.Conclusions and recommendationsThis study shows that the metropolitan South African adult population considers the influence on cardiovascular health by eating certain food types to be important. However, modifying weight loss by eating certain food types was considered less important.     

Protection vs. commercial management: Spatial and temporal analysis of land cover changes in the tropical forests of Central India

Tropical forests worldwide are undergoing rapid changes due to increasing human populations and varied land use practices. In an effort to protect these forests and their species, the number of protected areas has increased exponentially in recent decades. Clearly protected areas play a crucial role in conservation efforts and this strategy has been found to be successful in several studies. However, protected areas are often embedded within a matrix of other land cover types, including non-protected forests, agricultural fields, or urban areas. It is therefore critical for park management to think beyond the borders of their protected areas and work to maintain ecological integrity of the surrounding matrix and the connectivity between protected areas. This study integrates remote sensing, GIS and field observations to examine the effects of different management strategies on land cover changes. As a case study we examine a tiger reserve in Central India which is surrounded by commercially managed forests, representative of many protected areas throughout India. Findings of this study show that while protected areas play an important role in conservation, alternative approaches including favorable management policies could also be effective to extend conservation over larger areas.     

Evaluation of Canine Red Blood Cells Stored in a Saline, Adenine, and Glucose Solution for 35 Days

An additive solution for the storage of red blood cells was evaluated for use in dogs. Blood collected from 6 dogs was processed into packed red blood cells and stored for 35 days in the additive solution Nutricel (Miles, Inc, Pharmaceutical Division, West Haven, CT). Packed red blood cells stored in citrate-phosphate-dextrose-adenine (CPDA-1; Fenwal Laboratories, Baxter Health Care Corp, Deerfield, IL) also were evaluated for comparison. Red blood cell 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) concentration, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentration, percentage hemolysis, and pH were determined. The red blood cell post-transfusion viability (PTV) after 35 days of storage was assessed with both single-labeled chromium 51 (⁵¹Cr) and double-labeled technetium 99m/chromium 51 (^99mTc/⁵¹Cr) techniques. Mean ATP concentration and percentage hemolysis of the cells stored in Nutricel were 1.1 μmol/g hemoglobin (Hb) and 0.28% respectively and did not differ significantly (P < .05) from the values of 1.0 μmol/g Hb and 0.33% from the CPDA-1-stored red blood cells. The mean pH of red blood cells stored in Nutricel was 6.19, which was significantly lower than the pH of 6.47 for cells stored in CPDA-1. The mean 2,3-DPG concentration of red blood cells stored in Nutricel was significantly higher at 10.1 μmol/g Hb than the 2,3-DPG concentration of 3.4μmol/g Hb for cells stored in CPDA-1. The mean PTV of canine red blood cells stored in Nutricel for 35 days was 85% with ⁵¹Cr and 90% with ^99mTc/⁵¹Cr. This was significantly higher than the mean PTVs of 38% and 36% for the CPDA-1 stored cells as assessed with ⁵¹Cr and ^99mTc/⁵¹Cr techniques, respectively. It was concluded that 35-day-old canine red blood cells stored in Nutricel are of acceptable quality for transfusion purposes.     

Characterization of the major proteins of tubers of yam bean (Pachyrhizus ahipa)

Tubers of six accessions of ahipa (Pachyrhizus ahipa) contained between 0.77 and 1.34% nitrogen on a dry weight basis. This corresponds to 4.8 to 8.4% crude protein based on a nitrogen to protein conversion factor of 6.25; but detailed analysis of AC230 showed that although 93% of the total N was extracted with buffer containing 1.0 M NaCl, about a third of this was lost on dialysis. It was calculated, therefore, that salt-soluble proteins comprise about 60% of the total tuber nitrogen, with low-molecular-mass nitrogenous components comprising a further 30%. Electophoretic analysis of the salt-soluble proteins showed similar patterns of components in the six accessions, with none being present in amounts sufficiently high to suggest a role as storage proteins. Furthermore, light microscopy failed to show significant deposits of protein within the tuber cells. Five "major" protein bands, which together accounted for about 19% of the total salt-soluble protein fraction were purified and subjected to N-terminal amino acid sequencing. Comparison of these with sequences in protein databases revealed similarities to alpha-amylases, chitinases and chitin binding proteins, cysteine proteinases (including major components from P. erosus tubers), a tuberization-specific protein from potato, and proteins induced in soybean and pea by stress or the plant hormone abscisic acid, respectively. It was concluded that the primary roles of these proteins are probably in aspects of tuber metabolism and development and/or conferring protection to pests and pathogens, and that true storage proteins are not present. The absence of storage proteins is consistent with the biological role of the tubers as storage organs for carbohydrates (cf cassava tuberous roots) rather than as propagules (cf yam and potato tubers).     

Probable Essential Thrombocythemia in a Dog

Essential thrombocythemia (ET) in an 11-year-old dog was characterized by persistently high platelet counts (range, 4.19 X 10(6)/microliters to 4.95 X 10(6)/microliters, abnormal platelet morphology, marked megakaryocytic hyperplasia in the bone marrow, absence of circulating megakaryoblasts, and history of splenomegaly and gastrointestinal bleeding. Increased numbers of megakaryocytes and megakaryoblasts (15% to 20%) in the bone marrow were confirmed by a positive acetylcholinesterase reaction. Another significant finding was the presence of a basophilia in blood (4,836/microliters) and bone marrow. The marked persistent thrombocytosis, absence of reactive (secondary) thrombocytosis, abnormal platelet morphology, and quantitative and qualitative changes in the megakaryocytic series in the bone marrow suggested the presence of a myeloproliferative disease. Cytochemical and ultrastructural findings aided in the diagnosis of ET. The dog was treated with radiophosphorus. The results was a rapid decline in the numbers of megakaryoblasts and megakaryocytes in the bone marrow and platelets and basophils in the peripheral blood. The dog died unexpectedly of acute necrotizing pancreatitis and diabetes mellitus before a complete remission was achieved.