Pharmaceutical and cosmetic preparations must be formulated so as to assure elegance of appearance, efficacy of ingredients and a satisfactory shelf life as the product. If the formulation is not self-preserving and if it contains material which could act as a substrate for growth of micro-organisms, the shelf life aspect involves, in addition to several other factors, the choice of a suitable antimicrobial preservative. Such preservatives, when present in the minimum effective concentration, are unfortunately prone to interact with many other materials. A number of papers on the inactivation of preservatives by containers, filters and formulation components have been published. The field has been adequately reviewed by de Navarre (1962), Wedderburn (1964) and, more recently, by Coates (1973). From these reviews and from a study of the literature it became apparent that relatively little work had been done on interactions between preservatives and solid particles in aqueous suspension. Consequently, a range of preservatives not previously investigated in this respect was tested for loss of activity in the presence of fifteen powders commonly used in aqueous suspension in pharmaceutical and cosmetic formulations. In view of the information obtained in this preliminary study and after the development of more satisfactory analytical techniques it was decided to study in greater depth the interaction between these powders and selected organomercurials and quaternary ammonium compounds.

Evaluating Drugs for Rare Diseases (DRDs) for the purpose of reimbursement and beyond represents a tremendous challenge for most health care priorities. A consensus is set about the irrelevance of cost e ectiveness analysis to evaluate such drugs. The appeal for multi criteria decision aid models seems reasonable as the evaluation of DRDs is indeed multifaceted. However, the application of MCDA for the purpose of evaluating DRDs is yet primitive and simplistic. The present work tries to tackle the issue of evaluating DRDs from a decision maker angle by adopting an innovative robust ordinal regression MCDA method, UTADIS-GMS, that helps the decision maker discern between the DRDs based on their multi criteria value.

Veterinary Needs Appraisals have indicated that there is a need for improved supply of veterinary medicinal products to subsistence and emerging farmers in South Africa. No studies have been conducted to describe and assess the adequacy of the current routes and methods of supply of veterinary medicinal products to these farmers. A combination of focus groups, self-administered questionnaires and direct observations was used to collect information for the purpose of describing and understanding the situation regarding the supply of veterinary medicinal products to the farmers of the Madikwe district. A combination of semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and direct observation was used to gather information. The results indicated that the routes and methods of supply of veterinary medicinal products to the farmers of the Madikwe district were inadequate. The annual sales from outlets within the Madikwe district were poor, with a total of 396 units sold over a period of one year, although there were approximately 2000 farmers in the Madikwe district who were potential clients for these outlets. The majority of products sold by these outlets were ectoparasiticides, followed by Tetracycline antibiotics. The outlets within the Madikwe district were unable to supply vaccines, as they did not have adequate facilities for the storage of these thermolabile products. Farmers had to travel an average of 70 km if they wished to purchase veterinary medicinal products from farmers' co-operatives and pharmacies in larger towns outside the Madikwe district. The routes and methods of supply did not ensure correct storage, and safe and effective use of veterinary medicinal products. Several examples of misuse and incorrect storage and handling of veterinary medicinal products were discovered. Inadequate information transfer, inaccessibility of outlets, poor reliability and quality of outlets and poor service were discovered as reasons for the inadequacy of the routes and methods of supply. Wider distribution of veterinary medicinal products is required but a higher level of control is needed to ensure that products of an acceptable quality are sold. Information and advice must be disseminated together with products. / Dissertation (MMedVet (Pharmacology))--University of Pretoria, 2001. / Paraclinical Sciences / unrestricted

TOPIC. Advances in the psychopharmacologic treatment of bipolar affective disorders (BPAD). PURPOSE. To increase advanced practice nurses' ability to match prescribing practices with known etiological factors and the neurobiology of this complex set of disorders. SOURCES. Published literature. CONCLUSIONS. A wide array of pharmacological agents exist that can be useful to manage BPAD symptoms. APRNs play a critical role in helping patients and their families to use these drugs effectively.

Aim: The aim of this master thesis was to explore contexts of initiation of substance use and to describe the social, physical and mental health situation of women injecting drug users (WIDU) in Tunisia. Relevance: In North Africa, people who inject drugs are an important risk group in the HIV epidemic. There is evidence that WIDU are even more vulnerable. However, in Arabic Muslim societies, rehabilitation, treatment for this subpopulation and research on this issue are scarce. Method: A qualitative study was conducted. Six in-depth interviews with WIDU in Tunis were recorded, transcribed and inductivelyanalyzed using thematic analysis. Findings: Four themes were identified. The first theme describes situation of women before dependence. Women were brought up within patriarchal cultural norms where they were victimized. The second theme is related to the circumstances of initiation of drug use characterized by the wish for escape and pursue of pleasures. The third theme describes the dependence, withdrawal and consequences on everyday life. Final and fourth theme is related to the way out of addiction. Conclusion and recommendations: The socio-ecological model and the gender relational theory helped to interpret the findings.WIDU in Tunisia suffer from marginalization and from social and health inequalities due to their gender and to their dependence. This puts them at a higher risk of violence, abuse, health hazards and blood-borne and HIV infections. Thus, awareness and policies should be designed in order to alleviate the stigma and bring services closer to this subpopulation.

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Medicine / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.