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Thesis (MMed)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE The purpose of the study is to establish the best method of wound closure with regards to patient satisfaction that includes wound cosmesis and pain. STUDY DESIGN One hundred patients were randomised to two groups for the closure of abdominal wounds; one group had subcuticular sutures and the other staples. They were followed up at 6 weeks. The primary outcome was patient satisfaction that includes wound cosmesis and pain. The secondary outcome was wound complications. RESULTS In women undergoing abdominal operations there was no difference as regards the patient satisfaction in both the groups, subcuticular sutures n= 51 vs. staples n=49 (P = 0.76). CONCLUSION Our study suggest that there is no statistically significant difference in the methods of wound closure, subcuticular sutures vs. staples as regards the patient satisfaction and the appearance of the scar leaving the decision in the hands of the surgeon to choose any method according to their own personnel preference and availability. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: NAVORSINGSDOEL Die fokus van hierdie projek is om vas te stel wat die beste metode van vel sluiting is ten opsigte van pasiënt bevrediging ten opsigte van wond voorkoms en pyn. METODES Een honderd pasiënte is ewekansig verdeel tot velsluiting van abdominale wonde met subkutane oplosbare steke of velhakies. Evaluasie is gedoen tydens ‘n opvolg besoek 6 weke na chirurgie. Die hoof uitkoms was pasiënt tevredenheid. Evaluasie van wond komplikasies is as sekondêre uitkoms beskryf. RESULTATE Vroulike pasiënte wat ‘n Pfannenstiel velinsnyding ondergaan toon geen verskil in pasiënt tevredenheid wanneer subkutane steke (n = 51) met velhakies (n = 49) vergelyk word nie (P = 0.76). SAMEVATTING Ons projek het geen statisties beduidende verskil getoon ten opsigte van pasiënt tevredenheid of wond voorkoms met 6 weke opvolg nie. Dit laat dus die besluit by die chirurg om metode van velsluiting te kies afhangend van voorkeur en toerusting beskikbaarheid.

Thesis (MPhil (Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Increasing inroads by the citizenry, at least in the Western paradigm for the past half millennium, has marked the history of the state as far as accountability is concerned. This process eventually culminated in the modern republican or associated form of democratic governance. Central to this evolutionary process was the notion of the ‘Social Contract’, famously nurtured by the late Enlightenment French philosophers. This concept relies on the notion that the state is crucial for civilized life, yet its power has to be curbed to avoid draconian excesses of power. An analogous process, it might be argued, exists in relation to the citizen-corporate social relationship: that this should come to be governed by what could be termed the ‘Socio-Corporate Contract.’ At present, the great majority of resources are mobilized by private entities, albeit at times in relation to the state, where the state plays a merely facilitating role (Cavanagh et al. 2003; Krasner 2001). This inherently goes to the core of any equity argument. The majority of resources on the planet that are mobilized by and transformed for human consumption: democratically viewed, the citizenry should have some or other governing say over the way in which the majority of resources are mobilized and the manner in which the accrued benefits are distributed (Sachs 2002). Marxist as it may sound, the foundation of such an argument could conceivably, and probably ironically, be traced back to the same type of philosophical foundations that spawned the libertarian republicanism upon which so many of our political Rechtstaat-values are inherently based. From this perspective such a ‘Socio-Corporate Contract’ seems essential, if not inevitable. The form that it would take, though, will probably continue to haunt our governors and rebels alike in the decades to come (Hutton 1995; Also see: The King Report on Corporate Governance in South Africa 2002).

The study investigated the relationships between perceived contingency of parental rewarding and punishing behaviors and locus. of control. Scores on Levenson's Internal, Powerful Others, and Chance locus of control scales were correlated with scores on Yates, Kennelly, and Cox's (1975) Perceived Contingency of Rewards and Punishments Questionnaire. Few significant correlations were obtained. Maternal non-contingent reward related negatively and significantly to internality for males. Paternal non-contingent reward related positively and significantly to males' perception of control by powerful others. And paternal contingent reward related negatively and significantly to females' perceptions of control by chance. Results are discussed relative to learned helplessness research interpretations.

