Social technology and human health

human development, technology

Non-cholesteatomatous suppurative otitis media: facial nerve palsy in an immunocompromised patient

A 47-year-old man developed a complete facial nerve palsy secondary to non-cholesteatomatous suppurative otitis media. At operation, this was seen to be due to destruction of the nerve from halfway along the horizontal segment to a point just distal to the second genu. The history of recent renal transplantation and subsequent immunosuppression was judged to be significant in the pathogenesis of the palsy

Photodynamic therapy of malignant and premalignant lesions in patients with ’field cancerization‘ of the oral cavity

The management of patients with 'field cancerization' of the oral mucosa. with multicentric foci of invasion, presents a considerable problem for the head and neck surgeon. Surgical resection of synchronous or metachronous primary squamous cell carcinomas, along with adjacent premalignant lesions, is likely to be associated with considerable mutilation. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been shown to be of value in the treatment of superficial tumours in the upper aerodigestive tract, with excellent healing of treated areas. This study reports the use of PDT to treat 11 patients with 'field cancerization' occurring in the oral cavity. Six 'patients had multiple primary cancers and five had single primary tumours. All had associated areas of leukoplakia. Each received Photofrin 2 mg/kg 48 hours prior to photoirradiation with 50-100 J/cm2 red laser light by surface illumination. Six to eight weeks later treated areas in 10 of the 11 patients showed a complete response to PDT; one patient had areas of residual leukoplakia. Two patients developed further areas of leukoplakia or erythroplakia within 12 months but no patient has had evidence of recurrent invasive carcinoma in the treated areas. Longer term follow-up will be necessary to exclude further recurrence. It is concluded that PDT offers an effective repeatable treatment option, whether on its own or as an adjunct to local excision, for patients with 'field cancerization' of the oral cavity

HISCAOD: a high-speed camera array for obstacle detection

this document contains description of HISCAOD – an obstacle detection system for autonomous vehicles, developed using high-speed cameras. Using image processing data from seven cameras the device is able to detect potential obstacles both during the movement and on a still position. Extensive testing was performed to access its functionality, effectiveness and accuracy. Such approach to feature tracking and obstacle detection may be of use for both autonomous and manual cars and may greatly improve driving safety, reliability and comfort

Abnormal haemoglobins in Cape Town

No Abstract

Optimizing the generation of Java JMH Benchmarks

The evolution of the software system during its development is a complex process, which is both very important and difficult to track. One of the methods that offers such functionality is microbenchmarking, which is a type of regression testing. Although its efficient at software project performance measurement and tracking, its also rather difficult to conduct and therefore rarely used in industry. In this study, several potential optimization approaches are applied to the benchmarking process in open-source projects in order to make it less complex and applicable to real-world scenarios, improving its accessibility for software engineering researchers and practitioners

Remembering and forgetting the last war: discursive memory of the Sino-Vietnamese war in China and Vietnam

The year 2019 marked the 40th anniversary of the outbreak of the Sino-Vietnamese War in 1979. Making use of published and unpublished Chinese, Vietnamese, and English sources, this article traces the tensions between official and popular memories of the Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979 in China and Vietnam, respectively. We argue that these tensions existed because the development of the official Chinese and Vietnamese memories of the war largely mirrored each other. Between 1991 and roughly 2006, when bilateral relations between the countries improved, both Beijing and Hanoi claimed victory for their side while simultaneously downplaying the bloodshed, tragedy, and loss experienced during the war. However, they have reacted to the rise of popular memories since the early 2000s in very different ways. While Beijing walks a thin line between accommodating appeals for greater recognition of the sacrifices made by ordinary soldiers without provoking social discontent with the political system, Hanoi has been more successful in mobilising Vietnamese popular memory of the war to strike a measured nationalistic response to China. How China and Vietnam remember and downplay the Sino-Vietnamese War points to the bigger picture of the sensitivity of bilateral relations to historical memory in Asia. In particular, historical memory shapes how a country perceives external threats and opportunities, while historical memory is created, suppressed, and re-created as international relations evolve

Progress report on the PATH Through Life Study

We finished interviewing people in their 20s in March this year, by which time we had interviewed 2404 people. Analysis of the 20-plus data is well under way. Our research team is currently preparing articles for scientific journals. In August this year we added an updated report to our web site. This updated report presented information on a number of areas not mentioned in the first report. If you do not have access to the internet and would like a copy of the updated report, call Trish on 62798408