South Africans are in dire need of organs and tissues for transplantation. The impact is felt by many, irrespective of colour, creed or religion. No known studies have been conducted amongst Baptists in South Africa to determine their point of view on the subject. My own personal experience as both a Baptist pastor and now as procurement operations manager of a bone tissue centre, has shown that most people are ignorant and uninformed about bone tissue donation and also, to a lesser degree about organ donation. This study seeks to ascertain what a representative group of Baptist delegates who attended the annual Northern Baptist Association Assembly in June 2005 think about organ and tissue donation. Their views were obtained by means of an empirical study. The results are interpreted to determine if they are in favour of or against organ and tissue donation. It is important to note their beliefs regarding the Scriptural position on donation and whether Christians could be encouraged from the Word to become organ and tissue donors or not. Donation of organs and tissue benefits not only the recipient or patient, but also affects the donor family, or next-of-kin. The study aims to determine if the respondents felt that organ and tissue donation holds pastoral benefits to the donor families and recipients. Baptists and other Christian denominations have a responsibility to preach God’s Word and to apply it to real-world situations. Death and donation of organs and tissue is a reality that our people face, often unprepared and less than properly informed. I trust that the findings of this study will be of assistance to pastors and teachers whose desire it is to inform and educate their congregations about the selfless gift of organ and tissue donation. / Dissertation (MA (Research in Practical Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Practical Theology / MA / unrestricted

O conceito de que estimulação elétrica promove o reparo de fraturas tem uma longa história, datada de 1812. O mecanismo pelo qual estimulação elétrica promove a osteogênese ainda é assunto de especulação científica, entretanto esse método não farmacológico, utilizado no presente trabalho, já mostrou efeitos positivos na promoção e estímulo da osteogênese. O presente trabalho objetivou analisar a influência da aplicação de campo elétrico pulsado nas características histológicas e propriedades mecânicas do tecido ósseo em osteotomias experimentais realizadas em tíbias de ratos. Foram utilizados 52 ratos com fraturas cirúrgicas unilaterais do terço médio da tíbia, sem lesão dos músculos e do periósteo. Os animais foram divididos em dois grupos: grupo controle, que não recebeu estimulação e grupo tratado com campo elétrico. Esses foram divididos em dois subgrupos: animais sacrificados no 19º pós-operatório e animais sacrificados no 27º pós-operatório. O membro fraturado foi tratado com campo elétrico pulsado com freqüência fundamental de 1,5 MHz e 200 \'mü\'s de largura de pulso, em sessões diárias de 20 minutos. Realizou-se radiografia desse membro no dia da cirurgia e do sacrifício. Após o tratamento sacrificaram-se os ratos e extraíram-se suas tíbias para a obtenção de material para a análise morfométrica e ensaio mecânico de flexão. Os ensaios biomecânicos revelaram que houve diferença significativa entre as médias dos grupos tratado 18 e 12 dias somente para a tensão, sendo esta maior para o grupo tratado 18 dias, para as demais propriedades mecânicas analisadas não houve diferença significativa. A análise morfométrica determinou que a relação entre os grupos controle 18 dias com tratado 18 dias bem como entre os grupos tratado 12 dias e tratado 18 dias das médias das áreas de osso formado apresentaram diferenças estatisticamente significantes. Esses resultados sugerem que existe um incremento na síntese de matriz orgânica no grupo tratado, não acompanhado linearmente pela síntese mineral. A diferença estatisticamente significativa nas tensões de ruptura, por outro lado, sugere que o aumento no grau de mineralização encontra-se em curso. / The concept that electrical stimulation promotes the repair of fractures has a long history, dated of 1812. The mechanism for which electrical stimulation promotes osteogenesis is still subject of scientific speculation, however that method non-pharmacological, used in the present work has already showed positive effects in the promotion and incentive of osteogenesis. The present work objectified to analyze the influence of the application of electric field pulsed in the histological characteristic and mechanical properties of the bone tissue in experimental osteotomy accomplished in tibias of rats. 52 rats were used with unilateral surgical fractures of the medium third of the tibia, without lesion of the muscles and of the periosteum. The animals were divided in two groups: group control, that didn\'t receive stimulation and treated group with electric field. These were divided in two subgroups: animals sacrificed in the 19th after operation and animals sacrificed in the 27th after operation. The fracture member was treated with electric field pulsed with fundamental frequency of 1,5 MHz and 200 \'mü\'s of pulse width, in daily sessions of 20 minutes. The x-ray of that member took place in the day of the surgery and of the sacrifice. After the treatment the rats were sacrificed and their tibias were extracted for the material obtaining for analysis morfometric and mechanical rehearsal of flexion. The mechanical rehearsals revealed that there was only significant difference among the averages of the treated groups 18 and 12 days for the tension, the treated group 18 days had a larger tension, for the other analyzed mechanical properties there was not significant difference. The averages of the moment of inertia and area went significantly larger for the treated group 18 days compared with the respective averages of the control group controls. The treated group 12 days presented averages significantly larger when compared to the properties: moment of inertia, neutral line and area with the control group 12 days. These results suggest that an increment exists in the synthesis of organic matrix in the treated group, not accompanied lineally by the mineral synthesis. The difference significant statistic in the rupture tensions, on the other hand, suggests that the increase in the mineralization degree meets in course.

