A. van der Merwe

A clinical trial of the oral form of 4′-demethyl-epipodophyllotoxin-β-D ethylidene glucoside (NSC 141540) VP 16–213†

A clinical trial of the oral form of VP 16‐213 (NSC‐141540), a semisynthetic podophyllotoxin, was undertaken. In 20 patients, treatment was started at 200 mg/day p.o. for 5 days; courses were repeated after a rest period of 16 days. Five patients were treated at the same dose, repeated with only 9‐day rest periods. Subsequently, 65 patients were given 300–400 mg/day for 5 days, with rest periods of 9 days between courses. The side effects encountered included anorexia, nausea and vomiting, stomatitis, diarrhea, leukopenia, throm‐bocytopenia, alopecia, and pruritis. Substernal discomfort with or without palpitations was reported by 18 patients; no explanation for this symptom could be found. No complete remissions (CR) were observed. Partial remissions (PR) and improvement (IMP) were seen as follows: small cell carcinoma, lung (10 patients)—2 PR, 3 IMP; adenocarcinoma, lung (4 patients)—1 PR; alveolar cell carcinoma, lung (1 patient)—1 IMP; mesothelioma (4 patients)—1 IMP; ovarian cancer (12 patients)—3 PR, 3 IMP; breast cancer (20 patients)—4 IMP; colon cancer (8 patients)—2 IMP; bladder cancer (4 patients)—2 IMP; histiocytic lymphoma (7 patients)—2 PR, 3 IMP; chronic myeloid leukemia (1 patient)—1 IMP.

Hyperhomocysteinemia and the response to vitamin supplementation.

SummaryThe long-term vitamin requirements of men (n=22) with moderate hyperhomocysteinemia (plasma total homocysteine concentration > 16.3 μmol/1) were investigated over a period of 48 weeks. An initial 6-week period of vitamin supplementation (1.0 mg folic acid, 10 mg pyridoxine, 0.05 mg cyanocobalamin) reduced plasma homocysteine levels 54.7% (P<0.001). However, 18 weeks after vitamin therapy was discontinued, only seven participants (subgroup A) still had plasma homocysteine levels of 16.3 μmol/l or lower. The remainder of the participants (subgroup B) required a second 6-week period of vitamin therapy to normalize the elevated plasma homocysteine levels. Substitution of vitamin supplementation by dietary guidelines to increase folate intake from food products failed to maintain normal plasma homocysteine levels in participants from subgroup B. Long-term vitamin supplementation may be required in some individuals to prevent hyperhomo-cysteinemia.

Phishing in the system of systems settings: mobile technology

The immense growth in mobile technology has opened various opportunities, both in marketing and in M-Commerce applications. The growth in these applications is according to the system of systems concept through which technologies such as cell phone networks are becoming integrated with other systems such as the Internet. Unfortunately, this may also lead to a new security risk, the use of mobile technology, more specifically the distribution of short message service (SMS) messages, to conduct phishing attacks. We demonstrate four types of phishing activities that can take place via mobile technology and provide a specific example on one of the introduced types.

Biofilms in the food and beverage industries: an introduction

Abstract: Microbes, (bacteria, fungi, yeasts, moulds, viruses, etc.) are primarily found in two forms, either floating freely in water (planktonic), or attached to a surface (sessile) where they congregate in large numbers to form a film or slime layer known as a biofilm. Although planktonic microbes have been studied for many decades, it is only in the past two decades that industry has begun to understand and appreciate the complexity of a biofilm as a living organism and the huge problems biofilm formation causes in industry. It is now acknowledged that biofilms have huge cost implications to industry and can negatively affect a company’s profitability. Biofilm is extremely difficult to remove and control. It is common knowledge that many chemical biocides are ineffective against biofilm and, at best, merely control planktonic microbes – leaving the biofilm intact to continue to recontaminate, corrode and to build resistance against antimicrobial compounds. The added danger then is when a particularly undesired pathogen (e.g., E. coli in food processing, Legionella in cooling towers, Pseudomonas in poultry rearing) enters a system and becomes attached to the biofilm, it becomes extremely difficult to remove and control, causing enormous problems that often result in production and plant shut-downs – costing companies millions in lost revenue.

Die formantpatrone van Afrikaanse vokale soos geproduseer deur manlike sprekers

Die leemte wat bestaan ten opsigte van die instrumentele ondersoek van Afrikaanse klanke word in hierdie artikel aan-gespreek. Die doel van die ondersoek is die identifikasie van tipiese formantfre...

Development and implementation of an institutional repository within a science, engineering and technology (SET) environment

Parallel to the Open Source Software movement, there is an increased demand and need for free, open access to information resources. The Open Access initiative is characterized by two strategies: namely the promotion of self-archiving or, alternatively, publishing of research articles in open-access journals. The purpose of an Institutional Repository (IR) is to provide a suitable archival environment for the self-archiving of digital items. This paper provides an understanding of the complexity surrounding the implementation of an IR. Issues discussed include software selection, as well as the development, implementation and marketing of an IR. Attention is given to the development of the policies that are required by an organization and its main stakeholders. Issues such as acceptance, usage, population, and management of the repository are reported. The work that was done at the CSIR is used as a case study and the subsequent lessons learnt are used to highlight some of problems experienced and how these problems were solved. Issues that still need investigation, e.g. long-term preservation, are mentioned.