Magister Scientiae - MSc / Despite recent advances in radiotherapy, some tumours have shown to be resistant to treatment and patients still experience long term side effects. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been identified as effective radiosensitizers when employed concurrently with kilovoltage X-rays, which could selectively increase the dose delivered to a patient's tumour. The clinical application of proton radiation has gained renewed attention due to the lower integral body dose of protons compared to traditional X-ray based therapy. While extensive research has been formed on the behaviour of AuNPs in photon beams, limited information is available on the combination of AuNPs and proton radiation. Several questions remain regarding the interaction of protons with the AuNPs and possible dose enhancement effects at different depths along the Spread Out Bragg Peak (SOBP).

MPH / Department of Public Health / South African HIV epidemic remains the largest in the world with an estimated 7.7 million people living with HIV in 2018. It accounts for a third of all new HIV infections in southern Africa. In 2018, there were 240,000 new HIV infections and about 71,000 South Africans died from AIDS-related illnesses. To meet the 90 90 90 targets by the end of 2020, patients are subject to uncompromising and long-term commitments of taking at least 95% of their treatment as prescribed. Evidence shows that patients are not adhering to treatment regardless of the systems that the government has initiated. The purpose of this study was to identify factors contributing to non-adherence levels to antiretroviral therapy amongst adults living with HIV and AIDS in Makhado Municipality. A quantitative, descriptive approach was adopted. Data was collected using a questionnaire with closed ended questions. The targeted population was made up of males and females between the ages of 18 to 59. Validity and reliability were ensured in the study. Pretesting was done in Kulani Gateway clinic and 10 respondents were selected. A sample of 225 respondents was selected from the targeted population using convenience sampling. Data analysis was done using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 25.0.The analysed data were presented in tables/percentages and charts. The findings revealed that most respondents(80%) who have been on treatment for less than six months adhere more to treatment than respondents who have been on treatment for more than 24 months (57%). The studies also revealed that about 57.9% of respondents forget to take treatment when they have taken alcohol and 42.1% took their treatment even when they have taken alcohol. Side effects were identified as barriers to adherence. The study indicated most respondents (73.3%) experienced side effects especially in the first few months of commencing treatment. and about 26.7% did not report any side effects. In conclusion, Non-adherence to ART poses a major challenge in most regions of the world and in all stages of HIV infection. When patients adhere to treatment the virus will suppress, quality of life will improve and patients will also prevent cross infections. The study revealed factors contributing to nonadherence to ART that includes alcohol intake and side effects. The study also indicates a strong association between waiting times as a factor to improve on adherence. Therefore the study recommends that an intervention to address alcohol intake and side effects should be carried in Makhado Local Municipality. / NRF

Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Department of Biological and medicinal sciences Candidate Karolína Arnošová Consultant doc.MUDr. Josef Herink DrSc. Title of thesis Adverse effects of epilepsy medication in children The aim of this thesis was to determine the most commonly used antiepileptics in children, its adverse effects and to compare these results with the adult epileptology. In the theoretical part there are etiopathogenesis, pathophysiology, clinical manifestation, types of the seizures and epileptic syndromes described. The specifics of epilepsy treatment in children, not only pharmacotherapy, but also non-pharmacological treatment options, were documented as well. In the study there was exact half of patients treated with monotherapy and the other half with combined therapy which is not in line with the original hypothesis that assumed a predominance of monotherapy. The most commonly used antiepileptics in children were valproate (62,5 %), lamotrigine (25 %), topiramate and levetiracetame (both in 18,75 %). The hypothesis assuming a higher incidence of adverse effects in combination therapy has been confirmed. The most common adverse effects in children were the effects on total daily activity, occuring in 83,33 %, even with the mildest score on average....

