A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of tine requirements for the Degree of Master of Technology: Biomedical Technology, Durban University of Technology, 2007. / In 2004, it was reported that KwaZulu-Natal had the greatest number of HIV infected people, approximately 1.8 million people, of whom an estimated 450 000 were in need of antiretroviral drug therapy based on their Cluster of Differentiation 4 (CD4) counts and clinical status. Studies on the success of antiretroviral drugs in improving the quality of life in HIV infected individuals have been extensively performed and published. However, there are no published data on the effect that immune boosters have in improving the quality of life in such persons. Considering the side effects, toxicity, multi-drug regimens and drug resistance problems associated with antiretroviral therapy, alternative or supplementary therapies may play an important role in improving the quality of life in HIV infected people. Such therapy might help in situations where some patients who qualify for antiretroviral treatment are unable to access them because of several reasons such as long waiting lists, travelling costs, unwilling to take antiretroviral drugs, etc. Some patients have reservations in taking antiretroviral drugs. The stigma associated with the disease may be a major factor. The aim of this study was to investigate the change in the immune status of HIV infected patients that were on the Inochi New Medicine immune booster, as well as, to assess the safety and efficacy of this immune booster in improving the patients’ quality of life. / M

One in seven women will develop breast cancer. Most will suffer medically and psychologically from the disease. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) interventions such as tai chi and spiritual growth groups have proven to be beneficial for this population, however, many questions remain regarding the mechanisms of action in these techniques. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychosocial effects and mechanisms of two 10-week interventions (tai chi and spiritual growth groups) within the context of a larger randomized, controlled NCI-funded study (R01 CA114718, Nancy McCain, PI) in women recently diagnosed with breast cancer. The present study evaluated dispositional predictors (optimism, attentional style, emotional intelligence) as well as the effects of these interventions on measures of mood, coping, and quality of life (QOL) in a subsample of 40 women enrolled in the larger study. Participants were primarily Caucasian (73%) with a mean age of 49 years. Data were collected just prior to beginning chemotherapy when the interventions began, and again 10 weeks later. Twenty-nine participants completed the interventions and had both time 1 and time 2 data. There were 15 women in the tai chi group, 6 in the spiritual growth group, and 8 in the control group. Results from this subsample revealed differential effects of the interventions on total mood disturbance, depressive symptoms and QOL. Optimism was a significant predictor of TNF-α levels, monitoring was a significant predictor of changes in anxiety and QOL, and emotional intelligence was a significant predictor of changes in QOL. These findings give promise to future studies aimed at cross-validating with a larger sample. This research could potentially guide the treatment of women with breast cancer by providing enhanced understanding of how tai chi and spiritual growth groups affect this population psychologically, behaviorally, and biologically.

Lau, Hoi Lam. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 271-289). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese.

