1,722,079 research outputs found
Access barriers to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Zimbabwe: a case study of Chivhu Hospital
No full textIncludes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.Access to healthcare is one of the basic social goods which ensures that individuals lead healthy and long lives. There is an increased need towards ensuring access to health care for all, which has led to the question of how access is defined. Access in this study is defined as the degree of fit between the health care system and patients. It involves an interaction between the system and patients in a way which removes access barriers to care. A comprehensive framework was used to measure access in this study. The framework allows for a systematic approach to the concept of access and measures access in three dimensions namely affordability, availability and acceptability. Using this framework, the study looked into the factors affecting access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) by patients at Chivhu Hospital in Zimbabwe. Chivhu was chosen because it has a mixed population of urban and rural patients which represents the typical Zimbabwean population. A cross sectional study design was adopted for this study
Characterization of the mammalian YAP (Yes-associated protein) gene and its role in defining a novel protein module, the WW domain
No full textWe report cDNA cloning and characterization of the human and mouse orthologs of the chicken YAP (Yes-associated protein) gene which encodes a novel protein that binds to the SH3 (Src homology 3) domain of the Yes proto-oncogene product. Sequence comparison between mouse, human, and chicken YAP proteins showed an inserted sequence in the mouse YAP that represented an imperfect repeat of an upstream sequence. Further analysis of this sequence revealed a putative protein module that is found in various structural, regulatory, and signaling molecules in yeast, nematode, and mammals including human dystrophin. Because one of the prominent features of this sequence motif is two tryptophans (W), we named it the WW domain (Bork, P., and Sudol, M. (1994) Trends Biochem. Sci. 19, 531-533). Since its delineation, more proteins have been shown to contain this domain, and we report here on the widespread distribution of the WW module and present a discussion of its possible function. We have also shown that the human YAP gene is well conserved among higher eukaryotes, but it may not be conserved in yeast. Its expression at the RNA level in adult human tissues is nearly ubiquitous, being relatively high in placenta, prostate, ovary, and testis, but is not detectable in peripheral blood leukocytes. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization on human metaphase chromosomes and by analyzing rodent-human hybrids by Southern blot hybridization and polymerase chain reaction amplification, we mapped the human YAP gene to chromosome band 11q13, a region to which the multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 gene has been mapped
Substitutions to initial anteretroviral therapy due to toxicity or contraindication among children in South Africa
No full textIncludes bibliographical references.According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) South Africa 2010 Country Progress report, 81% of South African children in need of antiretroviral therapy (ART) were receiving treatment which is a 20% increment in treatment access from 2008 to 2009. With increase in access to treatment, understanding drug tolerability, safety and durability is important especially among children whose drug options are limited due to few drugs being available in suitable formulations and the need for refrigeration of some drugs. While there are many paediatric studies on ART durability in the developed world, data from the developing world are limited. There is therefore a need to understand the drug-specific probability of and reasons for drug stops or changes among children initiated on ART in South Africa. This knowledge could help in optimisation of use of firstline ART in order to maximise time on first-line therapy and thereby maintain simplicity of programs (program-level benefit) and save alternative drugs for situations of toxicity and virological failure (individual benefit)
Prevalence and incidence of renal dysfunction in patients initiating Antiretroviral Therapy at a Primary Health Care Centre in Gugulethu, Cape Town : a cohort study
No full textIncludes bibliographical references.Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is used worldwide for the treatment of HIV-1 infection. Tenofovir has been found to be associated with declines in renal function and chronic kidney disease in HIV-infected patients. There are limited data on how soon after antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation any loss of renal function can be detected. We studied a cohort of HIV-infected adults initiating TDF-containing ART regimens at the Hannan Crusaid Antiretroviral Treatment Centre in Gugulethu. The centre provides ART to the residents of the Gugulethu and Nyanga districts situated on the outskirts of Cape Town. We described the prevalence and incidence of renal dysfunction in this cohort, the patterns of change in their renal function in the first 12 months on therapy and factors associated with renal dysfunction. We also examined the diagnostic value of early serum creatinine tests in identifying incident renal dysfunction after 12 months
Friedreich's ataxia protein: Phylogenetic evidence for mitochondrial dysfunction
No full textFriedreich's ataxia is the most common inherited spinocerebellar ataxia. A decade of linkage and physical mapping studies have culminated in the identification of the Friedreich's ataxia gene. The presence of homologues in purple bacterial genomes, but not in other bacteria, allows us to infer a mitochondrial location for frataxin (Friedreich's ataxia protein) on the basis of bacterial phylogeny. Frataxin possesses a non-globular N-terminus domain providing a candidate mitochondrial targeting peptide. Clues to the function of frataxin are provided by the mitochondrial location, a clinically similar ataxia with vitamin E deficiency, and certain neuropathies with mitochondrial DNA instability caused by mutations in nuclear genes
A qualitative study assessing the general health problems of street-based female sex workers in Cape Town
No full textIncludes bibliographical references.Generally, sex workers are a socially marginalized group with poor physical health. Within the hierarchy of sex workers, street-based sex workers are at the bottom. Street-based sex workers face different kinds of work experiences and exposure, with varying degrees of health problems. Their health problems are more severe and worse than the other classes of sex workers. Street-based sex workers are subjected to considerable risks of physical abuse, beatings and rape. These impact greatly on their health. This study explored the general health problems of street-based female sex workers. The study was carried out in Cape Town among street-based female sex workers aged 18 years and above. It was cross-sectional, conducted over a period of six months using fifteen (15) in-depth interviews and four (4) focus group discussions. The respondents were non-randomly recruited through the Embrace Dignity Project, whose activities involved sex workers. The study discovered that condom use was inconsistent as a result of financial incentives, condom breakage, violence, rape and non-payment from clients when insisting on condom use. But some respondents were not using condoms at all. The majority of respondents reported stigmatization and discrimination by community members and the police. Most of the respondents do not go for routine and other medical checks. Some respondents were not satisfied with health care provision due to discrimination by providers and long waiting times. Notwithstanding, respondents reported a long list of health problems including: flu, cough, HIV/AIDS, TB, headache, vaginal discharge, itchy vagina, sleeplessness, high blood pressure, fever, heart problems, diarrhoea, sweating at night, arthritis, diabetes, alcoholic problems, bad breath, sore throat, and mouth rash. Physical and psychological problems were also mentioned. Most respondents rated their health status as bad. The illegality of sex work in South Africa pushes sex workers to practice the trade in obscure places making them very vulnerable. Street-based female sex workers have numerous general health problems, but with limited access to health services. The law does not also help the course of street-based female sex workers. There is an urgent need to partially criminalize sex work. Reorientation and education of sex workers and providers is also required. All these will help promote the welfare of sex workers
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Friedreich's ataxia protein: Phylogenetic evidence for mitochondrial dysfunction
No full textFriedreich's ataxia is the most common inherited spinocerebellar ataxia. A decade of linkage and physical mapping studies have culminated in the identification of the Friedreich's ataxia gene. The presence of homologues in purple bacterial genomes, but not in other bacteria, allows us to infer a mitochondrial location for frataxin (Friedreich's ataxia protein) on the basis of bacterial phylogeny. Frataxin possesses a non-globular N-terminus domain providing a candidate mitochondrial targeting peptide. Clues to the function of frataxin are provided by the mitochondrial location, a clinically similar ataxia with vitamin E deficiency, and certain neuropathies with mitochondrial DNA instability caused by mutations in nuclear genes
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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