This master’s degree thesis exists in two parts: a critical introduction and an original novella entitled Side Effects. The critical introduction introduces and explains the theories on, literature surrounding, and literary uses of dystopian fiction, the novella format, and drug-based psychotherapy. Current opinion on dystopian fiction sees it characterized by a seemingly perfect societal setting that ultimately contains hidden or suppressed moral flaws. The ultimate purpose of dystopian fiction is commentary on contemporary society through a defamiliarized setting. The novella format is shown to exist in a middle-ground state between the short story and the novel, yet the format manages to maintain positive literary elements of both. Finally, a discussion on drug-based psychotherapy illustrates the use of chemical compounds to treat or cure psychological conditions, a topic of much debate amongst current psychology practitioners. The section on drug-based psychotherapy focuses largely on memoirs for purposes of first-hand experience and character creation for the original novella. The novella, entitled Side Effects, follows the character Edward, a middle-aged man who creates and tests serums that suppress by mandate the emotions that his society deems toxic to the human condition. Edward remains ignorant of any life outside the symmetry and order of the Company, the corporation responsible for the maintenance of the society. That is, until a chance encounter with a young woman named Gabrielle causes Edward to explore a world outside the confines of his carefully crafted city and lifestyle. She introduces him to a community of people who reject the mandates of the Company and exist as the extreme opposition to its ideals. As Edward spends more time with this group, known as Splicers, he must confront his long-held standards and finally choose for himself what life he will live.

Over half (57%) of the women diagnosed with breast cancer are age 65 and older. Treatment for breast cancer may exacerbate current chronic illnesses and/or cause multiple treatment related side effects such as insomnia, fatigue, decreased physical functioning, alterations in body image, poorer quality of life, and changes in psychosocial health. While many women with breast cancer experience these changes, research suggests that older women have different needs than younger women and may not always benefit from interventions. The purpose of this integrative review of literature was to evaluate interventions designed to improve treatment related side effects in female breast cancer survivors age 65 years and older. This review of literature was conducted using CINAHL, PsycINFO, and MEDLINE databases using various key terms. Inclusion criteria consisted of peer reviewed research articles, women who have experience breast cancer, interventions directed at decreasing side effects, and research articles written in the English language.While using these search criteria, no interventions were found therefore, the age group was lowered to include women 50 and older. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria. Interventions addressed a variety of treatment related side effects and were delivered in multiple formats. The findings indicate that interventions resulted in a significant improvement in sleep and fatigue, physical function, perception of body image, psychosocial health, and quality of life for older women with breast cancer. While these findings are positive, the literature did not break down results based on developmental stage or "older" age groups. Currently, there is limited literature that examines interventions in women age 65 and older, this may limit nurses' ability to suggest successful interventions to some of our oldest cancer survivors.

No description available.

Virtual environment (VE) systems have been touted as exciting new technologies with many varied applications. Today VEs are used in telerobotics, training, simulation, medicine, architecture, and entertainment. The future use of VEs seems limited only by the creativity of its designers. However, as with any developing technology, some difficulties need to be overcome. Certain users of VEs experience negative side effects from being immersed into the graphically rendered virtual worlds. Some side effects that have been observed include: disorientation, headaches, and difficulties with vision. These negative side effects threaten the safety and effectiveness of VE systems. Negative side effects have been found to develop in a variety of environments. The research focus on VE side effects thus far has been on the symptoms and not the causes. The main goals of this research is fourfold: 1) to compare a new measure for side effects with established ones; 2) begin analyzing the causes of side effects with an analysis of head-tracking; 3) to examine any adaptation that may occur within a session and between days of a session; and, 4) to examine possible predictors for users who may experience side effects. An experiment was conducted using two different VEs with either head-tracking on or head-tracking off over four days. A questionnaire, a balance test, a vision test, and magnitude estimations of side effects were used to assess the incidence and severity of sickness experienced in the VEs. Other assessments, including a mental rotation test, perceptual style, and a questionnaire on pre-existing susceptibility to motion sickness were administered. All factors were analyzed to determine what their relationships were with the incidence and severity of negative side effects that result from immersion into the VEs. Results showed that head-tracking induces more negative side effects than no head-tracking. The maze task environment induces more negative side effects than the office task environment. Adaptation did not occur from day to day throughout the four testing sessions. The incidence and severity of negative side effects increased at a constant rate throughout the 30 minute immersive VE sessions, but did not show any significant changes from day to day. No evidence was found for a predictor that would foretell who might be susceptible to motion sickness in VEs. / Master of Science