Keung Hoi Yee. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 151-174). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Acknowledgement --- p.I / Abstract --- p.II / 摘要 --- p.V / Content --- p.VII / List of tables --- p.XIII / List of figures --- p.XIV / Abbreviations --- p.XVII / Chapter Chapter 1 --- General Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Biology of Pleurotus tuber-regiun (Ptr) --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.1 --- Ptr grown in the wild --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.2 --- Cultivation of Ptr --- p.2 / Chapter 1.2 --- Functional food and pharmaceutical application of Ptr sclerotium --- p.3 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Traditional food and medicinal uses of Ptr sclerotium --- p.3 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Nutritional value and chemical composition --- p.4 / Chapter 1.2.3 --- Anti-tumor activity --- p.7 / Chapter 1.2.4 --- Anti-viral activity --- p.8 / Chapter 1.2.5 --- Immunologic function --- p.8 / Chapter 1.2.6 --- Pharmaceutical application --- p.9 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Toxicological evaluation on Ptr sclerotium --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Toxicological concern of Ptr sclerotium --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Toxicological study --- p.12 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- Biochemical methods for toxicological evaluation --- p.14 / Chapter 2.1.3.1 --- Serum enzyme activities --- p.15 / Chapter 2.1.3.2 --- Other serum analytes --- p.17 / Chapter 2.1.4 --- Histopathological study --- p.20 / Chapter 2.1.5 --- Acute toxicity --- p.21 / Chapter 2.1.6 --- Sub-acute and sub-chronic toxicity --- p.23 / Chapter 2.1.7 --- Objectives --- p.26 / Chapter 2.2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.27 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Sample materials and chemicals --- p.27 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Acute toxicity test --- p.27 / Chapter 2.2.2.1 --- Diet and animals --- p.27 / Chapter 2.2.2.2 --- Experimental design --- p.28 / Chapter 2.2.2.3 --- Calculation of sclerotium intake dose --- p.29 / Chapter 2.2.2.4 --- Biochemical assays --- p.30 / Chapter 2.2.2.5 --- Histopathological examination --- p.31 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Sub-acute and sub-chronic toxicity tests --- p.32 / Chapter 2.2.3.1 --- Diet Preparation --- p.32 / Chapter 2.2.3.2 --- Experimental design --- p.32 / Chapter 2.2.3.3 --- Biochemical assays --- p.36 / Chapter 2.2.3.4 --- Organ weight --- p.40 / Chapter 2.2.3.5 --- Histopathological examination --- p.41 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- Statistical analyses --- p.41 / Chapter 2.3 --- Results and Discussion --- p.42 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Acute toxicity test --- p.42 / Chapter 2.3.1.1 --- Food consumption --- p.43 / Chapter 2.3.1.2 --- Serum transaminase activities --- p.44 / Chapter 2.3.1.3 --- Histopathology --- p.45 / Chapter 2.3.1.4 --- NOAEL --- p.45 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Sub-acute toxicity test --- p.50 / Chapter 2.3.2.1 --- Body weight gain --- p.50 / Chapter 2.3.2.2 --- Biochemical assays --- p.51 / Chapter 2.3.2.3 --- Organ per body weight and histopathology --- p.52 / Chapter 2.3.2.4 --- Effects of Ptr sclerotial diets --- p.53 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Sub-chronic toxicity test --- p.59 / Chapter 2.3.3.1 --- Food and energy consumption --- p.59 / Chapter 2.3.3.2 --- Biochemical assays --- p.63 / Chapter 2.3.3.3 --- Organ per body weight --- p.67 / Chapter 2.3.3.4 --- Body weight increase --- p.75 / Chapter 2.3.3.5 --- NOAEL --- p.80 / Chapter 2.4 --- Summary --- p.81 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Hepatoprotection of Ptr sclerotium --- p.82 / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.82 / Chapter 3.1.1 --- Hepatotoxicity --- p.82 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- Potential hepatoprotection effect of Ptr sclerotium --- p.83 / Chapter 3.1.3 --- Toxicity of CC14 --- p.85 / Chapter 3.1.4 --- Toxicity of AFB! --- p.89 / Chapter 3.1.5 --- Bioactivity of chlorophyllin --- p.92 / Chapter 3.1.6 --- Comet assay --- p.93 / Chapter 3.1.7 --- Objectives --- p.98 / Chapter 3.2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.99 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Sample materials and chemicals --- p.99 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Curative and preventive tests of Ptr sclerotium against CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity --- p.99 / Chapter 3.2.2.1 --- Animal and diets --- p.99 / Chapter 3.2.2.2 --- Dose-response of CCl4 on rat model --- p.100 / Chapter 3.2.2.3 --- Biochemical assays --- p.100 / Chapter 3.2.2.4 --- Curative hepatoprotection test on Ptr --- p.101 / Chapter 3.2.2.5 --- Preventive hepatoprotection test on Ptr --- p.101 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Preventive tests of Ptr sclerotium against AFB1-induced hepato- and geno-toxicity --- p.103 / Chapter 3.2.3.1 --- Dose-response of AFB1 on rat model --- p.103 / Chapter 3.2.3.2 --- Preventive test of Ptr against AFB1 --- p.103 / Chapter 3.2.3.3 --- Biochemical assays --- p.105 / Chapter 3.2.3.4 --- Histopathological examination --- p.105 / Chapter 3.2.4 --- Comet assay --- p.106 / Chapter 3.2.4.1 --- Reagent preparations --- p.106 / Chapter 3.2.4.2 --- Procedures --- p.107 / Chapter 3.2.5 --- Statistical analyses --- p.110 / Chapter 3.3 --- Results and Discussion --- p.111 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Curative and preventive tests of Ptr sclerotium against CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity --- p.112 / Chapter 3.3.1.1 --- Dose-response of CCl4 on rat model --- p.112 / Chapter 3.3.1.2 --- Curative test of Ptr sclerotium against CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity --- p.116 / Chapter 3.3.1.3 --- Preventive test of Ptr sclerotium against CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity --- p.121 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Preventive tests of Ptr sclerotium against AFB1-induced hepato- and geno-toxicity --- p.126 / Chapter 3.3.2.1 --- Dose-response of AFB1 on rat model --- p.126 / Chapter 3.3.2.2 --- Preventive test of Ptr sclerotium against AFB1-induced geno- and hepatotoxicity --- p.134 / Chapter 3.3.2.3 --- CHL versus 30% Ptr sclerotial diet --- p.137 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- A comparison of the hepatotoxicity of CC14 and AFB1 --- p.142 / Chapter 3.4 --- Summary --- p.147 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Conclusions and future work --- p.148 / References --- p.151 / Related publication --- p.175

Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2013 / Studies have indicated that help-seeking behaviour of people living with HIV is not predictable and linear and may entail the utilization of western medicine, traditional medicine and/or complementary medicine. The aim of this study was to explore pre- and post- HIV diagnosis help-seeking behaviour by patients receiving antiretroviral treatment at Witbank Hospital in Mpumalanga Province (South Africa).A qualitative, descriptive phenomenological approach was utilized in the study. Ten participants (male = 5; female = 5, and aged between 30 and 50 years)diagnosed with HIV and who came to the hospital to collect their treatment and for medical review were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Interpretive analysis method was used to analyse the data. The results suggest the preference for western medicine pre-and post-HIV diagnosis. The results further suggest that help-seeking behaviour is a dynamic process embedded mainly in the conceptualization of the health problem, perception of its severity, the treatment given, and social support experienced.

This dissertation examines Puerto Rican therapeutic communities – resource-poor mutual-aid collectives that have flourished over the past five decades, despite being heavily criticized by human rights groups for using unwaged labor as a method to treat addiction. The persistence of these communities, which are spreading rapidly across Latin America, is widely ascribed in international media to state neglect. I conducted a year of ethnographic research in Puerto Rico to understand why labor therapies thrive, and what these approaches are intended to achieve among those who practice them. Challenging the argument that labor therapies are the simple result of the state failing to provide alternatives, my research shows that during the last half century therapeutic communities have been successively recruited to serve a variety of distinct and sometimes competing interests. My examination of the multiple, contested, and sometimes-converging projects that inhere within this therapeutic regime shows that these organizations have variously served as entrepreneurial projects of informal enterprise, existential projects of redemption, state projects of containment, and shunt-valves for relieving burdens of dependency from straining kinship systems. Their endurance, therefore, not only reflects their capacity to patch the cracks of multiple faltering systems (including employment, corrections, family), but it also reflects their protean vulnerability to appropriation: that is, the ease with which they are co-opted by other actors for alternative utilities. Based on eight months of intensive participant observation in one therapeutic community, La Casita, where I explored the cultural logics and meanings of labor therapies, I argue that “drug treatment” here is not centrally geared towards “treating addiction.” Instead, La Casita’s therapeutic practices of labor therapy, time-discipline, prayer, and internal work are more instructively read as social technologies through which men who are excluded from the labor market and estranged from kinship ties seek to cultivate an alternative masculinity that restores their sense of worth. The “socially useful” masculinity under construction here, based on a performance of work, responsibility, and duty, offers unemployed men an alternative way to claim the dignity and social membership of work.

Bakgrund:Beröring är en viktig del i omvårdnaden som sjuksköterskan tillämpar naturligt. Beröring har en lugnande funktion och taktil massage som metod kan därmed tillämpas i syfte att lugna patienter med ångestproblematik. Syfte: Syftet var att belysa hur personer med ångest upplever taktil massage som behandlingsmetod. Metod: En litteraturstudie med systematiskt tillvägagångssätt tillämpades. Studien baserades på elva vetenskapliga artiklar. Resultat: Personer med ångest upplevde sin tillvaro som oerhört lidande. Massagen medförde i personens kaos en upplevelse av välbefinnande för kropp och själ och som även gav utrymme för att fly från tid, rum och tankar. Massagen ingav känslor av bekräftelse och respekt men som emellertid även upplevdes som en överträdelse av den personliga sfären. Diskussion: Att känna sig utvald upplevdes som något oerhört värdefullt. Kropp och själ var viktigt för individens utvecklande och totala harmoni. Integriteten var betydelsefull att poängtera då kroppen upplevdes som ett personligt och privat område. Slutsats: Det är viktigt att sjuksköterskan uppmärksammar effekterna av taktil massage. Detta medför att större förståelse och kunskap kring behandlingen kan erhållas. På så vis kan en bättre och mer optimal omvårdnaden erbjudas. / Background:Touch is an important part of nursing that the nurse applies naturally. Touch has a calming function and tactile massage can therefore be applied to calm patients with anxiety problems. Aim: The aim was to highlight how people with anxiety experience tactile massage as a treatment. Method: A literature review with a systematic approach was applied. The study is based on eleven scientific articles. Results: Individuals with anxiety disorders experience life as immense suffering. The massage brings a feeling of well being for body and soul into the person's chaos which also assists with scope to escape from time, space and thoughts. The massage entailed feelings of affirmation and respect which, however, also was seen as an infringement of the personal sphere. Discussion: To be experienced as chosen was seen as extremely valuable. Body and mind was significant for individual self-development and overall harmony. Privacy was important to point out since the body was perceived as a personal and private area. Conclusion: It is important that the nurse notes the effects of tactile massage. This leads to greater understanding and knowledge regarding the treatment that will allow a better and more optimal care offered.