Columnists and social media users commonly stated that terrorist attacks resonate differently in the world and they speculated on some potential reasons such as familiarity, number of victims, and the difference in expectations of a country to be a stage for a terrorist attack to explain this difference. An academic perspective, more specifically a sociological one, is needed to bring light to this debate. In this study, I aimed to understand the discourse after terrorist attacks and to find out if there is a difference between reactions to terrorist attack based on where they happened. This paper embraces a text mining approach to uncover what topics are discussed after four cases of terrorist attacks and to reveal if there is a discrepancy in reactions towards terrorist attacks based on the country they happened. The study consists of two parts. In the first part, the determinants of the public interest and support and how public interest differentiates between different cases of terror attacks is explored. In the second part, topic sentiment analysis is conducted to reveal the nature of the discourse on terrorism. Using the insights from social identity theory, realistic conflict theory and integrated threat theory, I argued that social group categorization in the context of terrorism takes place in a dichotomous manner as Western and Non-Western. This argument, social self-identities being based on ‘West vs. the Rest' mentality in the context of terrorism, is supported by the statistical evidence and the topic model. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Resumo: O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar os efeitos da suplementação energética e com diferentes fontes de gordura na produção de embriões FIV e no perfil metabólico em novilhas nelore. Foram realizados dois experimentos, no primeiro, vinte novilhas Nelore (Bos taurus indicus) com idade média de 30 meses, com peso médio de 417,0 ± 42,4 kg foram distribuidas aleatoriamente em 3 tratamentos: T1 (n= 7), animais receberam 100% das exigências de manutença de energia, calculados conforme NRC (1997), T2 onde os animais receberam 170% das exigências de manutenção de energia (1,7 X M), e T3, onde os animais receberam 170 % das exigências de manutenção de energia com adição de 200 g de gordura protegida-AGCL (Megalac®). No segundo experimento 12 novilhas Nelore (Bos taurus indicus) com idade variando de 14 a 18 meses, com peso médio inicial de 309,6 kg, foram distribuidas em 4 tratamentos, de acordo com peso e população folicular avaliada por ultrasonografia: T1, animais receberam 100% dos requerimentos de mantença de energia, calculados conforme NRC (1997), T2- animais receberam 170% das exigências de mantença de energia, T3- idem ao T2, com adição de 4% de óleo de soja na MS, e T4- idem ao T2, com adição de 200 g de AGCL (Megalac ®). O período de adaptação foi quinze dias, onde os animais receberam feno de capim Brachiaria e ração concentrada... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Two experiments were carried to evaluate the effect of the energy and fat in the metabolic profile, follicular dynamic, oocyte and in vitro embryo production in Nelore heifers (Bos taurus indicus). In the first, twenty Nelore heifers with 30 months old, and average weight 417,0 ± 42,4 were allocated in 3 treatments, in accordance with weight and follicular population evaluated by ultrasound: T1, animals received 100% of energy maintenance, calculated as NRC (1997), T2- animals received 170% of energy maintenance; T3: animals received 170% of energy maintenance with addition of 200 g Megalac ®. In the second experiment, 12 Nelore heifers with 14-18 months and 309,6 kg average weight, were allocated in 3 treatments, in tree periods: T1, animals received 100% of energy maintenance, calculated as NRC (1997), T2- animals received 170% of energy maintenance; T3: animals received 170% of energy maintenance with addition of 4% soybean oil in Dry Matter and T4: animals received 170% of energy maintenance with addition of 200 g Megalac ®. After adaptation period, the treatment initiated, animals had synchronized ovulation, blood samples were collected, and follicular aspiration was carried to evaluate the oocytes and in vitro embryo production. Follicular development was monitored daily by ultrasonography until day post heat. The consumption of MS and the weight gain were lower in group T1 (P< 0.05), in relation to the others treatments. The FSH, LH, and albumin concentrations were not different (P > 0.05) among treatments. The cholesterol concentrations were higher in the T3 and T4 groups (P< 0.05) only in the second experiment... (Complete abstract, click electronic access below) / Orientadora: Gisele Zoccal Mingoti / Coorientador: Roberto Sartori Filho / Banca: Ciro Moraes Barros / Banca: César Roberto Esper / Banca: Paulo Henrique Franceschini / Doutor

Im Mittelpunkt der vorliegenden Arbeit stehen Untersuchungen zur Analytik, Stabilität und Metabolisierung von Nitroxylradikalen, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung Ihrer Anwendung als ESR-Spinsonden im Rahmen der Bearbeitung pharmazeutisch-technologischer und biopharmazeutischer Fragestellungen. Neben der Entwicklung und Adaptierung geeigneter analytischer Methoden waren dabei Stabilitätsfragen unter den Bedingungen ihres Einsatzes, die Stabilität von Reaktionsprodukten und Metaboliten, das elektrochemische und chemische Reduktionsverhalten sowie die Biotransformation du rch Mikroorganismen, in subzellulären Fraktionen der Leber und in humanen Zellkulturen von besonderem Interesse. Als wichtigste Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit sind: (i) bisher unbekannte Metaboliten (wie z.B. sekundäreAmine) identifiziert, (ii) der Erkenntnisstand zu den Mechanismen der Biotransformation dieser stabilen Radikale erweitert, (iii) methodische Fortschritte wie die Entwicklung einer On-line HPLC-ESR-Kopplung und bei der Anwendung der Festphasenmikroextraktion (SPME) erreicht, (iv) die ESR als Methode für nichtinvasive Messungen des pH-Wertes und für die Erfassung der Stabilität und Hautpenetration von Liposomen erschlossen worden. / The present thesis was focused on the investigation of analytic, stability and metabolism of nitroxyl radicals used as esr spin probes in pharmaceutical, technological and biopharmaceutical applications. New analytical methods were developed and adapted for nitroxides and diamagnetic products. The stability of nitroxides was analysed and reaction products were cleared up. Furthermore there were in vestigated the electrochemical and chemical behaviour of reduction as well as the biotransformation by microorganisms, in subcellular liver fractions and in human cell cultures. The main results of this document are presented in the following: (i) the appearance of new dia- and paramagnetic metabolites (e.g. secondary amines), (ii) the latest findings about metabolic mechanisms of stable nitroxyl radicals, (iii) the development of online HPLC-ESR-couppling technique and the application of solid phase microextraction (SPME) as the greatest acquisition, (iv) the advantage of ESR technique for noninvasive measurement of pH and to register the stability and penetration of liposomes through skin layers.