No / Antipsychotic drug-induced side effects of weight gain and sexual dysfunction have clinical significance adversely affecting both compliance and morbidity. This study evaluated the effects of haloperidol and the atypical antipsychotic risperidone (0.1¿1.0 mg/kg) on weight gain, food and water intake, the oestrous cycle and uterine weight in female hooded Lister rats. Haloperidol and risperidone treated rats displayed marked weight gain, although only risperidone induced significant increases in food consumption over the 21-day period. Neither haloperidol nor risperidone influenced water consumption. Marked disruption of the oestrous cycle was observed in risperidone- and haloperidol-treated animals (0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg), which was supported by significantly reduced uterine weights. The findings presented here suggest that the weight gain and sexual dysfunction induced by antipsychotics may be modelled in rodents. This model may offer insight into the mechanisms involved in mediation of such side effects.

Clostridium difficile causes pseudomembranous colitis in humans and a similar ileocecitis in hamsters. This organism can colonize the intestines after antibiotic therapy disrupts the normal intestinal microflora. Once established in the intestines, the organism causes disease by producing two toxins, designated toxin A and toxin B. Only toxin A is active on intestinal epithelium, thus toxin A is the cause of the initial tissue damage in the intestines. In order for a toxin to affect a cell, it must first bind to the cell. Toxin A has been shown to bind to Galα1- 3Galβ 1-4GIcNAc on the intestinal epithelium of hamsters. I provide evidence that toxin A can use this trisaccharide as a functional receptor on cell lines, and that the expression of the carbohydrate receptor increases the sensitivity of the cells to toxin A. Furthermore, the intestinal epithelium of infant hamsters bound less toxin A at 37C than did the adult tissue, and infants are less sensitive to the disease caused by C. difficile than are adults. This provides further evidence that the activity of toxin A is increased by the binding of the toxin to Galα1-3Galβ1- 4GlcNAc. Even though Galα1-3Galβ 1-4GlcNAc was a receptor for toxin A on animal cells, it probably is not a receptor for toxin A in humans, because people do not normally express this carbohydrate. Instead, I found that toxin A bound to the carbohydrate antigens designated I, X, and Y, which are present on the intestinal epithelium of humans. These carbohydrates could be receptors for toxin A. The possible significance of these receptors is discussed. / Ph. D.

Clostridium sordellii cause gas gangrene in man and animals, and more recently it has been implicated as a causal agent of diarrhea and enterotoxemia in domestic animals. This organism was once believed to cause pseudomembranous colitis (PMC) in humans, however, Clostridium difficile, not C. sordellii, was found to be the causative agent of this disease. It is now known that C. difficile produces two toxins, designated A and B, that are implicated in the pathogenesis of the disease. C. sordellii produces two toxins, designated HT (Hemorrhagic Toxin) and LT (Lethal Toxin), that are similar to toxins A and B of C. difficile. The goal of my research was to purify and characterize the two toxins of C. sordellii, and compare their properties to those of C. difficile. Toxin HT was purified from C. sordellii (VPI strain 9048) culture filtrate by ultrafiltration through an XM-100 membrane filter and immunoaffinity chromatography using a monoclonal antibody to toxin A of C. difficile as the ligand. Toxin LT was purified to 80% homogeneity by ultrafiltration on an XM-100 membrane filter and ion-exchange chromatography. Toxin HT migrated as a major band with molecular weight of 525,000 and a minor band at 450,000 on non-denaturing PAGE. By SDS-PAGE the molecular weight was estimated at 300,000. Isoelectric focusing indicated a pI of 6.1. Like toxin A, toxin HT was cytotoxic to cultured cells, lethal for mice, and elicited an accumulation of hemorrhagic fluid in rabbit ileal loops. Toxin LT exhibited properties similar to toxin B, although LT was about a 1000-fold less cytotoxic than toxin B. By SDS-PAGE the molecular weight was estimated at 260,000. Immunodiffusion analysis revealed a reaction of partial identity between these toxins and their amino-terminal sequences were very similar. Toxins HT and LT of C. sordellii have retained remarkable immunological similarities as well as physicochemical and biological properties with toxins A and B of Q. difficult however the toxins are not identical. / Ph. D.