This thesis is a report on the value and limitations of the practical application of the Forced Expiratory Volume and Forced Vital Capacity test in children aged from 7 to 16 years. The first part deals with review of the literature on lung function and evolution of the Forced Expiratory Volume and Forced Vital Capacity test. The method and apparatus used in the test, the establishment of "normal values", the correlation of these values and certain anthropometric data, the establishment of prediction formulae for normal values, a study of the effect of factors such as sex, "learning" and repeatability, posture, daily and day-to-day variations, and the inhalation of isoprenaline on these normal values are reported. The second part deals with the practical application of the test in various pathological conditions affecting the cardio-respiratory system. The effect of respiratory disorders on ventilatory function is reported and an attempt is made to assess the effect of management, medical treatment and prognosis of a respiratory disorder at any given stage of that disorder acknowledging always that the complete evaluation of a patient requires more than laboratory tests.

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The problem of childhood obesity in South Africa has reached epidemic proportions. It is estimated that one in five South African children are either overweight or obese; with twenty percent of children under the age of six being overweight. This is mainly due to a poor diet and a lack of exercise. The aim of this study is to determine the overweight / obesity prevalence amongst grade-one learners at selected schools in the West Rand, Mogale City. The weight and height of each subject was to be physically measured by the researcher and compared to norms for that age category. This study further aims to determine their parents knowledge / perceptions regarding childhood nutrition and physical activity. To this end a questionnaire was constructed so that parental knowledge / beliefs could be assessed. This study has found both overweight and underweight within the same population. The results indicate overweight / obesity in seventeen subjects (3.7%). Eleven girls (4.8%) and six boys (3%) were overweight representing a boy to girl ratio of 1: 1.8 among the overweight group. Among the overweight subjects, girls represented 65% while boys represented 35%. This study has also found underweight / stunting of growth among the eight and nine year old subjects as their weight for height fell below the 25th percentile. Further classification of the study sample according to school-fee structure revealed that all subjects with overweight / obesity were found within low-fee schools, representing 4%. One boy and one girl each were found with obesity among the overweight group having a body mass index (BMI) of 23.8 and 24.8 respectively. Therefore obesity was found in 12% among the overweight group and within low-fee structure schools.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Medicine (Child Health Community Paediatrics) Johannesburg 2014 / Study Aim: To identify the criteria used to diagnose childhood tuberculosis (TB) at two paediatric outpatient departments in Johannesburg between 01 November 1997 and 30 June 1998 and to compare the criteria used to those used by the World Health Organization in the diagnosis of childhood TB. Study Design: An observational descriptive, retrospective, hospital outpatient-based study. Setting: Paediatric outpatient departments of Coronation Hospital (CH) and Johannesburg General Hospital (JGH). Patients and Methods: Patients ranging from the ages of 3 months to 14 years who attended the two paediatric outpatient departments and were diagnosed and notified as having TB, comprised the study population. Criteria used to establish the diagnosis of TB for each patient were extracted from patient records. Clinical history and baseline clinical characteristics were analysed using standard statistical methods, and criteria used to make a diagnosis of tuberculosis were compared to those recommended by the World Health Organization. Results: One hundred and one patients were diagnosed with TB at the two outpatient departments during the eight month study period. The combination of symptoms suggestive of active TB, which included persistent cough >1 month associated with fever, weight loss and loss of appetite, was more common in the JGH cohort (32 of 51 patients; 63%) compared to the CH cohort (10 of 50 patients; 20%); Odds Ratio (OR) 6.74 (95% Confidence Interval [CI], 2.54-18.41), P<0.001. One third (32%) of the total group of children had a positive TB exposure history. Tuberculin skin test (TST) reactions were positive in 86% of the total cohort, with a similar result being seen at both hospitals. Submission of specimens for microbiological assessment was not a common practice in either outpatient department, with 95% (96 of 101 participants) not having any specimens collected. Overall, 93% (94 of 101 participants) were classified as having ‘Probable’ TB. Conclusion: Criteria being used to diagnose childhood TB in the two paediatric outpatient departments are comparable to the WHO criteria recommended for the diagnosis of childhood TB. The majority of children diagnosed were classified as ‘Probable’ TB. TST was the main diagnostic tool used in the two outpatient departments at the time of study conduct.

Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Johannesburg, 2012 / Introduction: Diarrhoea is a major cause of mortality and morbidity amongst children under five years of age worldwide. Aim: To characterise the bacterial aetiologies and molecular characterises the pathogens associated with hospitalization for diarrhoeal disease among South African children aged less than 5 years Methods: Children aged < 5 years hospitalized with diarrhoea were enrolled. Standard microbiological methods (culture, biochemical tests, serotyping) and molecular methods (PCR) were used, targeting bacterial pathogens such as diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli (DEC), Salmonella species, Shigella species, Vibrio cholerae and Campylobacter species. Results: A total of 1816 stool specimens were processed, of which 633 (35%) were positive for enteric bacterial pathogens. Isolates in order of frequency included 562 DEC, 49 Shigella spp., 20 Salmonella spp., 2 Campylobacter spp. There were 48 (8%) enteric bacterial infections identified with more than one pathogen. Co-infections of bacterial pathogens with other organisms include 52 bacterial agents concurrent with Cryptosporidium co-infection, 128 with rotavirus coinfection and 9 episodes which included Cryptosporidium and rotavirus co-infections. Conclusion: The overall recovered bacterial pathogens from stool specimens was 35% with DEC being the most commonly identified.

by Song Myung-eun. / Thesis (M.Ph.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1988. / Bibliography: leaves 67-70.

Object individuation, the capacity to determine whether two perceptual encounters belong to the same object or two different objects, is one of the most basic cognitive abilities and provides a foundation for infants’ understanding of the physical world. Yet very little work has been done to explore infants’ use of auditory information to individuate objects. The first research to investigate infants’ use of sound information to individuate objects was reported by Wilcox et al. (2006), who used a violation-ofexpectation task to examine the extent to which 4.5-month-olds use differences in sound to individuate objects. The results suggested that 4.5-month-olds use property-rich sounds (sounds intimately related to an objects’ physical, amodal properties) but not property-poor sounds (sounds that are more contrived) to distinguish the identity of objects involved in occlusion events. The current study investigated infants’ sensitivity to these two types of sounds within the context of a search task. Three experiments were conducted with infants aged 5 to 7 months. The outcome of these experiments builds and extends on the findings of Wilcox et al. in three ways. First, converging evidence was obtained, using a search task, that young infants are more sensitive to property-rich than property-poor sounds. Second, more detailed information was obtained on infants’ interpretation of samesounds events (two identical, rather than two different, sounds). Finally, possible explanations for infants’ greater sensitivity to property-rich sounds were assessed. The outcome of these studies, collectively, provides insight into the types of sounds that infants use to identify objects and the reasons why some sounds are more salient to infants than others.