ABC-Transmembrantransporter sind an der Aufnahme, Verteilung und Ausscheidung vieler Arznei- und Fremdstoffe beteiligt. Sie spielen eine Schlüsselrolle in der Pharmakokinetik und in der Ausscheidung toxischer endogener oder exogener Substanzen. Das Ziel der hier präsentierten Untersuchungen war deshalb, den Einfluss genetischer Polymorphismen des bekanntesten Vertreters dieser Proteinfamilie, MDR1 (ABCB1) zu untersuchen. Darüberhinaus sollte der ebenfalls zur ABC-Transporterfamilie gehörende hepatozelluläre Exporter für monoanionische Gallensäuren identifiziert und charakterisiert werden. MDR1 erwies sich als ein hochpolymorphes Gen mit zahlreichen Einzelbasenaustauschen (SNPs). Die meisten SNPs waren intronisch oder stumm. Für den nichtkodierenden SNP im Exon 26 3435C>T ergab sich bei homozygoten Trägern des T-Allels eine im Vergleich zum Wildtyp geringere intestinale P-Glykoprotein Expression mit einer entsprechend höheren und schnelleren Absorption von Digoxin. Die Auswertung pharmakokinetischer Profile von Digoxin in Individuen mit MDR1-Haplotypen der miteinander verbundenen SNPs in Exon 21 2677 und Exon 26 3435 untermauerte die beobachteten pharmakogenetischen Effekte. Nach oraler Einzelgabe von 1 mg Digoxin konnten wahrscheinlich aufgrund der Überschreitung der P-Glykoprotein Transportkapazität keine genotypischen Unterschiede beobachtet werden. Der biliäre Exporter für monoanionische Gallensäuren (Bsep) konnte als ein 160 kDa Glykoprotein aus einer Rattenleber cDNA-Bibliothek identifiziert werden und gehört ebenfalls zur ABC Transporter-Familie. Die transkriptionelle Regulation und Möglichkeiten der Modulation der Expression des Bsep-Gens wurden in vitro und in Tiermodellen der Cholestase untersucht. Dabei zeigte sich, dass Gallensäuren über ein proximales FXRE-Motiv die Bsep Promotoraktivität stimulierten. Arzneistoffe hatten ebenfalls einen Einfluss auf die Transkription des Bsep-Gens. Die adaptive Regulation hepatozellulärer Transporter während der Cholestase ergab eine verminderte Expression der meisten basolateralen Aufnahmetransporter und eine unveränderte oder heraufregulierte Proteinmasse kanalikulärer (apikaler) Efflux-Transporter. Dieses Regulationsmuster dient dem Schutz der Leberzelle, indem eine intrazelluläre Anreicherung toxischer Gallensäuren vermindert und der Gallefluss für eine intakte biliäre Clearance aufrechterhalten wird. / ABC transmembrane transporters are involved in absorption, distribution and excretion of diverse drugs and xenobiotics. They are key factors in pharmacokinetics and in the elimination of toxic endogenous or exogenous compounds. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of genetic polymorphisms of the best known member of this protein family, MDR1 (ABCB1). In addition, the identity of another ABC transporter assumed to be the major hepatocellular export pump for monoanionic bile acids should be revealed and characterized. MDR1 turned out as a highly polymorphic gene with many single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Most of the SNPs were intronic or silent. Homozygous carriers of the non-coding SNP in exon 26 3435C>T had lower intestinal P-glycoprotein expression rates and thus enhanced absorption of the model compound digoxin as compared to wildtype controls. The analysis of pharmacokinetic profiles in different MDR1-haplotypes of the linked SNPs in exon 21 2677 and exon 26 3435 supported the above data. An oral single dose of 1 mg digoxin did not result in genotypic differences of tested genotypes, probably because this dose was above the maximal transport capacity of P-glycoprotein. The biliary export pump for monoanionic bile acids (Bsep) was identified as an 160 kDa glycoprotein of the ABC transporter family by screening a rat liver cDNA library. The transcriptional regulation and modulatory factors of Bsep (Abcb11) gene expression were analyzed in vitro and in animal models of cholestasis. The promoter activity of Bsep was stimulated by bile acids via a proximal FXRE motif. Drugs were also able to modify Bsep gene transcription. Adaptive regulation of hepatocellular transporters during cholestasis followed a pattern of diminished expression of most basolateral uptake carrier systems and maintained or even upregulated protein mass of canalicular (apical) exporters. This pattern serves as a protective mechanism of the liver cells preventing intracellular accumulation of toxic bile acids and providing unimpaired biliary flow and clearance.

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