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In vitro differentiation of stem cells in biocompatible scaffolds in a bioreactor is a promising method for creating functional engineered tissue replacements suitable for implantation. Basic studies have shown that mechanical, chemical, and pharmaceutical stimuli enhance biological functionality of the replacement as often defined by parameters such as cell viability, gene expression, and protein accumulation. Most of the assays to evaluate these parameters require damage or destruction of the cell-scaffold construct. Therefore, these methods are not suitable for monitoring the development of a functional tissue replacement in a spatial and temporal manner prior to implantation. Bioluminescence imaging is a technique that has been utilized to monitor cell viability and gene expression in various in vivo applications. However, it has never been applied in an in vitro setting for the specific purpose of evaluating a cell-scaffold construct. This research describes the design of flow perfusion bioreactor system suitable for bioluminescence imaging. In the first experimental chapter, the system was tested using MC3T3-E1 cells transfected with a constitutive bioluminescent reporter. It was found that bioluminescence imaging was possible with this system. In the second experimental chapter, MC3T3-E1 cells transfected with BMP-2 linked bioluminescence reporter were cultured by flow perfusion for a period of 11 days. Bioluminescence was detectable from the cells starting at day 4, while peaking in intensity between days 7 and 9. Further, it was also found that bioluminescence occurred in distinct regions within the scaffold. These results indicate that these strategies may yield information not available with current assays. / Master of Science