Calf scours are caused by a variety of infectious agents. Oral rehydration therapy solutions are formulated with the objective of correcting dehydration and acidosis. Currently, oral rehydraton therapy does not promote gut healing in diarrheic calves. However, investigators are examining the role of nutrition in promoting gut healing. Previous work has shown that the amino acid glutamine is important in nitrogen transport between tissues and is an indispensable nutrient for rapidly dividing cells such as lymphocytes, fibroblasts and enterocytes. Small intestinal epithelial cells depend mainly on glutamine, glucose, and ketone bodies for their energy under normal physiological conditions. The oxidative substrate preferred by large intestinal epithelial cells appears to be butyrate, followed by acetate, glutamine, and glucose. Research shows that glutamine supplementation increases intestinal protein synthesis. This may be one of the mechanisms by which glutamine exerts its protective effect on gut integrity and mucosal barrier function during critical illness. However, questions concerning the optimum dose and route by which glutamine is to be administered have yet to be addressed. A surgical model was developed to chronically study the nutrient concentration differences across the portal-drained viscera of preruminant calves. The experimental design consisted of a series of infusions conducted on four different study days in each calf. On the study days, 4 separate 1h infusions of acetate, glucose, glutamine, saline (control) were administered intravenously via the jugular vein at 200 mmol/L/h in a different order. Venous and arterial blood were collected over the last 15 min of each 1h infusion. Blood flow was also measured. Intestinal uptake in ìmol/kg^0.75/min was 0.3 ± 1.1 for glutamine and 1.9 ± 3.1 for glucose during saline infusion. During acetate, glucose, and saline infusions, glucose was a greater source of energy than glutamine for the intestine. However, during glutamine infusion, intestinal glutamine uptake (29.9 ± 11.2 ìmol/kg^0.75/min) increased significantly which was associated with a rise in ammonia production (7.0 ± 0.5 ìmol/kg^0.75min). A second experiment was designed to determine if glutamine uptake could be further stimulated either by longer term intravenous infusion or by chronic oral supplementation in neonatal calves. Intestinal metabolism was investigated by measuring nutrient uptake during three intravenous infusions of glutamine over a 5 h period after an overnight fast. Prior to the first infusion, calves diet consisted of milk only. Diet was supplemented with oral glutamine for the second and third infusions. Glutamine was administered via the jugular vein at a rate of 200 mmol/L/h. Venous and arterial blood was collected in duplicate every hour for 5 h. Blood flow was also measured. During glutamine infusion, there was an absolute increase in PDV uptake of glutamine associated with a significant production of ammonia. Feeding glutamine orally did not alter the PDV glutamine uptake. Glutamine infusion did not increase the intestinal uptake of essential amino acids. Neither chronic oral supplementation with glutamine, or infusion for periods longer than an hour, further increased intestinal glutamine uptake. Arterial leucine concentration and intestinal uptake declined during glutamine infusion suggesting that its supply became limiting. Thus glutamine supplementation may require the provision of a mixture of amino acids to be effective.

The purpose of this research was to understand the lived experience of a person with a substance addiction that uses or has used alternative therapies for treatment. A single-case study approach was used to understand the lived experiences of Jason, a male in his mid-forties who is healing from a substance addiction. Through in-person interviewing and reading personal manuscripts written by the participant, data were collected. The data were analysed and interpreted using phenomenological and integral hermeneutics. Through the interpretations, it was clear that a major contributing factor to Jason’s drug use was the negative experiences he was carrying from his past. Once he was able to let go of the negativity and let his higher power guide him, his healing journey took a positive turn. Today, Jason lives in the moment and does not need drugs to heal the hurt he is feeling inside. He uses his ultimate alternative method, derived from within himself, to guide his journey in recovery. / viii, 155 leaves ; 29 cm

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the impact of an imagery/relaxation program on athletes with a surgical knee injury. More specifically the study examined changes in state and trait anxiety, locus of control, and attitude/opinion as a result of the imagery/relaxation program. A qualitative design was used to allow for an in-depth examination into each participant's behavior. Since a qualitative design was utilized, the procedures were slightly different for each participant.The following is a general outline for the procedures used. One week prior to surgery the participant was taught progressive relaxation. One week post-surgery the participant was administered the STAI, LCRS, and ERAIQ. The participant was also given a different imagery/relaxation script each week to rehearse beginning one week post-surgery to 11 weeks post-surgery. The participant also completed journal worksheets weekly. At each session the researcher asked interview questions. Twelve weeks post-surgery the participant was given the STAI, LCRS, ERAIQ, and exit questionnaire. Due to the lack of adherence to the program there were no conclusive results. / School of Physical Education