Prosthetic joint infection (PJI) poses a significant risk to implanted patients, requiring multiple surgeries with high rates of reinfection. The primary cause of such infections is otherwise innocuous bacterial species present on the skin that have survived sterilization protocols. Antibiotic drugs have significantly reduced efficacy due to the lack of vasculature in the newly implanted site, allowing microbes to form biofilms with even greater resistance. Graphene oxide (GO) is known to have good biocompatibility while providing drugless antimicrobial properties. The focus of this study is on the development and characterization of a robust coating for titanium alloy implants to promote bone regeneration while inhibiting microbial biofilm adhesion to the implant surface. The novelty of this study is the use of proprietary coal-derived graphene oxide (c-GO) in a biomedical application. c-GO has been demonstrated to have a greater number of functional oxygen groups to promote cell adhesion, while also maintaining thinner layers than possible with graphite exfoliation methods. As an alternative to powerful antimicrobial drugs, it was hypothesized that an advanced coating of graphene-oxide would provide a defensive, passively antimicrobial layer to a titanium implant. While GO is typically quite expensive, the newly developed process provides an economical and environmentally friendly method of producing GO from coal (c-GO). The result is a coating that is inexpensive and capable of halving the biofilm formation of MRSA on titanium-alloy surgical screws in addition to providing improved bone cell adhesion and hard tissue compatibility. / Master of Science / Any time a patient receives implantation surgery, there is a chance of microbes entering the body. These are typically naturally occurring skin flora, harmless but opportunistic. On the surface of implants within the body, these bacteria can form colonies called biofilms, leading to severe and potentially deadly infections, called prosthetic joint infection (PJI). PJI often requires multiple surgeries to remedy, but rates of reinfection are relatively high. As with any surgery, patients are given antibiotic drugs, but implants to not receive blood flow as the body normally would, reducing the effectiveness of antibiotics. Once biofilms are formed, the bacteria become even hardier and resistant even to powerful antibiotics. Graphene oxide (GO) is a carbon material known to have good biocompatibility (i.e., non-toxic) while providing antimicrobial properties. The focus of this study is on the development and characterization of a robust coating for titanium alloy implants to promote bone healing while reducing microbial biofilm colonization on the implant's surface. The novelty of this study is the use of proprietary coal-derived graphene oxide (c-GO) in a biomedical application. c-GO has been demonstrated to have a different chemical makeup than graphite-derived GO, which may improve its efficacy as an antimicrobial coating. As an alternative to powerful antimicrobial drugs, it was hypothesized that a coating of graphene-oxide would provide a defensive, passively antimicrobial layer to a titanium implant. While GO is typically quite expensive, the newly developed one-pot process provides an economical and environmentally friendly method of producing GO from coal (c-GO). The result is a coating that is inexpensive and capable of halving the biofilm formation of MRSA on titanium-alloy surgical screws in addition to providing improved bone cell adhesion and hard tissue compatibility.

The overall goal of this study was to identify mineralized scaffolds which can serve as potential alternatives to bone graft substitutes intended for cleft palate repair. The aim of this preliminary study was to evaluate the role of fibrinogen (Fg) and nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA) in enhancing mineralization potential of polydioxanone (PDO) electrospun scaffolds. Scaffolds were fabricated by blending PDO:nHA:Fg in the following weight ratios: 100:0:0, 50:25:25, 50:50:0, 50:0:50, 0:0:100 and 0:50:50. Scaffolds were immersed in different simulated body fluids for 5 and 14 days to induce mineralization. The inclusion of fibrinogen induced sheet-like mineralization while individual fiber mineralization was noticed in its absence. Modified protocols of alizarin red staining and burn-out test were developed to quantify mineral content of scaffolds. After mineralization, 50:50:0 scaffolds were still porous and contained the most mineral. 50:25:25 scaffolds had the highest mineralization potential but lacked porosity. Therefore, it can be anticipated that these mineralized organic-inorganic electrospun scaffolds will induce bone formation.

5 Title: Methylene-bis(phosphonate) Derivatives for Modification of Biomolecules Author: Tomáš David Department: Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Science Supervisor: RNDr. Vojtěch Kubíček, Ph.D. Supervisor's e-mail address: vvvojta@seznam.cz Abstract The aim of this work was to prepare derivatives of methylen-bis(phosphonic) acid. Thirty compounds (from which 29 are new) were prepared with moderate or good yields. All compounds were fully characterized by NMR and MS. Four new crystal structures were obtained by RTG monocrystal analysis. Derivative containing 4-nitrobenzyl group in the side chain was used for study of bis(phosphonates) adsorption parametres to hydroxyapatite (with quantification by UV-Vis spectroscopy). Several derivatives containing characteristic functi- onal groups (-NH2, -COOH, -NCS) were prepared. These compound are suitable for further derivatization, mainly for conjugation with more complex structures through amide bond or thiourea bridge. Conjugates of building blocks with fluorescent probe (fluorescein and dansyl) were prepared for potencial optical imaging. Further modification of one of the dansyl derivative afforded trifunctional molecule - contating bis(phosphonate) as a vector for a bone tissue, a fluorescent probe for a possible fluorescent imaging and a free...